Category Archives: All Recipes

ZUCCHINI SOUP

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Soup has always been a family favourite with us. In the early days Mum made soup using soup bones from the butcher to which she would add lots of vegetables – onions, carrots, celery, turnips and whatever else she had on hand. Once it had all boiled for a couple of hours it was left to cool, the bones were removed and the fat skimmed off the surface before reboiling and eaten. This recipe is one I gave her and I expect she liked it as it was quicker and easier to make.

Zucchini Soup

ZUCCHINI SOUP

  • 30g butter
  • 2 teaspoons oil
  • 4 chopped onions, chopped
  • 6 medium zucchinis, sliced
  • 2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • Salt & Pepper
  • ½ teaspoon dried tarragon
  • 4 cups chicken stock

Heat oil and butter, cook vegetables 10 minutes, add stock and seasonings simmer 10 minutes, pulverise, serve with cream.

APRICOT LOAF

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It looks like this recipe has been cut off the side of a packet, although I’m not sure which packet it came from. I do know that it makes a great slice, really good for afternoon teas or to take on a picnic.

Apricot Loaf crop

APRICOT LOAF

  • 155g dried apricots
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1 level teaspoon bi-carb soda
  • 2¼ cups Self Raising flour
  • ½ level teaspoon salt
  • 60g margarine
  • 125g (½ cup) sugar
  • 1 egg
  • Topping:
  • 30g margarine
  • ½ cup oats
  • 1 level tablespoon brown sugar
  • 50g walnuts, finely chopped

Chop apricots, place into a basin with boiling water and soda, cover and stand ½ hour. Sift flour and salt into a basin, rub through margarine, add sugar, egg and apricot mixture, mix to combine. Grease loaf tin 22cm x 9cm x 6cm deep and sprinkle some oats over from the topping, then spoon in apricot batter. Melt margarine, add topping ingredients and mix well. Spoon topping over batter. Bake in a moderately hot oven 190ºC for 45-50 minutes. Cool slightly in the tin, remove and cool. Serve sliced and buttered if desired.

ORANGE CRISP BISCUITS

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These biscuits are a little unusual as they use jelly crystals in place of sugar. The original recipe has orange flavoured jelly, but I’m sure you could use other flavours successfully. I top them off with a chocolate button just to add an extra kick.

Final

ORANGE CRISP BISCUITS

  • 125g butter
  • 1 packet orange jelly crystals
  • 30g sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 60g coconut
  • 60g ground rice
  • 125g plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • Chocolate buttons

Cream butter with jelly crystals and sugar. Add beaten egg and the dry ingredients previously mixed together. Place in small spoonfuls on a tray lined with baking paper and bake 15-20 minutes at 180ºC.

MRS WOOD’S XMAS CAKES – 2 SOLDIER’S CAKE TINS

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I’m sure Mum would have gotten this recipe from Mrs Wood to bake cakes to send over to Dad in England during WW2. Mrs Wood was Mum’s sister’s mother-in-law. She was a wonderful cook and I can remember visiting her house in East Malvern where there would always be plates of biscuits and freshly baked cake for afternoon tea. The Soldier’s Cake Tins referred to were used to bake a cake in to be sent overseas to the troops. The tins came with a lid so the cakes were baked then sealed to be sent off. Cake shops also sold fruit cakes that fitted into the special “Willow” cake tins. Fruit cakes with brandy were usually the cakes made this way as the brandy stopped the cake going mouldy during the time it took to reach the soldiers, wherever they were serving.

Mrs Wood's Xmas Cakes

MRS WOOD’S XMAS CAKES

  • 500g butter
  • 8 eggs
  • 500g castor sugar
  • 500g plain flour
  • 125g Self Raising Flour
  • 1kg sultanas
  • 500g raisins
  • 250g currants
  • 125g mixed peel
  • 60g almonds
  • 2 tablespoons brandy
  • 1 teaspoon mixed spice
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon carb soda
  • 2 tablespoons boiling water

Combine the fruit and brandy, leave overnight to marinate. Beat the butter and sugar together, add eggs one at a time. Add sifted flours and spices. Add fruit and nuts. Combine boiling water and carb soda and mix in well. Bake in prepared tins – 3 hours, turn after 1½ hours. Soldier tins measured 7½ inches = approx 20cm. So the mixture makes 2 x 20cm cakes – the ingredients can be halved for 1 cake.

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT SLICE

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This is a great example of Mum collecting the ingredients and basic cooking method and working the rest out as she went along. The way it’s been written down it looks like the block of Hazelnut Chocolate was almost an afterthought, but it certainly adds to the flavour. When we made it we changed the almond to hazelnuts, but you could make it with plain chocolate and the almonds if you liked, I guess that would make it a Choc Almond Slice though. The verdict the way we made it was Yummm.

Choc Hazelnut Slice CROP

 

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT SLICE

  • 1 block Hazelnut chocolate
  • 125g butter
  • ½ tin condensed milk
  • 2 tablespoons golden syrup
  • 1 packet slivered almonds
  • 1 packet Marie biscuits

Combine butter, condensed milk and golden syrup. When mixed add crushed biscuits, almonds and melted block of chocolate. Mix well and spread into tray. Put in fridge until set.

ZUCCHINI CAKE

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Around the 1970s it became popular to grown zucchinis in backyard vegetable patches, they were easy to grow and produced a good crop. As a result recipes for slices, soups, and cakes started to pop up everywhere. This cake is just one of the many. We tried it out without the nuts, mixed fruit or coconut. It came out very moist and we feel that it needs the either the nuts or fruit to give it more flavour. Lemon icing would be a good addition as well.

Zuccini Cake

ZUCCHINI CAKE

  • 1kg zucchini (small one are best)
  • 3 eggs
  • 2¼ cups sugar
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla essence
  • 1 cup oil
  • 2 cups Self Raising flour
  • 1 cup plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon carb soda
  • 3 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 cup of either walnuts, mixed fruit or ½ cup coconut – if desired

Wash and grate zucchinis (skin and all). Beat eggs well and gradually add sugar and beat till thick and creamy. Add vanilla, oil and zucchini and nuts/fruit/coconut, if using, mix well. Add dry ingredients that have been sifted together. Pour mixture into 2 loaf tins or a large cake tin. Bake at 180ºC for 1 hour or 1¼ if using larger tin. Mixture is not very thick. Ice, if desired.