Oh no! I’d forgotten you’d said you’d baked a cake to take away! Will it freeze?

The HCB dough wasn’t rising very well as it’s quite cool here, but I’ve made space in the propagator next to the sweetcorn and it’s now growing nicely!

Well I still struggle with some non-fast days and, despite knowing that over-full leaves me feeling less than chipper and is not good for the digestion, I do still eat too much on occasion. Generally when I review what I’ve eaten it’s been considerably less and far healthier than pre intermittent fasting…but still. I guess for those of us who couldn’t maintain a healthy weight previously we just need to accept it’s always going to take work!

Re: the HCB (and cooking from scratch generally). There is only 4g of sugar per HCB. I don’t know how this compares to shop-bought (I suspect shop-bought may be sweeter?). But (and I know you’ll know this Amazon!) making something at home that you would otherwise buy at the supermarket (or eat out) certainly gives you an appreciation of what goes into it, which I don’t think you can necessarily appreciate from the list of ingredients/ nutritional composition.

I still overdo it on occasion and probably always will, but I guess I’m aiming to make my willpower as strong as possible and become an expert at damage limitation.
I also find that when I’ve had too much it is nowhere near as much as pre 5:2 and usually much less carb laden.

As for HCBs, occasionally I buy some good quality sourdough or a bagel or croissant but sweet stuff is always homemade apart from HCBs. I’m certain if I made some they would contain less sugar but I don’t find the variety I buy too sweet. Having said that I must confess to not reading the label 😳 I suspect if I did I might not have bought any this year.
I never buy them after Easter so won’t be having any more.

I think making your own is an education in nutrition whatever the dish/recipe and when I look at the finished result I often wonder why shop bought (especially cakes etc) contain so many additives but I guess it is to keep them looking good when they’ve been in the pack for several days. EEK!!!!

I’ve put the cake in a cupboard. I’ll either be thinking about it until every crumb has gone or will find it in a couple of months time 😆

Well I hadn’t allowed for the sugar content in the dried fruit, but mine still come in lower sugar cf 13-16g in supermarket. I guess if you like it stuffed with dried fruit like a fruit cake it will be higher sugar. It’s certainly been an education! Like making my own marzipan and icing for the Xmas cake…talking of sugar!!

Anyhow, they’re in the oven now. Just hope they were worth the effort!

Sorry to hear you’ve joined the sick list Amazon. I hope it calms down quickly.
I made our own HBCs for about 30 years…Mr P liked mine best. I don’t any more and the ones I bought were fill of plump sultanas, not mixed fruit. They were from our large supermarket who actually one the award (from someone) for the best buns this year.
I have a sourdough loaf proving right now. I think I need your seed raising gadget to warm it up a bit. I actually kept waking in the night, wondering how it is rising. Crazy! Homecooking is such a fullon process…even burn calories thinking about it 😊😊P

Well Happy, I came up with a plan…I found a cake tin the same size as the proving basket and carefully turned the dough onto baking paper, then in the tin to control the sideways slump which can happen with basket raised sourdough. I’ll bake it in the tin, inside the cloche. All experimental. 🍞🍞
You’ve inspired me to go and buy some yeast to make some fruit buns. Sourdough never works well for buns, unless you like rock cakes!
Hope you get some pain and nightmare free sleep. P

Well HCB (our own little Hot Cross Buns 😊😊), we had a bbq yesterday. ..I had haggis on a wholemeal roll with so much salad I had to eat it open! Lettuce, avocado, mustard, onion, mayo, semi dried tomatoes and bbq’d capsicum.
Today..another stunning autumn day…slices of my freshly baked wholemeal sourdough, lettuce, tomato, homemade beetroot chutney, a fabulous Tasmanian crumbly cheese and delicious ham slices. Washed down with a SA white wine sitting by the pool. Live today, for Monday we fast. 😊😊😊
Take care of that knee…even twisting to get off a chair or out of a car can damage knees. P

I don’t use a yoghurt maker Jo. I simply make mine in an insulated container. The warm milk stays warm by itself ocernight.

Actually, simply putting the dough in the cloche in the sun is sufficient. I’d tried to prove on a cold night. The sourdough loaf was delicious.

I also made my fruit, nut and spice loaf with yeast (not sourdough starter) in the breadmaker this morning. It had all sorts of extras like egg, milk, fruit juice, apricots, dates and tasted like HCBs in a loaf. Yummo. Thank goodness Easter is only once a year. I don’t eat chocolate ao the bunny needn’t call tomorrow. 🐰🐰

Homemade Thai fish cakes tonight.

Enjoy your birthday Happy. P ☺

EDIT:
Hi Amazon. ..we crossed over. Your prawns and avo sound great too! I made mountains of beetroot chutney as Xmas presents and kept a few jars for me.
Today we harvested our lillipilli bush and made it into jam after Mr P spent about an hour depipping them! We ended up with one tiny pot. Still. It IS home produce. ☺
Keep that knee up and supported as much as possible Amazon. Don’t push it too early. P

Thanks for the birthday wishes! I’m not going to be doing anything, other than the minimum, to give my back a rest. OH will be cooking tonight, I’m not fit for sitting in a restaurant at the moment. It’s still a treat to have a night off cooking duties though 😀

Amazon, I hope the knee holds out.

