Very very simple to make, it only takes about 20 minutes and it's amazing!

6 chicken thighs (skin on)
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoons fennel seeds
3 tablespoons of honey
1 dolop of olive oil

Preheat the oven to 200C. Use a frying pan to brown the chicken in the olive oil. WIth a motar and pestle grind the rest of the ingredients together. When the chicken is brown on all sides, smear the mixture on top of the chicken skin, remove from the burner and place it into the oven for 15-20minutes. Serve with a greek salad, or sauteed mushrooms.

Our new roof terrace has been providing us with ample opportunity to use our grill outside, which means we can cook more fish without stinking up the flat. I like to keep grilling as simple as possible. A little salt, pepper (perhaps stuff it with some lemons and light herbs such as parseley) and put it on the hot grill. Lots of people try to overdo fish with lots of sauces. I think that just ruins the taste of the fish.

Grilling like this reminds me of Essaouira, where fresh fish is grilled at stands along the ramparts of the walled city. It's hands down one of the most wonderful experiences you can have...choose your fish, put it on the grill. The catch of the day dictates what's available. The fish is so fresh that you don't need to add anything to it, the natural salt from the sea is enough to season and the charcoal gives it an extra bite. It's been a few years now since we've visited, perhaps its time to return.

If ever there was a book to remind the English that their local food choices go far beyond the chippy, this would be it. "Eating England: Why We Eat What We Eat with Over 500 Special Places to Eat and Shop" is a journey through the culinary gems that make up the English countryside and a great guide to local producers.

You get a sense of the enjoyment that the author has for english produce and the people that make it. For someone like me who has the travel bug, it makes me want to go out and discover all of the little places that she describes. The book reminds me of Rick Stein's food heroes without the recipes. My only complaint would be that there aren't enough pictures of the local products. Reading about them was making me hungry... seeing a picture would have put me on the train.

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Serves about 6 people (or 2 very hungry people that need to take lunches the next day). You can replace the asperagus and mushrooms with just about anything that's seasonal. We also do a chicken and porcini risotto that's divine.

About 1.1 litres/2 pints of chicken stock (Make your own if you can, it tastes better. Otherwise cubes will do.)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 onions (chopped)
2 cloves of garlic (diced)
400g of risotto rice
2 glasses of dry white wine
Pinch of salt and black pepper
70g of butter
115g of parmesan cheese (more the better!)
8-10 shittake mushrooms (cut into chunks)
10 spears of asparagus (cut into pieces)

Heat the stock. In another pan sweat (at a low heat) the onions and garlic in the olive oil for about 5 minutes or until the onions are clearish. Then add the rice and turn up the heat.

The rice will fry and when it looks translucent add the wine and stir. Once the wine has been absorbed by the rice, add 1 ladle of hot stock and your salt. Turn down the heat so that the dish is simmering.

At this point you'll want to add your mushrooms and about 10 minutes later add the asparagus.

Keep adding ladles of stock. Make sure you allow each ladle to be absorbed before adding the next. It'll take about 15-20 minutes for the rice to cook through, taste some to make sure. It should be soft but still firm.

Remove it from the heat and add in the parmesan and butter. Stir and serve!

I love pizza! Whether the crust is thick or thin, it doesn't really matter to me, i'll leave the pizza in-fighting to the Italians. If you make too much dough, just wrap it in saran wrap and you can freeze it. Make it with any toppings you want, i'm sure you've got your own favourites.

The dough
650g/1lb bread flour
4 tablespoons of honey
7g sachet yeast
Pinch of salt
400ml/11fl oz warm water

Make the dough: mix the flour and salt together in a large mixing bowl make a ant hill like structure with a well in the middle. Mix half of your warm water with the yeast and honey and mix it together until the yeast has disolved. Add it to the flour mixture, and mix it with your hands until the moisture has been absorbed. Gradually add the water, mixing well to form a soft dough. Don't worry if it sticks to your fingers, just add a little more flour until you can handle it without it being sticky.

Flour a cutting board and knead for a few minutes until the dough is smooth, form into a round ball and put it into a clean bowl. Cover it with a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place for 1h or so. It'll likely double in size.

