Thursday 16 April 2020

Losing Track Of The Dates

Minor domestic disasters - Two weeks before lockdown, the nonslip mat in the bath split. As we have to stand in the bath to use the shower, this is a safety matter. Bob put the mat in the bin, and we tried to buy a new one locally. Boots told us they didn't sell them anymore, Ferndown Wilko said that we needed to go to a larger branch. It never happened.
We've been very careful not to slip. Then the loo seat broke. Not due to excess weight, but the metal fitting just went. Bob ordered online and now we have a new blue mat and a fancy soft-close seat. Problems solved
So I thought we should celebrate with cake. I decided to make a boil&bake fruit loaf [it only needs one egg] I used my regular BeRo recipe, here, but tweaked it a bit. I'd got a few sad chopped dates, some dried apricots, and also half a small jar of cocktail cherries.
I chopped them up to use instead of sultanas or mixed dried fruit. Instead of water, I simmered the fruit in some "cranberry and raspberry tea". We had a lovely selection box of teas at Christmas, but neither of us liked this one.  It added a lovely dimension to the flavour, and the pieces of fruit were colourful and bright. 


It is satisfying to use up odds and ends like this. I'm sure there are other uses I can find for this fragrant fruity tea. Any suggestions? 


9 comments:

  1. Would it be better as a cold drink? Make tea and leave to cool?

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  2. I would never have thought to celebrate a new loo seat but if I did date cake it would be.

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    1. In the olden days BC (Before Covid19) I doubt I'd celebrate a new loo seat. These days I take every opportunity to celebrate! I hope the baby lambs are thriving!

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  3. I like Frugally Challenged's suggestion for the tea. Or, maybe just continue to use it for fruit cakes?

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  4. I realised when I got the cake out of the oven that I had half a pot of cold tea. No, I'm sorry, I didn't like it cold either! However it has occurred to me that I could use it to dehydrate "dried fruit salad mix" if I had any (do they still sell that?)

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    Replies
    1. I've tried that cranberry and raspberry a long time ago - in theory it sounds good but I can't remember what I thought.
      Dried fruit from the Grape Tree, they are open in some places. They do all sorts, I stocked up for the Brexit fresh fruit shortage that never happened but very handy for now.

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    2. People mocked me for my Brexit Box. I'm truly grateful for it now - it was great during our 3 week isolation. I've not visited Wimborne so do not know if our nearest Grape Tree is open.

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  5. I love that you are celebrating a new loo seat and a bath mat with cake :-)

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  6. Hurrah for the mat and loo seat!!!
    We've got a sad half-eaten bag of dates in our cupboard. I WISH CBC would stop buying dried fruit and then not using it or eating it (he does it with nuts too). I'm not keen on either so I can't bring myself to help him out with either!

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