Homemade crumpets are one of life’s little splurges. Sure, they take a while, but they are worth it! If you don’t have a cook to get up and start making them at 5am for your breakfast, then you might like to have them for afternoon tea instead.

2 tsp caster sugar

1 tsp (7g/1 sachet) dried yeast

2 cups warm milk (not too hot!)

3 cups plain flour

1 tsp salt

1 cup water

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Butter to grease

In a medium size bowl, combine sugar and yeast. Pour in the warm milk and stir until yeast has dissolved. Cover with cling wrap and stand in a warm place until the mixture has become frothy.

Nothing beats sitting outside on a warm summer evening with a crisp bottle of white and a dozen oysters. Bliss.

A dozen oysters

1 large red chilli

1 tspn honey

2 tbsp lime juice

1/2 tspn lime rind, finely grated

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tspn fish sauce

pinch of salt

Remove the seeds from the chilli and finely slice it. Mix this together with the rest of the ingredients and refrigerate for a couple of hours, to let the flavours combine. Serve each oyster in its shell with some of the sauce on top.

This cake is zesty, creamy and delicious; perfect for when unexpected guests drop around!

Serve with whipped cream or ice cream. Serves 10-12.

2 cups Almond Meal
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups fresh ricotta
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C  (350 degrees F).

In a large bowl, combine almond meal, baking powder, sugar and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients and mix well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients a bit at a time and stir until smooth.

Pour mixture into oiled 9-inch cake tin and bake 50-55 minutes until the cake is solid (i.e. doesn’t wobble when you move it) and it golden brown. Cool cake completely and thoroughly chill in fridge before serving.  Cake remains very  moist and is even better the next day.

There is an inverse correlation between the deliciousness of this dish and the effort it takes to make (i.e. on a deliciousness scale it’s an 11; on an effort scale it’s a 1). More hearty than your regular salad, this is a dish that will impress anyone, guaranteed.

Serves 2 as a main or 4 as a side

Salad

350g dried red lentils

1/3 cup capers

1/3 cup dried cranberries

Large handful fresh parsley, chopped

Dressing

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

3 tblspn balsamic vinegar

2 tbspn apple cider vinegar

1 large tbspn honey

1 tspn ground cumin

1 tspn curry powder

1 tspn hot mustard

1/4 tspn ground nutmeg

1/4 tspn ground cinamon

Salt and pepper

Rinse lentils until water runs clear, removing any hard stones that float to the surface. Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to the boil.

While you’re waiting for the water to boil, mix the dressing by putting all the ingredients in a jar and shaking vigorously until combined. Add more vinegar/oil/cumin/honey as desired until it tastes just right for your palate (some prefer it more ‘bitey’, others sweeter).

Put the lentils in the boiling water and stir well until they come to the boil again. Boil until they are cooked but firm, which only takes a minute or so. If they turn to mush (which they can do in a matter of seconds) the salad will be a disaster. I suggest taste-testing every 30 seconds or so after the water has heated up again, so that you get the consistency right.

Drain the lentils and run cold water over them for a second or two. Place them in a large bowl and put the dressing straight on while they are still warm. Mix through. Add in the capers and cranberries. Just before serving, toss the parsley through. This can be served warm or cold, and keeps very well for days afterwards.

You can’t make friends with salad? Pfffft! This dressing tends to disagree. Tart up any salad with this super tasty, very simple dressing. Pour over a light summer salad of fresh greens or a warm winter salad of roasted vegetables and nuts. Yummo!

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

2 tbspn fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 tbspn fresh squeezed lime juice

2 tspn chopped garlic

1/2 tspn salt

zest of 1/3 orange (zest only – no pith!)

Put all ingredients in blender and mix until combined. Test dressing for flavour, adding more salt if desired.

Nothing is more comforting than the warm spiciness of a ginger cake. The addition of the lime coconut cream adds a lovely tart creaminess. Yum!

Serve with tea or coffee. Makes 8-10 servings.

Gingerbread Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 tspn ground cinnamon

1/2 tspn ground cloves

1/2 tspn nutmeg

1 tspn ground ginger

1/2 tspn freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tspn fine salt

3/4 cup molasses

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup water

1 1/2 tspns baking soda

1/2 cup packed (peeled and minced) fresh ginger

2 large eggs

rind of 1 lime

Coconut and Lime Whipped Cream

1 tin coconut milk (not low fat)

Juice of 1 lime

1 tspn vanilla essense

A superb meal for a warm early summer evening. The pumpkin and macarpone combine to give a beautiful creamy flavour and the chili adds a tiny kick at the end.

Serve with fresh, green salad and a crisp white wine.

4 cups chopped butternut squash (pieces about 1/2 inch big)

1.5 tblspn olive oil

2.5 cups chicken stock

1 cup mascarpone cheese

1/2 tspn ground cinnamon

1 fresh chili, chopped finely

500g fresh futtuccine

Freshly grated Parmesan

Handful fresh Italian parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 220°C. Toss pumpkin with olive oil in large bowl to coat. Transfer pumpkin to baking sheet. Bake until pumpkin is tender and beginning to brown, turning once (about 30 minutes).

Transfer pumpkin to processor and add 2 1/2 cups chicken stock. Puree until smooth. Add mascarpone cheese, ground cinnamon and chili. Process to blend. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook fettuccine in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Transfer fettuccine to large bowl. Add sauce; toss to coat. Garnish with a generous amount of parsley and black pepper and serve, with Parmesan separately.