His nose

Like most of us Dear Reader, my working life is quite regimented.  Up at the same time every day for work and home about the same time most days.  Drudgery.  A slave to the clock Monday to Friday.  But then the weekend arrives, always just in time to be late and life becomes spontaneous, at least for 48 hours or so.  I never know where I might end up....my husband points his nose in a general direction and off we go, usually with no real destination in mind - just off on a dander.

This past weekend that nose lead us to St. Jacobs, a community just north of Waterloo.  The village is popular with tourists for its Mennonite heritage and farmers market. We spent the morning at the farmers market, wandering through the stalls and into the main building.  Pickled beets, strawberry rhubarb jam, tangerine orange jam, artisan potato bread and maple syrup loaded down our shopping bags.  Potatoes, peppers, and strawberries came home with us too. 

Mid-afternoon arrived and neither of us was in a hurry to rush home.  The sun was shining and we were enjoying strolling hand in hand.  The nose decided that we should head Fergus-way.  Off we went, past field after field of beautiful farm land just starting to waken and stretch its arms, readying itself for the crops ahead. 

Along the way, we came across West Montrose, home to the Kissing Bridge, the last wooden covered bridge in Ontario.  This bridge was built in 1880-1881 and is still in use today.

We passed through Elora too....I wondered what was through this gate....

We meandered through these small towns eventually making our way home - in the dark....tired and spent.  All that fresh air!  I had a glut of strawberries to use up as well as all those potatoes and peppers!  Last weekend, I had made an impressively easy cake with raspberries.  I decided to try it with strawberries. 

You are going to love this recipe.  No mixer needed, just a bit of elbow grease and a few ingredients. You don't have to be a great baker to pull this one off Dear Reader.  This is an easy cake to make.  It is beautiful in its simplicity.  Nothing fancy about it.  No frosting needed.  The fruit studded throughout is enough.  Maybe a cup of coffee or tea with it...but that's it!

Raspberry Ricotta Cake
Adapted from Bon Appetit magazine, March 2015 issue

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups ricotta
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup frozen raspberries, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9 inch cake pan with parchment and set aside.  In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together and set aside.

In a smaller bowl. whisk eggs, ricotta and vanilla together until smooth.  Gently fold into dry ingredients until just blended.  Next, fold in the butter.  Add 3/4 cup of raspberries gently mix taking care not to crush the raspberries.  Scrape batter into prepared cake pan and spread top out evenly.  Scatter the remaining 1/4 cup of raspberries over the top.

Bake cake for 55-65 minutes or until tester comes out clean.  Allow to cool on wire rack for 20 minutes before removing from pan. 

Here are a few pictures of the strawberry version.  Although both cakes were nice, the brood decided that the raspberry version was better.  The tart raspberries contrasted the sweet cake perfectly.  A great winter option too since the recipe calls for frozen raspberries.  I think I might try using frozen blueberries next time or maybe a mix of berries!