Lavender Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg + 1 egg white

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 drop high-quality Lavender essential oil

1/2 cup full fat milk

Cream Cheese Frosting

450 grams of cream cheese

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2 1/2 cups icing sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

fresh non treated lavender springs or flowers for topping

purple or pink food colouring, if desired

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius.

Fill a cupcake tin with liners.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set it aside.

Put the butter into another bowl and with an electric mixer, beat it until creamy.

Add the sugar and beat with the butter on high speed until fluffy for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add in the egg and egg white, mixing well on medium speed until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed.

Add in the oil, vanilla and lavender essential oil, beating on medium speed for another minute.

With the mixer on low speed, add in half of the dry ingredients. Pour in the milk. Add in the other half of the dry ingredients and mix them on medium speed until the batter is combined.

Fill each liner about 2/3 of the way full. Bake until the tops are set, about 18 to 22 minutes.

Let cool completely before icing.

Cream Cheese Icing

Beat the cream cheese and butter together until creamy.

Beat in the sugar until combined.

Beat in the vanilla extract.

Ice the cooled cupcakes. Before serving, top with fresh lavender springs or flowers. If desired, you can add a drop of food colouring in (pink or purple) to colour the frosting!

Grilled Greek Chicken Kebabs

Serves 4

500g boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large breasts)

1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/4 cup olive oil
4 lemons juiced, plus zest from one of the lemons
4-5 cloves garlic pressed or minced
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 red onion quartered into 3cm pieces
1 small zucchini sliced into 1cm thick coins
1 red capsicum seeded and cut into 3cm pieces

Slice the chicken breasts lengthwise into thirds, and then slice again into about 3cm pieces. Place the chicken pieces in a freezer bag or bowl and set aside.

Add the Greek yogurt and olive oil to a medium size bowl. Zest one of the lemons into the bowl then juice that lemon with the remaining three lemons and add to the bowl. Add the minced garlic, oregano, salt and black pepper and stir. Pour half of the marinade into the freezer bag or the bowl with the chicken pieces and reserve the other half of the marinade for basting. Marinate the chicken for 30 minutes or up to 3 hours in the refrigerator.

When ready to grill, prepare the grill by lightly oiling the grate with vegetable oil or cooking spray and set to medium high heat.

If using wooden skewers, prepare them by soaking in warm water for 10 minutes. If using metal skewers, no prep is necessary.

Thread the chicken on the skewers alternating with the red onion, zucchini and red capsicum until you've reached the end of the skewer, ending with chicken. Repeat with the remaining skewers. Discard any of the remaining marinade that had the chicken in it.

Grill the chicken, basting the kebabs with the reserved marinade and turning often so each side browns and has light grill marks, until cooked through, about 10-15 minutes or until the chicken juices run clear. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days.

Pie Maker Chicken, Mushroom and Bacon Pies

Makes 8 pies

1 tablespoon olive oil
600g chicken thigh fillets, fat trimmed, cut into 3cm pieces 
150g smoked rindless bacon rashers, coarsely chopped
150g button mushrooms, thickly sliced
40g (1/4 cup) plain flour
250ml (1 cup) chicken stock
185ml (3/4 cup) thickened cream
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 green shallots, trimmed, thinly sliced
4 sheets (25 x 25cm) frozen shortcrust pastry, just thawed
1 egg, whisked
Sesame seeds, to sprinkle

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add half the chicken. Cook, turning halfway, for 5 minutes or until golden. Use tongs to transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining chicken.

Reduce heat to medium. Add the bacon to the pan. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until light golden. Add the mushroom. Cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes or until the mushroom softens. Sprinkle with the flour. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Slowly add the stock to the pan. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until the mixture is smooth. Add the cream, chicken and thyme. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until mixture is thick. Season and stir through the shallot. Set aside for 30 minutes to cool.

Use the pie-maker cutter to cut 8 large and 8 small pastry rounds from the pastry sheets.

Gently ease 4 large pieces of pastry into the pie maker. Spoon chicken mixture into pie bases to fill. Top with the 4 smaller pieces of pastry. Brush with egg. Turn the pie maker on. Close and cook for 8 minutes. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and cook for a further 2 minutes or until pies are golden.

Repeat with the remaining pastry, chicken mixture, egg and sesame seeds.

Note: You can substitute any vegetables for the mushrooms, if you wish. I use a mix of chopped carrot, frozen peas and cooked corn off the cob.

Matt Preston's ball-ognaise

Serves 4

6 thick sausages of your choice 
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
500g pkt dried pasta of your choice
250ml (1 cup) cold water
1 lemon
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small bunch fresh continental parsley, stems and leaves separated
140g tub plain tomato paste
700ml btl plain passata
20g (1/4 cup) finely grated parmesan
220g tub cherry bocconcini, drained on paper towel or a clean tea towel

Pour enough water into a large saucepan or stockpot to fill one-third full. Cover and bring to the boil over high heat. Put the kettle on. Pour a little warm water and a dash of oil into a small bowl. Line a dinner plate with non-stick baking paper. Slit the ends of the sausages and squeeze out small pieces of mince from the casing onto the prepared plate. Dip your hands in the oiled water and shape mince pieces into balls.
Pour the boiling water from the kettle into the saucepan of hot water. Season well with salt. Cover and bring back to the boil.
Heat the oil in a deep large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and cook, tossing occasionally, for 5 minutes or until browned.
Add the pasta to the saucepan and stir. Add the cold water and stir again (this stops the pasta sticking together). Cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than the packet directions or until just al dente.
Meanwhile, use a peeler to peel 2 wide strips of rind from the lemon, reserving the remaining lemon.
Add the garlic to the frying pan and cook for 30 seconds or until aromatic. Use scissors to snip the parsley stalks into the pan. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until it darkens slightly. Add the passata and lemon rind strips. Reduce heat to medium and bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer for 4 minutes or until the mixture thickens slightly. Reduce heat to low to keep warm.
Finely chop the parsley leaves and place in a bowl. Finely grate the remaining lemon rind into the bowl along with the parmesan. Toss to combine. Place serving bowls in the sink. Reserve 125ml (1/2 cup) of the pasta cooking liquid then place the colander on top of the bowls. Drain the pasta (this will warm the bowls).
Add 1-2 spoonfuls of the meatball sauce to the saucepan. Return the pasta to the pan and toss to combine. Drain the water from the warmed bowls and divide the pasta mixture among the bowls. Stir some of the reserved pasta cooking liquid into the remaining meatball sauce if it is a little thick. Stir in the bocconcini and stir gently until warmed through and starting to melt a little. Spoon the meatball sauce on top of the pasta mixture and sprinkle with the parsley mixture to serve.