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Mango Cheesecake   by Marelina Stanton
Combine 1 cup plain sweet biscuit crumbs, 1 cup finely chopped pecans, ground almonds or walnuts, and 75g butter. Press evenly over base of greased 20cm springform tin & refrigerate 30 mins.
Cream Cheese Filling
Beat til smooth: 250gm packet cream cheese, ½ cup caster sugar and 1½ medium mangoes
Add 300ml carton thickened cream til combined. Cool but do not allow to set.
Sprinkle 1 tablespoon gelatine over ¼ cup hot water & heat 30 secs in microwave.
Add gelatine to mango mixture and stir in remaining chopped up mangoes.
Pour filling over biscuit base and refrigerate several hours.
Notes:  I used individual ramekins and pressed 1 tablespoon of the crumbs into the base.  I think it would be OK to not even have the crumbs, skip it and just enjoy this dessert.  Made 11 ramekins.  Also, I keep long life cream in the pantry so I don’t have to rush down to the shops whenever I need cream. There is only 200ml cream in these cartons but recipe turned out just fine.

Mango Slice by Pat Saron
Mix together 1 pkt vanilla cake mix, 1 cup coconut and ½ cup butter
Bake 180 degrees for 15 minutes.
Topping
Put 2  blended R2E2 mangoes, ½ cup orange & mango juice and 2 tbs custard powder into a saucepan and bring to boil. Add more juice if too thick.
Turn down heat and stir until thick. Pour over base while still warm then sprinkle with coconut.

Mango with Avocado Ice Cream
Combine 500ml coconut milk, 2 avocados, 60ml honey, 10ml vanilla bean extract into a blender and blend until smooth then pour into an ice cream machine. Churn until frozen. Combine 4 diced mangos and ½ bunch of chopped mint and arrange onto plates, then spoon passionfruit over the diced mango and serve with a large scoop of the avocado ice cream. Garnish with mint. If storing the ice cream for more than 2 days, add 30ml of glucose syrup to prevent the ice cream from hardening.

Coconut and Mango Pudding   by Ann Dickson
Lightly grease 8 ½ cup moulds with vegetable oil.
Combine 800gm mango puree, 1 cup coconut milk and ½ cup cold water.
Dissolve 2 tbs gelatine and ¾ cup sugar in 1 cup hot water.
Pour the gelatine mixture into the mango mixture and stir til combined.
Chill til set.
To serve, dip the moulds briefly in hot water, turn out and serve with seasonal fruit & ice cream

Mango Wine Recipe   Congratulations to Leigh Boileau for taking out a First for your class at the RNA Show. It was a really well balanced Mango wine. A winning Mango wine is a very difficult feat to pull off as it’s so hard to get a good balance. So from all of the Brewers, ‘Well done Mate’, and I hope we see a lot more club entries into the RNA Show next year.  Ref: Tony Bilborough

Boil 3.5 L of water. While boiling the water, prepare 1.5 kg of mangoes by peeling, slicing and dicing. Liquefy the fruit using a blender. If there is no blender available, you can put the mangoes inside a straining bag, place it inside the fermenting bucket, then mash the mangoes using a potato masher. When the water boils, add 1.3 kg of sugar to the water. Stir the hot water to make it absorb more sugar. Once all the sugar has been dissolved the liquid substance will become syrupy. Let it cool a bit, then pour the liquid on the mashed mango inside the fermentor. Add ¼ tsp tannin, 1 ½ tsp acid blend, 2 Campden tablets and 1 tsp yeast nutrients together with the mixture in the fermentor. Cover the fermentor and leave it at room temperature for 24 hours. Then add ½ tsp pectic enzyme. Leave it again for 12 hours. Add 1 tsp wine yeast. Let yeast do its work for 10 days. Squeeze the straining bag 2-3 times a day for ten days. On the tenth day, squeeze the straining bag till dry then discard the bag and the pulp. Let everything settle overnight. Siphon the concoction to the secondary fermentor. Minimize the transfer of lees from the primary to the secondary. Air lock the secondary and leave it for 30 days. Rack the wine every two months for six months or until wine has no more lees. Bottle and age.

Sheryl   The Club has equipment that you can borrow courtesy of Judy Walker – contact Sheryl.

