Just for fun: Recipe sharing
What's your fave cake? Mine is pear and rum cake. I am a huge fan of lemon anything, but have yet to find a lemon cake recipe that is moist enough and doesn't over-colour when baked.. one of my life's missions (I lead a sorry little existence hehe)
Here's my recipe for Pear & Rum cake:
1&1/2c sultanas
1c water
3c peeled and diced pears
1/2c marsala or rum (I’ve only ever used rum or masala – rum you can taste in the cake, marsala not so much)
1&1/2t baking soda
190g butter
1c and 3T sugar
2 large free range eggs
1t vanilla essence
2&1/2c plain white flour
1T baking powder
1t cinnamon
1t ginger
1t mixed spice
1t ground cloves
Bring the sultanas and water to a simmer, let them bubble away for 5 mins. Add the pears, baking soda and booze then turn off the heat, cover and leave to cool.
Cream the butter and sugar before adding the other ingredients.
Gently combine the wet with the dry and bake in a pre-heated 180 deg oven for approx 45 mins til cooked.
I line my baking tin but don’t think it’s critical, greasing it would be tho!
(No idea what size tin I use sorry, it's just "the pear cake tin"!) ;)
Serve dusted with icing sugar and with soft whipped cream as a dessert. Or cold with just the icing sugar dusting.
I have put pecans on the top of this before baking, that was a fab touch.
I have subbed in apples and they're good too!
This recipe never fails and even people who don't like pears or rum will scoff it happily.
PS If you wanted to share your fave recipe, I know I wouldn't complain - I am *that* person who tears a page out of a magazine with a recipe on it (well, not so much now, I tend to take a photo of it but before I had a cell phone you'd see me carefully watching everyone in the room to see if anyone could tell I was nicking off with the page I wanted) :-D
Poll: If we want to reduce speeding, what do you think actually changes driver behaviour? 🛻🚨🚓
In the Post's article on speeding penalties, the question is asked whether speeding fines are truly about road safety, or are they just a way to boost revenue for the Crown?
What do you think? Should speeding motorists receive speeding fines or demerit points?
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30.2% The sting of a fine (Money talks!)
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69.8% The threat of demerit points (Nobody wants to lose their license!)
Lawn mowing
Hi Everyone
I have availability on my lawn mowing run at the moment, for regular cutting, in the Napier area. My customers include residential and commercial properties and they are happy with the service I provide. Autumn is also a great time to get your lawn sorted, if you need some help. I have also had customers in the past, that were selling their property and needed it tidied and maintained, while on the market.
So if you are interested or need a quote, or know someone that needs help with their lawns? Please contact me.
You can reach me at 027 3731310 or Bradley.mw@gmail.com
Have a great day!
Michael from Blade Lawns.
Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!
Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.
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