Frozen Grapes: Probably the simplest summer essential in the world. Ever

 

So much so, I can't believe I'm writing this post. I've coerced M into taking photos so I have to write it really. But even so, I'm blushing, futilely hiding behind my rose hoping that you won't abandon me purely for the fact that I'm writing this up on a food blog.

I'm a hardened dieter/ healthy eater and abandoner of both of those pasttimes, usually in the face of something with vast quantities of butter or sugar. Junk food has never been my thing and I eat pretty healthily most of the time, but there's nothing that's quite the same as crispy roast potatoes. So, I have to think about my snacks - make sure that my innate tendency towards fabulously flavoured badness is balanced out by fresh, clean, healthiness.

This tends to mean that Monday - Friday, fruit is my snack of choice - apples, bananas, satsumas, cherry tomatoes, sharon fruit. I get frustrated when I can't get British apples, but aside from that am fairly easily pleased. I tend to avoid berries as they don't travel well when wedged in between a laptop and 16 copies of handouts and tupperware containers add to unecessary bulk when travelling on trains that no longer give you somewhere to put your luggage when you're 5'4" and can't lift something above your head.

So yes, fruit. for years I've heard about freezing grapes as a dieters sweetie. It must come up at least annually as a suggestion in every women's magazine I've ever read - from Just Seventeen up to Easy Living. It's there in every Weight Watchers and Slimming world material I've ever read. And yet, I've never tried it. I've dismissed it, much like 'swap your regular sausages for Quorn - you'll never tell the difference!' Yes. I. Will. Or, 'try Turkey bacon in place of regular bacon for a Sunday morning fry (or grill) up' No, it has a weird texture - it's squeaky. Having tried those recommedations and been forced to dismiss them on account of the fact that they're RUBBISH, I also dismissed frozen grapes. Oh how stupid I was. Frozen grapes are a cross between grape flavoured sweeties and an ice lolly. Having stupidly sensitive teeth I choose to suck them and love when they start to go squishy.

I'm so embarrased by including this, but also so keen to spread the word - for those of you doing the 5:2 Feast:Fast I'm hoping frozen grapes might prove to be a something yummy you can fit in on your fast days - according to myfitnesspal, 1 grape is 2 calories and the good thing about freezing them is that you don't pop one in your mouth after another, barely tasting them as they go down. It forces you to slow down and to really enjoy each mouthful.

Quite simply, wash your grapes, put them in a tupperware or similar without a lid, and in your freezer - help yourself to them every time you're peckish.

If I weren't so embarrassed I'd submit these to Kavey's Bloggers Scream for Ice Cream this month, the subject of which is Ice lollies, but I'm too embarrassed. By far.

You'd better come on down

And meet, the nicest kids in town (not that I'm biased at all)

Also, there actually is cake in this post. Quite a lot of cake

I was trying to work out what order these next few posts should go in. Should we go with the most recent camp backwards to the fundraising, or the other way around? Does anyone else really care? In the end my need to be ordered won out and we're starting with the fundraising. This year's cafe was to raise funds for the girls centenary adventures, and whilst we raised less money than previously, the cafe was buzzing, the girls had an amazing time and there was a lot of cake.

See, a lot of cake. And you can't even see the cream teas that we were serving from the kitchen as the scones were being baked freshly.

The Rocky Road that I had trialed previously went down a storm - although it's a family cafe, something based in chocolate is obviously going to be popular! As well as the rocky road, I made a victoria sandwich using Nigella's recipe and cupcakes to the Magnolia Bakery recipe that I've posted about previously. I used blue vanilla buttercream to frost them, and in honour of our centenary sprinkled them with white chocolate stars. Sadly the photograph doesn't do them justice - let's just say this, lots of little hands got them out of their box and put them in the stand.

Victoria Sponge

Since my food processor went to the big, dusty cupboard under the stairs in the sky, I did this old school style - something I haven't done for a while. It takes more elbow grease than I remember! When using the procesor I add extra baking powder.


This is from Nigella's How to Eat, a book that I use more than I think going by the mucky pages strewn throughout. It was actually the first cookbook I read from cover to cover before actually using it as a cookbook.

Ingredients (as always, my notes are in italics)

200g self-raising flour Nigella doesn't sift hers, but I do - old habits and that. I have visions of my formidable Home Economics teacher turning up in my kitchen, peering over my shoulder and demanding that I redo it

25g cornflour
225g caster sugar
225g very soft unsalted butter - so soft that should you want to you would be able to squish your finger in it. Try this with a knife, not your finger though
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
2-4 tablespoons milk - Nigella specifies full fat milk, but as I never have this in the house I use skimmed

Method


Preheat the oven to gas makr 4/ 180
Butter and flour 2 sandwich tins (I only have one - I'm sure at some point I had two, but alas, no longer)
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy
Add the eggs, beating in one at a time, alternating with a spoonful of the sifted flour
Add the vanilla extract
Fold in the rest of the flour gently (add the baking powder and cornflour to the rest of the flour when I'm weighing out my ingredients)
Stir in the milk

Divide between your cake tins and bake in the middle of the oven for about 25 minutes. Mine take slightly less time as we have a fan oven, but test with a skewer to be sure. Cool on a wire rack and sandwich together with jam. I used an apricot and amaretto jam that I had bought from Kavey of Kavey Eats when she had a stall at Covent Garden, it was amazing and I did think I could have added some almond extract or (if I had the processor) some marzipan to take that amaretto-ey flavour further through the cake. I would have used that in place of the vanilla extract.
Dusted with icing sugar, taken to the Guide hut and sold for 75p a slice I think.


No pictures of my cake I'm afraid as by this time the camera had been donated to an older Guide and I was to be found in a corner inhaling a cream tea and a coffee (a contradiction there I'm sure, but hopefully you know what I mean?)

Marshmallow treats


Rice Krispie cakes

And finally... a small story for you as an aside. One of my Brownies came to help her sister who is one of my Guides out at the cafe. It's always great to have an extra pair of hands on board and Georgie has sales skills that Alan Sugar would envy. Faced with customers she would point to the cake below and explain that "this is my Nonna's cake. It's Italian. You're lucky to be allowed to eat it. That's one pound please" (it was supposed to be 50p a slice, but who am I to complain) Genius. I think everyone bought pieces of Nonna's cake. I am also holding out for the recipe, it was that good. Also note the chocolate cupcake that had managed to become unpeeled during her sales pitches... clever girl that Georgie!