On being relieved, and having something new to bake

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So Blue’s blood test results came back and, guess what – they were completely and utterly NORMAL. Hooray. I had to have a little weep of relief, sitting there at my laptop this morning, then I got my biggest padlock, strode over to the naughty corner, and banged the lid on the relapse monster’s box shut. Then I had a little dance on top of it while the monster made a vague attempt to climb back out – or at least to loosen the lid, then I pushed the box out of the naughty corner and into the cupboard under the stairs. Hopefully it will stay there for a few months now.

As you can imagine, I’m feeling much happier. Spring seems to be on the way, and the chickens are laying again after what seems like months. More eggs means more baking, and I have a new recipe book: Baked in America. I am all a-flutter with anticipation. Now, I didn’t get on particularly well with The Hummingbird book, and American baking often seems a little over the top for me, but I have high hopes of the treats in this book. It’s written by 2 Americans who seem to have been living in London (well, Richmond) since 2005. They started off by selling cakes at a local farmers’ market, and now have a cafe type place in Chiswick (cue website with lots of lush pics – they’re not paying me, honest, but you might like a wee peek... http://www.outsidertart.com/).

I like the sound of these guys because (1) there is a fab section in the front of the book explaining the differences between American and British ingredients (and approaches to baking generally) (2) the cakes, brownies and biscuits look like JUST my sort of thing (3) they are very funny and (4) they refer to using something in their recipes called ‘applesauce’ which might JUST be the same as the apfelstroop we brought back from Holland in the summer. It looks like apple marmite and Blue eats it on toast and with cheese, but at the time when I acquired the stuff (from the ‘food swap’ table at the end of a big scout jamboree) my scavenging foraging instincts were high as we were about to head off into darkest Europe (well, Eurodisney) in the camper van, so I snaffled more than 1 tin and am rather thinking that unless I come up with something very creative, we’ll still be eating it by the time the next Jamborette comes round in 2015...

I still haven’t decided what to bake first – there is just so much deliciousness to choose from. So far I am liking the look of the oatmeal caramel crumble bars, the snickers brownies and the Pennsylvaina Dutch Spice Loaf. Decisions, decisions.