I've had visitors drop in this afternoon - one of the best things is that "Hester" the Nectre is always at the ready for baking.  (That's the beauty of these wood fired slow combustion heaters/stoves). Within half an hour blood orange drizzle cup cakes were ready, as the oven had simply needed a little boost … Continue reading Blood orange cup cakes

Bran Bread Cakes/Muffins Adapted from a recipe in Woman’s Realm “Book of s101 ways with bread” by Susan King, a soft cover booklet, published by IPC Magazines Ltd, Plymouth and Fleetway Printers, Gravesend, 1980 225g plain flour 100g wholemeal flour 100g unrefined (natural) bran 1 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons sugar 3 teaspoons instant dried yeast … Continue reading Bran Bread Muffins from Griffith’s Bakery

Here's a preview of the episode of the Gourmet Farmer tonight that shows Matthew Evans making cordial here a little while ago. https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=fat%20pig%20farm  

Snow at 6am today, very pretty indeed. Just the morning to do a little baking to take into Hobart. First those lovely bran muffins (here shown ready to be baked), and then a little kiwi fruit jam as an optional extra to serve with them. The fruit was given to me by a friend on … Continue reading Kiwi fruit jam on a cold and snowy morning

Again, allowed myself just a little baking today. Sponge cake - I have never really been able to achieve one quite like my Nan used to make, with a lovely crispness to the crust, a really good crumb and that also rose really well. Bit the proverbial bullet this morning and tried my recipe in … Continue reading Nan’s Sponge Cake

Just a little baking in Hester today. Amongst other things, Morello cherry meringue pies, chicken, apricot and rosemary pastries (rather rustic) and bagels. Half the bagels were sprinkled with sesame seeds, the rest, the darker ones, with a generous sprinkling of Tasmanian Pepperberry dust. In fact all of dinner was cooked in the oven or … Continue reading Baking in Hester today

Just arrived home from a trip to the Tasman Peninsula. I had been invited to give a talk at Port Arthur Historic Site about Colonial Era Cooking, with reference also to the penal settlement at Port Arthur. I worked here as a guide one summer, while at the same time researching this topic. Sultry weather … Continue reading A Trip to Port Arthur Historic Site

Anyone who heard the ABC talkback of Saturday might remember a discussion with listener Elaine, who remembered with fondness bran muffins that a bakery in Hobart used to make back in the 1940s. These are not like the muffins such as we tend to know them today, which are more like a cupcake. The ones … Continue reading Hester reigns supreme – bran muffins, curds, marmalade and more

NOTE: Update!! Just sent through - Vera's actual translation of this wonderful dish below: Lumpen und Floeh Suppe ( Rags and Flea Soup) Ingredients: 1000g white cabbage (Rags) 500g Pork or Lamb (Mutton) Meat plenty of Caraway seeds( Fleas) Salt and Pepper to taste 1 Ltr. Water Method: Cut meat and cabbage into small pieces … Continue reading Listener recipes from ABC talkback,19th August – Rags and Flea Soup, Barbecue Sauce and Stomppot

It was in to the ABC this morning - and what a chilly morning it was. We do a good frost here at Molesworth I have to say. You can see three of our pets in a row (Poppy, Rosie and old Tom the ex-feral) begging for us to stoke up Hester at 6am. They … Continue reading Blood Oranges and Snow and Frost?