OLIVE TAPENADE
I was going to buy some olive tapenade for mini pizza toppings and roast my own capsicum to go with it, but I couldn’t find the tapenade so bought olives and made it myself – so simple, why would anyone buy it. Ingredients 2 cup (300g) pitted kalamata olives (or pit them yourself just add […]
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PINK & CHOCOLATE TOPPING FOR ICE CREAM
This is a fantastically easy, amazing recipe. The result is runny chocolate that stays pourable for ages, yet hardens on contact with very cold ice cream. It is like Ice Magic except in large quantities. I used it to coat my individual layered ice cream cakes that were made in muffin pans. I was able […]
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BEETROOT & CARROT SALAD
Even the 2YO loves this and eats it by the handful. It is so easy to make that there really is no need for a recipe – you just need beetroot, carrot, balsamic vinegar, sugar and horsreadish cream. We usually have a bowl of this in the fridge during the beetroot season. It has even […]
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HOT AND SOUR NOODLE SOUP
Another very quick, easy to serve, Asian style soup. Ingredients Serves 6 6 chicken thigh fillets, skin off but left whole 3 tbsp mirin 3 tbsp soy sauce 5 garlic cloves, crushed 4 small red chilli, chopped 2 litres chicken stock 1½ cinnamon quills 2½ star anise 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar 300g ramen noodles […]
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THAI LARB
This was so quick and easy and can be made with any type of mince – lamb, chicken, pork or beef. It has a lot going for it. Ingredients 1 tablespoon peanut oil 4 garlic cloves, crushed (or grated with the fine side of a box grater) 4 tbsp fresh ginger, finely grated (as above) 2 […]
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CHAR GRILLED CAPSICUM
I grow capsicum but usually only the long ones – they seem to be fairly immune to fruit fly attack and I have save the seeds and have grown more this year. Capsicum and Chilli plants also last for more than one season so this year I left some in the ground over Winter, pruning […]
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TANGELLO AND FENNEL SALAD
This is the most surprising salad I have ever made – the crisp fennel and the tangelo are so complementary and the dressing is just beautiful. Will definitely be on the Christmas recipe list to complement the ham. Ingredients Salad 4 tangelos, peeled and segmented 1 fennel bulb, trimmed, finely sliced 1 medium red onion, […]
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LEMON AND GARLIC TONIC
This recipe was given to us by a naturopath many years ago. It is claimed to cure almost anything, however, we have seen blood pressure lowered to normal levels in all of the people we have given the recipe to. It is meant to be taken for a 7 weeks course and the course repeated […]
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CUCUMBER – RAITA OR TZATZIKI
A good Tzatziki or Raita is more than just yoghurt and cucumber — they need time, the right balance of garlic and lemon, and fresh herbs. These use homemade yoghurt that has been strained to remove excess liquid and are made the day before so the flavours have time to meld properly. Both are cooling, […]
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GHERKINS – THIN SLICED
We didn’t have enough small gherkins at any one time to make standard gherkins so I came up with the idea of taking the larger ones and slicing them thinly. I started looking at recipes for dill pickles because they were the only ones that I could find that were sliced, but I don’t really […]
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DAMPER
Campfire Cooking – Damper There are 2 recipes here, the first is great for feeding quite a few people when you have the ingredients and time. The second can be prepared into zip lock bags and made up in small batches as needed. It can also have an egg added to give it a more […]
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BRANDY BUTTER NO CHURN ICE-CREAM
This is so easy and doesn’t require an ice cream churn. Brilliant served with a hot Christmas pudding and can be made well in advance. I put a scoop of this on top of my Ice-cream Christmas Cakes and then drizzled the pink chocolate over the top. There is Christmas desert made well in advance […]
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SON-IN-LAW EGGS
I heard this recipe described on the radio many years ago and have kept it in my bucket list of things I wanted to try at some time. I have now made it and it is worth keeping. The eggs have a crispy outside and are still soft boiled on the inside. They make a […]
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LAYERED EGG TERRINE
Very easy to make and a regular at parties, served with tortillas toasted in the sandwich toaster (sprayed with olive oil, sprinkled with sea salt and sesame or poppy seeds) and cut into triangles. This is made in four layers in a rectangular ceramic loaf sized dish: Base Layer 6 hard boiled eggs, 3 tbs […]
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IMPOSSIBLE PIES
I first came across impossible pies in “Yarramalong Valley’s Favourite Recipes” that was compiled in 1988. They worked – both the sweet and savoury versions. I cooked them repeatedly during the 80s and 90s but they fell out of my repertoire. Now I have poultry of lots of varieties and I have eggs to use […]
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DRESSINGS AND SAUCES
I don’t understand why people buy salad dressings. They are so easy to make, they’re fresh, adaptable to whatever is in the fridge or cupboard and there is no packaging to dispose of. The simplicity of the “recipes” shows how little effort is required. Generally the method involves putting the ingredients into a jar and […]
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CHICK PEA BURGERS
Another use for chick peas (add this to Hummus as a quick way to make something impressive in no time) – tins of chick peas are always handy to have in the pantry – or you can cook the peas from scratch but that sort of defeats the intent of having something that is healthy […]
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CAMP-FIRE BEEF STEW
Stew, Real Baked Beans, Pea And Ham Soup, Damper, Vegetable parcels, Chocolate chip bananas . . . . . The stuff of a campfire – recipes and links to good things to cook for a campfire experience. We are lucky enough to a have a fire pit with a few logs around it so that […]
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BOSTON BAKED BEANS
This is my second attempt at Boston Baked Beans, the first was a bit too strong in the molasses department but after being left to mature and frozen for a while it made great camping food. This time I have made enough to last, when frozen, for ages. It takes soooo long to make that […]
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PEA AND HAM SOUP WITH SWEET POTATO
Love soup – something that you need to grow into, or at least I did. Funny thing is I would never choose soup from a menu in a restaurant, probably because I have never had one that tasted any better than something I make myself. Last time I tried this soup it was made with […]
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Budgie House
Home Made Happy Hut or Budgie House Today I was left to baby-sit a freshly washed white baby budgie (It wasn’t me who washed it!!). It was the coldest day so far this year, so to keep it warm and get it dry it sat for hours inside my jumper against my skin. When it was […]
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YOGHURT, LABNE
Labneh This is a cheese made from yoghurt. I use low fat plain Greek yoghurt that I buy in 2 kg buckets. To me this is the perfect spread – low fat and good protein = no guilt. It can be used on vita weet biscuits cruskits or Mountain bread as a base for some […]
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CHICKEN AND HALLOUMI
Tender slow cooked chicken I saw Heston Blumenthal comparing chicken cooked according to the instructions on the bag and his version. the stringy, dried out roasted version looked very familiar, and is probably why I never roast a whole chook. The secret is in brining the chicken to get as much moisture into it as […]
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PICKLE SALADS
Cucumbers are another vegetable that I didn’t like much until I grew my own. These are salads that are delicious, keep well and can be served with just about anything. Oriental Pickle Salad Pickling liquid Mix together, boil 1 minute and cool: 6 tbs rice wine vinegar 6 tbs caster sugar 6 tbs water salt […]
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