Fudges can be great to experiment with because there are so many different flavours you can add in.  When making fudge, make sure that you stir gently so that you can get the correct texture.  Normally you'll use granulated sugar however brown sugar also work well for nut fudges.  You can also use evaporated, condensed or fresh milk however evaporated milk will give you a creamier flavour.  If you are using sweetened condensed milk then you need to dilute it so that it's the same strength and consistency as regular milk.

The mixture should normally be cooked to a temperature of 238 F or until a little bit of the hot mixture forms a soft ball if dropped into cold water.  As soon as you see the mixture start to thicken you should pour it out onto the tin - please make sure that you don't allow the fudge to set whilst in the saucepan.

Vanilla Fudge

1/2 pint of evaporated milk
1 lb of granulated sugar
1 1/2 oz of butter
A few drops of vanilla essence

Put the milk, sugar and butter in a strong pan and heat gently until the sugar starts to dissolve, then bring the pan to the boil.  Allow to boil and stir gently then heat to a temperature of 238 F.  Remove the pan from the heat and add a few drops of essence.  Beat thoroughly until the mixture starts to thicken and then pour the mixture out onto a greased tin.  When it is cold and firm you can then cut it into squares with a knife.

Chocolate Walnut Fudge

1 lb of granulated sugar
1/2 pint of evaporated milk
1 oz of plain chocolate
2 tablespoons of cocoa
1 oz of butter
A pinch of salt
4 oz of chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
Nuts to decorate

Put all of the ingredients (except the nuts and the essence) into a pan and bring to a temperature of 238 F, keep stirring to prevent the mixture from burning.  Take the pan off the heat and add the essence and chopped nuts, beating well so that the mixture becomes thick and creamy.  Pour it out onto a greased tin and place pieces of walnut at regular intervals over the surface to decorate and then leave it to set.  Cut the fudge into squares when cold.

Orange Fudge

1 1/4 lb granulated sugar
1/3 pint of evaporated milk
2 oz of butter
2 teaspoons of grated orange rind
2 tablespoons of orange juice.

Put the sugar and milk into a sturdy pan over a moderate heat and stir occasionally until dissolved.  Add the butter, orange rind and juice and then stir gently while bringing the temperature to 238 F.  Remove from the heat and beat until it is the consistency of thick cream and pour into an oiled tin.  When it is just about cold, you can then cut it into squares.

It's nice to be able to treat yourself now and again with some home made biscuits.  All too often we take the lazy route of buying bisuits from the supermarket.  So if you're looking for some easy but tasty biscuit recipes you might want to look at the couple below.

Bourbon Biscuit Recipe

6 oz plain flour
2 oz custard powder
1 oz cocoa
4 oz margarine or cooking fat
4 oz caster sugar

Preheat an oven to 400 F.  Sieve the flour, custard powder and cocoa.  Cream the fat and sugar and then stir in the egg.  Add in the other ingredients and mix so that it's a smooth clear dough.  Then roll it out thinly and then cut it into fingers.  Sprinkle a little bit of sugar on the top prior to baking.  Place them in the middle of the oven for about 15-30 minutes.  When the biscuits have cooled down, you  can place the two finger together with some chocolate glacé icing in the middle.

Chocolate Glacé Icing Recipe

2 oz of plain chocolate
1 1/2 tablespoons of hot water
6 oz icing sugar

Melt the chocolate in the water, add in the icing sugar and beat well so that it's smooth and can be easily spread.

Empire Biscuit Recipe

Originally, Empire biscuits were called German biscuits or Linzer biscuits.  But because of WWII, it was renamed to Empire biscuits.

8 oz plain flour
4 oz butter or margarine
3 oz caster sugar
1 small egg
Glacé icing
Jam

Preheat the oven to 400 F.  Mix together the butter and sugar but not to a creamy consistency.  Add in the egg and mix well.  Then add in the flour and rub it together so that it's crumbly.  Place it onto a floured board and rub together lightly until a smooth paste has been formed.  Then roll it out thinly and cut into small rounds.  Place them onto baking trays and place them into the middle of the oven for about 15-20 minutes.  When then have cooled down, you can sandwich two together with jam in the middle.  The top them with glacé icing.  If you want to, you can place a cherry in the centre of each biscuit

Glace Icing Recipe

8 oz of icing sugar
3 tablespoons of warm water
Flavouring and Colouring as desired

Sieve the icing sugar into a small bowl.  Then add in the water and gradually beat until smooth and clear.  If it's too soft, you can add in a little more sugar and if it's too stiff you can add in more water.

