Litha ~ Summer Solstice ~ Midsummer ~ Lavender Peach Cake

 

Litha ~ Summer Solstice ~ Midsummer, June 20th to June 25th, in the Northern Hemisphere, celebrates the beginning of summer and marks the longest day and the shortest night and although its seen as a time for balance between light and dark, the sun reaches its peak, the power of the sun begins to wane and the days begin to grow shorter and the nights grow longer, it is a return to dark.

As we celebrate Mother Earth, the Goddess and the Sun King, God, think abundance, fertility, renewal and life, as the sun, flowers, plants and the earth are all in full bloom. Bonfires, feasting, singing, dancing and festivals are activities during this time as well as getting outdoors to connect with nature, to celebrate and honour the abundance and growth of the natural world. It's a time for new beginnings, as always with the change of seasons, saying goodbye to self reflection and moving forward and being open with the sun's energy.  

Other celebrations or observances around this time are: Golowan (Cornish) Gwyl Ifan Ganol Haf (Wales), Kupala Night/Ivan Kupala (Ukraine), National Indigenous Peoples Day (Canada), Saint John's Feast Day/ Saint John's Eve (Christian - Canada, France, Portugal, Spain), St. John's Night, Sobotka or Noc Kupaly (Poland), Adonia (Greece), St. Hans Day (Norway and Denmark), Jānvi (Latvia), Uttarayana (India), World Humanist Day (June 21st), World Environment Day (June 5th), World Refugee Day (June 20th), Juneteenth (US, June 19th), LGBTQ+Pride Month (World, June) and Disability Pride Month (July), ALS Awareness Month (Canada), National PTSD Awareness Day, African-American Music Appreciation Month, Caribbean-American History Month, National Smile Month (United Kingdom, May and June) and National Safety Month. 

A balmy fragrant lavender peach cake that is balanced and reminiscent of the most idle of summer days. Happy Summer Solstice, Midsummer and Litha to those who celebrate! 

Lavender Peach Cake 

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2 teaspoons culinary lavender buds

3/4 cup white sugar

1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened 

2 eggs

1/3 cup buttermilk or milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 x 796ml can sliced peaches in juice, drained, juice reserved and roughly chopped (approx. 2 cups chopped) 

extra Lavender buds, for decorating 

Glaze Icing:

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1/2 cup icing sugar

2 teaspoons milk

In a small bowl, stir together the icing sugar and milk until a runny glaze has formed.  

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Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Butter and flour a 2 lb. loaf tin. Line the bottom with baking parchment. Set aside.

Using a sieve, drain the peaches over a bowl. Reserve the drained juice. Lightly pat the sliced peaches with a kitchen towel, then roughly chop, and place them in a bowl. Set aside. 

Using a mortar and pestle grind the lavender buds to release their oil and flavour. It doesn't have to a be ground into a fine powder, a medium fine coarseness will do.  

In a small bowl add the sugar and the ground lavender buds and stir together. This will allow the sugar to absorb some of the oil and fragrance released from the ground lavender buds while you get on with the rest of the rest.   

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk together and set aside. 

In a large bowl, add the softened butter and using a hand held mixer, blend the butter on low for 1 minute, then add the lavender sugar and cream the butter and lavender sugar together on medium high for about 3 to 5 minutes. The mixture should be fragrant,  pale and fluffy. 

Add the eggs one at a time and beat each addition on low until combined.

Add the milk, vanilla and chopped peaches and beat on low until just combined. Not to worry if the chopped peaches get a wee bit more broken up. It is all about texture and taste. 

Add the flour mixture, in two additions, and beat on low until just combined. Using a rubber spatula scrape down the sides and give the batter one last stir. 

Pour or spoon the batter into the prepared loaf tin. smooth the top and bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until the cake is a lovely golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. If you notice the cake browning too quickly before the centre is set then loosely rest a piece of aluminium foil over the top, to prevent any further browning. 

Once the cake is done. Remove from oven and gently poke the top with a skewer or toothpick, drizzle the reserved peach juice over top and allow the cake to cool in the tin. Once cooled completely carefully remove the cake from the tin and place on a wire rack or serving plate and make the Glaze Icing. Drizzle the icing over top and sprinkle with extra culinary lavender buds. Slice and serve. 

