THAI CHICKEN MEATBALLS

Ingredients .......500gm of chicken breast mince , 3 tbs of dried chives , 1/2 cup of freshly chopped parsley ,1/2 cup of fresh coriander ( including the corriander root), finely chopped ,1 tbs of Thai spice blend ,1 dsp of minced ginger , 1 egg lightly beaten , 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs , cracked black pepper to tste ,1 tbs of cornflour , 2 tbs of peanut oil ,1 dsp of sesame oil . Now all you have to do is combine all the ingredients except the cornflour and the oils . Form the mince mixture into golf sized balls . Coat the chicken meatballs with the cornflour , lightly flatten and fry in a medium pan with the combined sesame and peanut oil . Fry over a medium heat for 4 minutes on each side , until cooked through . Serve with rice and sweet chilli sauce for dipping .

ANZAC SQUARES

Ingredients .....1 cup of plain flour ,2/3 cup of raw castor sugar ,1 cup of rolled oats, 100gm of butter/ marg, 1 cup of desiccated coconut , 1/4 cup of golden syrup ,1/2 tsp of bi carb of soda ,1 tbs of hot water ... Preheat your oven to 180 deg C . Spray a shallow pan ( 18 x 28 cm ) with cooking oil and line with baking paper . If you enjoy an Anzac biscuit, you will love this Anzac slice . In a large bowl mix together the sugar and flour , oats and coconut . Make a well in the centre of the mixture . Now place the butter/ marg and golden syrup in a small saucepan , stir over a low heat until the butter/ marg has melted and the mixture is smooth , remove from the heat . Dissolve the bi carb of soda in the hot water and add immediately to the butter mix and stir until foamy . Now combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until well incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan ,press the surface firmly with the back of the wooden spoon to smooth the surface . Bake in the prehearted oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown . Cool in the pan then use the baking paper to remove from the pan and cut into squares . Enjoy !

TOAD IN A HOLE

Ingredients .....butter/ marg , 4 slices of bread with a hole removed from the centre of the bread slice ( I used a small round biscuit cutter ) , 4 eggs , 1/3 rd cup of dried chives , cracked black pepper . Butter the bread and place buttered bread side down in the heated frying pan . Cook until golden brown . Turn the slices over and break an egg in the hole of each slice of bread . Season with salt and pepper to taste , cover the pan until the egg is set . Sprinkle with dried chives before serving . If you like your eggs well done , flip the slice again .

CARROT AND ZUCCHINI MUFFINS (V)

Ingredients ...1/2 cup of wholemeal plain flour , 1/2 cup of plain flour 1 dsp of baking powder ,2 tbs of soft brown sugar ,1/4 cup of grated carrot , 1/4 cup of grated zucchini, 1 tbs of poppy seeds ,60 gm of butter/ marg ( melted ),2 egg whites lightly beaten , 1/3 cup of milk . Preheat your oven to 180 deg C . Lightly grease the cups of a 6 cup muffin pan with cooking spray . Mix together the flours and baking powder in a bowl and add the sugar, carrot, zucchini and poppy seeds . Mix well . In a separate bowl combine the butter / marg , lightly beaten egg whites and milk , mix well. Combine the butter/ marg , egg whites , milk and mix well . Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients . use a wooden spoon and stir until all the ingredients are JUST combined , do not over mix . Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin pans until 2/3 rds full . bake for 20 minutes or until golden and puffed . Cool muffins in the muffin pan for 5 minutes , then remove and cool on a wire rack .

PASSIONFRUIT CAKE

Ingredients ......50 gm of room temp butter/ marg ,125 gm of castor sugar ,2 eggs lightly beaten ,1 tbs of passionfruit juice ,1 tbs of water ,1/2 cup of plain flour ,1 and 1/2 tbs of cornflour . Filling ......1 tbs of gelatine powder , 2 tbs of water, 1 cup of cream , 5 tbs of passionfruit pulp,3 tbs of castor sugar , icing sugar to sprinkle over top . Preheat your oven to 180 deg C . Lightly grease and flour two 15cm round deep cake pans . Use your electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar together . In a separate bowl beat the eggs well and add the passionfruit juice and water . Mix the flour , cornflour and baking powder together and add alternately with the egg mixture to the creamed mixture in the beater bowl . Mix well . Pour into the prepared pans and bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer and it comes out clean . Turn the cakes out onto a wire rack to cool . To make the passionfruit cream filling , dissolve the gelatine powder in the water over a gentle heat . Whip the cream stiffly , then add the passionfruit and sugar and finally stir in the dissolved gelatine . Join the cakes with the passionfruit cream and dust the top with the icing sugar .

