sweet miscellany

So I appear to have broken my no-oven sabbatical sooner than I thought. After suffering through 100 degree temperatures, we finally got a reprieve this week with a welcome cool front. It was in the 60s this morning!! It was perfect out this morning for enjoying a piece of this tea cake with a nice cup of tea…or coffee if that’s your thing. If I had the luxury of having a lazy morning, I may have done just that on my little balcony as I listened to the birds wake up the world. There’s something about cooler temperatures that makes me feel content, inspired, and energized.

This tea cake is just sweet enough to be a dessert, but not too sweet that you couldn’t enjoy a slice at breakfast. The raspberries add a bit of a tart contrast and the lemon thyme adds a nice earthy quality The millet flour adds an almost corn-like flavor and lovely yellow hue which works well with the berries. I ended up using lemon thyme in this because my little plant has gotten huge and it’s readily available but feel free to use regular thyme. This ended up being the perfect little snack that quelled any remaining cravings I had for a certain coffee chain’s berry coffee cake. And, it’s possible that I may or may not have had this for dinner last night. I mean, no I didn’t because that would be crazy 😉

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The way I plan recipes for the blog is probably a bit unconventional compared to other bloggers. It’s mostly based on spontaneity and availability, and in summer, the weather. I don’t have a notebook with blog posts scheduled, but rather a notebook filled with random post-it notes about ideas I may have had or flavors I want to try together. Usually, something will pop into my head and I will mull it over a day or two. Then, if I’m still thinking/dreaming about it (yes, dreaming), I will go ahead and set aside a bit of time to make and photograph it. This lentil salad, for example, came about because I was trying to think of a somewhat savory way to incorporate some stone fruit I had lying around in my kitchen that was starting to take up valuable real estate on the kitchen counter. I thought about combining it with some lentils for an easy summer salad, but had some doubts about whether the flavors would jive. I didn’t doubt the idea for long because I soon remembered this post on happyolks for a cherry and lentil based salad. This gave me the push I needed to try the salad and since I’m sharing it here with you, I suppose it’s obvious it wasn’t a flop.

This salad is the epitome of summer eating. Fresh and bright flavors with a bit of protein to get me through the day. Though I’m itching for fall, pumpkins, and chai-spiced things at the moment, the temperature outside makes me crave raw, fresh flavors. The salad came together in under 30 minutes so it won’t take up too much of your time. I threw in some chopped toasted almonds for both the added flavor and crunch. And, as per usual, it’s both gluten free and vegan so everyone can enjoy it. In case you are a little skeptical about the lentil and stone fruit combination, just trust me and try it. I think you’ll find it particularly delicious 🙂

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Raspberry & Lemon Thyme Tea Cake

Lentil & Stone Fruit Salad