strawberries and potatoes

After being inspired by Kim's delicious looking strawberry shortcake, I decided to try my hand at making a strawberry cake. Now I've never done a shortcake and with a daughter allergic to both egg and dairy, thought the variation wouldn't go down all that well, so changed it to a strawberry spring cake!! Which is essentially a butter cake served with sweetened strawberries!!

Ingredients

125g butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup castor sugar
2 cups self raising flour (or plain flour with baking soda/baking powder)
1/2 cup Apple puree
1/2 cup rice milk

250g strawberries
extra tbsp of castor sugar

1. Beat the butter and vanilla until white. Add in the sugar and beat until light and creamy.
2. Beat in the apple puree until combined
3. Fold in the dry ingredients, alternating with the milk
4. When all combined, mix lightly until smooth
5. Spoon into loaf tin or well greased round cake tin
6. I baked it at about 160C for 50 odd minutes. With the apple and the milk it is quite moist so you want it to cook through without burning.Test yours with a toothpick to check when it's ready
7. Combine strawberries with the extra sugar and refrigerate for half an hour

Turn the cake out on a wire rack to cool. Serve with the strawberry mixture and whipped cream if desired. Obviously we skipped the cream, but some nice fresh yoghurt (soy for little miss) worked a treat instead. 

Yummo!!

And another recipe which is completely NOT allergy friendly but yum all the same is my potato frittata. I had some left over roast potatoes, pumpkin and carrots from yesterday's roast so I decided to be creative. 

Ingredients:

2 cups of cold, cooked, chopped leftover roast vegies. I used potatoes, pumpkin and carrot
1 onion
1/2 clove garlic
Olive oil
6 eggs
Cup grated cheese
1/2 large tomato sliced
Rosemary
Salt and pepper

1. Heat the oil in a pan. Cook onion and add garlic toward the end
2. Place the chopped vegies on the bottom of a baking tray. Sprinkle with dried rosemary
3. Combine eggs and grated cheese in a seperate bowl, whisk together with a fork. Add salt and pepper to taste
4. Tip the egg and cheese mix onto the vegies and combine well
5. Add some more grated cheese on top
6. Decorate with some slices of tomato
7. Bake at 170C for 40 minutes, or until the egg has set

While friends of ours have been away we have had the fun experience of feeding their chooks. In return we get blessed with their delicious, fresh eggs. Rich and creamy with the most golden yolks you've ever seen!!

 So dinner was leftover roast lamb with potato bake, steamed broccoli and strawberry spring cake for dessert. Not too bad for someone who would rather be lying down with her feet up 8 months pregnant!!!