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CAKE AND A SPONGE

My answer is a sponge is a lot lighter than a cake . Mrs Beeton ( the victorian era ) cookery writer agrees with me , but goes on to explain that true sponges contain no fat ( no butter /marg). Sponges are made with eggs that do contain a small amount of fat and sugar that are whipped together to form an emulsion with some flour folded in so as not to disturb the bubble structure . All other cakes contain added fats eg butter/ marg .

THE MANOR APPLE SLICE

Ingredients ....180gm of room temp butter/ marg ,1 cup of castor sugar , 2 eggs , 1 cup of plain flour ,1 tsp of baking powder ,1 tsp of vanilla extract, 3 large apples peeled and cored ,1 tsp of ground cinnamon , an extra 1/2 cup of castor sugar . Preheat your oven to 180 deg C . In the bowl of your electric mixer beat together the butter/ marg and sugar until pale and fluffy . Now add the combined flour and baking powder ,lightly beaten eggs and vanilla extract. Beat until well combined . Pour the batter into a lightly oiled and floured 20cm square baking dish . Slice the apples thinly and place in a separate bowl and sprinkle over the ground cinnamon and extra sugar and mix through the apple slices . Arrange the apple slices on top of the batter and press in lightly . Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven or until cooked when tested with a skewer comes out clean . Remove from the oven , allow to cool in the pan . Cut into squares to serve .

EGGPLANTS WITH MOZZARELLA AND PARMESAN (V)

Ingredients ...3 eggplants thinly sliced ,500gm packet of mixed grated cheeses from the refrigerated section in your supermarket,3 tbs of readcrumbs , 1 tbs of butter/ marg , presh parsly sprigs for garnish . Tomato and basil sauce ingredients .....2 tbs of canola oil , 1 large red onion ,peeled and finely chopped ,2 tbs of minced garlic , 400gm of tinned diced tomatoes ,1 tbs of sugar , 8 fresh basil leaves shredded . Preheat your oven to 200deg C . Arrange the eggplant slices on baking paper lined oven trays . Spray the eggplants lightly with cooking spray and bake in the preheated oven till the eggplants are JUST tender ( not collapsing ). Meanwhile, make the tomato and basil sauce . Heat the oil in a large pan , add the finely sliced onion and cook until the onion is tender,add the minced garlic and stir through to combine . Add the tinned tomatoes and their juices , stir in the sugar and season with salt and pepper. Bring the tomato mix to a slow simmer and simmer until the mixture thickens , finally stir in the shredded basil leaves . Finally , spray an ovenproof dish with cooking oil and arrange half the eggplant slices over the dish base . Cover the eggplant slices with half the grated cheese mix . Now in a another bowl mix together the remaining cheese with the breadcrumbs , repaet the layers , ending with a layer of the cheese/ breadcrumb mixture . Dot the top with dobs of butter/ marg and bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven or until the topping is golden brown . Let stand for 5 minutes to set before slicing and serving , don't forget to place a parsley sprig on the serving plates .

COCONUT MERINGUE SLICE

You have to try this recipe , it is no fail ...and very popular . When you make this slice and share it , you will be asked for the recipe. Ingredients .. 125 gm of butter / marg , 1/2 cup of castor sugar , 2 eggs separated , 1 cup of self raising flour , an extra 1/2 cup of castor asugar , 1 cup of coconut flakes . Preheat your oven to 180 deg C . Lightly but carefully grease a lamington pan Cream the butter / marg with the first 1/2 cup of castor sugar until light and fluffy . Alternatively add the flour and egg yolks and beat well to JUST combine . Press the mixture into the greased lamington pan , using lightly floured fingertips . Now in a separate clean , dried bowl beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form , now add the other 1/2 cup of castor sugar , 1 tbs at a time , beating continually until thick and glossy . Finally stir in 1 cup of coconut flakes with a fork . Spread the meringue over the base . Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes . Enjoy !

FIELD MUSHROOMS WITH GARLIC , BUTTER AND THYME SERVED WITH BREAD AND DRIPPING .

Ingredients ...4 large field mushrooms ,4 tbs of butter/ marg , 2 tbs of minced garlic , 1 dsp of dried parsley , the zest of 1/2 lemon ,2 tbs of dried thyme . Place the mushrooms and the other ingrediends into a pan with a pinch of salt and pepper. Remove the mushrooms to a heated plate and keep warm , place a slice of bread in the heated pan along with the butter/ marg juices , cook on both sides and serve topped with the mushrooms . Thank you to my neighbour across the round about in Canterbury Way for the field mushrooms.

