Spiced Chocolate Courgette Cake and a Natural Tooth Whitener

We've got neighbours coming over for dinner tonight and I want to cook using ingredients from our garden. Sounds good? But they all have gardens too, and I'm thinking, how do I do this so that they don't go oh no, not beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes and basil again!
So I have made an aubergine (home grown) dish, layered with a refried bean/ tomato/ onion mix, interspersed with sour cream and grated cheese, and a little pesto thrown in for good luck.

layered aubergine dish

After kebabs and lamb chops from the barbecue, green salad, baked layered potato/cream/cheese/onion and cucumber raita, I will be serving this chocolate courgette cake (sneaky eh?), but instead of icing there will be stewed apples and custard. 

Spiced chocolate courgette cake

This was my sample piece to make sure it was edible - it passed with flying colours.

Spiced Chocolate Courgette Cake

250g butter
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
1/2 cup light olive oil
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
1/4 cup cocoa
2 tsp chinese five spice powder or mixed spice
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 courgettes, grated ( 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup unsweetened plain yoghurt

Beat the butter and sugar and oil together until thick and creamy. Beat in the eggs.
Sift the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture, and fold in with the yoghurt and courgettes.
Turn into a well greased and lined 23cm cake tin. Bake at 180c for approx 1 hour until cooked.
If you wish to add chocolate glaze, wait until the cake is cool.
Chocolate Glaze
2oog dark chocolate
3/4 cup of cream
Melt together the chocolate and cream in the microwave on high for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth.



Tumeric tooth whitener

In a recent post from a blog I follow quateracrelifestyle there was a post about using tumeric as a tooth whitener, which I had never heard of before but was interested to try. I've only tried it once and there wasn't a noticeable difference, but I think it takes longer than that, so I plan to try it for a while off and on.
 Anyway it wasn't too unpalatable, although we are advised to use an old toothbrush, protect surfaces and use an old facecloth or suchlike to catch drips as it stains whatever it lands on.
Mix 3/4 teaspoon of tumeric powder with a little water and brush teeth for 1 minute, after which rinse and clean teeth as usual.