2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion diced
5 large celery stalks diced
3 large carrots diced
1 clove garlic chopped
6 cups water
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
7 bay leaves

In a large pot combine the olive oil, onion, celery, carrot and garlic. Sauté on high heat for five minutes.
Add water, salt, peppercorns and bay leaves and bring to a boil.
Turn the heat down to low and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.
Taste and add more salt if desired.
Strain and use

Freezes well

From Mum’s letter to my children and grandchildren
‘In the 1930’s and 1940’s it was the thing to have lady friends to afternoon tea – lace tablecloth, scones, sandwiches, sponge cake the lot! My Mother used to try and send her friends home before I came home from school. I must have been really untidy – 1 plait always undone, stockings around my ankles and ink blots everywhere. I did grow out of this phase by the time I went to Tech School.’

Smoked Salmon Finger Sandwiches
3/4 cup (180g) crème fraîche
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives
2 shallots chopped finely
18 slices white bread
300 grams smoked salmon
Place crème fraîche, chives and shallots in a small bowl; stir to combine. Season to taste.
Spread half the bread slices with crème fraîche mixture; top with salmon, then sandwich with remaining bread.
Using a sharp serrated knife (or electric knife), trim crusts; cut each sandwich into three long fingers. (The trick to tidy-looking sandwiches is to use a fast sawing action, without applying pressure to cut the sandwiches.)
Cover sandwiches with lightly dampened paper towel, then plastic wrap; store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Growing up we had two special Aunties. Aunty Margaret (just always Aunty to 34 nieces, nephews and their partners) and Grampy’s sister Aunty Glad. Aunty Glad learnt to drive the family Austin 6 after the death of her father in 1945. Sundays were a great day for her. She and her Mum would take off with afternoon tea and thermos for the North Adelaide Golf Links and meet Aunty and enjoy a good game of golf. Her mum generally stayed in the car which was parked at the halfway mark, and they would leave the Golf for a short time and take afternoon tea.
75 g butter
2 cups (475 g) caster sugar
¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 cup (250 ml) milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups (300 g) plain flour
1 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon salt
200 ml boiling water
icing
250 g butter, softened
400 g icing sugar
½ cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
50 ml thickened cream, plus extra if needed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
a pinch of sea salt flakes
Preheat the oven to 160˚C fan-forced.
Grease and line the base of two 24 cm round baking tins.
With a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together for about 5 minutes.
Add the vegetable oil, eggs, milk and vanilla and mix to combine.
Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and bicarb soda into a separate bowl. Add the salt, and using a whisk, mix the dry ingredients.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix on low speed with the stand mixer, until just combined.
Add 200 ml boiling water and mix for about 30 seconds to combine.
Divide the batter between the two cake tins, tap cake tins on bench to remove air bubbles and place them on the same rack of your oven.
Bake for about 30 - 35 minutes until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Allow to cool for a few minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool completely.
For the chocolate icing, combine the ingredients in the clean bowl of a stand mixer, this time fitted with the whisk attachment.
Combine on low speed for about 1 minute, then beat at high speed for a further minute until the icing thick, smooth and completely combined (add a little more cream to thin slightly, if needed).
To assemble the cake, spread a layer of icing on one cake and invert the other on top. Spread the top of the other cake generously, and cover the sides of the cakes as well if you like.

This recipe comes from my Great Great Grandmother and possibly originated in her native Wales.
In my Gran’s house it was a great stand-by if unexpected visitors turned up for lunch or even in the evening where in those days supper was always offered to guests along with a cup of tea. In Gran’s later years family members would look after her during the day. Sometimes I would go down to give Mum a break and Gran’s eyes would light up every time I would offer Cheese & Onion on toast for lunch. Years later when Mum had to go into care in a nursing home her daughter Lel travelled over 100kms to visit her every day and would regularly cook Mum’s favourite meals and take them to her so she didn’t have to always eat hospital food. Mum’s eyes would light up just like her mothers whenever Lel cooked this.
Whilst it is a family favourite and very tasty it does not look particularly appetizing and I have found that if you have not been born into the family then usually you will not even try it.

Chopped onion
Chopped tomato
knob of butter
Diced cheese (we always used Kraft Cheddar - mainly because it was pretty well the only cheese readily available - anyway you would need a cheese that melts easily)
Some milk
Salt and pepper

1. Put all ingredients into small saucepan or small frypan and stir over low heat until creamy. 
2. Serve straight away on hot buttered toast.

