PEAR TARTE TATIN

The ingredients you need for this simple and stylish dessert ...80 gm canof pear halves , 50 gm of butter/ marg ,1 cup of castor sugar , 2 sheets pre rolled flaky pastry . Preheat your oven to 200deg C . Drain the tinned pears , melt the butter/ marg and sugar in a 20cm frying pan with a metal handle . Arrange the pears in a circular fashion in the pan over the melted butter/ marg sugar mix . Brush one of the pastry sheets lightly with water and then place the second sheet on top of the first . Place the pastry over of the pears and trim the pastry excess around the pan . Place the pastry covered pan over a medium heat for 15 minutes , then remove from the heat and place in the preheated oven for 1o minutes or until the pastry is golden . Carefully turn out onto a serving plate and serve hot with thickened cream .

MIXED SEED SODA BREAD

I'm addicted to bread making .... I love this recipe it's so easy .... The ingredients you will need is cooking spray , 350 gm of wholemeal plain flour , 50 gm of sunflower seeds , 2 tbs of poppy seeds , 1 tsp of bi carb of soda , 1 tsp of salt , 1 tsp of castor sugar , 300ml of buttermilk ( 300ml of normal milk with 1 dsp of vinegar ) . Preheat your oven to 220deg C . Line a baking tray with baking paper . Mix the flour , sunflower seeds, poppy seeds, bicarbonate of soda , salt and sugar together in a bowl . Make a well in the centre , add the buttermilk and gradually work into the flour mixture to form a soft dough . Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes . Shape into a cirle ( a flattish round ) . Transfer to the baking paper lined oven tray . Cut a cross in the top of the bread with a sharp knife . Sprinkle a little extra wholemeal flour over top . bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 200 deg C and bake for a further 25 minutes until the loaf is risen and sounds hollow when tapped underneath . Let cool completely on a wire rack .

KANGAROO MINCE HOTPOT

Ingredients required I kg of kangaroo mince , 2 medium sized zucchini ( sliced and diced ), 300gm of shredded carrot , 2 medium sized onions peeled and sliced , 300gm of celery chopped , 6 mini capsicums sliced , 4 medium tomatoes quartered , 2 tbs of minced garlic , 1 x 700gm jar of tomato pasta sauce , 4 tbs of fish sauce , 4 tbs of ketjap manis ( sweet soy sauce ) , 250 ml of dry red wine , 750 ml of water , 2 tbs of dried majoram , 3 tbs of canola oil . Okay , let's get started ......as there are a lot of ingredients I suggest you use a large pot and coat the base with 3 tbs of canola oil and heat over a medium heat adding the sliced onions and cooking them until they are tender . Now add the diced zucchini stirring to incorporate . Now add the chopped celery , minced garlic , sliced mini caps along with the red wine and water mixture and bring to the simmer ,add the minced garlic , shredded carrot , bring to the simmer again and add 1 kg of kangaroo mince and stir through until well incorporated . It is at this point I transferred the mixture to my crock pot / slow cooker , but you can easily cook this dish in your pot on the stove , ( I had a lot of time for the meal to cook in the slow cooker ). I stirred through the fish sauce and let it incorporate followed by the ketjap manis , taste as you go , it's delicious . Finally I sprinkled over 2 tbs of dried majoram and stirred through , cooked on high until the dish was bubbling and then turned the slow cooker to low , until the dish was ready to serve . This is delicious and can be served as you like with pasta , rice or a mash ... your meal you choose !!!

THE MANOR MARINATED SPARE RIBS

Marinated spare ribs are popular at any family gathering at The Manor . The ingredients required 1.5 kg of pork ribs, 150 ml of barbe que sauce , 70 ml of ketjap manis ( sweet soy sauce ) 2 tbs of minced garlic . When I purchase racks of spare ribs ,I separate the ribs with a sharp knife . In a large bowl mix together the barbeque sauce , ketjap manis and minced garic , finally add the ribs and use your hands to make sure the ribs are well covered with the marinate . Then cover the bowl with cling wrap and refrigerate until required .( Marinate for at least 2 hours before cooking ) . The marinated ribs can be frozen until required . The ribs can be barbequed or oven oven baked in a very hot oven or under the grill .