Jo, good luck with the BSD. You’ll have to stick with it to support your friend?!

Hi again,

The knee is much improved but TLC will continue which unfortunately means no walking 😕 I need a padlock for the kitchen door………

…………I don’t have a kitchen door 😝🤣

Happy Birthday Happy 😀 🍾💐

Well I suggested we might just test 1/2 a slice each, with butter of course, of the fruit and nut loaf now that it is cold, to be sure it is ok to keep. You’ve never seen any man move quicker into the kitchen to get it! It doesn’t take much to lead him off the straight and narrow. 😉 Or is that up the garden path? 😉
Good luck with resisting the kitchen Amazon. 🙂 🙂 P

Good Morning,
Happy Birthday to Happy 🎂🍾
And
Happy Easter to our Friends in the Southern Hemisphere.
Enjoy your day everyone
🐰🐣🐥

Jo,
By the time I visit my relatives in a couple of months a replacement cake will have been baked.
I am more than happy to actually get to eat a cake I have baked as 95% of them are given away, the only issue is not eating too much at a time. It will test my willpower.

Wanting my knee to recover asap is stopping me from wandering into the kitchen looking for trouble (phew)

I don’t share food either, I hate it when someone suggests sharing a dessert in a restaurant or doesn’t want an ice cream but would like a lick of mine. Either have your own or go without and weep as you watch me eat all of mine 😈

The only exception is my great nephew ❤

Hi Nama
That’s an excellent explanation! I get really frustrated trying to encourage my offsider to do some of the cooking. He has the same issue. Fanatical about removing any blemish. Cutting everything perfectly. Wanting tp know exact quantities and timings. And takes FOREVER doing the simplest task. The worst is the not cleaning up as he works.
I always saw it as a clever way to get me to take over!

Amazon, I love sharing food when out. Not the “give me a lick of your ice cream” style sharing, but after a careful discussion with the participants, we each choose a dish and hygenically distribute it onto individual plates first. Many restaurants assume people want to eat less these days and offer 2 sets of plates and cutlery whenever only one dessert or cake is purchased between 2.
It seems a shame to have to eat all or nothing. 😐

Happy Easter Fast Trackers 🙂 P

Mine can do it too…but doesn’t wash up!

Hi HCB
It is just Easter morning here now in Eastern Australia. The mob in the UK are still late Saturday night. 😐
Yes.They sell grey squurrels in a market in Edinburgh as they are pests and destroying the habitat of their native reds. We have a similar problem with English rabbits and foxes here… although I don’t know anyone who eats foxes.
There has been a shift here, over quite a few years, for people to give chocolate bilbies intsead of chocolate rabbits at Easter. The Lesser Bilby, a native marsupial, has become extinct, and the Greater Bilby is endangered. One of the factors is rabbits taking over their burrows. They are also eaten by foxes and feral cats.
This year, in WA, you can also buy a Chocca Quokka…another endangered marsupial. It is a great way to spread the message.
Happy Easter 🐿 (btw no Aussie marsupial icons on Samsung)

Morning/evening all,

Purple, I wasn’t talking about mezze meals or food designed/ordered to be shared, I often share dishes in restaurants so we can all have some of everything. What I meant was when someone says they don’t want anything and then wants some of mine.

It is a beautiful morning here with blue sky and sunshine.
My knee is improving but still sore so I’ll contine to take things easy.

Red squirrels are endangered and as there habitat is destroyedand the numbers of grey squirrels in the UK rising, life is very difficult for them.
There are too many of them, too many deer and not enough predators.
I read an article a few months ago about an idea of re-introducing wolves in Scotland which was very interesting, but the waters have been muddied recently as someone put out an April Fool article regarding re-introducing them in the Home Counties or somewhere else unsuitable which as you can imagine caused a furore until people remembered the date!
As for pigeons, wood pigeon is delicious but only a peregrine would eat one of the mangy city dwellers that Jo is referring to. These pigeons are unwittingly providing a great service to conservation as the number of rural peregrines are dropping but city dwellers rising. They are finding the tall buildings and numerous pigeons perfect habitat for rearing chicks.

Have a good one everybody 😜

Morning UK 😊
I think we are all agreed on people who beg food. I don’t regard that as sharing!!
Your back is still problematic Happy, but what about the birthday dinner? I hope it was good.
While on birthdays, I wonder if Wee is hoeing in to ice cream on hers? Happy birthday Wee 😊😊
Another beautiful autumn day here. They had predicted rain all week and it’s been stunning.
Experimenting with a sourdough loaf in the breadmaker tonight. Won’t be able to test it for 36 hours though. ..fast started…
P 😊

Yes. The basic approach, be it Robin Mackenzie or 5:2, is always the wisest. P

Happy Easter Wi. ☺
You can do it…back to basics. We are with you. P ☺☺