The subtle sweetness of firm pear is so perfect for many salads. I have two favourite pear salads, ‘Rocket & Pear Salad’ with French dressing and this ‘Fennel & Pear Salad’ with lemony dressing. The dressing is lemony but not very sour. The reason why it is so lemony is because of the grated lemon …
September 2018 in Australia, there was a report that a sawing needle had been found in a strawberry in Queensland. After the incident, more and more needles have been found in strawberries all over Australia, and some farmers were forced to dump their harvest as they couldn’t sell them. Strawberries totally disappeared from supermarkets for …
This is one of our family’s favourite Winter desserts. I learned it from my husband’s mother many years ago. It’s absolutely quick and easy, and if you have a frying pan, you can make it. I always stock canned peaches in my pantry, so that I can make this dessert anytime. Everyone gets excited once …
It’s Autumn in Melbourne now. Persimmons are sold at the green grocers. Persimmons are called ‘Kaki’ in Japanese and they are NOT particularly special fruit where I used to live because Persimmon trees are absolutely everywhere! But in Melbourne, I have never seen a Persimmon tree and they are quite expensive fruit. Persimmon fruit are …
Everyone’s favourite dessert ‘Apple Crumble’ can’t be easier than this. All novice cooks should try this recipe and gain your confidence. I always use Granny Smith apples for this dessert. Granny Smith apple is originated in Australia and it is one of the most popular cooking apples. It gets soft quite quickly and you don’t …
I grew up in a subsidised public housing which was a very tiny house with a small back garden, where there was a fig tree. I enjoyed the fresh fig fruit from the tree and my mother used to make fig jam and preserves. This is why fig is always special fruit to me. And …
I like rustic biscotti baked in the traditional way without any butter, oil or milk. It is so easy to make and we can create our own variations by adding nuts, fruit and flavours of our choice. However, I haven’t found any simple and easy recipes that don’t require weighing. I don’t like weighing ingredients. …
I recently discovered a product called Queen’s ‘Jel-it-in Vegetarian Gelling Powder’ at a Woolworths store. It’s an Agar-base gelling powder and it is easy to use. Sometimes I prefer to use Agar or Kanten rather than Gelatine. For this orange juice jelly, definitely Agar is the best option. And Queen’s ‘Jel-it-in’ dissolves very well. I …
Kanten is similar to Agar Agar, and both are made from Sea Plants. The advantage of using Kanten and Agar Agar as gelling agent is that it can set liquid with the fruit such as fresh Pineapple, Kiwi Fruit or Mango. Those fruits break down the protein found in gelatine and prevent the jelly from …
On hot summer days, Bananas tend to turn black-spotted very quickly. Those ripe sweet Bananas are perfect for Banana Cake or my Granola (Oven-baked Muesli), but I don’t want to bake on hot days. This is a perfect way to enjoy those black-spotted Bananas in hot summer. Ingredients Ripe Banana(s)Unsweetened Greek Yoghurt Method Slice the …
When I find some pears in the fruit basket getting very soft, I always make them into ‘Pear Upside-down Cake‘. But I recently discovered this custard tart is another good dessert to use up the softened pears. This is almost identical to my ‘Banana & Custard Tart‘. Pears can be replaced by peaches, cherries, apples …
Kanten is a gelling agent which is very low in calories and it won’t melt when warm. It is made from seaweeds and similar to Agar Agar. Kanten is very useful if you want to make a jelly using Pineapple and Kiwi Fruit or Mango, as these fruits break down the protein found in gelatine, …