Making Christmas Cake with my mum!

Every year since I can remember my mum has made a Christmas cake or two! It is always a big event, beginning with the soaking of the fruit for days, then the hours it must spend in the oven, the rum poured over it as soon as it comes out of the oven, then the hours it must spend cooling down, so it can be wrapped up and stored! The best bit of all of course, is in the cutting and the eating, and many would agree. This is so much the case, that some years mum makes two cakes, just so she can give many pieces away, to the expectant fans of her annual Christmas cake!
This year my mum had a bit of a health scare mid year, when one of your parents has a health scare, you immediately think of all the things you'd miss about them if their health didn't improve. Over twenty years ago now, my father died, way too young, from ill health. He was a wonderful man and it really wasn't until he was gone, that I realised just how much I really did miss him and the many things he knew about and did so well.
So although my mum's health has since improved and she is no doubt going to be around for many years to come, I thought this year I would be present, both to help and learn, at the annual making of her Christmas cake.
Being that I am a qualified chef and a food blogger, who runs a cooking school and is writing a cookbook, I must confess that I had never, until this year, made my own Christmas Cake!
However, now I can say I have learnt from the master, having all the secrets revealed and seen all the alcohol that goes into my mum's famous cake, I am proud to say, that not only have I made my own cake for the first time...but am fully equipped for the years ahead!
The following photos show you our cake making day together...although you won't see me much at all, as I was simply the apprentice baker, following instructions and taking the photographs in between!

It all begins with soaking the dried fruit and almonds in a large quantity of brandy, as many days before as you can manage!


Line your cake tin with two layers of aluminium foil


Cream the butter and sugars


Add the eggs and the syrup




Then the flour


Add the soaked fruit and almonds


Give it a really good mix


Into the tin as evenly as possible


Add the blanched almonds to the top to finish




Into the oven


After approx four hours cooking, open oven and check cake with a skewer


Once out of the oven immediately pour over the rum (Mum's favourite part it seems!)





Finally the best part the eating!

Thanks mum for letting me cook with you and share your recipe, regardless of my efforts to make my own, for some reason your cake still tastes better!
Happy Christmas time to all my readers, enjoy your holiday break, eat well and take some time to rest and reflect on the year past, as well as begin to dream big for the new year to come.
PS. If your keen to try cooking my mum's delicious cake yourself next Christmas.... the recipe will be in my cookbook to be released in September 2012! So stay tuned!

U Pick your own Berries on the NSW South Coast!

Have you ever tasted produce that you have picked yourself straight off a tree? There is just nothing like it!


So if you are travelling on the NSW South Coast this summer, call into Clyde River Pick Your Own Berry Farm and you can do just that!


The Clyde River Berry Farm is open to the public seven days, 10am -6pm in December & January.
Look out for the signs to the Berry Farm on the Old Princes Highway, about 30 minutes South of Ulladulla or 30 minutes North of Batemans Bay.


Take a forest drive into the hinterland and experience the novelty of picking your own berries.
It is a rough old dirt road out to the farm, and yes it does seem to go on forever, just follow the hand painted signs that lead the way. It is certainly worth pursuing for the taste sensation at the other end.
Free to enter, you collect yourself a plastic bucket and then go for a wander....when your done you just weigh and pay for what you pick.






We had a ball together, walking the rows of blueberry trees, as well as peaches, plums and a variety of other vine and bush berries, such as raspberries, strawberries and blackberries.










The price per kilo is about half what you would normally pay and the freshness about double what you'd normally experience from your local shop or supermarket.
We got ourselves a kilo of blueberries, with a few blackberries thrown in, as well as a delicious fresh berry ice cream available in the farm store and a couple of jars of Clyde River Farm berry jam.




We ate most of the berries in the car on the way home and then the remainder ended up in some delicious blueberry pancakes, with yoghurt and strawberry coulis, for breakfast the next day.


So if you are driving the coast this summer, take a detour and U pick some berries too, we may see you there!
Clyde River Berry Farm
ph: (02) 44781057
How to get there

“Fencing the Vegetable Garden to keep the escaping Hens Out!”

