Luscious Lemon Yoghurt Cake

Feeling much better this week so I decided to celebrate by baking a cake. With the exception of chocolate, lemon would have to be my favourite cake flavouring. There have been some lovely lemon cake recipes whizzing around lately especially here and here but I went back to a tried- and-true recipe for my return to health celebration. This is one of those incredibly reliable cakes that always seems to work out the same way even when you use different tins or slightly under or over cook it. You can dress it up with a lemon syrup or a thin lemon icing glaze but as often as not I just dust it with sprinkling of icing sugar. It has a lovely moist, dense texture which means it can also be used as a dessert cake accompanied by some fruit and double cream. Who would have thought that a cake made without butter could taste so good?

Luscious Lemon Yoghurt Cake

Ingredients

280g Greek yoghurt

180 ml vegetable oil

330g caster sugar

335g self-raising flour

3 eggs, lightly beaten

2 teaspoons (or more) lemon zest

80ml lemon juice

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius

2. Grease and lightly flour a 24 cm bundt, round or square tin (even if it is a non-stick one as this cake has a tenacious crumb that likes to stick to the sides!)

3. Beat all ingredients together - really, it doesn't seem to matter what order you combine them. If that seems a bit anarchic you can just add the wet ingredients to the dry.

4. Pour mixture into prepared tin and cook for 50-60 minutes (check at 50 minutes by inserting a skewer into the cake - when cooked it will come out clean.)

5. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before turning out on a wire rack.

6. When cool dress up or down as you please...

Hungry for more...

Do you ever feel busy, sick and hungry all at the same time? That's how I feel at the moment - dizzy, nauseous and trying to ignore a very loud ringing sound in my ears. I had to take a couple of days off work last week which I hate doing both because I love my job and because I know I'm behind on a few projects. Somehow I've also managed to embark upon a kitchen renovation and while I was feeling very sorry for myself in bed on Friday the designer called to say that she had mis-measured the kitchen and it all had to be re-designed (mainly by me - more about this later...)

When I finally did manage to put myself to bed I took along two very beautiful new books for company. The first was Melbourne, a gorgeous little book by editor/ publisher Sophie Cunningham whose idiosyncratic view of Melbourne bought back many memories of my younger years in Melbourne (there's a nice review here). The book opens with the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires and ends with the freak hail storm we experienced in 2010. While I'm not likely to ever forget either event I'm glad I have Sophie's version of events on the shelf to give to the kids when they're older.

The other book was Hungry: Food From The Heart by Guy Mirabella. I must admit I'm a bit in love with this book. Not only is it beautifully designed with luscious colour photos by Earl Carter throughout by it is full of delicious-looking Sicilian inspired salads, pastas, risottos, soups and desserts. Salads are a bit of a bete-noire for me so I'm always looking for inspiration. If you'd like to try Guy's 'Red Salad' featuring radicchio, red cabbage, peaches and pomegrante among other delights you'll find a recipe here.

Now is I can just get the nausea under control...

Early Spring...

Fresh Laundry by Chiots Run via Flickr

See-sawing stockmarkets, sovereign debt out of control and and rioters in the streets. Not the best of weeks was it? I'm not really in any position to fix the worlds larger problems so I've been sticking pretty close to home this week and trying to take more notice of the changes happening in my own backyard.

I've been reading a very interesting book called The Comfort of Water by Maya Ward which chronicles her walking pilgrimage up the Yarra River from the port of Melbourne to its source up near Mount Baw Baw. In it she mentions how the local Wurundjerri people recognised not four but six or seven seasons. This makes a lot of sense to me. I think 'Early Spring' has definately arrived. Not only has the weather been a little warmer lately but there is lots of cheery golden wattle blossom about as well as the more European prunus and cherry blossom. I haven't had a chance to take any photos but I don't think I could top Sophie's images over here. (I haven't seen many wombats about but I'm sure they're out there doing their thing! )

Even closer to home I've been on a bit of a health kick drinking lots of Madame Flavour Green, Jasmine and Pear Tea. I love the pack and the little silk pouches that hold large tea leaves. I think it's also lovely that it comes with a little letter from Madame Flavour letting you know that you can use each teabag three times. What a generous spirit!

