BAKED RICE CUSTARD.

This is dish is another golden oldie from years ago, but always well received and is a very comforting dessert. Ingredients.......75 gm of cooked white rice, 30 gm of sultanas, 3 eggs, 500 ml of milk, 125 ml of cream, 60 gm of castor sugar, 1 tsp of vanilla extract, ground nutmeg. Preheat your oven to 160 deg C. Grease a 1 litre casserole dish. Place the casserole dish in a large baking dish half filled with water. Place the cooked rice and sultanas in the casserole dish. In a large jug, whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, sugar and vanilla. Pour the egg mixture over the rice and sultanas. Place the casserole dish in the waterbath in the oiven. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Stir the mixture gently with a fork and cook for a further 30 minutes, then stir again with a fork. Sprinkle the surface with nutmeg. Bake for a further 20 minutes or until the custard is just set. Serve warm or cold.

STUFFED PEPPERS ( CAPSICUMS).

Ingredients...... 2 large capsicums, mix the colours for a more colourful meal, 110 gm short grain rice, 1 tbs of oil, 1 onion, finely chopped, 2 tbs of minced garlic, 6 cherry tomatoes, chopped, 125 gm of tasty grated cheese, 25 gm of finely grated Parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup of fresh basil, chopped, 1/4 cup of fresh parsley, chopped. Preheat your oven to 180 deg C. Line an oven tray with baking paper. Slice the capsicums in half lengthways, remove the seeds and white membrane. Cook the rice in a large pot of boiling water until tender. Drain well and set aside in a mixing bowl to cool. Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the onion until tender, stirring through the minced garlic. Add the onion and garlic mix to the rice, along with all the remaining ingredients. mix everything together and season with cracked black pepper to taste. Spoon the rice mixture into the capsicum shells, and place them on the prepared oven tray. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven or until the capsicums are soft and the filling is golden on top.

FLOWERS…

Humans eat the flowers of brocoli and cauliflower plants. The sweet nectar in other flowers feeds birds, bats and bees. From this nectar bees make honey to feed their young and we eat their honey too.

BACON, SOUR CREAM AND CHIVES POTATOES.

Remember back in the 80's when baked jacket potatoes were all the rage? Well I am bringing them back ... Ingredients........4 medium potatoes, 50 gm of butter/ marg , cut into 4 cubes, 120gm of chopped bacon pieces, 80 gm of sour cream, 1 spring onion , green part only , sprinkle of fresh or dried chives. Preheat your oven to 190 deg C. Line an oven rack with baking paper. Srub the potatoes, rinse well and pat dry. Pearce the potatoes all over with a skewer. Place the potatoes on the prepared oven tray and bake intil the potatoes are soft all the way through when tested with a skewer. Cut a deep cros in the top of each potato. Squeeze the base of the potatoes gently to open the top up. Spoon a dollop of sour cream into each potato, top with the bacon pieces and sprinkle with chives.

HONEY FLAKES….

Ingredients.....5 cups of cornflakes, 2 ozs marg/ butter, 2 tbs of castor sugar, 1 tbs of honey. Preheat your oven to 160 deg C. Paper pattie pans. Melt the marg/ butter, honey and sugar over a low heat or in your microwave. Mix the combined liquid mix with the cornflakes. Spoon the combined mixture into the pattie pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden.

SUNDAY BRUNCH

Ingredients..... 2 thin slices of bread, peanut butter, honey, 1 medium banana, mashed. Spread the slices of bread with peanut butter. Spread the mashed banana over one peanut butter covered slice. Drizzle honey over the mashed bananaa and top with the remaining peanut butter covered slice. Finish off the banana bread by heating the sandwich, in a lighly greased pan over a medium heat for 3 minutes on each side or until heated through. Enjoy with a cuppa of choice...

SEARED SCALLOPS ON RICE NOODLES WITH ASPARAGUS AND CHILLI SAUCE.

Ingredients.......3 bunches of asparagus, trimmed and halved, 375 gm of rice noodles, 4 spring onions, sliced thinly on the diagonal, 1 tbs of sesame oil, 30 large scallops, 280 ml of sweet chilli sauce. Heat a large pot of water to boiling. Drop in the asparagus and return to the boil, remove the asparagus after 5 minutes and set aside. Put the rice noodles into the boiling water and simmer for 3 minutes, drain through a colander. Mix through the sliced spring onions. Simmer the chilli sauce in a small saucepan. Heat the sesame oil in a frying pan over a high heat. Sear the scallops in batches for 1 minute on each side. To serve divide the noodles between the serving plates, top with asparagus and scallops. Spoon over the warmed chilli sauce and serve immediately.