Cassis (Black Currants) and Lemon Cake

One of our absolute beloved, fresh and spongy super quick cake!  

The source of this recipe is a popular recipe which we got in Spain and we adapted it reducing the oil and the sugar only for personal taste. We use Greek plain yogurt + fresh lemon instead of yogurt with lemon taste. In Spain this cake is also called “bizcocho 1 2 3 “.

We prepare if you are traveling into holidays apartments (yes, we I carried the empty tin with us) for a fast breakfast and a snack for our road trips.

For the easiest version you may use the container of your yogurt as the measure of 1 cup.

See also the Spanish version on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgdaD_EJX-E&ab_channel=Elrinc%C3%B3ndelpancasero

The combination of cassis and lemon gives to this cake a very strong and refreshing flavour.

We tried also these great variations:

• Limes instead of lemons
• Black berries, blueberries or “josta berries” instead of cassis
• Skip the berries and convert this cake into a lemon cake

Black Currants and Lemon Cake

• Servings: about 12
• Time: 1h + cooling time
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Ingredients

Batter:

• 1 cup yogurt (any yogurt but for us Greek plain yogurt is the best)
• ½ cup oil (original recipe: 1 cup)
• 1 ½ cups sugar (original recipe 2 cups)
• 3 (if you use the size of the container of the yogurt instead of “cup”) or 4 eggs (if using the official “cup”)
• 1 lemon, zest grated
• 1 lemon, juice
• 3 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder (1 envelope)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (1 envelope)

Fruits:

• 1 cup black currents (cassis)  or other berries

Topping (optional)

• Sugar pearls

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F and line you mold (about 30 cm of length) with baking or aluminum foil.
2. In a big bowl combine all the ingredients for the batter.
3. Fold under the berries.
4. Pour the dough into your prepared mold and add the topping.
5. Cook for 50-60 minutes at 180°C/350°F or until done (toothpick test)
6. Let cool down and serve.

Autor: https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/  

Walk to Castle “Burg Rotberg” near Mariastein

Mariastein Abbey, nestled into the lovely landscape of the gentle Leimental valley, is the most important place of pilgrimage in Switzerland after Einsiedeln Abbey.

Only a few Kilometers from the Abbey you will find other interesting places can find 7 castles around Burg in Leimental, some of them are actually ruins, but some are fully restored and in use.

One of this castles is the Burg Rotberg, actually know a the
Mariastein Youth Hostel a real special place in a fairy place.

As we visited this place, the hostel was closed, but we got the chance to visit the entrance and the wonderful landscape.

Day 41 Stay at Home or In the Garden: Deaf Adder

Even a small pond of little more than a square meter is like a small universum. We discovered an unexpected guest in our mini-paradise. the deaf adder (Anguis fragilis).

Every year we saw a few deaf adder here or there, but we never saw them disappearing under the roots of our yellow iris around the pond.

These legless lizards (no snake or worm, please) are also sometimes called common slowworms,  blindworm, or regionally, a long-cripple.

These reptiles are mostly active during the twilight and occasionally bask in the sun, but are more often found hiding beneath rocks and logs. They are carnivorous and, because they feed on slugs and worms, they can often be found in long grass and other damp environments (in our case near the pond).

Useful links:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/anguis-fragilis

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Anguis_fragilis/

Day 38 Stay at Home or In the Garden: Iris

 

Gardening is wonderful relaxing way especially when you find your way to keep it easy.

As we started with the garden, we did not really know which plants are best suitable for the soil and which one would grow and bring us the best without spending a lot of time and money in order to have a nice garden.

In our case in spring, iris flowers make our garden beautiful with almost no work and we know that next year they will be here again!

In the photos: Iris Pseudacorus (Yellow Water Iris) and  Bearded Iris (Iris germanica).

 

Day 32 Stay at Home or In the Garden: Four-Leaf Clovers

Today I would like to explain you how to find 4 leaf clovers!

Since I was a child, I was used to find 4-leaf clovers again and again! My method was to spot the angles between the leaves (120 degrees for 3-leaf clovers and 90 degrees for 4 leaf clovers).  Most 3/4 leaf clovers have a light part in the leaves; in these case the 3-leave clovers show triangles and 4-leaf clovers a square!

