Sesame Peanut Butter Banana Cake

On the not-so-often occasions I get to bake these days, I seem to be gravitating to the classic loaf cake. I’ve made several over the past couple of months, all baking with my late grandmother’s old loaf tins, which I just love.

I was inspired to make this for two reasons: I had old bananas lying around, and I was talking to my sister about our mutual love for sesame seeds. I remembered I had this recipe from Food52 bookmarked, so decided to try it.

This has a lot going on: bananas, sesame seeds (I used white ones, which is what I had), and peanut butter. The latter is included as a last step, as a swirl on top of the loaf. I am not sure that this worked particularly well. I feel like it made the top of the cake quite heavy which then prevented it from rising fully: it was a really stout cake. After reading some of the reviews, maybe I needed to leave it in for longer as well.

Final verdict: this was good. It definitely passed my sweet test, i.e. not too sickly. The nuttiness from the peanut butter and sesame/tahini definitely made for great flavour. BUT it doesn’t come close to my all-time favourite banana bread: Tessa Kiros’.

Stovetop Mac & Cheese

Hello, February and hello readers. The blog has been quiet not because I have nothing to post but because I am having a lot of issues with WordPress. Not only is the new editor annoying to use, but I am experiencing (rage-inducing) technical difficulties which has meant that I am losing posts and not able to edit posts in drafts. I’ve lost two posts in the last month (one of which was January favourites – I’ll try again for February). I don’t have a lot of extra time to write these days, so it’s very deflating to lose them. My new way of writing is to compose in Word and then copy and paste into WordPress. Hopefully this is a better system.

Ah, mac & cheese. One of my favourite meals! My friend K has been telling me for a while that I need to try Smitten Kitchen’s stovetop mac & cheese. So a couple of weeks ago I finally did. It seemed like an easy meal (Deb proclaims “quick” and “essential”). I ended up using a combination of mature cheddar and Parmesan. I also added bacon because we had some to use up and … why not. The most labourious part of the dish is making the béchamel sauce. I always get a little nervous making béchamels, but I find the trick is to add the milk in slowly to avoid lumps.

This pairs really well with a crisp side salad. It wasn’t my favourite mac & cheese ever, but it was satisfying for sure (particularly if you like a really creamy sauce), and fairly straightforward to make!

Chocolate Birthday Cake

Hello, 2021.

I’ve often done year-end posts in the past, but my capacity at the moment to process 2020 is minimal. It was an extremely intense year of high highs and very low lows. Instead, for now I’ll just write about chocolate cake (warning: this is not your typical new year healthy post).

Given a choice, chocolate cake is not something I would typically bake or consume. I generally just find it too rich, particularly with a chocolate base and icing. BUT this was a celebration. One of the upsides of the end of 2020 was that we were finally able to travel to Canada. We were therefore able to celebrate my mum’s birthday with her, in person, at the end of December. For many, many months this is something I thought would never happen and I’m still somewhat incredulous that I am actually here.

Mum is a huge chocolate fiend so I wanted to surprise her. I found the recipe via Food52. It was one of those cases where I didn’t even have any plans to bake anything, but decided to when I saw it (plus the story was about mothers and chocolate cake so it seemed appropriate). It seemed the perfect fit as it also happened to be dairy-free.

I’ve never made a two-layer cake before, and this wasn’t exactly the best test case because I didn’t have a round cake pan. Instead I used two loaf pans. The result was that the cake was rather high and narrow! Hehe. Instead of a whipped cream icing (which I generally would have preferred), I made a modified ganache by melting semi-sweet chocolate chips and soy milk.

The end result was….um, well, it didn’t look great — I really need to work on my icing skills! BUT it did taste good. And the description is right: it is REALLY easy. It’s a one-bowl cake, which I don’t ever think I’ve seen before. It’s literally dumping everything into a bowl, mixing, and baking. Give it a try.

Wishing you health, peace, and happiness this year.

2020 in Books

Hello! Posts have been pretty sparse lately, but as it’s almost the end of the year I had to fit in my annual reading update.

I imagined that I would see a big dip in my reading this year, but to my surprise, that didn’t happen. While I definitely lost some time, particularly in the first month of A’s life, I gained it in other places, most notably long nursing sessions.

My favourite reads of 2020 are both novels: Punishment by Linden MacIntyre, and Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane. Although very different, they both share the themes of forgiveness and redemption. In my Goodreads review, I called Punishment a “damn-near perfect book.” I’d highly recommend them both.

In non-fiction, I enjoyed Beyond the Trees, She Said, Becoming, and multiple David Sedaris books.

