BANANA AND NUT MUFFINS

Ingredients...50gm of butter/ marg, 150 gmm of plain flour,1 dsp of baking powder, 1/2 tsp of salt, 1 egg , lightly beatly beaten, 125ml of milk, 3 tbs of castor sugar, 2 tbs of cocoa powder, 1 ripe banana , mashed, 50 gm of granulated nuts. Preheat your oven to 180 deg C. Grease a 6 hole muffin pan or line the holes with paper muffin cases. The other alternative is for you to grease a mini muffin pan, it is your choice. Melt the butter/ marg, set aside. Mix togther the the flour , baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter/ marg, lightly beaten egg, milk, castor sugar and cocoa powder. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and add the mashed banana and the granulated nuts. Stir gently, some lumps should remain. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. When completely cold store in an airtight container.

MICRO WAVE GLUTEN FREE MUG CAKE

Ingredients.......1 egg lightly beaten, 4 tbs of almond meal or any nut flour of your choice, 2 tbs of cocoa powder, 1 dsp of castor sugar, 1/2 tsp of baking powder, 1 dspm of butter/ marg, 4 tbs of milk, 2 tbs of nutella, icing sugar for dusting. Mix together the almond flour , cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, butter and milk with the lightly beaten egg. Mix together with a fork. Add the nutella and beat vigorously until thoroughly combined. Now pour the mixture into 2 mugs and microwave each one separately for 90 seconds, the cakes should be well risen, spongey and dry on top. Let cool, then sprinkle with icing sugar and serve. Even if you are not gluten intolerant , you can still enjoy these.

MIXED BERRIES AND RICOTTA CAKE

Ingredients......3 eggs, 285gm of castor sugar, 125gm of plain flour, 1 tsp of baking powder, pinch of salt, 1 tbs of rice bran oil, 100ml of boiling water, 500gm of fresh mixed beries (strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries), 1 and 1/2 dsp of powdered gelatine, 1 tbs of lemon juice. For the filling.....400gm of ricotta cheese, 200gm of Greek style yoghurt, 150gm of icing sugar, 350 ml of cream. Please give this cake a go, it is worth the effort and is delicious. Preheat your oven to 180deg C. Grease and line with baking paper a 25cm (10") springform tin. Beat the eggs and 185gm of the castor sugar with your electric mixer for 3 minutes, fold in the flour, baking powder and salt. Quickly stir in the oil and water until well combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack. To prepare thge filling, process the ricotta, yoghurt and icing sugar in your food processor until smooth. In a separate large bowl whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Now fold in the ricotta mixture, then 1/2 cup of the mixed berries. Slice the cooled cake in half horizontally and put the bottom half back in the in the cleaned springform pan. Spoon the ricotta mixture on top, then cover with the top half of the cake and press down firmly. place the pan on a large plate to collect any juices. Chill in the refrigerator until needed. Mix the gelatine and 1 dsp of the lemon juice in a bowl and stir over warm water until dissolved. Cook the remaining berries and sugar and the lemon juice in a pan over a medium heat for 2 minutes, until the sugar dissolves and the mix syrupy, but whole pieces of berries remain. Strain the berries, reserving the syrup. Stir a spoonful of the syrup into the gelatine mixture, then gently stir back into the fruit. cool for 10 minutes, then chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until partially set. Spread the berry syrup mix over the cake, leaving a 1 cm (1/2") border around the edge. Refrigerate overnight or for at least 8 hours before serving. Enjoy.

CHEESE AND TUNA RICE

Ingredients......2 cups of uncooked rice, 1 can of tuna in springwater 425 gm ( drained and flaked), 300gm of grated tasty cheese, 1 cup of chopped celery, 1 small onion finely chopped, 1 small green capsicum chopped, 3 tbs of flour 1 and 1/2 cups of milk, 1 and 1/2 litres of boiling water, 60 gm of butter/ marg, 1 dsp of cracked black pepper, cayenne pepper to lightly sprinkle. Preheat your oven to 150 deg C. Cook the rice in the boiling water with a pinch of salt, after 10 minutes add the chopped onion, celery and capsicum. When the rice cooked, drain and rinse. Transfer to a lightly oiled ovenproof dish and keep warm in the preheated oven. Melt the butter / marg in a small saucepan add the flour, stir to combine and then stir in the milk and gradually bring to a simmer, stirring continuously. Now add the grated cheese and the cracked black pepper, continuing to stir until the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth. Add the tuna and slowly reheat, until heated through. Serve over the rice and cautiously sprinkle with cayenne pepper.

RICOTTA AND SPICY SALAMI PIZZA.

I am on a pizza bender, tonight tea will be salami and ricotta pizza. Ingredients ..... 1 pizza base (bought in ), 250 gm of grated mozarella cheese, 4 tbs of tomato paste, 10 slices of spicy salami, 1 dsp of dried oregano, 10 cherry tomatoes, 1/3 rd cup of ricotta. Preheat your oven to 200deg C. Spread the tomato paste over the base of the pizza. Sprinkle the grated cheese over the tomato paste. Top with the salami slices, cherry tomatoes and orgegano. Place the pizza in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until the cheese melts and the base becomes crispy. To serve place heaped tsps of ricotta over top of cooked pizza.

IRISH PORK CAKE (2)

Today , five days after having prepared the original Irish pork cake, I unwrapped the cake, sliced and sampled the cake. This cake is a suprise on all levels. It is a real cake , well formed, easily sliced and slightly crumbly in the mouth. This recipe is from multiple decades ago, I used ingredients that I thought would have been similiar and certainly frowned upon now a days, then baked in an oven that was not combustion. The result was still amazing . I love the recipes from long ago and the challenge to find equivalent ingredients and reproduce what was intended, never forgetting that the original recipes were made without all the 'super' electric equipment and ovens we have today.

PUMPKIN, PINE NUT AND RICOTTA PIZZA

Ingredients......1 large pizza base, 300gm pumpkin, thinly sliced, splash of olive oil, 20gm of pine nuts, 4 tbs of tomato paste, handful of fresh sage leaves (roughly chopped), 300 gm of grated mozarella cheese, 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese, Italian herb mix. Preheat your oven to 180 deg C. Place the sliced pumpkin on a roasting tray, drizzle with the olive oil, season with Italian herb mix and roast in the preheated oven until tender. Remove from the oven and toss with the chopped sage, set aside. Now increase to heat of your oven to 220 deg C. Add the pine nuts to the pumpkin mix. Spread the pizza base with the tomato paste then sprinkle over the grated cheese to evenly cover the base , top with pumpkin, sage and pine nuts. Place the pizza in the now higher heated oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and crispy. Remove from the oven, now top with heaped tsps of ricotta cheese. Slice to serve, enjoy.