Most people in the world love oranges.  They are so tasty and can be made into so many different dishes.   Here is a recipe for a basic but yummy orange sandwich.

Orange Sandwich Recipe

6 oz of self-raising flour
4 oz of margarine
4 oz of caster sugar
3 eggs
Grated rind of an orange

Preheat the oven to 400 F.  Then well-grease 2 sandwich tins that are about 7 x 1 inches.  Sieve the flour, cream the margarine and sugar so that it's light and fluffy.  Add in the egg little by little along with the flour, clearing well after each addition.  Add in the orange rind and mix well prior to adding the rest of the flour.  Mix lightly by thoroughly until it's smooth and clear.  Pour it out into the tins and make sure the mixture is spread out evenly.  Then bake it near the middle of the oven for about 20 minutes.  When it's cooled down, you can place the sponge sandwich together with some orange cream then finish off with orange glacé icing.

Orange Cream Recipe

3 oz of unsalted margarine
4 1/2 oz of icing sugar
1 teaspoon of orange juice
1 teaspoon of grated orange rind

Cream the margarine and sieved icing sugar until light.  Add in the rind and juice then mix thoroughly.

Orange Glacé Icing Recipe

12 oz of icing sugar
1 teaspoon orange rind
Orange juice

Sieve the sugar into a basin and add in the orange rind.  Slightly warm the orange juice and add in a sufficient amount to make it a fairly thick coating.


Interesting Info About Oranges

For many people, oranges are a major source of vitamin C and lots of people enjoy drinking orange juice.  However you should also remember to eat the segments of oranges too so that you can get the benefit of the fibre which is important too.  In addition to vitamin c and fibre, you can also enjoy the benefits of potassium, folic acid, thiamine plus a small amount of calcium and magnesium.

It's believed that orange trees originated from S.E. Asia and it was apparently Columbus who brought the seeds back to the United States.  It used to be that oranges were pretty expensive because it's was very difficult to grow in colder climates however they are now one of the most popular fruits to be grown today.  In the US they are mainly grown in Florida, Arizona and California.

Stuffed Cabbage Leaves Recipe

1 lb of minced meat
1 oz of butter
1 teaspoon of chopped parsley
Some chopped mint (optional)
2 tablespoons of cooked rice
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon of sieved boiled onion
A pinch of mixed spice
A little stock or gravy
12 medium-seized cabbage leaves

Fry up the mince and cook lightly whilst stirring frequently so that the juices of the meat are absorbed.  Then add in the butter.  Mix in the herbs, rice, seasoning, onion and spice plus the stock and allow to cook for a further 5 minutes.  Whilst this is cooking, you can be blanching the cabbage leaves by placing them in boiling water for a couple of minutes, then drain them.  Put a spoonful of the filling into each of the cabbage leaves and roll it up to create a little package.  Position each of the packages closely together in a casserole dish with stock, cover it and cook for 45 minutes at 350F.

Stuffed Mushrooms Recipe

6 large mushrooms
1 lb of sausage meat
2 oz of breadcrumbs
1 oz suet or shortening
Seasoning
Parsley
Egg to bind
2 oz butter

Take the skins off the mushrooms and remove the stalks.  Place them in a basin and pour boiling water over them.  Allow them to soak for a couple of minutes before removing them from the water and then allow them to drain.  Take the sausage meat and form it into flat cakes and place the mushrooms on top.  The mix the mushroom stalks that have been chopped, parsley, a little bit of egg and then stuff the mixture into each of the mushrooms.  Place some butter on top of each mushroom before baking them in an oven that's been heated to 425F for half an hour.

Stuffed Pimentos Recipe

Cut the tops off some large green or red pimentos and the remove the seeds.  Chop the top slices finely along with 2-3 onions then cook it up in some butter and oil.  Make a tomato sauce using fresh tomatoes and then add in the pepper and onion mixture.