The PIZZA!
8 plum tomatoes (or any kind you have) (cubed)
2 cloves of garlic (sliced)
1 splash of olive oil
4-5 leaves of fresh basil (sliced)
200g of feta cheese (crumbled)
1 pizza dough recipe

Preheat your oven to 200C/Gas 9. Add all of the tomato and garlic to a roasting tray, splash with olive oil and place in the oven for 30mins. Once roasted, remove from the oven (don't turn the oven off, you'll need the heat) and put 1/4 of the tomatoes and garlic into a blender. Blend the ingredients, this will be your sauce. Roll out the pizza dough until it is flat and round, smear the sauce on the base, add the remaining tomatoes, crumble the feta and add the basil. Put it into your oven, right on the rack (or use a pizza tray) for 5-7 minutes.

I've just moved home and my internet connection hasn't been set up yet...so you'll have to wait until Monday for more yummy recipes.

It was so good we had it twice this week (thanks Kelly).

1 melon, cut and cubed
6-8 slices of parma ham
1 lemon

Cut up the honeydew melon into small chunks. Wrap each of the chunks with strips of parma ham. Serve cold with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Although your kitchen will swelter with the heat from the oven, I promise you the reward will be worth the sweat. Make sure you don't eat too much at supper, as seconds is a must with this dish. Why not just have it for supper... saves time. Serve with ice cream.

Crumble:
3/4 cup plain flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup unrefined brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cubed at room temperature

Filling:
10 pears peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 180C. Place the flour and brown sugar in a large bowl and mix it together. Taking a few cubes of butter at a time rub into the flour mixture, keep rubbing until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Place the fruit in a large bowl and sprinkle over the white sugar. Stir well being careful not to break up the fruit. Butter a 9 X 13 inch ovenproof dish. Spoon the fruit mixture into the bottom, then sprinkle the crumble mixture on top. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes until the crumble is browned and the fruit mixture bubbling.

With fish, it's always best to keep it simple. The only way you can do it better than this, is over the fire while you're camping.

2 whole trout (gutted)
1 bunch of flat leaf parseley (roughly chopped)
1 clove of garlic (diced)
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Heat your grill and rub it down with olive oil, this will help to prevent the fish from sticking. Whilst it's heating, put a handful of salt and a handful of pepper into a grocery bag. Add the fish and shake it around until the fish is well seasoned. Let it sit for 5 mins, the salt will help take the water out of the fish, and make it better for grilling. Take the fish out of the bag, scrape off any excess salt, and stuff the inside of the fish with the garlic and parseley (you won't eat this bit, it's just for flavour). Place on the grill, and cook on each side until the meat is flakey but still firm. Serve with a salad and some french bread.

I used to work at a company called Wheel and due to the lack of food establishments in proximity of the office we often resorted to making communal lunches. It had the side effect of bringing everyone together and getting people up from their desks to have lunch in a civilised way. This greek salad (or our version) was a favourite as it's quick and feeds the multitudes for only a few pesos. I'm sure you'll enjoy.

1 red onion
1 small basket of mini plum tomatoes (use large plum tomatoes if you have them)
1 large cucumber
150g of feta cheese
1 splash of balsamic vinegar
1 splash of olive oil
1 dash of dried oregano

Cut the onion into large pieces, and do the same for the cucumber, feta and tomatoes (mini ones, just cut them in half). Add all the ingredients to a large bowl, splash with vinegar and oil and sprinkle the oregano on top. Mix all together and serve with a french stick. Serves about 3 people, and makes a great healthy lunch.

This dish reminds me of sitting on the pier on the island of Paxos, stuffing my face with fresh baked feta. The islanders make theirs with a pepper puree, i'm not a big fan so I use sundried tomatoes instead. Good any time of year.

