BEST EVER BROWN SUGAR HAM.

Ingredients...1 and 1/2 cups of soft brown sugar, 1 tbs of dijon mustard, 1/3 rd of a cup of medium dry sherry, 8 kg COOKED leg of ham, whole cloves to decorate. Preheat your oven to 180 deg C. Oven shelf placed in lowest position . You will need a wire rack placed in a roasting pan to bake the glazed ham. Combine 1 cup of sugar, mustard, sherry and 1/2 a cup of cols water in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Cook, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, reduce to a simmer and simmer until thickened slightly. Remove from heat and set aside. Meanwhile using a small, sharp knife, cut through / score the ham rind, about 8 cm from the shank, be careful not to score the fat too deeply, or therwise the fat will melt and spread during cooking. Rub your thumb underneath the rind to separate it from the fat. Peel back and remove the rind. Score the fat in a diamond pattern and decorate with the whole cloves. Wrap the shank in foil to prevent it from burning. Place the ham on the wire rack in the roasting pan. Brush a 1/4 of the glaze over the ham. Sprinkle 1/2 of the remaining sugar over the ham to form a crust. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Drizzle with more glaze, do not brush it on or it will lift the sugar from the ham. Continue to bake for 30 minutes, drizzling with a little more glaze and sprinkle with the remaining sugar, again do not use a brush. Finally drizzle with remaining glaze and continue to bake until the ham is caramelised. remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Slice to serve.

EASILY PREPARED RASPBERRY HONEY DESSERT CAKE.

This cake can be assembled up to 3 hours ahead. Store covered, in your refrigerator until ready to serve. Ingredients...2 cups of thickened cream, 1 tbs of icing sugar mixture, 2 x 125 gm punnets of fresh raspberries, 2 x packets of unfilled sponge cakes, 1/3 rd of a cup of honey, warmed, 2 tbs of granulated nuts, optional. Use an electric mixer to beat together the cream and icing sugar to medium peaks form. Add 2/3 rds of the raspberries. Continue to beat until the raspberies are chopped and the mixture is combined. Using a large serrated knife, cut each sponge in half horizontally. Place 1 sponge half on a serving plate and brush liberally with the warmed honey. Top with a 1/4 of the cream. Repeat the layering with the remaining sponge halves, honey and cream mixture. Top with remaining raspberries and sprinkle over the granulated nuts if you like. Slice into wedges to serve. I will be getting my grandsons Max and Jack to prepare this dessert cake for Christmas lunch, but we will substitute the raspberries with crushed flake bars and we will not be adding the nuts.

HONEY ROASTED SWEET POTATOES WITH SPICED SEEDS,

Ingredients.....2 sweet potatoes, sliced into 2 cm rounds, 60 ml of rice bran / canola oil, 3 tbs of honey, 1 dsp of cumin seeds, 3/4 of a cup of mixed seeds ( I used a mix of sunflower, pumpkin, linseed and sesame), sour cream to serve. Preheat your oven tp 220 deg C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Place the sweet potaoto in a single layer on the prepared tray. Drizzle with oil and season with cracked pepper. Place in the preheated oven and roast for 30 minutes or until crisp and golden. Now remove from the oven and drizzle with honey, and return to the oven and roast for a further 25 minutes or until caramelised. Set aside to cool, then transfer to a serving plate. Place a lightly sprayed ( with cooking oil )pan over a medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and stir until fragrant. Add the mixed seeds and cook, stirring until golden, set aside to cool slightly. Scatter the seed mixture over the sweet potato. Serve the sweet potato warm with sour cream alongside.

SPICED NUT CAKE

Ingredients.....225 gm plain flour, 1 tsp of baking powder, 225 gm of castor sugar, pinch of salt, 1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg, 1/2 tsp of ground ginger, 120 ml of lemon juice, 2 tbs of butter / marg, melted, 1 egg, lightly beaten, 4 tbs of water, 100gm of cranberries, 100gm of granulated nuts, 1 tbs of icing sugar. Preheat your oven to 160 deg C. Grease and line a loaf pan ( 9" x 5 " / 22 cm x 12.5 cm ), with baking paper. Mix together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Stir in the lemon juice, butter, water and egg. Beat together until all the flour is incorporated. Finally stir in the cranberries and nuts. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes in the pan before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Sprinkle with icing sugar. Serve warm or cold, spread with butter or cream cheese. Enjoy.

CURED BEEF.

This dish is to be served cold and thinly sliced. It is a great Christmas / summer dish, It takes a little time, but is not difficult to prepare. It takes time for the beef to absorb the flavourings and spices which tenderise the meat while imparting their wonderful tastes. Ingredients.....2.75 kg brisket of beef, 2 tbs of cumin seeds, 1 tsp of ground mace, 1 tsp of ground cloves, 1 tsp of cracked black pepper, 1 tbs of minced garlic, 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of ground allspice, 2 tbs of molasses, 3 tbs of soft brown sugar, 450 gm of cooking salt...(yes 450gm of cooking salt). Place the beef in a large dish. Mix together all the spices and flavourings and rub in well all over the beef. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours. Repeat this process everyday for a week, turning the meat and rubbing in the spices which will be mixed with the juices drawn from the meat. On the 8 th day, tie the meat up firmly in a round with kitchen string and place in the bowl of your slow cooker, turnrd on high and cover with warm water. Simmer gently for 6 hours. At the end of 6 hours, turn off the slow cooker and leave the beef in the liquid until cool enough to handle. Place the beef in a dish and cover with cling wrap and a weighted plate. Refrigerate for 8 hours and remove string and place the beef on a serving plate. Slice thinly to serve. Enjoy the flavours, Christmas and summer.

LAVENDER BISCUITS.

I love the lavender bush, the lavender flower, flavour and aroma. Some years ago, I introduced lavender sugar to the required list of ingredients for the 'country' cooking class where we prepared these biscuits. We made our own lavender sugar .....Place 20 lavender blossoms in a medium sized jar and fill with castor sugar, stir through the blossoms. Cover with a lid and leave for 14 days, shaking the jar every couple of days. Ingredients.......125 gm of butter / marg, 175 gm of plain floiur, 75 gm of lavender sugar, 1 tsp of dried lavender, chopped, 1 tsp of vanilla extract, 50 gm of dark chocolate, melted. Preheat your oven to 200 deg C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Rub the butter / marg into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the lavender sugar, dried , chopped lavender, vanilla extract and knead to a smooth dough. Roll out thinly on a lightly floured surface and cut into rounds with a biscuit cutter. place on the prepared baking tray. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes or until golden. Cool on the tray for 2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Finally drizzle with the melted chocolate. Share and enjoy. If you like and enjoy the flavour and aroma of rosemary, you can prepare rosemary biscuits easily by replacing rosemary flowers and rosemary for the lavender in the recipe above.

CARROT, APPLE AND ORANGE COLESLAW.

Ingredients...350 gm of grated carrot, 2 apples, 1 tbs of lemon juice, 1 large orange, peeled and segmented. Ingredients for the dressing.....2 tbs of olive oil, 4 tbs of canola oil, 3 tbs of lemon juice, 1 tbs of minced garlic, 4 tbs of natural yoghurt, 1 tbs of dried Italian mixed herbs, cracked black pepper to taste. Place the grated carrots in a large serving bowl. Quarter the apples, remove the core from each wedge and then slice thinly. Sprinkle the apples with the lemon juice to prevent discolouration, then add the apples to the carrots with the orange segments. To prepare the dressing....Place the oils, lemon juice and garlic in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake vigorously. Add the remaining ingredients and shake again. Just before serving, pour the dressing over the salad and toss well.