Speedy lunch for the weekend.........

I’m all for quick and simple dishes, especially when the hordes descend and you have to feed them toot suite! This tasty tart fits the bill, and you can mix up the flavours a bit with different vegetable and cheeses. Just remember to make sure the vegetables are very finely sliced to ensure they cook through in the time it takes for the pastry to cook. Best kitchen tool ever invented is the mandolin, which makes this job so quick and easy.

Serve with a salad or two and you’re done. Time to put your feet up with a glass of vino. Plus the hordes will be happy too.

Enjoy! 

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DAY 5 - Christmas Countdown - Christmas Mince Pies

Day 5 of my christmas countdown is really getting into the Christmas spirit with these tiny Christmas Mince Pies. I love these pies with lots of dried fruit and a touch of nutmeg. They have to be my favourite at Christmas time, and of course I’ve been doing a fair bit of quality testing this week just to make sure they taste as good as they look.

Enjoy! 

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The weather, Clive James & citrus .......

Well winter has definitely arrived, and we seem to be experiencing weeks of grey overcast days with continual rain. I always remember a comment by Australian author and raconteur Clive James, about his view on the weather in London - he likened it too living under a Tupperware container. Got to agree with you there Clive, we have the same problem here in NZ at the moment.

To brighten the long grey wet weekend I’ve had a bit of a baking session in the kitchen to use up some of the citrus from the garden. This combination of the tart citrus filling with the liquoricey anise pastry is perfect! Give the recipe a go - you won’t be disappointed!

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Party time in my fig tree......

During autumn I can always tell when the figs on my tree are ready as the birds seem to be having a party every day. With the amount of bird noise I can hear I'm guessing there's lots of squabbling going on between birdy individuals as to who has the perfect fig.

With this years mild autumn, the figs are huge and some nearly fill the palm of my hand. OK I have little hands - but even so that's pretty big for a fig.  The tree I planted about 10 years ago is called Brown Turkey - don't ask why as the figs aren't brown & there aren't any turkeys involved. It seems to cope well with the winter frosts we have here in Canterbury and produces a good crop most years - autumn weather dependent for ripening of the figs which are green to black on the outside and a creamy colour inside.

So before the birds damage all the fruit, I have a bit of a baking frenzy in the kitchen and cook up all sorts of dishes. This recipe is one of my favourites and always generates plenty of ohhhs & ahhhhsss from hungry guests!

Enjoy!

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