The apricot jam ran out, oh no!!   Actually it's not a great problem as last summer I stewed some ripe apricots and bottled them.   They'd held their colour well, and in a comparative trice the jam was made, just add sugar and boil for a bit.   Once you start, you know how … Continue reading When the unthinkable happens – the Jam Runs out!

I approached with significant skepticism the cooking of (homemade) chicken schnitzel in my new air fryer. Surely it wasn't possible that they could live up to the regular version - that is, shallow pan fried in a little olive oil. Wrong, I admit I was so wrong. The chicken breast meat was moist and delicious … Continue reading Air Fryer Schnitzel

The photo shows the cake, fresh from the air fryer.  (The lovely markings are from the tin it was baked in, a gift from a friend). The cake was moist and delicious and kept well. I'm very impressed with the air fryer - hope to find the time to experiment with using  it more during … Continue reading Air Fryer Banana Cake (from ABC Tas Jams and Preserves Talkback September 19th)

Yesterday there was much discussion during the talkback segment regarding CABBAGES. We talked about some  family favourites recipes that I have been cooking for decades. Since then there have been many requests for me to post the recipes, so here they are - all tasty, all easy.  There's Savoury Cabbage (with bacon and onion), Colcannon … Continue reading Cooking with Cabbage (ABC radio Tas Jams and Preserves Talkback September 19)

New kitchen toy - air fryer. I was reluctant to buy one, thought (knew) I didn't really need to do so. However, by way of justification, I did get a question about them last time on radio. At that time I gave out a recipe (baked apples), pretty confident that it would work.  I really … Continue reading Air Fryer – to buy or not to buy?

I get SO annoyed with myself that I can't decorate the way I would like. Something always seems to go awry - like melted chocolate in a piping bag that decides to set for no apparent reason and comes out in globs. Oh well, it is what it is. I aim for flavour, have even … Continue reading Apricots – the saviour of this cake

Busy week last week, lots of lovely visitors too. There was time for a little baking though, a few new inventions or variations on a theme with some of my older recipes. First, a coffee slice, with just a touch of chocolate in the cake batter, reinforced by feather and fanned icing on top. There … Continue reading Sweet Bakes – a little bit of this and that

I read somewhere recently a saying that goes something like this (in part) - "Sit with animals quietly and they will show you their heart." We've had an interesting example of this during the past week. Our four geese have always got along famously - that is until mating season kicked in. One of the … Continue reading The Nature of Geese – an education

Today I fell in love - with goose eggs for baking.   On today's morning tea platter duck egg banana cake (cream cheese icing of course).   Then to the brownies - my first experience with using a goose egg. The egg whipped up like nothing I've ever know before, and in a mere matter … Continue reading Goose Eggs – Amazing!

The recent rain has our property awash with small springs of water. Actually make that sheets of water, there's even a small waterfall over in the far paddock at "picnic rock". Cilla is one happy pig, revelling in the conditions. On her afternoon walk in the large paddock, she stomps and kneads the sodden ground … Continue reading Happy as the Proverbial Pig in Mud