From the ABC Jams and preserves talkback with Joel Rheinberger yesterday morning. A listener, Dixie, rang in with this sumptuous sounding soup, using butternut pumpkin and chestnuts. Here it is, below: BUTTERNUT PUMPKIN AND CHESTNUT SOUP 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 onion, diced 2 carrots, diced 2 cloves garlic, finely diced 1kg Butternut pumpkin; peeled, … Continue reading Butternut Pumpkin and Chestnut Soup – recipe

The Custard Club's morning tea today was brought together by the generosity of our neighbourhood. The stars of the show were beautiful, fresh feijoas, gifted to me by a friend yesterday. I've not had any for years, this was such a treat! Fresh lemons in the cake batter were from another neighbour, the honey for … Continue reading Feijoa Season!

I haven't posted about our beautiful Cilla the Pig for a while I know. She's an adorable creature, so affectionate - smooches us like a cat, all smiles and slobber. She adores a cuddle, back scratch and tummy rub. Every now and then she does something that intrigues us. A case in point is shown … Continue reading Cilla The Fire Warden Pig

There's a little added feature to "The Comfort Bake" that I use quite (very) often. A case in point - when a neighbour recently gave me a jam pan full of lemons, I decided to make lemon curd, lots of it. I plucked the curd recipe that's found within the Lemon Chiffon Tray Bake on … Continue reading Hidden Gems of The Comfort Bake

Wednesday - opportunity to prepare a morning tea for friends (aka The Custard Club). A couple of days ago a friend brought me some exquisite mulberries (my favourite berries by far). Next day I first made mulberry cordial syrup. The strained off berries were still full of flavour, so decided to make a latticed shortcake … Continue reading Mulberry (plus raspberry and apple) shortcake

New invention, Easter holiday buns of a different kind. I made some fudge for today, planning to share it around. I'd found a tin of top n fill caramel in the back of the pantry and melted it with very good quality chocolat de couverture noir. Hmmm, very rich indeed, maybe not to everyone's taste. … Continue reading Easter Buns of a Different Kind

Wednesday morning tea for the Custard Club yesterday - peaches and cream butterfly cakes, direct from the pages of The Comfort Bake (pages 32 and 33 to be precise). One small difference, today under the cream there's a generous swirl of egg custard. It was for the Custard Club after all, custard is obligatory. (Readers … Continue reading Peaches and Cream

You’ll need a bit of time to make these, but certainly it is well worth the effort. The tins I used were some mini cheesecake tins I bought years ago at the KMart. I think I only used them once for that purpose, but I'm pleased I held onto them as they were ideal for … Continue reading RECIPE – English Muffins plain and also fruit and spice

A little Sunday cooking/baking. I've been wanting to make proper English-style muffins for a long, long time. After a bit of a false start, managed to produce these today The secret is to partially cook them on the stovetop, then finish with a short spell in the oven. Split and toasted muffins topped with bacon … Continue reading English Muffins

New kid on the block, just installed yesterday - this beauty is a Thermalux Gourmet Cooker, a wood heater and oven all in the one unit. Imagine my surprise when I saw the little metal plaque on the bottom - "Wise Living", seems fitting. Even the gift tea towels beat the same logo. Following the … Continue reading New Kid on the Block – Thermalux Gourmet Cooker