FINYS FABULOUS FOODS AND FINDS

Partly eaten lime pie! This unusual combination of ingredients is for the sweet tooth, though the sweetness is diminished by the addition of lime juice and zest. Lime (or lemons) are such a great combination, and this is unusual in that it has salty cracker biscuits as well - so you have sweet, bitter and salty.  I used Jatz biscuits but any slightly salty cracker would be fine. You can either serve them in individual dishes or, as I have done, in one pie dish.  Either way, it tastes very yummy! This is a great dessert to serve up when you have visitors, as it never fails to impress them.  It is also quite easy to make and requires no cooking, and only one dish to wash up. Preparation Time: 15 minutes (plus overnight) Cooking Time: 0 minutes Makes: 5 servings Ingredients 395 g tin sweetened condensed milk 275 g cream ¼ cup lime juice ¾ tbsp lime zest About 150 g Ritz crackers Instructions Combine the milk and cream in a large bowl. Add the lime...

This is a rich dessert which I made into 3 portions, however the mixture is easily enough for four servings.  As I was on my own for this meal, I would have had to throw out if I made four, and did not want to waste the lemon butter! You can use a shop bought lime butter (or curd) and it will look more like a trifle then, as the bought one has yellow colour in it, and the layers will be more distinct and look more like a trifle! However, I much prefer my home made one, and you can see an easy recipe for lime curd or butter  here The home made one is really easy and quite quick, so if I have time, I would always make my own.  As you do not use a lot in this recipe, you would also have some left over for other uses! Preparation Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 0 minutes Makes: 4 servings Ingredients 375 ml whipping cream 2 tbsp sifted icing sugar ½ - ¾ cup lemon butter/curd Almond biscotti, to serve Instructions Whip the cream and icing sugar unt...

This is an unusual recipe, looks great, and tastes absolutely delicious. It is basically chocolate covered sponge fingers, with a cream cheese mixture in the middle, stuck together with the melted chocolate! You could put any fruit on the top and I have eaten it one day with pineapple and nectarine, and the next with just kiwi fruit.  Most fruit, and particularly berries, would go very well with this combination. I generally use Lindt 70% chocolate, or a chocolate called Freys (available in Australia at Woolworths and cheaper than Lindt - just as good!) in cooking, as the finished product is as good as the quality of the chocolate in cooking.  I never use a cheaper type of chocolate, as it is like cooking with wine - the better the product, the better the outcome. Preparation Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 5 minutes Makes: 4 servings Ingredients 6 sponge fingers 100 g dark chocolate  220 g Philadelphia spreadable Light cream cheese ¼ cup icing sugar...

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE - what can I say!  I have not met anyone who does not like this. My chocolate mousse recipe is always much in demand as everyone loves it.  It has been handed down to me by my late best friend, and we used to make it often many years ago. Nowadays, I do not add any sugar to it as it does not need it though in the original recipe, it says to add a cup of sugar if using cooking chocolate. Chocolate is a bit like wine when you cook with it.  Use a good one, and your recipe will taste all the better for it.  I therefore am always on the lookout for Lindt chocolate at half price.  I use the 70% dark chocolate as that is healthier than plain dark chocolate. I do, in fact have one square of this almost every night as I rarely have cakes or food with added sugar nowadays.  That is what happens as we age - things seem to start "wearing out", and sugar levels go up for some odd reason.  I used to be able to eat exactly what I wanted, and...

I am always on the lookout for things that my grandson likes to eat, as he eats little! One of the things he likes is pineapple, and as he loves the bought pineapple rings, I decided to make my own as they would then have less sugar and oil. I baked them instead of deep frying as they do when you buy them, and I always buy these when we get fish and chips. I have read that fish and chips and Coke Cola are the two most unhealthy foods we can eat, so, much as we love my fish and chips, we only have them every few months, and generally only when my grandson stays the weekend. He is such a bad eater, however, that he only eats chips - if we order something like Red Rooster, he still only has chips. So I thought this pineapple idea was a good one. When buying pineapples, you need to be very careful.  I have found that the ones in the supermarket generally have little taste or are even sour. I therefore always buy a pineapple from an expensive fruit store, where I know the ...

