Lemon Cake

It has almost been a year.

I stopped posting when my kitchen was stripped during my house renovation last year. For a horrible couple of months, we lived in the dust, have to eat meals whenever we could get some. I didn't even have a computer.  And then I have a gorgeous new kitchen.  A gorgeous new Italian oven.  All the pain was worth it.  My friends loved our new kitchen, backyard, swimming pool and the new dining and family room.  Looking back, our builder was pretty swift with his job and we didn't suffer all that long compared to some others we know.  3 months?

But I remained silent.

After all the days of take aways and convenient meals during the days with no kitchen.  I had excuses.  Hubby and I had to paint the house.  Then, it was Luke's high school placement.  It was so much stress, trying out for acceleration classes.  We don't live in the school  zone he wants to go.  All his friends will be going there, and very likely, he will miss out, because we can't afford a house in the school zone.

And then, I decided to go back to uni.

Oh.  During that process, really, I started baking again.  Really.  Still not as much as I was doing before the renovation.  I'm still making breads, cakes, dumplings etc.

Baking makes me happy when I'm not.

Baking makes me feel good when I'm sick.

Such is today.

I have been sick, since last Friday.  Started with kids cough and cold, then Luke got throat and ear infection.  Then it was us adults. I have been on antibiotics, as it's pretty bad infection this time.  I had to stay at home, in this dull, miserable day.

Not many fruits available these days, but my lemon tree is producing good quality lemons.  It lived through the extension, and started fruit again.

And I have some eggs.  So, a simple lemon sponge cake to make me happy, and when my kids come home, they will come home to this as well.

A book, an espresso, and a warm slice of cake.

Oh, I have been baking and cooking on instinct these days, even though I still religiously collect recipes.  So I  didn't measure and didn't even check the baking time, although I know the oven was 140C fan forced.  But the Ilve is so strong, I usually have to tone it down 20C compared to normal recipes.

So here, a lemon sponge cake, with no real recipe or cooking time.  with some runny icing on top.  I used eggs, lemon (zest and juice), a bit self raising flour, some white sugar, a splash of extra light olive oil, and the simple icing is just lemon juice, bit of hot water, butter and icing sugar.

Happy days.

Waiting for winter to go away.