OLIVE SODA BREAD

Ingredients you will need ....125 gm of butter/ margarine , 60 gm of castor sugar , 1 egg beaten , 185gm of plain flour ,470 gm of wholemeal self raiing flour, 1 and 1/2 tsp of bi carbonate soda , 375 ml of buttermilk / milk ,125 gm of sliced black olives , 1 dsp of poppy seeds ,1 tsp of salt flakes . Preheat your oven to 190 deg C . Line a baking tray with baking paper . Place the butter / margarine , sugar in your electric mixer and beat until smooth and creamy. Now replace your mixer beaters with the dough hook and add the flour mix , bi carb of soda ,egg and buttermilk / milk . Mix with the dough hook until you have a soft dough . Lightly flour your work surface and knead in the drained and sliced black olives . Shape the dough into a 20 cm / 8" circle and place on the baking paper lined oven tray . Using a sharp knife , cut a cross on top . Sprinkle with the poppy seeds and salt flakes . Bake for 45 minutes in your preheated oven or until the cob is well coloured . Remove the oven tray from the oven and let the bread stand on the oven tray for 5 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely . Sunday's are well spent baking bread and Monday's enjoying them sliced with butter/ marg .

FRIED LAMB BRAINS

Ingredients......6 lamb brains, canola oil, 2 eggs lightly beaten, 3 cups of plain flour seasoned with cracked black pepper, Soak the brains in cold water for 20 minutes, drain them, cover them again in cold water and bring them to the boil over a medium heat. Drain them again , rinsing them in cold water and pat dry. Dip the cooled poached brains in the lightly beaten eggs and lightly coat with the seasoned flour. Heat your deep fryer or heat enough oil in a large frypan to fry the coated brains until they turn golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt to serve .

BLUEBERRY SORBET

Ingredients required .......500gm of blueberries ( defrosted if using frozen berries ) , 1/2 cup of sugar ,1 cup of water , 1/4 cup of lemon juice ,2 egg whites . Puree the blueberries and set aside . In a medium saucepan mix together the water and sugar , cook over a low heat stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved . Now remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool slightly . Combine the slightly cooled syrup with the pureed blueberries and lemon juice . Pour the mix into a shallow dish and place it in the freezer until the mixture starts to freeze on top . Beat the egg whites until thick and then fold through the partially frozen blueberry mix. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and refreeze to set . Serve scooped into chilled glasses .

BEEF OLIVES

Ingredients required ......1 cup of breadcrumbs ,1/4 cup of chopped prunes ,1 small onion ,finely chopped ,1/2 tsp of finely grated lemon rind ,1/2 tsp of dried thyme ,6 pieces of beef schnitzel,2 tbs of canola oil ,2 tbs of plain flour,3/4 cup of beef stock ,2 tbs of soy sauce . Preheat your oven to 160 deg C . Combine the breadcrumbs , prunes, onion, lemon rind and thyme . Lay the pieces of scnitzel out flat and divide the bread crumb mixture evenly between the pieces of the meat . Spread each piece of meat with the breadcrumb mix , roll up and secure with toothpicks . Heat the oil in a frypan , add the beef olives and browm on all sides , then transfer the beef olives to a casserole dish . Now stir the flour into the frypan and deglaze by adding the stock , stirring constantly , bring to the boil and finally add the soy sauce . Pour this over the beef olives and cook in the preheated oven for 30 mintes or until the meat is tender . Remove toothpicks before serving .

CARAMEL MERINGUE

Ingredients for the base ...75 gm (room temperature ) butter / marg ,1 and 1/2 tbsof castor sugar ,1 beaten egg, 1 measuring cup of plain flour , 1 tsp of baking powder, pinch salt . Ingredients for the filling .....1 tbs of butter/ marg,2 tbs of plain flour ,1/2 cup of brown sugar,1/2 cup of sweetened condensed milk ,1 tbs of golden syrup,1 tsp of vanilla extract,2 beaten egg yolks. Ingredients for the meringue topping ....2 egg whites , 1/4 cup of castor sugar . Preheat your oven to 190 deg C . THE BASE.....Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy , then add the flour , baking powder and salt along with the beaten egg . Press the dough into a square 30cm x 20cm removable sided pan lined with baking paper over the base. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes . Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the pan . Decrease the oven temperature to 160 deg C. THE FILLING .....In a saucepan melt the butter/ marg over a med/ low heat , add the butter/ marg and cook until frothy . Stir in the sugar , condensed milk , golden syrup , vanilla and beaten egg yolks , sti continuously over a medium / low heat for 1 minute and then remove from the heat and cool completely . Spread the cold filling over the base.. THE MERINGUE .....Beat the egg whites until stiff using an electric mixer , now gradually add the sugar and beat until stiff and glossy . Top the meringue over the filling , bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes . Slice the meringue while hot .

TOMATO SAUCE

You will need 3.5 kg of tomatoes chopped, 1 kg of apples peeled and chopped, 6 onions peeled and chopped, 2 cups of brown castor sugar, 4 cups of malted vinegar, 2 tbs of salt, 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper, 1 tsp of black pepercorns, 1 tsp of allspice, 1 dsp of whole cloves. Place the tomatoes, apples, onions, sugar, vinegar, salt and cayenne pepper into a soup pot. Tie the peppercorns, allspice and whole cloves in muslin and add to the tomato mixture. Boil steadily for 2 hours or until the mixture is completely pulpy / mushy. Discard the whole spices. Using a hand processor, process the tomato mixture and then return the to the heat and boil for 2 minutes. Now pour into warm, clean, dry bottles and seal.

LEMON YOGHURT ICE CREAM TERRINE

Ingredients required.....500ml of vanilla icecream , 500gm of Greek yoghurt ,1/4 cup of lemon curd ,1 tsp of finely grated lemon rind ,lemon wedges . Leave the ice cream to soften . Mix together the yoghurt , lemon curd and lemon rind together . Next mix in the softened ice cream . Line a 10cm x 17 cm loaf pan with foil to cover the base and the long sides ( not the ends of the pan ). Pour the mixture into the pan , smooth over the surface , place in the freezer and freeze until firm . To serve turn out on a serving plate and slice , garnish with thin lemon wedges .