We also have preserving equipment you can have the loan of courtesy of Noreen Lehmann.

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• Strawberry Jam   by Inge Harmer  This recipe works for all fruit
  To sterilize the glass jars, put them through the dishwasher or wash them thoroughly then pour boiling water into them then turn upside down onto a tea towel to drain excess water out of them. Wash the lids then put them in a jug and pour boiling water over them, then tip them out to dry. Metal lids are better as plastic doesn’t seal properly but you can use plastic but it won’t keep as long. If you have a glut of fruit and no jars or time, then cut up your fruit and mix in the sugar then freeze.Put 1kg strawberries (cleaned, hulled and cut into pieces) into a stainless steel saucepan preferably with a heavy base then add 1kg sugar & mix. Leave overnight or if you want a lighter mix, just leave for a couple of hours. Bring slowly to the boil stirring to dissolve sugar then wait a few minutes before you add 1 tsp citric acid and 1 tsp pectin mixed with a bit of sugar (approx. 1 tbspn) to the pot. You can use the juice of one lemon instead of the citric acid but don’t use the Meyer variety. Saucepan must be less than half full otherwise transfer half of it to another saucepan to do the hard boil stage. It’s best not to have a huge deep heavy pot as it is too heavy to lift once cooking is finished. Hard boil for 10 min then test for setting (have a cold plate in the freezer, put a teaspoon of jam on this plate & pop into freezer for 1 min. To test, push side of jam – if it wrinkles it will set) Stir occasionally during the cooking phase. After cooking has finished, turn off the stove. If you have made the jam in two pots, then transfer back into the one pot and take the scum off the top. You can use the scum as a spread on toast etc. Leave jam for 10 mins before filling the jars so the fruit won’t float to the top. Have 4-8 clean sterilized jars ready but this will depend on size. There is a special wide mouthed funnel available so you can easily ladle the hot mix in otherwise have a glass jug that has a good pouring lip and ladle the hot mix into the jug. You don’t need to fill right to the top but put the lids on immediately.
• Wine or Jelly Palm – Butia capatta Jam The jam was very popular with my acquaintances. After some trial and error, I found the easiest way to make it was as follows: Wash the fruit and boil them up in a big pot, adding water to just cover. Let it cool, and pour off the liquid, which can be used later as juice or syrup cordial with sugar to taste. The seeds of the fruit can now be easily squeezed out or otherwise removed. Take as many fruit as you can get into your hands and squeeze the pulp into a weighed pot. There will be quite a bit of almost dry fibre left in your hands to go on the compost. Do handful after handful. Weigh the pulp and put in an equal weight of sugar, boil, and bottle the jam. Pour the juice, which was saved, into the pot and boil it, either with or without sugar, and bottle it by the overflow method. During the mid-eighties I planted seedlings of our Canberra Butia into two Brisbane area gardens. They both did well, the one in full sun better then the one in full shade, and it bore sooner, too. I was surprised that the former had fruit of a more pinky colour with still a little green when they dropped, but the taste was the same. It was then 1 m high. This tree was removed because it was in the way, but the one in the shade is still alive, and as the soil around it is covered in seeds, it must have borne well. I don’t think the new owners know that the fruit is edible.  Ref:  Helga ChristiansenThe author T.R. in Encyclopaedia of Australian Gardening, page 557, writes: “Butia is one of the hardiest of all palms, rivalling the dates (Phoenix). Like all grey-leaved palms, it is completely sun tolerant, even when young, and has a deep, powerful root system capable of penetrating hard clay soil. Climate: Warm to hot moist coast to tropical areas”. I can vouch for the Canberra climate, too.
• Apricot & Pumpkin Jam   by Russell Reinhardt
  Combine 250g chopped dried apricots with 1 litre of water in a bowl, cover and stand overnight.
  Combine in large saucepan: undrained apricots, 375g pumpkin, ¼ cup lemon juice, 2 tbs chopped glace ginger.
  Bring to boil, simmer, covered for about 20 minutes or till pumpkin is soft.
  Stir in 4 cups sugar and stir over heat, without boiling till sugar is dissolved.
  Once sugar is dissolved, bring to boil, boil uncovered without stirring for about 30 minutes or till jam jells when tested.
  Pour into hot, sterilised jars. Seal when cold.
   
