This recipe is from my new book, The Cook’s Garden. If your family like scones, they will love these ones, so you might want to double the mixture.
I like my scones to stand high (somehow it feels so much more generous), and always bake them close together, packed side by side, so that they rise well.

Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F/Gas 7).
Cream together the butter, sugar and zest.  Stir in the pumpkin and egg. Sift together the dry ingredients and stir into the pumpkin mixture. Add a little milk if mixture is too dry.
Turn out onto a lightly floured bench or board and pat mixture out to 3–4 cm (1–1½ in) thickness.
Cut them out with a glass or round cutter dipped in flour and place close together on a greased tray or tin. Cook for about 20 minutes or until golden.
Try them with homemade Apricot Jam (page 192 of The Cook’s Garden) and thick cream. Heaven! Makes 12

Brack comes from the Gaelic ‘brec’ which means speckled with fruit. In Ireland, the fruit is often soaked overnight in cold tea and whiskey to make it swell. It’s very good sliced and buttered, with cups of hot tea.  A ring is sometimes stirred into the mixture and whoever gets it, it is said, will be married within the year. An un-yeasted version, made with baking powder, is known as tea brack.

Sift together the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Rub through the butter until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Make a well in the middle and pour in the warm milk, the beaten eggs and yeast.
Mix well to combine with a wooden spoon.  Beat in the dried fruits until evenly distributed.  Cover with plastic wrap and a tea-towel and leave in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 – 2 hours (time will depend on the heat of the day – some days it may take longer).
Preheat oven to hot (190degC).
Turn into a greased 23cm diameter cake tin and bake for about an hour.
Make the Glaze by dissolving the sugar in the water.  Brush over the top of the brack and return to the oven for a further 3 minutes.  Test with a skewer before removing from oven.  Cool on a wire tray.

These elegant sandwiches are served by Melbourne caterer, Peter Rowland, in one of the swanky marquees at Flemington on Cup Day.
To make pinwheel bread, ask your local baker to slice a loaf of fresh bread lengthways. This is just one suggested filling – use your imagination to create others (see below).

Lay bread flat on a chopping board, trim crusts and, using a rolling pin, roll out until it is about 1cm thick.
Spread with the cream cheese, roast red capsicum and top with capers.  Roll bread up so you have a 7cm log.
Wrap in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 15 minutes.  Remove and slice carefully, using a serrated knife, into 1cm discs.

Alternative fillings:
1. Use soft goat’s curd instead of soft cream cheese.
2. Use smoked salmon instead of roasted capsicum and season the cream cheese with a little lemon juice and snipped chives.
2. Lay strips of prosciutto over the cream cheese before adding the roasted capsicum and don’t add the capers.
Mini Chef filling suggestions:
1. Spread bread with soft cream cheese and scatter with 100s & 1000s or a layer of grated milk chocolate.
2. Spread bread with soft cream cheese, top with diced strawberries and a sprinkle with a little caster sugar.
3. Spread bread with Nutella and top with diced pink and white marshmallows.

I discovered this crunchy colourful Turkish salad on a recent trip to the Biennale on Cockatoo Island, Sydney Harbour.  Belinda Franks is doing  a great job catering on the island and this is just one of many delicious take-away meals available.  The recipe is an adapation of one from  “Turquoise” by Melbourne chef Greg Malouf. You can use skinned, diced tomatoes if preferred and delete the apricots.

Combine all dressing ingredients. Combine all salad ingredients and dress.
Smear hommus on the bottom of a platter. Place salad on top. Serve pita crisps on the side.