Gooseberry bushes have yielded well for once. They'd had a problem with mildew for years, their scant fruit was unusable. Following advice from ABC Hobart's gardening talkback, I sprayed them with milk/water solution before fruit formed (when just leaves on bushes). Today the reward - picked from our very few bushes, enough perfect gooseberries to … Continue reading Gooseberries!!

Rainy, cold and miserable Sunday = perfect opportunity to fill the cake tins and biscuit barrels. The tins were soon filled - the top one here with gluten free shortbread, the one underneath with a pumpkin fruit cake. A double batch of melting moments were made also - one for us and a barrel full … Continue reading Rainy Sunday Baking – melting moments

This time of year my most favourite cookbook of all is my Nan's hand written one. I revel in the recipes and the memories of baking with her as a child, and the recipes always work. If there is a disadvantage its that I love the process so much that my brain clicks immovably into … Continue reading Gluten free shortbread

Here is the recipe requested by many. Lemon Meringue Tarts – gluten free Makes 24, approximately For the Pastry 125g butter 125g sugar 1 egg 125g gluten free plain flour 125g gluten free self raising flour For the Filling 1 x 395g tin sweetened condensed milk ½ cup lemon juice 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon … Continue reading Gluten free Lemon Meringue Tarts

Again, a recipe request for plain sweet gluten free biscuits was requested by a listener to last Saturday's ABC Hobart's Jams and Preserves talkback. These crispy biscuits are ideal for decorating, though they are lovely as they are with a cuppa. The spiced biscuits are especially delicious. The plainer mixture can also be used for … Continue reading Gluten free sweet biscuits with Christmas spice variation

Labna (Yoghurt Cheese) 1kg Greek yoghurt Juice 1 small lemon or ½ large one 3 scant level teaspoons salt 1 tablespoon olive oil Olive oil, extra (light olive oil is best – extra virgin olive oil will tend to solidify in the fridge.  However, if you prefer to use the latter, then all you need … Continue reading Labna (Yoghurt Cheese) from ABC Jams and Preserves talkback this morning

Elderflowers are blooming everywhere (well, except here, ours are always late). We were able to pick from a tree of a friend, enough for 3 batches of syrup and one of sparkling elderflower. Just look at the colour of the syrup, beautiful, and the flavour is exceptional. That's all bottled now and this morning the … Continue reading Elderflowers in Bloom

Here's the recipe for the onion slice from my last post (it's been much requested). ONION SLICE Ingredients For the dough: 1½ cups plain flour 1 teaspoon instant dried yeast ¾ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon sugar ¾ cup warm water 3 teaspoons olive oil For the topping 500g onions, halved then peeled and finely sliced … Continue reading Onion Slice Recipe

A week or two ago I was invited to a meeting of the Flower Room in Hobart, where Sally Dakis and I were to do an "in Conversation" piece at the end of the meeting. At the end of the session, afternoon tea was served, as is customary apparently, and what a spread it was!! … Continue reading Flower Room and Onion Slice

For Wednesday morning tea for the Custard Club today - raspberries and cream slice (cheesecake style middle layer). Recipe comes from my book "Sweet!". For good measure there were also some peanut butter fudge cookies. These latter were inspired by a beautiful granddaughter, who found this recipe with a view to baking them for a … Continue reading Wednesday morning tea for Custard Club