Perfection

Getting Ready for Christmas

The scene

Mary and I living together in Albany. We don't know anyone else in town.

Mary is Muslim - not so excited with christmas. I am slowly converting her to love Christmas.

The tree - Mary's bonsai tree. Decorated adoringly with gold ribbon and a christmas chain.

The cookies. 3 hours later an assortment of gingerbread cookies - xmas trees, candy canes, stars, angels, bells and holly and ivy.

The highlight - Mary decorating the angels - one with gigantic christian crosses - maybe I can make a xmas lover out of her yet.

From here - taking her to carols by candle-light tonight on Middleton beach! She is going to burst with too much xmas spirit.

Note: Although Mary is Muslim, she went to a Catholic school. Unfortunately as much as I rub xmas in her face she has already spent 12 years praying each morning and saying her hail mary's. Oh well - I tried!

3 books on kittens

It seems like the owner of this kitchen shop is as obsessed with cats as I am...

I especially loved 'kittens of the greek islands'

middleton beach

Running along the boardwalk from Middleton Beach

6km return

hilly - very hilly

probably exacerbated by the dead flat of kalgoorlie that I am used to running on

Boatshed Markets - Albany

I have heard a bit about MORE markets in Albany.

Boatshed Markets - 10am Sundays

Supermarket at 8am. Question the service assistant about markets in Albany on Sundays. She is clueless. The lady lined up two behind me piped up - "They have fantastic fish. You have to get there early - 20 minutes before opening - to line up. The seller first on your left as you go in"

That was all the encouragement I needed. Now, where are the markets, followed my nose to the boatshed. 20 minutes in the already scorching sun. Watching the fish being unloaded.

The squid and flathead caught my eye. The smell was so lovely - took me back to days of fishing with Gran down in Busselton. Fifth in line. The first guy bought 1kg of flathead. Only a little bit left - hoping people don't continue to buy in those kinds of quantities. Lucky for me there was plenty left for me.

I also found some locally-made tofu. That might be nice. We will have to wait and see.

Mary bought a whole trout.

When we got home "Daniel, I have something to ask you." "Yes?" "Do you know how to clean and fillet a fish?" That is when I kept very quiet and hid in my room. One thing worse than cleaning a fish for yourself - cleaning it for someone else. Mean? slightly.

Other delicacies at the markets - more beautiful fresh bread, goats cheese, the biggest chicken I have ever seen - nearly as big as pee man, local beef, fruit and vegies, jams, pickles, preserves, more raspberries (I had to resist this time!).

One Saturday of Holidays in Albany and Denmark

First Saturday in Albany - Shining sun (apparently a bit of a rarity in Albany)

Much to do

- Visit middleton beach

- Albany Farmer's market

- Denmark xmas markets

- Green's pool for swimming

- Dinner at doctor's farm

1. Middleton beach

Still cold at 7am. Too cold for swimming at this stage. Beautiful, long expanse of white sand. Lots of pretty shells. Plenty of people out walking/exercising. The water must come straight from Antarctica - icy cold.

2. Albany Farmer's market

Collie St. Every saturday from 8-12. Lots of the good things sell out early. I bought a punnet of fresh raspberries for $7 and ate them all on the spot. Delicious. Fresh, seasonal fruit and vegies. Cherries, raspberries, strawberries, avocados, asparagus. Local meat and poultry. Goats cheese. Milk products. Very exciting after a year in Kalgoorlie with nowhere to shop except woolies!

Slight intermission to wait for my housemate's boxes to arrive. Due in ?1.5 hours from 8am. At 10am they haven't arrived. "They always lie" I said. Somewhat naive she was convinced they were being honest and truthful. "Winny they are on their way". I insisted she call them and ask... Surprise surprise after waiting another hour at home she managed to get hold of them "they have just left esperance now". Ok, let's leave the boxes to be dropped off in the driveway and head to the markets!

3. Denmark xmas markets

Nestled in under the trees by the river in Denmark. Cute markets. Lots of home-made gifts etc. The usual market-wares plus a few interesting finds. Beautiful pottery by one lady. Very lovely woolen beanies and scarves by another man. Various shades of browns and beiges - no dyes. He has spent 10 years breeding the different colours into the sheep. Food stalls - highlight - fresh slices of cold watermelon for $1 - perfect in the hot weather.

