Good fishcakes make a superb spring supper, there light enough if the weather is warm and also leave you room to enjoy dessert, besides using seasonal ingredients.

However, to make a good fishcakes you will need fresh organically farmed prepared fish (so ask you fish monger to prepare the fish for you if you do not want to do this), fresh potatoes (from your local farm shop), homemade fresh bread crumbs & plenty of fresh herbs from your herb garden, (have you planted your herbs, my seeds have grown really well in all this glorious weather we have had). You really want to be using dill & parsley or even tarragon. Then serve your home made fish cakes with a crispy fresh salad of your choice & lemon wedges.

You will need (to serve 4): 450g cooked salmon fillet, 450g cooked potatoes mashed, 25g butter melted (or 2 tblsp olive oil), 10ml wholegrain mustard, 15ml (which is 1 tblsp) each of chopped fresh dill & parsley (or tarragon), grated rind & juice of 1/2 lemon, 15g wholemeal flour, 1 egg lightly beaten, 150g breadcrumbs, 60ml rapeseed oil, sea salt, milled black pepper, salad of your choice & lemon wedges to serve.

First flake the salmon fillet, discarding any skin & bones. Put this in a bowl with mashed potato, melted butter, wholegrain mustard, and then mix well together. Stir in your herbs and the lemon rind & lemon juice, season to taste with black pepper & sea salt. Now divide your mixture in to 8 portions shaping each into a ball before flattening into a disc shape. Dip your fish cake first in the flour then the egg & then in the breadcrumbs. This is messy but make sure they are evening coated with the breadcrumbs. (This is one of those jobs which gets better with practice your first attempt may not be perfect but don’t worry after you have made the recipe a few times you will have coating in breadcrumbs off to a tee.)

Heat the oil in a frying pan until it is very hot, then fry the fish cakes in small batches until golden brown and crisp all over. Drain each batch on kitchen paper and keep hot. Then serve with your ready prepared salad & lemon wedges. You will never eat shop brought fish cakes again and you will also find people who didn’t like fish cakes before will suddenly like them, so give them a go and let me know how you get on.

Getting Hot, Hot, Hot as the song goes! what fantastic weather & I am sure we all know someone lucky enough to have dropped on the easter and lastest week of fantastic weather for a great holiday. So why not get in the holiday spirit yourself I have just the item(s).

This fantastic set of  John Lewis Sundae Glasses.  These gloriously coloured sundae glasses which will brighten up both your desserts & your outdoor dining with their fun and vibrant coloured sundae glasses. Whats great value to being only £10.00 for a set of 4, you will serve an array of fantastic desserts in these so go on treat yourself. 

For a great quick delicious spring sundae to serve you will need (to serve 4): 200g raspberries (or other berry or even a mix of berries), 2 tsp icing sugar, homemade lemon sponge (or if your in a hurry why not try Mr Kiplings Lemon slices cut 1 slice up in to small slices per glass per person), tub of homemade (or locally brought) lemon sorbet & tub of homemade (or locally brought) vanilla ice cream.

Place half your raspberries (berries) in a blender, add your icing sugar & puree until smooth. Now you can pass this through a sieve in order to remove the pips if you wish or leave the choice is yours. Chop your cake into small chunks.

Place some of the cake chunks in the bottom of your funky sundae glasses add some whole raspberries (or berries of your choice), which you have left & top with a scoop of lemon sorbet. Do this in each sundae glass. Then place some more cake chunks & further whole raspberries (berries of your choice), in each sundae glass and top with a scoop of vanilla icecream. Drizzle the raspberry (berry) puree you made earlier over the top and finish with any whole raspberries (or berries).

Serve immediately & enjoy. These are so simple to make and ideal for unexpected guests. All sundaes always get the wow factors, just make sure you don’t over do the sprinkles, wafers and flavours etc, which can make them sickly.

Why not experiment and send in your favourite recipe for a Sundae to me, have fun and enjoy!

My dear friend Su loves pasta when ever we go out we all know if pasta is on the menu she will order it without a second thought. We are not sure where her love of pasta stems from, perhaps from the numerous childhood holidays to Italy she had with her family, but she loves pasta in all its glorious shapes and sizes.

However, getting the girls together is not always easy. If its not finding a time & date to suit all of our busy lives, there is also all the fads of eating and of course one of us is always on a diet something. I have to say this is something I am not good at. If someone says to me, I cannot have something, its makes me want it more; but I have successfully dieted over the years myself, from a size 16 to size 10 at one stage and now I love food but I balance everything.

Now, back to my girly night in!  I was thinking ‘pasta’, but Annette, Tracy & Maxine were all watching their figures in readyness for their Hot June holidays abroad, so I put together a great tasting luxious pasta dish without the calories which we could all enjoy with white wine spritzers, perfect!

