This recipe should yeild a fairly soft sauce. If it is too thick add more milk, or water. If you think you have some lumps in it there is no reason to start again, pass it through a fine sieve and everything will be all right.

Ingredients
50g butter
1/3 cup plain flour
4 cups milk
½ tsp mustard powder or grated nutmeg

Directions
In a heavy based saucepan, melt the butter until foaming, remove from heat.  Add flour and mustard powder or nutmeg and mix to a smooth paste.  Cook a little but without browning.  Add ½ a cup of the milk and mix with a wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth. Return to a low – medium heat and continue adding the milk, a little at a time, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens and coats the back of the spoon.

Serves 8

Lasagne

Ingredients
2 Tbs olive oil
1 brown onion – finely chopped
3 garlic cloves – crushed
750g beef mince
2 x 400g cans Italian diced tomatoes
125ml (½ cup) dry red wine
1/3 cup tomato paste
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs raw sugar
Fresh or dried herbs to season (thyme, rosemary, oregano, marjoram)
Fresh lasagne sheets
1 cup grated cheese
Salt and pepper
6-10 medium brown mushrooms – diced
1 packet of fresh baby spinach leaves – rinsed

Béchamel sauce

Ingredients
50g butter
1/3 cup plain flour
4 cups milk
Pinch of salt
1 tsp mustard powder
½ – 1 cup of grated cheddar or tasty cheese (to taste)

Directions

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat, add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion softens. Add the mince and mushrooms and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up any lumps, for 5 minutes or until mince turns brown in colour. Add the tomato, wine, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and herbs to taste and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 20 – 30 minutes or until sauce thickens slightly. Remove from heat. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Meanwhile, to make the béchamel sauce; in a heavy based saucepan, melt the butter until foaming, remove from heat.  Add flour and mustard powder and mix to a smooth paste.  Add ½ a cup of the milk and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Return to a low – medium heat and continue adding the milk, a little at a time, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until sauce thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese and salt.

In a large lasagna dish, spread some of the meat sauce over the base.  Lay 1 lasagne sheet over the sauce and top with the some of the mince mixture (enough to cover the lasagna sheet), some of the béchamel sauce and a handful of the spinach leaves. Continue layering with the remaining lasagne sheets, mince mixture, béchamel and spinach.  To finish, cover 1 sheet of lasagne with a layer of béchamel and sprinkle with cheese. Place in the oven and bake for 30 – 40 minutes or until cheese melts and is golden brown.  Remove from oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes to set.

Cut the lasagne into portions and serve with a green salad and garlic bread.

Ingredients

2 large skinless chicken breasts
½ C ricotta
2 spring onions, finely sliced
¼ C finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
8 soft flour tortillas, halved
Flesh of 2 avocados, sliced
2 large vine ripened tomatoes, sliced
1 Lebanese cucumber, cut into batons
A handful of baby spinach

Directions

Heat a heavy based frypan on medium and cook the chicken breasts for 6 minutes on each side or until cooked through.

Combine the ricotta, spring onions and parsley, then season with salt and pepper. Spread each tortilla half with ricotta mixture. Slice the grilled chicken and divide among tortilla halves with some avocado, tomato, cucumber and spinach leaves.

Roll each tortilla into a cone shape, tie with cotton and serve.

Ingredients

Corn Fritters
525g fresh corn kernels cut from 3 large corn cobs (alternatively use tinned corn kernels)
1 small red onion – chopped
2 eggs
15g coriander leaves – chopped
125g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
sea salt & pepper
vegetable oil for frying

Avocado Salsa
2 ripe avocados – stones removed and diced
Small bunch of coriander leaves
2 Tbs lemon juice or lime juice
2 Tbs spring onions – finely chopped
1 tomato quartered, seeded and finely sliced
1 dash tabasco sauce (optional)
sea salt & pepper

Directions

Corn Fritters
Preheat the oven to 120°C.

Place 2 cups of the corn kernels and the onion, eggs, coriander, flour, baking powder, salt and pepper in a food processor and process until combined. Place in a large bowl, add the remaining corn and stir to combine.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium to high heat. When the oil is hot, drop 2 heaped tablespoons of mixture per sweetcorn cake into the pan and cook in batches of three for 1 minute each side.

Drain on paper towels and keep warm in the oven while you are making the rest of the cakes.

Avocado salsa
Place all the ingredients in a bowl and stir very gently to combine.

Serve with the avocado salsa.