• Sugar free Jam   Great for diabetics    by Gloria Gibson – Nelson NZ   
  Gloria works in a rest home and makes sugar free jam for diabetic residents.
  Put 450 gms of fruit (blackberries, strawberries, blueberries or diced plums) in a pot and simmer gently until the fruit is soft but holding its shape. Add 1 tbsp powdered gelatin and stir through until dissolved. The jam will firm up when refrigerated.
   
• Jackfruit Jam  by Jenny Scodellaro
  Boil 1 cup jackfruit puree and ¾ cup sugar with constant stirring until thick and clear.
  Pack while hot into sterilized jars and seal tightly.
   
• Kiwano Jam – a Carribean recipe 
  Peel 1kg kiwano –  cut in half lengthwise then cut into ¼ inch thick slices from golden yellow fruit.
  Put kiwano slices and all the seeds in a large saucepan.
  Add 3 cups of brown sugar and juice of 1 lime – let stand for 20minutes – stir occasionally
  Bring to the boil and cook for 20 – 30 mins on moderate heat.
  Add 2 tsp star anise a few minutes before the end of cooking.
  Pour into sterile jars. The seeds in the jam develop an almond flavour after a few weeks.
   
• Tamarillo Jam     by Mark Kickbusch
  Cut in half lengthwise and take off stalks. Boil 1 kg tamarillos  with 600ml water for 15 minutes. Remove skins, add 1kg sugar and boil another 30 minutes until it sets.

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• Jackfruit Jam by Jenny Scodellaro
  Boil 1 cup jackfruit puree and ¾ cup sugar with constant stirring until thick and clear.
  Pack while hot into sterilized jars and seal tightly.

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Ice Cream Plum Pudding      by Sheryl Backhouse
Dissolve 1 tbsp cocoa in 2tbsp hot water
Mix:  375gm small size currants, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg, 2 tsp mixed spice, 3tbs brandy,
Add cocoa mix and stand overnight
Beat: 6 egg whites until stiff and add 1/3 cup castor sugar
Beat: 600ml thickened cream with 1/3 cup castor sugar
Blend all ingredients together by hand
Place in a bowl lined with foil. Freeze until solid. To turn out, run water over the base of the bowl.
The original recipe called for mixed dried fruit but I chose to use currants.
If you decide to substitute, don’t use any largest pieces of fruit as they remain in their frozen state.
The recipe said you could use rum or sherry as an option.
It can be made weeks in advance.
I note that some manufacturers are putting out cream in 500ml containers – I think this would be fine.
I also used a stainless steel platter which I kept in the freezer to keep it cold when serving.
I used a 230mm round silicone ware container – doesn’t rust, easy to clean and exceptionally easy to turn out as food doesn’t adhere.
Grate a little chocolate over the top.

Fruit Icecream   This recipe is from Maleny Dairies website. No ice cream machine needed.
Instead of using ice cream sticks, layer it in small individual containers.
Pour 600 ml Maleny Dairies Cream into a large bowl.
Add 2 tablespoons honey (or to taste), 1 teaspoons vanilla paste/essence
and 2 teaspoons coconut sugar (or other sugar)
Carefully whip the cream.
Taste. Drizzle carefully with extra honey if desired.
Blend 2 ripe mangoes until smooth and runny.
Arrange some ice cream moulds or plastic cups
Fill with a layer of the cream then some macadamias then mango, then cream, more macadamias then mango until filled with the final layer being cream. (about ½ cup raw macadamias in this recipe)
Insert the ice cream stick or lid with stick and freeze for at least 4 hours.
Optionally swirl the layers lightly together a little or leave as layers.
Run the outside under lukewarm water until ice creams can be easily removed.
Thank you Bec from author Rebecca Mugridge  Enjoy everyone!

Egg yoke recipe – Irish Coffee Ice Cream
In a double boiler beat 6 egg yokes, ¾ cup castor sugar and 1½ tbs instant coffee powder over hot water until thick and creamy. Remove from heat and when cold, fold in 3tbs Irish Whiskey (or substitute) and 450ml of cream. Pour into very small moulds or just give folk a small scoop due to calorie content!!

