Bass Coast Post - A cook's journal

No knead to worry

10/5/2023

Love focaccia but not the kneading? This recipe's for you.

By Liane Arno

WHEN I first met Matt I was quite a naïve (in lots of ways – but that’s another story). Matt asked me if I had ever eaten a ripe olive off a tree. I told him I hadn’t even tried one in a jar. He told me I didn’t know what I was missing out on as he plucked a plump purple kalamata olive off the tree above us and handed it to me like he was seducing me with a peeled grape.

As I spat out the vile and bitter fruit (much to Matt’s delight) I vowed I would never try another. Well at least – not a fresh one.

Fig favourite

13/4/2023

Fig, apple & walnut cake

By Liane Arno

When we moved into Blackberry House (named after the noxious bramble that covered the sloping block) we uncovered a fig tree that had sent its branches through the thorns still managing to bear fruit. Matt insisted it was ornamental only. Given the gnarled trunk, it was about to go the way of the vanquished blackberries when sense prevailed.

The tree has been through the wars but is now the most prolific producer of succulent figs that are shared between us and the birds. We have since planted a variety of fruit trees including an equally prolific Jonathan apple tree. There are so many delicious things to do with figs and apples. This one has become a favourite – and has our friends coming back for more. Which is a good thing as otherwise I would eat the lot!

Sweet and sour

4/11/2021

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.

Fruits of the earth

28/7/2021

By Jan Cheshire

I DO like to have a vegetarian style meal sometimes. This vegetable and rice bake doesn't sound all that wonderful but it is really very delicious. You can use any vegetable in this.

Supercaulifragilistic

2/7/2021

By Jan Cheshire

Cauliflower is a “trendy” vegetable these days, and it is indeed good for you. But I have never been fond of it just plain boiled.

This is a delicious, heart-warming soup which I really do enjoy and I am sure you will too.

It is quite impressive for a special dinner, too, dressed up with some crisp bacon pieces.

Sweet desserts

17/6/2021

By Jan Cheshire

WITH all this rain and the electricity outages I feel we need something warming and sweet.

This pumpkin and coconut cake is very quick and easy to make, and it uses the last of our uninvited pumpkins!

Broth with the lot

1/6/2021

This is one of those recipes where you use whatevers in the garden or fridge.

THIS is a recipe from The Cape Kitchen crew to yours.

This broth is cooked low and slow - perfect to while away the coming days of lockdown.

And to make you even more relaxed, there are no real measurements required!

All souped up

20/5/2021

By Jan Cheshire

The best thing about the colder weather is SOUP. I have just found an older recipe for a lovely soup that my mother used to cook.

It is very warming and full of good nutrients.

British born and bread

20/4/2021

By Jan Cheshire

I’M going back a long time with this cake recipe, which I recently rediscovered on the internet.

My mother made this quite often, to our delight! It is a lovely cake and so easy to make.

Plum good

11/3/2021

By Jan Cheshire

BERT and I love this time of the year with all the delicious fruits on offer; especially plums. This is a very easy recipe to make and a lovely dessert.

Simply delicious

25/2/2021

By Jan Cheshire

I FOUND this delightful dessert recently. I had not seen this recipe for many years. It is an old-fashioned recipe which was popular in England, especially in Cornwall, when I lived there many moons ago.

It is remarkably simple but most delicious. Do try it, I am sure your family and friends will love it.

Risoni with the lot

28/1/2021

By Jan Cheshire

I MUST admit I’m not all that excited about summertime, but I do enjoy finding recipes for salads, especially because we have lots of salad.vegies in the garden. Risoni is a type of pasta, a bit like rice.

Bert’s traditional Christmas pudding

11/12/2020

By Jan Cheshire

GOODNESS, it’s almost Christmas again. Where did this year go? And let’s hope that 2021 will be a better year for us all!

This year’s Christmas recipe is pinched from my husband Bert, who makes this pudding every Christmas.

