THE MANOR AUSSIE XMAS CAKE

INGREDIENTS.....2 x 227gm cans of crushed pineapple, 1 cup of castor sugar, 125gm of butter/ marg, 2 and 2/3rd cups of dried mixed fruit, pinch of salt, 1 tsp of bi carb of soda, 2 lightly beaten eggs, 1 cup of plain flour, 1 cup of self raising flour, 1 tsp of mixed spice, 2 bags of Allen's ripe raspberry lollies, 2 bags of Allen's spearmint leaves, lollies. Place the crushed pineapple, castor sugar, marg/ butter, mixed dried fruit and salt in a large saucepan and simmer over a low heat for 15 minutes. Then stir in the bi carb of soda, remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Preheat your oven to 160 deg C. When completely cool add the 2 beaten eggs and mix well. In a separate bowl, mix together the plain flour, the self raising flour and the mixed spice. Fold the flour mix into the fruit mixture. Grease and line a 20cm round pan and a mini round pan. Divide the batter between the 2 pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 2 hours or until a skewer inseted comes out clean. Leave the cooked cakes in the pans to cool on a wire rack. When the cakes are totally cooled you can ice them , I just use a a basic white icing made with icing sugar, a little butter and a few drops of milk. Liberally ice both cakes with the icing mix around the sides and over the tops. Cover the small iced cake with the ripe strawberry lollies over the surface and sides. Now centre the small cake on the surface of the larger cake. Now line with a few circles of the mint leaf lollies around the base of the smaller cake on top of the larger one. There you have it ....your very own Aussie Waratah Xmas cake. Enjoy Merry Xmas.

EVERLASTING SYLLABUB

INGREDIENTS......1 lemon, rind finely peeled, juice strained, 1/2 cup of white wine, 2 tbs of apera ( cream sherry), 60gm of castor sugar, 1 and 1/4 cups of cream, grated nutmeg. DAY 1..Place the lemon rind, lemon juice in a bowl with the wine and sherry and leave covered overnight covered with cling film at room temperature. DAY 2.....Strain the wine and lemon mixture into a large deep bowl of your mixer. Now add the castor sugar and whisk until it has dissolved. I then poured in the cream and continue to whisk until it thickens and holds soft peaks on the whisk. When the cream is ready, spoon the syllabub into serving dishes. Once in the glasses the cream will not spoil. Keep the syllabubs in a cool place for up to 2 days in advance. All the recipes I have read for syllabub from long ago, say they should not be refrigerated, but as the syllabub originates from much cooler climates than ours and in a time when health regulations were non existent. Therefore I suggest you can keep them refrigerated up to 2 days or longer ,( temptation will win out !). In keeping with the Xmas theme i topped the syllabubs with green and red sprinkles.. The flavour is divine.

FRENCH STYLE CREPES

Ingredients......200gm of plain flour, 625ml of milk, 4 beaten eggs, 2tbs of melted butter/marg, pinch of salt, canola oil spray, lemon juice to drizzle and icing sugar for dusting. Mix flour and salt together in a bowl, make a well in the centre and pour in the beaten eggs. Slowly pour in the milk while stirring. Beat the batter until small bubbles appear on the surface. Now stir in the melted butter/marg. Spray the canola oil and wipe with paper towelling to spread the melted butter/ marg evenly over the surface of the pan. Cook over a medium high heat for 1 minute and then using a metal spatula cook the other side for 30 seconds. Repeat the process with the remaining batter, spraying and wiping the pan with the butter/marg when needed. Fold the crepes in quarters and serve immediately, drizzled with lemon juice and dusted with icing sugar.

TZAZIKI

Well, it is all about Xmas.....and tzazki is a great way to share, not just at Xmas anytime throughout the year. Ingredients.....250ml og Greek yoghurt, 3 cucumbers(grated), 4 tbs of minced garlic, 100ml of olive oil, 50ml of white wine vinegar, 2 tbs of dried dill, saltto taste, black olives to serve. Place all ingredientsin a bowland mix well. Refrigerate overnight to let flavours infuse. Serve with warmed pita bread and black olives.

CHOCOLATE FOR THE LEAD UP TO XMAS.

I have filled the jars and plates for the up coming Xmas season and visitors dropping in. " There is no love more sincere than the love of chocolate, you can give without loving, but you can't love without giving,and the gift of chocolate is the most loving of all."

WHAT’S FOR TEA/ DINNER ?

Wow what a couple of days....! Yesterday I rearranged the shelves for my baking pans and started on decorating the Manor for Xmas. Do not be alarmed it is not too early , I usually have the Manor decorated on the 25th of September. I know Xmas is another challenge for people who are are already doing it tough. Seriously, I spent years, decades as a single mother back in the day when there were no credit cards. Lay-bys at Target got me through, thankfully that was before the 'electronic' age. My adult childeren say I don't understand, I do understand it.... but what I do not understand is the financial trap of purchasing without funds.... My family are not cooks, apart from my son Paul but he also has to limit his cooking skills to weekends, because of his work demands, but then prepares an amazing meal for the night, rarely thinking of the upcoming week. But hey what do I know? So, here is what's for tea/ dinner tonight at the Manor. I oiled an oven dish with sesame oil and topped with baby spinach leaves, which I always have in my refrigerator and topped with a packet of tomberry tomatoes. I sliced the remaining 1/2 zucchini from the refrigerated vegetable basket, placed a crumbed chicken kiev on top . I stuffed 3 baby capsicums with a few tomberry tomatoes and topped with a torn slice of cheese from from refrigerator . I topped with a good sprinkle of dried garlic and dried onion flakes. So much cheaper than take aways !!

HOMEMADE GNOCCHI

Ingredients........500gm of smooth ricotta, 125gm of grated Parmesan( I use the dried grated Parmesan off the shelf in the grocery section), 1 egg lightly beaten, 100gm of plain flour, 30gm of butter/ marg. Fill a large pot with water, cover and bring to the boil. Place the ricotta, grated Parmesan, lightly beaten egg and flour into a bowl and mix until combined. If the mixture feels too wet, add some more flour until you have a sticky dough that comes away from the sides of the bowl. Divide the mixture into 4, roll each portion into thin lengths. Cut 2cm size pieces from each length to form gnocchi. Place the gnocchi onto a floured tray. Add a quarter of the gnocchi and cook until they rise to the surface, transfer to a plate lined with paper towel. Repeat, in batches with remaining gnocchi. Serve gnocchi with your favourite sauce, adding cherry tomatoes, chopped bacon pieces, minced garlic and dress with basil leaves and shaved / broken cheese .