700g small potatoes
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
50g butter melted
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, chives or green onion (optional)

Bring a pot of water to the boil add salt and cook potatoes until soft and very easily pierced by a fork. Small ones should take around 20 to 25 minutes.
While the potatoes cook, preheat the oven to 220°C.
Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over a large baking tray. Brush the oil so it is evenly distributed. Use two trays if necessary as potatoes need a little breathing room around each one.
Drain the potatoes in a colander and let them dry for 5 minutes.
Place the potatoes on the oiled tray and use a large fork or potato masher to gently smash each potato to a height of about ½ inch keeping them in one piece. Thinner potatoes will be more crispy.
Leave on the tray to steam dry for 5 minutes.
Drizzle each one with melted butter and just a bit of olive oil.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake until the potatoes are nice and golden on the edges, about 25 to 30 minutes.
Sprinkle them with chopped fresh herbs, and serve hot.

Mum cooked every Saturday morning and always made an Orange Cake for my brother Peter

125g butter softened
¼ cup milk
¼ cup orange juice
2 eggs
¾ cup caster sugar
1 ½ cups self raising flour sifted
1 tablespoon orange zest, finely grated
Orange icing
1/3 cup butter softened
1 ½ cups icing sugar sifted
2 tablespoons orange juice or to taste
½ teaspoon orange zest, finely grated

Heat oven to 180°C
Combine all cake ingredients and beat thoroughly for 3 minutes.
Pour mixture into a greased 20cm x 10cm loaf or 20cm ring tin.
Bake in the centre of oven for 30-40 minutes.
Turn onto a wire rack and allow to cool.
Mix orange icing ingredients together in a bowl, then ice cake.

Serve warm or at room temperature 
1 can chickpeas
1 can lentils
1 can black beans
2 medium eggplants diced into 3cm cubes
2½ tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
cherry tomatoes, halved (large quartered)
torn rocket, lettuce leaves, spinach leaves
cucumber diced
crumbled feta cheese
GARLIC LEMON DRESSING
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove minced
1 teaspoon thyme leaves fresh chopped or ½ teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Shake salad dressing ingredients in a jar

Drain and rinse chickpeas, lentils and black beans, then microwave briefly until warmed through. Pour over some of the dressing, stir then leave to marinate for minimum of an hour (overnight fine).

Preheat oven to 240°C.
Line a tray with parchment/baking paper.
Place cubed eggplant in large bowl, drizzle with oil, salt and pepper.
Toss well, spread on tray not touching and roast for 20 minutes. Turn and roast for a further 10 minutes - edges should be caramelised, soft inside but not shriveled up.
Mix salad ingredients and marinated lentil mixture, drizzle over most of the dressing, then toss. Pour onto serving platter.
Top with roasted eggplant and drizzle with remaining dressing.
Sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese.

Brine:
4 cups water
125g cooking salt
For each 3 cups brine add 1 cup malt vinegar

Sterilize Jars
Wash olives
Put in jars
Add brine
Add film of cooking oil to top
Leave 3 months
Rinse olives
Mix olive oil, garlic or black pepper and oregano.
Shake up and add to olives in jar ready to eat.

6 egg whites
1¾ cups caster sugar
2½ teaspoons cornflour
2 unwaxed lemons
½ cup flaked almonds
300 mls double cream
325 grams jar lemon curd
Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C and line a baking tray with baking parchment.
Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, then beat in the sugar a spoonful at a time until the meringue is stiff and shiny.
Sprinkle the cornflour over the meringue, then grate in the zest of 1 lemon and add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice.
Gently fold until everything is thoroughly mixed in.
Mound onto the lined baking tray in a fat circle approximately 23cm/10inches in diameter, smoothing the sides and the top with a knife or spatula.
Place in the oven, then immediately turn the temperature down to 150°C/130°C and cook for 1 hour.
Turn oven off and leave the pavlova inside with the door completely open. Remove when pavlova is completely cold.
Toast the flaked almonds, by frying them in a dry pan over a medium to high heat until they have started to colour. Shake the pan at regular intervals and don’t let them burn. When they’re done, remove to a cold plate so that they don’t carry on cooking.
About an hour before you are ready to eat turn the pavlova onto a large flat plate or board with the underside uppermost.
Whip the cream until thick and airy.
Put the lemon curd into a bowl and beat it with a wooden spoon or spatula to loosen it a little. Taste the lemon curd and add some lemon zest and a spritz of juice if it’s too sweet.
Spread the lemon curd on top of the meringue base and top with the whipped cream, peaking it rather as if it were a meringue topping.
Sprinkle with the zest of the remaining lemon followed by the flaked almonds and serve.

2 different packages of fresh refrigerated Tortellini of your choice
½ cup prepared Pesto
200g Sun Dried Tomatoes packed in oil
Small Skewers
Cook tortellini according to package instructions.
Drain and place back in pan.
Stir pesto into tortellini to coat evenly.
Drain liquid from sun dried tomatoes and slice.
Skewer alternating tortellini, sun dried tomatoes, tortellini, sun dried tomatoes
Refrigerate until serving.

2 cups (250g) plain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup (115g) butter, softened to room temperature
¾ cup (150g) brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup (80g) plain Greek yoghurt
2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 large ripe bananas)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
optional: ¾ cup (100g) chopped pecans or walnuts

Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 220°C.
Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together in a large bowl.
In a mixer beat the butter and brown sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
On medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Beat in the yogurt, mashed bananas, and vanilla extract until combined.
With the mixer running on low speed, slowly beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until no flour pockets remain. Do not overmix.
Fold in the nuts, if using.
Pour the batter into 24 lined or greased muffin pans
Bake for 5 minutes at 220°C then reduce the oven temperature to 180°C and bake for an additional 16-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting: This banana bread also tastes fantastic with cream cheese frosting on top! To make it, beat 112g of softened cream cheese and ¼ cup (60g) of softened unsalted butter together on medium speed until smooth. Beat in 1 cup icing sugar, ½ teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt until combined.

Cover and store banana bread at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Banana bread tastes best on day 2 after the flavors have settled together.

4 egg whites
Pinch of salt
1¼ cups caster sugar
1 cup ground hazelnuts
1 teaspoon white vinegar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
185g dark chocolate
¼ cup water
1 cup cream
1 punnet strawberries
1½ cups cream extra
Grease two 20cm springform pans and line base and sides with baking paper. Grease the paper and sprinkle with cornflour, shaking away excess.
Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan forced.
Using electric beaters, beat egg whites with salt until soft peaks form.
Gradually add sugar, beating after each addition until sugar is dissolved and mixture is of meringue consistency.
Beat in vinegar and vanilla.
Divide meringue mixture evenly between pans.
Sprinkle ground hazelnuts evenly over meringue in both tins. With knife or small spatula swirl hazelnuts lightly through meringue. Smooth over top of meringue with back of spoon.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until meringue is crisp to touch.
Release sides of pans and cool meringues on base of pan.
Chop chocolate and combine with water on top of double saucepan. Stir over simmering water until melted. Cool.
Remove meringue from bases. Place one layer on a plate, flat side down. Spread with thin layer of chocolate. Spread whipped cream over chocolate. Reserve 4 strawberries. Wash and hull remainder cut in half and arrange over cream.
Spread underside of second layer of meringue with remaining chocolate mixture, place on top of strawberry layer, chocolate side down.
Whip extra cream, cover sides and top of cake. Arrange reserved strawberries on top.
Refrigerate until ready to use.