Utinam logica falsa tuam philosophiam totam suffodiant!

I have to write this down juuuuust in case I forget. If anyone else likes the sound of it they're more than welcome to give it a go!

The thing I often crave in times of stress is a hot jam doughnut. This goes back to my childhood, when my cousin Emily and I would spend hours on summer afternoons at the beach, in the water, usually on our boogie boards. When my aunt Judith finally managed to tear us away it was almost always with the promise that we could have a (few) jam doughnuts from the caravan that sold them at the park just up from the beach. These were, if not made to order, so popular that the rate at which they turned them out made them feel made to order. Piping hot rings covered in a cinnamon sugar that had a similar texture to the sand still around our mouths, punctured in three of four places by a sauce bottle filled with red jam. I have tried recreating this, and when desperate have even gone to the service station, gotten one of their jam doughnuts and heated it up at home in the microwave (So. Not. The. Same.) Tonight I managed to find a way to recreate it in the comfort of my own home, and as it's baked possibly more healthily (though I would not call the following "healthy"- more like the lesser evil)

Hot Jam Doughnut Pudding

Serves 2

100 gms softened butter or butter substitute (I used olive table spread)
100 gms self raising flour
100 gms caster sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp milk

3/4 cup frozen raspberries
1/8 cup jam sugar
2 tbsp water
2 tsp berry based jam (I used the end of a jar of fruits of the forest that was crystallizing just to get rid of it, you could probably leave this out)

White sugar and powdered cinnamon to dust

Pre-heat oven 200 C

Place butter, flour, caster sugar and egg in a bowl and mix briskly with a wooden spoon until combined, mix in milk.

Pour batter into two ramekins, place these on a middle shelf in the oven and cook for around 45 minutes, though I must admit I wasn't really paying attention to how long it took. Maybe after half an hour start testing, puddings are done when a cake tester comes out clean and the top is golden brown.

While puddings are baking place raspberries, jam, jam sugar and water into a saucepan and stir over high heat. Switch off once all the raspberries are disintegrated and allow to cool slightly, though if it gets too cold before the puddings are done you can simply heat gently while they are cooling.

Allow the puddings to cool outside the oven for about 5 minutes, then with a sharp knife cut a circle in the middle (as if you are cutting the hole in a doughnut) This circle should be about half as deep as the pudding.

Use a teaspoon to scoop your doughnut hole out (hopefully in one piece) and put aside, then using a wooden spoon, spoon some of the jam into the cavity and replace the doughnut hole on top. Dust with the sugar and cinnamon, then divide the rest of the jam over the top of each pudding.

Eat. Yum.

I had a bit of a shit day today. Nothing major, just one of those days during which 20 minor things happen and culminate into you being majorly pised off.

So I needed cheering up (particularly after a man at the supermarket moved his small child out of my way while saying, "Move out of the pregnant lady's way, Johnnie" or words to that effect) I decided colour was the way to cheer myself up. I bought ingrediants and tonight made a pasta dish I liked so much I'll post the recipe here:

Serves 2 with heaps of leftovers

Ingrediants:
1 small wedge of Kent Pumpkin (a $2 or less wedge)
1 medium onion
6 cloves garlic
1 small red capsicum
1 small green capsicum
1 carrot
1 small zucchini
1 small very ripe avocado
190ish grams of tuna in springwater
1 can diced tomatoes
5 large flat mushrooms
capers
cream cheese
4 teaspoons basil pesto
chives
lemon juice
dried rosemary, tarragon, chilli, oregano
olive oil
honey
pasta

Cut pumpkin into slices lengthways approx 1cm thick, halve these slices horizontally. Put in bowl.

Combine some olive oil with two crushed garlic cloves and the dried herbs, then pour over pumpkin. Drizzle a teaspoon of honey over pumkin, then cover and let stand as long as possible (I let it stand 5 hours today, but 1 would have done it ok I think)

Mix together cream cheese, pesto, chives, some capers, lemon juice to form a thick mixture.

Place pumkin with sliced onion and the rest of the garlic in a large frypan. Once pumkin is slightly browned as capsicum, cut into very large squareish chunks (approx 2.5cm by 2.5cm)

Add carrot and zucchini, also cut in large pieces, and one mushroom.

Remove stalks from other mushrooms and lightly brush all over with olive oil, spoon cream cheese mixture into the cups of the mushrooms and place in a moderate oven for roughly 10 minutes.

Put pasta on to boil.

Add diced tomatoes to vegetables and simmer, adding more herbs to taste. Chuck in a few capers.

Two minutes before the pasta is done, add tuna and avocado to sauce. Use a teaspoon to get large chunks of avocado.

Add pasta to sauce and stir. Take off heat.

Serve in a bowl with stuffed mushrooms on the side and top with grated parmasen cheese.

Goes well with Agrum with slices of lime for a work night, I imagine a white wine would suit it on an non-work night.

It- combined with a chocolate-bearing mc_shamo who listened patiently and sympathetically to my rant about my day- cheered me up enourmously.