It has been a busy few weeks for janeCOOKS, with not much spare time to blog. Today's weather meant the picnic we had planned to go to was cancelled and an opportunity opened up for me, to catch up on things and let you all see the progress we have made on our little suburban farm!


The hens are all laying an egg a day, most days and have grown into lovely, healthy, looking productive, oh and destructive birds. Basically, if it is alive and green they will eat it and so most of our gardens are now covered in chicken wire to keep em out!




We have had so many comic moments with our hens over the past months.
Dealing with broody black hens that just don't want to venture from the laying box.


Then there is our dog Logan, trying to dig her way into the Hen House to steal scraps, whilst the hens use such opportunities for themselves to escape the Hen House to greener pasture. If I was quick enough to catch it all on video for you, you'd be most amused too.
Of course once escaped, the first place the hens will head on mass (the whole seven of them!) is to the vege patch! Thus the next job began to fence the vege patch.


We cleared the grass from around the garden beds, in hope of it no longer spreading into the beds, then compacted some crushed granite to form paths, sunk some serious hardwood fence posts, slotted in the hard wood rails and covered the lot with chicken wire.




I picked up a second hand gate from the local tip, recycling sale yard and with help from the man at HG Fencing and my super handy husband, we covered it with fresh wire, attached new hinges, a latch and a home made by me sign!




Now the chickens and dog can run round the front yard, the possums and bandicoots can come and go at night and my vege patch is safe from them all!


Spring/Summer planting is now in full swing and this weird weather, with lots of sun & heat and then bucket loads of rain, has made it look like my crops are on steroids! Earlier than expected, we have been enjoying some lovely fresh produce on our plates.
Continuing on with all I learnt from The Vege Lady, I have rotated my garden beds for the new season planting and planted new crops for the next harvest.
Bed 1 currently has some corn, with more to be planted soon, so it's not all ready at once.


Bed 2 in went tomatoes, capsicum, basil and eggplants, with some companion plants, marigolds.








Bed 3 contains Bryon Bay Garlic, parsley and beans.




Bed 4 is still producing spinach and much lettuce and rocket.


A few people have asked me recently what do you do with all the excess harvest of spinach.


Here is just a couple of ideas, as well as a lovely recipe I discovered this week. All spinach needs to be thoroughly washed when picked. You can then finely shred it raw and add it to a salad or to scrambled eggs or an omelette.
When cooking spinach I usually steam it and eat it with a little butter and cracked pepper. Once cooked you could refresh the spinach in cold water, drain and squeeze the water out, then freeze to be used at a later date in a quiche, lasagna or spinach & ricotta pastries or used in a lovely recipe like this one.
I discovered this recipe in an old copy of Australian Good Food Magazine November 2009 on page 57 in a feature called Weekend with Antonio Carluccio. I tried these last night, with some fresh spinach from the garden, as a side dish to be included with our BBQ dinner. They were well received by four out of five family members! (child three has an aversion to spinach right now!)
Spinach Balls.
Makes 24
500g spinach
100g fresh white breadcrumbs (I made some wholemeal sourdough breadcrumbs instead)
2/3 cup (50g) grated parmesan
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp finely crushed garlic
pinch of grated nutmeg
olive oil to shallow fry
1. Cook spinach in a large saucepan of boiling, salted water for 1-2 minutes until wilted. (I steamed mine)Drain well. (I then refreshed my in cold water to cool it down.)When cool enough to handle, squeeze out as much water as you can, then finely chop.


2 Place spinach, breadcrumbs, parmesan, egg, garlic and nutmeg in a bowl. Using hands, mix well to achieve a binding consistency. Season well. ( I didn't season as decided the parmesan would be my seasoning)


Roll mixture into walnut sized balls.
3 Pour enough oil into a large, deep frying pan to generously cover base and heat on medium. Cook spinach balls for 4-5 minutes each side, until golden all over. Drain on paper towel and serve warm or cold or added to pasta.





Give them a go, they are so very yum, and let me know what other simple and healthy recipes you enjoy, cooking with your excess spinach.