Try my Luxury Ham & Mushroom Penne Pasta Dish:

You will need: 25g mixed dried mushrooms, 200g fresh penne pasta (remember there are alternative pastas if you are wheat intolerant too), 2 tsp low fat polyunsaturated margarine, 100g fresh oyster mushrooms (torn), 1 large garlic clove finely chopped, low fat cooking spray, 2 tblsp Sherry, 75g half fat creme fraiche, 100g virtually fat free fromage frais, 4 sliced of quality lean cooked gammon ham chopped, 15g parmesan cheese & snipped fresh chives to finish.

First place your dried mushrooms in a bowl and cover with warm water, leave for around 30 minutes, then remove mushrroms sqeeze out excess water and chop roughly & reserve the liquid on one side. Cook the pasta according to instructions and drain. Heat a large frying pan & add margarine, add the dried mushrooms & saute for 2 minutes then add the fresh mushrooms & garlic and spray with low fat spray. Saute these for 5 minutes to soften & then add the sherry, letting the liquid bubble for around 30 seconds. Then adjust to a low heat & stir in the creme fraiche, fromage frais & about 4 tblsp of the mushroom liquid then add the drained cooked pasta, chopped ham, parmesan & chives and mix together season to taste and divide between 2 plates. (Double etc the ingredients above accordingly if cooking for more than 2 people)

Whats your latest fad eating plan or have you a friend on a strange eating plan for a special occasion, why not send me a message and tell us all about it, its great to hear from you all.

Well a bit of sunshine and not only does the sound of lawn mowers everywhere echo across all the gardens; but later on after all the chores are done that certain smell drifts across the garden fence, around the hedge, through the trees, yes that smell of Barbeque!

It’s a bit of a testosterone thing in our house; just as if the suns appearance in the sky and the thermometers temperature has risen enough for the shorts to come out and then its into the garage & the shed; and yes you guessed it not matter what we are having a barbeque. Does your man get all butch! with his apron, toasting fork & Barbeque tongues as the weather hots up??

Well eating alfresco is brilliant and when the weathers good with a group of good friends, great food and plenty of wine & beer a brilliant evenings in store for all.  Looking for a great barbeque well I have to say this The Kingsford Olympic Gas Barbecue (BBQ) Grill range not only takes performance and design to a new level but the list of features is outstanding for the money you cannot go wrong this will serve you no matter what. This barbeque is featuring more as standard than you could hope to expect.

With a Dual Skin Hood with a high temperature finish on both the inside and out gives you superb cooking dynamics and great durability. The whole of the firebowl is porcelain coated along with the cast iron burners - built for longevity and endurance. Each Grill and the reversible griddle are made from heavy duty Cast Iron with a matt finish porcelain coating which not only prevents rusting but is also easier to keep clean!

 If you need to move - simple! -  the four lockable casters enable you to manoeuvre easily and with the added benefit of 
 an integral Gas bottle holder, you are able to do so easily and without disconnecting your fuel supply.

Useful storage cabinets allow you to store away your condiments and tools,  a moisture bay prevents food from Drying out as it is roasted, and a warming rack and heat indicator just top off this high performance model.

With this range it is difficult to top the value for money, with a choice of red or grey hoods with the Olympic 3 and 4 or Stainless steel Hood for the range topping Olympic Sizzler, you also get a high quality cover for when you are not using the product and a FREE Propane regulator with each model!

Again the list of features in this great Walton Kingsford Olympic Gas Barbeque are:

• 3600cm squared Cooking area
• 1500cm squared Secondary Cooking area
• Dual skin Grey hood with High Temperature gloss exterior and Matt interior finish
• Black Porcelain Coated Fire Bowl
• Moisture Bay
• 4 x Matt Porcelain Coated Cast Iron Burners
• 4 x Matt Porcelain Coated Flamesafe Flavour Bars
• Matt Porcelain Coated Cast Iron Grill
• Matt Porcelain Coated Reversible Cast Iron Griddle
• Chrome Plated Warming Rack
• Integral Spark Rotary Ignition
• Heat Indicator
• Integral Storage Cabinet with 4 Lockable Casters
• External Gas Bottle Holder
• FREE Hose Assembly
• FREE Cover
• FREE Propane Regulator

So now all you need to do is cook the perfect steak on your perfect barbeque so here are my tips: 

1. Choose a good quality cut of meat. If you start with something poor quality, it’s simply not going to get better by cooking it. Sirloin and Rib-Eye are two of the best cuts to use for BBQing.
2. Marinate your meat for at least 2 hours before BBQing.
3. Make sure the grill is very hot & grill the meat for a short time until cooked to desired done-ness. This will help seal in the juices and flavours.Test the done-ness. Get used to being able to tell when the meat is done to perfection. Try to avoid having to cut into the meat as this will cause it to dry out somewhat.
4. Let the steaks rest for around 5 minutes before serving to allow the flavours to really infuse the meat perfectly

Then fine your sun lounger ( with ready plumped cushions positioned for the evening sunshine) & enjoy eating great food alfresco, with your favourite glass of wine or pimms.

