Chicken and Sweet Chilli Mince Balls

Ingredients:
500g chicken mince
3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 spring onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 tsp soy sauce
1 egg, lightly whisked
1 teaspoon sweet chilli sauce
1 tablespoon coconut oil
salt and pepper to season
mayonnaise, to serve

Method:
In a large bowl combine the mince, breadcrumbs, onion, garlic, soy sauce, egg and sweet chilli sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
Mix well with your hands.
Roll bite size tablespoons of mixture into balls.
Place on a plate or tray, then refrigerate for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile prepare your side salad.
Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat.
Cook meatballs for 5 - 8 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
Drizzle with mayo and serve with salad.

Chocolate Coconut Slice

Ingredients:
Slice
150g butter, melted and cooled
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain flour
1/3 cup SR flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup desiccated coconut
Icing
1 and 1/2 cups icing sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
20g butter, finely chopped
2 tablespoons boiling water

Method:
Slice
Preheat oven to 160C (fan-forced).
Grease and line with baking paper a 20x30cm lamington pan.
Place butter, sugar, egg and vanilla in a bowl, stir until combined.
Sift flour and cocoa into bowl, add 1/2 cup coconut.
Stir till mixture has combined.
Spread mixture evenly into pan.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until just firm.
Icing
Sift icing sugar and coca into bowl.
Add butter and boiling water, stir together.
Spread warm slice with icing.
Sprinkle remaining coconut over slice.

Saving the Flavour (Tomato Seeds)

Regardless of your gardening experience, tomatoes are an almost foolproof crop. And they have a multitude of uses in the kitchen - fresh on sandwiches and tossed in salads, cooked in sauces, and even dried or preserved.

Saving Seeds
Collecting seeds from your favourite tomatoes lets you grow and enjoy that delectable flavour for years. You'll find seeds collected from old-fashioned and heirloom tomatoes will grow true to form, they'll look and taste the same as the plant they came from. Supermarket and other commercially grown tomatoes are often hybrid varieties, so seed gathered from them may not grow to produce fruit the same as the parent. If collecting seed from different varieties, its best to do each one separately to avoid mix ups.

Gather your supplies
Very ripe tomatoes; sharp knife; spoon; cutting board; fine sieve; thick, absorbent paper towel; paper bag; storage jar; rice.

Steps:
1. On a clean cutting board, slice tomato lengthways into quarters or eighths. Remove central white section if present.

2. Carefully scoop out the seeds, along with the jelly-like pulp surrounding them, and place into a fine sieve.

3. Wash seeds under cool running water and gently rub to remove pulp. They're adequately washed when individual seeds separate easily and no pulp is visible.

4. Shake off excess water, fold paper towel a couple of sheets thick and spread seeds over, ensuring all are separated. Place in a cool, dry location to dry off before storing or sharing.

5. If storing for next season, place another sheet of towelling on top before folding the paper into a square with seeds on the inside. Put this in a paper bag with the variety name written on it, then put the bag in an airtight storage jar with a tablespoon of rice in the bottom. The rice should absorb any residual moisture.

Heirloom varieties
Black Krim - this is a large 'beefsteak' tomato with a rich flavour and an amazing colour when sliced. It's perfect for sandwiches or salads.
Wapsipinicon Peach - a small creamy yellow fruit that's as delicious as the best red cherry forms. It's a great choice for a fruit fly-prone area as the slightly fuzzy skin seems to deter them.
Green Zebra - this tomato will tick all your boxes; amazing taste, incredible colour and huge yields. Choose this variety if you have bird problems as they tend to leave the ripe fruit alone - the green confuses them.
Tommy Toe - A cherry-sized fruit class with a taste that every gourmets rave about. Plant Tommy Toe tomatoes for their high yield - as much as 11kg of fruit per season, per plant!
Broad Ripple Yellow Currant - gorgeous little golden globes set this tomato variety apart. Plant them for the kids, as they'll adore the deliciously sweet fruit.

Apple Slice

Ingredients:

2 cups self raising flour
1 cup sugar
3 apples, peeled, cored and diced (1cm)
125g butter or margarine
1 egg

Method:
Toss apples with self raising flour and sugar in a medium mixing bowl.
Melt butter in a small saucepan on the stovetop or in a small bowl in the microwave. Stir in egg.
Pour butter and egg into the apple mixture and mix until combined.
Spoon into a greased and lined slice tin.
Bake at 180 C for 35 to 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Keeps for about 3 days.

Dessert - Raspberry Ripple

Raspberry Puree:
1/2 punnet of raspberries
1 tablespoon of icing sugar
In a bowl mix together raspberries and icing sugar until a puree consistency.