STEAK AND KIDNEY WITH DUMPLINGS

Ingredients you will need .... 1 tbs of canola / rice bran oil , 20 gm of butter/ marg , 1 kg of skirt steak ( cut into cubes ), 250 gm of lamb kidneys ( cores removed ),1 onion peeled and chopped , 185 gm of sliced mushrooms, 30 gm of plain flour ,250 gm of beef stock, 1 dsp of Worcestershire sauce . Herb dumplings ...125 gm of plain flour , 1 and 1/2 tsp of baking powder ,1/4 cup of finely chopped parsley ,1/ 2 tsp of dried thyme ,1 egg lightly beaten ,80 ml ( 1/3 rd cup ) of milk. This is the recipe that my aunt Ruby Newton and my mother Betty Grunberg used to make the weekly dish of steak and kidney with dumplings . Place the cubed beef and trimmed kidneys in a large pot greased with the oil and butter/ marg and brown over a high heat , then add the chopped onion and continue to cook until the onion is tender , reduce the heat to medium and add the sliced mushrooms . Now sprinkle with the plain flour and stir to combine , then add the stock and Worcestershire sauce. Continue to cook , stirring until the sauce thickens . Cover the saucepan and simmer for 90 minutes over a medium heat until the meat is tender . Now is the time to prepare your dumplings . Mix together the flour , baking powder , 1/2 tsp of salt into a bowl, stir through the parsley and thyme. Mix egg the milk together in a separate bowl. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and add the combined egg and milk mixture . Use a flat bladed knife to create a soft dough . DO NOT OVER MIX . Drop tbs of the mix over the bubbling steak and kidney mix . Cover the pot and continue for 20 minutes without lifting the lid . Now remove the lid from the pot and serve your dish with green vegetables of your choice .

SIMPLE WHOLEMEAL LOAF

The ingredients you need for this bread .... 250 gm of plain flour , 250 gm of wholemeal flour ,1/2 tsp of instant dry yeast (2.5 gm ), 1/2 tsp of salt , 2 tbs of honey ,1 and 1/4 cups ( measuring cups ) of luke warm water . To prepare the dough , mix together the flour , wholemeal flour , yeast and salt . In a separate bowl , combine the honey and water . Add the water mixture to the dry ingredients , I used my electric mixer with the dough hook and mixed until a dough was formed and it left the bowl clean . If your bowl seems dry , add a little more water ( 1 tbs at a time ), until desired consistency is achieved . Now cover your mixing bowl with cling wrap . Set aside and let the dough rise for 18- 24 hours at room temperature , your dough will be ready when it has puffed up in volume , about double in size . Once the dough has proved ,leaving the dough in the bowl , knock back the dough with your hands . Lightly flour a board and shape the dough into a ball , fold the dough in half and then fold it in half again . Shape the dough into a ball by ticking the sides underneath . Time to preheat your oven to 200 deg C . Place the dough on a baking paper lined oven tray . Cover loosely with cling wrap and a tea towel and proof for 45 minutes - 90 minutes .. depending on how warm your kitchen is .( the dough needs to be doubled in size ) . When the dough has risen score the top with a sharp knife 4 times . Now place the dough on the oven tray in the preheated oven and bake for 60 minutes or until the bread has formed a crisp crust . Once the bread has formed a crisp crust , tap the base of the bread and it should sound hollow , if not place bake in the oven for 10minutes . Place the bread on a wire rack to cool completely . Store and cover for 3 days at room temperature . This bread also freezes really well .

OSSO BUCCO

For this dish you will need to go see your local butcher and ask for 8 veal shanks and ask for the bone removed . 1/2 cup of flour , 1/3 cup of canola / rice bran oil ,1 large onion , finely chopped , 1 large carrot , sliced , 2 tbs of minced garlic ,1 cup of chicken stock ,1/2 cup of wwhite wine , 1 x 44ogm can of diced tomatoes , 2 tbs of freshly chopped parsley , 1 tbs of finely grated lemon rind , 1 tbs of garlic flakes . Please preheat your oven to 180 deg C . Toss the shank meat lightly in the flour and shake off the excess . Heat the oil in a large heavy based pan ,cook the veal over a medium heat until browned all over . Remove and drain on paper towelling . Place the veal in a lightly greased medium sized ovenproof dish. Now add the carrots , onions , garlic , stock , wine , diced tomatoes . Cover and bake in the preheated oven for 90 minutes or until the veal is tender . Serve sprinkled with parsley , lemon rind and garlic flakes .