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

 

There is a first for everything and these rustic flourless peanut butter cookies are a first, for me to bake, and everything and certainly do uplift on the sunniest of days and comfort on drizzly rainy pensive days too. Soft, chewy and undeniably moreish.  

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

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makes 12

1 cup smooth creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC)

Line a large baking sheet or two regular size baking sheets with baking parchment. Set aside.

In a large bowl beat together the peanut butter, brown sugar, baking soda and salt

Beat in the egg and vanilla until just combined.

Using a spoon, scoop heaping spoonfuls of cookie dough and drop them onto the line baking sheet or sheets, placing them about 2 inches apart and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the edges are set and lightly browned, do not overbake. They may look undercooked but that is how you want them to be, as when they are cooled they will form the right texture, soft but chewy. 

Once done, remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, as they will be very delicate and need this time to set, before carefully moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.  

Notes: You can fold 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips into the dough before baking for a chocolate chip peanut butter cookie option.   

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

 

Nothing says summer to me quite like a strawberry rhubarb crumble. In fact, I can lovingly eat this combination anytime of the year. With its comfort and ease, bright ruby red tartness and buttery golden crumble topping, it's just so seasonably summer at its finest. Served as is, warm or cold or with a drizzle of cream or nestled with a scoop of ice cream; I'll harmoniously spoon all the peace, love and earthly prosperity in every mouthful. 

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

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3 cup sliced strawberries, fresh or frozen

3 cups rhubarb, blanched and roughly chopped

1/2 cup caster sugar

2 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom 

1 cups rolled oats (old fashion or quick)

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup chilled butter, cut into pieces

Pre heat oven to 350ºF (180ºC) and butter a 9x13 baking dish.

In a large bowl mix together the sliced strawberries, chopped rhubarb, caster sugar, cornstarch, and cardamom until combined. Spread the mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.

In another bowl mix the quick oats, flour, ground cinnamon, and the brown sugar together; cut butter into the oat mixture until crumbly. Spread the oat mixture evenly over the top of the fruit mixture. 

Bake in the pre-heated oven until fruit is bubbling and thick and the topping is golden brown, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Allow to cool for 10 minutes and serve warm. 

Notes: you can lessen the sugar that is mixed with the strawberries and rhubarb, to a 1/4 cup, for a more sharp tart fruit filling.

Skillet Gnocchi with Bacon and Tomatoes

 

I love skillet gnocchi for its ease to create such delicious and tasty meal in minutes. This recipe I just threw together however feel free to add whatever you like, more veggies or meat or different seasonings. Although substantial, this definitely hits on the lighter side and serving with a salad makes more of an all around generous meal.      

Skillet Gnocchi with Bacon and Tomatoes

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1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil 

1 - 2 tablespoon Italian Herb seasoning

salt and pepper, to taste  

1 package (700 g) Family Sized Skillet Gnocchi

1 package (375 g) low salt bacon, diced or cut into smaller bits

1 pint (551 ml) grape tomatoes, cut in half

1 yellow pepper, cored and deseeded, roughly diced

grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or frying pan over medium heat. Add the Skillet Gnocchi and Italian Seasoning with salt and pepper to taste,. and sauté for about 5 minutes or until the gnocchi is golden brown and slightly crisp. Transfer gnocchi to a bowl.

Return the skillet to the heat and cook the diced bacon, 5 to 7 minutes or until slightly browned and crisp or to your preference, it should have a bit of a flexible bite to it. If the bacon gives off too much excessive grease, drain some of it off but leave a little bit in the pan for added flavour. I find low sodium bacon doesn't give off as much grease, therefore not needing to drain off as much or very little. 

Add the tomato halves and diced pepper with the bacon and sauté until they are just softened. Then add the cooked seasoned gnocchi back to the skillet with the bacon, tomatoes and peppers to warm everything together. Lightly drizzle with more olive oil, if you wish, and toss to coat. 

Remove from heat and sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese. Serve.

 

Notes: You can replace the bacon with slices of cut sausage. You'll just have to adjust the cooking time. To drain bacon, carefully remove cooked bacon from the skillet with a slotted spoon onto a plate lined with paper towel. Slowly tip the grease from the skillet into an empty tin can, allow the grease to cool in the tin can before discarding, or sop up most of the grease using paper towels and discard the greasy paper towels as you would any garbage.   

