Doh!

I smell old! I smell musty, like death and basements and the tightly shut up home of an elderly couple desperate to keep the small amount of heat they can afford to generate within the four walls of their tried home.  The damp had spread and I have a feeling of despair as my closet revealed it's who knows how old secret of wet walls and old smelling clothes. The closet is tiny and holds a few shirts and jackets that I haven't had a need for the last few days and now I have a new problem besides the windows. We open our roof vents every day and windows too, but did not think to open the closet doors daily too. Who would? We are looking for a small dehumidifier to help in this battle of the mold and in the mean time small bags of baking soda are hung in the closets and by the windows. I am seriously contemplating buying a bag of kitty litter or failing that a house!

Never without my baking soda, cleans burnt on food, a friend when I bake 

and now found in my closet too!

I know, what a loser, only four months of RV living and with one little problem  I am jumping ship. I'm happy in the RV really, but three days of headaches, a scratchy throat and well, smelling old has me a little down. It will pass, there is a solution out there, I mean how else can all these other people here do this full time? We are three full grown humans however in 300sq ft (I actually think it's less than that). I've never been more aware of the air I breath or rather breath out and it's affects on my environment. I can no longer drink my million cups of tea every day, the kettle now an enemy of our health and home. Washing up after every meal may have to become washing up once a day and baking on a whim must now be planned baking, only undertaken at the warmest time of day so doors and windows can be thrown open. I'm exaggerating of course, tomorrow we will buy a dehumidifier and all this will be solved (oh dear god, let it be solved) and I will no longer smell of death. What a journey this is, the things we are learning. In the mean time I will throw caution to the wind and bake a cake. Not any old cake however, on a day like today, it must be a cake that offers all the comfort a cake possibly can. This cake takes me back to summers on the beach in France where we eagerly awaited the shouted sound of 'beignet' drifting down the beach as the locals  hawked their hot and fresh apricot filled doughnuts. It takes me back to my childhood home as my mother, who if you haven't figured out by now is a fan and master baker of all things cake, would indulge in sugar coated doughnuts, red jam dripping down her chin and a look of shear pleasure on her face. This my friends is a doughnut cake and is just what the doctor ordered.

Doughnut Cake with Blueberry Compote and thick Greek Yoghurt

(I see I may need to work on my styling and photography skills!)

I adapted this recipe from here http://www.thewednesdaychef.com/the_wednesday_chef/2012/04/catherine-newmans-donut-cake.html, substituting light spelt flour for the regular AP and ground almonds for the cornmeal, only because I didn't have any. Oh and I reduced the amount of sugar too, I never use the full amount most recipes call for, you can usually reduce the sugar by up to 50% and still get the same results.

This is rapidly becoming a cooking blog, but I write what I know and cooking is part of my journey as I adapt to my tiny kitchen. What I am learning is I have a very hot oven, I think the temperature dial is just a suggestion of the actual heat it generates, and the limitations of my reduced pantry challenge me to be more creative and adventurous with what I have.
Always Yours
Sparrow