We, in Auckland, are now heading towards our 7th week in lockdown although for the past few days the rules have relaxed slightly. Auckland is ring fenced from the rest of New Zealand so no one is permitted to enter or leave the city. This is because all our current covid cases are in Auckland. The concession is that we can now buy takeaways which has comes as a real morale booster and a big help to small businesses judging by the queues outside.
I am still busy each day taking my grandchildren through their lessons and doing odd little tasks around home. Although I would dearly love to travel to see my English family I can't say lockdown is too much of a problem for me. I have been reading a lot and killing a little bit of time doing jigsaw puzzles. This one was a doozy! Sent to me by my son and daughter in law in England it certainly was a challenge -1000 pieces with no picture of any kind to follow and lots of very dark patches. It took me quite a while to discover which was up and which was down! And, yes, there is a piece missing!
Having not done much baking for a number of years, (mainly because if I bake I eat it 😊), I have been baking once a week for my family. I am quite happy pottering in the kitchen with my favourite music on with nothing else to do and nowhere to go.
This is my Chocolate Cake which everybody loves. It was a recipe my mother made frequently and I jealously guarded it as my secret recipe for years. So many of my friends begged for the recipe that I finally gave in. Since a lot of people now have it you might as well have it too.
BUSY DAY CHOCOLATE CAKE
1 and 1/3 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 1/4lb butter, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 6 tablespoons of cocoa, 1 cup sour milk, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla essence. NB: you can milk sour by adding a teaspoon of vinegar to it
Sift together flour soda and cocoa. Add sugar. Make a well in the centre of dry ingredients and add egg, sour milk, melted butter and vanilla essence. Beat well until smooth and sugar is dissolved and turn into an 8 inch square tin.
Bake in a moderate oven around 30 minutes. Test with a skewer. Ice with chocolate butter icing when cold.
Working my way through my pantry store has led me to being a bit inventive. My daughter in law kindly supplies me with vegetables and a few staples otherwise I have been living on what I have. It is kind of fun. Here is a surprisingly tasty dish I invented from what I had to hand.
SAVOURY BUTTERNUT
Take a butternut and slice it vertically down the middle. Scoop out the seeds and make the cavity a bit larger. Season ( I used a smoky bacon salt), drizzle with oil and roast in the oven until tender. Remove from the oven and fill the cavity with as much baked beans as it will take, or Mexican style beans if you prefer a kick. Sprinkle the top generously with grated tasty cheese and return to the oven. Bake until the cheese is melted and starting to brown. Then it is ready to eat and very yummy.
