raspberry lemon pancakes

un. bel. ievable.

0.75c plain flour

0.5c cornmeal (very fine polenta)

2tsp baking powder

0.5tsp salt

2Tbs sunflower/canola oil

1.25c soy milk

1/3c water

1tsp vanilla

3Tbs sugar

zest of 2 lemons

0.5c frozen raspberries

heat a non-stick pan on low-medium heat. sift flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and sugar into a medium bowl. in a separate bowl, mix the remaining ingredients, then stir gently into the dry ingredients until just combined.

lightly oil pan; make pancakes the size you want (i drop two tablespoons of mixture on top of each other to form each pancake of about 10cm). when bubbles appear on top of each cake, flip with a silicone spatula and cook for another 2-4 minutes or to taste. serve with maple syrup and a squeeze of lemon juice.

ohhhhhhhhhhhh yes.

strawberry jam

an unexpected abundance of strawberries led me to the unthinkable: jam.

i can't believe that i've had this opportunity; cooking strawberries, to me, has always been luxury verging on impossibility. i have not used as much sugar as is usually recommended, which means that it may not keep for long (as though that was really a concern...). if you want a thicker jam, increase sugar to 800g, and/or add pectin.

also, i don't fully sterilise (only sit my jars in boiled water for a few minutes), nor do i seal (but i do store in the fridge until and after opening). the peach and fig jams i made in march are still fine: no mould or other spoilage so far.

1kg strawberries, rinsed and leaves cut off

2 small green apples

400-500g raw sugar

1 lemon, juice and pips

cut strawberries into halves, place in large saucepan. thickly peel the apples, remove cores and wrap peel, lemon pips and core in muslin. tie muslin closed securely and place in pan with apple cut into large chunks. cook over low heat for 30 minutes. add lemon juice and sugar, cook for a further 10 minutes, or until jam sets on the back of a spoon. mash with a potato masher, or blend with a stab mixer.

i also made a smaller batch with xylitol (400g strawberries, 2/3c xylitol, 1 apple, 1 lemon juice and pips). it tastes 95% as good as the sugar batch, but is not as gelled.