RICOTTA TART

Unlike most pastries where you rub the butter into the flour, the pastry for this tart is made by beating the butter, sugar and water together then adding the flour – which is a little easier. Once the pastry has rested all you have to do is combine the filling ingredients and your tart is done. Except that is for arranging the strips in a lattice pattern over the top, perhaps the fiddliest bit, but well worth it for how terrific it looks when cooked.

CHRISTMAS – CHEWY CHOCOLATE COCONUT DROPS

Last week I made three different sweet treats – rum balls, chocolate fruit balls and white chocolate, lemon and almond balls – for our family Christmas get together. I’ve been making them for years and they’ve become somewhat of a family tradition. I’m thinking that maybe next year I’ll try these chocolate coconut drops as well and see what the family thinks of them.

CHICKEN BALLS WITH THAI DIPPING SAUCE

These are a great little idea – basically no chopping. Except for the chicken mince and the shallot the ingredients are things you’ve probably got in the fridge or cupboard. It’s just a matter of combining, shaping and frying the chicken balls and mixing up the sauce – easy as. While this recipe is for nibble size balls, you could easily turn them into patties for an easy entree.

SWEET POTATO AND SPRING ONION SCONES

Scones are something I’ve never been all that good at making. I suspect it’s because I over work the dough, something that this recipe clearly says not to do. I do like the combination of sweet potato and spring onion though, so perhaps I’ll give them a try. I’m sure those with better technique will end up with a very tasty scone.

CHEESE AND VEGETABLE SLICE

On a visit to a farm in Central Victoria that friends recently moved to they were telling us of all the lovely produce that they are growing – pears, quinces, zucchinis and garlic just to start with. When I got home I started going through Mum’s cuttings and books to dig out some recipes for them. Fresh pear recipes and quince ones have been hard to find and I didn’t even try for garlic as Mum was not a fan. Zucchini have been the easiest and this one was among them.

WARM PEACH CAKE

I like the look of this dessert and can imagine it on a cold autumn night with lashings of thick cream. I can’t find a date on it, but the $5 cost makes me think that it isn’t too old. You should be able to make it for about that with canned peaches, but with the current price fresh ones would make it more expensive…..