It seems that we don’t get on well with weekends. They tend to go wrong a lot in our house. I have to say I’m not very fond of them just now: they’re too full of bad moods and not full enough of all the things we have to be doing. (Homework, cleaning the house, emailing people — that sort of thing.) Apart from sulking, arguing, and being upset, I seem to have done only two things: cooking, and lying in bed looking back at the week.

That last one is definitely my favourite. I love having the time to go over what happened — rethink a thing or two, focus on a detail I have missed, dwell on the happy moments, figure out what was important and hold on it, get rid of what doesn’t matter any more. I don’t think I can get enough of this sort of time. That is how I grow up, how I get to know myself, how I find my way through life — it’s priceless. (Perhaps I do like weekends a bit after all.)

As for cooking, well, since Saturday afternoon, in attempt to get through as many vegetables from the box as possible, I have made: cauliflower soup, beetroot leaf salad, beetroot pasta, pancakes, a no-name-in-particular salad, sesame and pumpkin seed bars, and cabbage with bacon and onion sauce. Out of these I had only tried the pancakes before. No wonder I feel like I’ve spent the weekend in a kitchen!

Here is the Greek, vegan, sweet something from a couple of posts ago. Note that it is Pipas-approved:

1 cup margarine
2 cups sugar (or less)
4 cups self-raising flour
1-2 teaspoonfuls of baking soda
the juice from at least 6 oranges
graded orange peel from one orange or so
ground cinnamon & clove

raisins, or other dried fruit if you’re feeling adventurous
almonds or other nuts
a couple spoonfuls of brandy

(the last three are optional)

Mix everything, starting with the marge and sugar. Add flour and baking soda, then as much orange juice as it needs to start looking like proper cake mix! After that is achieved (it may take a while) throw in as much of everything else in as you think it takes to make taste good. Be careful not to try the mix too much or your belly will hurt (I know what I’m talking about.) Empty mix in greasy tin and bake at about 175 degrees for as long as it takes. To be honest I can’t remember how long that is. Martijn thinks it was 45 minutes which makes sense, doesn’t it?

Before you take it out of the oven, pray that it will stay nicely raised and not sink in the middle like mine did.