4. Green's Pool

Highly recommended by all we ask. About 20 mins ?west of Denmark. Shaded from the wind. Unfortunately not shaded from the sun. Gorgeous to bring small children. A natural 'pool' created from the rocks. It must be 150 meters in diameter. Similarly to Middleton Beach I'm sure the water comes straight off the icebergs in Antarctica.

We were finally driven away by the pesky little march flies who kept biting my exposed flesh.

Detours:

a. Honey farm

One thing on my list was honey. Lots and lots of honey. I can hardly keep up my supply for the amount of honey I demand.

Cute little farm. Nice ice creams - the other two got some and I snuck a taste.

I do not like mead. (Honey ?wine)

b. Chocolate farm

Interesting. Expensive, a bit sterile. Will probably improve with age - it seems very new. Highlight - the snake in the garden. I was enthralled, watching it bask in the sun. Mary walked out and said it is a rubber snake. Very disappointing.

5. Dinner at Richard Turner's farm

5km up the road to Mt Barker from Denmark. Beautiful 'hobby' farm. Sheep, chooks, geese, cows etc. They are doing up the house themselves. Great hospitality.

I wish I took some photos!

Daughter - Mary Jane - very sweet, we worked out that we would have run against each other in the interschool cross country and 1500m races. We fought fiercely for the last place ribbon!

Home late. Fantastic day of holidays. Now Sunday must be a day of work...

Despite the gorgeous blue sky and 34C temperature. Perhaps the work can wait until monday

Leo Waiting to Come inside

Naughty Leo only wants to be inside

If he is left outside he jumps the fence and sits in the front yard

We now have new front gates.. I'm not yet sure what the peeman thinks of these - only time will tell

Home again... food again

Trip to kakulas

spent at least an hour wandering the shelves.. poking, smelling, tasting everything

found these stock fish - now wanting desperately to make fish soup, they look fantastic

it will have to wait until i get back in march!

Definitely living in freo as soon as possible. What could be better than having stock fish and the markets within walking distance

freo = yum

Last walk along the railway lines

love the freedom of kalgoorlie

no fences around the railway lines

will miss walking down them

thanks kal

time to say goodbye, slightly emotional

No phone for about a month and exams --> no pictures for a while

Here is my catch up

Kalgoorlie is beautiful - a very large sky

I will miss the sky most

And the spring storms - one week of 38C heat with thunderstorms and pouring rain each night for two weeks - lovely!

and giant hail stones

Wake up again and beautiful clear blue skies

Cooking with Sarah:

Roast pork

How to get this amazing result?

1. Get a rolled loin of pork from your butcher and make sure they score the rind for you.

2. Rub it all over with olive oil - lots of olive oil. Massage it right in. We also stuffed the middle with fennel seeds and sage.

3. Pile about 1/4 cup salt onto your hand and massage it into the rind. It sounds like a lot but you need it

4. Squeeze over the juice of half a small lemon

5. Put into an extremely hot oven - try 250C if you can

6. Roast for 30 mins at this hot temp - the skin should blister and bubble and turn crackly already

7. Turn down the oven and roast for the rest of the time at 180C

Roast for 1 hour per kg - perfect!

We served it with roasted apples - delicious

Nigella's old fashioned chocolate cake

delicious

Sunday Roast Pork with almost crackling

There is nothing quite like a roast. Feeling rather sorry for myself this morning I decided to make a roast. The pork looked lovely. Now for all the trimmings. Can't resist roasted apples and potatoes. Mum never taught me to make gravy so I had to teach myself. It was a delicious gravy. Fennel would have been delicious - but finding anything exotic such as fennel (not really exotic... but to K-town it is pretty special!) is impossible on a Sunday in Kalgoorlie. I am scared of roasting beef - the timing is crucial. To overcome this problem I choose meats that benefit from long slow cooking. Five hours later - meltingly delicious pork.

PICTURE TO COME TOMORROW.... !