We've also been enjoying this delicious Raw Broccoli Salad found over at Stonesoup. The great thing about this recipe is that there is rarely a time I wouldn't have all these ingredients in the house. I was a bit unsure about all that raw broccoli but it was really quite delicious and it was so simple to make that I made the kids do it! We were playing cafes anyway and they often make weird and wonderful (and sometimes inedible) flavour combinations so this made a welcome change. I love Stonesoup's five ingredient philosophy but in Bella's world more really is more so she added some baby spinach leaves and marinated fetta with great results. We'll definately be making this one again.

Raw Broccoli Salad via Stonesoup

Let's hope things settle down a bit this week and that certain members of the global community step back and take a good look at themselves.

Winter Fare...

As Autumn slips into Winter I've been busy in the kitchen cooking all my favourite comfort foods. Earlier in the week I made my first apple pie of the season this time using an Australian Women's Weekly recipe. I wasn't all that happy with the pastry (it only had 1 tablespoon of sugar in it so was more savoury than sweet) but we all agreed that the filling was our best one yet. The recipe called for 10 apples (I used a mixture of Granny Smiths which hold their shape so beautifully and Pink Ladies which cook to a silky smooth mush) which I flavoured with sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon and ground cloves.

I was also lucky enough to be given some lovely organic beetroot by a friend at work. I thought about making Sophie Dahl's Borscht but then I remembered Jane Clark's Beetroot and Sweet Potato Soup which is always such a hit with the kids. Unlike the more traditional earthy beetroot soup, the addition of sweet potato gives this soup a wonderful sweetness and the colour is just amazing.

Breakfasts have also undergone a bit of a makeover with porridge back on the menu. We've been experimenting with different toppings (honey, cinnamon, nuts, dried fruit compote) but I'm dying to try this Carrot Cake Oatmeal perhaps with a Rhubarb Smoothie.

What's cooking at your house?

The week that was...

Best photo under trying circumstances!

What a crazy week we've had! The weather has swung from the 26 degree days we've been enjoying recently to single figure nights and early mornings so we have had to quickly re-jig wardrobes and sleeping arrangements. Henry and I spent two sleepless nights (felt like two weeks) in hospital after he had another severe asthma attack. Tom spent the week in agony with a toothache before finally giving in and heading to the Dental Hospital and poor Bella just hung in there not really knowing what to expect next. This morning, however, I had a lovely early morning phone call to say that I'm an aunty again so although it's dark and blustery outside I'm feeling very sunny on the inside!

All these goings on have meant not much time for cooking so once the immediate crises passed I headed for the kitchen and whipped up several batches of soup and my favourtite, comforting winter casserole. Perfect for those convalenscing from unexpected hospital visits. If you're feeling a little under the weather you might like to make some too...


Beef Casserole with Gremolata

1 kg chuck steak, diced
2 onions, cut into eighths
2 cloves garlic
3-4 carrots, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons plain flour, seasoned with salt & pepper
3 cups beef stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 springs fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, leaves only
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 strips orange rind


Gremolata

zest of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove, finely crushed
2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160C.

2. Dust beef in seasoned flour and brown (in batches) in a large frying pan over a medium heat.

3. Remove beef to a plate and add a little more oil. Brown onions, garlic and carrot until onions are translucent and carrots have some clour.

4. Return beef to pan then add tomato paste and cook for a few minutes before adding stock and herbs. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes before transferring to an oven-proof casserole dish.

5. Place dish in oven and bake for 3 hours (give or take a bit). You'll know it's ready when the meat just falls apart and the kitchen is filled a wonderful meaty, herby goodness (sorry vegetarians!).

6. Just before serving make the gremolata by mixing all ingredients together. Sprinkle a little on each serve for a little extra zing.

I usually serve this with polenta or mashed potatoes (sometimes some greens) but a buttered wodge of sourdough wouldn't be a bad companion either.

Image via

I hope you all had a lovely time watching the royal wedding (or successfully dodging it that's more your thing). After such a terrible start to the year for so many people globally it was nice to see so many people gathered (safely) in joyful celebration rather than in protest, revolt, panic or despair. I'm no monarchist but they do put on a good show don't they and I do like traditions such as leaving the bridal bouquet on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Here's a few other things that caught my eye this week...

• This remarkable Pulp Fashion: The Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave exhibition in San Francisco. Belgian artist de Borchgrave uses historical costumes from great European paintings and museum collection as inspiration for creating amazing three-dimensional responses in paper. Hard to explain but click on the link above and check out the photostream and video - well worth as look.



