A lovely Saturday

Last Saturday some of the ladies from our now closed down Simple Living Toowoomba group met for a catchup as several of them want to keep in touch and what a lovely morning it was chatting, sharing ideas and recipes as well as enjoying the bounty of the swap table.  

One of our dedicated sewing enthusiasts brought along her Kawandi experiments which were really impressive. The fabric used was very pretty too. All this work was handsewn. 

As usual we had an overflowing swap table which included finger limes  which I had seen before but hadn't tasted. They looked like caviar and I would say they are an acquired taste.

Also several of us wanted the recipe of the cake another lady brought along so I am sure she won't mind if I include it here. She divides the ingredients into groups:

 

EASY APPLE CAKE (GLUTEN FREE)

Makes bars or wedges, depending on baking tin

Ingredients:

GROUP 1:                                                                                     GROUP 2:

150 g butter (softened)                                                      1 1⁄2 cups gluten free plain flour

1 cup Greek yoghurt (sweetened)                                      1⁄2 cup almond meal

2 eggs                                                                                 2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup castor sugar                                                              2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence                                                             GROUP 3

                                                                                           2 cups diced, stewed apple (drained well)

 

Method:

1. Place GROUP 1 ingredients into a large bowl.

2. Use electric beater on low, until combined. Then mix for 1 minute on high.

3. Add GROUP 2 ingredients to the bowl and mix until just combined

4. Add GROUP 3 into the bowl and fold into the mix with a spatula until combined.

5. Pour into lined, rectangular or round (spring-form) 9” baking container

6. Bake in preheated oven @ 160 C, for 60-80 minutes or until skewer comes out

clean. There should be no batter residue left on the skewer, but a wet residue is

just the moisture of apple. Cooked when cake springs back when touched.

 

Toppings (optional):

1. When cooled, sift icing sugar or cinnamon sugar on top

2. When warm, brush with a sugar glaze and sprinkle cinnamon sugar or raw sugar

 

Tips:

1. Cooking times will vary depending on individual ovens

2. This is a Gluten Free recipe, results may vary if using gluten flour. Avoid over-

beating as gluten can stretch too much and make the cake more dense.

Also another lady was asking for anyone who sews to make Cuddle Hearts  for premature babies in the Mater Mothers' Hospital in Brisbane as our local hospital has plenty at present. You can find the instructions here if you would like to help Calling all the Crafty Folk The idea is to make a set of three hearts and one is worn by the mum next to her skin then the heart is put near the baby so that the mum's scent can be inhaled and then there is a spare. The hearts look quite easy to make so I am sure lots of people would like to help out. 

Apart from lots of dahlias there isn't much flowering in the garden at present as the zinnias are going to seed. 

A friend gave me this Poinsettia  for Christmas and the leaves are already turning green as the plants normally flower in winter but are put in greenhouses in Australia so that they are flowering during summer at Christmas. 

Also this night flowering cactus flower is still alive despite being sorely neglected. I like those types of plants that thrive on neglect. LOL! No green thumb required at all. 

Have a great week wherever you live. I hope that in Australia the cleanup from the floods up north goes well although those who live in that area are used to lots of rain but still it is terrible to have one's house flooded. There have been floods in the north and bushfires in the south in Tasmania. I am sure everyone is looking forward to autumn.