recipes

Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 1 hr
Total Time: 1.5 hrs
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 10

250 g plain sweet biscuit crumbs
125 g butter, melted
3 eggs, lightly beaten
¾ cup caster sugar
3 x 250 g packets cream cheese, (full fat/light or mix of the two) softened
Lemon to taste, e.g. either
3 teaspoons grated lemon rind and
¼ cup lemon juice; or
¾ cup lemon juice
(adjust lemon to your taste as this can be too lemony for some)

1) Crusting
Lightly grease a 22 cm springform tin. Combine biscuit crumbs and butter in a bowl. Using a glass, press crumb mixture evenly over base and side of tin. Refrigerate biscuit crust for 1 hour.

2) Filling
Beat eggs and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until pale and thick - alternatively combine all together in mixer. Add cheese, rind and lemon juice. Beat until mixture is smooth and creamy. Pour mixture into prepared tin.

3) Cooking
Bake for 1 hour at 150° C in the oven.

4) Cooling
Cool in oven with door ajar, then refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Decorate with cream and strawberries if desired.

Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 2 hrs, 30 min
Total Time: 3 hrs
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 4x400g jars

500ml citrus juice from:
6-8 Seville oranges. 2 Lemons
(Optional: add citrus juice mix using, e.g: Oranges, Mandarins, Limes etc.). 1 cup Citrus seeds and pulp from above fruit. 500ml filtered water
800g Caster sugar
extra water as required

1) Juicing
Wash skins of fruit well. Cut citrus fruit in halves. Juice citrus - make 500mls. Filter juice through muslin/cheese cloth in into large saucepan. Keep seeds and membranes.

2) Pectin keeping
Remove muslin with pulp. Scrape membranes and any remaining seeds off juiced rinds to make about 1 cup. Place them into the muslin and make it into a bag by tying with string (citrus seeds and membranes contain pectin for setting). Place bag in saucepan.

3) Rind cutting
Cut ends off peel halves. Thinly slice remaining rind of at least 4 oranges (optionally add rind from 1 lemon/lime) to make about 100g. Place in pan with juice.

4) First cooking
Add 500ml of purified water to pan. Heat on low to moderate heat to boil slowly. Boil gently for about 2 hours or when rind should be soft/transluscent - liquid will reduce so top up with water when required. Remove muslin bag and squeeze out liquid with a spoon and sieve.

5) Sugaring
Weigh liquid mixture and make up to 800g with more water if needed. Return to low heat and add 800g Caster sugar (1:1 ratio). Dissolve sugar on low heat.

6) Second cooking
When sugar is dissolved increase heat for a steady boil - do not stir too much . Scum can be gently removed. Large bubbles should then rise up and cover the top of the mixture with frothing bubbles (foam may rise several times so avoid overflow). No need to stir at this stage. Boil for about ten to fifteen minutes and test setting with cold plate (or temp 106°C if you have a thermometer). Also, drips off spoon should solidify slightly.

7) Potting
If setting, then take off heat to cool for 15 minutes and spoon into about 4 400g sterilised jars (jars and lids previously boiled in a large pot to sterilise).

Prep Time: 2 hrs
Cook Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 20

1.5kg thinly sliced small cucumbers
1 thinly sliced onion
1/4 cup salt
1 tray of ice cubes

2 teaspoons fresh dill leaves
1/2 teaspoons chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 1/2 metric cups white vinegar
1 metric cup water
1 metric cup sugar

1) Salting
Clean cucumbers and slice thinly, place in bowl with ice and salt. Combine with thinly sliced onion halves. Set aside for 2 hours.

2) Sterilizing
Sterilize four 500 ml jars or equivalent in a large saucepan of boiling water for 10 minutes.

3) Boiling
In a medium saucepan combine the sugar, water, vinegar and other ingredients. Bring to the boil and after sugar has dissolved remove from heat.

4) Bottling
Drain cucumbers of liquid and pack into jars. Carefully pour the seasoned liquid over the cucumbers in the jar. Seal immediately. Set aside for at least 1 week to pickle before serving. Store the jar at room temperature until opened.

Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 40 mins
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 8 (1x25cm quiche)

Pastry
1.25 cups plain flour (~185 grams)
125 grams butter cut into small cubes
1 egg
1 lemon’s juice
1 pinch of salt

Filling
3 eggs
250 - 300 grams plain yoghurt - not too sour
30 - 50 ml milk
pepper to taste
fresh parsley (if possible)
dash of mixed herbs
125 grams grated parmesan cheese
75 grams pine nuts (pre-toasted in frypan)

Add a few other selected ingredients to taste, e.g. finely cut:
spinach or silver beet
small head of broccoli
medium tomato
medium field mushrooms
tinned asparagus spears
capsicum etc.

1) Pastrying
Place pastry ingredients in food processor.
Remove when starts to form cake crumbs consistency.
Turn onto Board and press together to ball.
Roll out between sheets of baking paper.
Use large 25 cm flan dish.

Blind bake at 220 C for 10-15 minutes

2) Filling
Dry fry pine nuts over a medium heat to brown slightly.
Fry other chosen vegetable ingredients in a little oil, evaporate excess moisture to make a moist but not overly wet mix.
Gently whisk eggs, yoghurt, cheese, pepper and herbs in a bowl; then add pine nuts and selected vegetables. Mix gently.
Spoon into pastry case.

3) Cooking
Bake for about 40 minutes at 180 C - until browning with no liquid on surface. Allow to cool.