1 leg of pork, bone in, skin removed

Fennel seeds

1 carrot, roughly chopped

2 stalks of celery, roughly chopped

1 onion, roughly chopped

Apples, chopped into 8 wedges

Potatoes, chopped into wedges

Rub the pork with salt, pepper, olive oil and plenty of fennel seeds. Place the vegies in a baking dish large enough to have them in one layer. Place the pork on top. Pour around enough water to a depth of 1-2cm. Place the pork into the oven and switch on to 140C (fan forced). Roast for 4-5 hours, or until very tender. Keep a 1-2cm layer of water in the dish at all times to stop the vegies from burning - these will be the basis of your gravy.

An hour before serving, in a separate baking dish mix the apples, potatoes, salt pepper and olive oil. Place in the oven. Stir occasionally.

About half an hour before serving, remove the pork from the oven (keep under alfoil to keep warm). Press the vegies through a sieve and reserve all the juice. Pour the oil layer into a small saucepan. Add about 1 tbsp of flour and cook for 1 min. Add remaining juice and water/stock to give the volume you want. Cook for about 3 mins to get rid of the flour taste. Season well with salt and pepper.

To get crackling you need to start with the oven really hot. Once the pork is out of the oven turn it up as high as it will go (250C! - remove the apples now too and keep warm, the potatoes can stay to get crispy but make sure you keep an eye on them). Score the pork skin with a stanley knife into strips. Pat the skin dry with paper towel. Rub the skin generously with salt. Place on a deep baking dish on the top shelf of the oven (ours was about 3cm from the top element). Cook like this until the skin has blistered and is crackling!

The best part of ours was definitely the little trotter that snuck in and was cooked next to the leg part - so delicious. The crackling could have had another 15 minutes to really get there... but Tim still loved it.

Choose your words carefully

When I said I liked hotel shampoos and conditioners:Dad has been collecting them for me for two weeks.... now I will never have to buy them again

Procrastination

1. Make a blog

2. Edit the blog

3. Find other blogs you like online

4. Read other blogs

5. Find links to other blogs on blogs you like --> repeat step 4 and 5

6. Re-edit you blog

7. Cook dishes to put on your blog - one of my favourites!

..... ahhhh the fun of blogging

I cook because I can peanut butter choc chip cookies

From my favourite blog - Smitten Kitchen - you must check it out.

These biscuits are incredibly moreish. I think it made about 40 of the little things - so cute and tasty.

1 1/4 cups plain flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup peanut butter at room temperature

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 tbsp milk

1/2 cup peanuts, roughly chopped

1/2 cup chocolate chips

White sugar - for dipping

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Mix together the flour, baking powder and baking soda.

Cream the peanut butter and butter together until soft and creamy. Add the sugars and vanilla and then beat until smooth. Beat in the egg and milk. Stir in the flour mix and then the peanuts and chocolate chips.

Scoop out teaspoonfuls of mix into little rounds, roll in sugar then place onto the baking trays.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until very lightly golden around the edges. Remove from the oven and rest for 2 minutes before placing onto the racks to cool completely.

Delicious!

Thank you orange custard cream star biscuits

It was my birthday party last night. I was spoilt rotten. To say thank you to all my kalgoorlie friends I made them these star biscuits. Recipe adapted from Nigella's Custard Cream Hearts from Feast.

Makes 22 full biscuits (I doubled it to make 45)

Biscuits

175g Plain flour

3 tbsp custard powder

1 tsp baking powder

100g butter

3 tbsp caster sugar

1 egg

1 tbsp milk, plus extra to bind

Preheat the oven to 180C. In a food processor whizz up the flour, custard powder and baking powder. Then add the butter - chopped into lumps. Whizz until it looks like breadcrumbs. Add the sugar. Whizz again for 10 seconds or until incorporated.

Whisk together the egg and milk. With the motor running pour down the spout of the processor. Add gradually and stop when the mixture forms into a ball. Add more milk as required.

Plonk the dough on gladwrap, wrap up tightly and put it in the fridge to rest for 20 minutes (or until you have done the washing up!).

Roll out the dough to 4mm thick on a well floured table. Cut out your shapes and place onto a tray lined with glad bake. Re-form the off-cuts and roll again. Bake for 15 minutes or until just cooked. Do not let them get brown.

Sandwich two biscuits together with the orange custard cream.

