Table For Five

Pancake, Hotcake, Dropscone? Who cares?! Scotch pancakes contain raising agents for a thick and fluffy result.  And so, in order to be foodatomically correct, I dub thee Scotch Pancakes. Rise and be fluffy! What's in a name? Would not a flat cake by any other name taste just as sweet - or savoury? Scotch Pancakes 2 cups self raising flour 1/3 cup caster sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla essence 2 eggs 1 ¼ cups milk (+ a little more) * Optional * ¼ cup chocolate (chips, shaved or chopped)  •Whisk all ingredients,  except   chocolate,  together. Mixture should form a thick but pourable batter. If too thick add small amounts of milk until smooth and pourable. • Heat a large frypan/skillet to medium high. • You can use a small amount of butter or oil if necessary to keep pancakes from sticking to the base. • Using a soup ladle or large spoon, spoon mixture into frypan - about ¼ of a cup per pancake. Sprinkle chocolate evenly on surface. • Co...

A good Vanilla Cake is a must have recipe for any home Baker. The lightly crisp crunch on the outside and a soft fluffy center make this vanilla cake recipe my all time favorite and most turned to when I need something sweet, simple and elegant.

The price comparison right now for Blueberries in Sydney is about $39 per kilo for fresh vs as low as $8 per kilo for frozen. Now I'm not going to tell you that frozen blueberries are as good as fresh but they are close enough, particularly considering the price difference. Mr.4 loves to 'help’ with this recipe and by “help”, I mean munching down on frozen berries while I cook. Although I protest at how many he eats, secretly I'm celebrating a win. Blueberry Slice

When you say, "Winter Comfort Food," I immediately think pudding. Steaming hot pudding. Butterscotch has got to be my all time favorite. The first pudding I ever made, all those years ago (not that many though), in my mother's kitchen. A childhood com fort that I can share with my own children, sitting together by the fire. Butterscotch Pudding ---Ingredients--- 1 1/2 cups Self Raising Flour 3/4 cup Brown Sugar Pinch Salt

I bought a 3kg bag of oranges. I don't know why. I’m not usually one to be dazzled by “On Special” deals. As soon as that big bag hit the kitchen bench, I felt instant buyers remorse. What the hell am I going to do with all these oranges? Thankfully, I had just seen a delightful recipe for Lime Syrup Cupcakes and decided that an orange cake, drizzled with orange syrup sounded pretty darn good. I must admit, the cake is pretty darn

A lunchbox snack that doubles as a quick breakfast replacement for Mum (that's me), when she’s in a morning frenzy. I do enjoy having options. Honey Oat Bars Serves 18-24

Banana, coconut and lime, what a beautiful combo these three make.  I was tempted to call this one Cobananut Lime Slice but Miss2 and Mr4 can't even say it and the older two just looked befuddled.  Fear not! I will keep my creative energy for recipes instead of crazy names. Banana Coconut Slice with Lime Icing

One of the most common known benefits of ginger is it’s use to treat nausea. Unfortunately for me, I couldn't stand the taste of ginger while pregnant and permanently nauseated, so I never had the chance to find out if it really worked. It seems at a glance that ginger is the gut health king, aiding in digestion, relieving indigestion, easing travel sickness, menstrual cramping and morning sickness, reducing flatulence and even claiming to reduce the risk of bowel cancer BUT before you rush out and buy bucket loads of this delicious root under

Cheesecake was my personal childhood favorite. The block of ‘philly’ (Philadelphia cream cheese) and the old Kenwood Chef on the kitchen bench was instant excitement and if cheesecake was on the menu for dessert, there was no doubt I would order it. Just like Mum's When I first made this cheesecake, I wrote down the recipe. I know I did. I’ve never been able to find it since so it took a few tries to get it right again. I started with a basic plan but this was, mostly, one of those “throw everything in and hope for best” moments. I’d never made a cheesecake with gelatin and was dubious of the outcome. Now I wonder if I will ever use any other recipe again, it's just too easy and delicious.

You can save money on your groceries with these simple lunchbox bars. Do you know what all store bought snacks have in common? You might be saying preservatives, additives, strange ingredients with no clear purpose, package waste…. all good points too but did you know

Inspirational credit goes to Karen at Baking in a Tornado who seems to push indulgence to the very limit and always leaves me drooling for more. Her Kit Kat brownie Bars    left me feeling like I needed to go for a run just looking by at it.

