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 I EXPECT everyone is thinking about Christmas right now, what gifts to buy, what food to serve, putting up decorations, choosing the wines and generally having a busy time. I'm so organised this year, I already know what I'm having for an entrée on Christmas Day!
Bert and I love this tropical salad. If you don’t like prawns, you can always make this with smoked salmon.
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 By Jan Cheshire
I OFTEN have problems making cheesecake. However, this simple recipe is delicious and easy. It would make a lovely dessert for a birthday or anniversary celebration. Quite honestly, I could eat it for dessert every day of the week!  By Jan Cheshire
WHEN I was growing up in London we had school dinners. In the winter we would often have a stew which included potatoes and invariably swede as well. I quite liked swede and still do. We now have quite a few in the vegie garden and as usual it is a challenge to use them up. I was quite impressed with this recipe. It’s enjoyable and very easy to make, and potato bake is always a family favourite.  Jan Cheshire swears by this delicious Scandinavian dessert with the intriguing name of Peasant Girls in the Mist.
 By Jan Cheshire
BRRRRR, it’s cold. I’ve just arrived home from a trip to Zanzibar where my son and his family live. The temperatures there ranged from 25-28 degrees most days! However, I do like winter cooking and I enjoy making warming soups. This is a new one for me, but I love celeriac; it’s a strange looking vegetable, I agree, but has the most wonderful taste.  By Jan Cheshire
RECENTLY we went to a barbecue with some old friends. We go every year and usually take something for dessert and/or a salad to share. Because we have lots of apples at the moment I thought I would make an apple cake of some sort. Then I found this among my recipes. I haven’t made it for ages and it was a great success and used up a couple of apples too!  By Jan Cheshire
I know all fish lovers will enjoy this recipe. I call it “Dawn’s Salmon”, because my daughter cooked it for us at recently at her place. Bert and I loved it so much we have it for special occasions now.  Photo: Roozitaa By Jan Cheshire
AS USUAL we’ve had amazing amounts of berries this year, strawberries as well as blackberries. This is just one of the delicious recipes I made to use some of them up. These muffins are very easy to make and lovely to eat. Perfect for a family picnic and they freeze well too.  By Jan Cheshire
Some warmer weather at last – it must be time for salads now. I hope so, anyway, as I love salads of any type but in particular I love a potato salad. This salad is very easy to make and tastes wonderful.  By Jan Cheshire
WE GROW too much rhubarb!! I recently asked Bert to cut the rhubarb back a bit as I can’t keep up with it. So of course I got myself a load of rhubarb. However, this lovely cake was so delicious that I didn’t complain too much. Try it and see.  By Jan Cheshire
I MUST admit I’m not very good at cooking pancakes. In fact, I had sort of persuaded myself that I didn’t actually LIKE pancakes! However, my grandchildren love them and as they are threatening to come to stay during the next school holidays, I thought I had better be prepared. These are very simple to make and, I must admit, I really liked them, with lots of maple syrup of course. You can buy 600ml packs of buttermilk in the milk fridge at the supermarket.  By Jan Cheshire
WE LOVE to eat fish, however we don’t get much variety in the supermarkets around this area, so I try to cook a few different fish dishes from time to time. This is one of the best fish pies that I have ever made and is a very easy and economical recipe.  By Jan Cheshire
I’M going back to the seventies with this dish. Recently, I was throwing out some old recipes which I have had for years, the paper all yellow; some torn beyond recognition, some spattered with whatever sauce I was making at the time. I decided I had to keep some of my all-time favourites and type them up on the computer for posterity.  By Jan Cheshire
MY LOVELY niece in Canada sent me this recipe last year. I had never heard of pumpkin spice biscuits before. This year we have had our usual crop of “feral” pumpkins, so I plan on making these delicious, spicy biscuits very soon. Although they don’t look very inspiring, I’m sure you will enjoy them as much as I do.  By Jan Cheshire
WE HAVE had such an overabundance of vegetables this summer that it has been hard work finding recipes to deal with it all. In particular, the tomatoes are still going strong, but so are the eggplants. We only had a few last year, but this year they have gone crazy!! This recipe uses all those vegetables and is particularly delicious into the bargain. If you are not sure about the “vegetarianism” of this dish, you could always barbecue a couple of good steaks to go with it.  By Jan Cheshire
RECENTLY, I was wracking my brain to find a different but easy salad to take with me to the Woolamai Picnic Races. I am not sure how this one cropped up, but I thought I had better try it out on Bert first. Hooray, it was a great success! I don’t usually like salads with noodles, but this one is particularly tasty and, of course, very easy to make.  By Jan Cheshire
Shortbread is a bit of a tradition with us at Christmastime, they are so easy to make, taste delicious and are very moreish. You can’t have just one, I’m afraid! These ginger shortbreads are especially delightful.  By Jan Cheshire
LATELY we have been cutting down on red meat and eating more chicken. It is so versatile and I have many recipes. This one was new to me and I thought I would give it a go because we have quite a lot of sage in the garden. I was very pleased with the results.  By Jan Cheshire
MY HUSBAND Bert planted some broccolini plants this year and they have not stopped producing. We really enjoy broccolini, but we don’t want to have it with every meal. However, I have found a delicious soup you can make with broccoli or broccolini, whichever takes your fancy. It’s called broccoli & blue cheese soup, but I reckon you could put any sort of cheese in it and it would still taste great!  By Jan Cheshire
NOT only did we have a great crop of apples this year but the rhubarb has been wonderful as well. In fact, we have had to remove some of our older plants to make room for other things.  By Jan Cheshire
THIS is a real winter warmer. Yes, the cocoa powder is a bit unusual, but it makes quite a difference. The chilli dish seems to me to be a lot smoother and silkier with the addition of cocoa. The combination with avocado is lovely too. Go for it! Make it a bit hotter (or milder) if you like. It’s always a great favourite with all the family.  By Jan Cheshire
As usual, this year we have had a bumper crop of corn. Luckily it is very easy to freeze and does not need to be cooked. Just remove some of the outer leaves, pop them in a freezer bag and seal. This is a really delicious soup and you can make it as special as you like with a dollop of cream to serve or even some crispy bacon on top.  By Jan Cheshire
THIS time of the year is great for picnics. These eggs make an excellent contribution to any picnic and will be very popular. I hadn’t made them for ages, but they are really quite simple. I baked mine as I do not have a deep fryer these days. They turned out to be very good indeed. You can make these the day before and refrigerate them.  By Jan Cheshire
IT'S that time of the year once again. Those long, hot (let's hope not too hot) summer days beg you to ask a few friends around for a barbecue. These two very easy recipes should help with the nibbles. The dip is a favourite of mine because it’s so simple and tastes great. The chickpea nibbles go down well with everyone because they are not too spicy. They are actually quite good for you! I sometimes snack on them during the day.  THESE kebabs have always been a special favourite of mine. I did them recently for a small dinner party and they were very popular. The satay sauce needn’t be too hot but for extra spiciness add a teaspoon of chilli paste or a pinch of chilli flakes.
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A cook's journalFor Wonthaggi's Jan Cheshire, good cooking starts in the garden with fresh, seasonal vegetables, herbs and fruit. Jan shares food tips and some of her favourite recipes. Archives
December 2018
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