Apple Cider Doughnut Loaf Cake

One of the things that kept me going through isolation this summer was regular packages from my mum. They were mostly filled with baby clothes, but she would often include a couple of things for me — most often Kraft Dinner (my not-so-secret guilty pleasure) or food magazines! (Usually Bon Appetit or Saveur). This recipe for apple cider doughnut loaf cake caught my eye from the September issue of Bon Appetit.

This wasn’t the easiest to make; it required quite a few bowls. Not a one- or even two-bowl process. I followed the recipe fairly carefully and while I’d say this was very good, it didn’t blow me away. I wasn’t a big fan of the sugar glaze, which I thought made it too sweet. It was gone in a day though, so clearly it wasn’t that bad! In hindsight, I’m just not sure that this loaf meets my current amount-of-work-for-taste payoff ratio, given that I have very limited time to bake these days.

October 2020 Favourites

Welcome to October favourites. This post almost did not happen: I’ve been in an all-out battle with the new WordPress editor. It’s messy, busy, and it’s taken at least 20 times as long to create this post than it normally does. It will probably still come out looking slightly wonky. Very, very frustrating. I’ve resorted to doing the whole thing ‘old school’ in HTML but will have to get to grips with the new system eventually. To be honest I had more to share but it takes me so long to format the links that it will have to wait.

The world feels very heavy right now, though as I sit and type there is some hope that good news is coming from the US election(?). My family is personally going through a very difficult time. I won’t dwell on that here, right now, but I will share a quote that’s helped:

Do not turn away joy–
even if it arrives at an
inconvenient time, even
if you think you should
be grieving, even if you
think it’s “too soon”
Joy is always on time.
–Maggie Smith (link below)

o Confinement strategies from David Lebovitz

o Grocery shopping and covid

o Highly recommended reading: Ask Again, Yes and Beyond the Trees

o I always enjoy Brain Pickings’ anniversary musings. This year’s is no different. If there was ever a time to choose joy, this is it.

o Two poetry Instagram accounts I like following: Kate Baer and Maggie Smith.

o Best way to cook chicken thighs

o Friendship based on Myers-Briggs (I’m INFJ and I found it fairly accurate!).

o What it’s like to appear on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Love that show!

My tips for cooking and baking with a baby

As I’ve mentioned previously,  baby A joined us in May. Becoming a parent has to be one of the craziest, most intense life changes one can go through. We’ve found it to be challenging but amazing at the same time.

The first ~14 days we relied almost entirely on our pre-prepared freezer meals, though we’d often make a fresh salad to go with what we were eating. By week 3 we were starting to get into making stuff in “real time” again, and also feeling like we had slightly more capacity. Babies change so quickly and so how to incorporate them with meals and eating will evolve. Here are my tips for the 0-4ish months stages.

Plan, plan, plan, then be flexible: Thinking ahead is even more important now. And this is coming from someone who has always meal-planned. This is two-pronged: planning is important, but so too is being strategic about how and when you prep. I usually plan meals for a 5 or 6 day period, to align with our grocery shopping. Regarding prep, take advantage of any “spare” (ha!) time you have during the day to get ahead. For example, I’ve found myself several times chopping up ingredients at lunchtime for supper, laying everything out beforehand, etc. This can make a real difference when it comes to bringing everything together in the evening.  Also, two days/nights a week I solo parent. It’s pretty much impossible to do more than heat something up or quickly throw a bunch of things together on those days. I try to always have a plan beforehand and keep expectations low.

Keep it simple: This may sound obvious but I’ve fallen into this trap a couple of times myself. Do not expect to make a lot of new things from scratch. Do not expect to make elaborate meals. I definitely miss this — time in the kitchen is a salve for me — but have told myself that there is a season in life for everything. I was able to do this for 10 years living alone with H, and will be able to do it again in a few years’ time. Now just isn’t that season (unless we have substantial help around).

Distract at the table: Fortunately most nights H & I sit down together and enjoy a meal while A sits in her chair. By no means does this always happen — sometimes she needs a lot more hands on management or she needs to nurse. And many a night we have taken turns eating. It’s helpful to have music and toys around to distract her so that she sits for a few minutes while we eat.

Involve them (to a degree): When A turned around 3.5 months she suddenly started becoming much more aware and wanted to be more involved in the world, not just a bystander. I’ve been able to accomplish some occasional baking with her strapped into a wrap on me, watching my every move (and only occasionally trying to knock things over!). Even though she won’t remember it I’m hoping these early experiences will somehow imprint a positive association with baking and cooking on her brain!

Ask for help (and help looks like many different things): This looks very different in pandemic times. ALL parenting advice books basically revolve around this principle and it has driven me mad. There has been no help in the traditional sense for us. So what does help for us look like? Takeout. We haven’t done it that often but when we do it is such a welcome break. We usually go for Indian.