It's possible that I may have gone a bit far with the whole hidden veg thing here but I know some parents really struggle to get a single serve past the lips of their little angels. This is dedicated to you! Seriously, you can't taste what lurks within. As far as the kids know, it’s just a yummy, chocolatey treat. I swear, it doesn't taste the slightest bit healthy. Chocolate Slice ( with hidden veg...shhh)

When you're baking for five, regular biscuit batches disappear in the blink of an eye. This large batch makes 45 biscuits which lasts, well…. a little bit longer. By Mel@Table for Five A big batch of chocolate-on-chocolate biscuits. Ingredients - 180g unsalted butter - 60g (just under ⅓ cup) caster sugar - 100g (⅔ cup, loosely packed) brown sugar - 2 large eggs - 150g (1 cup) self raising flour - 225g (1 ½ cup) plain flour - 20g (2 Tablespoons) cocoa powder - ¾ cup dark chocolate chips - 40mls (2 Tablespoons) milk - 2 good pinches of salt (a bit less than ¼ teaspoon)   Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 00:10 Total time: 00:25 Yield: 45 Calories: 86 Fat: 4.1 Method •Preheat oven to 180°C/ 356°F •Cream butter and sugars together. •Add eggs and beat well until all combined. •Stir in remaining ingredients. •Scoop tablespoon servings onto lined or lightly greased baking tray. •Bake for 10 minutes, allow to cool before removing from tray, they w...

Cooking with a 2 and 4 year old is like swallowing an insanity pill that's been deep fried in chaos. Just like craft time, you know no matter how well prepared you are, the ceiling will need to be mopped afterwards. But.... and with kids, there's always a but.... we have to something with them to keep their little minds occupied and their hands away from deadly weapons.  For Mr.4, today's cooking activity was perfectly age appropriate. For Miss2, not so much but live and learn right?  She had a ball all the same and it was all worth it all when my son proudly presented me with a headless chicken.

I'm not big on packet mixes. I don't have anything against them, convenience serves a great purpose in our society and I think if you are too busy to cook from scratch there's nothing wrong with enlisting some help from the premix selection wagon every now and again. When you break it down though, a lot of these mixes only cost a few extra minutes to make and save a few extra dollars too.

Wait! Is there a sense of irony about this? Here I am, gabbing on about shedding my love handles while eating pikelets for breakfast. You're thinking, "Is she for real?" Yes! I absolutely am!!  These pikelets are a far healthier option than a few slices of toast or a bowl of cereal and way more delicious. Real fruit, delivering both fibre and vitamins and did you notice? No added sugar too. 

I think I may have caught man flu from mr13. I'm popping cold and flu tablets and dragging my knuckles as I attempt to get the bare necessities done. Someone once told me, "Our body only craves what it needs." I have tried to reasure myself with this point whenever I'm hiding in the corner scoffing down piles of chocolate but no, it's not quite right is it? Perhaps today though, I could begin to believe there is some truth to that claim. I'm tired, I'm sick and I want blueberries.

I love energy balls, they're the sugar hit without the guilt. Sometimes I just don't want to get my hands sticky rolling them.

ANZAC biscuits, originally named Soldier's Biscuits, have a tough history to trace. Many believe these biscuits were sent to the soldiers on the front lines but there is also contradictory claims that these were eaten at galas and fates, sold on the home front to raise money to support the war efforts. I would certainly like to believe that those poor gents on the front were able to enjoy these tasty morsels of sweet comfort food but perhaps it is more likely that the army doled out Anzac tiles and wafers which differed greatly from the ANZAC biscuit we are familiar with. These were hard tack, a bread substitute, which had a long shelf life and was very hard and probably not very tasty at all. Baking Anzac biscuits is one tradition that Australians use to commemorate Anzac day. Everyone has their favourite recipe and there are countless arguments over whether they should be served crunchy or chewy. I do both, crunchy on the edges and chewy in the middle.

A friend of mine came for morning tea the other day. We met 12 years ago, both pregnant with our first babies. We've seen each other through three more pregnancies each since then. Between the two of us there are now seven children. Upon her arrival she produced a bag of used clothes her children had grown out of and in return I produced a similar bag for her. She gave me a pair of jeans that are now too small for her, I gave her a pair that are too big for me, both pairs virtually new and perfect fits. She gave me a padded bra and I gave her a set of nursing pads. How many friends do you have who would swap breast pads with you? I wish you all friends you can laugh with, friends you can cry with and friends you can share breast pads with. Date Scones 2 1/2 cups self raising flour 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 Tablespoon caster sugar Pinch of salt 30g butter/cooking margarine 1-1 1/2 cups whole Dates 3/4 cup milk 1/4 cup water