Tangy treat

25/11/2020

By Jan Cheshire

THIS cake is light and airy and very delicious. You could make it with other berries, but the blueberries, which seem to be a bit cheaper this year, blend very well with the lemon curd. You can buy the lemon curd or make it. The recipe is very easy.

Big is best

12/11/2020

By Jan Cheshire

EVERY year nearing Christmas I make lots of small sausage rolls which usually get eaten before Christmas comes round.

Recently I saw a picture of these giant sausage rolls on the computer. I decided to have a go that day because I could not fathom what to have for dinner that evening. They were a great BIG hit!

No tricks, just the treat

28/10/2020

By Jan Cheshire

IT WILL soon be time for Halloween. When I lived in southern Ireland many years ago, October 31 (All Hallows Eve) was very popular with all the children in the village where we lived.

After school was over, the local children would dress up as ghosts or monsters and go around knocking on doors and offering “trick or treat”.

Of course I would have laid by a few bags of lollies, and when they ran out I would offer apples to the would-be scary creatures. It was a great deal of fun all round.

A slice of heaven

15/10/2020

By Jan Cheshire

I GUESS like me you are all looking forward to some warmer weather very soon. I have been baking when I cannot get out in the garden because of the weather.

This is a delicious and very easy cake. Blueberries are so good for you and at the moment they are reasonably priced and very delicious whether in a cake or a fruit bowl.

Bean feast

1/10/2020

By Jan Cheshire

The first of the broad beans are appearing. Once the season is in full swing we will freeze some, along with the peas that Bert grew. They do freeze well and last a few months in the freezer.

However, I really love them cooked then cooled and served in a salad. This one is especially nice.

Can do fish casserole

16/9/2020

By Jan Cheshire

I’M finding that fresh fish are getting too expensive in the supermarket for me these days. So, this week I decided to do a fish dinner with a large tin of tuna, and it was very delicious. I thought I would pass it on.

Green magic

21/8/2020

By Jan Cheshire

THE broccolini plants 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.

Simply satisfying

13/8/2020

By Jan Cheshire

I HOPE everyone is enjoying life as it is at the moment. As always, we have had lots of apples, so I’ve been busy trying to cook them up. We’ve also had a lot of large pumpkins this year and I have made lots of soup and cake etc. However, I thought I would try a recipe I have been looking at for a while, not entirely sure it would be okay. I tried it out on husband Bert and my son, Ben. I was happily surprised that they both loved it and so did I. Risottos are easy to make; you just add the stock regularly and “cream” the rice

The delicious stalk

28/7/2020

By Jan Cheshire

THIS is a really old-fashioned soup that was very popular in Britain when I was growing up. I had forgotten all about it until recently when I had a large head of celery to use up.

This is really a most delicious soup and very simple and cheap to make, especially if you have lots of celery in your garden.

Home comforts

15/7/2020

By Jan Cheshire

On cold wintry nights, we need comfort foods to keep us warm.

With plenty of leeks in our garden, this very delicious casserole was very easy to cook and even easier to eat.

Just desserts

3/7/2020

By Jan Cheshire

At this time of the year, Bert and I really enjoy eating steamed or baked puddings – part of our English heritage, I suppose. When we were kids we always had a dessert after dinner, be it a tin of fruit and some evaporated milk, a stodgy rice pudding or a hot steaming pudding. These little puddings are a bit more sophisticated than the old “spotted dick” of my childhood, but they are very delicious and heart-warming – just what you need for a chilly winter’s evening.

Knobbly beauty

20/6/2020

By Jan Cheshire

EACH winter I look forward to making tasty, warming soups and slow-cooked stews. Each year I try out new ideas for soups and eventually come up with an outright winner for the year. Last year it was the celeriac and potato soup.

Celeriacs are those strange, knobbly, slightly pear-shaped vegetables that look a bit like a goblin’s head with green hair.