Newsletter June 2020 – Sheila's Pantry

June 2020

Well what a start to our spring/summer!

Since the end of March a lot of people have been cooking and experimenting – trying out recipes and meals they would never have made if we hadn’t gone into Lockdown.

I’ve seen wonderful photos of sourdough loaves, beautifully decorated cakes, tasty casseroles, exotic curries and so many other wonderful culinary delights.

Like many others, I have been adapting recipes using my store cupboard, freezer and fridge. Fortunately I started off with a good stock of most ingredients that I needed but then I actually enjoyed the challenge of finding new combinations of flavours and what works ….. and what doesn’t!

Flourless cakes have been a great success and using either ground nuts or polenta, or a mixture of both are healthy, flavoursome and perfect for adding different flavours and using up fresh fruits, dried fruits and essences.

Leftover tea makes a fantastic loaf which I think is an equal match for malt loaf. Spread it with butter for sheer indulgence.

We all have heard plenty about banana cakes and banana bread but what about my Sweet-car-par Cake with a Citrus Cream Cheese Frosting ,great for using up those bits of raw vegetables in the bottom of the fridge.You can replace any of the vegetables with grated fresh beetroot or celeriac. These vegetables have enough moisture and sweetness to add to the texture and flavour.

Amongst many other delights, I have been experimenting, researching and tasting. I have been working on finding what I call ‘my favourite’. So, after a few trial runs I have mastered my favourite Crumpets, Fruit loaf made with yogurt – I always have some that I need to use up -, frittata muffins, brownies, ginger cookies, polenta chips and so many more. I have used packets of paneer that I have frozen to make two different dishes. One is Indian and the other has Italian seasonings.