Decorations:
6 mint thins, cut in half.
Fresh raspberries
Icing sugar, dusting

Ice Cream:
400g frozen raspberries
350g thick vanilla yoghurt, really cold
50g icing sugar
Add the frozen raspberries, vanilla yoghurt and icing sugar to a food processor and whizz for 30 seconds to 1 minute - ice cream done.

Layer in a dessert glass - ice cream, raspberry puree, top with mint thins, fresh raspberries and icing sugar.

Enjoy!

Popcorn Cookies (recipe by Fast Ed)

Ingredients:

250g unsalted butter
110g caster sugar
80ml sweetened condensed milk
300g plain flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 and 1/2 cups popcorn (popped)

# white chocolate, melted

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees C.

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add sweetened condensed milk and mix to combined.

Add sifted flour and baking powder and stir with wooden spoon until just combined. Don't overmix.

Add popcorn and mix together.

Place 8 tablespoon of the mix with room between each onto a tray lined with baking paper for 15 - 18 minutes.

The biscuits need to cool completely on a wire rack.

Load the melted chocolate into a piping bag and drizzle the chocolate over the top of them and let sit a little before indulging.

Sour cream and onion tart

Ingredients:

8 slices of bread, crusts removed
butter, spreading on bread
4 red onions, thinly sliced
1Tbsp olive oil
1tsp sugar
2tsps balsamic vinegar
300g sour cream
1Tbsp cornflour
3 eggs
1 cup grated Swiss cheese
salt and pepper to season

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 °C. Remove crusts from 8 slices of bread, spread all sides with butter, and line a large loaf tin with the slices. Put olive oil in a large pan, add the onion and a teaspoon of sugar, cook over a low heat until onions brown, add balsamic vinegar and cook for 5 minutes. Put onion in bread-lined tin. Pour sour cream into a large mixing bowl, add cornflour, eggs, grated Swiss cheese, season with salt and pepper and whisk to combine. Pour sour cream mixture over onions, bake for 25-30 minutes then let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Kate's tips:

Chorizo – lightly fried to brown and release natural oils, add to bread-lined tin with onion mix.

Honey Jumbles

Ingredients:

Honey Jumbles
125g unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
¾ cup brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3Tbsp honey
1¼ cups SR flour
1 cup plain flour
1Tbsp ground ginger
1Tbsp mixed spice
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

Icing
1½ cups pure icing sugar, sifted
pink [or another colour] food colouring

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Line 2 oven trays with baking paper. Beat the butter and vanilla until creamy, then add the sugar and beat until the mixture has increased in volume and is paler in colour. Add the eggs and honey, beat until well combined.

Sift the dry ingredients, add to the butter mixture, stir to combine. Put mixture in a nylon bag fitted with a plain 1cm pipe. Pipe mixture onto prepared trays into 8-10cm lengths. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden and firm. Stand trays on a wire rack to cool. When cold top biscuits with icing. Stand on a wire rack until the icing is set.

To make the icing: Put the icing sugar in a heatproof basin and add enough warm water and a few drops of food colouring until the mixture is a stiff paste. Stand the bowl over simmering water and stir until mixture is of a spreading consistency.

Meringues - Mini

Ingredients:

3 eggwhites
1 cup caster sugar
2 tsp rosewater essence
Pink food colouring

Method:

Preheat oven to 120 °C. Line 2 oven trays with baking paper. Put the eggwhites, sugar and essence in the small bowl of an electric mixer, beat on a low speed for 1 minute then increase to high and beat for 10 minutes until thick and glossy.

Add a few drops of pink [or another colour] food colouring, mix until combined.

Spoon or pipe the mixture onto prepared trays. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until the meringues are dry and crisp.

Turn off the oven and pull the oven door ajar, leave the meringues in the oven to cool.

Kate’s Tips:

Meringues can be made up to a week before serving, but store them in an airtight container in a cool dry place.

Meringues can be sandwiched together with whipped cream.

Champagne Jelly & whatever fruit you desire

Ingredients:

5 sheets of gelatine
600ml of Champagne or sparkling wine
4 tablespoons of caster sugar
1 cup of fruit [whatever type you desire]

Method:

Put the sheets of gelatine in a medium mixing bowl, cover with cold water and leave to stand for 10 minutes or until soft. When soft remove the sheets from the bowl and squeeze out any excess water.

Pour the champagne into a medium heavy based pan and place over a low heat until warm. Stir in the sugar and gelatine sheets then strain through a fine strainer.

Arrange the fruit in jelly moulds and pour the champagne mixture over. Put the moulds in the fridge to set for 2-4 hours.

Vanilla Mascarpone

Ingredients:

200g mascarpone
2-3 drops of vanilla extract

Method:

Mix the mascarpone and extra vanilla until smooth.