• This short but sweet post about fashion designer Jean Patou on Colette Patterns, which also features some great retro-inspired sewing patterns.



• These mouth-watering cake recipes posted by the Malthouse Theatre to coincide with their production of Porn.Cake
  
  Hope you're enjoying your Sunday. Masterchef starts again tonight so you know where I'll be...

Food, family and fun...

Image via

Image via

Image via

One of the things I love most about Easter is the tradition and symbolism surrounding the food we share - hot cross buns and fish on Good Friday, lamb on Sunday and, of course, all those chocolate eggs. There is something so comforting about preparing and eating the same food at the same time of year, year in, year out. It gives the year a certain rhythm, allows us to look back and compare with other Easters and gives us the chance to pass family traditions on to the next generation. This week I discovered three beautiful new Australian cookbooks, that in their own individual ways, gave me a privileged insight into the way in which food traditions have shaped other people's family lives.

When I first saw Keepsakes, Recipes, Momentos, Miscellany by Frances Hansen it was love at first sight. This exquisite book is so much more than a cookbook. Nestled among beautiful drawings, painting, photographs and collages are handwritten and typed recipes collected by Hansen and her family. The original book was made by Hansen for her sister's wedding and although it is an intensely personal book in one way, its evocation of food and family in 1970s Australia and New Zealand really struck a chord with me.

Similarly, while Teresa Oates and Angela Villella wrote Mangia! Mangia!: Authentic Italian Food Rituals and Family Recipes to honour and preserve the food traditions of their Italian parents and grandparents, there is so much in this book for the rest of us to enjoy. The book is teeming with stories, personal photographs and family recipes and lovingly descibes important annual rituals such as preparing and bottling the passata, preserving the olives and making your own proscuitto and salami.

And then there is the delightful, My Grandma's Kitchen by Louise Fulton Keats. This gorgeous children's book features bright illustrations, a sweet story about cooking with Grandma and a selection of never-fail recipes to inspire the little ones. As if that wasn't enough, the Grandma in question is none other than Australia's original domestic goddess, Margaret Fulton (the author is her grand-daughter) so you can be sure that the recipes are tried and true!

May you and your family enjoy many happy hours around the table this Easter...

Link love...

Image via Etsy

Autumn is here, there's a chill in the air and Henry has decided that 5am is an appropriate time to get up every morning. To say I'm a bit sleep deprived would be an understatement. I'm seriously thinking about just getting up and dressed at 5 and being done with it rather than pleading, begging and coaxing Henry back to sleep (with very little success). Maybe I could use the time to find some more gems like these ones...

• Alexandra Nea's lovely blog The Art Of Afternoon Tea presents fabulous weekly recipes for cakes, biscuits and sweet treats with a twist. The twist is her amazing hand-drawn illustrations of the recipes laid out on her own seemingly limitless collection of china. I love the sound of this Chocolate Garam Masala Cake


• Romance is not dead! Check out this literary proposal.


• Some people are so clever. Check out Debs's gorgeous, hand-knitted couch cover. No pattern, just intuition!


• Wouldn't you love a pair of embroidered stockings like these ones ?


• Love these great 1950s illustrations on wood blocks and this new project at Bricolagelife.

Berry Nice...

Originally uploaded to Flickr by D Sharon Pruitt

Summer has been a bit of a fizzer here so far - a few ridiculously hot days but most days barely making it out of the 20s (I've got longsleeves and jeans on today). Having said that, the berries have been great this season (we've even had a handful of bramble berries from a rose that's gone wild in our front garden!). The raspberries are particularly good - red, juicy and velvety and while I'd happily just eat them straight out of the punnet (and quite often do) I've also been enjoying them in these two incredibly simple recipes.

I first came across this Hands-Free Raspberry Jam recipe in Nigella Lawson's 'How To Be A Kitchen Goddess' but I think the original source is probably Elizabeth David's 'Summer Cooking'. If you've never made jam before you really must try this one - if you have you may never go back to the old way. Basically you just heat an equal weight of white sugar and fresh raspberries in two separate pie plates in a medium oven for about 20 minutes. Remove both dishes from the oven, add the sugar to the raspberries, stir et voila, you have the most delicious raspberry jam in the world. Because the jam has not been boiled you will need to keep it in the fridge rather than in the cupboard but it will keep in sterilised jams for some months.

