I got home from dance practice at 8.30pm and what better time to bake the next recipe waiting for me open on the page. It looked easy, compared to “that cake”, (the Gateau de l’opera ) 
and besides, we had no home baking (believe it or not!!) in the house for school lunches so this is it, looks healthy too. Sounds a bit like a muesli slice. (it wasn’t)
I set to baking before it got too late. I melted the butter, (no creaming the butter and sugar this time) and sifted the flour and sugar into a bowl. Then I noticed that there was buttermilk in the recipe which of course I didn’t have. 
I remembered my mother telling me about buttermilk and that is was good for making scones and also, that you could make it. 
So I googled and there you have it, I lemon into a cup of milk. I have limes on my tree in the garden and yesterday I had ventured out to get some.
Lime tree side of the house at the moment!!
Not such an easy feat with the building going on but I managed to negotiate the obstacle course
Little treasure hidden in the garden 🙂
and in doing so found a beautiful hibiscus flower on the verge of opening.
It’s lovely to have fruit trees in the garden, so satisfying to pick something fresh to use. One summer I went out to pick some passion fruit from the ‘not so healthy because my husband insists on pruning it’ vine and found a whole bowl of unexpected edibles in the garden!
Wow, what a crop!
Wonders never cease.
Finding little treasures is I guess what enhances our lives. Limes in the garden, flowers, special places, like this bush walk, Kitekite Falls in Piha.
So I made butter milk, fascinating how the milk curdles before your very eyes and becomes a gluggy thick soup. Even the eggs cracked into it didn’t sink. 
I poured my butter milk mixture into the dry ingredients
CHOCOLATE!
then added chunks of chocolate, raspberries and blueberries (the healthy ingredients).
Mmmmmmmm :0
Well it turned out to be the most moist luscious cake, not really a bar at all but whose complaining.
The next morning I decorated it 
with melted dark and white chocolate. Delicious treat for a rainy day and
Hard work deserves a treat
I felt well deserved after the stress of making my latest samba creation!
