Tomato basil & cheese loaf

June was a month of trying new recipes, and July will not be any different. As I said here, I want to get 8 go-to recipes that will be used for baking day-when we start again in autumn.

For now, the kids still need treats, so I usually bake on Saturday or Sunday afternoons.  I posted here about how Z has been hanging out with me in the kitchen, and helping with other chores. She wants to help with EVERYTHING!  On Sunday, the task of baking a tomato basil cheese loaf seemed exciting enough, so I had a baking partner.

So...I followed this recipe loosely - very very loosely, because I never buy self-raising flour. I don't think I ever have. I make bread the way my grandma used to do it - whole wheat flour, baking powder, milk and salt - that's it! I also didn't have fresh basil, so I sprinkled dry basil, as well as some thyme. I also poured a bit of olive oil & Parmesan cheese over the mixture before setting in the oven.

 Z did most of the work. There was no kneading.. She just folded the flour mixture, patted it a bit...put the tomatoes on top (after a bit of sampling), and I stuffed it into the pan and that was that.

 The kids ate it with soup...