Apart from the bottling of some very large and luscious cherries, there's been a change of gear from bottling fruit today - two batches of sparkling rhubarb have been prepared and now left to stand the requisite 48 hours before straining and bottling. In about two weeks, maybe less, there will be several litres of … Continue reading Fermenting time – sparkling rhubarb!

In the spirit of "Here's some we prepared earlier", these jars of preserved fruit were standing at the ready for take home bags for participants in the Bottling Fruits of the Season class yesterday. (More of all of these were prepared during the class.) The best of the best fresh local produce preserved by the … Continue reading Bottling the Fruits of the Season class

There's been a bit of preserving of apricots here over the last week or so.It's led to such an abundance of jars of apricot products that it was impossible to take a photo that took it all in at once, so I took two to show the extent of products on the bench. There's bottled … Continue reading Apricots reign in jars and tray bake cake

Thank you much to everyone for all the lovely emails and messages congratulating me on being awarded a medal of the Order of Australia (OAM). (When I was first notified about this I wasn't at all sure it was true, suspecting it might be a scam. Before long however, it became evident that it was … Continue reading Medal Of the Order of Australia (OAM)

On the way back home from Hobart last Saturday we took a different route out through Campania. We came across an extensive orchard selling Moor Park Apricots. The price for a box of seconds was very reasonable and the quality was excellent, only a tiny blemish from a branch mark here and there. So what … Continue reading Apricots (Moor Park!)

When a member or two or three in a family, or friends for that matter, adopt a vegan lifestyle, it's not a challenge, certainly not a nuisance, but rather it's inspirational! Such a good reason to experiment and develop new recipes. A case in point - a huge favourite this past week has turned out … Continue reading Blackcurrant Recipes

It's not often the wildlife leaves us any edibles unless the plants are covered with a net or wire cage. However, this year the abundant crop blackcurrants was an exception. Usually the wallabies and potoroos eat leaves as well as fruit. Therefore I'm determined to make the most of every possible edible part of the … Continue reading Blackcurrant Leaf Sorbet and More

Alas the mint is on its way out! The heat here is intense in summer and by this stage it's starting to suffer. Tiny white moths sense its vulnerability and strike within a couple of days. This happens every year, no matter how much water is poured onto the mint, or whether it be situated … Continue reading Lemon, Lime and Mint

Lots of requests for this slice so here is the recipe: Lemon Marshmallow Slice For the Cake (make first) 3 eggs 1½ cups sugar Finely grated rind one very large (or two medium) lemons ¼ cup lemon juice 1¼ cups cold water 3 cups self raising flour 125ml light olive oil (or other oil or … Continue reading Lemon Marshmallow Slice Recipe

What do you do when life (or a kind neighbour) gives you lemons? Invent a new cake for the morning tea platter for friends (including this neighbour). Now these lemons were HUGE! Our normal sized one paled into insignificance next to the two as shown in the photo. It provided the opportunity to super-charge the … Continue reading Lemons!