'Yummee Cake' especially with whipped cream!
I found this recipe at http://www.smittenkitchen.com which is my new favorite cooking site. There are lots of yummy recipes to try.
You can just ignore the word “raspberry” up there and swap it up with any which berry you please, like blackberries or blueberries or bits of strawberries or all of the above. This is a good, basic go-to buttermilk cake — moist and ever-so-light — a great jumping off point for whatever you can dream up.
Makes one thin 9-inch cake, which might serve eight people, if you can pry it from first two people’s grasp
1 cup (130 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick (56 grams) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup (146 grams) plus 1 1/2 tablespoons (22 grams) sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (optional)
1 large (57 grams) egg
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup fresh raspberries (about 5 oz)
1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick (56 grams) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup (146 grams) plus 1 1/2 tablespoons (22 grams) sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (optional)
1 large (57 grams) egg
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup fresh raspberries (about 5 oz)
Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 2/3 cup (146 grams) sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about two minutes, then beat in vanilla and zest, if using. Add egg and beat well.
At low speed, mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined.Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Scatter (see Note) raspberries evenly over top and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons (22 grams) sugar.
Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool to warm, 10 to 15 minutes more. Invert onto a plate.
Make your own buttermilk: No need to buy buttermilk especially for this or any recipe. Add one teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice to one cup of milk and let it sit until it clabbers, about 10 minutes. Voila, buttermilk!
Homemade Shampoo's for your Pets
NEVER use human shampoo on your pets. The ingredients are very harmful to them.Any dog has a time in its life when it doesn’t smell as fresh and clean as if it was just washed in a fresh, spring-fed lake. This is where essential oils can come to the rescue. Not only do they mask unpleasant odors but they offer some aromatherapy to the dog and household. You can create a variety of different aromatic shampoos for your dog. All-natural aromatherapy grooming begins with the addition of essential oils to an all natural soap or shampoo base.
The following recipes all call for the essential oils to be added to 8 oz of an all natural shampoo base.
1. Spicy Deodorizing Shampoo 5 drops Cinnamon Leaf 6 drops of Atlas Cedarwood
5 drops Caraway 4 drops Rosemary
3 drops Black Pepper 2 drops Patchouli
3 drops Bay Lead 3 drops Vetiver
2. Refreshing Citrus Shampoo
3 drops Sweet Orange
3 drops Lemon and Lime
3 drops Grapefruit
3 drops Mandarin
3. Delicate Floral Shampoo
4 drops Lavendar
2 drops Ylang Ylang
4 drops Rose
6 drops Petitgrain
4. Woodsy Conditioning Shampoo
6 drops Atlas Cedarwood
4 drops Rosemary
2 drops Patchouli
3 drops Vetiver
Make sure to watch the dog carefully to see how they react to the scents. If they seem uncomfortable, change the blend, or lessen the amount of oils used.
Read more at http://www.pawsnclaws.com.au/homemadepetshampoos
Two good reasons to use non-toxic dish liquid
'Helping your Health and The Enviroment at the same time'
I know this is going to seem like a simple tip but it can make the world of difference to everyday health and the ability to move into cleaning simplicity: Buy liquid dish detergent that is free of dyes and fragrance. Just switching to fragrance-free dish detergent will make the world of difference to the indoor air quality in your kitchen. Synthetic fragrances are made of a large number of petroleum products, hundreds in fact, and can cause a number of health problems including aggravating asthma and neurotoxic reactions. So if you wear gloves when you wash dishes and are not too worried about the dyes (usually a green color) in the detergent, you will still breathe in the scent, and be affected.
Dyes tend to always be up for review for causing cancer and being neurotoxic, even food grade dyes are being removed from the diets of children because they can cause behavioral problems.
Outside of health concerns, vegetable-based dish washing liquid is safe because it can be used for other home made cleaning formulas. If you use toxic dish liquid in your homemade formulas you miss the main feature of the formulas, they don’t contribute to indoor air quality and are better for the waste water stream.
Below are 5 good reasons to switch to Green envorimental products:
Health Hazards of Comercial Dish Washing Liquids:
1. Repeated an/or prolonged exposure is irritating to skin.
2. May cause reproductive problems and kidney and liver damage.
3. Some contain formaldehyde-carcinogenic and causes birth defects.
4. Fragrance and colour additives harmful to health - Some contain ingredients that are incompatible with bleach products and will release toxic gas when mixed.
