SUNFLOWER AND SESAME SLICE

A high in fibre treat. Ingredients......90 gm of butter / marg, 1 tsp of grated lemon rind, 2 tbs of castor sugar, 1 egg, lightly beaten, 100 gm of plain flour, 80 gm of wholemeal flour, 80 gm of sunflower kernals, 80 gm of ginger marmalade, 2 tbs of sesame seeds. Preheat your oven to 160 deg C. Line a 24 cm square pan with baking paper. Beat the butter / marg, rind, sugar and egg in a medium bowl with your electric beater until light and fluffy. Stir in the flour and sunflower seeds. Press the mixture into the prepared pan. Spread the slice with the ginger marmalade and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool the slice in the pan before slicing.

HOMEMADE PESTO WITH ZUCCHINI NOODLES.

Ingredients.....Pesto..1 cup / 30 gm of fresh basil leaves, 30 gm of pine nuts, 60 ml of olive oil, 1 tbs of minced garlic, 1/2 tsp of cracked black pepper, 30 gm / 1/4 cup of finely grated Parmesan cheese, handful of basil leaves to garnish. Zucchini noodles...4 zucchini, 15 cherry tomatoes, halved, 1/2 cup / 60 gm of finely grated Parmesan cheese. Place the basil, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic, and pepper into your food processor. Pulse until smooth. Add the Parmesan and pulse until a thicker consisitency is reached. Cover and place in your refrigerator until required. Now finely julienne the zucchini using a kitchen knife. Steam the zucchini noodles for 2 minutes. Place the zucchini noodles, tomatoes, and pesto in a large bowland toss well to thoroughly coat the noodles. Garnish with the finely grated Parmesan cheese and basil leaves to serve. Delicious.

HOMEMADE OLIVE BREAD.

Ingredients....300 gm of strong white flour / bakers flour, plus extra for dusting, 1 and 1/2 tsp of instant yeast, 1 tsp of salt, a pinch of castor sugar, 100 ml of lukewarm water, 250 gm of silverbeet, chopped, 100gm of sliced black olives, 2 tbs of olive oil. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Combine the flour, yeast, sugar and salt into a bowl and make a hollow in the middle. Add the lukewarm water. Knead the mixture into a smooth, silky dough. Leave to rise, covered, for about 1 hour or until doubled in size in a warm room. Now preheat your oven to 220 deg C. Knead the chopped silverbeet and sliced olives into the dough, then divide it into thirds. Form each loaf into a rounded rectangular loaf. Place each loaf on the lined baking sheet. Cover with a flour dusted cotton tea towel and leave for for an hour. Brush the loaves with oil and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing to serve. This is so good.

GINGERBREAD LOAF.

Ingredients.....100gm of butter / marg, 25 gm caster sugar, 100 gm of treacle or golden syrup, 225 gm of plain flour, 1 tsp of bi carb of soda, 1 tsp of ground ginger, 1 tsp of mixed spice, 2 eggs, beaten. Preheat your oven to 180 deg C. Grease a small loaf pan and lightly sprinkle with polenta. Melt the butter/ marg, sugar and syrup / treacle over a gentle heat. Mix the flour, bi carb of soda and spices together in a mixing bowl. Stir in the cooled liquid and then the beaten eggs. Mix thoroughly and beat until you have a smooth batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, use the back of a spoon to smooth over the the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 3/4 - 1 hour or until tested with a skewer. Cool the loaf in the pan before turning out onto a wire rack. This loaf improves with keeping and freezes well.

YOGHURT SULTANA SLICE

Ingredients.....Base..125 gm of plain sweet biscuits, 60 gm of butter / marg. Topping...250 gm of cream cheese, 400gm of natural Greek style yoghurt, 3 eggs, lightly beaten, 1/2 cup of sultanas, 4 tbs of honey, ground cinnamon. Base... crush the biscuits finely add the melted butter / marg and mix well. Line a 28 cm x 18 cm / 11" x 7" lamington pan with baking paper , bring the baking paper 5 cm / 2 " over the sides of the pan, this makes it easy to remove the slice for serving. Press the crumb mixture on the base, refrigerate while preparing the topping. Topping... Preheat your oven to 160 deg C. Beat together the cream cheese, yoghurt, eggs and honey. Use a wooden spoon to stir through the sultanas. Pour the filling on the prepared crumb base. Bake for 50 minutes in the preheated oven or until the filling is set. Cool in the pan before removing from the pan. Refrigerate before removing from the pan. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon to serve.

SPICY CHICKEN GOUJONS

Ingredients......3 chicken breast fillets, plain flour for coating,oil for deep frying, 1/2 tso of ground turmeric, 1/2 tsp of ground cumin, 1/2 tsp of chilli powder, 1/2 tsp of ground coriander. Cut the chicken breasts into thin strips and toss in the plain flour, shakink off any excess. Fill your deep fryer with the oil (about 1/3 rd full) and heat to 180 deg C. Cook the goujons in batches until golden brown. Drain on kitchen towelling paper. Set aside and keep warm. Mix together the cumin, coriander, chilli and turmeric with a tsp of salt. Toss the goujons in the mixture, shaking off the excess. Enjoy as a nibble.

BAKLAVA.

Baklava, is Greek / Turkey by origin and is a very sweet pastry dessert consisting of many thin layers of buttered filo pastry, filled with a spicy nut mixture. Immediately after baking , a honey and lemon syrup is poured over the baklava in the pan and left to stand. It is then cut diagonally into diamond shapes to serve. Filo is the Greek / Turkish name for 'delicate, tissue thin, opaque sheets of pastry'. Originally spelt phyllo, meaning leaf. Ingredients.....1 and 1/2 cups of ground almonds, 1/2 cup of finely chipped almonds, 1/2 cup of castor sugar, 1/2 tsp of ground cardamon, 5 shellts of filo pastry, 50 gm of butter / marg, melted. Warm Syrup....3/4 cup of water, 1 cup of castor sugar, 1 slice of lemon, 1/4 tsp of ground cardamon. Preheat your oven to 180 deg C. Lightly grease a 20 cm square pan. In a medium bowl mix together the almond meal / ground almonds, the finely chopped almonds, 1/2 cup of castor sugar and the ground cardamon. Cut the pastry sheets in half and trim to fit the lightly greased 20 cm square pan. Use 3 pieces of pastry, brushing every second piece with the melted butter / marg. Line the base of the pan with the buttered pastry. Sprinkle 1/3 rd of the nut mixture over the pastry. continue this way with the remaining nuts and pastry, finishing with 3 buttered and layered sections of pastry. With a sharp bladed knife, slash the top into diamond shapes, approx 2.5 cm wide. Sprinkle with cold water and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown. While the baklava is baking, prepare the syrup...Place the lemon, sugar, water and cardamon in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes without stirring. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool a little. Remove the baklava from the oven and leave in the pan, while still hot pour the warm syrup over the baklava. Now set aside and let stand for several hours before serving. Can be kept in an airtight container.