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.

Lamb and Pine Nut Meatballs with Moroccan Salad and Tahini Dressing

 

Spring is traditionally the best time to buy lamb in Australia when it is really in season. Prices should be lower, and lamb more abundant. Peak pasture growth in Spring on sheep properties leads to a surge in supply. We love eating lamb in our house whether it be a slow cooked lamb shoulder, or  the traditional Sunday roast lamb, however lamb mince really lends itself to cooking with Moroccan or Middle Eastern flavours. This recipe demonstrates how delicious lamb mince is when combined with Moroccan herbs and spices and meatballs are always a fantastic way to transform mince into a great meal.

In My Tropical Kitchen, September 2026

It's Spring, it's September, and I am loving the freshness of it all, despite what else is happening in this crazy world of ours. It's been an incredibly busy couple of months, hence my late submission to Sherry from Sherry's Pickings who hosts In My Kitchen each month. Thanks Sherry for taking the time to host the achievements of so many amazing home cooks around the world. Our French family has arrived from Montpellier in France to take up residence in Australia and we are over the moon about it. There's a lot of other good stuff from my kitchen to share with you which I hope you will enjoy.

Pumpkin and Apricot Fruit Cake, with a touch of nostalgia

 

Here we are in September already, and it's Father's Day tomorrow. This is a delicious cake for a very special day. Spring has well and truly sprung, and it is still cool enough here to bake a fruit cake and have this on hand over the weekend. This one is a real favourite in our family, particularly Mr. HRK, incorporating beautifully rich Kent or Jap pumpkin. It can also be iced with a lemon or cream cheese icing if you wish so that it is even more festive.

Blueberry and Bran Muffins

This is the perfect fruit muffin to bake at home. Loaded with fibre and laced with blueberries or even raspberries, these muffins are delicious and yet healthy enough to suit your children's or your work lunchboxes, your breakfast menu, or essential morning and afternoon teas. Dressed up in a pretty paper wrapper, and dusted with icing sugar over a layer of scented cinnamon, these muffins will impress. 

BKD Cookbook club, all things bready.....

 Hot Buttered Fruit and Nut Sourdough Toast for breakfast or anytime: makes 1 loaf

It's time again for BKD (Brookford Kitchen Diaries) cookbook club. Sometimes I manage to link up, sometimes not depending on whether or not life gets in the way. I'm promoting cookbooks in a circular kind of way in this post, and bread, yes I'm a fan. Most of my bread baking is with sourdough. This month we're talking about all things bread, whether it be toasties (formerly toasted sandwiches), jaffles or hamburgers. I am thinking sourdough, as that is what I mostly work with, however does pizza qualify? Why not I say, it's really an open Italian sandwich after all.

Ginger Scones, #ISW 2026

2026 International Scone Week

It's International Scone Week 2026, beginning on the 10th August, which is a celebration of scone making, and a shout out to all those cooks who have enjoyed baking a great scone over the years. The perfect scone is a joyous thing.  Let's have a conversation about scone making, over a cup of tea or coffee and eat a delicious warm scone. A memorable scone should have puffy height, a soft, tender crumb, be a little crisp on the outside, and shouldn't flake like a biscuit. This rustic style Ginger scone ticked all of those boxes. Thanks to Tandy from Lavender and Lime for continuing to host this event.

A Spanish Vegetable Stew with Chorizo and the Gilda, a Pintxos recipe from a cooking Masterclass in beautiful San Sebastian

 

I had an abundance of vegetables in my refrigerator crisper needing to be used during the week, and rather than do a traybake with them, or donate them eventually to the compost bin or the worm farm, I decided to make a rich vegetable stew with a Spanish theme and Mediterranean flavours. In the process, I also rediscovered the Gilda, a delicious and famous Spanish Pinxtos.

