I went to make my little Easter cake and I didn't have any icing sugar; or powdered sugar. Icing sugar is just powdered sugar with corn starch added to prevent clumping. The funny thing is that I was in the market today and asked myself if I needed to get some icing sugar. I told myself no because I had a huge bag. However, I forgot that I had to toss that bag in the dustbin since it got contaminated. My first thought was that I would get up in the morning, get ready, and make a trip to the market. Which I don't really want to do since I have to be at sister #1's house at 12:00; eating at 13:00. What to do. Well, I decided to get the food processor out and see about making my own icing sugar from granulated sugar. The end result is good; I can still feel a few small grains of the granulated sugar. I may process a bit more tomorrow and call it good. It will do, no one really eats the cake anyway; it is more of an Easter tradition that I carried on from Mum. Would I make my own icing sugar in the future? No, it is much easier to just buy a bag of icing sugar at the market.

As I was looking in the freezer one day I came across some strawberries and decided I would make a few pots of strawberry spread.  It would be so delicious on waffles or even as a topping for ice cream; it would be great for making some sundaes.  The first step after thawing the strawberries to to purée them.  I use a Braun hand mixer and purée them directly in the pot but you can use a stand mixer or food processor.  Add sugar to the strawberries; for my batch I added two cups but it will depend on the quantity of berries you have and how sweet you want the spread to be.  Slow cook the mixture for a bit but to get the thickness you desire you will need to bring the mixture to a rolling boil.  You can monitor the temperature with a thermometer; either a digital thermometer or a candy thermometer.  I test for thickness by putting a bit on a saucer and placing it in the frig to cool.  For spread I recommend not letting the temperature reach above 93C/200F.  When the spread is ready, remove from the cooker and poor into sterilised jars, place a sterilised cap on the jar, and then tighten the band firmly.  Allow to cool before removing the bands although you can store with the bands in place.

 

 

 

 

I had a simple meal of green beans, black-eyed peas, and a chicken breast. Sometimes less is good and it is quick and easy to prepare. My green beans are producing very well and I even managed to get some black-eyed peas for my evening meal. The only thing not provided from the land was the chicken breast which came from a local shop. It was a slow go to getting the garden producing. I got flooded out just at the time I needed to get things planted. My okra is still too small to be producing but it is growing fast. Some squash is starting to come in as well as a few cucumbers.