Autumn Walks and a Barmbrack Recipe

Is there anything better than walking a trail on an Autumn morning?

 We've been hitting the trails early in search of birds. Most mornings, the grass is still wet with dew, so I've been wearing these very old leather boots. They're tall enough to protect my legs, waterproof, and so old and beat-up I don't care what happens to them.

My skirt is made of loden, which is largely water resistant, and dries quickly when it does manage to get wet. I find that useful when moving through brush. I also own a pair of loden trousers. I've had both pieces going on 30+ years and they're still holding up well. It was quite a splash out at the time, but I've more than got what I paid for.

The wool cardigan was something I purchased in London on a whim because it  was unexpectedly freezing. It has a few moth nibbles (it is a good 25 years old now) but I wear it for outdoor activities and chores at home. This cardigan was my go-to piece when we lived on the farm as it was warm, and long enough to keep most of my body warm. I know it will fall apart some day, but for the moment I am continuing to get use from it.

The garden in front of the library is dying off. Behind me, you can see the bank where in a few weeks a large, lighted Christmas tree will be erected making certain that everyone in the city can find 90th and Dodge in the dark! We live in the neighbourhood just behind the bank and it is a quick walk over to our library. It is an interesting corner of the city. Banks, the library, a college, two hospitals, medical offices, a supermarket, office buildings-all on good bus routes. I suppose that's what's so appealing about living here. After a dozen years on a remote farm, it is nice to grab a gallon of milk without getting in my car. I can walk to Walgreen's in five minutes. Most of the architecture reflects the times in which the city was expanding. Brutalist style buildings are the norm in this part of town, but I've come to appreciate them. There's continual discussion of tearing down our library branch and building another further west. To be fair, we do have another library not far from here up 90th street, but I would obviously not be able to walk there. More importantly, we'd lose a bit of 60's architecture that has helped shape the personality of the area.

(not my photo)

As Halloween is almost here, I thought this would be a good time to share my barmbrack recipe. I do a tea brack rather than a yeast risen, but it is still best made a few days in advance and stored before slicing. Sometimes I switch up the fruits I use (cranberries, apricots, sultanas, etc.) but the basic recipe is reliable as long as you keep the proportions the same.

(Photo from a few years ago)


If you add charms, I suggest poking them into the loaf after baking, and wrapping them in parchment so no one chokes on a coin.


You Will Need:

3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup sultanas
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup candied pineapple (or cherries)
Grated zest of an orange-or lemon
1 cup strong, hot black tea
1/4 cup spirits (I used some really strong cherry brandy)
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 3/4 cup self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon mixed spice, or an aproximation of mixed spice

In a large bowl, combine everything except the eggs and dry ingredients. Let soak a few hours, or overnight. Add the egg, sugar, and flour. Don't overmix-just stir until everything is wet and combined.

I lined a loaf pan with parchment which made my life much easier. If you don't have parchment, grease and flour the pan generously.

Pour the batter into a large loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees F. for about an hour and a half-but start testing at an hour. The cake may seem dry as it cools, but it will soften up over a couple days. To store, wrap tightly in wax paper and cling film. 

Oh I do really adore autumn. Hope Monday was nice for you.

Apricot Peel Quick Bread and Apricot Peel Baked Tofu

All that canning left us with a pile of apricot peels. The first peels were made into ice cream, but after the final batches of jam and fruit in syrup, I still had two cups of pureed peel to use.


I've always enjoyed applesauce cakes and tea loaves as they are moist without relying on much fat, and are good keepers. With that in mind, I adapted an applesauce tea bread recipe from America Cooks, substituting apricot puree for the applesauce, and raisins for the nuts. It worked! This is good to know, as we'll be bottling up Italian plums before you know it, and looking for something to do with the skins. I can't see why this wouldn't work with peaches, nectarines, or any soft-skinned fruit. Hooray, no waste!

With the tofu I was aiming for an apricot chicken sort of thing. My plan is to serve it over a bed of fruited cous cous tomorrow with a spicy chili and coriander jam.

 These last batches draw the 2015 Apricot Olympiad to a close. It was a good year. I had my doubts about the raspberry apricot jam, but Danny has a better sense for this sort of thing than I, and it is delicious. We only managed to eek out 5 half pints from the recipe-next year we'll do two batches.

For the loaf:
(Given in US measures)

2 cups plain flour
3/4  cup granulated sugar (you could reduce that to 1/2 with no harm done)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarb
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup pureed apricot peels
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup raisins (or nuts if you prefer)or currants, or chopped dried apricots-whatever you have/like.

Grease an 8 inch loaf tin. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift together dry ingredients, add egg, puree, and butter. Mix Fold in raisins or nuts. until everything is moistened. Don't over-mix.

Pour into tin and bake 40-50 minutes (it will depend on your oven) until loaf tests done, but isn't bone dry. When cool, wrap tightly in a layer of wax paper, then cling film. These loaves improve with age, but I wouldn't expect you to wait (we didn't).

For the tofu:

A 1 lb. block of extra firm tofu pressed dry beneath towels, and cut into fourths.
1 cup apricot puree
1 tablespoon honey or golden syrup
1 vegetarian soup cube, ground to powder
3 tablespoons corn oil (or whatever you have)
2 tablespoons malt vinegar
1 tablespoon ground fennel seeds
1 teaspoon ground cardamom

Mix well, place in a baking dish with the tofu. You can marinate overnight if you like, or just go ahead and bake (I did the later).

Bake 30 minutes at 400 degrees F. Carefully flip the slices, and bake another 30-50 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Cool, then wrap tightly in cling film until needed if not serving immediately. If your prefer a more meat-like texture, slice the tofu thinly and saute in a hot pan until the texture firms and the slices caramelise.

The pan will be awful to clean-sorry. A good soak will help.

I hope these recipes give you some inspiration to put otherwise discarded food to good use.