A cooking lesson this morning - for me. Granddaughter Freya (5) came to visit. She loves to bake with me and today asked if we could bake chocolate chip cookies. . However, some adjustments needed to be made for dairy and egg sensitivities. "Should I use coconut oil instead of butter Freya?". "I don't think … Continue reading Choc Chip Cookies (egg free, dairy free)

For such things I preserve. With school holidays bringing more frequent visits of grandchildren, it's the perfect opportunity to make delicious treats of homemade ice cream. A lovely teenage grandson was the test taster today. In the glass dish pictured are three types of ice cream - mulberry (flavoured with mulberry syrup), lemon curd based … Continue reading Ice Cream Supreme! (Includes recipe)

The cooking school is not operating as such at the moment, but no way does this mean that the space lies idle. The past couple of weeks have seen it used for a great many things apple. There was cider making day of course, baking for the friends and family who came along, and since … Continue reading Country Kitchen Apple Calamities

Cider making day is always good fun. Family, friends and neighbours come to help with the plethora of tasks that are involved in the day-long process. Some chop apples and help extract the juice by pressing the scratted (munched up) pulp through an old wine press (a gift from a generous friend). Others help me … Continue reading Apple Day 2022

This the story of a little mother cat. We found her a couple of months ago darting between Cilla the pig's legs, so starving that she was prepared to risk being stomped by those huge hoofs to get a morsel of food. What can you do? We started to feed her as she was obviously … Continue reading Maggie comes to stay (forever)

I absolutely love Wednesday morning tea time. I sent a platter yesterday of blueberry and apple muffins. Some of the lemon curd I made the day before was piped (generously) into the centre of each. There was custard of course - the 3 litres I took along last week was maybe a little excessive even … Continue reading Wednesday Morning Tea Platter – muffins with lemon curd and custard

The last of the green tomatoes have been harvested from the veggie patch. Instead of waiting for them to ripen, I decided to try something recommended to me recently. A lady told me she makes my recipe for Tomato Chilli Pickle (aka Kasoundi) from A Year In a Bottle - but using green tomatoes instead … Continue reading Green Tomato Kasoundi

It's Wednesday morning tea time again. We weren't sure we could get up the road due to last night's snowfall, but as it turned out all was well, just a bit icy underfoot. The cake comes from The Comfort Bake (p.70) - Maple Syrup Upside Down Banana Cake, the recipe doubled so as to be … Continue reading Maple Syrup Upside Down Banana Cake

A tale of many medlars. Each year for decades now, our friend Kaye gives us her tree's entire crop of fruit. Sometimes the yield is small due to inclement weather or the ravages of possums. Not so this year! Friends Lizzie and Nina can be seen here gathering this season's bounty a couple of days … Continue reading Medlar season’s bounty

Here's the recipe for the Banana-Rumma Cake as promised. BANANA-RUMMA CAKE This makes a large baking dish sized cake, which is great for sharing or as a cut-and-come-again cake for a family. However, the recipe could be halved and baked in a 20cm round tin in a moderate oven for approximately 35 minutes. It can … Continue reading Recipe for Banana-Rumma Cake