This dish sounds simple and is quick to prepare, so you can get out in the sun to eat it!

Courgette & watercress salad with grilled fish & herbed aïoli

Ingredients:
about 12 baby courgettes
olive oil
4 fillets white fish, skin on
juice 1⁄2 lemon
bunch mint, leaves picked
100g bag watercress (or use rocket)

2 egg yolks
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 fat garlic clove
200ml mild olive oil
lemon juice , to taste
handful mixed soft herb (such as chives, parsley, mint, and dill) chopped, plus extra leaves to serve

How To:

Heat a griddle pan. Rub courgettes in 1 tsp oil, season, then griddle until just soft. Set aside while you make the aïoli. Whizz egg yolks in a processor with the mustard, garlic and plenty of salt. Gradually add the oil until thick, then season with lemon juice. You can make this with a stick blender (see Know-how, above right). It will keep for a day in the fridge.

Season the fish. Heat a non-stick frying pan until very hot, add 1 tsp oil, then fry the fish, skin-side down, for 3 mins until crisp. Turn and fry the fish for just 30 secs-1 min more until it is cooked all the way through.

To serve, fold the herbs into the aïoli. Whisk 1 tbsp oil with the lemon juice, season, then use to very lightly dress the courgettes, mint and watercress. Pile onto plates, top with fish plus a dollop of aïoli, then scatter with herbs.

Spicy Chicken Kebabs

Makes 20

Ingredients:
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
knob of fresh ginger, roughly chopped
1 orange , grated zest and juice
3 spring onions, roughly chopped
2 tbsp clear honey
1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 small skinless boneless chicken breast fillets , cut into cubes
20 button mushrooms
20 cherry tomatoes
2 large red peppers, seeded and each cut into 10

How To:
Grind the garlic, ginger, orange zest and spring onions to a paste in a food processor. Add the honey, orange juice, soy sauce and oil, then blend again. Pour the mixture over the cubed chicken and leave to marinate for at least 1 hr, but preferably overnight. Toss in the mushrooms for the last half an hour so they take on some of the flavour, too.

Thread the chicken, tomatoes, mushrooms and peppers onto 20 wooden skewers, then cook on a griddle pan for 7-8 mins each side or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked and golden brown. Turn the kebabs frequently and baste with the marinade from time to time until evenly cooked. Arrange on a platter, scatter with chopped spring onion and eat with your fingers.

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It looks like a lot of ingredients but don’t be put off, it tastes great!

Ingredients:

230g can refried beans
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1-2 tsp hot chilli sauce
4 taco shells
Cheddar cheese, grated

For garnish
Avocado, sliced
Sour cream
Lettuce, shredded
A squeeze of lime or lemon juice

For corn bread
1 free-range egg
2 tbsp olive oil
1-2 tbsp fresh hot chilli pepper, chopped
230g can sweetcorn, drained, or 2-3 fresh ears of corn, kernels cut off
110g crème fraiche or sour cream
230g yellow cornmeal
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
460g grated cheese

How to:

Gently fry the onions in 2 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the refried beans. Add the chopped tomato and fry till heated through. Season to taste with chilli sauce and salt if desired.

Warm the taco shells as per the instructions on the packet and half-fill with the refried bean mixture. Top with grated cheese and shredded lettuce, garrnish with sliced avocado and sour cream.

To make the Mexican corn bread, beat the egg with the oil until blended. Add the chilli pepper. Stir in the corn, crème fraiche, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and all but 110g of the cheese. Pour into a 20cm square pan. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Bake in a preheated 180C oven for 40 minutes. Let cool slightly in the pan, than un-mould and serve warm.

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Ingredients:
1½ l vegetable stock
6 thin slices peeled fresh ginger
1 large red chilli , halved lengthways
1 bunch spring onion , finely sliced
1 sirloin steak, trimmed
1 tbsp sunflower oil
250g pack pak choi, quartered
300g thin egg noodles

How To:
Place the stock, ginger, chilli and spring onions in a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, heat a griddle pan until very hot and brush the steak with the oil. Griddle the steak for 2 mins each side for medium-rare. Transfer to a chopping board and leave to rest for 1 min, then thinly slice.

Add the pak choi to the stock, then the noodles, bring to the boil and simmer for 3 mins until tender. Ladle the stock, noodles and pak choi into large serving bowls and top with thin slices of steak.

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Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes , peeled and cut into wedges
1 tsp olive oil
½ tsp dried chilli flakes
A few thin slices of chorizo
2 skinless chicken breasts
A few thyme sprigs, leaves stripped, half tsp dried thyme

How to:
Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Place the sweet potatoes on a baking tray, then toss with the oil, chilli flakes and seasoning. Roast for 10 minutes, then remove and reduce the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.

