Ingredients (serves 1-2):

• Chicken thighs cut into chunks
• 1 x thumb sized bit of ginger – finely sliced
• 1 x garlic clove – finely sliced
• 1/2 small jar of hoi sin sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 or 2 spring onions – sliced
• 3 or 4 pieces of tenderstem broccoli – cut into 2 inch chunks

Combine the chicken, ginger, garlic, hoi sin sauce, soy sauce, olive oil and spring onions and allow to marinate in the fridge for 24 hours.

Heat a pan up on the hob and start frying the marinated chicken on a medium heat.  After 3 or 4 minutes add in the broccoli and cook until the chicken is done and the broccoli soft and sweet.  Serve with salad or fries!  Tasty stuff!

Ingredients (serves 2-3):

• 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 carrot – chopped
• 1 onion – chopped
• 3 garlic cloves – cut in half
• 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
• 1 bay leaves
• 1 breast of lamb
• 1/2 bottle of cheap white wine (not too cheap though!)
• 2 tablespoons of English mustard
• 50g white breadcrumbs
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil

Start by heating the oven to 180 degrees C.  Put a pan on a medium heat and cook the carrots, onion and garlic for about five minutes.  Transfer them to an oven dish and sprinkle on the thyme and throw in the bay leaves.  Place the lamb breast on top and then pour over the white wine and about 150ml of water.  Season with salt and pepper and then either put the lid on or cover with tin foil.  Put it into the oven for 2-2 1/2 hours.

Remove the dish from the oven and allow to sit for a few minutes to cool slightly.  Increase the temperature of the oven to around 200 degrees C.  Remove the lamb from the oven dish and place it onto a chopping board.  Put the lid back onto the oven dish.  Remove the string if there is some.  Cover the lamb with first the mustard, then the breadcrumbs and finally a glug of olive oil.  Put the breast onto an oven tray and bake in the oven until the crust is nice and crispy.

Serve with the veg and juice in a bowl, warming through if necessary, and some new potatoes done in the oven with some butter!

Ingredients (serves 2 as a starter or 1 as a main):

• 1/2 loaf of rye bread cut in half
• 10 x cherry tomatoes chopped in half
• 1 large clove of garlic finely sliced
• 1/2 an onion – sliced
• 2 x spring onions – sliced
• Olive oil
• 1 x teaspoon of oregano
• 100ml of white wine
• 1 chicken breast or 2 chicken thighs – cut into chunks
• 1/2 teaspoon of chilli flakes (optional)

In one pan fry the chicken in a little olive oil until golden brown and cooked right through.  At the same time, in another pan, fry off the onions and tomatoes for a couple of minutes in some oil.  When the tomatoes start to go soft add in the oregano and chilli flakes along with the white wine and give it a stir.  When the wine has nearly reduced by half add in the spring onions and continue to simmer.

Just before the chicken and the onion and tomato mix is ready stick the bread into the oven or under the grill with a little olive oil drizzled over it.  Take the bread out when it’s gone light brown and top with the tomato, onion and chicken.  Enjoy!

Ingredients (serves 2):

• 300 grams potatoes
• 100 grams salmon fillet
• 1 teaspoon of dried parsley
• 1 egg
• 1 lemon
• Olive oil
• 1 tablespoon plain flour

Bring a pan of lightly salted water to the boil and put the potatoes on to boil after peeling them and chopping them up into smaller pieces to help them cook quicker.  Half way through the cooking of the potatoes rub olive oil over the salmon fillet(s), place them into a colander and put the colander over the pan with the potatoes in.  Cover the colander with foil and let the salmon steam cook.  Once both the salmon and potatoes are cooked remove the salmon from the colander and drain the potatoes then return them to the pan.  After a couple of minutes mash the potato up until smooth.  Remove the skin from the salmon and flake it into the potato along with the flour, egg, parsley and a good grind of salt and pepper.  Grate over some lemon zest and mix the ingredients together well.

To make the fishcakes, lightly flour a plate and then with a little flour on your hands grab a ball of the salmon and potato mix and form into a 2cm thick circle.  Place onto the floured plate and repeat until the mixture is gone.  Heat a pan up and pour in some olive oil.  Fry the fishcakes for 3-5 minutes either side until lovely and golden brown.  You can serve them with chips, potatoes, salad, veg etc.

Ingredients (serves 3-4):

• 500g of strawberries with the stalks removed and then cut in half
• 75g of icing sugar
• 40g of caster sugar
• 200ml of double cream
• 200g of natural yoghurt

Start by blending to a puree a third of the strawberries along with all of the icing sugar.  Place the remaining strawberries in a bowl and cover with the caster sugar.  Whip the cream in a large bowl until soft peaks appear.  Add in the strawberries, puree and yoghurt.  Divide it up or keep it in the large bowl and refrigerate until you want to serve it up.  Simplez.  I served it on some meringues.