Orange Custard Cream

1 tbsp custard powder

100g icing sugar

Finely grated zest of one orange

50g butter

boiling water - to bind

Whizz up the icing sugar, custard powder and zest in a food processor - this will break up any lumps. Add the butter and whizz again until smooth. Add boiling water slowly until it reaches desired spreading consistency. Mine didn't need any water.

My favourite Green Pea and Lettuce Soup

Sounds weird. Tastes delicious. Plenty of black pepper and lemon juice are essential ingredients.

1 1/2 cups frozen peas

2 medium sliced potatoes

2 medium brown onions, sliced

1 iceberg lettuce, roughly chopped

750mL of good strong chicken stock

1 bunch chives, chopped, plus extra to serve

300mL cream

Juice of 1-2 lemons

Salt and pepper

Place all ingredients up to and including the chives in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 mins or until the potato is tender.

Puree with a stick blender until smooth. Add the cream off the heat. Season very well and carefully with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Taste continually until extra lemony and delicious.

Sprinkle with chopped chives and extra pepper to serve.

Nigella's Snow Flecked Chocolate Brownies

Writing up this recipe is making me want to eat more of them. They are great. Do not overcook them. This makes a deliciously huge batch of brownies - note the large tin size!

375g dark chocolate

375g butter

6 eggs

350g caster sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

225g plain flour

250g white choc chips

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line with baking paper a 33x23cm tin.

Melt together the chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat. Be careful not to burn the chocolate. Leave to cool until room temperature.

Beat together the eggs, caster sugar and vanilla extract. Add to the chocolate. Fold in the flour and white choc chips.

Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 mins or until just set. They will continue cooking after removed from the oven.

Dust liberally with icing sugar to serve.

Healthy? Banana Bread

After Angela and David came to stay at Mum and Dad's place there were some scammy bananas left over. On the continual hunt for a fantastic banana bread recipe I decided to combine a couple of recipes plus add my own touches. Delicious result.

1 1/2 cups Wholemeal SR flour (or substitute wm plain plus 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup wheatgerm

1 tsp mixed spice

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

zest of half an orange

1/2 cup brown sugar

250g (1 1/2 cups) chopped dates

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

125g melted butter

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1 cup mashed banana (2- 3 large bananas)

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease two 10x20cm loaf tins and line the base with baking paper.

Mix together the flour, wheatgerm, spices, orange zest, sugar, dates, walnuts. In another bowl mix together the butter, milk, eggs and banana. Mix the wet into the dry ingredients. Pour evenly between the two loaf tins.

Bake for 30-40 mins or until just cooked. They are cooked when a skewer comes out clean. Do not overcook them.

Great served with a generous layer of butter

Playing on the Train Tracks

Probably not the best idea. Good distraction from the running that I am supposed to be doing. Why not play on the train tracks. I can see a good 1km in both directions. Was hoping a train could come so I could take a photo with the train. I guess I can go back each day and wait and hope!

No-Bake Coconut Lemon Slice

This quick and easy no-bake slice has a moist, coconutty base and a soft, sweet lemon icing. It is finished with a sprinkling of coconut. You'll need two lemons for this recipe.

80g butter

250g (3/4 cup) sweetened condensed milk

250g packet Milk Arrowroot biscuits

85g (1 cup) desiccated coconut

Zest of one lemon

1 tablespoon (20ml) fresh lemon juice

Lemon Icing

250g (1 3/4 cups) icing sugar

2 tablespoons (40ml) fresh lemon juice

Zest of one lemon

1 1/2 tablespoons desiccated coconut, for sprinkling on top of slice

Grease an 20x20cm slice pan or baking dish and line with baking paper.

Place butter and condensed milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat when butter has melted and mixture is smooth. Be careful that the bottom doesn't stick.

Crush biscuits using a rolling pin. I like them to be a bit chunky still. Stir crushed biscuits, lemon zest and coconut together in a large bowl until well combined.

Stir lemon juice into condensed milk mixture.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until well combined. The mixture will appear quite wet at this stage.

Press mixture into the prepared pan. Refrigerate while preparing icing (see instructions below).

Spread lemon icing over slice and sprinkle with extra coconut.

Refrigerate slice until cold and firm then remove from the pan and cut into pieces. Store slice in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer.

Lemon Icing

Combine icing sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice in a small bowl. Stir until smooth.

