SPANISH OMELETTE

I can’t remember the first time I made a Spanish Omelet – it would have to have been at least 35 years ago. I’m not sure I ever had a proper recipe for it back then, it was just onions, potatoes and eggs. It was an easy Sunday night meal that everyone liked and we still enjoy it. Over the years I’ve added bacon, spinach, mushrooms or whatever I’ve got in the fridge, but onion and potato are always the base.

SPICED BAKED CHICKEN

This a Margaret Fulton recipe published in the New Idea back in August 1994. My first cookbook was The Margaret Fulton Cookbook, my copy is now a bit battered and worn as I used it constantly in my early cooking days. Her recipes were easy to follow, covered all types of meals – family meals, entertaining and parties, international dishes, cakes, biscuits, etc and was just an amazing source of inspiration. This is a much later recipe and shows how she continually kept up with the changing influences in Australian eating.

COCONUT MOUSSE WITH STRAWBERRY COULIS

I confess I’ve never made anything with Coconut Milk Powder and I even wondered if was something you could still buy. Obviously I’ve now realized that you can, so it might well be worth trying out this very summery dessert – when the weather warms up enough, that is…..

SAUCY TOMATO PORK

With the price of lamb and beef at the moment, pork has become a more economical choice of meat to use. Although this recipe says to use pork medallions from the loin, I think you could use a cheaper cut of pork as there’s plenty of flavour in the mustard, onion and chilli sauce. You just need to cook it a little bit longer, until it’s nice tender.

APRICOT SOUFFLE

This recipe makes six souffles, so it’s great for entertaining. I always like to do as much pre-cooking as I can before the guests arrive, so with this recipe I’d have all the elements done and just add the beaten egg whites to the coconut mixture and put them in the oven when we were almost ready for dessert.

RICE PUDDING with WARM FRUIT COMPOTE

What makes this rice pudding recipe different is the use of Doongara rice and low fat and low sugar ingredients. It has Diabetes Australia approval. Doongara rice is a low GI Australian rice, which is said to be ‘ruin-proof,’ as it can be cooked for up to 5 minutes longer than the recommended cooking time and still result in fluffy grains. It’s a quick and easy dessert and especially good for those watching their sugar intake.