APPLE AND MINT GRANITA.

This is so cool and refreshing.. Ingredients......250ml of apple juice, 1 tsp of lemon juice, 110gm of castor sugar, 1 tsp of thinly sliced mint leaves. Place the apple juice, lemon juice and sugar in a small saucepan, heat over a medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Stir through the mint, place in a shallow metal container in your freezer for 4 hours or until set. Scrape with a fork into a serving dish or glasses.

PEANUT BUTTER BALLS

This one is for you Michelle.... Ingredients.....12 pitted dates, 1 tbs of cocoa, 2 tbs of crunchy peanut butter, 90gm of granulated nuts, 2 tbs of honey or to taste. Line a tray with baking paper. Place the dates, cocoa powder and peanut butter in a food processor and process until a thick paste forms. Now add the granulated nuts continue to proces, adding the honey until you have a rollable consistency. Using damp hands, roll into balls of a desirable size and place on the lined tray. Place the tray with the peanut butter balls in your refrigerator until set. Store in an airtight container in your refrigerator. Enjoy !!!

PARMESAN ZUCCHINI CRISPS .

Ingredients.....2 zucchini , sliced, 1 tbs of canola/ rice bran oil, 1/4 cup of finely grated Parmesan, 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs, 1/2 tsp of cracked black pepper. Preheat your oven to 200deg C. Line a baking tray/ oven sheet with baking paper. In a medium bowl, toss the zucchini slices with the oil. In a small bowl, combine the Parmesan, breadcrumbs and pepper. Dip each zucchini round into the Parmesan mixture, coating evenly on both sides. Place the coated zucchini in a single layer on the lined baking tray. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 -25 minutes or until brown and crispy. Serve imeediately.

YOGHURT MUSELI SLICE.

Ingredients... 2 eggs lightly beaten, 3 tbs of 'All Bran", 500gm of Greek yoghurt, 2 cups of a 'commercial' toasted muesli, 1 cup of sultanas... just saying I use my favourite fruit flavoured yoghurt. Preheat your oven to 180 deg C. Line a slice pan with baking paper. Combine the beaten eggs with all the other ingredients and mix well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool and cut into squares. The slice can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 10 days, trust me it will last that long.

STRAWBERRY JAM.

Right from the start ... I confess, I am a convert, I do cream served with jam on top!!! It's the only way. This is the classic fragrant strawberry preserve for you to make, which can can served as a jam or stirred through plain yoghurt for breakfast, and really easy if this is your first attempt at jam. Ingredients....1 kg of strawberries, 900gm of castor sugar, juice of 2 lemons. First hull the strawberries( remove the green bits), and layer the strawberries and sugar in a large bowl. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and leave overnight on your bench. The next day pour the strawberries and juice into a large pan, add the lemon juice. Gradually bring to the boil and boil for 20 minutes. Then remove from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Stir the jam before pouring into sterilised jars, filling them to the top. Cover with disks of baking paper, do not seal with lids until the jam is completely cold. Great way to preserve summer in a jar.

HERB PICKLED ZUCCHINI

It's that time of the year...time to get pickling! Ingredients.....3 garlic cloves, halved, 10 peppercorns, 4 zucchini, sliced into half moons, 1/4 cup of fresh parsley, chopped, 1/4 cup of fresh dill, chopped, 1 tbs of chives, 2 sprigs of rosemary, 1 tbs of coriander seeds, 750 ml of boiling water, 2 tbs of olive oil, 125ml of white vinegar, 70gm of castor sugar, 1 tbs of sea salt. Place the garlic and peppercorns in the bottom of a large glass jar with a tight fitting lid. Pack the jar tightly with thew zucchini, herbs and coriander seeds. Combine the hot water, olive oil, vinegar, sugar and salt. Stir well until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Allow to cool slightly and then pour over the zucchini. Sea; the jar with the lid and set aside for 24 hours at room temperature. Once opened store in the refrigerator.

THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Ingredients.....1 cup of butter/ marg, at room temp, 2/3rds cup of castor sugar, 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten, 1 tsp of vanilla extract, 2 and 1/3rd cups of plain flour, 1/4 tsp of salt, icing sugar for sprinkling, fruit jam of your choice/ nutella or lemon curd. Preheat your oven to 180 deg C. Line two baking sheets with baking paper. Cream the butter/ marg in the bowl of your electric mixer on low speed, gradually add the castor sugat and increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy. Now add the lightly beaten egg yolks and the vanilla extract and beat well to combine. Mix the flour and salt together and add to the creamed mixture, mixing well. Cover and refrigerate the dough for 2 hours. Roll the dough into 1" balls and place about 2" apart on the baking sheets. Press your thumb in each ball leaving an indentation. bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Cool the cookies on wire racks. To finish sprinkle the cookies with icing sugar and place 1/2 tsp of jam of your choice, Nutella or lemon curd in each cookie indentation.

FOCACCIA WITH SARDINES AND BAKED TOMATOES.

1 focaccia loaf, 12 sardine fillets (3 x 125gm cans of sardines in oil), 20 cherry tomatoes, cracked black pepper to taste. Preheat your oven to 200 deg C. Cover a large baking sheet with baking paper. Split the focaccia in half horizontally and cut each piece in half to get four equal pieces. Toast the cut side of your focaccia under the griller. Drain the tinned sardines and top the focaccias with the sardines and cherry tomatoes. Place the toasted focaccia on the baking sheet and top with the tomatoes and sardines and a sprinkle of black pepper. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes until the tomatoes and sardines are heated through. If you use one of your rosemary focaccias, the rosemary really enhances the tomatoes and sardines.

ROSEMARY FOCACCIA

This recipe makes 2 loaves and these freeze well. Ingredients......675gm of white bread flour, 1 tbs of instant dried yeast, 1 tsp of salt, 3 tbs of fresh rosemary,sea salt for sprinkling,5 tbs of olive oil. Preheat your oven to 200deg C. Lightly grease and line 2 oven trays/ sheets with baking paper. Mix the flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Stir in 3 tbs of oil and 450ml of lukewarm warm. Mix with a butter knife and then use your hands to knead to a soft dough, (you can add a little more water if the dough feels dry.) continue to knead the dough, until smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a dry tea towel for about an hour or until doubled in size. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and cut in half. Shape each half in into 25cm/ 10" rounds. Transfer the rounds to the prepared baking trays/ sheets, cover with the tea towel and leave for about 20 minutes until risen. Finally, press your fingers into the dough, about 3cm apart. Sprinkle with rosemary and sea salt, sprinkle with water , to keep the crust moist. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until light golden. Remove from the oven and drizzle with the remaining oil. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

BEETROOT AND MINT SALAD

Ingredients.....6 cooked beetroots, 30ml of balsamic vinegar, 1 bunch of fresh mint, leaves stripped and thinly sliced, 30ml of olive oil, cracked black pepper to taste. Cut the beetroot into bite sized squares. place the beetroot in a serving bowl. add the balsamic vinegar, olive oil and a sprinkle of cracked black pepper, mix together to combine. Add half of the thinly sliced mint to the salad and toss lightly to combine. place the salad in the refrigerator for 1 hour to chill. Serve the salad garnished with the remaining chopped mint. This salad can be served alongside another mixed leaf salad and goes well with grilled or roasted meats.

ved alongside leaf salads

A SPICY MANGO SALSA

For a sweet, tangy salsa select a ripe, juicy mango and keep it in the fruit bowl for a couple of days until it has softened. This salsa is the perfect partner to barbequed / grilled chicken or fish. Ingredients.......1 medium ripe manngo, 1 lime, 1 red chilli/ or use chilli flakes to taste, 1/2 small onion, a sprinkle of sea salt. Cut the flesh off either side of the stone. Peel and finely dice the mango cheeks and cut off and dice the remaining flesh on the stone. Finely grate the rind of the lime and squeeze the juice. Seed and finely slice the chilli, peel and finely chop the onion and mix it in a bowl with the mango, lime rind, 1 tbs of lime juice. To finish, lightly sprinkle with sea salt and chilli flakes if you are using them in place of the fresh chilli. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

LEMON AND HONEY DRESSING..