The other thing I've been making with gay abandon is Jamie Oliver's 1 Minute Berry Icecream. I really love this recipe. It is equally good served immediately as a kind of 'soft-serve' or the next day when it has had a chance to harden in the freezer. Normally I'd leave the mint out of a recipe like this one (I always worry the kids won't like it) but it really does add another dimension to the finished dessert so be brave.

Busy, busy, busy...

School holidays have been over for nearly two weeks and I still can't seem to get back into the daily routine. The days just seem to whizz by. Here's how I've been spending them..

Reading the Millenium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson. I'm a bit late on the bandwagon but they've been worth the wait.

Listening to lots of classical music. Henry has discovered classical music in a big way. He listens to it when he's going to sleep, in the car and anywhere else there's a player. He's especially in love with anything by Bach but also likes Beethoven's Piano Concerto No.5 and Mozart's 'Jupiter' symphony. He said to me the other day, 'Mum, I've gone crazy for this music, I can't stop listening to it and it won't get out of my head!'. Bless (keep in my he's only 4).

Making this Lucy's Tomato, Walnut and Pomegranate Molasses Salad (with our own tomatoes and the pomegranate syrup Deb sent me - thanks Deb!) and this Lucy's Apricot Almond Chews. Delicious...

Re-organising my kitchen cupboards. Over the past fortnight I've broken two glasses, two mugs and a vase. My cupboards are so crowded that every time I open them something jumps out at me. I've been meaning to do it for a while but these recent losses spurred me into action. As a result I now have three lovely new fying pans (replacing six dreadful ones that can now be found in the local daycare centre sandpit) and room for all my many, many, many baking trays and tins.

Researching bathrooms - we need a new one.

Looking forward to the launch of two of the websites I've been working on for the past 18 months - not long to go now...

Marvelling at the Google Art Project. Have you seen this yet? Check out this post first and then go and have a play yourself - you won't be disappointed.

What have you been up to lately?

A little bit of Italy for Christmas...

A bit fuzzy but you get the idea!

Like many people I decided to make sweet treats as Christmas gifts for friends this year. It's been was touch-and-go as to whether or not I'd be able to find the time so I wanted to make something quick and easy (preferably made from ingredients I already had in the cupboard) but exotic enough to stand out from all the gingerbread and shortbread. For some reason I seem to have an enormous variety (and quantity) of nuts in the house at the moment and I always have cocoa and spices at hand so panforte seemed the way to go. Then I read Lucy's funny post about her panpepato experiment gone wrong and remembered how good (if ugly) panpepato can be.

I didn't have time to shop for specific ingredients so I adapted Antonio Carluccio's Panpepato recipe from 'Carluccio's Complete Italian Food'. I didn't have any hazelnuts so I upped the amount of almonds I used and as I'd bought some glace apricots last week for some unspecified Christmas cooking I used them instead of mixed candied peel.

Panpepato (Peppered Bread)

170g blanched almonds, toasted & chopped

85g walnut halves

55g pine nuts

55g raisins (soaked in a little Muscat then drained)

60g cocoa

100g glace apricots, chopped

1/2 tsp each cinnamon, ground coriander & nutmeg

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

125g honey

enough plain flour to bind

Method

Preheat the oven to 160C/325F. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl adding enough flour to form a stiff mixture. Using wet hands form mixture into a round loaf and place on a tray lined with baking paper. Bake for 30 minutes (you'll know when it's cooked because your kitchen will be filled with the a wonderful spicy aroma) and leave to cool, dust with cocoa and serve in thin slices with coffee or dessert wine.

How easy is that? If you need a last minute gift to take to someone's house over the holiday season this could be just the thing.

You Know Christmas Is On Its Way When...

...the kitchen is filled with the heady aroma of ginger and cinnamon, cardamon and cloves...

Vanilla Choc-Cherry Cheesecake

One of the things I love about Summer is the arrival of stone fruits - nectarines, peaches, apricots and especially cherries. It just wouldn't be Christmas without cherries. A few years ago I bought this cherry pipper (or is it pitter?) and my life changed for the better. You know how it is when you find a fabulous gadget and you wonder how you lived without it?

Recently I was asked to bring a cheesecake to a Christmas party so I decided to make a vanilla and chocolate swirl one. Being a novice cheesecake maker the top of the cheesecake cracked outrageously so I improvised a cherry topping and if I do say so myself it was the right decision. The cheesecake itself was quite sweet so the cherry topping gave it some much needed bite.

