Most of the sponge pudding recipes I’ve seen have apples or a jam base. This one’s a bit different as it has dried apricots. You could use stewed fresh apricots in season if you wanted to.
APRICOT SPONGE PUDDING
Reply
BEEF STROGANOFF
This recipe was one of mother-in-law’s. Sadly she passed away many years ago so I don’t have too many of her recipes. She was a great cook though and this early version of Beef Stroganoff was one of my favourite things that she used to make.
QUICK CHOC-CARAMEL SLICE
I like the combination of ingredients in this slice recipe. Caramels, chocolate, peanuts and rice bubbles sound like they’d go well together. If you were worried about adding in the peanuts it would be quite easy to double up the chocolate, can’t see why that would be any sort of problem.
PECAN PIE
Pecan nuts weren’t something that Mum cooked with as I’m pretty sure that they weren’t easily available back when she did her most of her cooking. Although she kept this recipe I doubt that she ever actually made it. I think pecans work really well in a pie, especially when you serve it up with a big blob of cream.
DOUBLE-CHOC DESSERT
Pure indulgence – chocolate muffins, served with white chocolate sauce, strawberries & cream. I think I’d be tempted to make them bigger than just muffin size though!!!
UPSIDE-DOWN DESSERT
I’m wondering if you could call this an Australian Tarte Tartin. The main difference from the French version is that this one has a sponge base and not pastry. This recipes uses apricots and walnuts in the topping, but you could use apples or even pears if you wanted to.
LAMB BARLEY SOUP
It might put you off that this old recipe because it starts off “Place the barley in a large bowl. Cover with water; soak overnight”. But if you be bothered doing it the barley will make the soup delicious and when you add in the lamb and vegetables you’ll end up with a very hearty and warming winter dish.
ASIAN NOODLE SOUP
This is a quick and easy Chicken and Sweet Corn soup. I usually use Chicken Noodle Soup when I make the easy version, but I like this idea of using 2 minute noodles instead. The soup looks thicker and chunkier.
BEEF BURGANDY – TWO WAYS
Beef Burgandy is just the fancy name for slow cooked beef with red wine. My tried and true way of cooking it has always been by using the first method shown here, which gives you lovely tender beef in a rich sauce. The second method using an oven bag I found in Mum’s collection and should work just as well. The more modern way, of course, would be too use a slow cooker. Whichever way you end up cooking it, it’s a great winter dish. You get the best flavor by using the cheaper cuts of beef – gravy beef, blade or even skirt steak.
MY WAY:
THE OVEN BAG WAY:
LEMON AND BLUEBERRY TART
I haven’t made this Lemon and Blueberry Tart yet as I’ve only just found the recipe in Mum’s collection. It looks great though and pretty easy to make. Because it uses frozen blueberries you can make it all year round, so I think I’ll try it out for our next family get together.