Pineapple & Lemon Cordial Sorbet       by Jackie French
Puree 2 cups of fresh pineapple which has been peeled and chopped
Add ½ cup of lemon cordial and blend in with pineapple
Place mixture in a freezer proof container with the lid on until set.
Remove from freezer, scrape out and serve.

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• Brandied Grapes  by  Jenny Scodellaro
  Place 2kgs seedless grapes in a large bowl.
  Mix ¾ cup liquid honey, ¾ cup brandy and 2 tbsps lemon juice and pour over grapes
  Cover and refrigerate for about 3 hours, stirring once or twice.
  Serve with sour cream.

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• Fruit Cobbler  There’s a few variations to this recipe, basically put a kilo of cut up fruit into a shallow, wide oven proof dish. The commercial recipes use 2 cut up bananas & 450gm tin of drained pineapple pieces but use what you have.
  Topping: Mix together in a separate bowl: 1 cup sugar, 1 cup desiccated coconut, ½ cup SR flour, ½ cup oil, juice from drained tin of pineapple.
  Spoon the mixture roughly on top of the fruit and bake for 30 minutes till golden brown.
  For a dinner party, bake in individual dishes.
   
• Fruit Crumble
  This is best mixed in a Whizz – exceptionally quick! Don’t double the quantity as the whizz can’t handle it!
  Mix together:   1 cup S.R. flour (125gms) 175gms raw sugar and 125gms cold butter & 1/2tsp salt.
  Use any type of fruit – fresh, cooked or tinned. Grease a baking dish, put the fruit in the bottom and cover thickly with the crumble. Cook at 180C for 40 minutes. Crumble can be kept in the freezer and brought out when you need to make a quick dessert!Crumble No 2
  170gms butter, 1 cup SR flour, 1 cup rolled oats, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp nutmeg, a pinch of clove, 1/4 tsp saltUse half/half quantities of fruit/sugar with lemon pips for pectin.
   
• Fruit Cake by Jenny Scodellaro
  Soak 1 kilogram mixed dried fruit in 2 cups strong black coffee overnight
  Add 2 cups self raising flour (can use gluten free if required), 100 gms dark chocolate (sugar-free, broken into small pieces, available in most supermarkets) and 2 eggs
  Place in 20cm x 20cm fruit cake tin, lined with baking paper.
  Bake 90 minutes at 180° C. Cool before removing from tin.
  Cut into small pieces, as it is very rich and filling.
  Pieces can be wrapped in plastic and frozen individually.
   
• Simple Fruit Cake  (this is a slight variation on above recipe)
  Soak 1kg packet of sultanas in 600ml of coffee milk overnight
  Mix in 2 cups of SR flour the next day
  Line the tin with baking paper – spray and dust with flour
  Cook 1¾ hours – 2 hours on 150°C
  Variations:  Soak fruit in 2 cups hot black coffee and when cold, add flour and 125gms chocolate chips.
  You could also use mixed fruit.
   
• Ice Cream Plum Pudding
  Dissolve 1 tbsp cocoa in 2tbsp hot water
  Mix:  375gm small size currants, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg, 2 tsp mixed spice, 3tbs brandy,
  Add cocoa mix and stand overnight
  Beat: 6 egg whites until stiff and add 1/3 cup castor sugar
  Beat: 600ml thickened cream with 1/3 cup castor sugar
  Blend all ingredients together by hand
  Place in a bowl lined with foil. I use a 230mm round silicone ware container without the foil – doesn’t rust, easy to clean and exceptionally easy to turn out as food doesn’t adhere.
  Freeze until solid. To turn out, run water over the base of the bowl.
  The original recipe called for mixed dried fruit but I chose to use currants as I don’t like citrus peel etc.
  If you decide to substitute, don’t use any large pieces of fruit as they remain in their frozen state.
  The recipe said you could use rum or sherry as an option.
  It can be made weeks in advance.
  I note that some manufacturers are putting out cream in 500ml containers – I think this would be fine.
  I also used a stainless steel platter which I keep in the freezer to keep it cold when serving.
  Grate a little chocolate over the top when serving.
   