Ingredients
1 Tbs olive oil
3 cloves garlic – chopped
2 onions – chopped
1kg butternut pumpkin – peeled, seeded and roughly chopped
2 C chicken or vegetable stock
100g shelled pistachios, roughly chopped (optional)
1 bunch english spinach, or silverbeet – leaves rinsed and roughly chopped
1 packet of fresh lasagne sheets, enough for 7 layers
1 C (200g) fresh ricotta
1 C (280g) natural yoghurt
2 egg yolks
2 C dried breadcrumbs
¾ C grated parmesan
Salt & pepper

Method
Preheat oven to 200°C

Heat olive oil in a deep frying pan, add onion and garlic and sauté until soft. Add pumpkin and stock, simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until soft.  Allow to cool, slightly. Mash until smooth. Stir through the spinach.

Mix together the ricotta, yoghurt and egg yolks and season with salt and pepper. 

Place a small amount of the ricotta mixture on the bottom of a rectangular oven dish.  Place a layer of lasagne sheets on top. Cover with a layer of the pumpkin mixture and a thin drizzle of the ricotta mixture. Continue layering, using 7 layers of lasagne sheets in total, finishing with a layer of lasagne and then the remaining ricotta mixture.

Combine the bread crumbs, parmesan and shelled pistachios. Sprinkle over the lasagne before baking.  Bake covered for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for a further 20 minutes.

Serve with a garden salad and crusty bread.

Ingredients
2 Tbs olive oil
1 red onion – finely sliced
3 garlic cloves – finely sliced
2 tsp ginger – freshly grated
2 green chilli’s – seeded and finely chopped
1 tsp sea salt
800g tinned chickpeas – drained
¼ C water
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp turmeric
pepper
1 Tbs lemon juice
250g cherry tomatoes
100g baby spinach leaves

Method
Heat a large deep frying pan over a medium to high heat. Add the oil, onion, garlic, ginger, chilli and salt, cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until the onions are soft.

Add the chickpeas, water, cumin, turmeric and pepper and cook for 5 minutes, or until the water evaporates. Add the tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes to soften.

Remove from the heat, stir through lemon juice and taste for seasoning. Stir through spinach and serve with warm pita bread.

Ingredients
750g cauliflower – trimmed, cut into florets
1 brown onion – finely chopped
2 garlic cloves – finely chopped
1 C grated cheddar or tasty cheese
2 cups vegetable stock
1 tablespoon olive oil
water
¼ cup cream

Directions
Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté 5 minutes or until softened. Add cauliflower, stock and enough water to just cover the cauliflower. Cover and bring to the boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes or until cauliflower is tender. Take off the heat.

Using a bar mix, blend the soup until smooth. Add the cheese and cream, mix to combine. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

Serve with crusty bread.

Serves 2, preparation time 5 minutes

Ingredients
1 C plain low-fat yogurt
1 C fresh or frozen, mixed berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries etc.)
1 C soy milk
½ tsp cinnamon

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add more liquid if the mixture does not blend easily. Pour the mixture into glasses and serve.

Variations
Regular milk can be used instead of soy milk and any fruit can be used in place of the berries.

Makes 4 portions, cooking time 30 minutes

Ingredients
1 onion – finely diced
1 clove garlic – finely diced
olive oil
½ green, red or yellow capsicum – seeded and finely chopped
100g lean beef mince
1 Tbs chopped parsley
1 Tbs chopped basil
1 tomato – skinned, seeded and chopped
1 potato – peeled
2 Tbs milk
Grated cheese

Directions
In a heavy based saucepan, fry the onion and garlic in a little oil for about 3 minutes until soft. Add the capsicum and fry for a further 3 minutes. Add the mince, parsley, basil and cook the meat until it turns brown. Add the tomato, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the potato in boiling water until tender and mash together with the milk and smooth (add more milk if necessary).

Place the mince in the bottom of a small casserole dish, spread over the mash potato, sprinkle with grated cheese and grill in the oven until the cheese in melted.

Try pureeing the mince for younger children.

Directions
Heat oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes until soft. Combine the mince, rice, onion, garlic, lemon zest, salt & pepper in a large bowl. Roll tablespoons of the mixture into balls. Gently fry the meatballs in a large heavy based frying pan with a little olive oil until browned all over.

Combine soup, water, tomatoes, ½ the basil, vinegar and sugar in a deep frying pan, slowly bring to the boil on a medium heat. Place the meatballs into the simmering tomato mixture. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through.

Serve in bowls, top with remaining basil and accompany with crusty bread