My Aunty made these delicious cakes in her wood oven.
From my cousin Trevor – when we were kids at home, Mum used to bake goodies while we were at school and so they were not eaten as soon as we got home she would hide them. We used to find some of them but as Mum had so many hiding places even she would forget where she put them. Weeks later she would find them – a nice fluffy looking green colour!

4 eggs
½ cup of corn flour
1 teaspoon of cream of tartar
½ cup caster sugar
¼ cup plain flour
½ teaspoon of bi-carb soda
1 carton of whipped cream and bananas to fill

1. Beat eggs until thick and creamy.
2. Add sugar and beat until dissolved.
3. Fold in sifted corn flour, plain flour and risings.
4. Pour into a greased tray.
5. Bake in moderately hot oven for approximately 15 minutes (180ºC-200ºC).
6. Turn out on a slightly damp cloth and roll up, when rolled unroll.
7. Spread with cream and banana pieces evenly.
8. Roll up again and dust with icing sugar.

From my sister Lyn - Could make these with my eyes closed – there wasn’t a kid’s party, prom pre-party, picnic or general celebration where finger food was used that didn’t involve these. The girls would be looking for a taste as soon as they were out of the oven to the point where I had to tell them I had counted them and knew exactly how many there were. It worked in the same way as when they were young and I had had enough of them being under my feet, I used to put them outside to play and tell them I was locking the door, which I never actually did, but they would take it at face value and never try the door handle to see if it would open (something Mum used to do to us as kids)

750gm sausage mince
1 large onion
¼ teaspoon mixed herbs
salt, pepper
4 thick slices white bread
warm water
puff pastry
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon cold water

1. Put sausage mince, peeled and grated onion, mixed herbs, salt and pepper into bowl.
2. Cut crusts from bread, put bread in separate bowl. Pour over enough warm water to cover, let stand for 5 mins. Drain off excess water, squeeze bread gently to extract water.
3. Add bread to sausage mince mixture, mix well.
4. Roll pastry on floured surface.
5. Add a pipeline of meat mixture across width of pastry and roll up until completely enclosed.
6. Cut along edge of pastry and with back of knife make indentations at 1cm intervals along length of roll.
7. Cut into 5cm pieces and put onto greased oven tray side by side. Do same with rest of mixture.
8. Brush tops with combined water and egg yolk.
9. Bake in hot oven (230°) for 10 mins, reduce heat to moderate (190°) cook further 15 mins or till golden brown.

Makes about 24

Delicious and an absolute favourite of family and friends

1.5 kg chicken pieces (I use drumsticks)    
2 tablespoon oil
1 large onion chopped    
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 teaspoon oil extra    
2 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoon lemon rind    
1 cup tomato sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar    
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon curry powder    
2 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon soy sauce    
salt and pepper

1. Sauté chicken in hot oil until golden brown.
2. Remove from pan, drain and place in long flat casserole dish.
3. Sauté chopped onion and crushed garlic in saucepan with extra oil until transparent.
4. Add lemon juice, lemon rind, tomato sauce, brown sugar, mustard, curry powder, vinegar, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to boil. Remove from heat and pour over chicken pieces.
5. Bake covered in moderate oven 1 - 1¼ hours or until tender.
6. Great served with rice.

 

 

This is not a recipe from my childhood but has become a favourite at family celebrations and Christmas. Pate has been a favourite of brother-in-law Neil for many years after enjoying eating it at The Barn Restaurant in McLaren Vale.

500g chicken livers
125g (4oz) butter
1 large onion finely chopped
½ teaspoon thyme
1 bayleaf
6 rashers bacon chopped
3 tablespoons port
3 tablespoons sherry
1 tablespoon brandy
Salt and pepper
½ cup cream
125g (4oz) mushrooms

1. Soak livers in salted water for 1 hour.
2. Heat butter in a large frypan over medium heat. Add finely chopped onion, bacon, thyme and bayleaf and saute slowly until tender but not brown.
3. Add drained livers and cook slowly stirring occasionally until cooked.
4. Remove bayleaf and place cooked mixture into a blender.
5. In same pan add brandy, port and sherry, salt and pepper, cream and mushrooms and bring to boil. Simmer stirring mixture until it is reduced by half.
6. Pour into blender, blend until smooth and put into dishes.
7. Refrigerate until set.

Can be frozen