A cook's journal - Bass Coast Post

Fruit of the gods

29/5/2020

By Jan Cheshire

WE’VE been enjoying lots of fresh figs this year. They are so versatile served either as a dessert, or our favourite fig dish, baked with blue cheese with a salad or as an entrée.

The fig tree is thought to be the first crop to be domesticated for human consumption, well over 11,000 years ago. The fig was prominent in Greek, Egyptian and Roman culture, and of course, is famous for its association with Adam and Eve in the Bible.

Short and sweet

13/5/2020

By Jan Cheshire

I HOPE you are all staying well and enjoying life regardless of the weather and the government! Our garden has been good to us this year, with plenty of vegetables, apples and rhubarb. Quite honestly, we don’t water it or feed it and it still keeps us on our toes.

I chose an easy recipe for this rhubarb cobbler. I hope you give it a go and enjoy it.

Simply delicious

30/4/2020

By Jan Cheshire

WITH all that rain, it's been a splendid apple season. I’ve been able to turn out the odd apple pie and crumble, but I especially like this German cake as it is so easy to make and does not require me to haul the mixer out of the cupboard. It is lovely served as a dessert with fresh cream or ice cream.

Short and sweet

15/4/2020

By Jan Cheshire

GREETINGS, everyone. I expect that just like us you are confined to your home and family. However, I have been able to get out in the garden, (when the weather allows) and I have been doing quite a lot of cooking and baking, which I really enjoy.

We’ve had a very good batch of sweet corn from the garden this year. This is a very delicious chowder conjured up by Jamie Oliver. It’s easy to make and I think you and your family will really enjoy it.

Cookbook: Corn chowder

Season of mists and mushrooms

2/4/2020

Photo: awee_19/flickr creative commons

By Jan Cheshire

IT’S autumn once more, my favourite time of the year, and it comes with all its goodies from the garden. Pumpkins, apples, figs, sweet corn, quince and one of our great favourites – mushrooms.

I like the flavour of portobello mushrooms and they can be good just fried in oil or butter as an accompaniment to a main meal.

Berry delicious

18/3/2020

By Jan Cheshire

THE strawberries are finished now after a very good crop. Alas our blackberries were not so good this year. However, I really love raspberries. Although we don’t grow them in the garden at present, they have been so plentiful and cheap in the shops this year. I am sure you will like this very easy, delicious cake.

Easy as pie

6/2/2020

By Jan Cheshire

I’M not usually a fan of zucchini, but this pie is very nice and so easy to make.

Zucchini is a funny plant to grow, you look one day, and the zucchinis are quite small, the next day they are ready to pick, so you have to keep an eye on them or they get very fat!

This recipe comes from a book called Mix & Bake by Belinda Jeffery.

Tarts with a twist

11/12/2019

By Jan Cheshire

CHRISTMAS is nearly upon us again; I wasn’t sure I was ready for it until I saw this recipe. It’s very indulgent, really, but it tastes wonderful. You could use brandy if you don’t like Irish Cream or orange juice if you don’t want to use alcohol.

The king of salads

20/11/2019

By Jan Cheshire

THIS is the season for salads! I love salads but sometimes I get a bit bored with making them and am always looking for a new recipe. This recipe is not new and, like me, you have probably eaten it in a restaurant or cafe before now. However, I have never made my own Caesar salad and I was delighted with it. I hope you will enjoy it too.

Chicken with the lot

24/10/2019

By Jan Cheshire

I’VE had this recipe for quite a few years, but for some reason or other I hadn't made it. Recently, I decided to try it and was very pleasantly surprised, it was really delicious and very easy to make. I hope you will try it too.

Just like Mum made

28/8/2019

By Jan Cheshire

WE TRY to have at least one fish meal every week, two if possible. This lovely tuna mornay is very special, and I hope you will like it. It is very easy to make and doesn’t stretch the budget!

Blast from the past

18/7/2019

By Jan Cheshire

I AM really getting historic this month! I was looking through some of my old cookery books for inspiration when I found a really old one from around 1974. At the time it was the only cookery book I had with coloured photos of the finished recipes!

A young Mary Berry made this contribution to the book. This recipe for chilled lemon flan was one of our favourites at that time and in fact this recipe is timeless.

Winter warmer

18/6/2019

By Jan Cheshire

WITH all this cold weather, it’s definitely time for a tasty bowl of spicy carrot and ginger soup.

The not so simple snag

30/5/2019

By Jan Cheshire

FOR a long time now, I’ve wanted to make a sausage cassoulet. I was inspired by my 16-year-old granddaughter who spent last Christmas with a family in France, where she was very impressed by the food. Also, I received a very nice French cookbook for Christmas, so I’m trying out a few recipes.

This cassoulet is very easy to make, tastes delicious and is perfect for the colder weather.

Have a marzipan Easter

17/4/2019

By Jan Cheshire

I’ve wanted to make this cake for a long time. It’s a very traditional and lovely Easter cake and well worth the effort. The 11 balls on top represent the 12 apostles, minus Judas.

Cucumberful and plenty

8/3/2019

By Jan Cheshire

CUCUMBERING!! Well, I know there is no such word, but that’s what I’ve been doing lately. Cucumbers are sneaky thing. In the garden you look at them one day and they are quite small. You check the next day and they are quite LARGE! You can only eat so many pickled cucumbers so I googled and asked: What can you do with cucumbers other than pickling?

Anyway, I found a great recipe for this very delicious cucumber soup. Great for those very hot days.

Plum perfect

8/2/2019

By Jan Cheshire

A FEW years ago, I went to a restaurant in Melbourne where I enjoyed a very delicious dessert called cherry clafoutis. Clafoutis is a French dish, with a batter that consists of eggs, sugar, milk, and flour.

The tropical touch

13/12/2018

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.

Berry, berry nice

29/11/2018

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!

Swede dreams

19/10/2018

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.

A delicious dollop

18/9/2018

Jan Cheshire swears by this delicious Scandinavian dessert with the intriguing name of Peasant Girls in the Mist.

Cold comforts

4/7/2018

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.

She’s apples

17/5/2018

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!

Catch of the day

3/4/2018

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.

Berry nice

1/2/2018

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.