5. Does not break down in the environment.
To read more go to:
Bath time fun
When my grand-daughters Apryle and Kathryn were staying over in the holidays they wanted to have a spa bubble bath, so in went the water and a few bubbles, in went the girls and on went the spa. The bubbles starting rising and I thought little Katie was going to disappear under them. She got out very quick and hid in the shower. Apryle was having too much fun, so she stayed in and I got some great shots of her and the bubbles. Maybe Katie will be brave enough to stay in next time.Scrapping Time
I have been in the right frame of mind for scrapping lately, so here are my lastest efforts
We went to the coast in January and Rennae's best friend Penny came too. We had lovely hot weather and lots of swims. Canberra is about two and a half hours drive to the coast.
This is Rennae and her sister Carly at Carly's home in the country
Rennae and her best friends at her sweet 16 birthday party, enjoying life in the city
This is Mickey and his friends, they are always getting together for play dates, usually Lucky and Odie come to our front door and bang with their paws to come in (they only live close by) then when they have played and are ready to leave they bang on the back fly wire door to go home. Its so cute.Mickey's Play Date
Mickey loves it when his puppy friends come over to play. They spend ages romping around the back yard. This friends name is Odie, she lives a couple of doors up from us and she often comes to play.
A Beautiful Day!
I love this time of year. The sun is shining. The air is still and peaceful. Its a beautiful Autumn day and its good to be alive to enjoy it.
It is school holiday time here in Australia and for the next two days I have 2 of my precious grand-daughters staying over with their Nar (thats what they call me). Apyrle who is 8 has stayed over many times before. Kathryn who is 3 in 6 weeks, this will be the first time she has been away from home overnight. So when night time falls it will be anybodys guess as to whether or not she will be happy to stay with her Nar and her Aunty Nae (my yongest daughter Rennae)and not want to go home to mummy and daddy. But until then I am going to enjoy the lovely sunny day with them and worry about all that later. Whatever happens it will all work out fine. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing I wish you all an awesome day.
It is school holiday time here in Australia and for the next two days I have 2 of my precious grand-daughters staying over with their Nar (thats what they call me). Apyrle who is 8 has stayed over many times before. Kathryn who is 3 in 6 weeks, this will be the first time she has been away from home overnight. So when night time falls it will be anybodys guess as to whether or not she will be happy to stay with her Nar and her Aunty Nae (my yongest daughter Rennae)and not want to go home to mummy and daddy. But until then I am going to enjoy the lovely sunny day with them and worry about all that later. Whatever happens it will all work out fine. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing I wish you all an awesome day.
Are You Sleepwalking Your Life Away?
Are You Sleepwalking Your Life Away?
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Do you have a clear direction for your life? What life long goals and dreams do you have for your life, career, health, relationships, wealth and spirituality? Are you actively pursuing them? Or are you just keeping them stashed at the back of your mind?
Sleepwalkers - These are people who live through their lives in an unconsciousness state. It is not just about being physically awake - Many people around us are awake, yet living unconsciously. They are not fully aware of who they are, the larger context of life they are a part of and their real purpose in life.
Sleepwalkers look like any one of us, but are really just physical shells living through their lives as drones. Have you ever seen people who have no clarity on their life? These people are not able to articulate what their life is about or what they want to do. Every day, they are just running around doing various activities such as working, playing, partying, sleeping, but none of it has any relation to life in the bigger picture. To them, that is what they have come to know as life.
These people are the sleepwalkers.
How do you know if you are a sleepwalker? Below are 8 signs to watch out for:
1. Lack of awareness of the bigger picture.
Ability to see beyond what is before you physically. It is being aware that the boundaries of life is not just limited to what is in your direct sphere of contact, such as your family, friends, religion and workplace. Sleepwalkers are not aware of their life as part of a bigger context - as part of the whole universe, as part of the whole spectrum of human history, as part of something greater than what they see every day. What do you think of your life in terms of?