200g feta
1 jar of sundried tomatoes
1/2 clove of garlic
12 green olives

Preheat oven to 180C. Cut your feta into cubes and place into your ceramic baking dish. Place dishes uncovered, into the oven for 5-8 minutes (as long as it takes to make the tomato mixture). Put the tomatoes, garlic and olives into a mixer and blend them all together until they form a thick puree. Add more olives if you want it thicker. Take the feta from the oven and spoon the mixture on top of each one, just enough to cover the top. Place back in the oven for a further 15 minutes covered with tin foil. Remove the tin foil 2 minutes before its done to let it sizzle a bit. Serve with bread, or pita bread.

This makes a great side dish to many meals. I've also tried using feta, its a bit salty but otherwise a good substitute for the goats cheese. Make sure everyone eats this at the same time, cheese, garlic, and mushrooms make for just about the worst breath in the world.

3 large flat mushrooms
1 small round of goats cheese
1 clove garlic
1 green onion (just the green bits)
2 tomatoes (diced)

Preheat your oven to 200C. Scrape out the inside of the flat mushrooms and remove the stem. Place goats cheese, garlic and onion into a mixer and blend until smooth. Scrape the contents into a bowl and add the tomatoes. Mix together and spoon the mixture into the centre of the mushrooms. Place the mushrooms on a grilling tray and place in the oven for 20 minutes or until the cheese starts to brown. Serve hot!

I like to keep my guacamole really simple. I think that many people ruin it by adding too many ingredients.

2 large avocadoes
1 sprinkle of paprika
1 clove of garlic
1 pinch of pepper
1 pinch of salt
(juice from 1 lime, if you're not going to eat it right away)

Smoosh all of the ingredients together, serve with warmed tortilla. I used bread as I didn't have any tortilla in the house, and it was quite good with a sour dough. Adding lime will keep the mixture from discolouring, so add it if you're going to keep it for a bit. If you want to add a bit of colour on top, mix a bit of paprika with some olive oil and drizzle over the guacamole.

It sounds a bit weird, but it works. Depending on how hot you like your food, you can add more or less chili (or just keep the seeds in).

500g cubed chicken
250ml plain yoghurt
1/2 lime, juice
1 dash paprika
1 small chili, deseeded
1 clove garlic

Add all of the ingredients except the chicken into a mixer. Blend until smooth and the garlic has been chopped into tiny little bits. Put the mixture into the bowl and add the chicken, get in there with your hand and mix it up...making sure that all the chicken bits are covered in the mixture. Place the chicken pieces on a hot grill and grill until done. Serve as a main or add it to a salad.

Breakfast for dinner, sometimes you just get a craving.

1 c. fresh blueberries
1 beaten egg
1 c. milk
1 1/4 c. plain flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of sugar

Combine egg and milk. Sift dry ingredients and add to egg mixture, beat with a fork or a hand blender. Drop small rounds onto a large buttered frying pan or gridle, add a few blueberries to each pancake. Flip them over when the air bubbles pop on the top side. Add some bacon and some maple syrup to finish it off.

This recipe is all about preparation. A classic Thai dish, and there are a hundred variations on a theme. Ours is based on a mixture of a version a friend gave us from her cooking course in Thailand and from the amazing recipe book Hot Sour Salty Sweet. Although it's street food and it's supposed to be quick, the preparation takes some time so start early. If you're making it for friends you can prepare much of it and put it in the fridge, ready for when you pull out the wok.

2 limes, cut into quarters
2-3 chicken breasts (cut into very small pieces)
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 table spoon rice wine vinegar
1 table spoon of water
1 table spoon of soy sauce
1 table spoon of fish sauce
3 large eggs
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
3 cloves of garlic (diced)
1 carrot (grated)
1 small chili (diced and seeds removed)
1/2 pound of narrow rice noodles, soaked in warm water and drained
1/2 pound of bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
3 scallions, trimmed and cut into smallish pieces
small chunk of ginger (diced)
2 to 4 tablespoons of coriander leaves

Start by chopping your chicken breast into very small pieces and placing it in a small bowl. Add the sugar and the juice from a lime and mix it all together. In another small dish, mix the rice vinegar and water, soy sauce adn fish sauce. In yet another small bowl beat your eggs with the salt, only lightly. Put all of your ingredients by the stove, as you'll need them quite quickly in succession.

