Plum squash is tart-sweet and very fruity. It makes a refreshing summer drink

We are in Plum Heaven. Summer in the hills is about colours and flavors. It is this time of the year we desperately wait for. Our Plum trees are laden with fruit. Plums are beginning to ripen and we love to -make a daily visit to our orchard to collect the ripe ones.

Summer days tend to get quite hot in the hills. Especially the afternoons when the Sun is overhead.  Every year, when the plums ripen and it’s a hot day, we make a  big batch of Plum Squash to beat the heat. 

Plum squash is tart-sweet and very fruity. Make sure to use the ripe sweet plums for making squash. I have used unrefined sugar. You may use regular sugar. One can adjust the thickness to suit taste by adding more or less water.

Plum Squash (Vegan)

Ingredients

• 7-8 ripe sweet plums
• Water
• Sugar (to taste)

Instructions

1. Take plums in a pressure cooker. Add a glass of water. Water should be enough to cover the fruit.
2. Cook for a whistle. Open the lid and let it cool.
3. The plums would have become mushy. At this stage, it is very easy to remove the stones and the skin.
4. Use hands to remove skin and stone or use a strainer. Do not squeeze or press the skins and stones too hard because the skin and the seeds have the maximum tartness.
5. Add sugar to taste.
6. Add water to get the consistency of choice. Do not dilute it too much.
7. Pour into the glasses. Add ice cubes (optional). Enjoy!

Note: if you want to spice up your squash, add ¼ tsp of roasted and powdered cumin seeds and a pinch of black salt per glass.

 

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 Flax meal bread is soft, delicate, nutty, sweet and delicious. It is packed with the goodness of flax seeds. 

 

Forest has its own flavours. The scent of wet earth, the mossiness of the ground, the fragrance of wildflowers, the smell of leaf litter, of fungi waking up from summer slumber and many more, smells that intoxicate the senses. The smell of the forest is healing. 

Rains arrived a wee bit early this year. Waking up to the rain drumming on the roof, cupping hands around  a hot glass of tea, running out to enjoy the splashes of sunlight escaping from the monstrous clouds, the warmth and freshness, the sinking puddles, and a rainbow across the heavily clouded sky are the elixirs of the hill life.

Wild daisies have been lining the pathways, always laden with bees buzzing on them. 

The hardy Dandelions have decided to occupy every gap in the cobbled pathway and paint it yellow.

A pair of Spotted Grosbeak  comes every morning without fail for its share of wild cherries that are ripening slowly.

The cherries are turning red and attracting more and more birds.

Rains in the hills bring down the temperature. Baking bread gets fraught with difficulties. Electricity plays truant and the whole exercise of baking is a challenge.

I stole some warm moments from a sunny morning that made my dough rise. We baked a small breakfast loaf with flax meal. Sometimes a good loaf makes your heart sing and for me, it was this loaf that turned out soft, sweet and gorgeous. In fact, we did not feel the need to spread butter or jam or anything on the slices. The bread is simply delicious.

Isn't that crumb gorgeous?

Flax Meal Breakfast Bread

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons instant dry yeast
• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• ½ cup flax meal (ground flaxseeds)
• ¼ cup oil.

Instructions

1. Dissolve honey in half a cup of water. Add yeast. Cover and let rest for 7-8 minutes.
2. Whisk together flour, salt and flax meal.
3. Make well in the centre. Add yeast mixture and oil. Mix and knead. Add water little by little till you get a smooth and satiny dough that is a little sticky.
4. Transfer dough to a greased bowl. Turn around once so that it is coated with oil all over. Cover and place the bowl in a warm place to rise for one hour or until almost double.
5. Grease one 4 ½ x 8 inches loaf pan.
6. Remove the dough with a dough scraper onto the floured counter. Roll out into a rectangle with the width same as the width of the pan you are using. Roll the dough to form a log. Transfer it to the pan. Press gently to level it. Cover and leave it to rise for another fifty minutes to an hour or unless it crests above the rim of the pan.
7. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C during the last stages of rising. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Tent with a foil if the top is browning too fast.
8. Remove from the pan after 5 minutes. Cool in the rack. Slice when cold.
9. Enjoy.

 Linking to #BreadBakers

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page

 

 

Welcome to this month's Bread Bakers. This month’s event is Breakfast Bread hosted by Zesty South Indian Kitchen

·                Breakfast Garbage Bread Making Miracles

·                Danish Crisps A Messy Kitchen

·                English Muffins Culinary Adventures with Camilla

·                Flax Meal Breakfast Bread Ambrosia

·                Fresh Cherry Chocolate Sourdough Bread Zesty South Indian Kitchen

·                Multigrain Blueberry Bread What Smells So Good?

·                Montreal-Style Bagels Karen's Kitchen Stories

·                Rhubarb Strawberry Spiced Sourdough Bread Cook with Renu

·                Sausage Stuffed Sourdough Crescent Rolls Food Lust People Love

·                Spicy Masala Veggie Paratha Magical Ingredients

·                Sourdough Angel Biscuits Palatable Pastime

·                Sourdough Crepes A Day in the Life on the Farm

·                Sourdough Discard Pancakes Sneha’s Recipe

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