Just as I finished sorting another download of photographs, Grant said that on such a splendid afternoon we should be out driving around.
He was right and we had a nice outing, but now I am all behind. I’m not sure he mentioned that we would be stopping to see a friend of his who runs a shop…
The Big Moose Deli, featuring Cider Donuts.
That was something I had never heard of. To be polite we browsed through the shop which offered all manner of eclectic items.
From the front it seems a tiny place but each aisle led to another somewhat like Hampton Court Maze.
Well no. Not quite.
As a token purchase I found some Guava Jelly. Strangely, Grant had been talking about guava the day before. I can’t think of a time in say the last decade when I’ve even thought the word. But there it was.
Grant found some hot sauce and his friend pressed on us half a box of the cider donuts. He told us they are fairly exclusive to this area and they are “to die for”.
All I will say is that if you are offered a cider donut, don’t be giving up your life in exchange.
The part of the world we were in had me a bit confused, since as far as I know we had not crossed into Vermont, but the many hundreds of tourist items for sale were souvenirs of the Green Mountain State.
Leaving there, Grant meandered along back roads past fields and farms and as we passed one of these two very burly and scary-looking dudes turned to scowl at us. “Let’s not break down here!”, I thought.
No doubt two very respectable and obliging chaps.
One should not make judgments based on appearance.
If you did, you would have regarded my baking attempt yesterday as a burnt offering. Even though I timed it and kept checking, it was decidedly brown.
Grant had been talking about Victoria sponge and in the past I have managed to create the odd cake.
Emphasis on the “odd”.
This time I thought I would look up an actual recipe and put a bit more effort into the whole thing.
Except for feeding cats and washing their bowls, I normally cannot be found in the kitchen, so Grant was suspicious and declared: “you’re making a cake!”
Not that I expected to surprise him, but he was grinning..
He knows better than to expect great things from me, but he stuck his nose over my shoulder to witness this phenomenon. So I persuaded him to leave….
Did I say I looked up a recipe? Well, I wrote down vague notes as a guideline and added a variation. I saw my mum do this occasionally, so why not…I separated the eggs (and added one), beat up the whites and folded them into the mixture I had concocted.
So it’s not a Victoria sponge requirement. In a weak moment I had purchased a hand mixer and this was its maiden outing. (The beating, not the folding)
In the absence of any sort of filling for the cake, I agreed to make some custard. Just the Bird’s variety. My talents and enthusiasm are very limited.
Grant has been trying to get me to vary my diet and lately he’s been buying vegetables. Yesterday he decided it was time we consumed the cauliflower.
So for dinner it was cauliflower, cake and custard. I had soy yogurt in lieu of cake.
It wouldn’t suit most people, but it keeps us alive and I actually make white sauce for the cauliflower. I was pushed to my limits for the birthday!
And you know what?
That burnt offering really wasn’t. It was quite good. I know because I sampled a tiny piece. And Grant was actually impressed.
That’s not easy to accomplish!
OK, I give up. Where did you hide the burly dudes?
I threatened to throw donuts at them 🙂
Good for you. But what a strange meal you had. Do the cats eat any of these offerings?
They do not, but some of them fancy certain people food…curried chicken, cake (though they were not given the opportunity to sample this one) One cat in my past liked cashew nuts, another bread…
Guava jelly … I don’t think I’ve ever seen this in a shop here by us? Neither any cider donuts 😉. But you’ve just inspired me to bake a cake – I remember eating lemon cake in Spain (oh, it was amazing), but I doubt mine will be like that. I think I’m going to try anyway …
My dear aunty Kay made a wonderful lemon cake and my friend Tim creates a wonderful lemon pudding. I’ve never done either…yet!
Well, I did make that lemon cake this morning … and I wish I could sent you a picture, but it must have been good because three quarters of the cake is gone 😉. I didn’t taste Spain in it – my husband says it tasted like sunny South Africa … which I’ll take as a compliment.
You should!
I like any doughnuts. (Note correct spelling) But I have yet to try a cider one. Custard in a Victoria sponge is sacrilege, pure and simple. As they say here, “How very dare you?” And cauliflower in white sauce is not a dinner, not by any human reckoning. It is a side dish, to a proper dinner. Remind me not to visit for dinner if I ever decide to come calling. I will drive down and get a box of cider doughnuts (correct spelling) instead! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
I was tempted to write doughnut but went with the local spelling as it’s their special thing. Maybe an acquired taste, like Marmite. I would not pretend to have baked an actual Victoria sponge. Just “cake” and Grant requested custard, so that’s my excuse for that. Given your cooking skills, I would be obliged to take you out for dinner, though God knows where these days. Perhaps you could come for a cup of tea. Even I can’t mess that up.