When I sit down and look at the photos that I have taken over the last few weeks it reminds me that life is full of fleeting moments, travelling, planning, routines, dreams, meals, expectations, mess, noise, conversations and occasionally, quiet understanding.  All of these things have intertwined to make up the colour and rhythm of our life lately.

We have had some horse riding adventures with a like-minded horse crew.

Horse riding adventures often lead to fossicking adventures.  Abandoned woolsheds always deliver when it
comes to light, texture and a good dose of nostalgia.

There is nothing better than locally grown fruit, particularly when you are saving fruit that would otherwise be wasted.

Last Sunday afternoon we met up with our little food loving community and filled our buckets and crates and cars with
apricots and nectarines.

At the end of it all we shared a cold beer, a chat and some delicious cake served on the back of a ute.  More Sundays should be spent like this.

Subsequently my kitchen and cool room are now over
flowing with apricots which has led me to plenty of apricot related baking.  I started with easy apricot slice, which is more like a cake. (recipe below)

Soft sourdough buns with chunks of apricot hiding in the middle.

Wood oven dried apricots.

Now I am thinking about homemade apricot liqueur for Christmas
presents and since the theme of the day is apricots, I thought I would share a recipe.

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Apricot slice/cake

INGREDIENTS

• 225 g plain flour
• ¾ cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 3 eggs
• ¼ cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 180 g butter, softened
• 8-10 apricots, halved (depending on size)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Line a 30cm x 20cm slice tin with baking paper.

2. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large bowl and make a well in the centre.

3. Place eggs, milk and vanilla in another bowl and mix to combine. Pour the egg mixture into the well in the dry ingredients, add the butter and beat by hand or with electric beaters until smooth.

4. Spread mixture evenly into prepared tin. Push apricot halves into the mixture, arranging in rows.

5. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons extra sugar, then return to the oven and cook for another 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Happy Friday friends.