For the other ones (plain green leaves) I see a cross into the 4-leaf clovers and in this way I saw the difference.

Another tip is: if you find one, look near to this, very ofter the genetic mistake produce more of them so that the probability to find more is much higher! You may also make yourself a note of the place and after one week or so, check again the same place!

More and more you look after 4-leaf clovers, more and more you will be able to find some in a few minutes!

According to tradition, finding a four-leaf clover brings luck to the person who discovers it, in my case it’s only fun, but I love to dry from time to time some of them for making good wishes cards.

I’m lucky, very lucky to have a garden, if you don’t have this possibility now, you may exercise virtually and have fun with these links:

https://newbiefarmergirl.com/2018/03/16/find-the-4-leaf-clover-%F0%9F%8D%80/

Can you find the four leaf clover? Good luck

How to find a 4-leaf clover

Find A Four Leaf Clover

Two 4-leaf clovers in the picture

How many four-leaf clovers do you see?

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Day 31 Stay at Home or In the Garden: Busy Bees

It’s high season now for our bees! Plenty of flowers around and a lot of sunshine.

It’s almost one month we did not have a real rain, therefore we were afraid that the nectar production of the blooming fruit trees, could be too slow.

We are lucky, now our little bees have enough to do!

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Day 29 Stay at Home or In the Garden: Colored Easter Eggs

An almost impossible event: Easter breackfast in the garden; and this at our latitude. 

We celebrated the event coloring our eggs in a natural way, super easy and always welcomed.

Unlike to other years we spent our Easter at home with our family, we event did not go shopping for this event, but those eggs and litttle decoration made this day special again.

The bread we enjoyed this moring was: Beautiful Challah (Sourdough Version)

with butter, honey and homemade jams.

Color Variations:

Blue using red cabbage, yellow using turmeric, brown with coffee, maroon with beets, bluish gray with blueberries, green with spinach boiled spinach leaves and the rust color with paprika.

Colored Easter Eggs

• Servings: 6 pieces
• Time: active time=30 min; cooking and resting time=30 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

     

Ingredients

• 6 eggs
• 4 onions(dried skin only or other ingredients), preferably red onions
• herbs, leaves and flowers (or wax)
• 6 short nylon socks
• vegetable oil, optional

Procedure

1. For reddish brown color: Crunch the onionskins into a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit until the water is a rich reddish brown. Keep the solution warm, but not hot.
2. Clip the herbs and leaves into small lengths and individual leaves.
3. Place herbs and flowers around the first egg in the nylon sock. Fix the flowers and the leaves stretching the nylon sock around the egg and tie it tightly with a knot or twist tie to hold the leaves in place. Note: leaves on an egg will block the onion dye from reaching the area covered by the leaves.
4. Load the eggs into the coloring solution taking care that they should stay completely covered. If necessary, add just enough water to cover them.
5. Bring the pot to simmer, cover, and remove from heat. Let the eggs soak in the dye until the whole pot comes to warm room temperature.
6. Remove the eggs from the solution, snip off the knots and rinse off the eggs, discarding the nylons and herbs.
7. Pat the eggs dry, and rub them with a bit of vegetable oil to bring out the shine and brilliant deep reddish brown color.

Autor: https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/

 

 

Day 24 Stay at Home or In the Garden: Bees amd Cherry Blossoms

In the midlle of our garden enjoying the song of my little bees pollinating the blooming cherry three.

Peaceful realaxing moments in another world away from everything.

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Day 20 Stay at Home or In the Garden: First Fruits

Apples flower are here, as well as plums, cherries, rosemary and bay.

At the meantime apricots flowers are already gone, but the first fruits appears; we all hope that our efforts of staying at home will bring fruits soon.

Day 16: Stay at Home or In the Garden: Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight

The winter came back and brought us snow again. It was cold all the daylong.

During the afternoon the sun came from time to time trough until finally in the evening another spectacular sunset remembered that tomorrow a new day with more sun will bring us the spring and the HOPE again.

In Matthew 16:2b–3, Jesus says:

When it is evening, you say, “It will be fair weather; for the sky is red.”
And in the morning, “It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.”

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