Vanilla and Choc-Cherry Cheescake

200g Nice biscuits (any sweet biscuit would do)

105 g unsalted butter

500g cream cheese (room temperature)

200g light sour cream

3/4 cup caster sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

150 g dark chocolate

Topping

500g cherries (pitted and halved)

1 tablespoon cold water

1 tablespoon cornflour

Method

1. Line a 22cm springform pan with baking paper.

2. Melt butter in a small saucepan over a low heat. Crush biscuits in a food processor then combine the crumbs and butter. Press into base of pan and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

3. Melt chocolate in a bowl over hot water (don't let water touch the bowl). Allow to cool.

4. Preheat the oven to 160C (140C fan-forced). Beat cream cheese, sour cream and sugar until light and creamy. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition then mix through vanilla extract.

5. Pour half the cream cheese mixture into base. Spoon in melted chocolate then top with remaining cream cheese mix. Use a skewer to swirl the chocolate around without over mixing.

6. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until cheescake is just set. Turn off oven and cool in closed oven. Chill for at least 3-4 hours (or overnight).

7. Place water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add pitted, halved cherries. Mix one tablespoon of cold water with one tablespoon of cornflour (or arrowroot). Add to cherries and stir unitl thick. Allow to cool slightly then pour over cold cheesecake. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until set.

As this was the first time I'd made this recipe (and it was a boiling hot day) I took it to the party still in the tin so didn't get any good photos but here it is with its enormous cracks...

and with its glossy topping...

I'm pleased to say that when we did unmold it it stood up proud and was roundly praised by all who tried it so if cheesecake is your thing keep this one in mind?

You Know Christmas Is On Its Way When...

Image from dnamuse

...the shops are full of panettone. I know you can buy panettone at specialist places thoughout the year but my addiction is such that I wait until it is absolutely impossible to avoid. I like it for breakfast, morning tea, afternoon tea and supper. See my problem? I can polish off one a week if I'm not careful and I'm sure that's not how they were designed to be consumed. Should they be shared perhaps?

Maybe the secret to moderation is to only eat panettone (hot cross buns, mince pies) that you've made yourself. Perhaps this year I'll give it a whirl using this recipe from Australian Gourmet Traveller. What do you think?

Eat Your Vegies...

Image via The Kitchen Maid

Recently I've come across some outrageously, delicious looking, sweet recipes using vegetables. Who could resist things like the Spicy Parsnip and Pecan Cakes from The Kitchen Maid or the Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Sweet Potato Cream Cheese Frosting from The Nearsighted Owl? If that's not enough, just in time for Halloween, there's this spicy, sweet Pumpkin Pie I saw over at Petits Plaisir de la Vie.

I love my vegies anyway and would be just as happy eating this delicious dish from Cooking A Storm In A Teacup but we all know people (big and small) who need a little leg up with their vegetable intake don't we?

Spoilt rotten...

Originally uploaded to Flickr by Theresa Thompson

Yesterday was my birthday and I had a lovely quiet day at home playing lego with Henry, reading and having a little nanna nap. Not that exciting for a birthday but as we tend to celebrate birthdays over a few days rather than just on the big day I felt free to do whatever I wanted. I think it's a lovely way to do things and as we all have October/ November birthdays it pretty much guarantees days full of happy celebrations from now until Christmas!

Birthday celebrations started Friday night when I got home from work to find two lovely cumquat trees in half-barrel tubs on the verandah. Saturday we had dinner at a great local restaurant (they are few and far between in out neck of the wood). We had Red Snapper with celeriac remoulade and grilled asparagus; chicken roasted with fresh thyme and served with a quinoa salad; slow cooked lamb meatballs and homemade dips and breads. For dessert we had caramelised popcorn sticks with chocolate amaretti dipping sauce and an amazing creation called a 'Ginger Wagon Wheel' which consisted of two pieces of chocolate-edged gingerbread sandwiched with fluffy marshmellow and a shock of glace ginger paste in the centre - sensational. No kids menu, starched white napkins and great coffee. When we got home I was given this book:

On Monday my friends at work took me out for afternoon tea with homemade banana cake and last night we celebrated again with chocolate ripple cake and more books. I've been coverting these for a while now...

You can have a bit of a look inside 'Recipes From An Italian Summer' here and Tessa Kiros' new book here. Talk about spoilt rotten...

In My Pantry...

