Fruit
Apples
Bananas
Cumquats
Custard Apples
Feijoa
Grapes
Kiwifruit
Lemons
Limes
Mandarins
Nuts
Pears
Persimmons
Quince
Rhubarb
Starfruit (carambola)

Vegetables
Asian Greens
Avocadoes
Beetroot
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celeriac
Celery
Eggplant
Fennel
Garlic
Ginger
Leeks
Lettuce
Mushrooms
Okra
Olives
Onions
Parsnips
Peas
Potatoes
Pumpkin
Spinach and Silverbeet
Squash
Swede
Sweet Potatoes
Tomatoes
Turnips
Witlof
Zucchini

What’s in Season – May is a post from: entertaining made easy

The Good Food Guide is the definitive authority on Australian restaurants and this version contains more than 450 reviews of restaurants, plus bars and cafes, throughout Queensland and in northern New South Wales. Known for their “chef’s hat” scoring system, it is an honour for a restaurant or cafe to receive a hat or even to just be included in the guide.

To take advantage of this fantastic offer, visit this link.

This is a RocketFuel sponsored post

Queensland Good Food Guide Offer is a post from: entertaining made easy

This dessert cake makes excellent use of in-season rhubarb, and is really scrumptious. I like to serve it with steaming hot homemade custard, but it is also good served with ice cream or cream. Enjoy.

Ingredients (serves 6-8):
60g unsalted butter
100g brown sugar
500g rhubarb (coloured stalks only), chopped into 2cm pieces
Cake mixture:
2 eggs, lightly beaten
125ml buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
125g unsalted butter, softened
225g caster sugar
125g self-raising flour

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Heat the butter in an oven-proof sauté pan (if you don’t have one of these, use a regular saucepan and transfer the rhubarb mixture to a prepared cake tin). Add the brown sugar and stir over a medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat, add the rhubarb and stir until it is just coated in the sugar. Set aside.

3. Place the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla in a measuring jug or small bowl and mix together.
4. In a bowl, cream together the butter and the caster sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add the contents of the jug, beating well after each addition. Fold through the flour with a large metal spoon.
5. Pour the cake mixture over the rhubarb and bake in the pre-heated oven for 30-35 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.
6. Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Carefully turn the cake out onto a serving plate. Slice and serve with hot custard, ice cream or cream.

Recipe: Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake is a post from: entertaining made easy

Apart from being incredibly easy to make, this banana bread has a gorgeous texture and actually tastes like bananas. In this recipe, there are no added spices or other flavourings to dominate the taste of this banana bread. Of course you could add cinnamon, mixed spice or cardamom if you like, or even some walnuts or other nuts. Whatever you decide, do use well ripened bananas, as they are easiest to mash and provide the best flavour.

This banana bread is lovely served either toasted with butter, as a dessert with a dollop of thick Greek yoghurt and drizzled with honey, or a la natural.

Ingredients:
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
1 cup caster sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
80g butter, melted
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Equipment:
Loaf pan, greased and lined with baking paper.

Method (10 mins prep and 45 min baking time):
1. Preheat oven to 170°C.
2. Place the mashed bananas, sugar, egg  and butter in a bowl and mix well.
3. Add the flour and the salt and stir until just combined.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
5. Enjoy.

Recipe: Banana Bread is a post from: entertaining made easy

Fruit
Apples
Bananas
Cumquats
Custard Apples
Figs
Grapes
Guava
Kiwifruit
Lemons
Limes
Mandarins
Nuts
Oranges
Papaya
Passionfruit
Pears
Persimmons
Plums
Pomegranates
Quince
Rhubarb

Vegetables
Asian Greens
Avocadoes
Beans
Beetroot
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Capsicums
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Chillies
Cucumber
Eggplant
Fennel
Garlic
Ginger
Leeks
Lettuce
Mushrooms
Okra
Olives
Onions
Parsnip
Peas
Potatoes
Pumpkin
Shallots
Spinach & Silverbeet
Squash
Sweet Potatoes
Swede
Tomatoes
Turnip
Zucchini

What’s in Season – April is a post from: entertaining made easy

Even though the prep time is minimal, allow at least 2 hours marinating time. Then it’s just a matter of baking it in the oven for 40 minutes.  Too easy.