Lay half the chorizo slices over each chicken breast, overlapping so the chicken is covered, then tuck the edges underneath to secure. Lift onto the baking tray next to the wedges, scatter the wedges with thyme leaves, then roast for 20 minutes more, turning the chicken and wedges halfway until golden.
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Ingredients:
225g mincemeat
225g plain flour
100g butter , chilled and cubed roughly
3 tbsp light muscovado sugar
satsuma , grated zest and juice of
2 tbsp flaked almonds
1 tbsp stem ginger syrup
icing sugar for dusting

How to:
To make the pastry tip the flour into a large bowl and rub in the chilled butter using your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and the satsuma zest.
Spoon out 4 tbsp of the pastry mixture and set aside. Add approximately 4 tbsp of the juice from the satsumas to the main pastry mix to make a fairly soft dough, kneading gently until smooth. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 mins.

Lightly flour a surface and roll out the pastry to a £1 coin thickness. Using a 9cm fluted cutter, stamp out 12 circles of pastry. Gently press these into individual tartlet tins, the pastry should just protrude above the tins to allow for shrinkage when cooked. Spoon the mincemeat into the pastry cases being careful not to overfill.
Sprinkle the pastry crumble mix over the mincemeat to cover lightly, top with the flaked almonds and drizzle over the stem ginger syrup. At this stage you can cover them with cling film and freeze the whole tray ready for baking.

When you’re ready to bake the mince pies, heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Remove the cling film from the tray and bake the mince pies straight from the freezer for 25 mins until golden and cooked through. Cool on a wire rack and serve dusted with icing sugar. Bake unfrozen pies for 18-20 mins.

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As I was looking around online to find something warm, yummy, quick and simple for dinner, I came across this lovely recipe. Let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

4 sausages, regular or reduced-fat
2 parsnips
2 or 3 medium potatoes
175g Brussels sprouts
4 tbsp milk
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard

How To:

Grill the sausages for 10-12 minutes, turning frequently. Meanwhile, peel and roughly chop the parsnips and potatoes, then cook in boiling salted water for about 10 minutes. Shred sprouts, add to the pan for the last 2-3 minutes and cook until all the vegetables are tender.

Drain and mash the vegetables, then beat in the milk and mustard with salt and pepper. Serve with the sausages.

If you are looking for a low-fat supper then replace the sausages with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, brushed lightly with a little olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper.

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For the cake
300g self-raising flour
300g light muscovado sugar
3 tsp mixed spice
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
175g sultanas
½ tsp salt
4 eggs , beaten
200g butter, melted
zest 1 orange
1 tbsp orange juice
500g (peeled weight) pumpkins or butternut squash flesh, grated

For drenching and frosting
200g pack soft cheese
85g butter , softened
100g icing sugar , sifted
zest 1 orange and juice of half

How to:

Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line a 30 x 20cm baking or small roasting tin with baking parchment. Put the flour, sugar, spice, bicarbonate of soda, sultanas and salt into a large bowl and stir to combine. Beat the eggs into the melted butter, stir in the orange zest and juice, then mix with the dry ingredients till combined. Stir in the pumpkin. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 30 mins, or until golden and springy to the touch.

To make the frosting, beat together the cheese, butter, icing sugar, orange zest and 1 tsp of the juice till smooth and creamy, then set aside in the fridge. When the cake is done, cool for 5 mins then turn it onto a cooling rack. Prick it all over with a skewer and drizzle with the rest of the orange juice while still warm. Leave to cool completely.

If you like, trim the edges of the cake. Give the frosting a quick beat to loosen, then, using a palette knife, spread over the top of the cake in peaks and swirls. If you’re making the cake ahead, keep it in the fridge then take out as many pieces as you want 30 mins or so before serving. Will keep, covered, for up to 3 days in the fridge.

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Ingredients

3 1/2  cups  halved strawberries, divided
1/3  cup  sugar
1/3  cup  orange juice
2  teaspoons  vanilla extract
1  teaspoon  lemon juice
1 1/4  cups  all-purpose flour
3  tablespoons  sugar
1  teaspoon  baking powder
1/4  teaspoon  baking soda
1/8  teaspoon  salt
3  tablespoons  chilled stick margarine or butter, cut into small pieces
1/2  cup  low-fat buttermilk
Cooking spray
6  tablespoons  frozen reduced-calorie whipped topping, thawed
Whole strawberries (optional)

How To:

Combine 1 cup strawberry halves, 1/3 cup sugar, orange juice, vanilla, and lemon juice in a bowl, and mash with a potato masher. Stir in 2 1/2 cups strawberry halves. Cover and chill.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl; cut in margarine with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk, stirring just until moist (dough will be sticky).