• Fruit Sponge Dessert
  Place cooked fruit in dish.
  Beat:  2 eggs and ½ tsp vanilla until thick and creamy
  Add:  ¼ cup castor sugar gradually and beat until dissolved
  Fold in ½ cup SR flour and a pinch of salt
  Place on top of cooked fruit – sprinkle with 1 tbsp sugar if desired
  Bake 30 minutes
   
• Microwave Apple Crunch
  260cm container
  Sprinkle Pkt Whitewings buttercake mix over 800gm tin of apples
  Cut 125gm hard butter into thin slices and cover completely.
  Mix together 3tbs brown sugar, 3 tbs coconut, 1tsp cinnamon, 2tbs nuts (you can substitute coconut for the nuts) and put on top.
  Cook on high for 10 mins at 750W but check – might need extra
   
• Fruit Pudding  Liberally butter a dish then sprinkle the base with a bit of castor sugar. Optional: chopped nuts and shredded coconut.  Then place your fruit on top of this. You can either mix up a plain packet mix or beat 120gms butter with 120gms of sugar. Beat in two eggs and a little vanilla essence. Fold in 180 gms of SR flour.
  Bake 180ºC for 45 mins. though timing will depend on the size of your dish. This dish can also be turned upside down onto a warm plate and served with custard, cream or ice-cream.
   
• Apricot Slice
  Soak 250gms chopped apricots in boiling water for 15 mins.
  Melt 125gm butter
  Mix together 2 cups SR flour, 1 cup desiccated coconut and 1 cup raw sugar
  Add ½ cup milk to dry ingredients
  Drain the apricots discarding the water then add apricots to this mix
  Mix butter in with the ingredients
  Press the mixture into a lamington tin lined with baking paper and bake at 180ºC for 30-45 mins.
  Ice with 1 cup icing sugar, lemon juice and rind and a knob of soft butter
   
• Bread and Butter Pudding with Whiskey Sauce
  Marinate sultanas/fruit overnight
  Use one day old French stick cut up into small chunks – about 6 to each dish.
  Beat together 4 eggs, 600ml cream, vanilla
  Melt 2tbs butter and add 2tbs sugar and add to mix
  Put marinated sultanas in individual medium size dishes which have been buttered.
  Add the mix and cook half an hour in pan with hot water.
  Whiskey Sauce
  In a double boiler add:
  250gm unsalted butter,
  Beat 1 cup sugar and 1 egg and add to melted butter – cook 2-3 mins – DON’T BOIL, COOL
  Add ½ cup bourbon
   
• Prunes in Marsala
  Stir and gently bring to the boil and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes:
  2 packets of pitted prunes, 1/2cup sugar, 3/4cup water, 3/4cup orange juice (no pith)
  When cool, add 1/2cup marsala
  No need to refrigerate, keep in an airtight glass jar – may need a little extra marsala if kept for some time.
   
• Quick Fruit Slice 
  Combine:  1 cup each of SR flour, sugar, mixed fruit, coconut and 1 egg then add 150gms melted butter.
  Cook at 150° for 25-30 mins.
• Citrus Crumble  Chop up 3 oranges, mandarins or grapefruit – add to pie dish.
  Sprinkle with ½ cup dried fruit eg cranberries, craisins or currants & 3 pieces finely chopped glace ginger
  Crumble Top: ½ cup each of brown sugar, SR flour, coconut, rolled oats, 1 zested orange
  Bake 180°C until the top browns – serve with custard, cream or ice-cream.
   
• Sugar free desserts   contributed by Diane Moscheller from various authors over many years
• Froyo
  Combine 4 cups Greek yogurt, 1 cup frozen fruit of choice, 1 tab of honey.  Push through a sieve to avoid icy chunks.  Mix in food processor til well blended.  Freeze a few hours. Ready to scoop!Strawberry Ice Cream
  500g strawberries, 2 medium bananas, 1 avocado, ¼ cup honey, ½ cup orange juice or 2 tabs tahina (for a creamier texture)  Blend high speed. Pour into a container and freeze.Vanilla Ice cream
  4 small bananas, peeled, chopped and frozen, ½ cup soy or thick nut milk, 1 tspn vanilla, 1 tab tahina, ½-1 tab honey. Blend and freeze.Banana and Caramel Ice cream
  8 very ripe bananas (1.3g) Peel, thin slice. Freeze at least 6 hours.  Remove from freezer, rest 5 mins. Place in food processor til smooth.  At this point add 12 Medjool dates – pits removed.Cashew Cream
  1 cup cashews  (best activated overnight in water in frig), ½ cup of water or orange juice, 1-2 tspns honey
  Blend nuts and liquid as finely as possible.  Add a little honey and nutmeg. Use as a topping for fruit.Strawberry  Jelly
  Soak 2 tabs agar flakes (from sea vegetables no sulphide) overnight in 1 cup of water or a minimum of 2 hours. Heat agar til boiling and simmer til flakes dissolve. 
  Blend 500gms strawberries, 1 cup fresh apple juice, ¼-½ cup honey.
  Combine strawberry mixture with agar and blend briefly.  Pour into a mould and refrigerate til set.Tofu Lemon Cream
  400g tofu, ½ cup lemon juice, grated rind of two lemons, maple syrup to taste. Blend well & refrigerate.Note:  You can omit the honey/ maple syrup in all these recipes. 
  For a sugar replacement flavour cinnamon is ideal.
  As these are all fresh they only have a limited shelf life so make and enjoy within days.

