Ako´s yellow roses....2014

The blooms are getting prettier every year and more buds are growing

 in each of the stems. I couldn´t  believe my eyes that a stem

 has around 30 buds or so this year...clusters of buds 

of Ako´s yellow roses. 

Hubby´s red roses in the vase pictured  below were simply

 added there to give contrast to the  rose vignette.

Named after our rottie, this is as old as he was (Ako the Rottie 1994-2007)... 
...this rose bush is now more than 2 decades.

Now the blooms are all so gorgeous as ever..

Enjoy the pics!

Happy Sunday!

I´m linking this to : 
Show & Tell Friday

the past week´s images from my garden

This past week before going onto my well-deserved holiday had been hectic.

  We had to prepare the house & the garden before the trip commences.... we intend to be away for a month.

My dog Ako´s yellow rose bush has actually more buds than the 

previous years and I hate to go not seeing them blooming.

I´ll be sharing with you more rose pics in the next blog after this. 

I´m not really a good gardener,  I plant according to my instincts... this Philadelphus shrub has been in my garden for almost 2 decades now. It always smells wonderfully that sometimes I think it causes nausea (for me).

I guess I´m allergic to fragrances, LOL!

I ´m not good in remembering plant names....my co blogger Lizette Geldenhuys Jonker who´s lecturing on plants at Garden Diva was kind enough to tell me its name..

The yellow honeysuckle always blooms in Spring...but the flowers aren´t really that scented compared to the pink one I have which only blooms in summer.

I also hate to go without seeing my potted lilies open-up.

The bulbs are actually in its 3rd year now and each bulb multiplies rapidly having so many new stalks. They were planted in a tight grey concrete block. You can see the previous year´s flowers here.

The potted lavender is also beginning to show its color now...

No matter how nice this creature can be...this ruins the leaves of plants,  they climb up  the conifer and stay there for a while until they fall off to the ground.. but I guess they are not that harmful as the slugs!!!

Another Philadelphus variety...

The geraniums are now blooming too.

Geranium buds, sooner they´ll become pinkish...

Shot was taken today after a heavy rain..

The snail on my apple tree..

I planted about 40 gladiola bulbs and distributed them around the open spaces in between the shrubs.... well, my garden backyard has a limited space and am eager now to see what the outcome will when they grow tall and start blooming.

Another shot of the philadelphus..they said, this is another variety.....am just wondering how many variety it has.

Yesterday, the mulch have been distributed all over the empty space...oh my,

 I had been on my knees, later had a big backache from the bendings.

 I hope the mulch would keep the soil moist until we come back..

Hope you enjoy the pics...

Keep on gardening!

xoxo,

Mercy

moist cranberry macadamia cake..

There are so many variations of this cake... I had one posted a week ago called Easy Carrot Plum Cake . And while the recipe of the carrot plum cake calls for more fat, here the ingredient that makes this cake a super moist one is the crushed pineapple...

A friend told me to try crushed pineapple  because it´s really making the cake so soft and yummy that you won´t even notice that pineapples are included.

So, here it is and I hope you would try this very easy scrumptious recipe.. 

Moist Cranberry Macadamia Cake

Ingredients:

dried ingredients:

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup granulated sugar or Stevia powder

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup dried coconut flakes

1/2 cup macadamia nuts, crushed

3 tsp baking soda

a dash of salt

1 tsp ground cinammon

1 pack Vanilla sugar

wet ingredients:

3 large eggs

3 tbsp olive oil

2 cups grated carrots

250 grams pineapple chunks drained and crushed

for the frosting :

250 ml whipping cream with lesser fat ( I used Rama Cremefine) 

3/4 cup powdered sugar or stevia powder

1 pack Vanilla sugar

1 pack cream stiffener powder of 8 grams ( I used Dr, Oetker Sahnesteif) 

Preparations: 

   Preheat the oven at 180°C/350°F. Brush the  inside of a bundt baking pan

   with margarine, set it aside for filling later.

 1. Combine all dried ingredients in a bowl, mix thoroughly until well 

     blended, set aside.