Out of Old Ontario Kitchens ~ Lindy Mechefske

 

I have some Canadian cookbooks and only a few that are regional... or provincial per se. Adding this book to my collection is heartwarming. It's the paperback version and meant to look like a worn cookery scrap book. You know the kind, old tried and true family recipes stuffed between pages, handwritten or typed. It has a memento or old scrapbook feel to it with snippets of history and stories woven throughout. It also talks about the early settlers, early female food writers and First Nations and Indigenous Peoples, along with multicultural influences.   

The recipes in this cookbook are handed down from people within the communities as heirlooms and some recipes are archived from the provinces food history and culture. Multiple women who had an impact or were influential not only in Ontario but within the culinary history of Canada are mentioned in this book, such as, Emily Pauline Johnson Tekahionwake (poet & crackerjack cook), Dora Fairfield (who at 26yrs old wrote a 311 page cookbook, Dora's Cook Book), Nellie Letitia (Mooney) McClung (food writer, MLA for Edmonton), Flora (McCrea) Eaton or Lady Eaton (nurse and heiress and director of the T. Eaton Company), Winnie Collver (awarded the Excellence in Food and Cookery prize, 1930), Hariot Georgina Rowan Hamilton also known as Lady Dufferin (Governor General of Canada from 1872 to 1878), Isabella Lucy Bird Bishop (travel writer, global explorer, photographer and naturalist), Mary (Allen Clark) Moore (Canadian food columnist), Shirley Jack (beanery queen in the Canadian National Railway's Rainy River station, waitress and also famous for her legendary butter tart) and of course Mrs. Beeton and Queen Victoria get a honourable mention amongst many other predominant and well known women, families and men that helped shape and create either the culinary culture and or history of Ontario and Canada. Many of the recipes collected for this cookbook are familiar... bannock, corn bread, Irish soda bread, scones, Scotch broth, Mulligatawny, Tourtière, apple cake, ginger bread, Canada's War Cake and oatmeal date squares just to name a few.  

Most of the book focuses on the 1800's and early 1900's and recipes are included from historic sources, while others are from private collections and seem to come to an end around the 1950's and or 1960's due to the changes in homestead life, farming, the introduction of supermarkets and prepared foods. 

 

I'm sharing a simple yet charming recipe, that I look forward to making, from Ruth Marian (White) Redmond (Bachelor of Arts Degree and teaching diploma, Bachelor of Library Science Degree, and in the 70's was the chief buyer and cook for Meals on Wheels in Kingston, Ontario). It is noted that "despite this recipe being called a soufflé, the egg whites are not beaten separately, making this more like a savoury carrot pudding than a soufflé." 

Carrot Soufflé

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2 cups cooked carrots, puréed

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup liquid honey

1 1/4 cups rich milk or thin cream

3 tbsp cornstarch

3 eggs, well-beaten

4 tbsp melted butter

Stir into puréed carrots the salt, honey, and milk with cornstarch disolved in it. Then add the well-beaten eggs and last, the melted butter. Pour into a buttered casserole dish and bake 45 minutes at 400ºF. (Done when table knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.) Serves 6 - 8 

Notes: Tbsp = Tablespoon and tsp = teaspoon 

Baked Oatmeal Coffee Cake

 

Whether you enjoy this rustic baked oatmeal treat for breakfast or brunch, I'll let you decide. It's straightforward and practically effortless, apart from a bit of mixing. Still this scrumptious dense cake does not disappoint and can be devoured on the go or sitting quietly amongst the mornings hustle and bustle. 

Baked Oatmeal Coffee Cake 

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2 cups (200 g) rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

2 tablespoons ground flax or wheat bran

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups 2% milk or almond milk or whole milk

2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce or pumpkin purée

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Crumble topping:

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1/2 cup rolled oats

2 tablespoons brown sugar

4 tablespoons cold butter

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Icing:

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1/2 cup icing sugar

2 teaspoons milk

Preheat oven to 375ºF (190ºC). 

Grease an 8 x 8 inch square tin or a 9 x 9 inch square tin. Set aside.

In a medium bowl combine the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, ground flax and salt and stir together.

Pour in the milk, applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla extract and stir together. The mixture will be very loose and damp, not to worry. Carefully pour the oaty flotsam mixture into the prepared square tin. 

