Bakes & More   +  recipe

I've been trying not to to complain too much about being busy recently because, well, there's nothing more boring that listening to someone complain about how stressed out they are. But also because I do actually enjoy it. I thrive on the adrenalin of bouncing from one task to the next. I'm more productive when I'm busy. I work best when I've got a deadline.

But it does mean that the days can run away with themselves. I read an article a few months ago about escaping from the cult of being busy; one of the tips was to 'do less and feel more joy' by 'saying "no" more, by saying "no" to being busy, and by meaning "yes" more fully'.
I realised last week that it had been several days since my boyfriend and I'd had a conversation that consisted of more than a perfunctory hello or goodbye. Those lazy summer evenings together that I'd imagined? Not quite so lazy when neither of you are home until gone 9pm.

Last week, we had our annual summer event at work. The promise of a free bar and a barbecue is normally enough to tempt me out but I'd been in the office until midnight for several days in a row and spent most of the weekend out with my friends at various birthday celebrations. I chose to go home instead.
That day, it so happened that my boyfriend had been for lunch as Heston Blumenthal's The Fat Duck. He knew just how much I wanted to go and how annoyed he was that he got to go without me. He came home bearing a small pink paper bag that he'd carried in a taxi to the station from the restaurant and all the way back to London on the train.
He'd brought me his dessert, completely untouched.
He sat there while everyone else had dug into the apple pie caramel and coconut baccy, the aerated chocolate with mandarin jelly and an edible playing card filled with a jam tart and decided that he'd rather share it with me instead. We divided each little bite in half and sat, side by side, marvelling at each indescribable taste. I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else.
Whenever I'm tempted to say 'yes' to something for the sake of it and because I feel like I should, I'm going to remember that jam tart and remember that the best moments sometimes come about when you say 'no'.
We had some more time together on Sunday afternoon, after our weekend guests had departed. Like 17 million other people in the country, we spent it glued to tennis. In the breaks between sets (or whenever the tension became too much for me), I headed straight for the kitchen. I made pastry and little raspberry pies, a batch of brownies that I wasn't at all happy with and, finally, this raspberry and almond clafoutis.
The recipe is lightly adapted from Home Made by Yvette van Boven. It and its seasonal editions, Home Made Summer and Home Made Winter, are lovely books, filled with vitality and imagination. I had been meaning to buy all three for a while but this post from Stacy convinced me to do it sooner rather than later. They're an utter joy to read.
My changes - ground almonds for the flour, olive oil for the butter - create something a little sturdier than the traditional clafoutis but no less delicious. I prefer it cold, with a spoonful of yoghurt or creme fraiche. In the interests of full disclosure, this has been my breakfast most days this week.~

Raspberry and almond clafoutis Adapted from Home Made by Yvette van BovenYield: Serves 6 - 8
There is the faintest kick of booze in this clafoutis - the original recipe suggests that this can be replaced with orange juice if preferred. As noted above, I prefer it cold (it's a texture thing) but I have been assured that it's equally good warm, with a dusting of icing sugar and a scoop of ice cream.

• 2 medium eggs
• 165ml (1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons) milk (I used semi-skimmed)
• 75g (1/3 cup) unrefined caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• A pinch of salt
• 50g (1/2 cup) ground almonds (or flour)
• 30ml (2 tablespoons) extra virgin olive oil (or 50g of butter)
• 30 ml (2 tablespoons) liqueur (I used raspberry liqueur, amaretto would work)
• 100g (2/3 cup) raspberries