The Oven has baked its last loaf. This blog is no longer being updated.

My cooking videos appear at youtube.com/janeragavan

I write on food at star2.com

Cooking from the WWW*

Sunday, February 24, 2013

MEJADRA, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE? 
* A few dishes I have cooked lately, using recipes off the World Wide Web.

The more I read about Jerusalem, the cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, the more I want to get it. All the recipes I have seen so far on newspaper websites have looked delicious and easy to do. The latest one I read, in the Los Angeles Times, is mejadra, a dish of rice and lentils topped with crisp fried onions.
Sticky ginger cake
I never pass up Sticky Ginger Cake and the recipe from The Guardian was one to try. It's from the book Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer: A Golden Treasury of Classic Treats by Jane Brockett. Although I was anxious to have a slice straight out of the oven, I restrained myself and followed the instruction to wrap the cake in greaseproof paper and foil so that it would get an more sticky and gingery. It is a suggestion that should always be heeded. Yum. 
Emily Dickinson's coconut cake
Emily Dickinson's Coconut Cake from The History Kitchen. The Emily in question is the American poet. This is a good full-flavoured, moist cake. Fresh grated coconut gives it a rich coconut flavour. I was surprised to learn that fresh coconut was used in cooking in Massachussetts in the 19th century. I thought coconuts were just targets to knock down in old-time fairground games (very often rigged!).

2 comments:

  1. wow! You have been busy huh! I have seen that sticky ginger cake a few times and am still contemplating baking one.....maybe I should. Every one of your photos looks yum indeed!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Jane! I'm finally back!! Thanks for your sweet welcoming comment :o) We are indeed a "little" further now hehe
    Wow! That rice looks amazing! I had never heard of the sticky ginger cake, definitely intriguing!
    As for the coconut cake, that's always a winner!
    A wonderful WWW selection!

    ReplyDelete

Your views are welcome and appreciated. Have a nice day!