Entries by Darryl Butler

Spring has Sprung

As the warmer months progress there are a number of things we should be attending to in our gardens to prepare both ourselves and our gardens for the warmer months ahead.

If you haven’t already thought about creating summer shade in the garden, now is a good time to look at where you might need it, both for plants and just as importantly to shade the home.

Deciduous shade trees are an absolute integral part of the overall landscape of any garden. They not only provide a covering for some of the more delicate plants in the garden but also … Read more »

Eggplant Curry

Margaret Goddard

Smells of river mud and ripening fruit, sounds of summer bordered by cicada drumming. This is the setting of two continents close to my heart; Australia and India – a brother-in-law’s eggplant curry and my long dead mother’s special biscuit recipe.


2 tbsp oil/ghee
½ tsp black mustard and cumin seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp grated ginger root
1 diced onion (optional)
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp turmeric
1 … Read more »

Murray River Brétles

Margaret Goddard

½ cup butter
¼ cup sugar
1 egg
grated rind of one lemon and one orange
vanilla extract
1 cup ‘dry’ stewed plums/rhubarb (very lightly cooked without much liquid)
1-1 ½ cups of sifted plain flour
1 tbsp lemon juice
½-1 cup finely chopped almonds (enough to coat the biscuits)

Separate egg and keep both yolk and white.
Cream butter and sugar.
Stir in the egg yolk, grated rind, a few drops of vanilla and … Read more »

Prawns with Mango Salsa

Linda Sang

Something easy, no fuss, no cooking for the season’s gathering of friends and family? Or just a celebration of summer? How about prawns with mango salsa? Choose Australian cooked king prawns or, if you’re lucky, buy local school prawns from a roadside van. They’re a bit fiddly to prepare but well worth the effort with the reward of sweet little morsels.
Even better still, try catching them yourself with friends, flashlights, nets and buckets on a moonless night in summer. Ask a local for … Read more »

Stained Glass Window Cake

Jen Severn

I used to call this ‘Jewel Fruit Cake’. But we were discussing Christmas recipes at a Triangle meeting and Niki Hutteman said, ‘Oh, that was a favourite with our family. We called it “Stained Glass Window Cake”.’ I was quite taken with the name. It’s because of the glacé cherries.
It’s mostly nuts and fruit and has very little flour, so it’s very easy to substitute gluten-free flour in this recipe. No-one will know the difference.

250g whole brazil nuts
250g walnut halves … Read more »

Cranberry Slush

Bhagya

1.5 litre Cranberry Classic
400 ml vodka
150 ml sugar syrup *
75 ml fresh lemon juice
100 ml cranberry concentrate (optional)

This awesome Christmas drink is delicious and very festive. Being a granita, it is cold and icy and holiday red in colour. Use a wide mouthed container as you’ll need to be able to scoop it out with a spoon once frozen.
Place all the ingredients in a container and … Read more »