No discussion, the beginning of this week was slightly stressful. I spent most of Monday in various NHS waiting rooms (the GP’s surgery, the eye clinic’s outpatient’s in the old hospital, the emergency dept in the new hospital, the CT scan ‘preparation’ area in the new hospital and then finally Sub Wait G1 in the new hospital). But to cut to the chase, everyone is fine, and my Mum’s assertion that “I’m good at falling” remains true.
It may have been stressful, and frustrating and mostly boring (waiting, waiting, forever waiting) but our NHS is remarkable. I hope it can cope with the oncoming onslaught of Covid-19; I fear it has not been well funded for far too many years and the staff are already over-worked and under-resourced. And the staff we met were all kind, caring and competent (apart from one, who was brusque.. but she was efficient and gave us what seemed to be useful information, so I’m not complaining).
The chorus of birdsong was almost deafening the following morning as I walked across to Mum’s house, under low grey clouds, with a slight smirr of rain in the air. Two male blackbirds were singing competitively from the rowan tree. I guess it’s that time of year. Spring is springing, despite the wettest February in memory. Everything still looked grey, or that end-of-winter depressing brown. But if you looked close, there were the tiniest splashes of colour everywhere.
And then that afternoon our pond seemed to be boiling, the water bubbling up as the frogs got on with their Springtime froggie thing. And of course we now have great globules of frog spawn which will mostly end up as additional protein for the hens I guess.
So, there’s Nature doing its thing, and as sure as night follows day, here am I doing mine, back in the kitchen making treats to cheer our days. And what is more cheering than a wee slice of the most lemoniest of lemony cakes? I adore that zing of sharpness from lemons, and the soft moistness of this sponge complements it perfectly. I guess it would probably keep well, in an airtight tin, but how will I ever know? It’s lovely with a cup of tea or strong espresso, but would work equally well with a scoop of vanilla or dark chocolate icecream, or a big spoonful of creme fraiche on the side for an easy dessert.
The recipe is from my favourite of favourite cookbooks, Darina Allen’s The Forgotten Skills of Cooking.
Lemon polenta cake (gluten free)
- 225g / 8oz butter, softened
- 225g / 8oz caster sugar
- 225g / 8oz ground almonds
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- grated zest of 2 lemons
- juice of 1 lemon
- 110g / 4oz polenta
- 1 tsp baking powder (make sure it’s gluten free if you want your cake to be GF)
- a pinch of salt
Grease a 23cm / 9″ spring form tin, and line it with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 160C / 325F / GM3.
- Cream the butter till pale and soft, using electric beaters.
- Add the caster sugar and beat again until light and creamy.
- Stir in the ground almonds and vanilla extract.
- Add the eggs, one by one, beating thoroughly after each egg.
- Fold in the remaining ingredients: lemon zest and juice, polenta, baking powder and salt.
- Transfer the mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake for about 50 minutes (but check after 45 to see if it’s ready).
- It’s ready when it’s a deep golden colour on top and your skewer comes out clean as a whistle.
- Cool on a wire rack
- When cool, dredge with sifted icing sugar, to cover any slightly well-fired bits.
The making of lemony polenta cake
My other Spring makes include Wild Garlic Pesto (obviously) and I’m really in the mood for making some chicken liver pate, so I’m delighted that Past-Shewolffe has provided me with a recipe. Or go browse here and see if anything takes your fancy.
Do let me know if there’s anything you want me to make. I’m thinking I might share a few recipes using some of the stockpile in your store cupboard.
Shewolfinthevalley 