Lunch: Lemon Balm Drizzle Cake and Indian Inspired Potato and Chickpea Salad

Some of my colleagues and people I am meeting through Zoom are saying that they are losing track of days, but I am like - Is it Friday yet ? 

I have been busy at home during a crisis trying to work.  In fact, I think I am sure I am working harder from home more than i ever did in the office, unless it feels that way from staring at the computer screen for hours on end. But on balance, working from home means my lunch has never been so good.  

There always seems to be cake of my own making of course! 

I  teased some of you with a glimpse of this Lemon Balm  Drizzle Cake in my In My Kitchen blog post, but here it is in all its golden gorgeousness. 

Lemon Balm also known as Melissa Balm is a lemon scented perennial herb.  I often infuse the  lemon balm leaves (like mint) in hot water and drink like a herbal tea.  It can also be used in a number of recipes  like ice-cream and custard, but here I added it to cake. 

The 'Lemon Balm - Lemon Drizzle Cake' was splendid, with flecks of green lemon balm running through it, I even topped the outside with lemon balm leaves for adornment. Only comment, perhaps it could have been a bit more lemony, but I know whay that was - I did not have enough lemons, so made do with what I had.

Also a change from sandwiches and pasta salads, I made a Indian inspired Chickpea Salad Potato Salad smothered in mild spices and mango chutney.  I don't think my mother would approve, but I know my nephews and nieces would.  It was still warm when we ate it and I liked that as often my salads at work are cold or just room temperature. 

This lockdown potato salad recipe comes from The Guardian to which we subcribed to about a month ago. To be honest we should have subscribed to it a while back as it perhaps the only online newspaper that I consistently read for news, not just recipes. 

And the 'Lemon Balm Drizzle Cake' comes from Mary Berry which you can find online.  I substituted lemon balm for Lemon Verbena Drizzle Cake.  

I am sharing  this Indian Inspired Potato and Chickpea Salad with Kahakai Kitchen, for Souper Sundays,  a space where bloggers can come share together to share homemade comfort foods like soup, salads sandwiches.