These are super cute little treats perfect for kids (or grown-ups!) birthday parties. Sure to impress both the young and young at heart.

Makes 14

1 x packet of white and pink marshmellows
1 x  packet of chocolate freckles
1 x packet tick-tock biscuits
1 x packet of musk lifesavers
1 tbsp icing sugar
1/2 tbsp water

Carefully cut lifesavers in half. Combine water and icing sugar so that it forms a thick paste. Holding a tick-tock biscuit colour side up, put a small dob of icing in the centre of the biscuit. Place a marshmallow on top of the icing. Spread another dob of icing on top of the marshmallow and stick a chocolate freckle on the icing, sprinkle side up. Take one of the lifesavers you cut in half and carefully dab a small amount of icing on either end. Secure the lifesaver to the side of the marshmallow to form the handle of your tea cup. Repeat until you have used all the biscuits or until you have the amount you need. ENJOY!!

This is such a great, easy winter dessert that is actually really healthy. It’s impressive enough to serve at a dinner party, but also quick and easy if you’re tucked up at home with a good book and feel like something a little indulgent. You can make a single person serve by using 1 apple and pear and cutting down the amount of crumble mixture.

Serve with hot custard, ice cream or cream. Serves 4-6

3 large granny smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

3 large green pears, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

1 tbspn honey

1 tspn vanilla extract

Juice of one lemon

1 cup wholemeal flour

1.5 cups quick oats (or normal rolled oats that have been roughly chopped)

1/4 cup LSA or finely chopped almonds

3 tbspn butter, melted

1 tbspn brown sugar

Powdered cinnamon and nutmeg

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. In a large mixing bowl put the sliced apples and pears, lemon juice, honey, vanilla and a generous sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg. Toss through so that all the fruit is coated.

In a separate bowl mix together the flour, oats, chopped almonds, butter, sugar and add a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg for good measure.The mixture should be quite dry still at this stage.

Transfer the fruit into a medium sized ceramic making dish, making sure that you don’t put the liquid in – you don’t want to fruit to be too wet. Transfer the remaining liquid to the crumble mixture and stir it through. If the mixture isn’t moist enough (it should be sticking together in clumps) then add some more melted butter. Cover the apple with the crumble mixture. Put aluminum foil over the top of the baking dish, putting a couple of decent holes in the top to allow steam to escape and making sure the foil isn’t resting on top of the crumble. Cook for 35 minutes, remove foil completely and cook for a further 10 minutes. Leave to stand for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

What better way to start off the winter season than with a hearty vegetable and bean soup! The miso stock and hint of lemon give it a gorgeous flavour. Feel free to add bacon or ham if you are carnivorously inclined.

Serve with fresh, warm sourdough. Serves 5

2 tablespoons miso paste

About 1 litre water

1 teaspoon beef stock powder

1/2 tablespoon honey

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 red chilli, finely chopped

2 potatos, peeled, diced

1 sweet potato, peeled, diced

2 celery sticks, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

1 zucchini, diced

1 cup green beans, chopped to desired size

2 large handfuls of silverbeet, chopped into slivers

1 tin cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

juice of 1 lemon

White wine (optional)

Parsley, basil, pepper and salt to taste

In a large pot put about an inch of water and heat. Mix through miso and beef stock until dissolved and add onion, garlic and chilli. When these are cooked through (about 5 mins) put in all the veges and fill up with water. Add the honey, lemon juice, herbs, salt and pepper. Add a generous splash of white wine if you have some lurking in the fridge. When the mixture has warmed through taste a bit of the liquid to make sure it has enough flavour – if not, add some more miso and/or stock. Add the canellini beans and cook until potato is soft (about 20 mins). Drizzle with olive oil and garnish with black pepper and fresh parsley before serving.

The perfect dip to spice things up a bit (either intentionally or unintentionally!). If you like your food hot then this is the perfect dip for you. You can adjust the temperature by changing the amount of jalapeno and tabasco you put in.

Serve with corn chips, fresh vegetable sticks and a side of sour cream.

3 large, ripe plum tomaotes, seeded and diced

3 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

8 green onions, finely chopped

4 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded

1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

3 tablespoons tabasco (or other hot sauce)

1 clove garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

In a blender or food processor, pulse the tomatoes, green onions, garlic, jalapeno peppers, and coriander to desired consistency. Transfer to a bowl, and mix in the lime juice, hot pepper sauce, pepper and salt.  Refrigerate for 45 minutes before serving.

Willow got this recipe from a 1970’s cookbook: It’s an oldie but a goodie. Sure to be a crowd pleaser whenever you’ve got guests – or if you need to host an impromptu surprise anniversary party!

375g cream cheese, softened

1 packet lavosh bread

500g smoked salmon, finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons diced gherkin

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

Black pepper and sea salt

Mix together cream cheese, lemon, dill, salt and pepper. Spread this mixture thinly on lavosh bread and then top with smoked salmon and gherkin. Roll tightly and wrap in cling film – they should look like very thick cigars. Refrigerate for at least one hour. Just before serving,  cut into 1 inch pieces with a sharp knife and arrange on a plate. Garnish with dill and serve.

The name of this delicious Japanese style savoury pancake is derived from the word okonomi, meaning “what you want”, and yaki meaning “grilled”, so feel free to add or subtract any ingredients that you desire! Just make sure the consistency is correct – they are very easy to make too gluggy. These are particularly scrumptious on a chilly autumn day.

Makes 2 (large pancakes) or 4 (small pancakes).

1 cup okonomiyaki flour (or plain flour if you can’t find this)

2/3 cup chicken stock

2 eggs

4 cups cabbage, finely chopped or grated

1/4 cup finely sliced spring onion

1/4 cup grated carrot

2 rashers bacon, finely chopped (optional)

Kewpie mayonaise and sweet miso (or hoisin sauce) for topping

Whisk flour and stock together in a large bowl until smooth. Add cabbage, eggs, spring onion and carrot and mix gently, but not too much – you don’t want to overwork the mixture. Oil a griddle or large, heavy fry pan that has been heated to 200 degrees C. Add mixture so that if forms two pancakes (or cook them one at a time if using a fry pan). Flatten the top with a spatula so that each pancake is about 1.5cm thick and 30cm across. Sprinkle bacon over each and cook for 3 minutes. Flip and cook for 4 minutes, then flip bacon side back up and cook for a further 3 minutes until firm and browned. Drizzle immediately with Kewpie mayonaise and sweet miso and serve.

These delicate, tasty morsels are a perfect snack for royal wedding watchers. Or if you can’t wait until the next one of those, then feel free to make them anytime. They look very pretty if you also make a round using tomato instead of cucumber and alternate the red and green on the platter.

Serve with ice cold champagne. Makes four rounds (16 triangles).

8 slices of square, soft, fresh white bread, crusts removed

2 Lebanese cucumber, skin removed, finely sliced

4 tablespoons whole egg mayonnaise

1 tablespoon fennel, finely chopped

1 tablespoon dill, finely chopped

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Salt and pepper

Mix together the mayonnaise, dill, fennel and lemon juice and add salt and pepper to taste. Using a rolling pin, roll the slices of bread individually so that they become thinner, but more dense. Spread each slice of bread with the mayonnaise sauce, ensuring that you cover to the edges. lay the fine slices of cucumber over four slices of bread, and cover with the other four bread slices. Using a sharp knife, cut into triangles. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.