MONGOLIAN LAMB CUTLETS

The ingredients .... 12 French trimmed lamb cutlets or you can use 12 loin lamb chops ( your choice ) . 1/3 cup of sweet soy sauce ( kecap manis ) , 1/3 cup of red wine vinegar ,1 tbs of sesame oil ,3 spring onions . In a large bowl , combine the soy sauce , red wine vinegar and oil . Add the chops / trimmed cutlets and turn to coat well with the marinade . Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight . Cut the green stems of the spring onions into 4 even lengths , now slice each piece lengthwise into thin strips . Place the strips in a bowl of iced water and refrigerate until the strips are curled . Oil a griddle pan if you have one or just a pan is fine . Remove the lamb cutlets / chops from the marinade . Pour the reamining marinade into a small saucepan and slowly bring to a simmer and continue to simmer until reduced a little . Keep warm . Now cook the the cutlets in the oiled skillet pan or frypan until done to your liking . I serve the lamb cutlets / chops with creamy mashed potatoes , drizzled with the sauce and garnished with the curled spring onions .

THE MANOR BORSCHT

This is my new revised recipe for borscht Ingredients ...500gm of whole , peeled and pre cooked beetroots , 1 carrot , peeled and chopped , 1 potato , peeled and chopped ,1 leek ( white part only ) ,1 onion peeled and quartered , 4 tbs of lemon juice , 1/2 tsp of ground all spice , 1 tsp of ground nutmeg , 3 tbs of dried dill , 1.5 litres of beef stock ,1 cup of sour cream, sprigs of fresh dill to serve ( if available ) . Place the carrot , potato , leek ,onion , lemon lemon juice , spices and dill in a large saucepan with the stock . Now bring this to the boil then reduce the heat , adding the precooked and sliced beetroots and partially cover with a lid and simmer on a low heat for 2 hours .....stirring occasionally . Allow the soup to cool a little , blend with a hand held processor until smooth . Season with cracked pepper and gently reheat . Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a sprig of fresh dill if available .

GREEK ALMOND AND YOGHURT CAKE

Ingredients ......3 eggs separated , 2/3 rds of brown sugar , 3 tbs of Greek yoghurt , grated zest of 1 lemon , 160 gm of almond meal . Lightly grease a 23 cm round springform pan and line the base with baking paper . Preheat your oven to 180 deg C . In the bowl of your electric mixer , WHISK the egg yolks and sugar until creamy . Stir in the yoghurt, lemon zest and ground almond meal . In another bowl , whip the egg whites until stiff . Now fold whipped the egg whites through the almond mixture . Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven . The cake will be cooked when skewered with a skewer comes out clean . Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack . When cool turn out onto a serving plate . This is delicious and can be served with fresh fruit slices or just sprinkled with icing sugar and enjoyed with coffee or tea .

VINTAGE VICTORIA SPONGE CAKE (2 )

There are many different versions of the Victoria sponge , this is my favourite as it is light and airy .( If you omit the plain flour , it is also gluten free .) Ingredients ......2 tbs of chilled water , 3/4 cup of castor sugar , 4 eggs separated , 1 and 1/2 cups of cornflour , 1 tbs of plain flour ( optional ), 1 tsp of baking powder ,1 tsp of vanilla extract , whipped cream and jam for the filling , icing sugar for dusting . First preheat your oven to 180 deg C . Lightly grease and sprinkle with flour( plain flour or fine polenta ) 2 x 20cm round cake pans . Please follow the following steps carefully . Warm the water and sugar in a saucepan. Beat the eggs whites until stiff in the bowl of your electric mixer . Add the sugar mixture and beat well . Add the beaten egg yolks a little at a time , beating until thick . Now use a whisk attachment to incorporate the combined flour , cornflour and baking powder and vanilla extract . Pour the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake in the preheated oven intil risen and when tested with a skewer , the skewer comes out clean , let sit in the pans for 5 minutes and then turn out to a wire rack to cool completely . Fil the sponge with whipped cream and a layer of jam ( strawberry or raspberry ) .

