​So I already have an apple crumble recipe on my blog, so why add another one, you may ask. Well it was my sons birthday and he asked for apple crumble to be his 'cake' this year. My other apple crumble recipe has nuts in the topping and as my son doesn't like nuts, I figured I'd try another recipe, one that didn't have nuts (I could have just taken the nuts out of the other crumble topping, but as I love trying new things, I just did). 

So here we have this new recipe, and it was so good, I had to include the recipe on my blog, as I know I will want to make this again and again, and really, why can't there be more than one great recipe for any dish, especially if they are different.

Another reason I had to add it is you can't really compare the two as the toppings are completely different. The other one has a traditional crumble feel, this one the crumble topping that reminds me of an ANZAC biscuit, it was crisp and tasty.

My family really enjoyed this, the apples I cooked where they were just cooked and soft, but they still held their shape. If you prefer it softer, and 'jammier' just bake it a little longer. The crumble topping was crisp and flavourful, it really is a delicious crumble.

I found it just a little bit too sweet for me, while my family didn't. If you to find it sweet, you could reduce the sugar in the topping to 1/2-3/4 cup sugar. But I tend to always make a recipe as written first, then adjust the next time I made it. The tartness of the apples can also affect the overall sweetness. My green apples were quite sweet.

Apples, pears, peaches, berries would all work with this crumble topping. Just adjust the sugar with how sweet the fruit is that you are using. I would use less sugar with sweet peaches, for example.

So here is another apple crumble recipe that my family loves, hope yours does to.

​Recipe adapted from www.recipetineats.com/ 

Serves 6-8

Apple Filling:
1kg Granny Smith Apples (green apples), weight before peeling
1 tablespoon plain flour
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoon lemon juice (or water)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

CrumbleTopping:
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup plain flour
1 cup brown sugar (loosely packed)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
125g unsalted butter, melted
Pinch of salt

To serve:
Vanilla ice cream
​

Preheat oven to 180C/160C
.
Peel apples, then cut into 1.5cm cubes.

Place apple in a bowl. Sprinkle with flour, sugar and cinnamon, then pour over lemon juice. Toss, then spread out evenly in a 1.5 litre baking dish. 

​Place topping ingredients in a bowl. Mix until clumps form, like wet sand. Spread over the apples, crumbling with fingers if required to get that crumbly topping.

​​Bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Remove, cover loosely with foil to keep warm and let stand for 10 minutes before serving (let's the apple filling come together).

​Serve warm with vanilla ice cream!

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​This is a great any time of the year, but I think around Christmas it would be perfect. The colour is fabulous, throw in a hot summers day and this drink would be perfect.

I don't mind pulp from the strawberry, just blitz until as smooth as possible, and don't worry about strawberry seeds, they sink to the bottom of your glass, But if you really want to, and you feel like extra washing up, you can pass it through a fine sieve. I definitely do not.

​​Recipe adapted from the Family Circle mini cookbook 'Cocktails & Party Drinks'

Makes 1

1 cup crushed ice
30ml tequila
30ml strawberry liqueur
15ml Cointreau
15ml lime cordial
30ml lemon juice
5 fresh, ripe strawberries, hulled
​

​Prepare the glass. Use a lemon wedge to moisten the edge of a large cocktail glass, then dip the rim in salt until it is evenly coated and place the glass in the refrigerator to chill, until needed.

​Place all the ingredients in a blender and blitz until the mixture has the consistency of shaved ice.

​Pour into your prepared glass.​

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​When you have an aunt who visits and you offer her a drink and she says I'll have one of the drinks I've seen you post recently, this gets made. 

My favourite person to have a drink or two with, we stop counting after two, I do love having a drink with Jo.

​Recipe adapted from the Family Circle mini cookbook 'Cocktails & Party Drinks'

Makes 1

1 cup crushed ice
30ml tequila
30ml Cointreau or Grand Marnier
30ml orange juice
30ml lime juice
​

Prepare the glass. Use a lemon wedge to moisten the edge of a large cocktail glass, then dip the rim in salt until it is evenly coated and place the glass in the refrigerator to chill, until needed.

​Place all the ingredients in a blender and blitz until the mixture has the consistency of shaved ice.

Pour into your prepared glass.​

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​​​Recipe adapted from the Family Circle mini cookbook 'Cocktails & Party Drinks'

Makes 1

30ml tequila
30ml peach schnapps
15ml lime juice
15ml sugar syrup
1 fresh, ripe peach, skinned, seeded, roughly chopped

​1 cup crushed ice


​​Prepare the glass. Use a lemon wedge to moisten the edge of a large cocktail glass, then dip the rim in salt until it is evenly coated and place the glass in the refrigerator to chill, until needed.

