ha, that’s funny. I’m defininitely not much of a cook and rarely do it (we’d starve if my husband didn’t cook!) I have a couple of things that I do fairly well, the majority of which are hand-me-downs from my grandmother and they don’t have recipes. Plus, I’ve manipulated them a bit to suit my own tastes.

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My brother went through the horrors of being an apprentice chef – well okay, the first 2 years of the 4 year apprenticeship… it was pure and absolute hell! The hours were terrible, we never got to see him and when we did, all he talked about was the crap hours, the crap pay and how everyone he worked with were stoned or drunk; except the head chef who was teaching him… not a good look, eh?

Well, he’s the best cook around in our family and he’s taught me that the best thing about being a good cook/chef is to be flexible and that your food tastes great. So, whenever I’ve got guests coming over, I make sure I cook something I know will work and they will walk away saying, “Bloody hell, I didn’t know she could make that in that little stove!” and I’ve amazed a few people in my time.

My most famous dish presently is my Turkish Carrot Dip… I got it off Food Safari on SBS and the problem with how I learned about the recipe was that I could only hear what was going on as the reception on my television was so horribly bad, it was almost snow. So, I wrote down the ingredients and the method and tried it out – and it worked! And the best thing about this puppy is that it has only 4 ingredients and you can find them in your local health store.

2 large carrots grated (use a food processor; it’s better, faster and there’s less blood than a hand-held grater)
1 clove of garlic – raw, crush and smooshed within an inch of its life.
1kg tub of Natural Plain Yoghurt (Greek Plain Yoghurt is even better as it’s richer)
1 pinch of salt.

Put the grated carrots into a pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and on a low heat. Watch them and let the pan heat up while they’re in there. Don’t hurry this part… and don’t let them burn. Allow the carrot to turn more orange (you’ll know what I mean when you see it) and go soft; taste it to make sure it’s soft, and then turn off the heat and let it cool down.
Prepare the yoghurt in the bowl you’re going to use. Put the whole tub of yoghurt in the bowl, along with the garlic and the pinch of salt and mix well… then put it back into the fridge – covered – until the carrot cools. If the carrot’s ready by this time, little by little spoon it into the yoghurt mixture and mix it in well until it’s all in there. Then decorate with olives (optional) and sprinkle paprika over the top. Make this the day before and keep it in the fridge… YUMMO!

This dip is great for kids who love anything creamy, just don’t tell them it’s healthy. And it doubles up as a condiment too… so dollop it on your salad at the bbq or Thanksgiving too.

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My grandma had recip for choclate cake she would not share.

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I don’t cook (and have politely been asked not to by friends and family) but my paternal grandmother was notorious for not sharing recipes. Or if she did, she’d deliberately leave something out. She wanted hers to be the best and she did take several family favorites to the grave.

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I’m pretty open with all of my recipes. I love being able to share with others.

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Every Christmas I make peppermint bark at home for all of my husband’s coworkers. I even have one friend he no longer works with that remains on my list because she can’t get enough of it. I don’t tend to share my recipe because it is so simple, so easy that I’m almost embarrassed to share.

I also have several party dips in my cookbook that are frequently requested. Many people tell me they use a ‘package’ or powdered base to get it started but it doesn’t turn out like mine. I am (fortunately it works to my benefit) allergic to many preservatives. So many dips, soups or starters contain MSG or other things that make me deathly ill. I’m always happy to share my recipes and often make cards with ingredients and directions to accompany my potluck dishes.

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Buttertarts… I have my grandmother’s recipe (and her pastry recipe) and they are amazing… have shared the recipe for the buttertarts once or twice but am told they just don’t taste the same as mine. Sometimes I think that what people remember is better than what it actually was. Also it’s a visual/feel sort of thing… there is a certain look to the buttertart filling and how it feels when stirred. And the pastry is easy and awesome – I totally don’t get why people find pastry intimidating and when it’s so easy and good why would you use store-bought.

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My Aunt Ruth’s toffee carmel chocolate bars, she always sent them at Christmas. They are my Dads favorites and when I got married she started sending them to my family and not to him, her baby brother. He would always call to find out if Ruth’s package had arrived. When she got to old to bake anymore she sent the recipe to my son, she had shown him how to make them when he visited. He now makes them ALL of us at Christmas.

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