Laugh or Cry?

Now that I am officially getting my A in G (Arse into Gear) and embracing this blogging malarkey it becomes abundantly clear that being up to date with pop culture is part and parcel of life on the interwebs.

Apparently last week I should have been in floods of tears regarding the unfortunate demise of a particularly attractive TV doctor. Alas we have only just unpacked the telly and it seems NZ TV isn’t quite up to speed yet.

In response to a fierce swathe of tweets with heartfelt hash tags #ohno #RIP #tragedy I headed straight to the couch and briskly flicked through the remote to try and watch a crisis of apparent magnitude unfold.

I was surprised to be greeted with a repeat of the Two Ronnie’s. They were doing their “fork handles” sketch and were deftly able to prove that it is both a comfort and a frustration living in a time warp. So there we have it. Whilst Doctor Patrick Reid was making the women of Australia cry, Ronnie Corbett was making me laugh; It’s a funny old world isn’t it?

So to a recipe....
I think a banana cake is in order as I can’t think of a better cake that conveys both nostalgia and optimism. There is something inherently uplifting about turning sad limp fruit that is well past its prime into something joyous and wonderful.  Its’ the culinary equivalent of turning an old man into a young hottie. Perhaps an idea that might make for compelling TV viewing as at the crux of any great comedy or drama is the thrill of the unexpected.

Should the writers of Aussie TV need inspiration to make their grief stricken audience laugh once more; my suggestion is to reincarnate said sexy doctor as a frustrated cockney shop keeper.


Watch this and see if you laugh or cry?

 

Either way its a blessed relief to have a slab of banana cake on hand. And a bonus food styling tip - placing flowers near a cake in a photo always make it look like a funeral buffet.

Risen from the Dead Banana Cake

 

175 g self raising flour

125 g melted butter

150 g castor sugar

2 large eggs

3 over ripe mashed bananas

50 g chopped nuts of choice

100 g choc chips

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 170 c and line a loaf tin with baking paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl make a wet mixture. Start with the melted butter, sugar, then the eggs, mashed banana and vanilla. Stir well.
3. Add the flour a third at a time, stirring well after each addition, then fold through choc chips and nuts. Scrape into loaf tin.
4. Bake for 1 hour or until cooked through. Leave in the tin on a rack to cool then eat in thick slabs in front of your favourite TV show.