Notes on running a cake plant (aka Hermann or Amish Friendship Cake)

Cake plant recipes did the rounds in the 70s / 80s, and we were given starters to feed by friends several times over that period. Inevitably, we would maintain them for a couple of months, handing out starters to any friends who weren't sick of it yet, before it just became too much of the same cake over and over, or the mixture managed to overflow the storage bowl and cause a mess. The mixture would be discarded, and the instructions filed away until the next time we were given a starter to try again.

Over the years, on rediscovering the archived instructions, I have restarted the culture from scratch a few times. These restarts have eventually suffered the same fates as the originals.

Over time - and especially over this last strange year - I have evolved how I manage the cake plant starter away from the original instructions. I have also added to my stock of recipes using the starter. So I am recording the details here, so I don't forget them once working from home stops being the norm.

Slow Roast Belly Pork Slices and Vegetables

I've made this dish a couple of times now, so this article is to record how I've been modifying the original recipe, which is here. This also works if you replace the belly pork with chicken thighs and drumsticks.

Fish and Vegetable Fritters

So, this week's surprise from the vegbox delivery people was a carton of 15 egg whites that needed using in a few days(!) Not wanting to fill the entire house with meringues, I made these for lunch. Two days in a row.

Slow-cooker Lamb Curry

I fancied a curry, but needed something I could pop in the slow cooker all day whilst doing other things. So I adapted a recipe for Seyal Gosht from "50 Great Curries of India" by Camellia Panjabi - by simply throwing everything together and slow cooking.

It turned out deliciously spicy, and was really easy to prepare. I will definitely be making this again!

Green Tomato Pie

Summer has turned to autumn. The days are getting shorter, and the tomato plants outside in the garden have stopped flowering. The remaining fruit is not ripening. So the plants have been cut down.

But what to do with all the unripe green tomatoes?

Previously, I have used these up in batches of Green Tomato Chutney.

But I have heard rumours that green tomatoes can be cooked much like apples into pies and cakes.

Google yielded this recipe. I made a few tweaks.