My mind is buzzing'
I've been working my kitchen into a frenzy lately.  I'm just on a canning roll.  Well, not compared to actual 'canners' but for me this is unprecedented.  Here's what I've made so far:
1.  Strawberry/Rhubarb jam
2.  Rhubarb/Strawberry/Blueberry preserves
3.  Canned sweet Cherries
4.  Blackberry/Raspberry jam

Here's what's still on my list:
1.  More Cherries
2.  Canned Peaches
3.  Canned Tomatoes
4.  Tomato Sauce
5.  Ketchup (yup - I'm gonna try it)
6.  Green Tomato Salsa (with all the junk left in the garden)

These are the blackberries that I picked at my friend's place to make the jam.   Yum.

Cherries, I've discovered, are a pain in the ass because you need to pit them first.  That's what makes it tedious.  The rest of it - easy.
I'm managing to get some crap in my freezer too.  Blueberries, cherries, corn, peas, beans, pesto, green seasoning... all waiting for the dead of winter to remind us that we used to have gardens and farmers markets, that sometimes the sun shone for more than a couple of hours a day and that soon it will do so again.  Remember those dark days in winter when the memory of the heat of sun of July is the only thing that is keeping you going?  I've been finding something oddly satisfying in my heart getting all this stuff from the summer ready to be used in the winter.  A stocking up thing.  But not for hoarding, for truly using up when it's needed.  It's actually important to use it up because next summer it needs to happen again.  There's a soothing cyclical'ness' to it all.  It's been helping me cope with the fact that before we know it school will be starting and the whole rat race starts up again.


All of my canning frenzy has absolutely nothing to do with this cake which is so good that it really deserves to be paid attention to.  If you are a fan of this kind of thing then you will LOVE this recipe.  Even I was eating this one.  Plus it didn't turn out looking weird and lopsided like some of my other Angel Food's.  Spongy, sweet but not too, just the right colour - could be coffee or mocha (ain't that a great idea), not filling or heavy at all.  That must be the allure with Angel Food.  I like it because it's a rather substantial way to use up all the egg whites that I save when I make ice cream.  I think that I've found the magic trick with 'Angel Food' (where did that name come from anyway!?).  Cooling it upside down.  You know, I read it in recipe after recipe.  Did I do it?  No.  Do I know why I didn't do it?  No... duh.
All I can tell is don't do as I did, do as I do.  Turn the damn thing upside down and cool it for what seems like way too long.  Aside from that it's just Angel Food cake with some cocoa in the mix.  But who knew that would be so good?


Cocoa Angel Food Cake from The Story of Chocolate

1 cup all purpose flour
3 tbsp cocoa powder (I use Cocoa Camino)
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups superfine sugar (I just whizzed gran. sugar in the blender for a bit)
12 lg egg whites (about 1 1/2 cups) at room temp.
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tbsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Get a 10 inch tube or angel food tin ready.
Sift the flour about 3 times.  Sift a fourth time but this time add in the cocoa powder, salt and 3/4 cup of the sugar.  Sift and set aside.
In another bowl (or your mixer bowl) begin to whip the egg whites (make sure that the bowl is grease free) on low speed until they are slightly frothy (mine were quite frothy and were already increasing in volume). Add in the cream of tartar and continue to whip but on medium speed until the egg whites are firm but not dry.  Don't feel like you've got to rush through this step, it took me about 15 minutes with my hand mixer.
To the egg whites add in the rest of the sugar about 2 tbsp at a time (I continued to whip while doing this).
Add the vanilla.
Gently fold in the flour mixture little by little (about 1/4 cup at a time).
Once the flour is all mixed in then gently pour the batter into the baking tin.   Smooth out the top and tap it on the counter a couple of times to remove air bubbles if you wish.
Bake for about 40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
NOW:  Turn the cake upside down.  You can use a wine bottle or something similar.  Let the cake cool completely upside down - this could take 2 - 3 hours.  Then carefully remove from the tin.