Ingredients (serves 2-4):

• 1 pork loin
• 100g Breadcrumbs
• 2 lemons
• 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary
• 1 heaped teaspoon of wholegrain mustard
• 50g Plain flour
• 100ml Milk
• 2 eggs
• 100g butter
• Olive oil
• 1/2 glass of white wine

Start by slicing the pork loin into 1/2 inch slices and then beat with a meat hammer until half the thickness.  Next, you’ll need 3 bowls.  In the first you should put the breadcrumbs, zest of the 2 lemons, rosemary and salt and pepper.  Mix that together.  In the second you should pour the milk in and then lightly beat in the 2 eggs.  In the third add the flour.  Once those are prepared you will need to dip each pork escalope in the flour then milk and egg mixture and finally the breadcrumbs.  Repeat the egg wash and breadcrumbs if the escalope needs a little more coating.

Once all the escalopes are well coated you’ll need to heat a pan up and melt a little butter with a glug of olive oil.  When the butter starts to foam add in enough escalopes to cover the base of the pan.  Fry on a medium to high heat until golden brown and cook.  Remove the escalopes from the pan and keep warm somewhere while you do the rest of the pork.  The final step is to make the sauce, which you do by melting the remaining butter along with the juice of the 2 lemons and wine, bring the sauce to a boil and then simmering until reduced by half.

Serve the pork escalopes on a bed of mash drizzled with the sauce.  You also add a side salad.

Ingredients (serves 1-2):

• 2 heaped teaspoons of sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon of light brown sugar
• 5 shallots – finely sliced
• 3 garlic cloves – finely sliced
• 3 spring onions – finely sliced
• Thumb size of ginger – finely sliced
• 3 or 4 small slices of frying steak per person

After you’ve sliced the shallots, garlic cloves, spring onions and ginger mix them together in a bowl with the soy sauce, brown sugar and a grind of pepper.  Lightly toast the sesame seeds and add half of them into the bowl with the other ingredients.  Mix the beef into the marinade and leave for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes remove the beef from the marinade and fry it on both sides until cooked to your preference.  Remove the beef from the pan and wrap in tin foil to keep warm.  Pour the marinade into the pan and melt in a knob of butter and a glug of white wine.  Bring it to a simmer and reduce it to a nice sauce.

To serve, place the beef onto a sliced baguette, pour over the reduced marinade and sprinkle over the other half of the toasted sesame seeds and some additional sliced spring onion.

Ingredients:

• Enough bramley apples to fill the pie dish you’re using
• Puff pastry
• Dash of cinnamon
• Dash of flour (optional)
• Sugar

Start by pre-heating the oven to 190 degrees C.  Peel, core and slice the apples into bite size chunks and put into a pan with 50-100g of sugar and a dash of cinnamon.  Cook on a low heat while you roll out the pastry.  Roll out the pastry to about 2-3mm thick and line the pie dish with some.  Make sure you leave enough to make either a full circle or ribbons to cover the apple mixture.  When the apples have started to go soft and have released some of their juice they’re ready to pour into the pie.  If there is too much juice sprinkly a little flour into the apples, if it looks a bit dry add some water.  Pour the apple mix into the pastry lined pie dish evenly.  Then cover with either a full circle or the ribbons of pastry.  Cook for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown on top.  Serve with custard or cream!

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 600g pasta – penne etc.
• 50g butter
• 50g plain flour
• 600ml milk
• 250g strong cheddar – grated
• 2 x 160g cans tuna steak – drained (3 cans if you’re all hungry!)
• 330g can sweetcorn – drained
• Large dash of dried parsley

Heat the oven to around 170 degrees C.  Boil the pasta in some lightly salted water until just pre-al dente.  Drain and put to one side.  Melt the butter and flour in a pan and pour in the milk and mix together thoroughly.  Cook until reduced slightly into a nice sauce.  Remove from the heat and stir in a little of the cheese at a time, retaining about 50g for sprinkling on top later.  Mix the pasta into the sauce along with the tuna, parsley and sweetcorn.  Season with salt and pepper.  Pour the mixture into a baking dish and cover with the remaining grated cheese.  Place into the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown on top.  Serve straight away on it’s own or with some garlic bread.

Ingredients (serves 2-4):

• 6 heaped tablespoons of golden syrup
• 100g butter
• 100g sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 100g self-raising flour

Butter a baking dish and pour in the golden syrup evenly around the base.  In a large mixing bowl beat the sugar and butter until pale in colour.  Then proceed to beat in the eggs one at a time and then add the vanilla essence.  Pour in the flour a little at a time and mix well.  Scrape the mixture into the baking dish over the syrup.  Put into the oven at 180 degrees C for upto 30 minutes or until golden and serve straight away with custard or cream!