Corn and bacon dip in a cob loaf

I haven't had one of these for years. When we decided to have a party this weekend I remembered this delicious dip. Everyone loved it. It makes quite a substantial amount of dip. It is fantastic - try it.

1 round crusty cobb loaf

4 rashers of bacon, chopped

1 onion

4 spring onions, chopped

2 teaspoons of light olive oil

1 x 400g can creamed corn

2 x 400g cans corn kernels

300mL sour cream

1 cup grated tasty and parmesan cheese

cracked black pepper

cayenne pepper

French stick warmed and cut into pieces, or crackers as extra dippers

Optional - extra fried bacon for garnish

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Fry chopped bacon until crispy. Add onion and spring onions with olive oil and fry until soft.

In the meantime slice the top off the cob loaf - this will be the lid to your 'bowl'. Pull out the soft bread from inside the loaf and pull apart into dipping sized chunks.

In a large bowl mix onion and bacon with all remaining ingredients. Season well with pepper.

Add dip mixture to the cobb loaf 'bowl', put on oven tray along with the 'lid' and chunks of bread. Bake in a moderate-to-hot oven for approximately 30 minutes or until dip is hot and bread is crunchy.

Garnish the top with some additional fried and drained bacon and chopped shallots.

Suggestions - this might be nice with some coriander stirred into it.

Is it possible to make Canneloni look nice?

This may not look neat and 'restaurant-y' but it was really good! I found the recipe while at BEGA (Aboriginal medical service) this morning waiting for the doctor. Thanks better homes and gardens! I had to (I think it is a compulsion of mine) change the recipe - changing their cream sauce to a can of tomatoes - much nicer and lighter for a week-night meal. I made some mint pesto the other night so chucked some of that in to give extra flavour. I think if I didn't have this I would add instead a good handful of chopped mint leaves, toasted pine nuts - a handful, and about 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese.

1 butternut pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1.5cm cubes (they can be pretty rough)

250g salami, cut into pieces

250g tub of ricotta

1 egg

2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg - please go out and buy whole nutmegs and grate them yourself! the flavour is far superior to pre-grated nutmeg, it is one of my favourites

Large handful of chopped soft herbs including mint and basil

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

2 cans chopped tomatoes, or a large bottle of tomato passata

Fresh lasagna sheets

1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

While you chop the pumpkin preheat the oven to 180C. Put the pumpkin on a baking tray in one layer, then mix with enough oil to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until soft. Add the salami to the pan and return to the oven for a further 5-10 mins or until the salami is crisp. Remove from the oven. Leave the oven on while you make the canneloni.

In a large bowl mix together the ricotta, egg, herbs, pine nuts, first lot of parmesan cheese and pumpkin and salami. All pumpkins are different sizes so use your judgement. I didn't use my whole pumpkin - I have saved some for a salad tomorrow. Mix well. Season generously with pepper and a bit of salt - keep in mind there is cheese in it which is salty.

Find a large casserole dish. Pour enough tomatoes on the bottom to cover in a thin layer of sauce. Cut the lasagna sheet in half. Place a generous spoon of mixture at one end of the sheet and roll up. Place in the baking dish. Continue until you have used up all the filling. Layer with the rest of the tomatoes. Then sprinkle with the parmesan cheese.

Bake in the oven for 20-30 mins or until the cheese is golden and bubbly.

Semolina Syrup Cake

This is a delicious, moist orange-y cake from Bill Granger's "Every Day".

125g butter, softened

1 cup caster sugar

1 cup thick greek (natural) yoghurt

3 eggs, separated

zest of one orange, finely grated

1 cup plain flour

1 cup fine semolina

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup ground almonds

1/3 cup milk

blanched almonds, to decorate

Syrup

1 cup caster sugar

Juice of one orange

1 tsp orange blossom water or rose water

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line a 22cm square cake tin. Let the paper hang over the edges to help you get the cake out later.

Cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the yoghurt, eggs and orange zest. Add the flour, semolina, baking powder, almonds and milk and mix gently to combine.

In a separate bowl beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the flour/butter mixture. Then very gently fold in the remaining egg whites.

Pour into the tin. Decorate with almonds. Bake for 40 minutes or until the cake is golden and a skewer poked in the middle comes out clean. Do not overcook.

