The Rose Collection

Jack grew up in north eastern Queensland, Australia. His mother, Rose, was a heck of a cook and was well known at the local Farmers Markets, bake sales and agricultural fairs. She would get weekly orders for her cakes, jams, chutneys and crocheted goods.

Christmas was always very busy with her small kitchen producing many Christmas puddings and fruit cakes. We got to eat some great goodies as well. She built up a collection of her recipes, including some by her mother and grandmother, and created what now looks like a bundle of five pretty ratty books.

The collected works are predominately in her handwriting with a fair share of clippings from many places going back over 60 years. The collection of books are still in the family with one of Jack's sisters. On a visit to Australia in 2008, Jack scanned every page in those books, indexed them, and put together an interactive document. A DVD was burnt and distributed to the family. Now, the recipes are available to all the family, from Australia to New Zealand, Canada, Scotland and the United States. So, Rose's collection lives on, and from time to time, Jack will dig into it and retrieve a gem for you to practice your culinary skills and for your foodie gastronomic pleasure.

Jack now write a foodie blog called Gourmet Jack. The collection is a rich source of Jack's food experiences growing up. A goal is to make and publish many of his favorites, and, ultimately, condense  some publishable recipe books together. The first from The Rose Collection to appear on Gourmet Jack, was one that always had Jack intrigued: The Impossible Pie. You can print the recipe.

Big leap of faith here! Just play along with the instructions, and you will finish up with a pie that has a definite crust, a lovely custard filling, and a rich butter-coconut topping. Get the plates ready.