Double it all!: This is one of my top tips. When baking, double whatever you’re making and make more. Freeze more. When cooking, make 1.5x or 2x the amount and save the leftovers for the next evening, lunch, or some point in the future. You’re doing yourself a favour.

Summer 2020 Joy

This summer was nothing like I thought it would be. I thought I would be introducing my family and friends to our new baby, and spending 3 months of my maternity leave at home. None of that happened. Despite that, there was still a lot of joy and happiness. Inspired by a post on Goop (of all places), I thought I’d share a few things that brought me joy.

Coffee!
While I was pregnant I couldn’t stomach coffee, or other bitter drinks. But the day after I gave birth all was back to normal and I could drink it again! Even though my intake is still limited due to breastfeeding, I am so happy to have it back in my life. In the nighttime wakes with A, I often think and dream about my morning coffee. It’s such a comforting ritual.

Calls with my sister
No matter how down I am, my sister never fails to cheer me up. We were supposed to spend this summer together. We haven’t been connected in person, but remained so from afar. I am so thankful for technology that enables us to do so. My sister is one of the smartest and funniest people I know and I am so grateful to have her.

The beach
We have been trying to get to know our corner of England a little better this summer. We still feel new here despite soon coming up on our second anniversary of moving out of London — likely because work has consumed so much of our time until now. H’s flexible working schedule and my maternity leave have enabled us to visit some lovely parts of the county, including some nice beaches. They won’t beat Nova Scotia’s for me, but they’re a good second option.

David Sedaris
I read my first Sedaris in January, and I’m so glad I did. I’ve devoured two of his books of essay this summer (Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls and When You Are Engulfed in Flames) — mostly read in the wee hours of the night when I am up feeding A.

“Below Deck”
H and I are unashamedly addicted to this trashy reality show! Judge us all you want: we don’t care! Honestly it has it all: beautiful scenery, water, great “characters”, and drama of both the boat-operation and personal kind.

Baking exchanges with our neighbours
We have always been friendly with our next-door neighbours R and C, but lockdown brought this to a new level. We started an informal baking exchange so that when one of us bakes something, we share it with the other household!

Watching A grow learn about the world
Of course, this is my first summer as a mum, so I have to mention A, the light of our lives and bringer of so much daily joy. Parenting definitely comes with its challenges. But it’s also one of the most amazing and exciting experiences of my life to date. It is so fascinating and incredible to watch her grow, change, learn new skills, and learn about the world around her.

August 2020 Favourites

Hello September. This has been the strangest summer of my life by far: in some ways the best, and in many ways the worst. Never did I think I would have a 3.5 month old baby that had not met any of her grandparents or aunt…. 😦

Here are a few things that have caught my eye this summer:

◌ Since I can’t be in Nova Scotia right now, I log onto Nova Scotia webcams every time I’m online. I particularly enjoy watching the sunrise (sob!).

◌ Tons of cookie recipes.

◌ Liked this post from Cup of Jo. I haven’t worn a dress since I stopped teaching in person in March, nor have I worn a lick of makeup in nearly 6 months!

◌ Pandemic or newborn? 1000x yes!

◌ Beautiful, but the story behind it is devastating.

◌ In early August, I wrote a letter to future me, to be delivered a year later.

◌ An interesting list, to say the least. There are many I would add and many I’d remove!

◌ Equal parts scary and fascinating.

◌ Enjoyed this eye-opening read on salmon farming.

◌ Always been a big fan of Alanis.

◌ Books coming soon.

◌ Lots of great kitchen storage ideas. I can only dream of the day that I own rather than rent and can implement some of these!

Mini Updates: Banana Bread Scones, Triple Berry Muffins, Tahini Rye Chocolate Cookies

Time for my second installment of mini updates, my new way of sharing what I’ve been baking and cooking. This one is a baking-related update. I haven’t had much time in the kitchen, but when I do have a free hour or two when A is napping, I find I gravitate to baking or cooking. It’s relaxing and produces a delicious outcome (usually — lol): win-win!

First up: Banana bread scones. This was an …. odd …. one. I came across the recipe on Instagram, funnily enough. I won’t be making it again. They tasted good, but it was a little too odd: not really scone, not cookie, not cake, not bread….a combination.

The recipe for chocolate chip tahini rye cookies is from the Guardian‘s Saturday Feast supplement. These were good, but didn’t blow me away. In fact I’m having trouble recalling them (may be the lack of sleep!). What I did appreciate about this is how easy it is to make. It came together very quickly.

Finally: triple berry muffins. I used this recipe for blueberry muffins here, but instead of all blueberries, used a combination of strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries to use up some old-ish fruit we had. I have used this recipe several times and find it to be pretty reliable. The muffins are quite dense but really good. I also cut the sugar to about 3/4 of a cup. Much better.