The Perfect Pimms (Brian)

This recipe makes just over two litres (3.5 pints to those of you who prefer old money). Should a greater or lesser quantity be required adjust the volumes accordingly but keep the ratios the same.

Liquid
Pimms - 50cl
Lemonade - 150cl
Gin - 15cl

Fruit & Veg
Apple - 1 sliced
Orange - 1 sliced
Lemon - 1 sliced
Celery - 2 sticks chopped finely
Cucumber - 10 slices, quartered
Mint - one stalk

Other fruits - Peach, Nectarine, Strawberries, Cherries, Kiwi (Optional, according to taste).

Put the Pimms in a tall, ideally straight, jug. Add the fruit & veg, do not miss out on the celery, it is the secret ingredient, then add the lemonade. Add some, but not too much, ice then stir gently. Splash the gin on top of this.

Serve in a tall glass with one or two lumps of ice, some of the fruit & veg from the jug and a leaf of mint near the top. Enjoy!

Nana's Chocolate Roll

Ingredients for Cake:

4 Eggs
1/2 Cup White Sugar
1/2 Cup Plain Flour
4 Teaspoons Cocoa
I Teaspoon Cornflour
1/2 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar
1/2 Teaspoon Bicarb Soda
I Tablespoon Butter
1 Tablespoon Warmed Syrup


Method for Cake:

Pre-heat oven to 210 degrees (fan forced)

Line a Slice Tin with Baking Paper; if not using Baking Paper, grease the tin then line with Grease Proof Paper, grease the paper and flour it as well.

Sift flour, cocoa, cornflour, Cream of Tartar and Bicarb Soda together and set aside.

Combine syrup and butter and warm until butter melts.

Separate eggs.

Beat egg whites and sugar with an electric mixer until stiff.

Slowly add yokes to egg white mixture and continue beating until all blended in.

Lightly fold combined flour etc. into the egg mixture using a wooden spoon or spatular - do not beat. Beating will remove the "air" and the sponge will turn out flat. The flour and egg just need to be blended together gently.

Lastly, fold in melted butter and syrup....again, folding gently so as not to disturb the "air" in the mixture too much.

Pour in to prepared Slice Tin and bake for 12 minutes (approx. time - depending on oven)

While the cake is baking, wet a clean tea-towel and wring out until just damp in preparation to roll the hot cake in.

Have a little bit of extra flour sitting in the sifter (not much....about a Dessert spoon or so)

Remove cake from oven, sprinkle sifted flour lighty over the top of the cake (very lightly), lay damp tea towel over the top, carefully turn the cake over and out so that it is laying on the damp tea-towel.

Carefully peel off Baking Paper, then slowly and again carefully, roll the cake up in the tea towel and leave sit for about a minute.

Unroll it, carefully removing the tea towel.....then re-roll the cake without the tea towel.

Leave to cool before unrolling and adding mock cream.

Ingredients and Method for Mock Cream:

4 Tablespoons Butter
4 Tablespoons Castor Sugar
Small splash Vanilla
A little warm milk

Beat butter, sugar and vanilla until white and creamy looking - the sugar graduals will still be slightly visible. Slowly add warmed milk, about a teaspoon at a time while still beating until sugar is dissolved.

Balsamic Roast Veges (Jamie Oliver)

Ingredients:

10 medium sized potatoes
6 medium sized carrots
2 Parsnips
3 red onions (they look purple to me though!)
a generous amount of olive oil
1/2 - 2/3 cup of balsamic vinegar
salt

Potatoes, carrots, parsnips peeled & quartered - par boiled for around 5 mins (until they are just starting to soften)

Onions peeled and cut in half then each half quartered into wedges.

Place the onion in the bottom of a roasting pan - "undo" them from the wedges so they aren't in big chunks.

Pour the generous amount of olive oil over them and mix it through.
Place well strained par boiled veges on top.
Sprinkle salt over.
Pour in the balsamic vinegar.