My friend Deb over at Cooking Up A Storm In A Teacup has kindly invited me to take part in her meme, Orderliness and Harmony. In anticpation (and because I'm on a bit of a Spring cleaning binge) I had a bit of a poke around and threw out a few things that were past their use-by date (always the same things rice flour, custard powder and yeast). I'm certainly not into aen-like simplicity but even though it looks like everything is crammed in but I know exactly where everything is to make all my favourite foods - a very comforting thought.

1. Nigella Lawson keeps a secret stash of pigs ears in her freezer that she deep-fries for a crispy, solitary snack. Do you have anything similarly sordid in yours?

Well no, not really, but one of the things I love about Nigella is her willingness to expose her unbridled gluttony to the world. I have been known to partake in one of Nigella's other snacks (small handfuls of freshly grated parmesan baked in the oven until crisp) but my freezer is quite small and holds few surprises. Once you add some soup, casserole, chicken breasts, beef mince, frozen fish, icecream, raspberries, blueberries and icypoles it won't accept much more.

2. What foods would I always find in your fridge and why?

Eggs, parmesan, marinated feta, broccoli , tomatoes and bacon. There are other things but these are the universal family favourites - a mixture of fancy and commonplace. I also have a ridicuously large number of sauces and condiments. I try not to use too much bacon but we all love it so! I've never been much of an egg eater but the kids really love them scrambled, boiled, fried and hard-boiled and after many years avoiding them I've come around to their way of thinking. The parmesan and feta are their to turn simple into special and broccoli is the only green vegetable we all agree on (I'm a big fan of green beans too.)

3. Do you have a standby, never-fail recipe that you like to have the ingedients on hand for unexpected guests?

My favourite standby recipe is Honey-Roasted Sweet Potato and Bacon Risotto. In my experience a lot of people seem to be afraid of making risotto. I'm not sure why as I've always found it very easy and satisfying to make. I think the secret is realising that the rice should still have a little bite to it so you don't over-cook it. I roast the sweet potato tossed in honey while the rice is cooking and I also fry off the bacon separately then add them both towards the end of cooking. I find it can all get a bit too salty if you fry the bacon off with the onion at the beginning of the recipe.

4. What is your favourite comfort food?

It would have to be something warm. Revenge may be a dish best served cold but as far as I'm concerned that's about the only thing that is. There's something about cold food that leaves me, well, cold (although I am going to make an effort to improve my salad repertoire this Summer). Comfort food for me would be something lovely and warm served in a bowl - Lamb Shank and Barley Soup, risotto, tuna pasta, beef casserole on a bed of fluffy mashed potatoes - something like that. If I did have to nominate a coldish food dish I'd say something very simple like sun-warmed, vine-ripened tomatoes and basil on hot buttered toast (see how I got the hot in there?).

5. Do you have a chocolate drawer or secret hoard of sweet or savoury snacks?

You mean there are people who don't?! I'm going for quality not quantity these days and favour Green and Black's Maya Gold, dark chocolate flvoured with orange and spices. I'm also partial to Lindt's mint, orange or ginger chocolate blocks and I'd never say no to a Mint Slice. They're all kept on the very top shelf of the pantry so even I have to do some exercise to access them!

6. What's inside your store cupboard? I wonder if like me you too squirrel things away like a little mammal preparing for a hard winter? Or maybe you favour zen-like sparsity. Don't you just love nosing inside someone else's cupboards?
Another thing I love about Nigella is that she frequently takes us into her enormous walk-in pantry for a squiz. I'd love to have a walk-in pantry a la Nigella but what I have is one big cupboard. In it keep all the things I need to make all our regular favourites - tins of tuna, cans of diced tomatoes, chickpeas and beans and bottles of pasta sauce also rice (basmati, arborio, brown and sushi), pasta (spaghetti, fusilli, risoni), couscous, polenta, stock, onions, garlic and potaotoes. I keep spreads in here too (Vegemite, Marmite, peanut butter, honey and Nutella) and all manner of liquid potions (Worcestershire sauce, fish sauce, mirin, sushi vinegar etc) as well as things I use rarely but like to have on hand like orange blossom water and rosewater.

One whole shelf is, of course, dedicated to dry foodstuffs for baking... sugar, flour, rolled oats, coconut, dried fruits, seed and nuts. We also have an indecently large variety of breakfast cereals that perch on top of said cupboard. Zen-like sparsity? I think not but not incedible extravagance either.

