Lockdown Fruit Loaf

This cake is very adaptable and hard to get wrong (I'm terrible at cake-baking but this always seems to work!). It's a great way to use things up and having a slice of cake and a cup of tea mid afternoon adds some structure to your day in these strange times.  And it's just very satisfying to bake.

You will need a loaf tin. It may fit into other cake tins but I only have on tried putting it in a loaf tin. Feel free to improvise.

Ingredients:

A tea bag (any black tea, earl grey, lapsang souchong....Tetley, or go wild with apple and cinnamon or similar)

About a mug of any combination of dried fruit (raisins, mixed fruit, sultanas, dates, apricots..whatever you have)

100-150g sugar depending on how sweet you like things or how much sugar you have

2 eggs, beaten (use egg replacement if vegan or have no eggs)

225g flour (wholemeal, plain white, a mixture, whatever you have...)

1tsp baking powder

1tsp spice (mixed spice or cinnamon but this is optional)


Make a mug of tea (no milk), brew for 5 mins, pour into a bowl with the mug of fruit and leave for 2 hrs.

Preheat oven to 180C.

Mix sugar and eggs together. Stir in the fruit and tea and then the flour, baking powder and spice.

Grease your tin (even just with veg oil if that's all you have to hand) and spoon the mixture in.

Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for about 45mins or until a knife comes out clean when you poke it.

Vitamin Wheat

This is fast, adaptable and good for using bits of veg up. Quantities here are for 2-3 meals.

2 mugs of bulgar wheat or couscous (or cooked rice)
1 small onion
1-2 cloves of garlic, sliced
A handful of chopped dried fruit (optional but things like cranberries, apricots, sultanas...)
About 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 apple, chopped
A slosh of cider (or water)

Other things you can add:
1 courgette, diced
1 pepper, diced
2 sticks of celery, chopped
3 handfuls Quorn chunks
a bit of cubed feta
Chickpeas

Dressing:
a glug of olive oil
juice of a lemon
handful of chopped parsley
half tsp cinnamon
half tsp cumin
half tsp sumac (optional)
half tsp advieh (optional)
chopped mint (optional)

Put the bulgar or couscous in a bowl and pour over boiling water until it is about a cm over the grains and cover with a plate for about 5-10 mins. If you are using dried fruit, add this too. Or cook the rice.

Meanwhile, cook the onions in a little oil until translucent. Add the quern here if using.

Add the garlic and other veg, a slosh of cider, and cook for about 10 mins or until they have softened and the veg (and quorn) has gone goldenish.

Tip it all into a big bowl with the grains and (add the feta now if using) and add the dressing stuff.  Stir it all up and cover for 5 mins then serve.

You can leave leftovers to go cold and have it for lunch the next day.