Make the crumble topping, see the recipe above. Place the rolled oats, sugar and cinnamon into a food processor or blender, and pulsing until finely ground. Add the cold butter and pulse a few times until the butter is incorporated and blended into small chunks.

Sprinkle the crumble topping over the oat mixture and bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until the centre is set. 

Once the coffee cake has cooled a bit, prepare the icing and drizzle over the top. Slice and serve with or without fresh fruit. 

Notes: I did line the bottom of the tin with baking parchment however it's probably unnecessary to do so because the mixture is loose and damp. 

Beltane ~ May Day ~ Honey Almond Strawberry Cake

 

Beltane/Beltaine ~ May Day is a Celtic festival celebrated on May 1st, May Day, with some celebrations beginning on the night of April 30th, May Eve, in the Northern Hemisphere. Beltane is a fire festival and traditionally bonfires were lit to honour the sun and the Celtic Sun God, Bel (Beltane, Belen or Belenos), who is associated with healing, light and fire. Beltane is honoured around the world in numerous ways by various groups or individuals including non-wiccans.

Lighting bonfires wasn't the only way to celebrate, visiting wells, feasting and making May bushes were considered other activities. The maypole is a familiar image of May Day and Beltane, and tying colourful ribbons to trees and branches is another popular activity. Beltane and May Day mark the peak of Spring and signifies the beginning of Summer... think renewal, growth and abundance. It also stands as the midway point between spring equinox and summer solstice. Daylight continues to lengthen and strengthen as we move towards Summer and there is a return of vitality to both the earth and sun. In folklore, the May King, the Green Man, also known as Jack in the Green, and the May Queen, Flora Goddess of Spring, represent the spirit of Spring, symbolizing the union of earth and sky and the cycle of life. 

Other celebrated festivals or holidays during this month are: St. Georges's Day (April 20th/23rd, moveable), Earth Day (April 22nd), Anzac Day (April 25th ), May Day (English/British, May 1st), Calan Mai (Welsh), Walpurgisnacht (Walpurgis Night, German), Roodmas (Scottish) and Cétshamhain (Irish), International Workers Day (Global, May 1st), Yom HaShoah (Judaism), Lag BaOmer/Lag B'Omer/Lag LaOmer (Jewish), Shavuot/Shavuos or known as the Feast of Weeks, Jewish & Samaritan, (usually in May but sometimes in June), Vesak/Buddha Day (Buddhist in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Tibet and Mongolia), Star Wars Day (May 4th), Cinco de Mayo (Mexican, May 5th), Matariki/Maori New Year (Maori & New Zealanders, late May, sometimes June or July) and Yom HaZikaron, Israel's Remembrance Day (Israelis, late April or early to mid May, based on lyar, Hebrew calendar).

Happy Beltane and May Day to those who celebrate!

Honey Almond Strawberry Cake

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1 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup lavender honey, or any flavoured honey 

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

3 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup sour cream or plain yoghurt

Slices of strawberries, fresh or frozen

sliced almonds

extra honey, from drizzling 

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Grease and lightly flour a 9 - inch round cake tin and line the bottom with parchment paper. 

In a medium bowl, combine and whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, honey and almond extract until well combined, it should be slightly thickened and pale yellow. Using a handheld mixer, beat in the eggs, one at a time, on low-medium.

Add the flour mixture to the oil honey egg mixture and beat on low until almost combined, then add the sour cream and mix until just combine. Do not over beat. 

Pour or spoon the batter into the prepared baking tin. Using an offset spatula to spread the batter evenly, smoothing the top. Sprinkle with sliced almonds and then arrange the slices of strawberries, however you wish. Bake in the preheated oven for about 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Checking at 30 minutes for readiness and if noticing the top is browning too quickly before the cake is set, gently place a piece of aluminum foil loosely over the top of the cake and continue baking until done. Please note: dark pans distribute and absorb heat more thoroughly therefore baking and cooking food quicker than light coloured pans. 

When the cake is done and set, remove from oven and drizzle honey over the top and allow cake to cool for about 10 minutes in the baking tin. Gently run a knife around between the edges of the cake, then carefully turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.   

Notes: if using frozen sliced strawberries gently defrost before using.