I like to serve Chicken à la Provençal with cooked risoni (rice-shaped pasta) tossed with a little fresh pesto. Oh, and washed down with a glass of dry rosé

Ingredients (serves 4):
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
5 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
¼ cup freshly chopped basil
2 tablespoons baby capers, drained
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped
1/3 cup kalamata olives, sliced
200g button mushrooms, sliced
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 chicken breast fillets, trimmed of any fat
½ cup dry white wine

Method (20 mins prep + min 2 hours marinating time + 40 mins cooking):
1.    Place the first 10 ingredients in a large bowl and mix well to combine. Add the chicken breast fillets and combine thoroughly. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours, up to a maximum of 12 hours.
2.    Preheat the oven to 180°C.
3.    Place the chicken and marinade ingredients in a baking dish and pour over the white wine.
4.    Bake for 40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Baste with the pan juices occasionally and turn the chicken fillets halfway through cooking.
5.    To serve, spoon the marinade ingredients over the chicken.

Recipe: Chicken à la Provençal is a post from: entertaining made easy

Ingredients (makes about 30):
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, partially thawed
1 egg, lightly beaten with a little cold water
1 cup grated cheese (cheddar, parmesan, gruyere, or a combination)
2 tablespoon finely chopped mixed fresh herbs (eg. thyme, rosemary, oregano, etc)
½ teaspoon of paprika

Method:
1.    Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Line baking sheets with baking paper.
2.    Place the sheets of puff pastry on a floured surface. Brush the surface of the pastry with the egg. Sprinkle each sheet evenly with the cheese, herbs, a little paprika, some freshly ground black pepper and a little sea salt.
3.    Using a rolling pin, lightly press the cheese and herbs into the puff pastry. Cut each sheet into 1½ cm strips using a sharp knife or a pizza wheel. Using both hands, gently twist each strip and lay on the baking sheets.
4.    Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly browned and puffed, turning after 10 minutes of cooking. Cool and serve at room temperature.

Recipe: Cheese and Herb Pastry Twists is a post from: entertaining made easy

Fruit:
Apples
Bananas
Berries
Figs
Grapes
Guava
Kiwifruit
Lemons
Limes
Mangosteens
Melons
Nectarines
Nuts
Oranges
Papaya
Passionfruit
Peaches
Pears
Persimmons
Plums
Pomegranates
Rambutan
Rhubarb
Tamarillo

Vegetables:
Asian Greens
Avocadoes
Beans
Capsicums
Celery
Chillies
Corn
Cucumber
Eggplant
Leeks
Lettuce
Okra
Olives
Onions
Peas
Potatoes
Pumpkin
Shallots
Spinach & Silverbeet
Squash
Sweet Potatoes
Tomatoes
Zucchini

What’s in Season – March is a post from: entertaining made easy

Ingredients (makes 12 muffins):
250g self raising flour
150g caster sugar
60g shredded coconut
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup of freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon finely grated lime rind
150g butter, melted and cooled
Extra shredded coconut (about 1/3 cup)

Equipment:
12 x 1/3 cup capacity muffin pan, brushed lightly with butter

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Mix the flour, sugar and 60g shredded coconut together in a bowl.
3. Place the eggs, lime juice, lime rind and melted butter in a measuring jug or small bowl and whisk with a fork.
4. Pour the contents of the jug into the dry ingredients and fold together using a large metal spoon in as few strokes as possible.
5. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin pan. Spinkle the top of each muffin with a heaped teaspoon of shredded coconut.
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until a fine skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
7. Leave to cool in the muffin pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe: Lime & Coconut Muffins is a post from: entertaining made easy

Ingredients (serves 4):
¼ cup olive oil
750g onions, sliced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
16 anchovy fillets, halved lengthways
12 black olives, halved lengthways
2 sheets frozen ready-rolled puff pastry, partially thawed

Method (prep 15 mins, cook 50 mins):

1.    Heat olive oil in a large lidded frypan, add the sliced onions and ½ teaspoon of sea salt and cook over low heat for 20 minutes, covered, stirring occasionally.
2.    Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced).  Line a large baking tray with baking paper.  Stir the thyme leaves through the onion mixture and cook uncovered a further 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3.    Seal the puff pastry sheets together and trim to make a 35cm x 24cm rectangle.  Place on the prepared baking tray and fold the edges in 1cm to form a raised border. Spread the caramelised onion over the pastry within the border. Criss-cross the anchovies over the onion, then put a half-olive in each diamond. Bake for 20 minutes or until pastry is crisp and golden.  Serve with a salad.

Recipe: Caramelised Onion and Anchovy Tart (Pissaladière) is a post from: entertaining made easy