It's been a cold and frosty winter, foggy too. Personally I love it, but the vegetable garden not so much. Not a lot survived but now some struggling silver beet and spinach plants are coming back, and broad beans are beginning to yield. Herbs survived - even parsley, and certainly rosemary and thyme. So at … Continue reading Winter fare from the garden

As promised, the recipe for the Pao de Deus Custard Buns Pao de Deus Custard Buns For the buns 4 cups plain flour 4 teaspoons dried yeast 1½ teaspoons salt ½ cup sugar Finely grated zest 1 large lemon 2 eggs, lightly whisked 1¼ cups warm milk, approximately 1 teaspoon vanilla essence or extract 70ml … Continue reading Pao de Deus Custard Buns – recipe

For each Custard Club's Wednesday morning tea I try to invent a new recipe. Today it's a bit of a mix - these are Pao de Deus buns, a traditional Portuguese treat. I've made these before and they were very popular - no wonder with their caramelised rum and coconut topping. This morning I made, … Continue reading Pao de Deus Custard Buns

Here is a selection of the cauliflower ideas and recipes from this evening's chat with Renee Krosch, ABC Sydney. Starting with a very easy cauliflower cheese. stepping it up to broccoli and cauliflower cheese tarts and then branching out to simply delicious cauliflower bites in batter. If you would like any other recipes that were … Continue reading Cauliflower recipes

With a busy day ahead here yesterday, the Custard Club had to miss out on the custard component of their morning tea today (sorry guys). Bit of a shame as I was gifted some lovely new custard jugs, as seen on the shelf behind. Never mind, hopefully they will still enjoy these old fashioned favourites … Continue reading Date Slice – an old fashioned favourite

Apples picked, Apple Day done (such fun) and the time had arrived for the cider to be bottled. The kegs stand forlornly empty, waiting for the process to begin again next year. It was such a wonderful crop this season - and many thanks to the generous people who gave us the apple gleanings and … Continue reading The apple circle of life completed – cider time

On a platter in the car on the way to a get together with friends in the Valley yesterday. Portuguese/Spanish custard tarts, as the theme of the party was Spanish. First time I've ever made these but don't think it will be the last. I've had several requests for the recipe since I put the … Continue reading Portuguese Custard Tarts

I'm always wanting something quick and easy to bake, one that can serve a number of purposes is also a bonus. This past week I've put together this quick, go-to recipe for choc cherry cupcakes. I made some for the Custard Club, which is where it began, then a double batch for friends we visited … Continue reading Quick and Easy Chocolate Cupcakes

Last Saturday was our annual Apple Day here. It's always a fun day, with friends, family and neighbours coming along to help with processing the apples we picked a couple of weeks beforehand. No one has to help. It's really just an opportunity to get together and celebrate the apple harvest. Nevertheless they do, with … Continue reading Apple Day 2025

Oh dear, almost forgot it was Wednesday! Come 9.30am yesterday and I suddenly remembered I needed to make something for the Custard Club's morning tea. I hastily prepared lemon cupcakes with a dollops of some leftover thickened stewed apple in the centre. I thought that was pretty clever. I planned a swirl of whipped cream … Continue reading Apple Cupcake first aid