Herb Spiral

Some one I know is building a permaculture garden. I had no idea what this was so looked them up on-line. The concept sounds good but what caught my attention was a herb spiral. We recently moved into a new house (new for us we didn't build it). It had a very big very weedy veggie patch. So after some hard work we had a very bare veggie patch. In this hot summer I have managed to get some beans to grow and they have flowers so fingers crossed they will give us a meal or two. The previous owners of our house left lots of bricks behind from when they built so I decided to put these to good use. I followed these instructions from tipnut the second video down was very helpful and I copied his method exactly.

My herb spiral used less than one bale of straw its amazing when you open it up how much it expands. Once I wet it down, we made holes in the straw to put the plant in. It makes a nice stable little basket for the plant I have started with some mint, oregano, thyme, sage and palsy. This was easier to do than we thought it would be.

Peach Upside Down Cake

Its not chocolate but people love it. For my Daughters I serve it with Soy Ice cream when its warm but its nice on its own cool. It's a moist cake and lasts well kept in the fridge. This was one of my first allergy free recipes I tried that I really liked. People are surprised to know that it's allergy free. The batter tastes fantastic, so good that I have thought about making it just to eat the batter. Like you always say you will do one day when your a child.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons of dairy-free Margarine

1/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 400gm can of sliced peaches. Canned in a blend of fruit juices.

(I tend to get the SPC peaches in mango juice)

reserve the juice

1 1/2 cups SR Flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

2 no eggs (I use Organ brand)

or you can do it your self with a mix of 3 tbl vegetable oil, 3 tbl water and 1 1/2 teas baking powder.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

Melt the dairy-free margarine in a microwave jug then mix in the brown sugar. Put a baking tray under you 9-inch spring form pan and pour in the sugar mix. Drain the juice from your peaches and reserve the juice. If any of the peaches are a bit thick, slice them in half lengthwise. Arrange the peaches in a circular pattern in a single layer in the cake pan, placing peach slices on top of the brown sugar.

In a bowl mix the flour, sugar, 1/2 cup reserved juice (if necessary add enough water to equal 1/2 cup of liquid), vanilla and egg substitute. Mix the batter until its smooth and well blended. Note: The batter will be thick.

Spoon the batter into the cake pan, covering the peaches. Don't worry if there's not quite enough batter to cover all the peaches - the batter will rise and spread as it cooks. Put the cake in the oven still on the baking tray this will catch any drips. Bake for approximately 35 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and firm to the touch. Cool the cake in the pan for 5 minutes, then carefully invert onto a serving platter. Serve warm or cooled. Cover and refrigerate any leftovers.