​Place all the ingredients in a blender, except the ice and blitz until the mixture is smooth. Add the ice and blitz until the mixture has the consistency of shaved ice.

​Pour into your prepared glass.​

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​​So after making brudet yesterday I had a lot of sauce/broth leftover from it. My husband suggested I turn it into a risotto. So I did, and that decision turned out to be a great one.

This risotto was delicious. The brudet broth turned this into a really, really nice risotto. We flaked any leftover fish and added it here also and this risotto was loved by us all. Now we bought fish for one meal, but got to turn it into two meals, no waste, and with the price of fish, that is always a great thing.

So if you chose to try my brudet recipe and you have leftover broth, strain it through a sieve, like I did, and make this recipe, this is a great way to use it up.

You may need to top up your risotto with extra stock or water, in case you don't have enough brudet broth to cook the rice.

This is great risotto and there is no waste to last night's dinner.

​​2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/3 cup white wine
4-5 cups leftover brudet fish stock
1/2-1 teaspoon vegeta, to taste
Leftover fish from the brudet, bones and skin removed, flaked
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 tablespoons, chopped parsley, to taste
​Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
​

Heat the brudet stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan, then lower the heat so that the stock just stays hot.

Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add onion, saute for 3 minutes, until it is translucent.

​Add rice, stir for about a minute, so it is gets coated with the oil.

Add the wine and cook while stirring, until the liquid is fully absorbed.

Add 2 ladles of the hot brudet stock to the rice and stir until the liquid is fully absorbed. When the rice appears almost dry, add another ladle or two of stock and repeat the process. 

Continue adding stock, a ladle at a time, for 20 to 30 minutes or until the grains are tender but still firm to the bite, without being crunchy. Taste for seasoning, add vegeta if it needs it. If you run out of stock, you can add a ladle of boiling water or extra vegetable stock, until the rice is cooked. 

Stir in the flaked fish with your last ladle of stock. 

Stir through the parsley, taste for seasoning.

Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil before serving. Serve immediately.

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Recipe adapted from Dennis B. Valcich's cookbook 'A Walk Through Croatia'

​Serves 4-6

8 small whole fish or 4 medium fish, cut in half, fish like skorpion fish, cod, grouper, sea perch
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
​4 medium onions, peeled, sliced
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
​1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 x 400g can crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon vegeta
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
​Extra chopped parsley, for sprinkling
Serve with soft polenta or sliced boiled potatoes
​​
Remove scales from fish and remove guts, get your fishmonger to do this, that way you only clean what they miss, much less mess. Rinse under cold running water.

Take a large, wide, heavy saucepan. Add oil, once heated, add onions, saute for 3 minutes until translucent. Add the parsley, garlic and tomato paste, cook, stirring, for about a minute. Add the tomatoes, 1 cup water and vegeta. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir well to combine. Simmer for 5-6 minutes, add the fish, in one layer, if you can, add an extra 1 cup of water. The sauce does not need to cover the fish, but it does need to cover at least half the fish, as the fish cooks, it releases moisture and collapses a little into the sauce, Bring to the boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for approximately 1 hour, occasionally shaking the pan, do not stir or you will break up the fish. I start checking the brudet around the 30 minute mark, to see if the fish is cooked to my liking. 
​
When you think you have 10 minutes left of cooking time, add in the vinegar, shake the saucepan, simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove from heat, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with parsley, just before serving. 

Serve with soft polenta or sliced boiled potatoes.

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​So after making popara yesterday I had a lot of broth leftover from it. Now I could have diluted it a little and made a soup with it, but my husband suggested I turn it into a risotto. So I did, and that decision turned out to be a great one.

This risotto was delicious. The popara broth turned this into a really, really nice risotto. We flaked any leftover fish and added it here also and this risotto was loved by us all. Now we bought fish for one meal, but got to turn it into two meals, no waste, and with the price of fish, that is always a great thing.

The oil from the popara can be used instead of olive oil to fry the onion. I just skim some oil from the top of the popara stock and add it to my risotto pot.

So if you chose to try my popara recipe and you have leftover broth, like I did, this is a great way to use it up.

​2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/3 cup white wine
5-6 cups leftover popara fish stock
1/2-1 teaspoon vegeta, to taste
Leftover fish from the popara, bones and skin removed, flaked
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 tablespoons, chopped parsley, to taste
​Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
​

Heat the popara stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan, then lower the heat so that the stock just stays hot.

Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add onion, saute for 3 minutes, until it is translucent.

​Add rice, stir for about a minute, so it is gets coated with the oil.

Add the wine and cook while stirring, until the liquid is fully absorbed.

