Harvest

Like parenting, there are multiple opinions on how to harvest and pickle your olives. I prefer to climb a ladder and hand pick. I can't bring myself to shaking the branches of my favourite tree. Far better to get close and feel the warmth of the exposed berries and the brush of pointed leaves on my face. Whether it was more thorough picking, or just a better season, I found I had about twice the amount of fruit as last year.

As a reward, a distinctly non Mediterranean cake - an Indonesian Soda cake.

Ingredients:

• 220g of caster sugar
• 1 cup of water
• 90g of softened unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
• 4 eggs - lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup of condensed milk
• 150g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)

How?
Melt and caramelise the sugar in a pot. Stir and once all the sugar is melted and you are happy with the colour, add the cup of water. The sugar will immediately harden and hiss. Return to the boil and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside and cool. Cream the butter and vanilla essence, then add the beaten eggs, the condensed milk, the flour and bicarb and finally the caramel solution. Fold and mix before tipping into a cake tin (18cm), which has been pre buttered and lined at the base. Cook in a 160-180 degree oven for 40-50 minutes. The centre should be firm.