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• Feijoa Jam  Bring to the boil 2lb peeled & sliced Feijoas and ½ cup water then simmer until fruit is tender. Add 2 lb sugar, grated rind and juice of one lemon and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil and boil rapidly for 10 minutes. Test for setting and continue cooking as necessary until jam is set. Seal with paraffin wax.
   
• Feijoa Loaf
  Place 1 cup peeled chopped feijoas, 1 cup boiling water, 1 cup sugar and 50g butter in a pan, simmer
  5 minutes and cool slightly.  Add 1 beaten egg, 2 cups self-raising flour and 1 teaspoon baking soda.
  Pour mixture into a loaf tin and bake at 180 degrees C for 40-50 minutes. Yummy plain or buttered.
   
• Using Feijoa Skins  Lindsay Smith has discovered a new treat, which uses a hitherto wasted resource, feijoa skins. The idea comes from a blog by PhD student Isa Ritchie who says: “I loosely fill a 1.5 litre sealable jar with the empty skins, then fill it almost to the top with water and add about ¼ cup of sugar (I guess honey would work too)…(the powdery stuff on the feijoa skin is actually yeast). “The flavour leaches out of the skins, along with vitamin C and other things I assume, and makes a delicious feijoa-tasting drink in a couple of days. When the weather was warmer it took two days on the bench to get to the fizzy-drink stage but now I’m experimenting with putting them in the hot water cupboard after a few less fizzy brews.” Lindsay reckons that since pears produce perry then feijoas might produce ferry. Your bibulous Nelson Branch newsletter editor Peter Syms had a wee taste of two-day old stuff and found it refreshing. Isa Ritchie also tried chopping the skins up into small pieces and cooking them in honey for a while – it created a sort of glaze which she thought would be great over cheesecake, or it could be poured into a jar and consumed as marmalade. Her daughter loves eating the glacé feijoa skins – she’s convinced they’re candy!

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I recently froze some elderberries.  I use the flowers for on top of salads, cordials.  You can also make fritters with the flowers.     Ref: Diane

Elderberry and Passionfruit Wine to Make a Dry Red    by Bruce Chadfield

– 5L or 7L bottles
– 2kg liquidised elderberries, preferably picked fresh, frozen, and then defrosted
– 400g passionfruit pulp
– 3.8L water   1kg sugar
– 1/2 teaspoon red tannin powder
Add 1 teaspoon yeast nutrient, 1 tspn pectolitic enzyme, 1 tspn tartaric acid, 1 tspn citric acid, and   Gervin (Variety A) yeast

