Leisurely Lunch
Decadent Dessert

 Sunday is my favourite day of the week. It is the only day when I do not need to wake up at six o’clock in the morning. I actually sleep in. Bliss! Oh and every Sunday, my husband cooks up a brilliant breakfast of glistening golden eggs, crispy bacon, often a platter of fluffy buttermilk pancakes, fresh fruit salad and toasted sourdough with a selection of condiments. And of course a steaming hot cup of English Breakfast Tea with a splash of milk. Ahh, the perfect start to my day. 

There is far less rushing about on a Sunday and so I find myself making lunch along with batches of baked goods, at a leisurely pace. Usually one of my children offer to help and so I turn a spot sauteeing or sifting into an impromptu cooking lesson. Today, my 12 year old daughter Jana, made the Tabouleh picture above, complete with meticulously diced tomatoes and garden fresh parsley. I like to include two diced Lebanese cucumbers in my tabouleh, mainly as a means to encourage our little pirate Luka to eat this salad…and it works. 

We enjoyed this as part of our long lunch, seated around the family feasting table, with a platter of Plentiful Pork Kebabs, marinated in equal parts of ground cumin and smoked paprika, a handful of fresh oregano and the juice of a whole lemon. 

Added to this was a bowl of sunshine yellow Saffron Calasparra Rice studded with chorizo which we topped with Greek style yoghurt. Triangles of barbecued Lebanese bread and a salad of Green Oak Lettuce, Avocado and Sicilian Olives completed our Sunday lunch selection of dishes. 

Shortly after clearing up from lunch, my girls piped up and asked the expected question,”Mum, what’s for dinner?” Despite re-filling their plates and announcing how “full” they were after lunch, lo and behold there appeared to be another appetite lurking about. Children always have this secondary appetite no matter how satisfying their previous meal had been. I assume it is due to children constantly growing and therefore having stomachs and appetites that constantly growl for the next meal. 

Dinner in a flash


Just out of the oven


Dinner was done in a jiffy with everyone polishing off deep bowls of Lemony Zucchini Pasta as per the recipe posted on the 6th of November. I added a twist this time by including 125 grams of finely diced pancetta which was sautéed with the garlic and zucchini.

This Chocolate Fudge Cake from David Herbert’s cookbook, Best Ever Baking Recipes certainly seemed to appease their after dinner appetite. I cut each child a still-warm slice of this soft, surprisingly light-textured cake. With all the ingredients simply scooped into a mixing bowl, whipped up then poured into a baking tin, there is no need to reach for a packet cake mix. This is soooo easy!

Chocolate Fudge Cake to serve 12-16 people

Ingredients
100 g very soft unsalted butter
100 g dark chocolate, melted
250 g caster sugar
2 large eggs
280 g self raising flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (this aerates the cake resulting in a lighter texture)
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons cocoa
250 ml milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees on a conventional setting. Grease and line a 222-23 cm springform cake tin. 

Place all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl (I used my reliable KitchenAid mixer) and beat on a medium speed for 2 minutes, until combined and smooth.

Scrape into your prepared tin and bake for 50 – 60 minutes.The cake is ready when a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out cleanly. 

Cool in the tin for at least 10 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack to cool down completely if you are intending to ice the cake. An excellent icing is the Chocolate Ganache as suggested in the aforementioned cookbook. Simply melt 100 g unsalted butter with 250 g dark chocolate  in a heatproof bowl suspended over a saucepan of gently simmering hot water. Cool down fro about 20 minutes or until the icing has thickened and then spread over your cake. 

Alternatively, slip the warm round of chocolate splendour onto a serving plate and eat while still warm with a dollop of cream.