2. Not living in alignment with real purpose.
Do you know what your purpose in life is? Do you have a clear vision of how you want your life to be 5 years, 15 years, 30 years from now? Or is it fuzzy and undetermined? Sleepwalkers are not aware of what their purpose in life is. They have ambiguous, sketchy purposes which they were fed with at some point in their lives - and they are not fully convinced of it themselves either. Some have an idea of their dreams and goals, but they put it in the backburner in pursuit of other things that others expect them to do in life.
3. Life runs on auto-pilot.
Are you caught in the loop of ‘going through the motions’ or ‘running the rat race’? Sleepwalkers live their lives out in automated mood, repeating the same activities daily with no conscious control over them. They drone through the weekdays, looking forward to fridays and weekends, where they recharge themselves for yet another dead week ahead. This cycle continues week after week, with no end. They are too comfortably snuggled in the cycle to do anything about it.
Occasionally events happen which derails the motion, such as the transition to a different life phase, changing careers, loss of a job, etc. This is also referred to as the mid-life crisis. When this happens, they get a wake up call. They start realizing that they have not really not living their life. At this point, some may either start taking direct action on their lives or scurry back into their rat wheel, convincing themselves that their current life is the best one.
4. Engage into non-value added activities.
When sleepwalkers are not busy getting caught in the motions, they fill the gaps in their lives with random activities. This includes addictions such as playing games, partying, eating, watching TV, surfing the net with no end in mind, gossiping, complaining, etc. The person is often not capable to stop this at will until there is an external stimulus which cuts it off, such as time to sleep or eat. He or she is also not able to articulate a clear reason for engaging the activity, other than ‘Because it is fun’, ‘I like it’ or ‘There is nothing else to do’.
5. Passive or avoidance approach to life.
This is common motif of “Living on a day to day basis” and “Live and let live”. They roll along with the punches and manage them as they come along. Control is something they relinquish to people around them. Asking ‘why?’, questioning existing establishments or taking charge of events in their lives are just not in their nature.
Sometimes they find themselves trapped and unhappy with where they are in their lives, such as their relationships or their work. However, they remain passive about it because they do not see any way out. When asked about their reactive behaviour, they reply with “I want to, but [insert reason]” .They are under the perception that what they are doing is temporary sacrifice for a better, long-term future.
They dislike conflict and try to avoid issues or confrontations as much as possible. After a while of avoiding problems, the unresolved issues will culminate to a breaking point scream for their attention. The sleepwalker’s automatic reaction is to avoid and drown them out by engaging in numbing activities. Unfortunately, this does not resolve anything and the problem emerges again sometime in the future, in a different context. An analogy would be the popular myth about the ostriches ‘burying its head under the sand’. Just because you refuse to acknowledge a problem, does not mean it isn’t there.
6. Find no time to do things you want to do.
Sleepwalkers are often busy all the time - they frequently complain about having a lack of time, not being able to do things they want, etc. But they do not realize that they are the ones who put themselves in that position in the first place. When questioned by other people, they are cannot exactly put a finger to where all the time and energy went into. Sleepwalkers are always waiting for a proverbial ‘next time’ for their goals, dreams and desires in life, but they do not realize that the ‘next time’ never comes.
7. Unconscious of your thoughts and emotions.
Are you aware that 60,000 thoughts run through our mind every day? What thoughts dominant your mind every day? What were you thinking and feeling just before you started reading this article? Sleepwalkers constantly have their minds cluttered. In addition, they also have low awareness of those thoughts that occupy their mind.
8. Lack of motivation or ambition.
Sleepwalkers are not very motivated or driven in their lives. They live simply because they are here. They spend their lives living other peoples’ expectations to make something out of their lives. While some of them have personal goals and desires, they keep them stashed away in pursuit of other things which they feel they ‘need’ to do.
Does any of the criteria above describe your current situation or anyone around you?
Sleepwalkers - These are people who live through their lives in an unconsciousness state. It is not just about being physically awake - Many people around us are awake, yet living unconsciously. They are not fully aware of who they are, the larger context of life they are a part of and their real purpose in life.
Sleepwalkers look like any one of us, but are really just physical shells living through their lives as drones. Have you ever seen people who have no clarity on their life? These people are not able to articulate what their life is about or what they want to do. Every day, they are just running around doing various activities such as working, playing, partying, sleeping, but none of it has any relation to life in the bigger picture. To them, that is what they have come to know as life.
These people are the sleepwalkers.
