Beetroot growing
We had not really eaten beetroot before growing it. What a fantastic vegetable. Really good for you, easy to grow, tastes great, tastes best raw, fantastic in juice, when pickled it is so much better than the tinned stuff and you use the lot of it. The leaves taste much better than silver-beet. Next year […]
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GINGERBREAD MEN, GINGERBREAD HOUSE
Christmas Gingerbread These are such a winner with any child, the smaller the child the more preparation needs to be done before they actually become involved. The mixture needs to be made in advance and left to chill in the fridge for at least an hour. This takes little time and can be done in […]
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Zucchini Chutney
Just another way to use up all of those zucchini. Ingredients First day: 1.5 kg assorted zucchini, seeded and chopped into 1cm cubes 1/3 cup salt Second day: 5 medium tomatoes or chopped or a couple of tins of tomatoes 3 small onions chopped 2 medium cooking apples diced 2 1/2 cups white vinegar 1 […]
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ZUCCHINI PICKLES
This is brilliant, I made a small batch the first time and it was so good that I made a lot more towards the end of the season. I freeze it in batches, flattened, in zip lock bags and it lasts for ages. Tastes great with ham and almost anything else. The spices are quite […]
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MARINATED OLIVES
I still don’t have olive trees that do anything other than grow and get thrips, however I do like a good olive and the best are always the marinated ones from the deli. My sister-in-law once gave me a jar of olives that she had marinated herself so after finding that it was possible to […]
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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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CHOCOLATE TOPPING FOR ICE CREAM
Hard Chocolate ice cream topping 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 […]
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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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PRESERVED LEMONS/LIMES
The first time I made this I made heaps and ended up throwing the jars away. The lesson I learnt was that if you don’t use something very often then don’t make much of it. This time a Moccona jar full will be more than enough for us – and it is small enough to […]
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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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CITRUS CORDIAL
This is so easy and actually tastes of the fruit – no need to worry about what % of fruit is in the cordial. You know and can taste it. Home made cordial is quite trendy at the moment, it is very easy and is a great use for excess citrus fruit. Ingredients 4 cups […]
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CUCUMBER – RAITA OR TZATZIKI
These are very similar recipes, the added herbs being the main difference depending on whether you are wanting to accompany Greek or Indian dishes. To reduce the liquid in the mix it is best if the cucumber and the yoghurt are prepared ahead. I like a bit of texture in my tzatziki but you can […]
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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
Brandy Butter Ice cream – no churn – made with sweetened condensed milk 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 […]
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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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Ways With Eggs – pickled
Eggs We have times of the year when we have lots of eggs. Twice a year we have the three geese laying gigantic eggs, and the 5 chooks laying each day – the equivalent of about 13 eggs each day. These need to be eaten, or used up in some way. The solutions: Dogs had […]
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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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