RECIPE FOR FRIENDSHIP

Ingredients. 1/4 cup of kindness 2/3 cup of compassion 1 tsp of speaking your mind 2 tbs of listening 3 cups of laughter A large amount of trust Now all you have to do is... Blend in a good measure of honesty Crack a joke or two to taste Sift the truth from a mixed bag of gossip and rumour Mix well but do not stir Sweeten with compliments Thoroughly warm with good will Give out generous portions Serve with smiles. (Author unknown...)

SOLDIERS AND EGGS .

Ingredients....2 eggs (per person), 2 slices of bread. As parents / grandparents we have all made mashed eggs with soldiers for our young family members. Soldiers and hard boiled eggs are a great start to our day. Boil your eggs for 8 minutes. Toast your sliced bread to a golden colour and spread liberally with butter/ marg. Slice into thin strips. Use a sharp knife to remove the top off your eggs and place in an egg cup. Serve the soldiers along side the boiled eggs in egg cups. Dress with cracked black pepper and or salt if you desire.

3 INGREDIENT FRUIT CAKE.

Ingredients......1 kg of dried sultanas/ mixed fruit, 600 ml of flavoured milk, 2 cups of self raising flour. Place 1 kg of dried fruit/ sultanas in a large bowl with 600ml of flavoured milk. The flavour is up to you, I have made this cake with strawberry milk, chocolate milk, mocha milk and salted caramel milk ( they are all delicious). Pour the milk over the fruit and leave to soak for 8 hours in the refrigerator. When you are ready to bake, remove the bowl from the refrigerator and leave it to reach room temperature. Preheat your oven to 180 deg C. Spray and line a 22cm cake pan/ or spray 3 date loaf pans and line the loaf pan lids with baking paper. Using a wooden spoon, mix through 2 cups of self raising flour into the fruit mixture. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan / pans. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 90 minutes if using the cake pan or 65 minutes if using the loaf pans ....( cake/ rolls will be done when a skewer inserted comes out clean).

MOROCCAN CINNAMON BISCUITS (v)

Ingredients......600gm of plain flour, 260gm of extra virgin olive oil, 300gm of castor sugar, 3 lemon rinds finely grated, ground cinnamon for dusting. Preheat your oven to 170 deg C. Line 2 oven trays with baking paper. Place the flour in a bowl and make a centre in the middle and add all the other ingredients. Combine to form a smooth dough. Turn the dough out onto a bench, shape into a disc about 1.25cm thick. Cut out shapes with a 5cm cutter. Use a spatula to move and space them out onto the lined oven trays. Dust the biscuits lightly with the cinnamon using a tea strainer, prick twice in a parallel line withb a fork. bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven or until golden around the edges. Allow the biscuits to cool on the trays as they are fragile while still hot/ warm.

FLORENTINES…

Ingredients...12o gm of sultanas, 80gm of corn flakes, 100gm granulated nuts, 100gm of coarsley chopped glace cherries,160 ml of sweetened condensed milk, 150gm of dark chocplate. Preheat your oven to 160 deg C. Line 2 oven trays with baking paper. Combine sultanas, corn flakes, peanuts, cherries and condensed milk in a large bowl. Drop rounded tbs of mixture, about 5cm apart on the lined oven trays. Bake for 5 minutes in the preheated oven. Leave the Florentines cool on the trays. Melt the chocolate in 20 second increments in a medium bowl in the microwave. Spread the cooled Florentine bases with the melted chocolate. Allow to set at room temperature. Store in an airtight container.

BAKING THE BREAD (6)

Place the loaf on a pizza stone or lined oven tray. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes and turn golden in colour. When ready the loaf should sound hollow when tapped on the base.

TESTING AND SCORING THE DOUGH (5)

Preheat your oven to 200 deg C, for at least an hour before baking. To see if your dough is ready to be baked, lightly poke the dough with your finger, if your finger leaves an indent that does not rebound ... the dough is ready. Score or cut the dough with a pattern using a sharp knife, trying one slice lengthways, or several cuts across, or crosshatching.