Add 2 ladles of the hot popara stock to the rice and stir until the liquid is fully absorbed. When the rice appears almost dry, add another ladle or two of stock and repeat the process. 

Continue adding stock, a ladle at a time, for 20 to 30 minutes or until the grains are tender but still firm to the bite, without being crunchy. Taste for seasoning, add vegeta if it needs it. If you run out of stock, you can add a ladle of boiling water, until the rice is cooked. 

Stir in the flaked fish with your last ladle of stock. 

Stir through the parsley, taste for seasoning.

Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil before serving. Serve immediately.

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​My husband asked for popara for dinner, I ask what's popara, he roughly explains it, now to find out how to make it. Luckily I have a large Croatian cookbook collection, so I went about looking for a recipe. I find what I'm looking for thanks to a cookbook I got in Dubrovnik on our last holiday there. I send my husband off to the fish markets and now we're having popara for dinner.

For those that like Leso Riba, boiled fish, this is a really nice alternative, it's an easier way of cooking it. The wine and oil make a great broth, dipping bread into it is absolutely delicious.

I use any leftover broth to make a fish risotto the next day, that is absolutely delicious, so please don't throw it away. Flake any leftover fish into the risotto also.

I use a 26cm wide saucepan, about 15cm high, rather than a tall skinny saucepan, it's better for even layering, but use what you have.

This is a traditional dish that my family loves, hope yours do to.

Recipe adapted from Ana-Marija Bujic's cookbook 'What's Cooking in Dubrovnik'

1 large onion, sliced
500g potatoes, peeled, sliced into 1cm slices
200g cherry tomatoes
1 1/2-2kg small to medium fish, scaled and gutted
150ml olive oil
​150ml extra virgin olive oil
500ml dry white wine
1 bay leaf
1 sprig rosemary
1 teaspoon vegeta
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 bunch parsley, chopped 
​2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
​
Arrange the onion at the bottom of the pot and layer the potatoes on top.

Top with tomatoes, and then place the fish on top of everything. 

​Pour in the olive oil and extra virgin olive oil, wine and 2 cups (500ml) of water.

Add the bat leaf, rosemary and vegeta. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Place the pot on high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and let simmer for about 20-25 minutes or until the fish and potatoes are cooked through. If necessary, shake the pot occasionally so that the vegetables don't stick or burn, but don't stir.

Sprinkle with chopped parsley and garlic and serve hot alongside a loaf of crusty bread. Dipping is the best part.

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​This is the easiest apple cake you will ever make. Recently I joined a facebook group and this cake was being made by so many people that I just had to try it. 

Well I'm so glad I did, not only was it easy to make, it was delicious, my family loved it.

This cake is great when unexpected guests arrive, as it's so easy to make, takes about 10 minutes to make, then an hour later you have something to serve with coffee.

​I haven't done this as yet, but you can add a handful of craisins or chopped walnuts or pecans. Many in the group have and have loved it.

With bundt cakes I have found using spray oil and dusting with fine breadcrumbs works best to ensure your cake comes out in one piece. I learnt this from my mum's sister. I used to use oil and flour and sometimes I was successful in getting the cake out and sometimes it got stuck. Also the breadcrumbs add a little texture to the cake, which is quite nice.
​
My family loved this, hope yours does to.

​5 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
​5 medium apples, peeled, thinly sliced
​
A handful breadcrumbs, for dusting the tin
​
Preheat oven to 175C/155C fan forced.

Grease with oil, then lightly dust with breadcrumbs your bundt tin. Shake out any excess breadcrumbs.
​
Mix the eggs, sugar, oil, flour, baking powder and vanilla with a spoon to combine, do not use an electric mixer.

Add the sliced apples, it will seem like you have more apples than cake batter, it is supposed to be like that.

Add nuts or dried fruit now, if using.

Pour the mixture into your prepared bundt tin.

Bake for 1 hour or until it is golden brown all over and cooked through. Leave in the tin for 5 minutes, then carefully invert out onto a serving plate.

​​Slice and serve.

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​This is so easy to make and so nice to drink, you just have to try it.

Recipe adapted from the Family Circle Mini Cookbook 'Cocktails and Party Drinks'

Makes 1

1 cup crushed ice
30ml melon liqueur, I used Midori
30ml tequila
​45ml lemon juice
15ml sugar syrup
​
Prepare the glass. Use a lemon wedge to moisten the edge of a large cocktail glass, then dip the rim in salt until it is evenly coated and place the glass in the refrigerator to chill, until needed.

Place the ice, midori, tequila, lemon juice and sugar syrup in a blender. Blend until the mixture resembles shaved ice. Pour into the prepared glass.

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