Every summer I want to go on at least one picnic. Every summer, barring the one in 2010, we did everything but go on a proper picnic. You know the one Enid Blyton described in painstaking detail – the ones had on soft verdant carpets of grass, surrounded by flowers or beside the sea, filling ourselves with yummy cold meat sandwiches, cool/hot drinks and a fair bit of running around. That kind.
Henley-on-Thames. Back in 2010. Perfect for picnicking
Anyway. That was not to be had for a long time, till yesterday. A few friends decided to throw caution to the winds (literally) and brave the chill to eat our suppers outdoors. After all the sun was out and it would have been a shame not to make the most of it… Yes I am aware how fraught with irony these lines are. But it wasn’t all that bad. Thanks to great company and what not.
The Gang
I would add good food to the reasons for joviality but that would amount to tooting my own horn. Almost. The picnic was a success due to two amazing recipes that I got off two great blogs. A) Rice with beans and Sun-dried tomatoes from My Favourite Pastime b) Banana and Date Bread from Frugal Feeding.
Do try out the recipes (as well as the blogs); you won’t regret the decision.
The rice is so full of flavour it is unbelievable. what attracted me to the dish was the inventive use of varied ingredients. They worked together beautifully. If I could I would serve you a plate but as I can’t, savour the picture I took before we took it for a jaunt.
Rice with Beans and Sundried toamtoes. Recipe courtesy: My favourite pastime
And the bread – so moreish that the loaf disappeared soon after it was inaugurated to the gang – except for this one slice, which I kept aside for personal hogging and took a picture before committing it to my maw.
Banana and Date bread. Recipe courtesy Frugal Feeding
After I plied the group with the two great offerings, I supplied them with another cake. I am glad to report that it was gleefully accepted. This one was my own creation. A strawberry chocolate cake with a hint of mint.
I am not a big fan of strawberry as it stands, but pair it with cream or chocolate I can down punnets in a sitting. Given that my favourite combination is strawberries and chocolate, I decided to combine them in a cake. The result…
Chocolate and Strawberry cake with a hint of mint
Ingredients:
- Flour: 1-1/4 cup
- Cocoa powder: 1 tbsp
- Baking powder 1 tsp
- Butter: 125 gm
- Eggs: 3
- Strawberries: 200 gm
- Mint leaves: 3-4 bruised
- Sugar: 3/4 cup
- Chocolate (dark and milk): 100 gm , melted
Method:
- Cook the strawberries with a little sugar and the mint leaves. Leave to cool.
- Cream sugar and butter
- Add eggs, one by one, to this mix
- Sift flour, baking powder and cocoa into the liquid mix in thirds. Combine gently.
- Add strawberries (with the liquid) and melted chocolate at the end.
- Bake at a 180 degrees C for 40 min.
- Cool and consume.
