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Beetroot chocolate brownies

Ruby pink mounded beetroot tops emerging out of the soil are a reminder to cook with the last of the beetroot in the vegetable garden. Duncan planted rows of beetroot, knowing the success of last year's pickling and the bonus of adding pickled beetroot to winter salads. Then there's roasted beetroot soup, which is so handy to have in the fridge to warm and pack in a vacuum flask for a work lunch, or to have in a mug for afternoon team. Using the beet leaves has been a revelation. Simply wash the leaves, slice finely, stems and all, and simmer in a little diced onion and stock for a versatile side or added greens to toasties. There's now just one row left, the last planted, but we'll need to let them grow a little bigger before deciding how to use them. The recipe for Beetroot Chocolate Brownies appeals because brownies are a favourite in our house, easy to pack for school lunches, or to slice for snacks or dessert at home. Last autumn our family rediscovered Beetroot Chocolate Cake, and Beetroot Chocolate Brownies are a close cousin. Cornersmith's cookbook 'Use it All' by Alex Elliot-Howery and Jaimee Edwards has become a constant kitchen companion with an abundance of ideas for using the autumn fruit and vegetable harvest. I encourage you to try this flourless brownie recipe, with the addition of nutritious and textured grated beetroot.

Hanging Rock artwork celebrates 10 years of collaboration

To celebrate its 10 ^th anniversary Nundle Business Tourism and Marketing Group Inc (NBTMG) launched a Nundle and Hanging Rock NSW art print and postcard inspired by vintage travel posters. NBTMG Inc was formed in November 2010 for Nundle and Hanging Rock business owners and Destination Tamworth to collaboratively promote the area for tourism. The group has 25 members representing 22 businesses and organisations covering accommodation, dining, and retail. The A3 art prints are $19.95, and the postcards are $4.95, available in store and online. Income from the sale of prints and postcards will go back into the community group to fund future marketing.

Summer fruit and vegetable harvest

We hope you've experienced the mild and wet summer we have. Miraculously there were only two days over 40 degrees, and we had the third wettest summer (355.4mm) since 1993 when records started being kept at Tamworth Airport. Living in the Peel Valley, the major catchment for Chaffey Dam, conversations continue about dam capacity, increasing from  33.3 per cent in December to 42.2 per cent at the end of February. Our thoughts are with those on the east coast who have had too much rain and damaging flooding this past week. The milder, wet summer has meant a bumper summer fruit and vegetable harvest with Fowlers bottles of plums already in the pantry and we have been eating fresh plums, compotes, crumbles and tarts since New Year. At friends' New Years Eve party guests had a choice of homegrown, homemade apricot or plum crumbles. Now that's country abundance.

Picking elderflower for cordial, soda and shrub

Read almost any book on foraging, seasonal cooking, or sustainable living and you will likely find recipes for elderflower cordial, syrup, or soda. From what I've read I had the impression that elders would be like blackberries, cropping up in creek beds, roadsides and paddocks. That's certainly the case in some areas, but not in our neighbourhood. In December last year I asked one of our experienced Nundle gardeners where I would find elderflowers and she said I was too late for that season, but told me where I would find them the following year. She even had an elder growing in her backyard and had made elderflower cordial for her grandchildren. I ended up buying us both bottles of elderflower cordial in the supermarket to sate my curiosity and whet my appetite for the harvest.

Sweet spice biscuits for a Christmas celebration

We may have started the week mid way through November, but our Peel Valley Landcare Group held its Christmas drinks and I was searching for Christmas biscuit recipes to bake and take along. You know when you can visualise a recipe you've seen and then spend 30 minutes searching through recipe books to find it. That was me on Monday. I found the recipe for Orange and Sweet Spice Biscuits on a promotional postcard from The Healthy Baker, tucked in the back of another recipe book. At least I could stop searching and start cooking. With the combination of sugar, mixed spice, currants, and orange zest, this recipe evokes the traditional flavour and scent of a European Christmas. It felt a little early to break out the Christmas cutters, so I opted for crinkle cutters instead. On reflection I wish I'd used stars. We need all the joy we can muster after such a disruptive year.

Lemon Brulee Tart, sunshine on the table

Baked Honey Cheesecake with Hickson Pecans

It's such a thrill to cook with ingredients that you know the provenance of, whether they are homegrown, or grown by a farming friends. So when Annabelle Hickson opened orders for her family's Hickson Pecans my fingers hit the keyboard to enter my details in rapid fire. It was exciting to receive the box of Cape Fear pecans and our family enjoyed tasting the freshest pecans we'd ever been exposed to. Duncan compared them to, "Caramel from a tree."  Gryff asked, "Are these from the woman married to the bloke with the Suzuki?" (a reference to a photograph of Annabelle and Ed Hickson with daughter Daisy on the cover of Graziher magazine). It's all about the wheels for this 11-year-old.

Quince and pistachio cake

We didn't harvest any fruit from our quince tree this year, but when I saw their golden forms at the green grocer's I added a few to my shopping basket. My taste buds were set on baked quinces to add to porridge, but then I read Michelle Crawford's recipe for Quince and Walnut Cake and I was intrigued. Without walnuts within 60km, I substituted pistachios after consulting with my foodie neighbour Teresa. The green and russet colour of pistachios on cakes is so appealing, and this recipe calls for toasting them in icing sugar and sprinkling with salt flakes, making them deliciously crunchy and sweet. The baked quinces folded into the batter before cooking create a moist fruit cake texture, finished with everyone's favourite cream cheese icing. If you have a quince tree, know a friend with quinces to spare, or lock eyes on them when you're shopping, scoop them up and try this recipe to delight your friends, family and you. 

Baking Persian love cake

Being in pandemic quarantine has been a chance to go through piles of magazines that I don't need anymore, tearing out recipes to add to our collection. This has the double benefit of exposing new cooking ideas and clearing corners of the house. One of the recipes that caught my eye is Persian love cake. This is very similar to Nutmeg cake, which I have been making for decades. If you're looking for a cake to share on Mother's Day, this could be it. The recipe traditionally calls for crushed pistachios, which add a vibrant pop of colour. Without pistachios at hand I used slivered almonds. The cake has an interesting texture, an almost crunchy biscuit base and softer dense body. I hope you enjoy it. It disappeared very quickly when I made it for morning tea for our family during the school holidays.

Matthew Evans brings 'The Commons' to our table

We hosted the most enjoyable Book Lunch for Gourmet Farmer Matthew Evans on our shop verandah. Our 45 guests came together to hear about Matthew's book 'The Commons, A Year of Growing, Cooking and Eating on Fat Pig Farm.' This was really special for our family because we have been cooking Matthew's recipes for nearly two decades and still have a couple of recipes torn from The Sydney Morning Herald Good Weekend, the earliest from 2001.