It has been so refreshing visiting family in other parts of
the state and enjoying the better weather that Hobart seems to have missed out
on, It has also been a time for a lot of ‘firsts’ for me.
In this time I completed the longest bush-walk that I have
ever attempted (even though it was a pretty modest 5 hr walk), built a chicken
house and grown some garlic! All of which I am very excited about!
If anyone enjoys getting out and seeing Tassie I highly recommend
the Cape Raoul walk, it was absolutely stunning and took my breath away. Walking out at the end of the day to a sunset bathing us in a warm golden glow really does remind me of why I live in such a special place!
Another first for me was a DIY project to build a chicken
coop, and move in two lovely Welsummer ladies that I have decided to call Henny and Penny.
This is part of a birthday present for my mother, and by trying to be more sustainable
and environmentally conscious lately, I thought that some chickens to provide
eggs, deal with kitchen scraps and fertilise the garden would be a nice idea.
Finally I took a gamble on a very not well thought out plan,
and tried to plant some Australian purple garlic that I found reduced in the
supermarket and shooting in the packet. I honestly have no idea what I am doing but they are starting to
grow and I can’t wait to see the end result.
This recipe is also a ‘first’. I have never tried a chai
that was a real spice mix and not the powdered version. When you do things you
better do them right, right? So here is a recipe using Pollen Tea Room/TeaTribe Masala Chai.
Chai Spice Loaf Cake
200g plain flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
150g butter, cut into small pieces and softened
2 ½ Tbs Pollen Tea Room Masala Chai
150g coconut sugar
4 eggs
Small knob of butter, for icing
½ C icing sugar
Line a medium loaf tin and preheat the oven to 180oC.
Grind the chai mix in a mortar and pestle until it is as
fine as possible (pick out any big chunky bits like stray cardamom pods). Beat this
with the butter in a mixing bowl either by machine or hand. Add the coconut
sugar and keep beating for approximately 5 minutes until the butter is light
and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, also adding 2 Tbs of the flour with each egg to avoid
the mixture splitting. Finally gently stir through the remaining flour and the baking
powder.
Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes.
When the cake is completely cooled make the icing by placing
the sugar and butter in a bowl and adding 1 Tbs of boiling water at a time,
mixing well with a fork, until you have an icing or glaze at the desired
consistency.
Spread this over the top of the loaf and enjoy large slices
with butter!
If you try this let me know! I’d love to hear your ideas and
suggestions.
Much love M&T
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I'd love to hear from anyone who would like to share their thoughts and ideas with me, and I promise to read each one!
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M&T xx