Sterilise a 20L container, preferably an esky with a tight-fitting lid, but make sure it is NOT airtight.  Pour the liquidised fruit into the esky.  A small amount of the water may be used to make the liquidising easier.  Bring the rest of the water and the sugar to the boil in a separate pan.  When boiling, pour over the fruit and close the esky.  Leave to stand for 12 – 24 hours, then add the yeast, the pectolase, the yeast nutrient, the tartaric acid, the citric acid and the tannin.  Leave to ferment for ten days, stirring twice a day with a clean wooden spoon.  The lid should be left on the esky at all other times.
At the end of the ten days, strain the contents through a nylon bag into a sterile bucket, then transfer into sterilised demijohns (leave approximately 2 – 3 cm air gap between the top of the wine and the bottom of the bung), fit an air lock, half fill with water, and plug the other end of the air lock with a loose plug of cotton wool.  At this stage there will be more than 5L, so you will need to assess what quantity is left and put it into whatever container you have, such that there is a small air gap at the top, and an air lock can be fitted.  Leave to finish fermenting and partially clear for another three to six weeks, then siphon the clearer wine from the sediment and put the wine into a new sterilised 5L demijohn.  At this stage, there may or may not be a small amount of wine left over.  Again, put this into a small container to which an air lock can be fitted.  Leave wine to stand and clear for a further four weeks – it may take longer.  When the clarity you require is achieved and you are sure that there is no movement of the water level in the air lock (apart from that expected from contraction due to varying temperatures day and night), the wine can be siphoned into bottles and stored appropriately.
Elderberry wine, unlike many other fruit wines, is one wine that does seem to improve with age.

Elderberry champagne 
Get a 10 litre bucket, add 10 elderflower heads, juice and rind of 4 lemons, 4.5 ltrs water, 1 heaped tsp of cream of tartar (can substitute white wine vinegar), 450gms of sugar, wash flower heads and grate lemon rind, place in bowl and add water, cream of tartar, sugar (dissolve it in hot water some of the water) Champagne can be drunk almost immediately but can keep for several weeks. Wait until the bottle goes firm before you start to drink which usually is around 3 days but don’t leave it for more than a few weeks otherwise the bottle can blow!! Don’t use glass bottles for this reason – only soft drink bottles.
You can also substitute rose petals for the elder flowers and I’ve also used citrus too.

Homemade Wine using Silver Birch
I drilled holes in all my Silver Birch trees and put a piece of garden hose in the hole and put a 2 litre plastic soft drink bottle on the other end of the hose and in 2 days and I made wine following a recipe in a book.

Rice Wine
I put rice through the coffee grinder and made rice wine and it was potent! Neither Regina nor myself drink so I don’t make wine anymore.

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Dragon Fruit can last for up to 2-3 weeks in a plastic bag if kept in the refrigerator. You can also freeze dragon fruit but the texture will be altered and it will best be used in a sauce or sorbet.

Simple Dragon Fruit Ice Cream    ref: Raymond Patterson – Pitaya yahoogroup
2 cups dragon fruit
2 cups half and half (half light cream and half milk)
1 cup sugar
I’ve experimented with other sweeteners to cut down sugar level, so far the only working alternative I’ve found is agave nectar, as the cactus sweetener seems compatible with the dragon fruit.

Pashionate Dragon Ice Cream   ref:  llnickers – Pitaya yahoogroup
Warm 1 cup milk in a small saucepan.Whisk 2 eggs with ½ cup sugar in a separate bowl.
Slowly add the warm milk to egg mixture continuing to whisk.
Pour mixture back into the pan and heat slowly until thickened, stirring constantly. DO NOT BOIL.
Let cool to room temperature
Add 2 cups of cream or half cream/half milk plus 2tsp vanilla and chill overnight.
Put in a 1 quart ice cream maker and follow manufacturer’s instructions.
Add 1- ½ cups peeled dragon fruit cut into ½” cubes dragon fruit chunks and ½ cup passionfruit (strain out some of the seeds) just before the end of the freezing process – or ¼ cup lemon juice can be substituted for passion fruit.  Makes about 1 litre.  Yum!

Dragon Fruit Ice Cream using Coconut Milk
Cut your dragon fruit in half, use a spoon and remove all the fruit and process in a food processor.
Combine 1 can full fat coconut milk (475ml), 3 egg yolks, 1 tsp vanilla and a pinch of sea salt in a sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to a mild boil constantly whisking. Remove from heat and let cool. Add your dragon fruit to your cooled coconut milk mixture. Once mixed, place in your refrigerator to cool, for at least 2 hours but you can leave it overnight. Remove from the fridge and immediately use in your ice cream maker after you mix it slightly to ensure nothing settled. This ice cream will not turn into a brick like most coconut milk ice cream. Enjoy once it is done. Live on the edge a little and serve in the shell of the fruit. Enjoy.  Ref:  http://civilizedcavemancooking.com/recipes/desserts/dragon-fruit-ice-cre…