BANANAS BAKED IN AN ORANGE SAUCE

Preheat your oven to 190 deg C .
Arrange 6 bananas halved lengthways and then halved crossways in a greased baking dish .
Dissolve 1 dsp of cornflour in 150 ml of orange juice and then pour this over the bananas .
In a separate bowl grate the rind of 1 orange and mix with 60 gm of desiccated coconut , 2 tbs of brown sugar and scatter this  mixture over the top of the sliced bananas .
Before placing  the dish in the oven dot the top of the banana dish with butter .Bake for 30 minutes or until the bananas are tender and the orange sauce has thickened .
Serve with ice cream or dollops of thickened cream and slices of fresh orange .

 

BONELESS WONDER

The mix of ingredients is weird ....considering this is a recipe from long ago .
Serve this with your choice of super grains or just a rice combination ...I love 3/4 cup of brown rice with a 1/4 cup of wild rice ....straight into the sprayed  steamer with 2 cups of water ....
You can use stir fry chicken or beef for this recipe .
Heat 3 tbs of ghee in a frypan , add the meat and cook until browned , add 1 red onion thinly sliced , 3 cloves of sliced garlic , continue cooking till the onions have softened .
Add 2 dsp of tomato paste and stir until everything is coated .
Now add 1 tablespoon of  fine instant coffee and stir until a dark shiny colour develops .
pour in 1 and 1/2 cups of coca cola and 2 tbs of ground cumin .....
Cover and simmer for 10 minutes ....
Enjoy ...

 

COQ A CHICKEN

For this great chicken recipe you will need  2 small chickens ...that you will cut in half lengthways .
Season the chicken with salt and let the 4 pieces stand for 1 hour .
Then gently pan fry in 4 tbs of ghee until lightly browned . Reserve the drippings .
Now place the chicken pieces in a baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking oil and sprinkled with sumac
Add 1/2 cup of unsweetened pineapple juice , 1 cup of coca cola and 1 tsp of nutmeg .
Preheat the oven to 180 deg C
Cover the chicken dish  with a sheet of baking paper and bring to a steady simmer , then simmer for 30 minutes .
Turning the chicken halves every 10 minutes .
To make the gravy .....remove the chicken from the baking tray ..
Add the reserved drippings to the baking dish and remaining juices ....simmer and stir till the  mix thickens ...if it thickens too much add a little water .
PHOTOS TO BE POSTED ....

EYE OF THE ROUND ROAST

For this most interesting roast you will need to mix together 1/2 cup of soy sauce , 1/2 cup of coca cola , the juice of 2 lemons ,2 dsp of minced garlic and a handful of chopped parsley .
Set this mixture aside .
Wash and pat dry the roast .
Place the roast and marinade in an oven bag , tie the bag and let it sit on the bench overnight ...do not refrigerate .
Next day preheat your oven to 180 deg C .
Add 2 teaspoons of chilli to the oven bag and leave for 20 minutes .
Now remove the roast and marinade rom the oven bag into an oiled roasting pan .
Place a slice of bacon on top of the roast ,bake uncovered for 10 miniutes on 180deg C and then place a sheet of baking paper over the roast and reduce heat to 160 deg C for 1 hour ..
Turn the oven off and leave the roast to stand for 20 minutes .
Delicious.

CHICKEN PASTA WITH ZUCCHINI

Here is a recipe I prepare for my `MEALS ON THE RUN `.........
Boil a pot of water to cook 375 gm of fettucini pasta until tender .
Grate 4 medium zucchini ....set aside .
Heat a pan and saute 500 gm of  chicken stir fry , until golden and cooked .
Now add 1/2cup of  milk and a 375ml tin of evaporated milk .
Stir and until the mixture boils and add 2 tbs of cumin , continue to stir till the cumin is completely dissolved .
Add the grated zucchini and 125 gm of grated cheese  and toss well .
Add the cooked pasta to the chicken milk mixture and toss through .
Top with an extra 125 gm of grated cheese

 

"IF I`D KNOWN YOU WERE COMING 1`D HAVE FLAKED A CAKE "..... FLAKE SLICE

See nothing has changed .....

I`m thinking this may have been from 1979........

Whisk 2 eggs and 75gm of castor sugar together in a mixer until leaving a good trail .
Then fold in 50gm of melted butter and 75 gm of plain flour .
Turn into a prepared rectangular cake tin .
Bake in a preheated oven on 180deg C for 25 minutes . Cool .
Make 4 strips of cake by slicing through the centre and lengthways .
Moisten the strips with drizzles of apricot nector .
Spread the cake with chocolate butter icing ...( they must presume we all know how to make chocolate butter icing ) and layer the pieces together again .
Cover the sides with remaining icing and press in chopped nuts .
Arrange 3 halved standard flake bars on top with mandarin segments in between  and glace cherries .
Drizzle with melted chocolate .

