COTTAGE CHEESE SOUFFLE SALAD

Dissolve I packet of lime flavoured jelly in 1 cup of boiling water
 Then add 1/2 cup of cold water
 1/2 cup of mayonnaise .
1tbs of white wine vinegar
1/4 tsp of salt
Beat with a rotary beater until foamy
Then place in ice cream making machine and process for 15 minutes
Remove from ice cream machine into mixing bowl
Beat until fluffy with rotary beater.
Now fold in a cup of shredded raw carrots
1/4 cup of finely diced cucumber
1 tbs of finely chopped onion
1/2 cup of chopped nuts .
1 cup of creamed cottage cheese
Pour into a lightly sprayed  mould .
Chill until very firm ( about 3 hours )
Unmould
Serve over crisp salad greens .

TAMARIND ,WALNUT , DATE AND LYCHEE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

Preheat your oven to 170 deg C .

Soak in a med bowl of lukewarm water ... 100gm of dried tamarind pods  chopped ,12 dates chopped , 25gm of dried lychee s chopped for 30 minutes ...set aside .

Cream 1/2 cup of soft brown sugar with 60 gm of margarine until soft and fluffy .
Spread this over a greased 20cm cake pan .
drain the dried fruit
Then arrange these over the sugar and margarine mix .
Now cream together 60 gm of margarine with 1/2 cup of castor sugar .
Beat in 2 slightly beaten eggs alternatively with 2 cups of self raising flour
Pinch of salt .
1/3 rd of a cup of buttermilk .
1 tsp of vanilla extract .
Pour the batter over the fruit and bake for 1 hour or till  a skewer placed in the centre comes out clean .
Let the baked cake stand in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out .
Serve with whipped cream .

TOMATO SOUP CAKE

 Preheat  your oven to 170deg C .
Beat 1/2 cup of coconut oil with a wooden spoon until creamy.
Gradually add 1 and 1/2 cups of icing sugar until smooth and fluffy.
Add 2 lightly beaten eggs a bit at a time , beating well after each addition .
In a separate bowl sift together 2 cups of self raising flour ,
2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp of cloves
1/2 tsp of nutmeg
Add the sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture , alternatively with the tin of tomato soup.( undiluted ), beating after each addition .
Stir in 1 cup of raisins  and 1 cup of chopped walnuts .
Divide the batter between two 8 inch pans .
Bake for 30 minutes or until top springs back when touched .
Cool in pans for 10 minutes , then turn out on  cooling racks .
Spread cream cheese frosting over the top .
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
Beat together
250gm tub of softened cream cheese
1/2 cup of icing sugar
2 tbs of cream or there about to obtain desired spreading consistency .
 

LOOK WHAT I FOUND

I found these in an opportunity shop , the whole 8 volumes , all  up 3136 pages of Supercook......in leather bound covers .
In the back of some of the covers are neatly folded sheets of paper clippings of recipes past times . Eg How to make the perfect brawn .
All 8 volumes make up a dictionary of recipes and cooking practices ..This is an amazing find and addition to my collection of old recipe books.
On a quick flick through there are names of recipes and  their history I am totally unfamiliar with ....and look forward to sharing my new found knowledge with you over the coming months ......

HOT AND COLD

Hot and Cold ..it`s the  theme to Masterchef , Australia ..
Just lately the words to the song have  been playing over and over in my mind .
For  me .......life is a set of scales , a real balancing act .
2 years ago , I  successfully applied for Masterchef series 5
Prior to Masterchef and always is  an amazing supportive  family ,  there was a great career in optics and  encouragement from friends to achieve my dream .
My dream was to become a fulltime cook , cooking for people in their homes on special occasions and to run cooking  classes teaching the basic rules of cooking , using fresh ingredients and encouraging healthy eating practices .
I made it to the Masterchef top 10 and because of the show and the support of my family , my dream came true .

