the cooks larder

It’s school holidays and it’s a bit cold and bit rainy …looks like there are going to be lots of indoor days. This means endless rounds of Rummikub (if you don’t have this number game, get it soon – it’s great). Half way through our first round we definitely needed a mid morning sweet treat – fast. The cupboard was rather bare but we managed to pull together enough ingredients to bake these great little cookies using the very basic ingredients on hand.

» Read the rest of this entry «

School is back and so are the lunch boxes.. this is another lunch box loaf to kick off the term – it ticks all the boxes….simple, quick, with only a few ingredients. I have been making this recipe since I was a child, as did my mum, as did my grandmother. Everyone should have a family recipe and I guess this is ours, not in the least bit gourmet but ours all the same….Family recipes are always more about the memories than actual food. My memory is getting home from school and eating this simple loaf still warm with butter…but to be honest, it tastes better cold the next day still with the butter! I particularly love the frugalness of this recipe –  it is after all  a wartime recipe. So just one egg, no milk, no butter, no fuss. The unique flavour comes from the malt and the treacle…

PS…. If you’d like to share your family recipes with me on this blog, please feel free to send them in [smackie2@optusnet.com.au] with a little about the story and memory it holds for you. I’ll make and photograph the recipe and share with all our readers! » Read the rest of this entry «

Too much mix

.... Just right!

In the Show Time  post I promised to get back to you about the cupcake, or patty cake, recipe I was going to try from The Country Show Cook Book. As mentioned finding a good old patty cake recipe had been proving difficult – many tried were too rich, others too dry, others too sweet. Well I am happy to report that the reason this recipe by Yvonne Maslin has won so many awards over the last 28 years was clear – they were perfect and totally simple!

» Read the rest of this entry «

This recipe is based on one I found in Dish magazine. Of course anything cooked on one-tray or pot always catches my eye for family food. This is not only a great meal for a quick midweek dinner it is a perfect school holiday recipe [especially if the rainy weather has set in where you live] – the kids in our cooking school classes at the store  this week did a fantastic job and all their plates were clean!! » Read the rest of this entry «

Simple Lemon Loaf

This is a simple, rustic recipe based on Ina Garten’s Lemon Loaf. She glazes it with a sugary lemon syrup and then ices it. I’m leaving it plain because a little restraint with the sugar is probably a good thing given it is for the lunch box.  Don’t be alarmed about the amount of lemons you need for this recipe – it seems a lot but it tastes just right – lucky you if you have your own tree!  Make it on Sunday afternoon with the kids – it’s so easy they can do most of the measuring, egg cracking (always a favourite) and beating all by themselves. Warning: the batter is sooooo delicious you will need to keep an eye on them for excessive taste testing! » Read the rest of this entry «

One of my greatest loves is teaching kids to cook…It is a passion that began at home with my own children that has developed in a core component of our cooking school at The Cooks Larder. I always feel quite exhausted by the time class comes around because I spend so much time researching and testing recipes! But but I always finish a class refreshed by the kids enthusiasm and amazed at what they can accomplish.

» Read the rest of this entry «