ONE MAN`S JUNK ANOTHER MAN`S TREASURE ....

Dale was at a family function on Sunday that I was unable to attend , where he noticed a box of old cook books  he enquired about their fate and  on being told they were to be discarded  asked if he could give them to me .
Thank you Dale ....
The ingredients and produce haven`t changed just the plating up and presentation on the plate .

An added bonus is these books are filled with neatly folded printed recipes torn from magazine publications long ago ...

 

 

 

ONE POT MEAL....STOCKMAN`S CHICKEN SOUP

The ingredients are 2 litres of boiling water , 2 packets of dried chicken noodle soup , 2 bunches of small Dutch carrots  left whole , 1 bunch of spring onions sliced finely( green stalks only ) and 2 handfuls of fresh spinach leaves along with 1 tbs of crushed garlic .
Place these all in your slow cooker .
Cover with a lid and bring to a simmer .

 

 

Place 1 kg of chicken mince in a large bowl place along with 2 tbs of cornflour , 1/2 bunch of spring onions finely sliced ( green stalks only ) , 1 tbs of minced garlic .

Mix thoroughly with your hands .

 

When the stock begins to simmer roll the mince mixture into golf ball sized shape and place in the slow cooker .

 

 

 

Just let them simmer away filling your kitchen with warming aromas  till you are ready serve .

 

 

CHICKEN SOUP .

 Chicken soup is the best soup , I love the flavours and the variations of chicken soup recipes ....they are all good .  Chicken soup and winter go hand in hand .
This one  works  for me .....because it is simple and filling .

The ingredients speak for themselves , bunch of spring onions chopped finely , green stalks only .

1 packet of chicken noodle soup

1 litre of chicken stock

Place these ingredients in a saucepan and slowly  bring to a simmer .

Then I  add the meat from a small cooked chicken and add to the soup.

Continue to simmer to heat through .

Served with a crusty ciabatta ...A complete meal in a bowl .

 

 

PAUL MERSEY

Paul Mersey is my 3rd son and I want to thank  him ....
Nicole had hit a bad patch at work  and was struggling ....as a mother it was terrible ...I couldn't fix it ...It was a horrific week for Nicole and as a parent there is only so much cooking , cleaning and washing you can do .....
I rang Paul and without hesitation he arrived at Nicole`s door ...instructing her to shower , demanding a café bought coffee and brunch , Paul had organised Dale to meet them in Traralgon at the 3 little birds café .
I felt helpless  ...so I took Ziggy the bulldog for a  walk through the Moe rail trail ....with the paws for walk group.
That was Sunday and Nicole was really hurting but come Tuesday she had submitted her first assignment for her  2nd Masters ...and no more mention of quitting her life `s ambitions .....
Paul you were there when you were so needed ....and made a difference ....
Thank you
Mum xxx
 

CASTLE GARDEN IS ON THE MARKET

 Castle Garden is on the market ........I know this was never going to happen .....but things change , the memories remain , gatherings , laughter and dancing , the arrival of grandchildren , partners and friends , the departure of my brother Michael , my son Paul`s partner Shane and the grumpy caretaker of Castle Garden Ken......
The blood , sweat and tears that have gone into the garden ....It`s all part of the lifestyle that Castle Garden offers .
I will miss my kitchen ....but there will be another .
Castle Garden is a warm , colourful home that deserves a full time family .......
I will decide who will be the new owner as did the original owner Michael when he chose me to take over the ownership of his castle .

MOTHER`S DAY CAKE

Here`s a really great gift for mum ...make her a cake ..a delicious fruit cake .
This is so simple .....
Place in a large bowl
1 kg  of mixed dried fruit ,( I used a mix of candied peel , sultanas and raisins )
Pour in 3 cups of fruit juice  ( I used an orange and mango juice )
Let this sit overnight till the juice is absorbed into the fruit .
Next day preheat your oven to 120 deg C... no mistake 120 deg C
Then add 3 cups of self raising  flour to the fruit and juice mix .....mix well with a wooden spoon.

Now spoon the batter in a 22 cm baking pan , that has been prepared with spray and lined with baking paper .

Bake for 2 and 1/2 hours on the bottom shelf of your oven .
Remove and allow to cool then place on a wire cooling rack .

Place in an airtight container will keep for 3 weeks but why keep it when it can shared .
HAPPY MOTHER`S DAY .
 

INTRODUCING FERGIE

Fergie is my  rag doll cat , a gift from my daughter Nicole .

Fergie was a rescue cat and now she has a permanent home .

Welcome Home Fergie .