A gift from a kind friend yesterday. A large box full of beautiful lilly pillies. Thanks Lalani (and Dan). The lilly pillies are preserved now - into a syrup and also a lovely bright jelly. The syrup can be used as a basis for a cool summer drink, as a coulis, an ice cream topping, … Continue reading Lilly Pilly Time

A High Tea class here yesterday saw lots of finger foods prepared - jelly cakes, sausage rolls, mini quiches, tiny blueberry muffins, butterfly cakes, Neenish tarts, rum and raisin tarts topped with raspberry, scones and jam and cream, cream puffs, pastry 'straws' and (my favourite) tasty little sandwiches and asparagus rolls. There were pots of … Continue reading High Tea in style

Following in the spirit of exploration we decided to make a day to go explore the wilderness around Lake Pedder and Lake Gordon. Of course, a sumptuous lunch had to be prepared - Charly stepped up to make a delicious cranberry and macadamia brownie, flavoured with orange zest. Her favourite biscuits she prepared also, the … Continue reading Lake Pedder and Lake Gordon

I’d been told how beautiful the bush is around Molesworth by locals, and also by our grandchildren who go enjoy exploring through the hills beyond our property. I’d never taken the time to see for myself though. Taking advantage of the school holidays, today young Jacob and Charly took us over to the waterfall and … Continue reading The Beautiful Bush of Molesworth

An interview I did with ABC Illawarra this morning gave inspiration to think about posting a range of my strawberry recipes. Here's some that were discussed and more besides. There's also some extra ways of, and hints for, preserving strawberries. Let's buy up big to make all sorts of delicious preserves, and hopefully help the … Continue reading Strawberry Preserves

Here's the recipe much requested on the ABC Jams and Talkback segment this morning: Ricotta 2 litres milk (pasteurised, not homogenised) ¼ cup white or cider vinegar or 1 teaspoon citric acid dissolved in 60ml cool water 1 teaspoon salt Pour the milk in a saucepan and heat to 95 degrees C, stirring constantly. Stir … Continue reading Home-made Ricotta

I know the rain could be seen as an annoyance, but I love it. Everything is so beautifully green. We have a three-in-one stream in the bottom paddock, its base and sides lined with sand washing down from the surrounding hills. Our very own beach almost! The paddocks are so wet that we have let … Continue reading How Green is our Valley…

I would be lost without the Big Bakers Oven in the house. I was way too tired to cook dinner after a really busy class here today. However, in the fridge I had some hamburger mixture left over from yesterday. Found a muffin tin, divided the mixture up and almost literally threw the tray into … Continue reading Eggs and Burgers

Did the stinging nettle rennet work? Oh my goodness YES!! I am ecstatic! Here is a photo of the curds forming and of the finished product (nettle-feta). This block is about 12cm high, wonderful yield from the milk.

The nettle feta actually even turned out well, even the first batch, the second, currently being made, should be even better. I would post a photo, if only I could make the computer and camera talk to each other today, no cooperation there at present. Still (and of this I do have photos) a couple … Continue reading Cumquats