The 21st Century Housewife’s© Apricot and Almond Loaf Cake

The wonderful flavour combination of apricots and almonds makes this cake almost sinfully delicious.  It’s seriously moist, so it is best if you can make it the day before and allow it to rest overnight before slicing into it.  (It tastes even better after it has sat for a while.)  However, every time I make this it smells so good while it is cooking I find myself cutting into it when it is still warm.  It tends to crumble and make a bit of a mess if you do that but it is so worth it because it tastes absolutely ambrosial - if I do say so myself! Actually, even when it has cooled, this tends to be a very crumbly cake so I always use a very sharp knife to cut it.  Sadly it is definitely not low-calorie, but I comfort myself with the thought that dried fruit and nuts are really very good for you!   

1¾ cups all purpose flour

¼ cup ground almonds

¾ cup white sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ tsp salt

¾ cup chopped dried apricots (ready to eat ones)

1 cup desiccated coconut

¾ cup chopped almonds

2 eggs, beaten

1/3 cup oil or melted butter, cooled a bit

1 cup buttermilk or milk

1 teaspoon almond extract

Mix the flour, ground almonds, sugar, baking powder, dried apricots and coconut together in a large bowl.

In another bowl or large pitcher mix together the eggs, oil or melted butter, buttermilk or milk and almond extract.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones all at once and stir thoroughly to blend. 

Pour into a large (2 lb) greased and floured or lined loaf tin, or you can divide the mixture between two smaller ones.  Bake at 350℉ or about 170℃ (160℃ fan) for 40 to 50 minutes (30 to 40 minutes if you use smaller loaf tins) or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. 

The 21st Century Housewife’s© Sausage, Pesto and Asparagus Pasta

The other night I had some beautiful fresh pork and caramelised onion sausages and some fresh asparagus to use for dinner.  This is the dish that evolved from those two ingredients and various other things I had on hand.  I love inventing dishes like this, especially when they turn out as delicious as this one did!

You could easily make this recipe suitable for vegetarians by omitting the sausage and adding a few more mushrooms instead. 

Serves 3 to 4 adults generously

3 or 4 leeks, topped, tailed and cut in thin slices, washed and drained

a handful of your favourite mushrooms, sliced

1 large bunch asparagus, washed and trimmed, each piece cut in half

2 tablespoons olive oil (or other cooking oil such as sunflower or Canola)

6 good quality sausages

2 to 3 generous tablespoons basil pesto (I used Sacla brand)

2 generous tablespoons low fat crème fraîche or sour cream

8 ounces pasta

(I used Fiorelli shaped pasta but penne, rigatoni or just about any pasta shape would be fine.)

Put the sausages in an oven safe dish, drizzle with a bit of the olive oil and place in the oven at about 350℉ or 180℃.  Cook for about half an hour until no pink remains inside, turning half way through. 

Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil over low heat in a large frying pan.  Add the leeks and cook slowly until they begin to soften.

Stir in the mushrooms and continue to cook, stirring occasionally. 

When the sausages are nearly done, cook the pasta according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.  Boil or steam the asparagus for two to three minutes.  Drain and set aside. 

Remove the sausages from the oven, and using a fork and sharp knife, cut them in half inch slices. 

Add the sausages to the leeks and mushrooms, along with the pesto and crème fraîche.  Stir in the asparagus.

Very gently add the cooked pasta and stir to coat with the sauce.  Serve on warmed plates or in warmed bowls. 

The Real Food Festival

If you happen to be in London this weekend, do go along to Earl's Court and pop into The Real Food Festival.  A fantastic food show that allows you to taste wonderful food and drink while also supporting small producers, it's a great place to spend a few hours.  There is something for everyone, and a key focus of the Festival this year is about educating people about healthy, sustainable food from an early age.

The first thing I noticed on entering the show were the animals - baby lambs, pigs and calves, as well as their more grown-up counterparts.

There was also a Sheep Show, which illustrated some of the realities of real food production by combining education and entertainment very effectively.  They even demonstrated how to sheer a sheep, something I dearly hope I never need to do, but which was very interesting indeed!


There were a number of demonstrations and talks going on throughout the day, and there are also some top chefs scheduled to attend and present including Raymond Blanc, Giorgio Locatelli and Thomasina Miers.  The ethos of the Festival is to promote good, seasonal, nutritionally dense food and drink that has been produced in a sustainable and ethical way, and it features over 400 producers.

I met some really interesting people and tasted some fantastic products, many of which I will blog about in more detail over the coming weeks.  I met tea producers, cheese mongers, bakers, and also folks who market products they really believe in like the Coffee Fairy, a fantastic ethical coffee company who I have blogged about before.  I enjoyed beautiful hand made chocolate buttons with gorgeous patterns embossed on them, naturally flavoured fudge and an amazing sweetening product made from fruit and carob that is reminiscent of the finest honeys.  I also met The Queen of Cupcakes and learned about Vegware, totally recyclable food packaging and catering disposables made from plants.  It was hard to believe they were not conventional products as they looked and performed exactly as traditional paper plates and plastic knives and forks!  I was really impressed.  One thing that was absolutely consistent about all the exhibitors was their passion for their products.  Everything was produced and marketed by people who genuinely care about their product and their service.


You can also learn about The Slow Food Movement, The Soil Association, The Real Bread Campaign and the School Farms Network.  Seriously, there are so many organisations out there concerned about what we eat and how it is produced, and if you are not already, once you learn about them you will be too!  Action Against Hunger, the international humanitarian charity committed to ending hunger worldwide are also active at the Festival.


If, despite all the tasting, you feel a bit hungry whilst wandering about the show you can visit the Riverford Field Kitchen and enjoy dishes cooked by one of the leading organic food distributors, the Mad Hatter's Tea Party or stop by one of the many stands offering freshly made, ethically sourced burgers, sausages and bacon sandwiches and even veggie burgers.  I plumped for the Field Kitchen as I found it hard to eat meat whilst looking at baby animals!


I was seriously impressed by The Real Food Festival, and by some of the exhibitors in particular.  I'll share some of my favourites with you over the coming weeks and as most offer mail order, UK readers can still enjoy their products even if they can't get to London this weekend.  But if you do find yourself in the capital, I urge you to pay The Real Food Festival a visit.  I'm sure you will be glad you did.


The Real Food Festival is at Earl's Court in London (nearest tube Earl's Court) from 7th to 10th May.  For opening hours, please click here and for more information, click here.