100 g butter melted
½ cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 egg lightly beaten
1½ cups self-raising flour
Preheat oven to 180°C Line baking trays with baking paper.
Combine butter, sugar, vanilla and egg in a bowl.
Add flour and stir until combined.
Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes until firm.
Roll teaspoons of mixture into small balls.
Place on tray and press down slightly.
Top with Smarties, sprinkles, or chocolate chips.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until light golden.
Stand on tray for 5 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool.

2 tablespoons peanut oil
½ cup raw cashews unsalted
1 garlic clove finely minced
½ onion cut into thin wedges
½ teaspoon chilli paste or to taste
200g chicken thighs sliced into 1cm thin strips
2 green onions cut into 2.5cm white part separated from green part
½ red cayenne pepper, deseeded and finely sliced on the diagonal (omit or reduce if preferred)
Sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon white sugar
3 tablespoons water
Red chilli finely sliced (optional garnish)
Mix all the Sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
Heat oil over medium heat in a wok or large skillet. Add cashews and cook stirring for 5 minutes or until they become a dark golden colour and crunchy. Remove from skillet with a slotted spoon.
Turn heat up to high. Add garlic, chilli paste and onion and cook for 30 seconds.
Add chicken and cook for 1 minute until the outside changes from pink to white.
Add white part of green onions and chilli. Cook for 1 minute until chicken is just cooked through.
Add sauce and cook for 1 minute until it reduces down to a syrup, coating the chicken nicely.
Add green part of green onions and cashews. Toss for 30 seconds.
Serve with jasmine rice, or other rice of choice, garnished with extra red chilli.
Storage – leftover stir fry will keep for 4 days in the fridge and can also be frozen.

1 red onion peeled and cut into chunks
2 - 3 red chillies stalks removed and cut into 3
50 grams piece of fresh ginger peeled and cut into thick slices
2 cloves garlic peeled and halved
1 teaspoon of ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes (or to taste)
2 x 15ml tablespoons coconut oil or vegetable oil
1 x 400 mls tin coconut milk
350 mls vegetable stock
1 x 400 grams tin chopped tomatoes
500 grams sweet potatoes peeled and cut into large bite-sized pieces
1 butternut pumpkin peeled, seeds removed and cut into bite-sized pieces

Blitz onion, chillies, ginger, garlic, turmeric, ground coriander, cinnamon and salt to a paste with a stick blender.
Heat the coconut or vegetable oil in a wide heavy-based casserole that has a lid, and then fry the paste for about a minute or so, stirring well.
Open the tin of coconut milk and scrape off the creamy top into the paste, stirring everything together over the heat for another minute or so before adding the rest of the tin of coconut milk.
Add the stock, tinned tomatoes, then the chunked sweet potato and butternut.
Give a good stir, bring to the boil and, once bubbling, turn down the heat, and when simmering put on the lid and cook until the sweet potatoes and pumpkin cooked through.
Check seasoning and serve.

110g margarine
110g caster sugar
1 egg
1½ cups plain flour
Vanilla
Jam
Topping
1 egg
85g dessicated coconut
110g caster sugar
Cream margarine and sugar until light.
Add egg and few drops vanilla, then stir in the flour.
Spread dough and press into well greased swiss roll tin.
Cover dough with jam (moderately liberal).
Mix egg & sugar together add coconut.
Sprinkle evenly over top of jam.
Moderate (180deg. C) oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

500g thin veal scallops
2 tablespoons plain flour
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 onion diced
200g sliced mushrooms
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons capers drained
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary, or ½ teaspoon dry rosemary
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
¼ cup dry white wine
Heat olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a skillet over medium heat.
Sprinkle veal with salt and pepper; dust lightly with flour.
Sauté veal quickly, turning once. Remove veal from pan when browned.
Add remaining 1 tablespoon butter sauté garlic, onions and mushrooms until tender and browned.
Add capers and sauté for 30 seconds.
Add lemon juice and zest, herbs, and wine and bring to boil.
Add the veal back to the pan. Turn to coat; cover skillet and simmer for about 3 to 4 minutes.
Arrange veal on a platter; spoon mushrooms and pan drippings over the veal.
Nice served on rice.

Jane’s Chicken Sandwiches
1½ chickens chopped
1 carton sour cream
100g flaked almonds
2 tablespoons mango chutney
Chopped parsley
2 loaves bread
Mix together and make sandwiches

I make this most years when we have a good supply of tomatoes. I freeze it in small containers and use it for pizza bases and parmigiana sauce. I multiply the quantities depending on how many tomatoes I’ve got.
750 g tomatoes
2 onions
1 carrot
1 stick celery
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 sprigs parsley
½ teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
pinch pepper
Dice vegetables and mix all ingredients.
Cover and simmer for 30 mins.
Pass through sieve (kitchen whiz) and return to saucepan.
Simmer until sauce has reached desired consistency.

Cut French sticks crosswise.
Soften butter, mix with mustard.
Spread on both sides of sticks.
Mix 425g tin of Tuna, chopped onions, 2 tablespoons mustard pickle and 1cup grated cheese.
Spread on stick and cut into slices, wrap in foil. Cook in moderate over for about 20 minutes.