Bake of the /month - Auntie Cath's Ginger Cake

I love ginger. Love Yorkshire. But I don't care for parkin. I much prefer ginger cake, and save the oats for flapjack. This recipe is a favourite in our house, given to me by my sister. I've taken the liberty of adding some crystallised ginger which gives a nice pop of warmth.

50g golden syrup
150g black treacle
100g Demerara sugar
75g butter
2 eggs
200g plain flour
2Tbsp ground ginger
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
50g chopped crystallised ginger

1. Mix the syrup, treacle, sugar and butter over a very low heat, until just melted.

2. Cool slightly and add the remaining ingredients, and mix well.

3. Pour into a lined tin, and bake at gas 4 for 25 minutes until a knife comes out clean.

A great teatime treat, or serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Glut in the Garden - Aga Dried Tomatoes

We love the sun dried tomatoes that you can buy, jarred in oil. We are still harvesting tomatoes, so I thought I'd have a go at drying some in the Aga. I used this method.

I picked rip, but still firm tomatoes, with no blemishes.

I halved them and placed cut-side up on a baking sheet (lined with Magic Liner), and sprinkled lightly with salt. 

I then put this tray into the simmering oven (or the lowest oven setting) for about 10 hours, until the tomatoes were dry, but before they were completely leathery. 

The tomato flavour really intensified. we ate several of these fresh from the oven, and the rest livened up a batch of passata. Next time, I'll try packing some into oil, and see how well they keep.