Hot Cross Buns

I decided to have a go at making Hot Cross Buns this year, and they worked out very well, so might make a habit of it!!


I used this recipe from taste.com.au and just made a couple of adjustments - I only used sultanas, no currants or peel, and I used 2 teaspoons of mixed spice, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.

I also made a slight error and added all of the flour, instead of only 4 cups, so my mix had half a cup of flour extra, which didnt seem to cause a problem (thankfully!!! - must read the recipe properly!!).  Instead of glazing them with the apricot jam, I mixed together 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, with 2 tablespoons of boiling water, and a sprinkling of cinnamon,and brushed this on the cooked buns.

Baby Shower Cupcakes for Gina

For Gina's Baby Shower, I made Vanilla Cupcakes iced with chocolate buttercream.  These are very easy to make, and the result is a nice light, fluffy cake!

ingredients
250ml cream
220g caster sugar
2 eggs
225g self raising flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

preheat oven to 180c and line your muffin tins with cupcake wrappers (makes about 18 cupcakes).

whick together cream, sugar and eggs until well combined.  Gradually add flour and beat until smooth, add vanilla. (you can ad whatever other flavour you prefer - e.g lemon zest, or orange zest instead of the vanilla).

spoon batter into the paper cases and bake for 20 minutes - the cakes will be a lovely golden colour.

to make the chocolate butter cream, melt 120g dark choc and allow to cool.  Beat 150g softened butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add 160g icing sugar and continue to beat, till you have a very light and fluffy mix, add a splash of vanilla and the cooled melted chocolate, and mic until well combined (and still light and fluffy of course!!). Put into a piping bag and ice the cooled cupcakes.

Gina had some very cool cupcake toppers, which made the cupcakes look a little bit fancy schmancy!!

and while we are here, how about some more baby shower pictures.....




on the left are some vegan chocolate truffles - I need to get the recipe for these because they were great!




this guacamole was delicious!!

.
I ate too many of these crunchy felafel!



meatballs!!



pretty sandwiches!!

dinner at home - home made pizza

making pizza is so quick and easy, I am more likely to make pizza than to buy it these days.

I don't generally follow a recipe to make the base - I throw together a mixture of white & wholemeal flour, and lix this with water and a sachet of yeast. And usually a pinch of salt, sometimes also some chopped herbs and garlic.  Knead this together to form a smooth dough, then leave to rise before turning it into pizza bases, topped with whatever you find in the fridge that takes your fancy......



For me, tomato, spinach & onion! delicious!!!!!




for Janet - bacon & pepperoni, with bbq sauce.  It looks a tad over-done in this picture, but wasn't actually burnt. really!!

morning tea - bakery tasting plate

This was my easy way of providing morning tea when I didn't have time to actually cook anything - I made a quick visit to the bakery down the road and made a few purchases, then did some expert chopping up! We had a caramel slice (which had a bit too much base layer for my liking), and apple slice (my favourite), and a vanilla slice. There was also a plain donut and a couple of scones which must have been camera shy :-)

Weekend Breakfast at Home

Ok, so its not the prettiest of breakfasts, but it was very delicious! I fried up some tomato, onion and spinach with a splash of balsamic, to go with I also scrambled an egg. I scrambled my egg with a spoonfull of no-fat greek-style yoghurt. The reason the egg looks a little multi-coloured is because I fried it in the pan after I removed the vegies, and I am lazy and didnt clean it out. Only aesthetic harm done :-)




for Janet, I fried a couple of eggs and some bacon.