The Garden Produces & Best Biscuits I've Ever made!!!

Well my garden is in full production, we have been eating beans, peas, courgettes, lettuce and radishes, although I have to say that the peas have yet to actually make it to the pot as we have been eating them fresh. I can see I am going to have to be creative with courgettes!! Two courgette plants is ample for a family of 4 adults. My Cherry tree looks amazing with its beautiful red cherries. I've had to wrap it up like Fort Knox with chicken wire to keep the birds away, don't know what I'll do when it grows at the moment its just a baby and easy to cover.

Last night I made "Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies" from issue 42 of Donna hay magazine. I have to say they were fantastic, the best chocolate cookies I have ever made. They could easily be made without the candy cane but it just adds that something special for the festive season. I have yet to do my Christmas shopping having only bought one gift so far. I am now on holiday until after Christmas so no panic I'll get it done (probably get to the shops and everything I envisaged buying will be gone) Problem is I have no clue as to what to buy anyone..................I feel prezzie cards may be the way to go.

JO SEAGAR YET AGAIN

I made the Pina Colada cake in the weekend from Jo Segar's new book The Cook School recipes. I'm not having much luck with my baking lately, I had some of my friends visiting and they loved it the husband of one even calling the next day for the recipe. But I have to say that neither my husband or myself liked it. Its basically a pineapple cake with cream cheese frosting, it has no eggs, butter or oil in the cake. It uses 2 tins crushed pineapple for the wet ingredient and has coconut as well.................but I have to say the frosting was divine had coconut essence in and toasted coconut on the top. Its a very dense cake I think that's maybe what we did not like about it. We love pineapple just not that cake..................well better luck next time.

Jo Seagar-The Cook School Recipes

Yesterday I made Carrot Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting, from Jo Seagar's new book. Very easy to make and look impressive but I can't say that I really liked them. I do love peanut butter but I don't think it really went with the carrot cupcakes. The family loved them but I was disappointed. It really wasn't a fantastic cupcake recipe either not enough flavour, will be interested in what others think if they have made them.

As you can see from the photo's I was very generous with the frosting, but it made to much there is enough for another batch. I will make them again to use the rest of the frosting which I am going to try and freeze, and because the family liked them.

SWEETPEAS & LETTUCE

I have such good intentions of posting everyday but I am finding that with all this good weather I am spending much more time outside and less inside cooking, complaints coming from the family about that lack of baking lately. I will get back into it as I have lots more community cook books that I want to try things out of, also have the new Jo Seagar book which looks great lovely photos!.

The garden is really growing fast, I picked the first of the sweetpeas today and of course I just had to photograph them....too bad you can't smell them as they just smell divine! I have also been strugling to use all the lettuce I am producing so I picked a pile, washed it and took it to work where it was snapped up.

I have not really been doing much baking at all in the past few weeks but there is yet another birthday cake to make for the weekend (playboy bunny). I have been to a few barbecue's lately and at both the request has been for a Curried Roast Veg and Cous Cous salad that I make. I have to say that there is never any left. I tend to make the cous cous and curry mix at night, put it in the fridge and just roast the veges in the morning add and chill before taking out. This is just a habit I have got into however you can make it all at once and I have done that before as well. I do think the flavour develops better if done the night before. If anyone is interested in the recipe if you let me know I will add it to the blog, just need to fly out the door to town now.......byeeeeeeeee

FIRST COURGETTE OF THE SEASON

Not much to say today, have not really done much baking this week. I did make a brownie, now I have never made brownies before. I think that with brownies its a matter of timing so it does not get too overcooked. I am still getting used to my new oven and I think I overcooked the brownie was not very fudgy at all. The recipe did have a half teaspoon of Baking Powder in and the brownie did rise in the middle which I don't think it was supposed to do, however it did taste ok and I can always have another go.

There has been a steady stream of vintage cookbooks arriving in the mail from Trademe so hopefully will get some baking done in the weekend. I have just been so busy the last week.........................but today I picked my first courgette of the season, now I just have to decide what to do with it as anymore are little way off.

FABULOUS FIVE AND VEGE

Well this weekend we had a small party for my Grandson Hunter who turned 5, I made another birthday cake he wanted Lightning McQueen which was relatively easy to do as all I had to do was sort of copy the logo from a hat he had. The hard part was searching every toy shop for a Lightning McQueen car, every other car from the movie but not Lightning, finally found one in Te Awamutu and my search was extensive!!! The things we do......

Hunter was just delightful, we took him to a fireworks display in the evening, it rained the whole night, we all got soaked but it was worth it the fireworks were great Hunter loved it he walked round singing the whole night.

The vege garden is also doing really well, we are eating silverbeet and lettuces the parsley is growing like crazy. Nearly have some courgettes ready and the peas have pods on, the tomatoes are flowering. I'm loving having a vege garden , everyone should have one. It gives a real sense of satisfaction..........

THE BIRTHDAY CAKE

Yes I know I have been very slack with the blog lately (you never know if anyone reads it anyway) but I have been baking just not blogging about it .

Anyway it was my friends daughters birthday and I was asked to make the cake. Its always nice making a cake for a girl as I've got two now adult boys and a grandson. The cake requested was a goldfish. I really did not have the time to make a shaped cake so decided just to make a round cake and decorate it. I made celebration chocolate cake from foodlovers http://www.foodlovers.co.nz/ the cake was fantastic and huge!! then I iced it with blue buttercream icing. I had real trouble with the buttercream icing, it would just not go on an nicely, so I just decided that the fish would just have to be in rough water!!, then I coloured royal icing and cut out a fish shape. It really looked lonely on the cake by its self so I had to colour more icing and decorate round the cake with seaweed, the rest just sort of evolved until I thought it looked right. It was a fun cake to make and I have to do it all again on Friday for my Grandson's 5th Birthday he's requested a lightning McQueen cake......so will see how that one goes.....