Put your wok over a high heat, add 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil and coat the bottom. Add the garlic, ginger and chili and stir fry lightly for a few minutes. Add the chicken, and stirfry until the chicken is lightly pink in the centre. Add the 3/4 of the scallions and fry for a couple of minutes and then add the eggs. Let it cook until the egg mixture sets around the chicken, then mix it up and transfer to a seperate plate.

Place the wok back on the heat, add the rest of the oil and coat the sides of the wok. Toss in the drained noodles and stirfry for a few minutes and sear the noodles against the sides of the hot wok. They'll gloop together (gloop = technical term), worry not they'll eventually seperate. Move the noodles around to form a well in the middle of the wok, add your grated carrot and beansprouts and remaining scallions. Stir fry for a few minutes, stiring and pressing the mixture down against the bottom of the wok, then add the soy sauce mixture. Fry for another few mintutes, and then add the chicken/egg mixture back into the wok. Stirfry all together for a few more seconds, add in the coriander, give one stir remove from heat and serve onto individual plates. Some people add peanuts at this point, but I just like some lime juice squeezed over top.

In honour of the world cup final I thought I'd make a sandwich that would represent both teams. It's a bit of a strech, but I settled on a french baguette filled with the red (tomato), green (avocado) and white (mozza) of the italian flag. Lots of passion in this one!

For the sandwich:
2 vine tomato (sliced)
1 avocado (Sliced)
1 ball of buffalo mozzarella (Sliced)
1 small baguette

For the spread:
10 fresh basil leaves
1 glug of olive oil
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
1 clove of garlic

Add all of the ingredients for the spread into a blender/mixer (or mortar and pestle) and blend until smooth. Cut your baguette in half and then cut each half length wise. Smear both sides with the spread. Put the each piece face up on a cookie sheet (or grilling tray) and place under the broiler until the bread starts to turn brown and the oil starts to bubble. Remove from the oven and place the other ingredients on one side of the baguette. Add the top of the baguette and serve.

Last night we had a wonderful meal with some friends from around the corner and she made this most delicious appetiser. It seemed to be a lengthy process to prepare all of the little bits before making the rolls, but the result is well worth the effort. If you have the time, or lots of help this would be great for a summer party. I would imagine you could use chicken to replace the shrimp if you have to feed lots of people. Make sure you put a few aside for yourself, as they're sure to be gobbled up in a hurry.

Adapted (only slightly) from Epicurious mango shrimp summer rolls.

For dipping sauce
3 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Splash of water

For rolls
12 large shrimp in shell (21 to 25 per lb), peeled
3 oz vermicelli rice-stick noodles*
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 (8-inch) rice-paper rounds plus additional in case some tear*
48 fresh corriander leaves (from about 1 bunch)
48 fresh mint leaves (from about 1 bunch)
1 seedless cucumber (usually plastic-wrapped; 1 lb), peeled, cored, and cut into 1/8-inch-thick matchsticks
1 lb firm-ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/8-inch-thick matchsticks

Make sauce:
Stir together all sauce ingredients in a small bowl until sugar is dissolved.

Make rolls:
Add shrimp to a 4- to 5-quart pot of boiling salted water, then reduce heat and poach shrimp at a bare simmer, uncovered, until just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer shrimp with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking, then return shrimp cooking water to a boil. Chill shrimp in ice water 2 minutes, then drain and pat dry. Cut each shrimp in half lengthwise, deveining if necessary.

Add noodles to boiling water and cook until just tender, about 3 minutes. Drain in a colander, then rinse under cold running water and drain well. Stir together vinegar, sugar, and salt in a large bowl until sugar is dissolved, then add noodles and toss to coat.

Put a double thickness of paper towel on a work surface and fill a shallow baking pan with warm water. Check rice-paper rounds and use only those that have no holes. Soak 1 round in warm water until pliable, 30 seconds to 1 minute, then carefully transfer to paper towels.

