Almonds Archives - The Fruitful Kitchen

Crumbed sardines, beetroot, skordalia mayonaisa

Plate of crumbed sardines, beetroot and lemon wedges with a bowl of Greek skordalia mayonaisa

Greek skordalia mayonaisa (mayonnaise) and grilled asparagus on toast

I’ve been teaching cooking classes for the last few years, discovering how much I like it. It’s an extension of writing recipes, really – wanting to put something new, inspiring and delicious under people’s noses. But you are really in the driver’s seat and can push the boundaries a little more … You see, a recipe book can be full of exciting things, but you can’t make people cook them. With a class, you have a captive audience! You choose something to cook, guessing people may not have cooked it before, hoping for positive results. If there are ooohs and aaahs, you get to witness them, and with a bit of luck, you hear people say they are going to make this at home. The kitchen is always filled with lovely chit chat as we cook together, and I also learn many things. Continue reading Crumbed sardines, beetroot, skordalia mayonaisa

Nougat ice cream cake

This recipe was born from a failure, as my son likes to remind me! You could call it an experiment – because I knew it could fail, but was excited by the challenge anyway. I was trying to make nougat without a thermometer. It’s tricky to know when the sugar is cooked to the right point for the nougat to set and not ooze … Continue reading Nougat ice cream cake

Orange, almond and currant biscuits (and homemade mixed spice)

This year’s Christmas and holiday packing essentials: presents, clothes, a tent, sleeping bags, an esky, cooking equipment, swimming stuff, six jars of sauerkraut and olives, chocolate truffles I’ve been experimenting with, panettone, nougat, potted prawns, Spanish pickled vegetables, drinks (maybe this one), two types of biscuits because one doesn’t seem enough … Yes, that sounds crazy! But the people who are close to me love me, I think 🙂 Continue reading Orange, almond and currant biscuits (and homemade mixed spice)

Green salad with fried almonds and ricotta

The last time we hosted Christmas, we didn’t have children and possibly didn’t have a Christmas tree (or if we did it was nothing I can remember). Now look at us, we’ve got a real tree (thank you, Oxfam) with a smiley angel that my daughter and I made perched on top, and two polka-dot stockings hanging from our mantel. I even make a wreath of kangaroo paws for our front door. Continue reading Green salad with fried almonds and ricotta

Baby plum friands

There’s a plum tree in our backyard, down on the fence next to the chicken coop. It’s a scraggly thing – nondescript with lots of thin branches and small leaves sticking up chaotically into the air. We were going to cut it down before we realised it was a fruit tree, and eventually decided that with its position right on the fence, the tree wasn’t taking up much space or doing any harm. It’s one of our only established fruit trees so we had to love it a little. Continue reading Baby plum friands

Apricot, almond and spice cake

I think our suburb must be the apricot capital of Melbourne – there are trees drooping with fruit all around us, not too many birds to steal them, and the owners of most trees don’t seem very interested (perplexing!). I’ve taken to doorknocking and last year I found a house with two trees and a lovely Vietnamese family who were happy for us to pick what we wanted, as they eat a few apricots but prefer fruits of Vietnam. They are swimming in apricots – or squelching really, as they are spattered all over their driveway. This year we visited twice and took some eggs from our chickens as a small thank you. Continue reading Apricot, almond and spice cake