Give it all a good mix around
Pop in an hot oven and bake for around 40 minutes - giving it a good stir around a couple of times during cooking.

The onions become caramalised (almost burnt but yummy!).

Jamie uses more balsamic vinegar because he uses the baked juices as a sauce - I don't, I prefer to make a gravy from the meat juices.

Raelenes Nuttie Biscuits

Ingredients:

1/2 Block Fairy Margarine (or cooking margarine)
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 Cup Self Raising Flour
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Dessert Spoon Cocoa
1 Cup Cornflakes
1 Cup Unsalted Peanuts/Macedamia Nuts

Method:

Cream butter and sugar.
Add egg and beat well.
Stir in sifted (combined) flour, cocoa, salt.
Fold in Cornflakes and peanuts.

Drop spoonfulls (teaspoon) on to greased biscuit tray/s and bake in Moderate oven.

Nana's Pumpkin Fruit Cake

Ingredients:

1 Cup Sugar
2 Eggs
2/4 Block Fairy Margarine (or cooking margarine)
I Cup cold mashed Pumpkin
1 Packet Mixed Fruit
2 Cups Self Raising Flour
Vanilla

Method:

Beat sugar, butter and vanilla until creamed.
Add eggs, then cold pumpkin, sifted flour and floured fruit.
Mix together well using wooden spoon.

Pour in to greased and floured cake tin - or cake tin lined with Baking Paper.

Bake in Moderate oven for 1 1/2 hours.

NB: Before sifting the flour, coat the dried fruit with it (that stops the fruit from sinking).

Nanas All in One Cake

Ingredients:

1/2 Block Fairy Margarine (or cooking margarine)
1 Cup Sugar
1 1/2 Cups Self Raising Flour
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Milk
Vanilla

Method:

Combine all ingredients in to a bowl and beat for 6 minutes.
Pour in to well greased and floured cake tin (or one that is lined with Baking Paper)
Bake in Moderate oven for about half an hour.

NB: For Patty Cakes use 1 3/4 Cups Self Raising Flour

Pickled Onions (Sue)

1.5kg small pickling onions peeled

60g (1/4 cup) salt dissolved in each 600ml water

1½ tablespoons
added, to each 600ml vinegar

Place onions in a bowl, pour over sufficient brine to cover completely.

Set aside for 12 hours. Pour off brine, pack onions into sterilised jars. Cover onions with Ezy sauce mixture.

Sterilise at about 72 Celsius for ¾ hour using suitable sterilising equipment.

Now the longer you leave these sit in the jar the nicer they are.

NB: Wild's Ezy Sauce comes in a brown stubby-like bottle and is made by Cerebos. It's available mainly through Coles Supermarkets and can be found on the shelf near the dried herbs & spices. It quite often sells out about a month before Christmas - so if you are wanting to make your Pickled Onions as a Chrissy gift....get in early.

If you can't find it on the self ask the store Grocery Manager about it.

Product I.D. Code 128376

Mulled Wine

1 bottle red wine

½ cup strong earl grey tea

4 Tbsp dark rum, brandy or grand marnier

1 orange, quartered, each quarter stuck with a clove

2 cinnamon sticks

2 Tbsp brown sugar ( more to taste)

Put all ingredients in a large saucepan, bring almost to the boil then turn down to the lowest possible heat before serving in glasses.

Banana Cake (Aussie Bear's )

Ingredients

50 g margarine
100 g sugar
3 eggs
225 g plain flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
3 bananas - mashed
50 g walnuts - chopped
Choc bits (optional)
Glazed cherries, halved (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C
Mix the margarine and sugar with a mixer until smooth.
Gradually add the eggs while mixing.
Add the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder, and continue mixing.
Finally, add the mashed bananas, glazed cherries, choc bits and walnuts, and mix.
Pour the mixture in a greased cake mould or loaf tin, and bake for about 1 hour.

(When I made this, I made it in a ring tin and it was a little dry. An hour to bake may be a little too long - check it at 50 minutes)