Choclate Truffle Fudge Cake

Ingredients:
125 g butter
1/4 c caster sugar
2 T golden syrup
2 T milk
2 T drinking chocolate
1 T cocoa
1 pkt plain sweet biscuits, crushed
1 1/2 c chocolate cake crumbs or crumbled sponge cake
nip of whisky or rum
60 g cherries, chopped
1/3 c raisins
250 g dark chocolate, melted for icing

Method:

1. Heat butter, sugar, milk and syrup over a low-medium heat.
2. Add drinking chocolate, cocoa and 1/2 biscuits and mix.
3. Add remaining ingredients and mix.
4. Press into 20cm sandwich tin or flan dish.
5. Melt chocolate in a bowl over boiling water.
6. Spread melted chocolate over slice to ice.
7. Allow to set.
8. Cut with a sharp hot knife.
9. Store in the fridge in a sealed container.

Makes about 30 small pieces.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe is best made with chocolate chopped up roughly. The mixture is very soft; chilling it slightly before shaping makes it easier to work with.

Ingredients:
250g butter
1/2 c sugar
3 T sweetened condensed milk
1 - 2 drops vanilla essence
2 1/4 c plain flour
2 t baking powder
250 g Energy chocolate, hand chopped into chunks, not too small

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees celsius.
2. Beat together butter and sugar until creamy.
3. Beat in the condensed milk and vanilla essence.
4. Stir in dry ingredients and chopped chocolate.
5. Chill.
6. Roll into large walnut-sized balls.
7. Place on cold, greased oven trays, allowing some room to flatten.
8. Flatten with the palm of your hand.
9. Bake at 170 degrees celsius for 15 - 20 minutes until lightly golden.
10. Cool, then remove from trays and store in an airtight container.

Makes about 30 biscuits.

Laurel's Summer Potato Salad

INGREDIENTS:

6 large boiling potatoes
1 teaspoon dried dill
1/2 cup French dressing (made with cider vinegar if homemade) plus 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 cup minced onion
2 red apples, unpeeled but cored and diced (optional)
1 cup diced celery
6 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
4 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 1/2 cups best brand mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
Salt and pepper

METHOD:
1. Place potatoes in large pot with dill. Add enough cold water to cover and salt well. Boil until just tender, about 30 minutes.
2. Drain, peel and dice them and marinate them while still hot in the French dressing. Add the onion and let stand until cold - at least an hour - while you prepare the rest of the ingredients as per instructions set out in the ingredient list.
3. Combine potato-onion mixture with remaining ingredients, including mayonnaise blended with sour cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

VARIATIONS:

Use this mixture instead of normal French dressing

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon caper liquid from jar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Combine vinegar, caper liquid, and mustard in small bowl. Whisk in oil. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.

Add 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh chives, 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley and 2 tablespoons drained capers to the salad. Pour dressing over potatoes; toss gently. Season salad with salt and pepper.

Or this mixture:
4 spring onions, sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup chopped fresh corriander
6 anchovy fillets, drained, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Things that can go into potato salad:
Crispy bacon
Prawns
Crumbled blue cheese
Pesto
Tarragon
Chopped dill pickles
Radishes
Horseradish sauce
Garlic
Chopped salami

This basic potato salad recipe is a winner, especially with the boys! Play around with it and add in your favour extra ingredients. p.s. there is never any leftovers of this one after a BBQ, too delicious :-)

Thai Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 T brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium pumpkin (~ 1.2 kg), peeled and diced
2 c water
400 ml coconut milk
1 – 2 fresh or dried chillies, finely chopped
1 T lemongrass, minced or ½ t finely grated lemon rind
1 T fish sauce
salt
pepper
¼ c fresh coriander or parsley, chopped

Method:

1. Heat oil in a big pot and gently cook onion, sugar and garlic until softened (8 – 10 minutes).
2. Add all other ingredients except fresh coriander/parsley and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Mash roughly.
4. Adjust seasonings to taste.Garnish with fresh coriander or parsley.

Serves 4
Freezes well

The most time consuming part of this recipe is cutting up the pumpkin. You can short circuit this by buying chopped pieces of pumpkin. Aternatively, microwaving a whole pumpkin for 10 minutes makes cutting easier.

Mum's Chocolate Cake

INGREDIENTS:

20 cm square tin
300 g butter
6 T cocoa
9 t hot water
1 ½ c sugar
1 1/8 c flour
1 ½ t baking powder
3 eggs

METHOD:

Melt butter, cocoa and hot water in a thick based saucepan.
Add sugar and stir well.
Add flour and baking powder and blend together lightly.
Stir in egg yolks and then quickly stir in stiffly beaten egg whites.
Pour into a greased tin and bake at 180ºC for 30 – 40 minutes.

ICING:

90 g cream cheese
90 g butter
2 c icing sugar
2 T cocoa
Vanilla essence

Beat cream cheese and butter to a cream.
Add the rest of the ingredients and beat until smooth.

Morriss' Fudge Squares

170 g butter

3/4 c sugar

2 T golden syrup

2 T cocoa

1 1/2 c flour

1 1/2 t baking powder

3/4 c coconut

Icing:

125 g icing sugar

1 T cocoa (sifted)

15 ml warm water

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees celcius or gas mark 4.
   
2. In a pot melt the butter, sugar, golden syrup and cocoa (I like to sift this to get out any lumps).
   
3. Add the flour, baking powder and coconut to the melted mixture.
   
4. Press mixture out in a Swiss roll tin (or similar, shallow tray).
   
5. Bake for 10 minutes.

Icing:

1. Sift icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl.

2. Add warm water and mix until smooth. Add extra water drop by drop if the icing is too stiff.
TO FINISH:

Ice fudge squares when cool and cut into squares.

Beef Teppanyaki

This is an easy stir-fry with a Japanese twist. Take care not to over cook the beef. Once added, the meat should only be cooked for about 3 minutes.



To prepare: 5 minutes and 10 minutes standing beef
To cook: 5 minutes

Marinade:
2 T soy sauce
1 -2 t hot chilli sauce, to taste
1 T sesame oil
2 T root ginger, grated
1/4 c sake, mirin or sherry
1 T rice wine vinegar or wine vinegar
1 T sugar
Other ingredients:
200 - 250 g lean beef steak, eg. rump, sliced in very thin strips
2 T vegetable oil
200 g mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 red pepper, cut in thin strips
2 spring onions, peeled and thinly sliced


Optional:
1/4 c pickled ginger, finely sliced as garnish

METHOD:

1. Combine all marinade ingredients in a clean bowl or plastic bag.
2. Mix sliced meat through marinage. Leave for 10 - 15 minutes.
3. Heat oil in a large wok or fry-pan and cook mushrooms and pepper for 2 - 3 minutes stirring or shaking the pan frequently.
4. Remove mushrooms and peppers from pan and put to one side.
5. Lift meat from marinade and drain, reserving marinade.
6. Add meat to pan with spring onions and cook over very high heat for 2 -3 minutes until cooked.
7. Add reserved marinade into pan with onion and mushroom mixture and heat through.
8. Sprinkle over pickled ginger and serve at once.

Serves 2

Accompany with noodles or rice.