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"She seemed to come suddenly upon happiness as if she had surprised a butterfly in the Winter woods"
(edith wharton)


Sunday 4 April 2010

easter day & a simple orange cake

today our daughters came to Easter lunch. so we had Louisa & Garth with their two boys~ Harry and Charlie.. and our youngest daughter Sophie and her boyfriend the plumber.. and yes, he has a name: Chris...
it was strange not having my son here.. our family dynamics have changed alot since he moved interstate.. and truthfully, we are all floundering trying to find some kind of balance ... but we continue to try with days like today. that is why a move to Villa Maria will be good.. we can begin afresh. I miss my son alot. my heart is a little heavy tonight.. I sent him Easter eggs but it is not the same without him here.. however, he is happy, healing and has a job now.. so that is all I can ask for. he is alive. Mary has him under Her mantle. I know he is safe.

I adore planning celebrations.. this year I bought 3 coloured candles in the shape of eggs, placed them on a vintage pressed glass cake stand and surrounded them with roses from my garden. I played Deuter, East of the Full Moon ~ a favourite, soul stirring piece of music. I burned incense that Daisy had sent me a few years ago.. for Autumn Harvest.. so today really, I celebrated both days.. Easter for tradition and Mabon for the wheel of the year, albeit a little late.

lots of Easter eggs and bunnies... all Lindt chocolate. none are left.

I cooked a leg of lamb ~ slow roasted with garlic and rosemary from my own garden. mashed potatoes and carrots, minted peas and sweet potato in a brown sugared glaze.
and a simple orange cake for afternoon tea. very simple, very tasty..

MOIST ORANGE CAKE
ingredients:
155g soft butter
2 tsps. grated orange rind
2/3 cup castor sugar
3 eggs
1 cup self raising flour
1/4 cup milk
ORANGE ICING
1 cup icing sugar
1 tsp. soft butter
1 tblsp. orange juice ( approx )

grease a deep 20cm round cake tin; line base with paper
combine all ingredients in large bowl, beat on low speed with electric mixer until ingredients are combined. Increase speed to medium, beat for 3 mins. or until mixture is changed in colour and smooth. Spread into prepared tin. Bake in moderate (180C - 375F ) oven for about 45 mins. Stand 2 mins before turning onto wire cake rack to cool. Spread cold cake with icing.

to make the ORANGE ICING
sift icing sugar into small heatproof bowl,stir in butter and enough juice to make a stiff paste. Stir over hot water until icing is spreadable

enjoy! & HAPPY EASTER !

13 comments:

Pam Aries said...

Happy Easter... You had me at Orange Cake! yum!

Pam Aries said...

ps: check out Rima's blog http://intothehermitage.blogspot.com

Diva Kreszl said...

did you set a place at the table for me? it all sounds so yummy! Happy Easter to you and yours sweet friend, sending a prayer out to your son as well :)

Anonymous said...

A couple of days away from the computer and I miss so much! Thank you for such delightful Easter and gardening posts Robyn. Please don't ever stop. I am pleased you could spend such a happy time with your family, even though you miss your son. Good that he is finding his feet again. Your Easter table and gardening efforts look wonderful.xx

Fire Byrd said...

oh! can you send a slice of that cake down the lines it sounds gorgeous. I couldn't make one as I'd have to eat it all myself and that is so not happening!
Good to know you made the most of the changed celebration.
xx

mxtodis123 said...

Happy Easter, my friend. I love that look with the egg shaped candles...and the cake sounds scrumptious. Blessings to you and yours.
Mary

A bird in the hand said...

Happy Easter, Robyn. You're blessed with a lovely family.
And I'm all for fresh starts. (Did the chocolate arrive yet? I had to send it by slowboat because the airmail charges were so high, I could have bought you three times as much of the chocolate.....)

xoxo

Kathryn Knoll said...

I wonder if the people of your country know what a national treasure you are. Such a delightful view of life "down under" from one woman's life's experience in the day to day simple things that give us all pause to consider and enjoy. I just love you! Thank you for the life you share with all of us. Many blessings,!

laoi gaul~williams said...

oh robyn it all looks and sounds just wonderful~i am sure your son was there in spirit
xoxoxo

Bimbimbie said...

I just spotted your new photo over at Linda's and thought I'd fly right over and say Hello Robyn ... you're moving*!*

Janet said...

I'm late but Happy Easter! The orange cake sounds delicious as does the rest of your meal. I'm sure everyone enjoyed it and had a good time.

I know how difficult it is to not have your son with you. Both my children live far away and I seldom get to see them....it makes holidays a challenge for me.

Anonymous said...

Dear Robyn,
I love your centerpiece.
Yes, I think it would be tough without your son there. My daughter is moving out of state this Summer and I know I will miss her terribly.
Keeping you in my thoughts. I bet you are getting excited over the move, just not the packing!
Love,
Laurie
P.S. save me a piece of that cake

Imogen said...

Your desription of your Easter Sunday roast dinner makes my mouth water - and me a vegetarian! Good roast lamb is one of the things I miss... and the veggies sound gorgeous. Here the mint is still dormant after a long cold winter, and peas are just out of the freezer for now...
Your son will be thinking of you and know you are thinking of him; and as you say, at least he is healing and finding some happiness again.