Recipes From Down Under

*This is a melt-in-the-mouth shortbread textured biscuit (cookie), it is delicious!* 125g (4oz) butter 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind 1/3 cup sugar 1/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed 1/3 cup smooth peanut butter 1 1/4 cups plain flour 1 teaspoon bi-carbonate soda (baking soda) pinch salt Preheat oven to 190ºC (375ºF).  Cream butter, vanilla, lemon rind, sugars and peanut butter.  With a wooden spoon work in sifted flour, soda and salt, making a stiff dough.  Roll heaped teaspoonfuls into small balls with floured hands and place on greased oen trays.  Press biscuits down lightly with a fork, first crosswise and then lengthwise, for a crinkled effect.  Bake in oven 15 minutes.  Cool biscuits on oven trays. ~ The Big Book of Beautiful Biscuits - by the Australian Women's Weekly (?1986)

Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Asparagus and Lemon Rice Lemon Rice: ½ cup long grain rice 1 cup chicken stock 3 tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp dried parsley 1 pork tenderloin 6 asparagus stalks Olive oil Mix chicken stock, lemon juice, and parsley in saucepan. Add rice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes or until rice is tender. COOL IN REFRIGERATOR FOR AT LEAST AN HOUR. Preheat oven to 180˚. Butterfly pork tenderloin and spread open. Place asparagus tips at the edge of tenderloin, three at each end so that when tenderloin is rolled up, asparagus tips will be visible at each end. Moisten rice with a teaspoon or two of olive oil and spread over pork. Roll up tenderloin and fasten closed with small metal skewers. Wrap in tinfoil and bake in roasting pan for about 45 minutes or until pork is no longer pink. White and Sweet Potato Wedges 2 white potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges ¼ cup ...

Jennifer C.! Thank you all for your entry into the competition, all entries were great recipes, it was hard for us to choose just one winner! Tomorrow the winning meal recipes will be posted, so keep tuned!

Thank you to those of you who entered the competition; we are in the process of sorting through them and working on deciding which recipe(s) will be winners.  The winner will be announced in just over a week. In the meantime, what is your favourite food to cook?  Dessert?  Mains?  Snacks?  Appetizers?  Do you enjoy making new and different drink combinations?  Do you enjoy cooking summer foods or winter foods most? Do you like simple meals or prefer making gourmet foods?

The competition is supposed to be finishing tonight, however considering I've had the disappointment of only having ONE entry into the competition, I've decided to extend it for a further 5 days.  The competition will now close on Saturday 5th December at 11:59pm  Sydney Australia time . Please send you entries in, just for fun!

I've had some responses from readers lamenting the fact they couldn't enter the competition because even though their cooking tastes great, it just never looks artistic...  Please don't stress!  We will be judging not only the photo of your meal, but also the taste of it! A hint: don't make a meal that's all brown or all green (or all any one single colour)... Colours or simple garnishes make a meal look extra tempting! This is not supposed to be stressful - it's supposed to be fun!!  :)

I decided it would be fun (and hopefully create some interest in this blog) to hold a competition (my first giveaway!).  This competition requires a little work from you if you wish to enter - but not too much! *This competition is open to readers worldwide* Firstly, the final prize will be decided by the winner because he/she will have a few options to choose from: #1 An Aussie Recipe book: #2 A one-year subscription to Taste of Home magazine #3 A one-year subscription to Taste of Home's Simple and Delicious magazine #4 A one-year subscription to Taste of Home's Healthy Cooking magazine #5 A one-year subscription to Taste of Home Holiday magazine So, what do you have to do to enter? Create a tastefully artistic and delicious meal, take a photo of it and send the photo and the recipe(s) to studyinghisword@gmail.com .  I will be trying the recipes (if I possibly can!), but the competition will be judged by both the photo AND the taste of t...