……..I got up half-dazed and tip-toed into the nursery. The early morning rays streamed through the lace window curtains and made the room look heavenly. I see the bowl of leftover pudding on the table from last night, I see the unfolded clothes on the rack, I see the rattle dangling at the edge of the Moses, I see some golden thread and then my eyes stop at his face. A smile escapes my babble’s lips , seems like he is having conversation with grace above. I perceive my life is woven from these thousands glimpses everyday enriching my soul and giving my shutter iris the power to embrace more.
The lost eyes suddenly catch my reflection in the mirror, my face looks tired but not very old. It still had some youthful charm. But suddenly I see a silver strand shining from the crown of my forehead. So its true, I am getting old. I find my first white strand of hair as if fleeing from the serenity of my mind. For a moment I am struck by its suddenness but then I realised its been thirty plus odd years I grew out of my cradle to adolescent and now my youth.It was time for a new chapter to unfold. The feeling of old is eponymous to one’s thoughts but physical signs of ageing pertains to one’s health and hereditary.
Should I let the thought linger my mind, Nah…..all things are perishable and So am I. The room that I stepped into were the fruits of youthful labour now was the time to turn a new leaf. To my universe I am bound, to all that I have sown to all that I will reap in the future and finally……
ashes to ashes, dust to dust as the worms crawl through your head.
All you know is it was better before you woke up dead.
That strand is my silver lining.I am a woman and I will grow old as a rebel.
“And yet, or just for this reason, it’s so fascinating to be a woman. It’s an adventure that takes such courage, a challenge that’s never boring. You’ll have so many things to engage you if you’re born a woman. To begin with, you’ll have to struggle to maintain that if God exists he might even be an old woman with white hair or a beautiful girl. Then you’ll have to struggle to explain that it wasn’t sin that was born on the day when Eve picked an apple, what was born that day was a splendid virtue called disobedience.
— Oriana Fallaci”.
My thoughts interrupted my the frail crying of my babble, I think its time to feed and lull him to sleep while he holds on my strands……..
That beautiful light which I sensed that morning, appears in my photographs today. The light of the orange glistening the frame while the green of the eucalyptus are the whirlwind of emotions I feel as I see my silver lining.Hope I did justice to my composition.
Almond Blood Orange Cake
- For the Candied Blood Orange syrup
- 2 blood oranges
- 2 tbsp Dememra sugar
- 2 cups of water
- For the cake batter
- 200g unsalted butter
- 200g caster sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 200g ground almonds
- 110g plain flour
- 2 tsp of baking soda
- 4 tbsp natural yoghurt
- Pre-heat oven to 160C/140C fan/Gas Mark 3. Line your cake tin with baking paper.
- Cut your one of your blood orange into the round slices.
- Scrape the outside of the blood orange to get some zest. Then juice it up for about 4 tbsp spoons of juice.
- Sieve your dry ingredients flour,ground almonds,baking soda twice.
- In a saucepan heat the water and demure sugar till its begins to simmer. Then add your slices into the simmering sugar syrup along with the juice extracted above.
- Then take the blood orange slices with a fork and allow them to cool on the baking paper.
- Reserve the dark syrup in the saucepan.
- In a deep bottomed porcelain bowl, cream the butter and caster sugar with an electric whisk until it turns soft and pale.
- Then add your eggs into the bowl and whisk it one at a time. Until it just mixes.It is alright if the mixture curdles.
- Then gradually fold in your flour mixture into the egg mixture until just combined. Followed by the yogurt and the dark syrup prepared above.The cake batter is very thick and not runny.
- Don’t let the batter sit for long as the baking soda starts reacting with the citrus and yoghurt to form tiny bubbles.
- Then take the prepared cake tin. I have used a 8 inch cake pan. Lay the sliced and candied orange slices at the bottom of the cake pan. Then pour over the cake batter over them and level it with the rubber spatula on the top.
- Immediately take it for baking in the oven in the middle rack and Bake in your pre-heated oven for 60 minutes.
- Check by passing the cake tester through the middle of the cake and it should come out clean.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes.
- Then slowly remove the cake from the pan and transfer to a cake stand or plate.Allow it to cool completely before you enjoy a slice.
The cake is an amalgamated recipe from Linda and Forkful Tv. I found the recipe brilliant in their own respect. So I came up with merging both the recipes into one. I must say this is one of the most moist and Citrus cake I have ever made. The recipe is full proof and twice tested. So if you really want to bake it go for it.
What a lovely post! Omg the cake sounds awesome and I need to try out ..
I was tired doing my garden and just sat down with a cup a tea.
loved it💕
Beautiful writing once again. The way you have played with the words is praiseworthy. Loved the pictures.