SHORTBREAD

Shortbread is often associated with Christmas. I make it and enjoy it all year round. Shortbread dates back as early as the 16th century. The formula for shortbread is usually one part sugar, two parts butter/ marg and three parts flour. The sugar used is often castor sugar, the butter/ marg slightly salted and the flour plain white, although sometimes a tablespoon of semolina, rice flour or cornflour can replace some of the flour to give a different texture. Shortbread (1) Ingredients....115gm of butter/ marg, diced and chilled, 175gm of plain flour, pinch of salt, 55gm of castor sugar, 2 tbs of raw castor sugar. Preheat your oven to 160 deg C. Grease a 20cm round fluted cake pan/ flan pan. Mix the flour, salt and 55gm of castor sugar together in a bowl Rub in the butter/ marg with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Work the mixture into a soft dough, do not overwork the dough or the shortbread will be tough and not crumbly as it should be. Lightly press the dough into the prepared fluted pan and into the edges to form a scalloped pattern. Mark the dough into 8 equal portions with a fork. Prick all over with a knife and bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes or until firm and lightly golden. Millionaire's Shortbread (2) Ingredients.....115gm of butter/ marg, chilled and diced, 225gm of plain flour, 60gm of soft light brown sugar (sifted). Topping....4 tbs of butter/ marg, 60gm of soft light brown sugar, 500ml of canned condensed milk, 180 gm of 70% cocoa chocolate. Preheat your oven to 180 deg C. Lightly grease and line a square 23cm square cake pan. mix the flour with the butter in a bowl with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and mix to a firm dough, do not overwork the dough. Lightly press the dough into the prepared pan and prick all over with a fork. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until firm and lightly golden. Leave to cool in the pan. Now for the topping, put the butter/ marg, sgar and condensed milk in a small saucepan and cook over a low heat until the mixture simmers. Reduce the heat and cook for 5 minutes, stiurring until the caramel is pale golden and thick, coming away from the sides of the saucepan. pour the topping over the top of the shortbread and leave to cool. When the topping is firm, break the chocolate into pieces and melt in a small pot over a low heat. Spread the melted chocolate over the topping and leave to set. When set , carefully remove the shortbread from the pan and slice into squares to serve.

JELLY FLUFF

Ingredients....1 packet of jelly crystals ( your choice of flavour), 1 cup of boiling water, 2 egg whites, 2 tbs of castor sugar, 1/4 tsp of cream of tartar. You will need a lightly greased mould. Mix the jelly crystals in the cup of boiling water. Stir and leave to cool. Whip the egg whites with the sugar and cream of tartar. Add the egg white mixture to the cooled jelly mixture and whip until fluffy. Pour into the prepared mould to set.

SALAMI PIZZA ROLL (STROMBOLI).

Ingredients.....2 cups of self raising flour, 1 tsp of dried oregano, 30 gm of butter/ marg, 3/4 cup of milk, 1 tbs of tomato paste, 100gm of sliced salami, 100gm of grated mozzarella cheese, 4 spring onions chopped, 1 red capsicum, chopped, 1/2 cup of sliced black olives. Preheat your oven to 200 deg C. Line an oven sheet with baking paper. Combine the flour and oregano in a medium bowl. Rub in the butter/ marg with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Mix in the milk to form a dough. Knead lightly and roll out / shape into a rectangle, 1 cm thick. Spread with tomato paste and top with the remaining ingredients. Roll up to enclose filling. Brush with a little extra milk. Place on the lined oven sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot cut into thick slices.

CHOCOLATE BANANA THICKSHAKE

Ingredients.......1 ripe banana, sliced, 3 scoops of chocolate ice-cream, 1 and 1/2 cups of chilled milk. Place all ingredients in your blender and blend until smooth. To serve, pour into 2 tall, chilled glasses.

CHICKEN IN A TANGY GINGER MARMALADE SAUCE.

Ingredients....500 gm of chicken thigh fillets, sliced into strips, 1 tbs of minced ginger, 4 spring onions thinly sliced, rice bran oil/ canola oil for cooking, 1 red capsicum, thinly sliced, 1 tbs of rice wine vinegar, 1 tbs of ginger marmalade, 3 tbs of lemon juice, cracked black pepper to taste. Place the chicken, ginger, spring onion and cracked black pepper in a medium dish. Toss well to combine. Heat a large pan or wok until very hot. Add 1 and 1/2 tbs of the oil and swirl it around to coat the pan/ wok. Stir fry the chicken mixture in 3 batches over a high heat until golden brown and cooked through. Reheat the pan/ wok in between each batch adding more oil when necessary. Remove the chicken from the pan/ wok and set aside. Reheat your pan/ wok and add the capsicum and cook till tender. Add the rice wine vinegar, marmalade, lemon juice and cracked black pepper. Stir to combine and slightly thickened. Add the chicken and cook until heated through. I serve this dish with steamed mixed grains, but there are no rules, it is your dish to enjoy.

QUINCE JAM

Ingredients....3 kg of quince, 1.5 kg of castor sugar, 185 ml of lemon juice. Cut each quince into quarters then peel core and cut into small cubes. Place the fruit in a large pot with 2 litres of water and the lemon juice. Slowly bring to the boil, then reduce the heatand simmer, covered for 1 hour, or until the fruit is soft. Add the sugar and stir over a low heat, without boiling until the sugar has dissolved. Then return to the boil, stirring often for 25 minutes until you get get the desired thickness. Finally transfer to sterilised jars and seal.

MAYONNAISE

This is a Margaret Fulton recipe from decades ago and it is just amazing. Ingredients......3/4 cup of milk, 1/2 cup of white wine vinegar, 2 tbs of castor sugar, 1 tbs of French mustard, 125 gm of butter/ marg, 4 eggs, lightly beaten, 1/4 tsp of salt, cracked black pepper to taste. Put all the ingredients, with the pepper to taste, in a pan and whisktogether until blended. Heat gently, whisking all the time until the mixture thickens. Pour into a hot sterilised bottle and seal.