Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Weekend time in the kitchen. . . . . . . .


Do you, like me, love cakes with fresh fruits as an ingredient?
Somehow they just seem healthier - well that's my excuse for enjoying 
dessert, or a slice with a coffee now and then!
 I found this one, Blackberry-Tahini-Yogurt Cake in the September issue
 of bon appétit magazine when I was waiting in the dentist's office last week.
  I borrowed the magazine - promising to return - and brought it home to make
 copies of this cake recipe and the Tomato-Lemon Tart recipe. 
The recipes are also online so have linked them.



These recipes were quite easy and I was very pleased with the results.
I did tweak both, adding toasted sesame seeds for a little crunch on the cake,
and fresh mozzarella to the tart as it was served as an entrée.
The very thinly sliced lemon is a nice, unexpected, addition to the tomatoes.


Cooking, baking, and of course eating, is a way to handle waiting out a hurricane
 or similar bad weather situation over which we have no control - if of course you're
 not evacuated from your home.
I stayed busy in the kitchen over the past weekend whilst awaiting the possibility
 of Hurricane Irma changing course and heading toward North Carolina.
 Thankfully that didn't happen, so all my prayers continue for what is now the
 massive clean-up, recovery and rebuilding etc. in Florida. 

Do you like to get busy in the kitchen when marking time?
How about changing recipes - do you often add other ingredients?
Do you cook from scratch more, or less, these days?

13 comments:

  1. It's good to stay busy when you are worried. And when you bake...you get to eat after. Bonus! Your creations look absolutely scrumpdillyishus, Mary. Now that we are harvesting our garden there is lots of 'from scratch. cooking here, too.

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  2. Mary, I taught myself to cook and over a forty year period I became a very good cook/baker. I even baked professionally for a bookstore and tearoom. I had reached the point I no longer needed recipes nor measuring. Now, I no longer enjoy cooking. Don't know why. Whether it is the mess or whatever, I do not like to anymore. Besides, I would weigh 500 pounds as I can't refuse baked goods and sweets.

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    1. Wow Donna - you must be really good having done professional baking Hard work I'm sure. My mother baked your way, little measuring or weighing and her cakes were awesome!
      Mary -

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  3. My family is here from Florida and we are all still trying to find out how their houses faired. Your dishes look yummy.

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    1. So sorry for your sisters' homes perhaps being damaged, know Naples took a beating - just thankful they left and are safe with you. Hoping for the best - when will they be able to go back?
      Mary x

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  4. Hi Mary :) I sometimes do middle of the night baking therapy...when insomnia just can't be messed with, I'm usually in the kitchen baking goodies! I love to bake and make everything from scratch when I can, it's a very rewarding thing for me to do! But I won't deny that my bf and I do fatten up after my little all-nighters lol! :)

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  6. I am not a creative cook, I usually follow the recipe. Both of these recipes look delicious.

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  7. Your food looks wonderful! Yes, I change things up with recipes. I love to add my own creative twist to them. Sometimes I will get an idea in my head for a certain dish, and I do a Google search just to get a general guideline of a recipe or ingredients. And then I wing it myself. Like you, I find it best to stay busy when worried about something...if not whipping something up in the kitchen, then doing housework keeps my mind occupied and my hands busy, too. Glad you are safe!

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  8. Hi Mary! I wish I could cook from scratch but it seems that an impending disaster is always waiting. I am cooking a Vietnamese dish tonight, Bun Cha. I have great luck with Delicious Magazine in Australia...light and simple, two words I love when it comes to cooking. Both of the recipes you made look delish...I will follow the links to see if they fit into my two word rule. ;) So glad you were spared Irma's wrath...heartbreaking for those who were left with a shambles in it's wake...and in Houston. A big project ahead!

    Thank you also for your lovely comment on my post...always wonderful go hear from you. xxx

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  9. donna, I used to love to cook and bake, especially in winter in NY .. the house always smelled good with the scent of baking. I no longer bake and rarely cook .. it is not that interesting or fun to cook for one :) Not being pitiful but that I think has a lot to do with the pleasure of being a cook ... feeding and pleasing others . These days I eat something when I am hungry, whatever ....
    Lately, I have not done any cooking or baking. I eat cold salads and sandwiches, 1- I am bored 2- can't depend on the power at the moment 3- food has no appeal .. especially with hurricanes looming.
    when I get back to NY ... I will enjoy baking again :)
    love you.

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  10. I would never in a million years think to put tahini in a cake recipe. I do have a jar of it in the fridge so I am going to check out your recipe. The finished products are true masterpieces. Almost too pretty to eat.
    I find time spent in the kitchen to be very therapeutic. Kind of like gardening. I usually follow the recipes with a few little tweaks here and there. Now that I have more time on my hands, I enjoy trying new recipes.

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  11. Those both look totally scrumptious! Well done, Mary! Now, I just need the invite and way to get there for a slice. Thank you very much.

    Well, we do often start wth beans from a can but other than that, everything is from scratch. Cheaper that way but the trouble is neither of us enjoy cooking. Well, it's not really that as we jsut never know what to make and usually have very limited variety at home. What can I say? We eat LOTS of porridge ...and bananas... and spinach. lol. And, um....cookies... but if I add strawberry jam to the English muffins, they surely are indeed healthier!

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