Arrange 3 shrimp halves (cut sides up) in a row across bottom third (part nearest you) of soaked rice paper. Spread 1/4 cup noodles on top of shrimp and arrange 3 cilantro leaves, 3 mint leaves, 8 cucumber matchsticks, 6 scallion strips, and 10 mango matchsticks horizontally on top of noodles. Fold bottom of rice paper over filling and begin rolling up tightly, stopping at halfway point. Arrange 3 more mint leaves and 3 more cilantro leaves along crease, then fold in ends and continue rolling. Transfer summer roll, seam side down, to a plate and cover with dampened paper towels. Make 7 more rolls in same manner and serve, whole or halved diagonally, with dipping sauce.

Cooks' note:
• Summer rolls can be made 4 hours ahead and chilled, covered with dampened paper towels and then with plastic wrap. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Another drink that tastes like summer, and is perfect for all of the strawberries hitting the shelves in the local supermarkets. It's very quick and is great for parties. Also good as a toping for ice cream...just remove the sugar.

1 punnet of strawberries (take the green bits off)
3 tablespoons of sugar
1 cup of water

In a blender/mixer blend the strawberries and sugar together until smooth. Add in the water a little at a time until you get the consistency you want. Blend again.

There are 2 ways to serve this. As in the picture, pour into a wine glass and serve fresh. Or pour the mixture into a 9X13 pyrex dish and put it into the freezer. Keep checking, and when it reaches a solidish state (when you can scrape lines into it and they stay) scrape the mixture into small bowls and serve with a sprig of mint.

Presenting...another after work meal idea that only takes about 20mins to prepare and cook. This recipe makes about 4-5 big wraps and feeds two people comfortably (I've usually got a couple left for lunch). The picture doesn't do it justice, that said it's not a pretty meal...just filling, healthy and tasty.

500g extra lean ground beef
2 cloves of garlic (diced)
1 shallot (diced)
Drop of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 small block of cheddar cheese (grated)
3 tomatoes (diced)
Peppers (if you like them)
4 leaves of lettuce (or bag of mixed lettuce)
Dash of green pepper tabasco sauce
Dolop of plain yoghurt/wrap
Package of tortillas X 6ish

Preparing the beef:
Put a small drop of olive oil in the bottom of a frying pan and use a paper towel to smear it around coating the bottom of the pan. Add the shallot and the garlic and fry until the shallot is soft. Add the beef and the spices and mix all the ingredients together, fry until the beef is cooked through. Remove from heat.

Preparing the wraps:
Lay a tortilla flat on a plate (you can heat the tortillas briefly in the oven, I never bother as i'm always in a hurry). Add a dolop of plain yogurt and on top a dash of green tabasco sauce. Smear the mixture around tortilla leaving about 1 inch from the edge clear. Add your beef and the rest of the ingredients (as much as you want to fill the tortilla when folded). Fold up the tortilla and eat immediately. If you don't know how to fold a tortilla follow these instructions.

We also do a variation on this meal with chicken. Just cube your chicken very small and fry in a similar way - minus the cumin (add a bit of lemon juice and some oregano instead).

The area around oxford street is peppered with little places to go for lunch giving office workers have a wealth of choice. You can almost go to a new place everyday...and yesterday I did. Leon serves fast healthy food to the masses in Carnaby Street (they have other locations). It's an interesting mix of food, from stews to salads, strawberry mousse to smoothies, there's something on the menu for everyone. I had:

Free range chicken served with broccoli, baby spinach, toms, peas, alfalfa, quinoa, seeds rocket and aioli.

The chicken was nicely grilled, still warm when I got back to my desk, and the different veg in the salad made for a interesting eating experience. The service was fast and efficient and we only had to wait a few minutes to be served.

The only complaint I have is that for the portion size it's quite expensive. At £5.50, it's not cheap and it barely makes a dent in your stomach, making you prone to a mid afternoon snack. Judging by the boxes that my co-workers had they had the same small portions. If you're looking for a healthy snack (and don't mind paying) it's not too bad.

Locations and ordering information can be found at http://www.leonrestaurants.co.uk

If you look back to the recently posted mushroom caviar recipe, you'll see I suggested that it might taste nice as a spread for a roast beef sandwich. I tried it on Sunday...

