a great day for ducks

and tea cake.

The Easiest Lemon Tea Cake

Chef: Alison Alexander
Degree of difficulty: Low
Cooking Time: 35 minutes

You need:125g. unsalted butter, at room temperature2 eggsfinely grated zest of 1 lemon3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon caster sugar1 1/2 cups self-raising flour1/2 cup milkTopping:juice of 1 lemon2 tablespoons caster sugar

Method:1. Pre-heat oven to 180deg.C. Line a 20-22cm cake tin with Glad Bake.2. Place all cake ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat with electric beaters for 4 minutes, scraping the sides to make sure all ingredients are combined. Pour mixture into prepared tin and bake for about 35 minutes or until cake is cooked when tested with a wooden skewer.3. Remove cake from the oven and rest in tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire cooling rack. Brush the cake evenly with the topping. Serve warm.Topping: Combine lemon juice and sugar in a small bowl and stir until sugar has dissolved.

It has rained heavily all day today and been really cold, but not to be put off, B and I spent the day travelling the Hills District in search of specific plants for the garden;
- roses for the front yard, in particular Kentucky Derby (B's favourite) and Scentimental.
- 3 Curry plants, and
- Scented Gernaniums (apple, lime, ginger, and lemon)

We also managed a visit to Bali Garden, no success there unfortunately, I was after a Mimpi (carved sandstone lady with frangipani's on her head), and lunch at Windsor for the best fish and chips (about the only good thing going for Windsor these days). Now back home it is still too wet to plant out anything so instead we shall eat teacake and watch 'What Not to Wear' snuggled under the doona.