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Lush Lentil Soup

Serves 6

Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large saucepan. Add 1 onion, chopped, and 1 clove of garlic, crushed, and cook until soft. Add 2 sticks of celery, chopped, 1 sweet potato or parsnip, chopped, 1 large potato, chopped, and continue to cook for another 3 minutes. Stir in 1 tbsp mild curry paste, 150g (5oz) red lentils and 1.2 ltr (2 pt) vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Cover, lower the heat and gently simmer for about 25-30 min or until the lentils are tender. Add 1 x 400 ml can coconut milk, 2 tbsp freshly chopped coriander and the juice of half a lemon or lime and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and whizz until smooth and then put the soup back into a clean saucepan to warm through and serve with warm pitta bread or bread of your choice.

Chocolate Beetroot Cake or cupcakes

Ingredients

Makes: 24

50g well-drained, cooked beetroots, puree

Preparation method

Prep:20 mins | Cook:25 mins

1.Preheat oven to 180 C / Gas 4. Grease and flour one 20x30cm (9x13 in) or similar sized baking tin.

2.In a large bowl, combine pureed beetroots, eggs, vanilla, oil and sugar. Mix with an electric mixer on low speed until well combined.

3.In a separate bowl, mix together flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and cocoa. Add to the creamed mixture, beating together well. Pour batter into prepared tin or 24 cake cases. (I needed 32)

4.Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until done. (18 mins for cup cakes) Cool and frost with your favourite icing.

(I used cream cheese, icing sugar and beetroot juice.)

SWEET POTATO SOUP WITH LIME AND GINGER

(as served on the Christian Aid Souper Lunch)

Serves 6

2 large sweet potatoes

2 tablesp unsalted butter

2 peeled and finely sliced red onions

Salt/pepper

1.5 tablesp fresh root ginger, grated

1.5 litres chicken stock/water

150ml double cream

1 tablesp tamari/soy sauce

1 tablesp maple syrup

Juice of half a lime

1. Peel and chop sw. potatoes. Melt butter and add onions plus pinch of salt, stir about for 5 mins or so.

2. Add ginger, the sw. potatoes and stock. Bring to boil then cook gently till potatoes done.

3. Puree soup, then put back in saucepan.

4. Add cream, tamari/soy and maple syrup, then lime juice. Adjust flavour to your own taste.

This is the recipe I have but my version of the soup varies each time I make it. I use ordinary onions, leave out the cream and maple syrup and up the lime juice. Sometimes I add coconut cream. So just experiment and react to comment!

GINGERBREAD PEOPLE recipe (as used on the RE Roadshows)

5 oz Butter or butter spread

5 oz Sugar (mixed Demerara and white)

10 oz Plain flour

Half teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda

1 – 2 teaspoons of ground ginger

Approx. 2 tablespoons of warmed golden syrup

Method

Cream fat and sugar

Work in dry ingredients (sieved together)

Mix to dough with the warmed golden syrup

Can be done with a wooden spoon but using a food mixer is much easier

Knead dough well and roll out evenly on a floured surface

Cut out with gingerbread cutters

Place carefully on greased greaseproof paper on baking tray

Bake in a moderate oven (350 deg F or Gas Mark 5) for 10 – 15 minutes

Allow to cool slightly on baking tray before lifting onto wire tray

Makes approx. 15 biscuits

Tie in a muslin (I use a bit of old nappy liner!)

Baba Ghanoush

This is Nadia's recipe as served on Burn's Night and much acclaimed.

Serves 3-4

2 big aubergines

3 tablespoons tahini paste (sesame paste)

4 Tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons Yogurt (optional)

1 clove of garlic, crushed (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Make a slit in the skin of the aubergines and place under a hot grill for a few minutes on each side until cooked or until the skin is blackened on all sides. Leave it to cool down, then peel the skin off and put the aubergines in a colander for a few minutes to get rid of all excess liquid. Put the aubergines and other ingredients into a food processor to make into a dip, or crush the aubergines with a potato masher, and mix the other ingredients to get a rougher mix.

Serve cold topped with some olive oil and chopped parsley or fresh basil.

You can add more or less of the flavouring ingredients as appeals to personal taste.

Crab Apple Jelly

6lb crab apples

3 pints water

Cloves or bruised ginger (optional)

Sugar

Wash the crab apples and cut into quarters without peeling or coring. Put into a pan and add the water. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 1 ½ hours or until the fruit is mashed, adding a little more water if necessary. A few cloves or some bruised ginger may be added during this stage to give extra flavour. Strain through a jelly cloth, measure the extract and return it to the pan with 1 lb. sugar to each pint of extract. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and then boil rapidly until a “jell” is obtained on testing. Skim, pot and cover in the usual way.

Tips

It helps to freeze the fruit before thawing again and cooking up. This helps the initial mashing/break down time.

For a lovely clear jelly do not squeeze the jelly bag. It is preferable to leave it to strain overnight.

Chicken Orange Casserole

4 chicken joints skinned

1 level teasp ground ginger

½ teasp salt

½teasp pepper

Butter oil for frying

1 onion chopped small

¼pt. orange juice

¼pt. cider

1 thin skinned orange

1 level tblsp cornflour

2 tblsp golden syrup

Orange segments to garnish

Mix ginger, salt and pepper together and rub into chicken joints. Melt butter in pan and fry joints to brown and then place into casserole. Fry chopped onion and finely cut rind of orange for a few mins. Drain and add to casserole. Blend cornflour with a little of the orange juice in pan and add remainder of the orange juice and cider. Stir while bringing to the boil. Add syrup and pour over chicken joints. Cover and cook for one hour at 350˚Arrange orange segments on top of casserole contents and cook for q further 15 – 20 mins.

NB Mushrooms, peppers and carrots etc may be added to make a more substantial pot. These should be fried with the onion and orange skim.

Eton Mess

Ingredients (Serves 6)

A great one that is so easy - no special machine needed and no midway stirring required. Adapt using different fruit purees.

Fold in egg yolks and puree and ½ pint whipping cream lightly whipped. Put in an old ice cream container or other container of 2 ½ pint capacity. Level. Put lid on . Freeze overnight. Defrost a bit before attempting to scoop. Scoop out. Pile scoops on plate with leaves and brambles to decorate.

Peel and remove the seeds from a butternut squash. Cut into 2cm squares. In a large pan soften 1 finely chopped onion in 25g butter. Stir in 1 tablespoon curry powder. Add the squash and 3 peeled, de-seeded and chopped tomatoes. Stir in 425 ml chicken or vegetable stock, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 20 – 30 mins. until the squash is soft. Liquidise or process in a food processor or blender and return to the pan. Stir in 1 can of coconut milk and reheat gently. Garnish with chopped spring onions (optional) and serve.

These are very easy, very nice cookies that have a squish as well as a snap. Enjoyed by many at the Saturday coffee morning.