narrative…
Today was a Great Eating Day. Not only that, but it was full of Wonderful Friend Time! I got to eat breakfast outside in the glorious sunshine with a very, very good friend, Becky, and she gave me a couple pointers on photographing foods (hopefully I can apply these, and might even invest in a better camera someday!). We enjoyed some Leonard’s Bread, which I had baked after my lovely Kiwi friend, Emma, had sent me a few recipes to try! In fact, I am re-naming my recipe “Emma’s Bread”.
Then, I had a sweet afternoon tea time with another dear friend, Megan B. We baked an Armenian Nutmeg cake (another of Emma’s recipes). However, because we were so engrossed in our conversation, I made a few silly mistakes. Oh well, the cake was still delicious! But…after Megan had gone, I decided that I wanted to re-make the cake to see how it turned out. Let’s call this NutMegan cake from now on…just because we can.
Round 2, the cake did come out more moist, and had a crumb bottom– yum! Almost like coffee cake, but with nutmeg flavoring instead. The cake was perfect for tea time, but could also be a sweet breakfast cake or a dessert anytime!
I spent the evening fellowshipping with a wonderful group of people who love the Lord. We talked, we prayed, and we feasted on a random and beautiful assortment of foods.
Finally, I got a good night kiss from prince charming. Day complete 🙂
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…visuals…
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| Emma’s Bread |
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| My messy breakfast plate |
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| Becky’s cute-looking breakfast |
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| Armenian NutMegan Cake |
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| Afternoon tea. One of my favorite times of the day. |
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| Becky gave me a few food photography tips! |
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| After Afternoon Tea (Round 2…or 3?) |
…recipes…
Emma’s (Leonard’s) Bread
you need (for one loaf)-
- 1 T (or one packet) yeast
- 1.5 c. lukewarm water
- 1/4 c. honey
- 1/4 c. molasses
- 2 T sunflower oil (I used walnut oil instead)
- 1/2 t. sea salt
- 1/4 c. sesame seeds
- 1/2 c. raisins
- 3 or more cups whole wheat flour
- 1/2 c. cornmeal flour or rye flour. I just used regular cornmeal…Shh!
- 1/2 c. rolled oats
- Stir yeast into water in large bowl, and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Add honey, molasses, oil, salt, seeds, and raisins.
- Stir in 2 cups of wheat flour, mix well. then stir in the rye/cornmeal flour and oats.
- Add enough remaining wheat flour to form dough that can be kneaded but is still sticky (mine was extremely sticky).
- Knead on floured surface until very elastic (10 minutes, or 15 for a doubled recipe)…Emma says “Put your back into it!”
- Place dough in a bowl with a damp towel covering the bowl, and let rise in an unheated oven /other warm place until doubled in bulk (45 minutes, or 1.5 hours for double recipe). *optional: first coat bowl with oil and turn dough in bowl to coat with oil…I neglected this step.
- Remove bowl from oven/warm place, punch and briefly knead dough, (divide in two if making two recipes), place into a well-greased 9x5x3″ loaf pan (or two), cover again, and let rise again until doubled in size (40-60 minutes).
- Bake loave(s) for about 30-40 minutes at 350*F, until pan sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Let sit to cool.
- Freeze any bread that is not intended for consumption within a few days (when freshest!). Store in a sealed container/tupperware at room temperature.
- 1 c. self-raising flour (I used 1 c. a-p flour + 1.5 t. baking powder + 1/4 t. salt)
- 1 c. all-purpose flour
- 1 t. fresh ground nutmeg (I grated a whole nutmeg!)
- 125 g butter (I used 1 stick of 1/2 cup, plus an extra T.)
- 1.5 c. lightly-packed brown sugar.
- 1 t. baking soda
- 3/4 c. milk
- 1 lightly beaten egg
- 1/2 c. chopped pecans/walnuts (I used pecans)
- Grease and line an 8×8″ pan.
- Sift flours and nutmeg into large bowl.
- Cut in butter and mix in sugar until crumbly (I used my hands)
- Press 1.5 cups of mix into pan.
- Stir combined soda and milk, as well as the egg and nuts, into the remaining dry ingredients.
- Mix well and pour into the pan on top of the first layer.
- Bake in a “moderate” oven (I used 350*F) for about 35 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes and turn onto wire rack to cool. Cut into squares. Store at room temperature in a sealed container.
Big thanks to Emma, for the recipes; and Becky and Megan, for the encouragement. I love you guys!
Oh my Britt, all of these meals look absolutely divine!