How do you know if you are a sleepwalker? Below are 8 signs to watch out for:
1. Lack of awareness of the bigger picture.
Ability to see beyond what is before you physically. It is being aware that the boundaries of life is not just limited to what is in your direct sphere of contact, such as your family, friends, religion and workplace. Sleepwalkers are not aware of their life as part of a bigger context - as part of the whole universe, as part of the whole spectrum of human history, as part of something greater than what they see every day. What do you think of your life in terms of?
2. Not living in alignment with real purpose.
Do you know what your purpose in life is? Do you have a clear vision of how you want your life to be 5 years, 15 years, 30 years from now? Or is it fuzzy and undetermined? Sleepwalkers are not aware of what their purpose in life is. They have ambiguous, sketchy purposes which they were fed with at some point in their lives - and they are not fully convinced of it themselves either. Some have an idea of their dreams and goals, but they put it in the backburner in pursuit of other things that others expect them to do in life.
3. Life runs on auto-pilot.
Are you caught in the loop of ‘going through the motions’ or ‘running the rat race’? Sleepwalkers live their lives out in automated mood, repeating the same activities daily with no conscious control over them. They drone through the weekdays, looking forward to fridays and weekends, where they recharge themselves for yet another dead week ahead. This cycle continues week after week, with no end. They are too comfortably snuggled in the cycle to do anything about it.
Occasionally events happen which derails the motion, such as the transition to a different life phase, changing careers, loss of a job, etc. This is also referred to as the mid-life crisis. When this happens, they get a wake up call. They start realizing that they have not really not living their life. At this point, some may either start taking direct action on their lives or scurry back into their rat wheel, convincing themselves that their current life is the best one.
4. Engage into non-value added activities.
When sleepwalkers are not busy getting caught in the motions, they fill the gaps in their lives with random activities. This includes addictions such as playing games, partying, eating, watching TV, surfing the net with no end in mind, gossiping, complaining, etc. The person is often not capable to stop this at will until there is an external stimulus which cuts it off, such as time to sleep or eat. He or she is also not able to articulate a clear reason for engaging the activity, other than ‘Because it is fun’, ‘I like it’ or ‘There is nothing else to do’.
5. Passive or avoidance approach to life.
This is common motif of “Living on a day to day basis” and “Live and let live”. They roll along with the punches and manage them as they come along. Control is something they relinquish to people around them. Asking ‘why?’, questioning existing establishments or taking charge of events in their lives are just not in their nature.
Sometimes they find themselves trapped and unhappy with where they are in their lives, such as their relationships or their work. However, they remain passive about it because they do not see any way out. When asked about their reactive behaviour, they reply with “I want to, but [insert reason]” .They are under the perception that what they are doing is temporary sacrifice for a better, long-term future.
They dislike conflict and try to avoid issues or confrontations as much as possible. After a while of avoiding problems, the unresolved issues will culminate to a breaking point scream for their attention. The sleepwalker’s automatic reaction is to avoid and drown them out by engaging in numbing activities. Unfortunately, this does not resolve anything and the problem emerges again sometime in the future, in a different context. An analogy would be the popular myth about the ostriches ‘burying its head under the sand’. Just because you refuse to acknowledge a problem, does not mean it isn’t there.
6. Find no time to do things you want to do.
Sleepwalkers are often busy all the time - they frequently complain about having a lack of time, not being able to do things they want, etc. But they do not realize that they are the ones who put themselves in that position in the first place. When questioned by other people, they are cannot exactly put a finger to where all the time and energy went into. Sleepwalkers are always waiting for a proverbial ‘next time’ for their goals, dreams and desires in life, but they do not realize that the ‘next time’ never comes.
7. Unconscious of your thoughts and emotions.
Are you aware that 60,000 thoughts run through our mind every day? What thoughts dominant your mind every day? What were you thinking and feeling just before you started reading this article? Sleepwalkers constantly have their minds cluttered. In addition, they also have low awareness of those thoughts that occupy their mind.
8. Lack of motivation or ambition.
Sleepwalkers are not very motivated or driven in their lives. They live simply because they are here. They spend their lives living other peoples’ expectations to make something out of their lives. While some of them have personal goals and desires, they keep them stashed away in pursuit of other things which they feel they ‘need’ to do.
Does any of the criteria above describe your current situation or anyone around you?
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