Salmon Fillet with Finger Lime Caviar, and an Almond, Dill and Caper Sauce

When Native Finger Limes are in season I love to cook this delicious Salmon dish with them. Once picked, these Australian indigenous rainforest fruits are quite perishable, and the tree doesn't yield fruit for very long either, so they are a very precious commodity. However, they can be frozen whole, which is a real advantage. I buy them when I find them, freeze them, and use them when I am ready. However, if you can't find Finger Limes, a fresh lime can be used as an alternative for this recipe.

Upside-down Pear, Syrup and Ginger Cake or Pudding

Ginger lovers, this cake is for you. Ginger Syrup Cake remains one of the most popular cakes in our home, and my tried and true recipe is a crowd favourite on constant rotation. Spice up the ingredients even more, add fresh sliced pears to the equation and this recipe leaps into glorious dessert status.  We have been known to eat this as cake for afternoon tea, and then for dessert as well. Why not, when it is this good.

Baked Fillet of Coral Trout with Mediterranean flavours

Oven baked Coral Trout fillet for one or two, is the perfect delicious weeknight dinner. When I baked this fish mid-week, it was meant to be just a quick preparation, fuss free, throw in a few vegetables and herbs that I had on hand, some olive oil, white wine and lemon juice, cook it for about 20 minutes and eat it. A lot like a traybake fish dish really. The result was so moreish that we decided it was blog worthy, and when posted would also be a reminder to me of how easy it is to bake large fillets of fish without much fuss, and with a very enjoyable result.

Homemade Tomato Relish

 Is there anything better than a  perfectly ripe, juicy sweet tomato. When the tomatoes are fresh and sun-ripened off the vine, and there are more than we can eat, one of my very favourite things to make is Tomato Relish. Home grown tomatoes have a very different taste and texture to the ones we can now buy at supermarkets, so whether you grow them yourselves or buy them at the farmer's markets, Tomato Relish is a wonderful way to preserve their quality. However, if you can buy them at a good price from the supermarket, this relish will still be delicious. I have done that plenty of times!

In My Tropical Kitchen, October 2026

Dear friends, welcome, this is my HRK thought for the month, encapsulating how I endeavour to approach my cooking. "Cook with my heart, respect the recipe, and have the confidence to add my own touch." Spring has been lovely this year, cool mornings and evenings, and it's not over yet. The garden has been responding with beautiful spring blooms, and the birds are singing. However, the hot Summer weather is almost here. That means some outdoor cooking and living to look forward to.

Recipes for Semolina Pizza Dough, Béchamel Prawn Pizza and Vegetarian and Pizza Supremes, all homemade

Cook in a Gas Fired Pizza Oven or a Conventional Oven, Your Choice

 We've been working hard on our recipe for the best pizza results using a Gas Fired Pizza Oven, and I think we've nailed it. The dough is light, yet crispy and delicious, and the freshest green prawns from Karumba, located in the Gulf Country region of North West Queensland ensured the Prawn Pizzas lived up to our expectations. After all a prawn pizza should really be about the prawns, the silky béchamel sauce, and a good dough. We cooked these pizzas in our gas fired pizza oven, but not everyone has one of those, so I have given you conventional oven instructions as well.

French Deep-Dish Custard Tart

It's not "too hard" to make a French custard tart like this in your kitchen. If you enjoy baking, you can make it. The pastry is easily achieved using a simple biscuit crumb base. The vanilla custard is creamy and dreamy, and is a cream enriched version of the custard, crème pâtissière, used in many French Pâtisserie tarts, but even more cream-enriched. Thanks  to Nagi Maehashi for this recipe from her recipe book "Recipe Tin Eats Tonight" that I based mine on.