Cook up a handful of rice in the tomato sauce until tender then season it well.  Stuff the peppers with this mixture and moisten them with some stock.  Place the peppers in a dish with some butter and cook them over a low heat on top of the stove.  Finish off the cooking by placing them in an oven at 350 F.

Just about every kitchen in the land has at least a few eggs in it.  Eggs are simply so versatile, healthy and very quick to prepare.  No matter how pressed for time or tired you are, cooking up some eggs require very little skill or effort.  Here are a few recipes that make use of eggs that you might want to have a look at.

Scotch Eggs Recipe

1/2 lb sausages or sausage meat
4 hard boiled eggs
2 teaspoons of seasoned flour
A little piquant sauce
A little beaten egg
Breadcrumbs
Fat for frying

If you are using sausages for this recipe then you need to remove the skins to begin with.  Then remove the shells from the eggs and dust them with the seasoned flour.  Put a few drops of piquant sauce into the meat mixture and divide it up into four equal parts.  Cover each of the eggs in the meat and make sure that it's in a nice rounded shape.  Brush each one with the beaten eggs and then toss them in the breadcrumbs before frying in deep fat that is already hot.

You know when the eggs have been properly cooked when the gold a lovely golden-brown colour.  Remove them from the fat and then drain them well.  When they are cold you can then cut them in half and enjoy with a salad if desired.

Macaroni and Egg Casserole Recipe

4 1/2 oz macaroni
3 pints boiling water
Salt
2 oz salad oil
1 1/2 oz flour
1 pint milk
2 oz minced onion
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon piquant table sauce
3 oz grated cheese
8 oz cooked runner or French beans
3-4 hard boiled eggs

Boil the macaroni in the water with a little salt then drain it off and rinse with boiling water.  Then blend the oil with the flour and stir in the milk and cook it up until it's thick.  Add in the onion, mustard, pepper, sauce and 3 teaspoons of salt.  Then take it off the heat and stir in 2 oz of cheese.  Layer the macaroni, beans and sliced egg in a casserole dish.  Keep some of the egg so that you can use it as a garnish.

Then pour the sauce over and sprinkle the rest of the cheese over it.  Place the casserole dish in the oven which has been set to 350 F for half an hour.  When this is done you should let the cheese brown under a hot grill.  Use circles of hard boiled eggs for the garnish.

Curried Scramble Recipe

1 small onion (chopped)
Oil for frying
1 teaspoon of curry powder
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon of chopped parsley
3 tablespoons of milk
Salt and pepper
Buttered toast

Fry the onion and then add in the curry powder and fry it lightly.  Add the rest of the ingredients and beat it all together.  When it's cooked you can serve it on the hot buttered toast.
 

You'll find that no matter what type of cake you are making you'll need to beat the eggs and sugar together so that they will thicken up prior to baking.  If you want a light finish then you'll want to be beating the mixture for 15-20 minutes.  When adding the dry ingredients they should be added in very lightly as this will prevent the air bubbles breaking up.  That's why a metal spoon is advised for this, it's also important that you "fold" the mixture rather than stir it.

Swiss Roll Recipe

3 eggs
4 oz of castor sugar
4 ox of flour (sieved)
1 teaspoon of hot water
Warm jam

In order to prepare the cake tin (about 9 x 12 inches) , you'll need to grease the tin and then put greaseproof paper into the tin and then grease the paper too.  Make sure that the greaseproof paper is bigger than the tin.

Whisk the eggs and sugar in a bowl over some hot water so that it is thick enough for an impression of the whisk to be left.

Sift in the flour then fold it lightly into the egg mixture along with the hot water.  Make sure you use a metal spoon.

Pour the mixture into the tin and then tilt is a bit from side to side so that it's spread evenly.

Place the tin into a hot oven that's been preheated to 425F for about 7-9 minutes so that it's golden-brown and firm.  Then turn it out onto some paper with sugar on it.

Cut off the edges so that it's nice and neat and spread over some warm jam.  With a knife, cut half-way into the sponge that  makes a long cut that is within 1 inch from the ends.  Then roll it up and place it on a wire rack to cool.

No matter what sort of cook you are, everyone should be able to do the above recipe.  It's a great one to try out with kids as it's a lot of fun and the end result is yummy.  Cooking and baking also teaches kids  the needed skills in the kitchen instead of relying on buying ready made meals from the supermarket.