Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Raspberry Brownie Cake


This is a really great recipe for raspberry brownie cake. A very good friend of mine told it to me and we made it as one of my daughters birthday cakes. (she had three). This is a very rich chocolate cake maybe not the best cake to make for a child's birthday, but like me she is mad about chocolate and so we could not resist. 

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Fresh Pesto

 My basil was about to flower so I picked off all the tops and made some fresh pesto.  Picking the tops off the basil stops it from going into flower which helps it to last longer.  
My girls just love Pasta Pesto and its a really great tasty thing to make for supper when we are in a hurry. 
The other great thing about pesto is you can just put anything in it, I like it with lots of garlic and lemon.

Friday, August 12, 2011

A Birthday Dress

Finally after a few months I have made the big sister a dress as promised.   She just had her birthday and so it became her birthday present from me.  I bought two different types of materiel, I got silk for the main part of the dress and some cotton for the lining.  I also got two buttons for the back and some lace to use as a trim at the bottom. 

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Plum Chutney

This is another one of Linda Browns great recipes for chutney.  Chutneys are an Indian side dish and the name comes from Chatni which means a strong, sweet relish. They first appeared in England in the seventeenth century and since then they have been adopted and changed. Indian chutney  differ from English ones in many ways.  First Indian chutney's are freshly prepared and don't contain vinegar or added sugar they are mostly runny and very Hot. In the west we make them as a preserve and they are sweet and sticky with a jam like consistency. But what they do have in common is, they are made from a combination of fruits and spices giving them a sweet and sour taste.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Pickled Gherkins

   Sweet and sour pickled Gherkins are really easy to make and there is no cooking involved.  This is a combination of different recipes I have used in the past, before I didn't use sugar and I found the gherkins too sour so I tried it with sugar. The sugar adds a nice sweet taste and also helps with the preserving process.