Monday 30 May 2016

Morning Tea


Morning Tea to raise money for the Cancer Council.
Every year at our sport's club participates the biggest morning tea to raise money for a good course. This year our contribution to the morning tea is a pink cake and a savoury.  A recipe for you.

The Pink Cake and The Savoury




















Mini Corn and Ham Muffin.
The Preparation
The Ingredients
The Ham and Corn Mixture
Buttered Tin for Baking
Baked Mini Corn and Ham Muffins

The Recipe

Mini Corn and Ham Muffins
Based on other Recipe
Makes: 36

Ingredients
2 cups self-rising flour
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1/2 cup milk 2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
85 g shaved ham,  finely chopped
100 g grated tasty cheese
125 g creamed corn

Method
Preheat oven to 175 degrees C (fan-forced)
Grease 3x12 hole mini muffins

Combine flour, chives, and ham in a bowl.  Make a well in the centre
Add milk, egg, oil, cheese and corn.  Mix until just combined.
Season with pepper and salt, spoon mixture evenly between holes of prepared pans
Bake for 16 minutes until golden and just firm to touch.
Stand in pans for 5 minutes.  Turn onto a wire rack to cold.

Serve warm or cold.

I serve it cold and dress it with an avocado filling mixed with herbs.  It's a treat and light.

Mini Corn and Ham Muffins Filled with Avocado.
Add caption
Add caption





















The Pink Cake
It is a butter cake, mixed with a fresh raspberry.  The cake is soft and moist.

Raspberry Butter Cake with Pink Buttercream Icing.
A sliced Pink Cake
Pretty Pink Cake



People were very generous, they brought a lot of beautiful cakes, sweets, slices and delicious savouries also sandwiches.  It was an excellent spread to enjoy.

Today I hope we raised enough money, for the donation to the Cancer Council.  Finished for now but we will do it again next year 2017.




Until Next Post.
Susy


Wednesday 25 May 2016

RED


Red is an intense colour, red roses are beautiful, and a soft red is pretty too.  Red, looks good in my vegetable patch, right now I have read habanero ready to harvest.
In my backyard garden, one pomegranate is hanging on the tree, it is pinkish right now, but it will be turning to red.
Red Colour in the Backyard
Red Rose

The red rose bushes have a lot of aphids, they are not healthy, no rose cutting for the house anymore.  Time to care for the plants, I must learn and listen from all advises.

Red Fresh Habanero
Freshly Picked Habanero
Bright Red Habanero

A very precious - pomegranate 
The very first pomegranate fruit after planted about nine years ago, indeed we have to wait that long.

In the Vegetable Patch
Red Habanero

 Potted Habanero Plant
If you don't have space in the garden, you could easily plant habanero or chilli plants in pots.

Harvested Habaneros for Red Spicy Sauce, it is excellent to serve with pies, noddles, and fritters.

Recipe for You

Hot Red Spicy Sauce
7 habaneros-chop
9 fresh red chilli-chop
1 large red capsicum-chop
1 large red tomato-chop
2 cloves garlic-chop
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
Place the ingredients in a blender, work it to make a smooth and runny sauce
Pour in a deep saucepan to cook over medium heat to simmer.
Reduce the heat, keep on cooking over the low heat for 10 minutes until the sauce is cooked and thickened.
Place in a jar and refrigerate until ready to serve

Now you have the Red Sauce.
It can be served with savouries or add in fried rice.



I closed off with sharing a recipe, to a Sauce, and it is Deliciously Hot Red.  I hope you like it.



Until Next Post
Susy

Sunday 22 May 2016

Cakes For The Birthday Boy.


Sweets are the traditional food for celebrating birthdays, and the birthday cake is always good to have.  To have a share of the birthday cake is a blessing, as some people do believe.
Rayner's birthday was not long ago, and he had two types of cakes. The first cake he had on the day was choux pastry filled with chocolate custard and cream.  It's light, creamy and rich, but why not,  he's allowed to indulge once a year.  The other cake was chocolate and apple cake.










The cake was shared with friends, enjoyed by many for a morning tea.  Indeed, the chocolate and apple cake for the birthday boy delighted everyone.
Chocolate and Apple Cake
The cake was based on a recipe, though I made a few alterations.  I have the new method now, and I will share it with you.  Give it a go, it is doable and has fun!

Easy Chocolate Cake with Apple. 

Ingredients
125 g unsalted butter, melted
1 cup castor sugar
1/3 cup cocoa add 1 tablespoon dark Dutch cocoa
2 eggs lightly beaten
1/2 cup milk mixed with 1 tablespoon sour cream
2 cup self -rising flour and 1 teaspoon baking powder
2 large apples (diced and cooked golden delicious or pink lady)

Method
Preheat oven to 175 degrees C (a fan forced)
Line and shallow greased round baking tin (20 cm)
  1. Combined butter, castor sugar and cocoa in a large bowl.  Add eggs and the milk mixture.  Stir until well combined. 
  2. Sift flour and baking powder together over cocoa mixture, stir gently to combine. Fold through the apple.
  3. Spoon mixture into the prepared tins.
  4. Bake for 22 - 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.  
  5. Stand in pan for 10 minutes.  Lift onto a wire rack to cool.
  6. Place on a serving plate and dust it with icing sugar
Note: garnish the cake as you like. 


Pictures of my baking of the cake, I did make double quantities.  The cake turned out beautifully, MOIST and YUM.
 Rayner has an apple tree in the backyard, and of this year's harvest, I made poached apple candies to dress the cake.  Indeed,  the cake looked so pretty.






To Dress the Cake

Garnish with herbs, wrapped in plastic to keep fresh.  

May is a viral month for birthdays in my family, I will bake cakes for my two sons-in-law whose birthday is coming soon.  What type of cakes for these birthday boys?  Well, I will think of something, Sweet but very healthy cakes maybe!

Until Next Post
Thank you for visiting
Susy

Thursday 19 May 2016

Flower and Garden.


It is a late Autumn, there are not enough flowers to cut in our backyard, but we could have cut flowers from the market or from the florist shops.

White camellia from the front garden, late-flowering red roses from the backyard also beautiful mixed pink colours chrysanthemum brighten up our home right now.

Cut Flowers from Our Garden.

Cut Flowers from the Florist and Market.
Soft creamy white chrysanthemum
Gladiolus from the Market


My cymbidium orchids are spiking, there are not many this year, but I am lucky enough to have one orchid in flower it is a dusky pink colour. The phalaenopsis is back to the flower, and I noticed a new growth - a new plant is emerging.


Cymbidium orchids with their new spikes


Cymbidium orchids with a pink flower are sitting inside the house.


Fig Tree: the fruits are actually their flowers,  My potted fig is flowering now, I would say it is the wrong season, I don't think that they are going to be matured as the winter is here soon.

I hope your garden is doing well, there are a lot of beautiful things that we could enjoy in the late Autumn from flowers to the plants.   Winter is coming soon, and we will have another story, I do hope I could share them with you.



Until Next Post
Susy