LAVENDER BISCUITS.

To make these biscuits, place 12 lavender blossoms in a jar with 75 gm of castor sugar, seal and leave for 2 weeks. Also pick a small sprig of lavender and set it aside till it dries in a couple of days. Ingredients.....125 gm of butter/ marg, 175 gm of plain flour, 75 gm of the lavender sugar, 1 tsp of dried lavender, chopped, 2 drops of vanilla extract, 50 gm of plain chocolate, melted. Many years ago my cooking class prepared these in class and were well enjoyed. Preheat your oven to 200 deg C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, vanilla and chopped lavender, knead to a smooth dough. Roll out onto a floured surface and cut into rounds with a biscuit cutter. Place the pastry rounds on the prepared tray and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes or until golden. Cool for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate with the melted chocolate to serve. Enjoy.

SPICED BEEF ROLL WITH FRIED ORANGE SLICES.

Ingredients.....1 shoulder of beef, boned, 1 cup of breadcrumbs, 1 dsp of raisins, grated rind of of one orange, 1 dsp of Italian herb mix, 4 tbs of butter / marg, plus 5 extra pieces, 1 dsp of chopped onion, cracked black pepper and a sprinkle of salt, 1 tsp of ground allspice, orange juice. Ingredients for the fried orange slices....2 oranges, 1 tsp of ground allspice, 1/4 of a cup of castor sugar, butter / marg for frying. Preheat your oven to 180 deg C. Grease a roasting pan with cooking oil spray. Mix together the breadcrumbs, raisins, orange rind, herbs, butter / marg pieces and onion. Season with a sprinkle of salt and cracked pepper. Roll the meat up with the stuffing in the centre, secure with kitcken string and rub the surface with the 2 tbs of butter / marg and sprinkle over the tsp of allspice. Place the roll in the prepared roasting pan with 4 tbs of butter/ marg and the orange juice of the grated orange. Bake in the preheated oven for one hour, basting occasionally, if the liquid reduces too quickly, add a little water. The beef will be cooked when the juices run clear when tested with a skewer. Serve with the fried orange slices.....Cut the ends from the ends of the oranges. Slice the oranges into thin rounds and cover both sides with a mixture of sugar and allspice. Melt a little butter / marg in a large frying pan over a medium heat and fry the coaated orange slices in it, turning until the rinds are lightly browned.

HUMMINGBIRD CAKE.

The hummingbird cake is a light, sweet fruit cake. It originates from Jamaica and was known as 'Doctor Bird Cake'. In 1978 a recipe was published by Mrs L.H. Wiggins from South America for Hiummingbird cake and her recipe includes 100 gm of granulated nuts. Ingredients.....450 gm can of crushed pineapple in syrup, 1 cup of plain flour, 1/2 cup of self raising flour, 1/2 tsp of bi carb of soda, 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp of ground ginger, 1 cup of firmly packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup of desiccated coconut, 1 cup of mashed overripe bananas ( 2 bananas), 2 eggs, lightly beaten, 3/4 of a cup of canola/ rice bran oil. Cream cheese frosting....30 gm of butter/ marg , softened, 1 tsp of vanilla extract, 1 and 1/2 cups of icing sugar. Preheat your oven to 180 deg C. Line a 23 cm square cake pan with baking paper. Drain the crushed pineapple over a medium bowl, pressing with a spoon to extractas much syrup as possible. Reserve 1/4 of a cup of the syrup. Mix the flours, bi carb of soda, spices and sugar in a large bowl. Use a wooden spoon to to stir in the reserved pineapple syrup, drained pineapple, coconut, mashed banana, beaten eggs and oil. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Leave the cake stand in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out, top side up, onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cream cheese frosting....Beat the butter / marg, cream cheese and vanilla extract in a medium bowl with your electric mixer until light and fluffy. Now gradually beat in the icing sugar. Spread the cold cake with the icing sugar.

TOMATOES FOR THE NEW YEAR.

Ten tomato seedlings were given to me by Jenni and Andrew Booth who propagated them. The seedlings are getting stronger and bigger everyday, each one is tagged and named. I am looking forward to see which variety does well in our local environment. I will plant each seedling out into individual large pots on the traditional day in Victoria to plant out new tomato plants.....the first Tuesday in Novemember, Melbourne Cup day. I grow tomatoes in large pots to compensate for lack of room in the garden, due to my collection of plants, herbs and fruiting trees. I will keep you updated on their growth.

BAKING TIPS FOR CHRISTMAS AND THE WHOLE YEAR THROUGH.

# Give your oven a good clean before Christmas. # Read the entire recipe before you begin, so nothing is missed. # Check correct sized pans are used for a recipe... never guess the size of your pan. # Follow the intstructions on your recipe for greasing and lining of cake pans, this will keep your cake moist and stop it from over browning. # Make sure all your ingredients are measured accurately and level, using standard measuring cups, jugs and spoons. # Always have the eggs and butter / marg at room temperature. # Try cutting dried fruit with wet kitchen scissors or a knife. # You can substitute different liqueurs or spirits in a recipe to macerate fruit.

ROAST PORK LOIN.

A traditional and simple Christmas classic. Ingredients.....2 kg pork loin, rind scored at 1 cm intervals, 3 tbs of salt, apple sauce, to serve. Place the pork on a tray. Refrigerate overnight, uncovered, so the rind dries out. Preheat your oven to 220 deg C. Rub the salt all over the rind , making sure it penetarates the scores. Place the pork on a roasting rack over a large roasting pan. Cook in the preheated hot oven for 30 minutes or until the the rind blisters. Reduce the oven heat to 180 deg C. Continue cooking for an hour or until the juices run clear when tested with a skewer. Remove from the oven and rest the pork for 15 minutes. Done... Enjoy your lunch... Merry christmas.

APPLE AND NUT STUFFING CUPS.

Here is a different way to present the stuffing to go with your roast pork. Ingredients.......1 onion, finely chopped, 100gm of sliced pancetta, chopped, 500 gm of Granny Smith apples, cut into small cubes, 1/4 cup of fresh sage, chopped / 2 tbs of dried sage, 2 tbs of wholegrain mustard, 1/2 cup of granulated nuts, 6 cups of breadcrumbs, 2 eggs, lightly beaten. Preheat your oven to 180 deg C. Grease a 12 hole muffin pan, 1/3 rd of a cup capacity, line the bases with baking paper. Cook the pancetta and onion in 1 dsp of butter/ marg in a large frying pan over a medium high heat. Cook until the onion softens. Add the apples, sage, mustard and a 1/4 cup of water. Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally until the apples are just tender. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add the remainig ingredients. Season with cracked black pepper and mix well. Place a 1/3rd of a cup of the mixture in each muffin hole and press down firmly. Cook in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until golden. Remove the pan from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Loosen the edges with a small knife before removing the muffins from the pan. Serve the stuffing cups with your roast pork and apple sauce.