Pancake palace at Nathan Homestead

MALO E LELEI FAMILI,

Pancake palace strikes again at Nathan Homestead in Manurewa on Saturday 21 February.

I was so happy to set up my food stall/ bake sale at the Manurewa Hidden Treasures Family Fun Day. The day wouldn't have gone so smoothly without the help and support of my family.

I sold a pancake for $2 each (Plain or chocolate chip) and you could choose as many toppings as you wanted including cream, maple syrup, chocolate syrup, sprinkles, bananas, berry compote, chocolate chips, M&Ms and maltesers. My Dad is famous for making pancakes at family lunches and family friend dinners. A tradition we have is to always eat the first pancake because its usually the worst. Its a nice way to share a little something with the family and we have saved a few batches by tasting that the butter or sugar is missing!

I didn't really take photos because I was too busy working hard. We only took a couple of snaps at the beginning sorry.

But other than pancakes I also had slices for sale. All 3 slices were really nice but thinking back on it, the cost of the ingredients didn't work for trying to make any profit. We had malteser slice, apricot bites and our families Leilua crunch.

Tip: I put baking paper in all my baking tins before I put in the mixture so that cleaning is 100% easier and lifting up the finished slice to cut is too easy :)

The malteser slice was SOLD OUT

Oh yum I wish there were some slices left... 

Beautiful toppings for the pancake people. 

Pancakes are so easy to make so it was a really good seller. If I have the chance next time Im going to make cupcakes on the side. Cant wait to show you what ideas I have next- now its just finding the money to pay for my dreams. The life of a starving artist. 

I noticed that advertising on Facebook helped. Everyone who commented on the status showed up and everyone who came had never been to Nathan Homestead before. Im surprised and glad that this day was help because it is a hidden treasure in Manurewa. 

The Manurewa community has a reputation for being a bit dangerous. The 'South Side'. Its a low income and multicultural community which has different cultures including Pacific Island, Asian, Indian, Maori and Pakeha (European). 

 I grew up in Manurewa and was lucky enough to go to holiday programmes at Nathan Homestead with my sister and my cousins. I remember ice cream days and making a lions mask out of clay and doing drawing lessons. Im just happy to see people discover this great place and to share it with their kids. So I guess my last message is to try new things in your own community and if your near the Botanic gardens or Totara park then stop in to Nathan Homestead or look up the website- they do some really cool classes for kids and adults.

Happy pancakes people.

A special Valentines on a budget

Valentines day isn't really a big thing in New Zealand. Well, not that I know of! Most people just spend it with their partners going on dates and buying small gifts- the usual chocolates or flowers or just being extra nice. We don't do it as big as in America but thats OK. For me its all about showing your appreciation for your partner and reminding them how much you love them.

I usually don't do anything other than a small gift on Valentines but one never knows how many Valentines we will experience so I wanted to make this one extra special for my husband Eugene. My husbands right side of his body has been affected by his brain tumor so its very hard for him to walk and travel so I decided I would do something special at home. I didn't need to break my bank for a memorable date at home and I had such a beautiful time. The whole family got involved and were so happy to see Eugene and I happy together and in love. But enough mushy stuff...

We have a kind of shelter just at the back of the house so I decided thats where I'll set the scene.

What you'll need:

- Gun stapler and staples
- $3 table cloths (I thought they were rectangle but the were square- read the package people!)
- Coloured paper
- Scissors
- Vivid/ Marker
- masking tape/ sellotape

This was really fast and easy to set up. You can pick these up at most $2 shops and you can pick any colours. White looked really great with the white hearts. First you take one corner and staple it to the wood. Then, from the corner you just stapled, move the gun stapler down and staple the middle of the table cloth to secure it. Then you can staple the opposite top corner to the middle of the top wooden bar. Then gather the rest of the material and staple it to the post. I bought 6 table cloths in total plus the pink table cloth for the table. 

The paper hearts were cut from coloured paper and stuck to the table cloth. Easy peasy!

I like the white and red combo the most.

Left over hearts were stuck to the fence with masking tape. I find it much easier to stick to the wood and its easier to peel off.

You can kind of see the fairy lights at the top of the photo. They looked great at night time- Having dinner under your own personal universe. 

We even had flowers and candles. Just decorate the table with whatever you think looks pretty and Im sure it will look lovely. Even picking whatever flowers you have in the garden would be great.

I even made a special treat for Eugene which he has been asking me to make for him again. A South African recipe of Peppermint Crisp tart. This was my first try at making this and I couldn't believe it was so easy.

Heres a bonus recipe for y'all-

They sell the Nestle Peppermint Crisp chocolate bars in South African shops in Botany. 

200g Peppermint crisp chocolate

250ml cream

1-2 Pkt of Nice biscuits

1 can of caramel condensed milk

1. Mix the caramel so its smooth in a bowl.
2. Whip the cream and add to the caramel.
3. Grate the chocolate and add to the cream/ caramel mixture. Leave some chocolate bits for sprinkling on the top.
4. Place a layer of Nice biscuits in a baking tray/ slice tray then alternate between the cream/ caramel mix and biscuit layers till you reach the top. 
5. Sprinkle with the leftover chocolate bits then refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

Eugene absolutely loved it and so did I. Well, this just shows you don't need to do much to make someone feel special on Valentines day. You don't need it to be Valentines to show your partner you love them. Just think about what they like and enjoy the moments you share together. 

Much love to everyone. 

Ella