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A Vintage Dry Muffin? Many years ago I met this great lady through my work place. One of my favourite customers. Then last year I met her again in a new work place. Still a favourite.  While doing some training together with  the Customer Service Movement  she very generously gave me some of her amazing  Custard and Co Cider !  I was impressed with her generosity! Then after tasting some at  Truffle Kerfuffle  I was inspired to use the cider in a creative way.  After all it is so easy to drink, what else could I do with it? Here's what I came up with: Let's start: 1 bottle of Vintage Dry Custard & Co Cider 1 300ml carton of cream 2 cups of Self Raising Flour 1 grated apple 100gm of Vintage cheddar cheese grated or sliced finely 1 tablespoon of maple syrup 0.5 teaspoon cinnamon 0.5 teaspoon cardamom Crank the oven up to 220C so that it's hot when you pop them in.  I love my Grandma's old recipe book...

A cold winter's day A quick kitchen play A hot oven at around 220 degrees Celcius 300ml carton cream 300ml lemonade 2 cups of Self Raising Flour My aunt asked once why her scones turned out tougher than Grandma's.  The answer flew back "Because you muck around too much!" When I make scones, there are no rolling pins, no neat little circles, these are what someone once called "Bushman's Scones" - meaning they were pretty much as rough as guts but they tasted great! The flour goes into the bowl, if you feel really fussy you could sieve it, but I never have and probably never will. Then the cream and the lemonade.  Always have a little extra lemonade just in case the mix isn't quite right. Mix it with a knife - mine is the oldest bone handled one I own, an heirloom purchased by my mother in the 1940's.  This is the time to release all those frustrations and really crank that knife blade through the mixture til it's a thick solid d...

It's been a while.  Lots happening and I've been doing the "What Women Want" segment on ABC Regional Drive rather than the old cooking show.  But I made this last night, and I thought it was worth a mention on here. INGREDIENTS: Lemon Garlic Chicken Steaks - if you live in the Bunbury area then go to Pete's Chop Shop in Treendale. Macaroni pasta - as much as for the number you are feeding Frozen stir fry vege 1 tub of Black Swan Skinny Spicy Capsicum dip 1/2 tub Harvey Cheese Marinated Feta METHOD: You can grill or BBQ the steaks, but I actually did these on an oven sheet with some non-stick paper the day before as I didn't know how many I was feeding for lunch that day.  Turned out the home made pizza was enough.  So these were left over. In a big bowl I mixed the feta, the dip and the chicken and the veg (still frozen) while the pasta boiled.  Once that was cooked, I drained it, popped it into the bowl and mixed it all toge...

Another old classic that sounds like it's hard to make, or that people had in restaurants. It is in fact one of the simplest and tastiest to prepare so here goes. INGREDIENTS Thin steaks, so thin porterhouse, veal, rump are all great. Often good butchers will have 'minute steak' that they have already put through a mallet and thinned down. Butter approx 50gm Salt Pepper Worcestershire sauce Cream - Try the low fat cooking creams available as they are perfect for this Minced garlic METHOD I haven't been precise with measurements with this recipe as so much depends on quantity and also taste. Don't put a lot of garlic on if you don't like it, or don't put salt on if you don't use it. Using a teaspoon, put 1/2 - 1 tsp depending on taste of minced garlic on a steak and spread with the back of the spoon. Grind pepper and salt to taste over that and press in. A good heavy based skillet is perfect for this. Get the butter to a bubbly lev...

Now the traditional method for a Beef Stroganoff requires hours to slow cook and prepare this dish. The flavours will be a bit tangier, but just as great if you do it quick smart in a wok. So welcome to the quickest Stroganoff in the West. INGREDIENTS: Stir Fry Beef Strips available from good butcher or supermarket large spoon of plain flour and a plastic bag Olive Oil - remember the good stuff 1 Onion sliced thinly into strips 1 small punnet or about 12 small mushrooms.  Be adventurous and try some of the great gourmet varieties 3 rashers of bacon sliced roughly. 1 300ml tub of sour cream 1 dessertspoonful of crushed garlic 1 dessertspoonful of paprika powder 1 beef stock cube 1 dessertspoonful of Worcestershire sauce Cracked Pepper METHOD: Use a wok or heavy based pan for this as it needs to be hot to get this sizzling quickly. Place flour in plastic bag and add beef strips.  Hold the top tightly and shake it til the strips are covered. They will ...

When people talk about thick soup, they talk about Pea Soup. In the Goldfields when heavy rain strikes, the result is more like Pumpkin Soup!  That thick red dirt mixes with the heavy rain and the result is rich orange coloured liquid. It flows more like lava than water and has a strength many just don't realise. Cars get washed off roads, roads get closed and for basically it's just not for the feint hearted.  But the locals and those with red dirt in their veins love it. So here's my homesick Pumpkin soup dedicated to that thick red water body that only appears for a few days of the year called Gribble Creek in Kalgoorlie-Boulder. INGREDIENTS: 1 whole butternut pumpkin 3 potatoes 3 onions Water - not red just normal from the tap 3 chicken stock cubes 1 x 300ml tub of thickened cream. METHOD: Peel, de-seed and chop the pumpkin into smallish pieces - the smaller they are the quicker it will cook. Chop potatoes into similar size p...