2. In another bowl, beat the egg adding the oil, stir until oil is well  

   blended with the eggs.. then add the grated carrots and the crushed 

   pineapple.  Add this mixture to the bowl of dried ingredients and using a

   spoon , mix thoroughly until all dried ingedients are well coated with the 

   egg mixture and become moist.

3. Fill this mixture into the bundt pan and bake for about 45 minutes .

   Make a test, if the toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out 

   clean, then the cake is done. Cool the cake completely on a wire rack..

4. Make the frosting by whipping the cream adding the sugar by & by and the    cream stiffener until the cream mixture becomes stiff. Use the whipped 

  cream to top and cover the cake completely.

5. Sprinkle with flaked coconut and serve with more whipping cream on the       side of the cake... Good for coffee breaks or afternoon tea.

HAPPY BAKING !

Til next, xoxo

Mercy

Post linked  to :

google+ communities - Food Bloggers

an easy spinach tart....

I always have filo pastry in the fridge and I buy them readymade from our  supermarket ...it' s a versatile dough you can use for anything sweet or salty... and it´s a quick way to bake something without spending so much time in the kitchen..

One of those quick baked goodies we prefer to have at home is this

 quick & easy spinach tart and this is how I make it..

EASY SPINACH TART

Ingredients: 
1 pack filo pastry

200 grams frozen young spinach leaves, thawed and 

liquid squeezed

1 pack Mozarella around 150 grams, sliced
2 medium size tomatoes sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
1 tbsp Cream fraiche 
salt & Pepper to taste
margarine to coat the pie dish
vegetable oil for frying


Preparation:

1. roll out the filo sheet onto a pie dish that was previously coated with margarine, trim the edges with your finger so that the dough covers the whole baking dish.. bake in a preheated oven, middle rack at 200 °C for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, set aside.

*blind baking is not necessary as the middle part of the dough will 

be flattened soon as it is filled with spinach).


2. Fry the crushed garlic, add the sliced onions, sliced tomatoes, spinach, 

sauté until becomes soft, add the creme fraiche and blend well...

season with salt & pepper according to your taste.

3. Add the spinach mixture into the crust and bake at 180°C around

 15 minutes or until the cheese starts to melt... Serve hot!

Happy Baking !!!

broken hopes

Broken Hopes

you are your own dark fortress

no one would ever want to reach

bear you possess not the courage

nor the liberty for the pretty wrongs

ridicule not the others but yourself

putting them off at their expense

is something only tyrants do

if all choose sympathy on you

then redeem yourself, strive hard

improve the deep within you

your true reflection discouraging

moulded and sealed the past

nothing could pass the virtue

that´s been trying to get you

in your tattered world of beliefs

battered with broken wings

seek your destiny or stand let it be.

written by :

Mercy G. Gallardo

Vienna, May 11, 2014

visiting german relatives.....

It was exciting to meet someone you didn´t see for over a long 

period of time. I found out a couple of years ago, 

that I have relatives living in Germany..

She is the daughter of my first cousin,  her grandma was the

 older sister of my dad. We were kids back then when 

our ways parted..and now after so many years we´ve met again

 in Erding  ( near Munich) Germany.

We went by car passing-by Salzburg... on our way, saw the

 magnificent parts of the austrian alps.

Everything was already green again as Spring is now here... but the 

peaks of the mountains are still covered with snow.

we also passed-by Chiemsee....

... arrived in Erding after 4.5 hours drive from Vienna.

On that Sunday of our visit, the stores and farmer´s
 market were  opened..  I have enjoyed walking  in and around 
the town.  It´s a nice place to live in...quiet, almost no 
pollution, low crime..

Erding has good infrastructures.. 
By train, you can reach Munich International 
Airport and the City by 30 and 40 minutes respectively.

Erding has banks, hospital, clinics, supermarkets, etc.

tiny flowers seen along the road.

A hearty breakfast at the hotel...before going to Neuschwanstein Castle...

My cousin loves flowers and these are cultivated by her.

Have enjoyed the town very much

Happy Saturday!