A little Sunday cooking/baking. I've been wanting to make proper English-style muffins for a long, long time. After a bit of a false start, managed to produce these today The secret is to partially cook them on the stovetop, then finish with a short spell in the oven. Split and toasted muffins topped with bacon … Continue reading English Muffins

New kid on the block, just installed yesterday - this beauty is a Thermalux Gourmet Cooker, a wood heater and oven all in the one unit. Imagine my surprise when I saw the little metal plaque on the bottom - "Wise Living", seems fitting. Even the gift tea towels beat the same logo. Following the … Continue reading New Kid on the Block – Thermalux Gourmet Cooker

There's a recipe in "The Comfort Bake" that has chameleon-like properties. On page 112 is the recipe for Apple Lemon Delicious Pudding. It is, as the recipe title suggests, really delicious as a dessert dish. However, it also makes one of the most delicious cakes, a real neighbourhood and family pleaser. I use a pyrex … Continue reading The versatile Apple Lemon Delicious Pudding

Yesterday was spent well and most enjoyably with loads of baking. A recipe from the new book (The Comfort Bake), this one a hidden treasure as there's no accompanying photo in the book. These are Spicy Date and Raisin Rolls (page 24). Nevertheless it's one of my favourites - so delicious, and for those who … Continue reading Comfort Baking Sunday

Just a quick cake for the Wednesday morning tea group today - but after all, who doesn't like a chocolate cake with icing and sprinkles (or hundreds and thousands as we used to call them)? This recipe (chocolate cake batter part) came from "The Comfort Bake", so simple; just throw all the ingredients into a … Continue reading Chocolate cake with sprinkles, a perfect cake to share

By the fire's glow. Cool evenings of autumn necessitates lighting the wood heater. Tonight, in addition to warming the house, it's being used to cook a double batch of tomato sauce. The delicious home grown tomatoes came from a friend's garden (our tomatoes here are still green, with no indication of imminent ripening). It will … Continue reading Tomatoes!

The 6kg blackberries picked a couple of days ago have been put to good use. Many were made into jelly as seen here. The liquid was strained again, through muslin in that instance. Last time during the ABC Jams and Preserves talkback, a listener Kerry rang in and gave this terrific tip. Instead of testing … Continue reading Blackberries – jelly, blackberry nip and a wonderful preserving tip

A little bit of this, a little bit of that makes a Wednesday morning tea offering come together. Today, a peach and blackberry shortcake - peaches from a friend's tree and blackberries picked yesterday down by a nearby creek. Of course not all peaches are the same size and certainly (I found) blackberries have a … Continue reading Peaches and Blackberries, fruits of early autumn

Beautiful weather for the southern launch of The Comfort Bake at Glen Derwent yesterday. The delicacies prepared by Liz Virtue and her team, based on recipes from the book, were exquisitely prepared and presented. Thanks to Joel Rheinberger for his hugely entertaining speech at the launch. Many thanks to owner and host Liz: for providing … Continue reading The Comfort Bake Launch at Glen Derwent

Today's Wednesday morning tea platter and a cake by special request from one of the guys last week. This is Greek Lemon Syrup cake. Actually the one on the right is orange flavoured, as I didn't have enough lemons for two. What a difference a baking tin makes, very curious. Both cakes were baked for … Continue reading Greek Lemon Syrup Cake