This dressing compliments leaf and vegeatable salads, fresh, cooked, grilled or seafoods, ham and savoury bread/scones. And it is so easily prepared... Ingredients.....125ml of extra virgin olive oil, 4 tbs of lemon juice, 3 tbs of honey, sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste. Place the olive oil, lemon juice and honey in a small jar with a sealable lid. Shake vigorously to combine. Season to taste with sea salt and cracked black pepper. I also add a teaspoon of dried dill to the dressing when serving it with seafood.

FLATBREAD WITH ROSEMARY AND ONION.

Ingredients.....450gm of white bread flour, 1 and 1/2 tsp of instant dried yeast, 1/2 tsp of salt, 2 tbs of chopped fresh rosemary plus a couple of sprigs to garnish, 5 tbs of extra virgin olive oil, 300ml of warm water, 1 red onion finely sliced and separated into rings, 1 tbs of sea salt. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Mix the flour, yeast and salt together in a mixing bowl, then stir in the chopped rosemary. Make a well in the centre. Mix 3 tbs of the oil and 3 tbs of the water together in a jug and pour into the well. Gradually mix the liquid into the flour with a flat bladed butter knife. NOw gather the mixture together and use your hands to form a soft dough. Then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured bench and knead for 10 minutes until very smooth and elastic. Return the dough to the bowl and cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise in a draught free, spot for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Preheat your oven to 200deg C. now. When the dough has risen, turn it out and knead for 1 minute until smooth. Gently shape / roll the dough in a round about 30cm/ 12" in diameter (it does not have to be a perfect circle). Traditionally flatbread is slightly oval in shape. Transfer the dough to the prepared tray and cover with the tea towel and leave rise for 25 minutes. Press holes over the surface of the dough with the handle of a wooden spoon . Scatter over the onion rings and drizzle with the remaining oil. Finally scattter the sea salt all over. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, then scatter with rosemary sprigs and continue to bake tillrisen and golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly . Serve warm.

KALE STIR FRY.

Ingredients.....canola/ rice bran oil for frying, 1 tbs of minced garlic, 1 bunch of kale, chopped and large stems removed, 1 dsp of minced ginger, 2 fresh tomatoes, quartered, 1 dsp of chilli flakes (optional) or 2 mini caps sliced, 1 tbs sesame oil, 1 tbs of lemon juice. Heat the canola/ rice bran oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Stir through the minced garlic until aromatic. Add the mini caps/ chilli flakes and the ginger, stirring until well combined. Now add the kale and cook until tender. Finally add the quartered tomatoes, sesame oil salt and lemon juice and stir fry for 2 minutes until heated through. Serve hot.

BANANA MUFFINS

Ingredients.....215gm of plain flour, 1/2 tsp of baking powder, 1 tsp of bi carb of soda, 1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg, 1/2 tsp of salt, 3 ripe bananas, mashed, 1 egg, lightly beaten, 165gm of castor sugar, 80gm of butter/ marg, melted. Preheat your oven to 180 deg C. Grease a 12 hole muffin tray or line the muffin tray with paper cases. Mix together the flour, baking poder, bi carb of soda, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl. Combine the mashed bananas, sugar, lightly beaten egg and melted butter/marg in a large mixing bowl. Gradually fold in the dry ingredient mix with a metal spoon until smooth. Do not over mix or you will end up with tough muffins. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin holes/ paper cases until they are 2/3rds full. Bake in the preheated oven for for 20 minutes or until the muffins are golden on top and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and turnout onto a wire rack to cool completely.