Sylvia’s Raspberry and White Chocolate Muffins

Raspberry and White Chocolate Muffins

A new spin on my muffin recipe that I just love to make when I feel like the classic mix of raspberry and white chocolate. Again, I do not bake my muffins too sweet, I’m sweet enough as it is 🙂 ha, ha! But then again you can add more sweetness if you wish. I […]

Baked Quince with Cloves and Cinnamon

Baked Quince with Cloves and Cinnamon
Quintessentially Quince! Quinces are divine. Their perfume pervades the larder and kitchen when in the bowl and being cooked. I just love them! Do you? Some people are intimidated by them, but I'm always excited by them, especially when I receive them as gifts from our guests and culinary students whom I am very grateful [...]

Sylvia’s Plum Bruschetta with Crème Fraiche

Sylvia's Plum Bruschetta Crème Fraiche
Looking for new and easy ways to use ripe stone fruits from the orchard this season? Try this recipe I shared on ABC Radio Tasmania Afternoons Friday 19 January 2024 whilst chatting about food and cooking with the delightful John O’Hara. This recipe for a mouth-wateringly simple dessert (that I have finally written) takes me [...]

Sylvia’s Seven Top Tips for Christmas Entertaining

1. Keep It SimpleI know I keep going on about this, but it really is true. We all get caught up in the spiral of Christmas and then when the day is over, we just fall into a heap. Don’t! Try to keep a simple perspective on it all. Remember your “mise en place”, that [...]

Sylvia’s Lemon Posset with Berries

Sylvia's Lemon Posset with Berries
When I was Chef at The Peacock Inn Chelsworth in countryside Suffolk England we served delicious desserts. Patrons could choose from freshly baked frangipane fruit tarts, ice creams, crème brûlée in different flavours, sticky date toffee pudding, selection of English and European artisan farmhouse cheeses and more. But one dessert stands out as being the [...]

Sylvia’s Lemon and Poppy Seed Muffins

Sylvia's Lemon and Poppy Seed Muffins
These delicious muffins are another take on my classic easy muffin recipe this time using fresh lemons and poppy seeds. These luscious lemony muffins bake beautifully and hold their flavour and freshness for several days. You can even freeze them if you wish. Simply decorate with my easy lemon frosting and give a few as [...]

Baked Medley of Summer Vegetables

Medley of Roasted Summer Vegetables
This dish is simply delicious and easy to prepare. Similar to Ratatouille, the French stewed vegetable dish from Provence, but without the sauce. I created it one lovely evening when we spontaneously invited friends to dinner. I used a colourful medley of summer vegetables from my garden, tray baked them with herbs from my garden [...]

Honey Blueberry Orange Muffins

These delicious muffins are a take on my classic easy muffin recipe this time using Honey Tasmania Wildflower or Clover Honey, blueberries from Crestview Blueberry Farm in Lebrina and fresh orange zest. As I discussed with Helen Shield on The Afternoon (26/10/2015) ABC Radio Hobart/Northern Tasmania, when cooking with honey in sweet dishes such as these muffins try using […]

Sylvia’s Ribollita Tuscan Kale Soup

Sylvia's Ribollita Tuscan Kale Soup
Updated 13 August 2020 Ribollita is a Tuscan peasant style (vegetarian) soup made with bread, vegetables, cannellini beans and the essential ingredient is the robust green Cavolo Nero or Tuscan Kale. Ribollita in Italian translated literally means “re-boiled”. This very healthy soup has medieval origins as it is believed that servants collected the left-overs from [...]

Sylvia’s Easy Tomato Cucumber Olive and Feta Salad

Tomato Cucumber Olive Feta Salad
Easy healthy salad for summer or autumn. I’ve scored the cucumber for an artistic look but also for a practical reason, to expose the cucumber flesh to the marinade. Greek flavours mingle with tomatoes, olives, parsley and feta. Feta is optional if you wish. Enjoy this simple summer salad with grilled fish, barbeque chicken, lamb [...]