Introducing Henry

Mr Girlfriend and I met in 1987.

The following year we bought our first car.

A series 3 LWB Land Rover.

Here I am camping with it approximately eleventy billion years ago.

And so began a long love affair.

Between Mr Girlfriend & I and with these unreliable but loveable beasts that are Land Rovers.

We owned that car for a long time before we felt we needed to be sensible and buy something more reliable.

The nostalgia of owning one has never left us though.

We look longingly at them and can't help but admire them wherever we roam.

Then last year I had the opportunity to purchase one from a friend.

The story of this particular car is a special one.

We felt lucky to be able to give it a new life & for our lads to experience the romance and nostalgia of Land Rovers.

And so I bought it for Mr Girlfriend as a birthday gift late last year.

It has been at the mechanic since being brought back to life- he was in no hurry.

Yesterday, five months later I took hold of it and drove it away.

This particular one was built just a couple of years before we met.

A 9 seat troop carrier.

Meet Henry.........

We are planning on meeting up with his comrade  Percy very soon for a camping trip on Bruny Island.

PEAR, RHUBARB & GINGER upside-down cake:
It is a lazy Friday today, rain falling outside.
A perfect day to be baking.
I had seen this recipe and thought it sounded delicious. 
This is my own version. 
The original recipe asks for fresh rhubarb but I had some Rhubarb compote in my fridge that I make to add to muesli, so I used that instead ( I boil a bunch of chopped rhubarb with some sugar and 2 star anise with a little water until syrupy- i have this in my fridge to have on top of muesli)- I also had some pears I needed to use.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

• 200ml rhubarb & star anise compote (see notes above)
• 1 pear, cored and sliced
• 80g soft butter cut into chunks
• 140g soft brown sugar
• 150g caster sugar
• 175g Plain flour
• 1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tspn ground ginger
• 150ml extra light olive oil

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 180C.
Line a 20cm springform tin with baking paper.

In a large bowl combine flour, caster sugar, eggs, baking powder, ginger and olive oil.  Mix well.

Pop the cubes of butter evenly around the bottom of the baking tin and sprinkle the soft brown sugar all around.

Place into oven for 5 mins.

Remove from oven.

Place pear slices around the base and smear the rhubarb compote over the pears.

Now pour cake batter over the top and place in oven for 55 mins or until skewer comes out clean.

Allow to cool in tin before upturning onto a plate.  (be sure to run a knife around the edge so as to separate the caramel from the tin.)

One of my fave tracks from 1985- the year our Landy was made.