The Family Cook Book

This makes a very simple but delicious pre-dinner snack. It's from the ever reliable Jamie's Italy. To make it really easy I usually make crostini by getting a decent loaf of Ciabatta slicing it fairly thinly, drizzle with olive oil and then roast on a flat tray in a high oven for about 10 mins (keep checking!) Ingredients 1/2 a bulb of fennel 1/2 a yellow pepper seeds removed 1 red pepper halved seeds removed 1/2 a courgette halved lengthways and seeds removed 1 teaspoon dried oregano a handful of fresh mint, leaves picked and chopped olive oil sea salt and freshly ground black pepper juice of half a lemon red wine vinegar method pre heat oven to 220deg C Chop fennel and peppers into 1 inch chunks and slice the courgette. Toss the vegetables with the oregano, mint and a good glug of olive oil and season with sat and pepper,then place on a roasting tray and place in the oven for about half an hour or until nicely golden. Remove and allow to cool, then pulse in a food processor

Sometimes life can be crap. These flapjacks do not have life changing properties but one of Mrs C's collection of little tins filled to the brim, sent to the right person, at the right time can just put a bit of a smile on their face. Ingredients 175g (6oz) butter 115g (5oz) unrefined brown caster sugar 15ml (1tbsp) runny honey 250g (9oz) rolled oats 6 ready-to-eat dried apricots, chopped handful pumpkin seeds Method Preheat the oven to 180°C, (350°F, gas mark 4). Place the butter and sugar in a pan and heat gently until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the honey, oats, apricots and seeds. Press the mixture into a cake tray (bun tray? You know what I mean the ones with 6/12 separate indentations) Let sit for 15 – 20 mins - the waiting is Mrs Cooks little secret weapon Bake for 15-20 mins until golden brown around the edges..... Keep checking so they don’t burn. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 mins, then turn out.

I made this yesterday. The recipe comes from Skye Gyngell's 'My Favourite ingredients'... I think that's the name of it. It was just Lisa, my Mum and I as Martha was out in the cold rowing. We had an 800gm piece of pork so I halved the recipe and knocked about 30 mins off of the cooking time. The crackling could have been crispier but the meat was not in the slightest bit fatty and absolutely melt in the mouth gorgeous. The combo of garlic puree and broccoli made a really delicious complement. We had enough to save Martha a piece of pork as it is her absolute favourite thing in the world to eat and she would have gone mad if we hadn't! I will definitely do this one again, maybe when Martha is not out on the river. Serves 6-8 Ingredients 2kg pork belly, with skin on and ribs intact 50ml olive oil Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1tbsp fennel seeds 4 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks 4 celery sticks, cut into chunks 2 red onions, peeled and roughly chopped