My First Roast Chicken

I tagged along on a trip to Bath with my mum on Saturday and marched around all the places I wanted to visit in under two hours while she had lunch. It was great but I wish I'd had longer! I bought the most beautiful 21cm chef's knife made by I O Shen - the swirls along the handle aren't just decorative but help with the weight and balance of the knife. Then, I visited the amazing Foodie Bugle and chatted to the lovely owners, Silvana and John-Paul de Soissons about their beautiful and eclectic selection of kitchenware for sale. I purchased a pretty tile to take photos against, which is something I've been after for a long time, along with a Falcon enamel pie dish (for 2 potion lasagne in Poitiers) and their first printed magazine - it started out being online. My third and last stop was Richard Bertinet's bakery for some focaccia and a quiche for my supper. Once there I also couldn't resist one of his recipe books that focused just on bread recipes - an excellent find as I have enough cookbooks already that are half bread and half cake!

Raspberry And Nectarine Upside-down Cake

Well, it's been a while, I tried to write a recipe for vanilla ice cream the other day but realised I hadn't made it quite right and I want to make sure it's a good recipe before I share it with you. I've been home for reading week and, in honour of my dad's flying visit back, we cooked a roast - for which I made pudding. It's a great dessert as it involves both cake and raspberries; these are a few of my favourite things (when the dogs bite, when the bee stings ... sorry, got carried away there!) and because you have to spoon it into a bowl it counts as pud, unlike a proper cake. Unfortunately for me I decided to make the cake part by hand and remembered how much easier it is when you have machines to do it for you. If you make your own cakes with the bowl and spoon method then I commend you - you obviously have better arm muscles than I do (maybe I should work mine more at the gym)!

Creaming thee butter and sugar

You can use either peaches or nectarines for the other part of the fruit, depending on what you can get in the supermarket. I prefer to use fresh fruit but so long as you drained them well I see no reason why you could use tinned fruit instead. Even if the cake looks cooked before the 40 minutes in the oven is up, don't take it out, like my one yesterday, it will still be liquid in the middle! Just put tin foil over the dish to stop the top from browning any more. I make mine in advance and reheat it in a low oven whilst we eat our main course, it saves on stress!

Warming Leftovers Lentil Bake

My mum made this dish often in Singapore and I enjoyed it but felt the meal was too warming for the climate. I made it for my flatmate and a friend in Manchester and it was perfect for the colder weather! It's incredibly healthy with everything you need for a balanced meal - protein, vegetables, carbohydrates and dairy. It's easy to make in advance and reheats well (excellent when it's a recipe for 4 and there's only 2 of us). If you need to omit the meat that's fine otherwise it adds a nice bite and you can use leftovers from the Sunday roast. Also from your Sunday roast you can use uneaten potatoes and vegetables. Food recycling at it's best!

Lentil Bake

Preheat oven or grill

Use a Le Cruset style pan (mine is a size 20)

Ingredients

¾ cup of lentils

1½ cup tomato passata (otherwise puree a tin of tomatoes)

1 roughly diced onion

1 large diced carrot

1 diced red pepper

½ cup of sweetcorn

½ cup of peas

Green beans chopped small, if you have any leftover

Packet of lardon/diced leftover roast lamb or beef/4 diced rashers of fried bacon

2 baking sized potatoes, thinly sliced and boiled

Enough grated cheddar cheese to cover the potatoes

Method

Fry the onions, carrots, peppers and meat on the hob in a bit of oil until soft.

Add the lentils, passata, peas and sweetcorn and cover with a lid, simmering until the lentils are cooked and the liquid has all been absorbed (about 30-40 minutes).

Top with the sliced potatoes and the the cheese.

Place under the grill or in the oven until the cheese is melted and bubbling.

leave to cool for 5 minutes and then enjoy.