600g beef - roast
1/2 Mushroom caviar recipe
Corriander
Mixed leaf lettuce
Parseley

Preparing your beef
Seal the beef by frying it lightly on all sides in a frying pan. After sealed place beef in the center of a roasting tray and then roast at 180C for 25mins (30 mins if you like it more well done than I do. As you can see by the photo...I think it should still be mooing.)
When it's ready, remove it from the oven and place on a rack to cool.

Preparing the sandwich
Cut 4 thick slices of sourdough bread (I used french loaf and it completely fell apart - needed something more solid.) Smear 1 side of each slice with your mushroom caviar, top with the greens and add thickly sliced portions of beef. Add the top piece of bread. Voila!

Saturday we spent the day lying in the park, enjoying the summer sun and playing frisbee. After a long day of doing not much we were treated to a fabulous cake that my wife had prepared the night before. This one is pure sin....

Using the cake base you can add just about any filling you can think of, Nigella suggests using jam...I prefer the real fruit.

for the cake (taken directly from Nigella's - How to be a domestic goddess):

225g unsalted butter, very soft
225g caster sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
4 large eggs
200g self-raising flour
25g cornflour
1 teaspoon baking powder (if using processor)
3-4 tablespoons milk
2x21cm sandwich tins (about 5cms deep), buttered

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. If the tins are loose bottomed, you don't need to line them, otherwise do.

I always make this basic sponge cake in the food processor, which involves putting in all the ingredients except the milk and processing until you've got a smooth batter. Then pulse, pouring the milk gradually through the funnel til your cake mixture's a soft, dropping consistency.

If you want to make this the traditional way, cream the butter and sugar, add the vanilla and then the eggs, one at a time, adding a spoonful of flour between each. Fold in the rest of the flour and the cornflour, adding no baking powder, and when all's incorporated, add a little milk as you need.

Pour and scrape the batter into the tins and bake for about 25 minutes, until the cakes are beginning to come away at the edges, are springy to the touch on top and a cake tester comes out clean. Leave the cakes in their tins on a wire rack for 10 mins before turning out and leaving to cool completely.

This is our bit (not taken from nigella):

2 punnets strawberries, green bits removed and sliced
1/4 cup sugar

Mix strawberry slices and sugar in a large bowl. Stir and place in the fridge until you're ready to eat your cake.

When you're all set to dig in, put one of the cakes on a plate and spread with whipped cream. Scatter strawberries on top of the whipped cream, place the second cake on top of that. Spread whipped cream on top of the second cake, and add strawberries as before.

Inspired by the Mushroom caviar posted at Simply Recipes I decided to give my own version a try. It didn't take very long to make and was a picnic hit. I'll be making this again...and I think I might even use it as a sandwich spread. I think it would probably taste fantastic with some thickly sliced roast beef.

1/2 cup of olive oil
1/2 pound of mushrooms, cleaned and chopped (you can use whatever mushrooms you have, if you've only got fresh button mushrooms add some dried porcini to add some flavour.) I suggest getting a mixture of Porcini, shiitake, morels, chanterelles and oysters.
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup of onion or shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp of balsamic vinegar
Sprinkle of paprika

Heat the oil in a large frying pan, once the oil is hot add all of your ingredients and stir ensuring that all the mushrooms have a coating of oil. Reduce the mixture, stiring frequently until the mushrooms are cooked through and soft. Remove it from the heat and put everything in a mixer for a few seconds to chop things up a little more finely. Serve with toasted tortilla or pita bread.

The book, based on the Channel 4 TV show "Jamie's great escape", traces Jamie's travels through Italy and gives recipes from the various regions he visited. So far the recipes I've tried have been easy to make, and tasty...typically Oliver. Recipes aside, I find myself reading the stories about the people he met, and their passion for the food they make, making this a bit more than a cookbook (and a good thing as there aren't that many recipes).

The photography is lovely, and they've managed to capture the personality of people passionate about food.

Most of all, he's made me very envious. Every food lovers dream would be to get paid to travel and write about food.

Overall, it's a pretty good book...worth buying.

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