VINTAGE VICTORIA SPONGE CAKE (1)

Ingredients .....225gm of room temp butter/ marg, 1 cup of castor sugar , 4 eggs well beaten,1 and 1/2 cups of self raising flour , 1 dsp of baking powder, 1/4 cup of strawberry/ raspberry jam ,150 ml of cream ( whipped / beaten / thickened), icing sugar for dusting . Preheat your oven to 180 deg C. Lightly grease two 20cm round cake pans and line the bases with baking paper . Place the the butter ,sugar , eggs , flour , baking powder in the bowl of your electric mixer and beat until well blended , and thoroughly mixed to a creamy batter . Divide the mixture between the two prepared cake pans . Place the pans in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until lightly browned and when tested with a skewer , the skewer comes out clean . Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes ,then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely . Fill the base of one cake with the jam and top with the thickened cream , place the remaining cake over top and dust lightly with icing sugar . Delicious ....and perfect with a cuppa and to share .

TUNA CHILLI SLICE

Ingredients ....4 eggs , lightly beaten , 1/4 cup of milk ,2 tbs of plain flour ,1 x 185gm can of tuna in sprinwater ( drained ), 1 and 1/2 tsp of dried chilli flakes, 2 small zucchinis grated ,1 small red capsicum finely diced ,1 cup of grated tasty cheese and 1 medium onion peeled and finely chopped . Preheat your oven to 180 deg C . Let's get started ....place the eggs , milk and flour into a bowl and whisk until smooth . Stir in the tuna ,onion , chilli, zucchinis , capsicum and cheese . Now pour the combined ingredients into a greased lamington tray and bake for 35 minutes or until setb . Slice into fingers and serve warm or cool . Thank you to the family who asked for a suggestion of something different to add to their end of Autumn bar/be / que .

SAVOURY BEEF ROLL

Ingredients ...300 gm of premium minced steak ,1 small onion finely chopped , 2 tbs of minced garlic ,1 small carrot grated , 1/2 stalk of celery , finely chopped ,1 tbs of Worcestershire sauce , 1 dsp of soy sauce , 1 cup of tomato puree ,the gratedrind of 1 lemon, 1 tbs of dried parsley , cracked black pepper , 1 egg lightly beaten and 1 and 1/2 sheets of puff pastry . Preheat your oven to 180 deg C . In alarge bowl , combine the minced steak , onion , garlic ,celery , the sauces ,tomato puree, lemon rind and crackd peeer . Use a wooden spoon or your hands to combine . Place the sheet of puff pastry on your work bench and spoon the meat mixture down the centre. Dampen the edges of the pastry water and fold the pastry over to form a roll , tucking the ends in . Slice the 1/2 sheet of pastry in three and make a plait and moisten the base with water and place on top of the roll . Glaze the roll and plait with the beaten egg . Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes or until the roll is cooked through and golden .

APPLE SLICE ...

Ingredients ....180gm of butter / marg , 1 cup of castor sugar ,2 eggs lightly beaten ,1 cup of plain flour , 1 tsp of baking powder ,1 tsp of vanilla extract ,4 large apples ( peeled and cored, 1 dsp of cinnamon and an extra 1/3 cup of castor sugar . Preheat your oven to 180 deg C . Grease a 20cm square baking pan . Place the butter/ marg and sugar in your mixer and beat until pale and creamy , add the flour , eggs , baking powder and vanilla . Mix till well combined . Pour the batter into the prepared pan . Slice the peeled and cored apples and sprinkle with the combined cinnamon and castor sugar . Arrange the spiced apple slices on top of the batter and press in lightly . Bake in the preheated oven fot for 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes our cleam . Leave to cool and cut into squares to serve and remove from the pan .

BASIL AND MINT BEEF SLICE .

Ingredients ......2 cups of breadcrumbs , 1/2 cup of milk ,1 large potato (grated ),500gm of sausage mince, 500gm of beef mince ,1/2 cup of tomato sauce, 3 tbs of sweet soy sauce , 2 tbs of chopped mint , 2 tbs of chopped basil . The topping ...1 cup of grated fresh Parmesan cheese , 1 cup of breadcrumbs , 1 dsp of chopped mint , 1 dsp of chopped basil . Now preheat your oven to 180 deg C and line a loaf pan with baking paper . Combine bresdcrumbs and the milk in a medium bowl and let stand for 5 minutes . Add the grated potato , mince combination, tomato and soy sauce , the mint and basil to the breadcrumb mixture , mix well with a wooden spoon ( I used my hands ) . Now press the mixture in the lined loaf pan and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes . Drain the excess liquid from the pan . Add the combined topping mixture evenly over the the slice and bake for 10 minutes or until the topping is golden brown . Let the slice stand in the pan for 15 minutes before before turning out . Slice and serve hot or cold .