So there you go a quick trip into my pantry. What's in your pantry? Do you keep your fruit and vegetables in the fridge or the pantry? What's the weirdest thing you've got in stock? I'll be tagging some friends soon to share the contents of their pantry with us too so stay tuned...

Kids In The Kitchen...

Every school holidays we try and spend at least one day together in the kitchen. We choose a number of different things to make none of which take too long and all of which give us lots of breaks in between stages. Yesterday we started with cupcakes. I think you can tell from this photo just how excited Henry was...

Of course licking the beaters is one the best fringe benefits...

Although licking the icing off is pretty good too..

After a bit of a run around outside and a trip to the supermarket we made pizza dough. The kids loved the kneading process and kept checking to see if the dough had risen over the next couple of hours. Look at the concentration on those little faces - Junior Masterchefs in the making! The Hawaiian and Margherita pizzas they made were delicious...

...and we finished dinner with the kids favourite desert, 'Frog In A Pond' which we made earlier in the day while the cupcakes were cooling. We let the jelly set a little too long so they were more 'Frog On A Pond' but they do look sweet don't they?

This week...

I finally got around to starting the swirly scarf I first mentioned way back here. I've had this wool for ages but have never been quite sure what to do with it (an impulse buy when it was on special). Even though I'm a crochet novice things seem to be coming along nicely.

I've also been checking out this lovely book by Silvena Rowe. I saw it reviewed in Epicure yesterday and loved the sound of Silvena's artistic take on Eastern Mediterranean cuisine. Recipes mentioned in the review include Pink Peppercorn Meringues with Mulberries, Rose Petal Ice-cream and a tomato salad flavoured with pomegranate seeds, sumac, cumin and pomegranate molasses - yum.

Apples Ain't Apples

Originally uploaded to Flickr by *clairity*

'Australia smelt of apple. Ripe, green, crisp apples.

A smell so sharp and sweet it made my teeth tingle.'

Queenie visiting the Australian pavillion at the British Empire

Exhibition in the book 'Small Island' by Andrea Levy, 2004

I loved these sentences the first time I read them. For me childhood does smell of apples (and horses and freshly cut grass, dirt roads after the rain...). My mother always used to tell me that when she was pregnant with me she had strong cravings for apples. I'm not sure what kind of apples but there never seemed to be a shortage of Granny Smiths and Jonathans around the place.

I still love my Jonathans (although like many people I've been seduced by the delicious Pink Lady) so I was dismayed to read the other day that Jonnies are in danger of being phased out of production because they don't store well. I'd never really given much thought to natural things 'going out of production'. For some reason I've always been aware of new varieties coming through but not of old varieties disappearing.

Last week I stumbled across an article in the Epicure section of 'The Age' about the Santos Museum of Economic Botany at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. The museum first opened in 1888 and was set up as an educational institution designed to show people what could be grown in the new colony. After a long hiatus the Museum was recently restored and re-opened. One of its chief attractions is a collection of almost 350 19th century papier-mache apples and pears with names like Schwarzenbach's Summer Pearmain, Coulon's Reinette and Beauty of Borshop. Lovely aren't they? But as the journalist explained,'They sit in a musuem case, and like the dodo and the thylacine, these apples are long extinct...these models are now ghosts of flavours and aromas we will never taste or smell.' What a melancholy thought.

So if you love your apples do try out new varieties but don't forget your old favourites and if you're planting fruit trees maybe give the heritage varieties a go? In the meantime you might like to make this 'Caramelised Apple Upside Down Cake'. It's kind of a cross between a tea cake and a Tarte Tartin and can be served hot as a dessert or at room temperature with a cup of tea!

Caramelised Apple Upside Down Cake

Topping

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon butter

2-4 apples (depending on size)

Cake

1 1/4 cup plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

80 grams butter
1/2 cup caster sugar

few drops of vanilla extract

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup milk

Method

1. Preheat oven to 190C.

2. Peel and core apples then cut them into 8ths.

3. Melt butter in 20 cm round cake pan and spinkle with brown sugar. Arrange apple slices in a nice pattern on top of the butter and sugar making sure to cover the entire surface.

4. To make cake, cream butter and sugar together then add eggs and vanilla extract. Mix well.

5. Sift in flour and baking powder, alternating with milk. Mix to combine then pour mixture over apples .

6. Bake for 45 mins or until skewer comes out clean when tested.

Enjoy!