So I went out on a mission To The Olive Branch (health food store in North Tamborine) to see what sorts of alternate flours there were It was a whole new world for me, I normally just skim through that isle. To my delight I found all sorts of gluten free whole grain flours ready for me to cook with!!

We can only gorge ourselves on so many buns and eggs, so what to do with the excess? In my family we love our puddings, so post Easter I use the remaining buns and eggs to make a bread and butter pudding with a twist.

Figs have a rich history: the fig tree was the Tree of Life to the ancient Egyptians, and in the Bible they were said to grow in the Garden of Eden and their leaves were allegedly used to cover Adam and Eve’s nakedness.

Versatile and convenient, eggs are a vital ingredient in everything from cakes and meringues to sauces and custards. Or they can just be enjoyed on their own -- boiled, poached, scrambled, fried or baked.

Did you ever think of hiding vegetables in cakes?  The best part is that the children will like making them. I love using ingredients in different ways and cakes are no exception.

Some of the stone fruit has a short season so with the fruit being at its peak right now and the prices so affordable there's no reason not to enjoy all its succulent juicy sweetness.

Ever since the wine buff's movie Sideways*, where wine-aficionado, Miles Raymond (Paul Giamatti) slandered the mighty Merlot grown in America's Napa Valley, the Merlot has been unjustly accused of being a 'not quite' serious wine. 'Not so' says a local Tamborine Mountain winery.

Lemons are in season for most of the year, with a downtime in the late summer and early autumn. I grow eureka for an early-season lemon and the soft-skinned Meyer for harvest through to early summer.

We are very fortunate to have high quality products right here; Tamborine Mountain Coffee plantation is only 500 metres away, and to get tea I only have to go over the border to Murwillumbah for exceptionally delicious Madura Tea.

I love pears, as they go really well with two of my other favourite foods - cheese and wine!! They are often underrated; people often grab a shiny red apple in preference to a dull green pear but they are so much more versatile than the apple.

With the high summer rain fall it is said that roses don’t grow well on the mountain, but I am in for a challenge if it was too easy the results wouldn’t be rewarding!

Recently I got the cheese making bug, so I got my Slow Food friends together and some recipes for 3 simple cheeses- mozzarella, mascarpone and ricotta.

Delicious, low in fat and packed with nutrients, mushrooms come in many varieties and are a highly versatile ingredient.  We are spoilt for choice with mushroom selection at the green grocer and modern growing techniques mean mushrooms are available all year, so there’s never any reason to do without them.

Why is Sourdough so good?  Because this traditional bread making method produces the best tasting bread and the best texture and a wonderful aroma that fills the house during the bake.

In Australia we are spoilt for choice with the many varieties of pumpkins we can grow and that are readily available in the supermarkets. Following are just a few that I love and are very easy to grow here on Tamborine Mountain.

Australians love to eat pumpkins more than any other nationality.  Pumpkins here have achieved iconic status thanks to lady Flo's famous scones.

 At this time of year when lemons are out of season and any Australian citrus is very hard to come by, I have to get creative and get lemon flavour from other plants.

What a delight it was to see bags of Finger Limes at the green shed last week!  They have a short season, so use them now.

If Kangaroo meat is good for the environment, healthy for us and tastes good – Why don’t we eat it more? I think it is the thought of eating it, people don’t want to eat something that is our national symbol.

One thing we can all grow on the Mountain is salad greens. Salads are one of my favourite things to eat, there are so many different leaf varieties and combinations you can put together there is no chance of getting bored!

Tamborine Mountain is known Australia wide for its plentiful, magnificent avocadoes that can be bought at the road side honesty stalls.  They are available all year round, depending on the variety.

I love zucchinis they are so versatile and if you are growing them don’t just stick to the standard dark green, look out for the exiting varieties! Yellow, grey, gold, light green, white and striped, there are even grow ones that are perfect little golf balls!

One of the main goals of Slow Food is to educate children in how to be connected with the land, by knowing where food comes from and how to obtain it cleanly and fairly.  Last week Slow Food had the pleasure of presenting a cheque to Tamborine Mountain State High School to purchase a worm farm

No other vegetable crop can be grown as quickly and easily as beans. With the high summer rain fall on the Mountain beans grow abundantly well.

More than 5,000 representatives from the worldwide Terra Madre network met in Turin, Italy for the fourth time this October 21 to 25 - coinciding once again with the international Slow Food fair Salone del Gusto.

The thistle family may seem an unlikely source of culinary inspiration, but the enduring presence of artichokes in Mediterranean cuisine for thousands of years is testament to their versatility and fantastic flavour - both of which make these good-looking flower buds an enticing choice for spring and summertime eating.

We tend to stick with wheat and rice, but there is a much wider range to choose from. One of my favorites is Australian grown barley.  This Barley Risotto recipe is based on one from Maggie Beer, who isn't afraid to try new things. It has a beautiful nutty flavor and a firmer texture than rice.

More than 5,000 representatives from the worldwide Terra Madre network will meet in Turin, Italy for the fourth time, this October, coinciding once again with the international Slow Food fair Salone de Gusto.

Broad beans are abundant at the moment and are in fashion too!!  They are so good to eat, nutritious and easy to grow on Tamborine Mountain.  Broad beans are legumes and improve the soil wherever they are grown.

Some people think that Tamborine Mountain got its name from the aboriginal word tumbirin. Tum meaning yam and Borine is a water place near a cliff.  Another source says it comes from Tchambreen meaning finger lime. I don’t mind either explanation as they are both foods that I love.

I can’t imagine living and cooking in Queensland without regular supplies of the gorgeous red Tamborine Mountain Rhubarb. For as long as I have lived in Queensland we have always made a pilgrimage to the Mountain to get my fix of this scrumptious, sweet, earthy ruby red vegetable.

There is nothing like the sweetness and visual appeal of young baby vegetables. Buying them with the tops attached and the dirt clinging to them it is even more satisfying.

Terri Taylor looks at season foods grown in gardens all around Tamborine Mountain and gives you recipes to take advantage of this fresh season produce.  This week, it's a winter salad made from ingrediants from Terri's own organic garden.

The Daily Star's Food and Produce Editor.