Birthday

So Birthday dad.  We won't tell you his age as it doesn't matter anymore.   Found this recipe for Lemon Meringue Cake and it was pretty tasty.  Have a go if you like lemon meringue pie.


LEMON MERINGUE CAKE 
1. Preheat oven to 160°c. Grease two 20 x 5cm-deep round cake pans and line bases with baking paper.2. Combine flour, sugar, almond meal and lemon rind in a large bowl.3. Whisk butter, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and lemon juice in a bowl. Add to flour mixture and stir well to combine. Divide mixture among cake pans and smooth tops. Bake for 35 minutes or until cooked when tested in centre with a skewer. Stand for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.4. When cakes are cold, slice each in half horizontally, to make 4 layers in total. Place 1 layer on an oven tray and spread with 1/3 of the lemon curd. Continue with remaining layers and curd.5. Preheat oven to 200°c. Using electric beaters, beat egg whites until frothy. Gradually beat in extra 1 cup of caster sugar, 1 tbs at a time, until thick and glossy. Spread meringue over top and sides of cake, creating swirls and peaks. Bake for 10 minutes or until meringue is light golden. Stand for 10 minutes before transferring to a serving plate. 

Ingredients

2½ cups self-raising flour

1 1/3 cups caster sugar, plus extra 1 cup

1½ cups almond meal

1 large lemon, rind finely grated, and 1/3 cup juice

200g butter, melted, cooled

1¼ cups buttermilk

3 eggs and 4 egg whites

2 tsp vanilla extract

420g tub lemon curd

Lake Wyangala

 The Wyangala Dam is the second oldest dam built for irrigation in New South Wales and was one of the last dams in the state where a railway or tramway system for construction purposes was utilised. It is the only dam on the Lachlan River system, which feeds the Murrumbidgee River, and in turn feeds the Murray River.  Built in 1935 it created Lake Wyangala.   This past weekend.  The tech services department at the mine had their annual Christmas family party.  It seems to get bigger and more fun as the years go by.  This year it was decided to go to the Lake Wyangala and options of camping over were available.  Which is what this family decided to do.  We drove down Friday night and stayed two nights.  The second night the group pretty much took over one whole camping area.  Here are some of the photos from the weekend. 

Halloween 2015

Grad Crafting

Middle child is graduating this year.  On to highschool next year.  There was a meeting for the parents of the grads to help with the graduation dinner and speeches.  I volunteered for decorating.  After finding out that fresh flowers might kill our budget.  I got the bright idea to use old books and make my own flowers.  This may be a long couple of weeks to get 16 centre pieces done!!!

Family Game Night

Owen has been pleading with puppy eyes for a month to have a family game night.  Granted picking Monopoly would not have been my first choice.  We all tried very hard to get him to choose UNO but......   I wonder what it says about everyone.  Owen won't sell a thing.  Hannah just had the crap luck.  Ciara well she got fed up after a while.  I just got one set of three properties and Eric got the Park Place high end properties!!!    We played for a few hours and then counted money to declare a winner.  Owen of course.

Open Garden Parkes NSW 2015

We got asked to be part of Parkes Open Garden Tours.  I didn't take photos of the days before the tour.  Which I should have,  the garden is a little quiet now.  Back to just green and we haven't been as eager to clean up leaves and weeds like the weeks leading up to it.  So this is just a little taste of the garden.  I'll post more later on in the summer when the next round of blooming starts.  We got a very hot period after the Open Gardens and all the blooms went very fast even the roses. 

Yellow Favourites This Spring

Birthday

33 Degrees and it's Pool Time

Wow 33 degrees.   It sneaks up on you.  We headed down to the pool after some garden work for the upcoming Parkes Open Gardens that we have volunteered our garden for.  Purple Rain cocktails down by the pool for only me as Eric is on Ocsober.  No beers for him the month of October.

Fresh Golden Beets - Dinner Idea

I love golden beets.  Sweeter then red beets.  I finally got my garden to produce and more are in the works to be planted this weekend.  I looked for a recipe.  This was amazing.  I could have kept eating.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 large onions, quartered lengthwise through root end, sliced crosswise (about 4 cups)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 bunches 2-inch-diameter golden beets with fresh healthy greens; beets peeled, each cut into 8 wedges, greens cut into 1-inch-wide strips
• 12 ounces farfalle (bow-tie pasta)
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving

Preparation

Heat heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add pine nuts and stir until lightly toasted, about 3 minutes. Transfer to small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons oil and onions to same skillet and sauté until beginning to soften and turn golden, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to sauté until onions are tender and browned, about 30 minutes longer. Add garlic and stir 2 minutes. Scatter beet greens over onions. Drizzle remaining 2 tablespoons oil over; cover and cook until beet greens are tender, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook beets in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 10 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer beets to medium bowl. Return water to boil. Add pasta to beet cooking liquid and cook until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid. Return pasta to pot.
Stir onion-greens mixture and beets into pasta. Add pasta cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls to moisten. Season with salt and coarsely ground black pepper. Stir in 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. Divide pasta among shallow bowls. Sprinkle with pine nuts. Serve, passing additional cheese.

Australian Father's Day

Family all in one shot #1

Day 216 - Tuesday Morning Fog