serves 1-2
This cocktail is a Christmas Eve tradition with my cousin Jane. One year 3 daiquiris cured Aunty Bloss’s bad back.
Crushed ice
45ml light rum
30ml Cointreau
15ml sugar syrup
30ml lime juice or lemon juice
8-10 fresh strawberries
Place ice, rum, cointreau, sugar syrup, lime juice and strawberries in blended.
Blend until well mixed.
Serve with crushed ice if desired.
Sugar Syrup
Combine equal parts water and sugar in saucepan.
Stir to dissolve.
Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until liquid is reduced by half.
Allow to cool and refrigerate.

12 bake at home small bread rolls
12 cocktail frankfurters
2⁄3 cup grated cheese
tomato sauce or mustard, to serve

Preheat oven to 200°C and line a baking tray with baking paper
Slit the rolls from the top, being careful not to cut all the way through.
Place a cocktail frankfurt in each roll and place on the tray.
Sprinkle over some cheese.
Bake 10 minutes- the cheese should be nicely melted and the frankfurt heated through.
Serve with tomato sauce or mustard

bacon slices chopped
chopped tomatoes
1 avocado, diced
2 tablespoons sour cream
salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Baby Cos lettuce

Fry chopped bacon over a medium high heat until crisp.
Chop tomatoes and avocado
Mix together bacon, tomatoes and avocado
Combine with sour cream, salt and pepper
Fill lettuce leaves with mixture

3 cups uncooked fusilli pasta
4 cups peeled sweet potato cubed
Olive oil spray
Garlic salt
Ground black pepper
2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 cups spinach
1 cup lebanese cucumbers, sliced into thin half moons
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 cup basil leaves, torn
½ cup finely chopped parsley
½ cup chopped mint
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
Dressing
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, more for drizzling
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¾ teaspoon sea salt
Preheat the oven to 200°C and line a large baking sheet with baking paper for easy clean-up.
Peel sweet potatoes and cut into cubes.
Spray with olive oil and place on tray in a single layer so not touching.
Sprinkle with ground black pepper and the garlic salt
Roast until tender, tossing halfway through, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool to room temperature (sweet potatoes will keep in the refrigerator, covered, for about 4 days).
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare the pasta according to the package directions, or until slightly past al dente.
Meanwhile, make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, dried Italian herbs, red pepper flakes, and salt. the dressing will have a strong flavor it will mellow once it coats all of the pasta salad ingredients).
Drain the pasta, toss it with a little olive oil (so that it doesn’t stick together) and let it cool to room temperature.
Transfer to a large bowl with the tomatoes, chickpeas, arugula, cucumbers, feta cheese, basil, parsley, mint, and pine nuts. Pour the dressing and toss to coat.

1kg mixed dried fruit
375ml (1.5 cups) ginger beer
1 cup caster sugar
250g butter
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups self raising flour
½ cup brandy optional
Place dried fruit, ginger beer, sugar and butter in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and stir until butter has melted and sugar has dissolved.
Set aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 140C. Grease a 20cm cake tin and line the base and sides with 2 layers of baking paper.
Stir through eggs and fold through flour.
Pour into prepared tin and bake for 2.5 hours until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cover with foil if the top is browning too quickly.
This cake will keep for weeks, well-wrapped and stored in the pantry.

4 oranges
1 red onion
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped pistachios
¼ cup Olive Oil
1¼ tablespoons Orange Juice
Peel and thinly slice oranges and onion.
Place alternately oranges and onion in rows on platter.
Mix Olive Oil, orange juice & parsley.
Sprinkle over salad and then sprinkle pistachios.

1 cup milk
1 tablespoon custard powder
3 teaspoons sugar
Mix all ingredients together well in a microwave-safe jug.
Cook in the microwave on High for two minutes and then stir.
Continue cooking and stirring 30 seconds at a time until custard is of the right consistency.

2 cups plain flour
2 teaspoons bicarb soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 ¼ cups vegetable oil
1 cup castor sugar
1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
3 cups grated peeled carrots (5 to 6 medium carrots)
2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts
CREAMY FROSTING
250 grams cream cheese, at room temperature
1¼ cups icing sugar
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts, for topping cake
Heat the oven to 180°C. Grease 9 inch by 13 inch pan rectangular pan and line the bottom with baking paper then grease the top of the paper. Or, grease and flour the bottom and sides of both pan.
In a medium bowl whisk flour, bicarb, salt, and the cinnamon until well blended.
In a separate bowl, whisk the oil, sugars, and vanilla.
Whisk in eggs, one at a time, until combined.
Switch to a large rubber spatula. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl then add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, gently stirring until they disappear and the batter is smooth.
Stir in the carrots and nuts..
Place batter in the prepared cake pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes.
Cool cake in pan for 15 minutes then turn out onto cooling rack, peel off baking paper and cool completely. (If you find that a cake layer is stuck to the bottom of the pan, leave the cake pan upside down and allow gravity to do its thing).
To make frosting In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with a handheld mixer on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in the icing sugar a ¼ cup at a time until fluffy. Pour in cream and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Chill covered until ready to frost cake.
When the cake layers are completely cool frost the top of cake. Scatter nuts on top.
For cupcakes, we’d recommend baking for 14 to 18 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center of one comes out clean. Then let them cool for a few minutes in the cupcake pan before transferring them to a cooling rack. The recipe should make 22 to 24 cupcakes.