As anyone knows it is easy to leave an item or two tucked in the bottom of a bed, plugged in the wall or nestled in the shower when you stay on holiday...well those of us who discover these items after the departure of the rightful owners are sailing swiftly down the motorway homeward or destination bound are left with a bit of a dilema...basically keep it or toss it!
Now there are no brainers like well loved soft toys that are definately in the keep it catergory and I have been known to call grateful parents who do a swift 'yewwy' and are soon back at the gate with an appreciative child in tow....then there was the expensive leather jacket that I spent 50 odd euros sending all the way back to Australia upon the request of the owner only for it to be lost in transit along with the money I shelled out in postage...toiletries are also complex now a days as some are worth more than a bottle of Champagne so I have also been known to send those home...kids clothes, hairbrushes, phone chargers, even an arm brace...we have done it all! We tend to bin immediately the forgotten single socks and undies...no further explanation necessary!
I do have a dedicated bag of such items in case guests return and I happen to make the connection... which miraculously I did recently when a returning family sparked a memory and I produced a pair of sunglasses out of my 'left in room box' to the delight and surprise of Cecilia, the rightful owner!
This style of recipe made in a loaf tin is used a lot in France and the French call it 'cake'. It can be a single fruit or vegetable or a mix as I have done here...a staple of any local school function...served, of course, with a glass of Champagne...
FRENCH STYLE
SAVOURY CAKE
1. Preheat the oven to 200 deg C.
2. Grease a loaf tin generously with butter and
sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds if you have them...
3.Put 150 gm flour into a bowl with a tablespoon of
baking powder...mix slightly with a whisk and make a well in the centre. Drop 4 tablespoons of olive oil, 150 gms of
basic/greek yoghurt, 3 eggs,
1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper and then whisk together to blend...do not
overdo it but mix till just combined and smooth...
4. Add what ever you have to hand with a mix of
chopped fresh herbs, chopped peppers, halved cherry tomatoes, various
cheeses...some hard, blue and goats or whatever is to hand [cut into small
peices]...a small handful of stoned olives, chopped fried lardons,....and
whatever else you fancy keeping in mind the final result when cut through...mix to blend just very gently...
5. Put into the loaf tin and sprinkle the top
generously with slivered almonds...
6. Bake in the oven for around 30 mins..[check that is
well risen and firm or put it back in for 5 more minutes]
7. Let cool on a rack till still just warm then remove
from the tin carefully with a fish slice or equivalent so that the poppy seeds
are still attached to the sides...
8. Leave to cool and serve on a wooden board sliced
with a bread knife...