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead lightly 4 times with floured hands. Pat dough into a 6 x 4-inch rectangle. Cut dough into 6 squares. Place 1 inch apart on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Split shortcakes in half horizontally using a serrated knife; place each bottom half on a dessert plate. Spoon 1/4 cup strawberry mixture over each bottom half. Top with shortcake tops; spoon 1/4 cup strawberry mixture over each top. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon whipped topping; garnish with whole strawberries, if desired.

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When I left home and became acquainted with Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver I was introduced to all manner of posh alternatives like forest fruits and ice cream (I don’t get out much)! My all time fave topping now, is… (you’ve guessed it)- CHOCOLATE. The recipe goes like this- add a little co-co powder to your pancake mixture before you cook them- just to give them that extra chocolate-y look and taste, then spread Nutella (nice and thick) on the cooked pancake and watch it melt. Next roll your pancake and top with a quarter of a crumbled up Cadbury’s Flake bar. Mmmmmmmm. (For more serious addicts I find the adage: ‘Sod the pancakes- just bring on the chocolate’ helps.)

For some tasty alternatives to my chocolate pancake recipe visit www.pancakerecipes.net for inspiration.

Bearing this in mind- and that we are trying to encourage measure in all things, the most sensible (and difficult) thing I can do after this festivity is to give up chocolate for lent. I CAN do it- just because I love chocolate doesn’t mean I don’t love a challenge too- and as we try to ‘Change for Life’- I embrace this test- and look forward to Easter when I can one again engage in my favourite activity (don’t tell me chocolate is not an activity- because it is)!!! And believe me- I will make up for the lack of chocolate by gorging myself at Easter and probably being sick as a dog- which is my idea of fun … no, hang on- that was the old me- ‘Change for Life’ means just one Easter egg for me this year (though it will be enormous)!

So- lent begins the day after the (chocolate) pancakes, on Ash Wednesday, (an unfortunate and ironic name for those who are giving up smoking for lent!!) and ends the day before Easter Sunday, on Holy Saturday.

Lent, as you probably know, is the forty-day Christian tradition where fasting and prayer occurs before Easter. Forty days because that is the amount of time Jesus spent in the desert being tempted by Satan.
It has in more recent years become a time for abstinence for both religious and non religious people- who try to give something up and better themselves. Modern thinking behind it is that if you can give something like smoking up for forty days- then you’ve cracked it for life and broken the addiction! (Obviously this will not be the case with me and my chocolate- it is a temporary measure only- but potentially going without it for a time might mean that it is not such a major feature in everyday life!)

For those of you who find me an obsessive chocolate bore- I offer you alternative ideas for things to give up for lent:
-Credit card usage! Give up overspending and start to get out of debt, stop the vicious cycle that is overspend-payout-overspend again, where ‘payday’ simply becomes ‘paying out day’ and ‘saving for a rainy day’ is a mythical tale of days gone by told to us by our grandparents!

-Smoking. A tough one for all you smokers out there, but why not make Ash Wednesday the day you give up the ash for good? You know the benefits- better health, longer life, more money, bla bla bla. Yes we all know these things; it’s just not that easy, so check out www.nhs.uk/smokefree for some top tips for stopping for good!

-Alcohol… ha ha ha only kidding! Well, I suppose you could give it a go- or maybe just give up binge drinking- and become a more sensible consumer of alcohol?!

-Energy over-usage at home. Another credit crunch busting idea! Try stumbling about with candles instead of having the lights on- but try not to set yourself (or anyone else) on fire. Shower less- save water?! (This may be bearable if the aforementioned candles are fragranced?) Share bath water- this was a tradition in my house growing up- and in a house of four siblings you got a rough deal if you were forth in line for the bath water- cold and grey was the water by this time, accommodating unidentifiable floating objects a-plenty.

-TV- just think of all the things you might do instead- from getting on with that decorating project to spending more time with loved ones!

I guess the moral of the story is- try to give up something that is going to make your life better- be it for physical or mental health.

For those of you from the: ‘doesn’t giving up stuff just make you want it more?!’ school of thought, and those of you who are still scarred from all of the giving up you did at New Year- simply give up giving things up! Stop trying to stop doing things, don’t try not to do what you want to do, and definitely refrain from abstaining!