Baked sliced potatoes

Ingredients

  • Potatoes
  • 1 cup cream
  • Grated parmesan cheese
  • Granulated garlic
  • Salt

Method

  1. Sprinkle granular garlic & add some butter to the bottom of the pan
  2. Add sliced potatoes
  3. Add a good dash of milk and sprinkle on some caraway seeds
  4. Microwave for 3 mins with glad-wrap on top
  5. Grind some salt over it
  6. Finely grate some parmesan cheese
  7. Add a generous (eg 1 cup) / small tub of pure cream
  8. Bake at 150 degrees until brown
  9. Turn over and sprinkle more grated parmesan cheese, continue baking until browned again

Chocolate melting mini-cakes

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 4 eggs (room temperature)
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup flour

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees c
  2. Melt chocolate and butter in a small saucepan, cool 10 minutes.
  3. In the meantime, in a separate bowl, whisk eggs and sugar together.
  4. Add vanilla extract/essence
  5. Add flour and whisk until flour is well mixed in.
  6. When chocolate has cooled stir in egg mixture.
  7. Fill 7 oz. ramekins about 3/4 of the way full with chocolate batter.
  8. Bake for 15-20 mins (don’t go overboard or it’ll be huge!)

The cake should be cake spongy on the top but the middle of the cake should be melty and gooey-the consistency of pudding, not too runny.
Do not let it overcook. Watch these babies closely!
Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Credit goes to: https://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/melting-cake/

Sticky Date Pudding

Ingredients;

  • 2 cups dates
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 280 grams of butter
  • 1 1/2 cups caster sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 cups self-raising flour
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup cream

Method

  1. Place dates, water and bicarbonate of soda in a saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes
  2. Put aside
  3. Beat together 80g of butter, caster sugar and eggs
  4. Add date mixture to butter and sugar alternately with flour
  5. Cook in 3 litre casserole on a low heat for 1/2 hour with the vent closed and 1/2 hour with the vent open. Alternately cook in a 20 cm (8 inch) cake tin at around 160 degrees for approximately 45 mins to 1 hour.

Sauce

  1. Mix brown sugar, remaining 200g butter and cream in a saucepan on a low heat. 
  2. When mixed, bring to the boil until thickened.

Credit goes to Scott for this amazing recipe!

Sailing gear

Bring;

  • Gloves
  • Wind and waterproof jacket
  • Comfortable jogging shoes that can become wet
  • A cap
  • Board-shorts (you will usually be wet)
  • Dry stuff for afterwards (towel & clothes)

Jam and Cream Sponge Cake

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup (100g)
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 cup (110g) caster sugar
  • 50g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 1/2 cup (125ml) single (pouring) cream
  • 1 cup (320g) strawberry jam
  • fresh raspberries, to decorate
  • icing sugar, for dusting

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
  2. Sift the flower and baking powder 3 times & set aside
  3. Place eggs and sugar in an electric mixer and whisk on high speed for 10-12 mins, or until pale, thick and tripled in volume
  4. Sift half the flour mixture of the egg mixture and using a large metal spoon, gently fold to combine
  5. Repeat with the remaining flour
  6. Add the butter and gently fold to combine
  7. Divide the mixture between 2x 20cm round & lightly greased shallow cake tins lined with non-stick baking paper
  8. Bake for 16-18 mins or until sponges are springy to the touch and come away from the sides of the tings
  9. Remove from the tins and cool completely on wire racks
  10. Whisk the cream until soft peaks form
  11. Spread one cake with the jam, top with the cream and berries
  12. Sandwich the with the remaining cake
  13. Dust with icing sugar to serve

Serves 6-8

You can also try this with strawberries, lemon curd, or passionfruit pulp

Pancakes

Serves enough for breakfast for 2 (approx. 3 each)

Ingredients

1 egg
1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup milk
half a teaspoon of vanilla essence

Method

Whisk the eggs, milk and vanilla together. Stir in sugar. Sift in flour & whisk till just combined.

Heat non-stick frypan, add about a teaspoon of butter (on the pan), and cook a ladle-full of mix at a time.

Serve with jam/cream/icecream/sugar & lemon juice/nutella/etc.
Enjoy!

Arapiles swimming holes

Mt Arapiles rock-climbing area has a few options for swimming on a warm day, which is perfect after some climbing adventures!

Both options have a rope-swing, and easy access to the water from the car (less than a 10 meter walk).

Wimmera River

A little cold, but really nice on a hotter day. On the other side of Natimuk (about 10 mins drive)

Drive down Polkemmet Road, then turn down Obrees Road until just before the river, where a dirt track goes through the trees for a hundred meters or so.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/pE7LvaXyHToFf75H6

Mitre dam

If there’s water in it (usually the case outside of summer), this is the closest option to Arapiles.

Drive down Arapiles-Grass Flat Road, and then Three Chain Road, and go around the dam until you’re at the far end with the rope-swing.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/gdnQjmMRaS4UcG7TA

Apricot Tart

2016-09-11-20-16-18

Ingredients

  • Tart base (see Maggie Beer Recipe)
  • 3 cans of apricot halves
  • 1 tablespoon (approx) apricot conservative/jam

Method

  1. Cook tart base (as per receipe)
  2. Add apricot halves
  3. Add jam on top
  4. Add the top-section of the tart (crust prepared in the same way as the tart-base was)
  5. Cook for approx 40 mins (same temp as the base)

Enjoy with cream