I was given some beautiful persimmons by an Italian friend a couple of days ago. With some of them I baked a honey caramel persimmon cake. Such a delicious fruit! (Incidentally, the recipe comes from "The Comfort Bake", to be precise a twist on the Honey Caramel Topsy Turvy Pear Cake on page 56. I … Continue reading A Gift of Persimmons

The dish of the moment - Coronation Quiche. I was asked this week to trial the recipe (by ABC Sydney Evening with Indira Naidoo) to see how it performed. I was sent this link: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/apr/17/king-charles-camilla-coronation-quiche-signature-dish The recipe comes from King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla in conjunction with royal chef and recipe's inventor Mark Flanagan. … Continue reading Coronation quiche test run

In response to many requests since the post about quinces, here are the recipes for the above-mentioned. Quince and Apple Shortcake Ingredients For the pastry 250g very soft salted butter 250g sugar 2 eggs 250g plain flour 250g self raising flour 1 egg white, lightly whisked 1.5kg stewed quince and apple (see note), cooled For … Continue reading Quince and Apple Shortcake and Quince Barbecue Sauce – recipes!

Off to the "doctor's" for a checkup today (the preservers that is). Only one of them is actually ailing, the one on the left. After 35 years of its being overworked and underpaid it's hardly surprising. The plug that goes into the unit seems to have a little problem. The other two have been in … Continue reading The Preservers get a checkup

. When I was asked to research the topic of Anzac biscuits (by ABC Sydney Evenings), I had no real concept of how intriguing their history was, how evocative the memories surrounding them, and what they represent to this day. It is a biscuit that was created out of love, care and necessity in the … Continue reading Anzac Biscuits – recipe!

The tomatoes and quinces are being put to good use. Here pictured awairing labeling and transport to the cellar are green tomato Kasoundi, mixed tomato relish, quince and pepperberry chutney and quince jelly. There's also some slices of quince and apple shortcake. I sent a plateful of those to the Wednesday Custard Club's morning tea … Continue reading Quince and tomato on the go!

Quince picking at Bushy Park this morning - wonderful yield from a friend's tree. A bucket of mixed variety tomatoes were a gift as well. Preserving all these should should keep me out of mischief for a while.

I know I've said it before but this is why I preserve (well, the main reason) - it fuels my passion for baking. With visitors coming for lunch a couple of days ago, it was a simple thing to make one of their favourites, gooseberry tarts. These were served with elderflower ice-cream, the flavouring for … Continue reading Gooseberry tarts and apricot desserts

With a festive few days coming up and the cost of living rising at an alarming rate, it's good to have on hand a few cost effective recipes to cater to family, friends and neighbours who are coming to visit. After all, these few days provide a wonderful opportunity to spend time together Here are … Continue reading Economical Dishes for the holidays to share with family and friends

So here it is, my final dog-eared and bedraggled copy of my gluten free book "From My Kitchen to Yours - easy gluten free recipes the whole family will love". I have had innumerable requests over the past couple of years for copies of this book. I'd thought it was out of print and was … Continue reading My Gluten Free Book is available once more!!