The old and the new of it - in the background a family favourite of decades (my Nan's pumpkin fruit cake, dating as far back to the 1940s).   In the foreground a gluten free coconut flour chocolate cake, a recipe a friend sent to me (thanks Anne). Oh my goodness - it is absolutely … Continue reading Gluten Free Chocolate Cake with Coconut Flour

It's that time of the week again, excellent! Wednesday morning tea platter to share around with friends - today's offering, Lumberjack Cake. I love this recipe (comes from my book "Sweet!"). The cake contains the hearty flavours of late autumn/winter produce - chunks of Granny Smith apples and a generous amount of lemon rind. The … Continue reading Flavours of the Valley – Lumberjack Cake

Our house looks quaint to say the least, shown here just before dusk this evening. This scene appears to be lifted straight from a fairytale. While we played in the snow outside, in the house a hot dinner was cooking on the warming wood fired stove. This picturesque snowfall is just one of the many … Continue reading Let it Snow and Snow and Snow!

It's snowing at last and getting worse (or better, depending on your perspective) by the minute. It's absolutely beautiful, and is already at least 2cm thick on the ground.   Old Tom seems happy about it all, asleep and smiling on his bed of blankets on the couch.   I wonder if it's because he … Continue reading Snow Arrives in Molesworth

A warming sight on a rainy winter's morning. Why? Because I was recently asked if I could develop a recipe for a shelf-stable chilli paste. I don't know really, but I'll give it a red hot go (pardon the pun). Step 1 = remove seeds and dehydrate the chillies' flesh. Note to self - next … Continue reading Chilli Time on a Chilly Morning

I love it when vegan-minded people come to visit, as was the case today. It gives me a reason to experiment, adapt, convert and expand some of my recipes and even more enjoyable, invent new ones. This morning - sticky multi-fruity, glistening vegan muffins containing apple (pureed as a substitute for the egg), banana, blueberries … Continue reading A Little Vegan Baking

Sometimes you can just get stuck in a groove - for me this week it's been along the theme of apricots.   Maybe it's the reminiscence about simpler times last summer - picking apricots in gardens of the Derwent Valley, then bringing them home and preserving them by the boxful (always Moor Park variety of … Continue reading The Taste of Summer Apricots in Winter

A long-overdue visit  this morning to Banjo's New Norfolk Market, here in the Derwent Valley. It was great to meet and re-connect with a friend we'd not seen for ages. Amazing food on offer - husband Robert was very impressed with his filled bagel from Black Mountain Gourmet. (It didn't last long enough to take … Continue reading A Market of the Derwent Valley

Cilla the pig - each day she likes to snuggle up in her bed of hay for a snooze in the winter sunshine. She makes this bed herself. She doesn't need to actually eat the hay (she's so well fed and fat) but likes to be given a little when the sheep are fed. She … Continue reading A day in the life of Cilla the Pet Pig

Marble cake for the morning tea platter for friends.   I love marble cake - as it's cut each slice is a revelation with its individual patterning.   Extra flavour was added with a little jam in the pink, lemon rind in the white and of course extra chocolate in the remaining batter.   Obsessed … Continue reading Morning tea cake for friends