Mango rhubarb sorbet

A mango 'on the way out' combined with some things in the garden and kitchen.

In a blender add:
cut pieces of one mango
2 sticks rhubarb, chopped and cooked with 1 tb water in microwave for 1-2 minutes
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 - 1/2 cup water (icecubes with some water added is ideal)
1 fresh lime, zested and then juiced
spring of mint (peppermint, basil mint etc)

Blend until completely smooth.
Pour into a freezer-safe bowl or container and cover.
Every 30 minutes for 4 hours, stir sorbet very well with a whisk or a hand blender.
Let sorbet freeze for 8 hours or until hard.

(Can obviously change quantity in recipe to make more)

Vegetable frittata

Vegetable frittata

Directions
Beat 8 eggs, 1 cup milk, chopped parsley, and salt and pepper.
In a food processor chop an onion or shallot finely, and 2 cloves garlic, and then add 2 slices wholemeal bread and finely crumb into a combined mixture. Add 2 cups leftover cooked vegetables eg broccoli, cauliflower, beans, potato, carrots etc. Add in herbs for taste (eg parsley).
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in an ovenproof 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add the egg mixture and cook 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, top with grated cheddar and cook 10 minutes. Allow to cool, then slice.

Green bean salad with lemon dressing

Beans are prolific in the garden so here's a summery way to use them in a salad.

Simple green salad with lemon dressing

Ingredients

1/2 kg green beans, trimmed
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon lightly packed lemon zest
1 red or green chilli, finely sliced
1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
1/2 cup thinly sliced cured pitted black olives
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Directions

Bring a medium pot of heavily salted water to a boil over high heat. Wben boiling, add green beans until cooked but still firm, about 4 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare a bowl of iced water. Drain beans and place in ice water bath until cool. Drain and shake off excess water.

In a glass bowl, thoroughly mix olive oil, juice, zest, and chilli; season well with salt and pepper. Add green beans, shallot, olives, and parsley, and mix well; taste, adjust seasoning as needed. Salad can be served immediately though flavour improves as it sits.

Zucchini chocolate fudge cake

Zucchinis are prolific in summer. Here's a gorgeous recipe for Zucchini Chocolate Fudge Cake. I also add in a couple of handfuls of chocolate melting buds but that's optional.

Zucchini Chocolate Fudge Cake

Ingredients
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 ½ cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups aplain (all-purpose) flour
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bi-carb soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup milk
• 3 cups shredded zucchini (1 large)

Directions
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, bi-carb soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with milk. Stir in zucchini.
Pour into large oven baking dish or two square pans. Bake at 175°C for 30-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted near the centre comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
Decorate with chocolate icing.

Lemon and lime (tropical) self saucing pudding

Exactly half way through winter and the limes and lemons are prolific. We've waited a while for the lime tree to fruit and it has done so with gusto! I spotted this recipe on my FB feed today from Best Recipes - for a lemon and lime self saucing pudding. Sounds delicious. Doesn't use a great deal of the produce but it's another lemon and lime gone to a good cause!

Tropical self saucing pudding

Batter base
1 cup SR flour
¼ cup dessicated coconut
pinch salt
½ cup caster sugar
½ ts lime rind
½ ts lemon rind
½ ts vanilla extract
2 tb melted butter
½ cup milk
1 egg yolk
egg whites, beaten until stiff

sauce
½ cup caster sugar
juice of 1 lime
juice of 1 lemon
¾ cup boiling water
½ ts lime rind
½ ts lemon rind

Pre-heat oven to 180C

Batter base:
Mix wet ingredients minus egg whites until well combined
Add dry ingredients. Add more milk if batter is too thick.
Fold in beaten egg whites
Pour into greased 2L pudding basin

Sauce:
Sprinkle rind and sugar over the batter. Mix the juice and water then pour over the batter over a spoon. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the sponge comes out clean.

Serve with whipped cream or vanilla icecream
http://www.bestrecipes.com.au - recipe 13084

Rhubarb berry upside down cake

Dec 26th - Boxing Day in Australia
Plenty of rhubarb flourishing in the garden and plenty of strawberries as well. Thought I'd make this cake today to enjoy for afternoon tea with family. Delicious!

Rhubarb Berry Upside Down Cake

Ingredients
2 cups chopped rhubarb
1 cup berries (frozen or fresh)
2 ½ cups plain flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
2 cups castor sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

Method
Preheat oven to 180 C.
Grease a large cake tin and line with baking paper.
Add rhubarb and berries and 1 cup castor sugar to bowl. Set aside for 30 minutes.
In an electric mixer, whip the 4 eggs and 1 cup castor sugar until light and fluffy for about 3 minutes.
Add the flour and baking soda to the mixture.
Add oil, milk and vanilla.
Pour rhubarb and berries into base of cake pan and pour cake batter over top. Bang it on the counter a few times to remove air bubbles and bake for 35-40 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Allow to cool for a few minutes and upend onto serving platter. Can be served warm or cold, with custard or cream.

Seasonal salad - chick pea and celery salad with coriander (cilantro) - October

Invited to a meal tonight with the simple instructions - 'just bring a salad'. Rather than dashing down the shop to buy some 'tossed salad' ingredients, I wondered what I could use from the garden. Tomatoes and other summer salad vegetables are a long way off producing yet. So, here's what I came up with using my still productive celery and the brilliant self-sown coriander about to go to flower and seed now that the weather's warming up. And a red onion just reaching maturity. A surprisingly tasty salad!

2 cups cooked chick peas (or 1 regular tin cooked chick peas)
1 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup celery leaves, chopped
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 small jalapeno green chilli, chopped finely
salt and pepper for seasoning
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil

Mix salad ingredients. For seasoning, shake vinegar and oil in small container and mix through salad.