Mum made lots of different types of fruit cakes, loaves and slices and adding pumpkin to the mix wasn’t that unusual. The only unusual ingredient in this recipe is the apricot nectar, not something that you’d normally put in a fruit cake and not something you’d usually have in your cupboard. If you wanted to you could easily substitute it with fruit juice or water.
There’s two types of cheesecakes, baked and unbaked. I usually make baked ones as I prefer the texture, but this Toblerone Cheesecake creates a dilemma for me as I love Toblerone chocolate. The combination of the Toblerone chocolate, the time it takes to make and no hot oven heating up the kitchen, makes it a great summer dessert. Even I’m convinced.
I found this among the recipes, it’s in my awful handwriting, so I assume I gave it to Mum somewhere along the way. I’ve been making it for years and still make it, but I use less meat now as I’m no longer feeding a family of five. It’s easy and the gravy is really does taste great.
STEAK WITH RICH GRAVY
Cut the meat into serving pieces. Place in casserole, add dry soup, mix water and soup together and pour over. Mix well. Cook 1½ hrs at 180º.
Ginger Fluff Sponges were second only to a jam and cream filled sponge when I was growing up. Not everyone likes ginger, but for those who do a slice of cream filled Ginger Fluff is a real treat. This isn’t Mum’s original recipe, but one she cut out of the Herald Sun newspaper, the tip at the bottom of the recipe is might explain why my sponges never rise.
This is another use for ripe bananas, they change the basic pikelet mix into something that doesn’t need the jam and cream topping. They would be good for afternoon teas, suppers or even the kids lunchboxes.
There’s a few versions of this old favourite in Mum’s collection. This one comes from the back of the Continental French Onion Soup Mix packet and is probably the easiest to make, especially if you use the casserole method.
In the 1950s except for fish and chips Chinese was the only takeaway available, you even had to take your own saucepan to the shop for them to put the food in – no plastic containers then. Chicken & Corn soup was always a favourite. Somewhere along the line someone came up with this make-at-home version, which can be adapted to suit what you like or what you have in the cupboard. It’s not as good as the Chinese restaurant variety, but it still tastes good.
Buying chips and dips and other types of savouries to have before a dinner or at a party just wasn’t an option in the early days of Mum’s entertaining. There just wasn’t that much available to buy, so you had to make them yourself. This is just one of the things she made.
When microwaves first appeared on the scene we were told you could cook anything in them and I think this recipe dates back to that time. I now find the microwave indispensible, but use it mainly as a tool to cook vegetables, melt butter or chocolate, defrost meat and to make white sauces. I found that the traditional oven was better for casseroles, roasts and baking in general, but there’s no denying this recipe would cook more quickly this way and could be worth trying.
Although today you can buy chicken wings already marinated in a variety of difference sauces, it’s still nice to make your own from scratch and it’s not really all that hard to do.
BAKED CHICKEN WINGS
Mix honey, tomato sauce and soy sauce. Brush wings thoroughly with honey mixture place in shallow dish or casserole and place in a very hot oven 220ºC. Cook 40 mins brushing with honey mixture and turning every 10-15 minutes.
Beb's Recipe Drawer 