Improvement on a holiday classic

Getting better and better ! Friday I managed 1,367 steps without aid and yesterday I was strong enough to make a swipe with the vacuum cleaner and actually lift a bag of groceries to the counter. Both moves proved a lot more physically challenging than I ever thought they could be , but I did them. Things will get easier. Today I am going to try to get outside and all the way to the car. It will be the first time I wave been out of the house since the injury, which was the weekend before Thanksgiving.

All this time at home has given me opportunities to play with new recipes and techniques ,  and it has been very rewarding. One of these was an opportunity to make a fruitcake that is better and better for you. Yes, I know. At the mere mention of the word fruitcake most people make jokes  or worse. Poor Fruitcake ! What is commercially sold as fruitcake in most places today is kind of a lab experiment with tar based colored , jellied fruit. Real fruitcake is lighter, delicious and filled with dried fruits and nuts. It is to savor ! I came across this recipe that combines good fruitcake with real gingerbread and does it using the soaked flour and nuts method. It was so good, Nick asked for seconds

Meg's Gingerbread Fruitcake

(From Keeper of the Home   )
The night before you'd like to make the cake, combine:

    * 3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
    * 1 cup buttermilk
    * 1/2 cup melted butter

Let sit on the counter, covered tightly overnight.  The next day you'll need:
  * 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
    * 3 teaspoons ground ginger
    * 2 teaspoons dry mustard
    * 2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    * 2 teaspoons ground allspice
    * 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
    * 1/2 cup Rapadura or Sucanat( I used Splenda)
    * 1 teaspoon baking soda
    * 1 1/2 cups Blackstrap  molasses ( it's a whole bottle)
    * 2 large eggs, beaten
    * 1 T vanilla extract
    * 3 cups dried unsulphured fruit, finely chopped - apricots, cherries, cranberries, raisins, figs, dates, apples
    * 1 cup chopped nuts (it's best if they have been soaked and dehydrated first) I used walnuts

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2)Spray cake pans with Pam ( I prefer this to butter and flour)

3) Mix the eggs, Sugar, molasses, and vanilla together until creamy.
4) Gradually add the soaked flour mixture, beating until combined.
5) Add the rest of the ingredients, and stir until just blended.
6) Gently fold in the dried fruit and nuts.
7) Pour the batter into prepared pans and bake for about 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
8) Place pan on rack and let cool.

We had this with a scoop of vanilla Ice Cream- YUM !!! ( I have to ask Santa for some colored plates- white is horrible to photograph !)