Two years on I run a  a successful catering business and have  fully booked cooking classes ....with a waiting list .
I wasn't prepared for the news of a terminal illness for one of my family members ...my husband Ken .
I`m still at the wall that you hit when you get the news ....yes you do what has to be done ....but everything is in a haze .
My husband`s cancer is aggressive and there isn't going to be a lot of time .
I have been with Ken for 20 years , he is the shared dad to my 4 sons and daughter , and poppy to their children .
Now the kids are grown , educated and making their way in the world , this was our time to live life , make our dreams come true .
We were in a great place until 8 weeks ago , the results of a routine blood test changed our lives forever .
I talk to people a lot about healthy food options and teach it in my classes , but now I`m feeding my husband anything that will help him put on weight , the cancer is eating all his nutrition and ken is simply fading away .
I love to cook , to nurture through food but there is nothing I can cook that will save my husband `s life .

Ken can`t walk up or down the stairs without holding the banister for support , he already has palliative care coming in and Jenny his palliative care nurse is a huge support to both of us , next week an occupational therapist will come and see what changes we will need to make to our home for his comfort .
We don`t talk about the future or make plans other than keeping  oncologist and radiation appointments to help with his ever increasing pain .
But in a strange way  the encouragement that Ken and the children gave me to apply for Masterchef two years ago was a gift his plan to make sure my dream came true .
Right now my life our life is a roller coaster  just like the song ..up and down , in and out , hot and cold .




 

ANOTHER NO BAKE TREAT .......LYCHEE DELIGHT

You can substitute the lychees for peaches , mango even nectarines or apricots  but at this time of the year you will need to use tinned mango ...Safeway has  rambutan  ( hairy lychee ) in boxes in the fruit section .
First off ....spray a springform pan ( 22cm).
In a bowl place 500gm of mascarpone cheese
600ml of thickened cream
50 gm of icing sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp of vanilla paste ...or  1 and 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract ...these are dearer to purchase but work out far cheaper than using vanilla beans . Use 1 dsp of vanilla essence as a substitute.
Beat the above ingredients with an electric beater until thick and well combined . Set aside .
In a separate  bowl  dip 150gm of sponge finger biscuits ( savoirardi ) into the juice of 2 oranges and 125 ml of a good cream sherry or Grand Marnier .
Now layer the base of the pan with the biscuits .
Spread this layer with 1/3 rd of the mascarpone mixture .
Top with 1/3rd  lychee or fruit of your choice .
Repeat the process .
Then top with remaining mascarpone mixture .
Cover the pan and chill for 2 hours or until firm .
While the cake is chilling make a raspberry compote
Place in a saucepan 55gm of castor sugar
250gm of raspberries
Juice of 1 lemon
Stir until the sugar is dissolved and the fruit is soft.
Whiz in a processor till smooth .
Chill until cool and ready to serve .
Remove the sides of the cake pan .
Decorate with reserved lychees ( fruit of your choice ) and berry sauce .
 

A NO BAKE TREAT .....RASPBERRY CHARLOTTE

Firstly you need to make a berry compote ( it`s a fancy word for a fruit stew ).
Place  300gm of  frozen raspberries in a pan along with 75gm of castor sugar  and cook over a low heat until the berries have softened and the sugar has dissolved .
remove from the heat .
Cool .
Chill in the fridge .
Now grease a 20cm springform  cake pan .
Place 1.75 litres of a good quality ice cream in a large bowl and sit in the refrigerator till it softens , ( approx. 45 minutes ). I used Peter`s light and creamy raspberry swirl
You need 500gm of a  store bought swiss roll .( I used 2 chocolate swiss rolls .)
Slice the swiss roll and line the base of the pan , making sure the base is completely covered . ( press down to cover the base ).
Line the sides with the remaining slices . (There will be some overhang at the top of the pan .
Remove the softened ice cream from the fridge and gently fold in one 1/3rd of the berry compote .
Pour this mix into the cake pan .
Trim the overhanging jam roll  and press into the ice cream .
Cover the cake pan with plastic wrap , place in the freezer for 2 hours until firmly set .
When set release the sides of the pan and turn out the charlotte onto a flat plate .
Spoon over the remaining compote ...serve  immediately.