Roast Garlic Chicken on Potato and Leek Gratin

If you enjoy a delicious home roasted chook, a potato gratin, and leeks, then you will love this dish. If you aren't fond of garlic or can't eat it, then leave it out and just use salted pure butter mixed with fresh herbs. It will still be delicious. All of those elements cooked in one baking dish, and the result is a dish that's perfection for a dinner party and quite economical when shopping for ingredients.

Spanish Chicken with Chorizo and Gnocchi (or Potatoes if you wish), a simple traybake

This is originally a Nigella Lawson recipe for Spanish Chicken, which I have adapted for us and for you, and as Nigella does, I enjoy a good tray bake. When cooking, particularly in Winter, I do love to have a large pot of food bubbling away on the stovetop which preferably can be finished off in the oven. However, if I'm a bit frazzled, or even feeling a bit below par, a traybake definitely takes the pressure off, allowing the oven to do the work, and leaving me to just enjoy sitting back, enjoying everyone's company, or just my own, and relaxing until the meal is cooked. Perhaps I would add a Spanish style salad to add to the meal in Summer. So simple.

Ginger Syrup Cake

 

It's Winter here in Tropical North Queensland, and we've just harvested our annual crop of fresh ginger, and whilst we've dehydrated a large percentage of it, and ground it in the spice grinder to make the most fragrant ginger spice imaginable, the pink-tipped young ginger  pieces reminded me that I must make this very gingery cake. I've been working on perfecting this recipe for a long time, and now I'm very happy with the result. I hope you love it too.

In My Edible Tropical Winter Garden, July 2026

"Gardens shouldn't be static, but a place for change and evolution" by Tim Pilgrim - Landscape Designer

 It's winter in the North Queensland Tropics, and it's our favourite time of the year to grow vegetables, in fact it's the only time to grow actual vegetables, except for eggplant(aubergines), some spinach,  chillies, and whatever else we feel brave enough to persevere with in Summer. You might have had other successes, and I'd love to hear about them if you have.

In My Tropical Queensland Kitchen, July 2026

 

It's July already, when I'm embracing the beautiful humidity free Winter weather, and enjoying being in the kitchen and the garden during these cooler months. Winter is when I feel at my most productive. I hope you enjoy reading about what my June kitchen and cooking activities entailed. There are also some stories about our experiences in France and Croatia. The photo above is taken at beautiful Palm Cove near Cairns in the last couple of days.

Korma Chicken Tray Bake

Images of Green and Gold as an Ode to the World Cup

It was the morning of the World Cup playoffs between Australia and Paraguay, and this Korma Chicken Traybake was an easy Dinner option, as the oven does all the work in your baking dish. I was also thinking Green and Gold for Australia. Just load up the tray, stick it in the oven, and in 30 minutes everyone will be licking their lips in anticipation of an amazing meal. The chicken and rice are baked together with a few vegetables in a spice infused creamy yoghurt which results in an incredibly tasty dish. 

A Small-Batch of Cumquat or Kumquat Marmalade

 "Cumquat marmalade is the best of all breakfast preserves, with a scented sharpness and a golden glow all of its own. " Stephanie Alexander, 1996. 

This is a lovely fruity Cumquat marmalade, and I don't know why I don't make it more often. Possibly because my Mum made perfect Cumquat (Kumquat) marmalade and I am never sure that I can  match hers. Never mind, I've made another batch now and I couldn't be happier with it, albeit a small batch though which often works best.

Foods of Croatia and Cruising the Adriatic Sea onboard the M/S Lupus Mare

 

We enjoyed 7 days and nights on board the M/S Lupus Mare, sailing along the beautiful coastline of Croatia on the Adriatic Sea which was the perfect way for us to enjoy our first ever introductory cruise. 

Some of my favourite Lemon Recipes

 
Lovely Lemons are in season, and anyone with a lemon tree where we live has them ripening profusely on the tree. I thought it was time to assemble my favourite lemon recipes together for you. Everyone of them is tried and true, and they are my go to at this time of year.