In the meantime make the syrup. Make the orange juice up to 1 cup of fluid with water. Put the orange juice mixture, sugar and orange blossom water in a small saucepan. Bring slowly to the boil. Simmer gently for 5 minutes.

Pour a cold syrup over the hot cake. Leave the cake to cool in the tin completely.

This cake would be great served with natural yoghurt or sour cream.

TTC

Instead of a TTD list I have a TTC list.

Things To Cook.

It is expanding.

The supply is greater than the demand.

Non ST-Elevated MI

Im glad this isn't me - or you either for that matter. Having a heart attack in Kalgoorlie is not my idea of fun.

ST depression in Lead III, AVF, V2, V3, V5.... oh dear. He is still alive and going to Perth via RFDS for angiogram and probably stenting or actually most likely CABG.

Chocolate Self-Saucing Pudding on a whim

I felt like chocolate pudding. I found a recipe - it took 45 minutes to cook. No go. How about microwave chocolate pudding in 5 minutes! It was really great. I had it with natural yoghurt - that's all I had. Would be great with ice cream.

This is the photo of it after Eliza and I attacked it.

Ingredients

2 tsp butter

1 cup self raising flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla essence

1/2 cup milk

Sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp cocoa

2 tbsp coconut

1 1/2 cups boiling water

Find a microwave dish at least 1.5L in volume. Put the butter in the bottom then buzz in the microwave for 10-20 seconds or until melted. Add the remaining batter ingredients then mix well.

Sprinkle over the dry sauce ingredients. Gently pour over the boiling water.

Cover with a sheet of wax paper and cook in the microwave on high for 5-7 minutes. Check frequently and adjust the time to suit your microwave.

Enjoy!

South African Bobotie

South Africa's national dish. Beef mince with a savoury custard topping. Thanks to Neil's Mum Carol for introducing me to this! I love it.

Ingredients

2 thick slices of stale white bread, crusts removed

1 cup milk

Olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

1/2 - 1 tbsp curry powder - depending on strength and preference

1 tsp turmeric

1 kg beef mince

1/2 cup seedless raisins

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1 tbsp apricot jam

1 tbsp good fruit chutney

2 tbsp lemon juice

Salt and pepper to season

Custard Topping

3 large eggs

Bay or lemon leaves

Lemon slices

Large handful of slivered almonds

Preheat the oven to 180C

Place the bread in the bowl and pour over the milk. Leave to stand for 3 minutes, then gently squeeze out the milk. Reserve the milk and the bread in separate bowls.

Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and fry until soft. Remove the onion to a plate. Put the pan over high heat and fry the mince until brown. Add the onion back to the pan, along with the curry powder and turmeric. Mix well and fry for a minute or two or until fragrant. Add the bread, raisins, almonds, apricot jam, chutney and about 1/2 - 1 cup of hot water. Lower the heat and simmer for a couple of minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice.

Place the meat mixture in a large casserole dish and pack down firmly. Whisk the milk with the eggs and a pinch of salt. Pour the egg mix over the flattened meat. Decorate with the bay leaves, lemon slices and a good handful of slivered almonds.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the egg is just set - do not overcook. Serve with yellow rice and banana with coconut.

Banana with Coconut

Stir sliced banana with desicated coconut. Serve immediately. Two bananas is enough for 3-4 people depending on your appetite.

Yellow Rice

Add a teaspoon of ground turmeric to the rice before you cook it.

Banana Cake with Walnut Topping

Ingredients

125g softened butter

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 large bananas)

1 tsp vanilla extract

250g plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/2 cup buttermilk, or 1/2 cup milk mixed with 1 tsp lemon juice and left to sit for 5 minutes

Topping

3 tbsp coarsely chopped walnuts

3 tbsp self raising flour

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

100g softened butter

3 tbsp brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 180C. Butter and flour a 22cm cake tin.

Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs, banana and vanilla. Add dry ingredients, alternating with buttermilk. Pour into the tin.

Combine all ingredients for the topping. Scatter over the top of the uncooked cake.

Place the cake in the oven and bake for 1 hour or until skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool in tin on a wire rack for a few minutes before turning out.

Suggestions:

Add chopped dates to the cake mixture

Add chopped walnuts to the cake mixture