I am not a vegan, however I am avoiding making recipes that have processed sugar in them.  This can be quite difficult at times, as all my favourites do have sugar in them. Unfortunately I have a sweet tooth, so after being diagnosed with high sugar levels, I decided I had to stop eating cakes, biscuits and desserts which I had on most days! I then went down the path of making sweet morsels that had fruit in them.  I realise that the fruit still has sugar in it, however it is not processed and therefore possibly healthier than ordinary sugar. I mostly use coconut sugar or similar in these recipes, however am now making ones that do not require any added sugar as the sweetness comes from the dried fruit.  These are not as sweet as commercial cakes and biscuits, however in time I have got used to having bliss balls, or raw sweets to satisfy my sweet tooth. It is with all this in mind, that I made these raw apricot slices.  I often use either dried apric...

Lime curd or lime butter - what can I say!  It is one of the most delicious desserts or spreads for use on toast. It can either be lemons or limes and in this case I had limes on a tree, and as I do not have a lemon tree, I used up the limes. I also made my own pastry as I like to do, as I know exactly what goes into it if I make it myself.  I also find that the bought pastries are too thick, and the pastry takes over the whole tart or pie, or whatever you are making.  Hence I also do not like to buy pies as against making them from "scratch", as if buying a shop made product, in most cases the pastry is way too thick. Pastry is really very easy to make, there is no standing or resting as you do not use a rising agent so pastry really takes no longer than about ten minutes to make.  Once you have made your own, you will only go back to a bought one, when you are really in a hurry. I had also made a batch of the lime curd a few days before, and you can see thi...

Raw is currently the rage in cooking!  I have made some interesting recipes, though I have to admit some of them have failed! It is not so easy to get the right quantities of ingredients so that the sweet or dessert will not fall apart. I make a lot of bliss balls, as currently I am not eating much with refined sugar in them, and most of these raw desserts have no added processed sugars. This one also has chia seeds in it.  I love the texture of these seeds, and they are so easy to use in a variety of sweets and puddings.  They are also supposedly another of the new "super foods".  Their health properties include such things as Omega-3, antioxidants, fibre, iron and calcium.  They also contain some protein and are versatile in that they can be eaten both cooked or raw.  However they should be added to another food or soaked before eating them. Raw foods are the latest health craze and many of them use obscure ingredients.  However this recipe...

Mandelbrot is German and literally means almond bread.  It is a biscuit similar to the Italian biscotti, which is crisp, and sliced into slices. It does have quite a lot of sugar in it, however these 20 or so servings go a long way, and you would possibly only eat a few of these at a time.  Beware however, as they are very moorish. They last for ages, and are great in lunch boxes or served on the saucer with a cup of tea or coffee - well, if you USE saucers, of course! Mandelbrot or biscotti is usually baked twice, however "Dresden" Mandelbrot is only baked once. I also made some as a plain round biscuit instead of the loaf type that is typical -hence the two types in my photos! This recipe makes a large amount, and unless you have a very large family,  I would suggest halving it. Preparation Time: 30 minutes Cooking Time: 15 minutes Makes: 20 servings Ingredients 3 large eggs 300 g sugar 300 g plain flour 1 tsp ground cloves ½ tsp cinnamon 1 tsp...

This recipe will have everyone coming back for seconds, as it just delectable. My visitors voted this a hit, and gave it an 11 out of 10, and quickly came back for more!  Sadly, there were no left-overs for me for the next day - it is quite rare that visitors ask for another lot of dessert, but this one with it's tart sweet taste is just one of these popular desserts that most people seem to love. I have made several different versions of a lemon dessert, however I think this one is the best. The flavour of the lemon mixed with cream, and the runny texture of the middle of the pudding, will make this dish a "stunner" for any visitors, or family.  Best make it for family, then you might get more yourself! Preparation Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time : 45 minutes Makes: 5-6 servings Ingredients 60 g softened unsalted butter, or ordinary butter 1 cup caster sugar 1 tbsp marmalade 3 eggs 60 g self raising flour 350 ml milk Grated zest of 2 lemons 80 ml lem...