Whats your favourite barbeque serving? why not send me your barbeque recipe to share with your fellow foodies?

I know one favourite recipe which I use over and over again has to be my Grandmothers traditional beef & ale pie. Made with tender local British beef from my local butcher and melt in the mouth pastry cooked with a traditional local ale (I use Everards Tiger Bitter), this has to be one of those all time favourites.

You will need: 500g local lean diced beef cut into chunks, 1 tbsp plain flour, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 large onion cut into wedges and separated, 1 carrot peeled and sliced, 1 garlic clove finely chopped, 1 tbsp tomato puree, 250ml local strong ale, few sprigs of thyme, 2 bay leaves, 100g chestnut mushrooms roughly chopped. Then for your pastry 300g plain flour, 1/4 tsp salt, 75g lard cubed, 75g butter cubed and milk to glaze.

Coat your beef in flour and season. Fry in the oil for 5 minutes to brown. Then add onion, carrot, garlic and puree and cook for 5 minutes. Now add your strong ale and 150ml hot water and bring to the boil, add the herbs cover and simmer for around 1 1/2 hours. Once cooked strain the liquid into a jug to use as gravy. For your pastry sift flour and salt in to a large bowl. Rub the fats into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Mix in 4 tblsp cold water to make a dough and then wrap in clingfilm and place in the refridgerator to chill for around 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 200 c/400 f/ gas 6. Now lightly butter a 1.2 litre pie dish. Bring out your pastry and roll out a 2/3 of your pastry on a floured surface and use this to line your pie dish. Mix the chopped mushrooms into the meat mixture you have and fill your lined pie dish. Spoon over about 4 to 5 tbsp of the gravy you saved in the jug. Roll out the rest of the pastry. Dampen the edge of the pastry lining your pie and place the piece you have just rolled over the top to seal your pie and trim off the edge pressing down to seal. Make a slit in the middle of your pies pastry top and you can decorate the top of your pie with pastry leaves etc before glazing with the milk using a pastry brush. Then bake your pie in the oven for 50 to 60 minutes until the pastry browns. Heat your gravy in a saucepan, thicken using cornflour if needed and serve with your pie along with creamy mashed potato, or new potatoes and a selection of vegetables.

For a hotter version you can always add in 1-2 tsp of english mustard to the meat mix. For even more convenience you can also make the meat filling in advance and freeze this, by freezing the meat and gravy separately, just defrost thoroughly before use.

The recipe above will serve 4 but if you want to make a bigger pie you can double the quantities for the meat mixture and use 500g flour with 120g of butter and lard & 6 tblsp water for your pastry and a bigger pie dish! But don’t expect any left overs as there will not be any!

Whats your favourite pie filling, let me know.

Whether your planning a family gathering, a party or anniversary or simply getting friends together for a BBQ now the weather seems to be on our side, then why not add a bit of fun to the food offerings with the variety of fondue sets, chocolate fountains and drinks fountains available.

Putting together various food items for a BBQ or Buffet can be time consuming so for a great dessert while not try a chocolate fountain. I am constantly asked to ‘bring out the chocolate fountain!’. Just have it switched on and ready, and you can leave it going all night. You will be amazed how many time your guests (of all ages I might add) will visit your chocolate fountain. Little ones are fascinated by it and stand watching it. My sister borrowed my chocolate fountain recently for a kids birthday party and they loved it.

When using a chocolate fountain you need to use belguim chocolate and you need to add oil to it to make it more pliable, so make sure you read your instructions to the full before using it. Prepare loads of different fruits like strawberrys, raspberries, cherries, apricots, peaches, orange, melon etc. You can use marsh mellows, raisins, sponge cake its endless and supply loads of funky skewers for your guests to choose their fruit on, before dipping in the chocolate.

Also fondue sets are again making a comeback, serving a sauce with various nibbley bits like bread, cheese, meats, sausage etc and you can use a variety of sauces too from cheese, garlic, pepper, chilli  to BBQ sauce, the choice is yours.

And don’t forget your drinks fountain a real party center piece. Check out on my previous blogs for ideas of various punches etc to use with a drinks fountain.

So try some party dipping & fountaining, through out the up coming summers evenings to make your party go with a swing!

How do you cook? we all cook differently.

Some people are messy cooks with fantastic results but the kitchen looks like a bomb has hit it, while others cook precisely like a military operation. Others use their intuition or knowledge and make it up as they go along. My friend Claire loves to cook alone when she’s in the zone she says, me I love to involve everyone its always the hub of my house. Tell me which one you are.

What about your cooking apron does it match your style or are you a witty type with slogans adorn upon your apron and tea towels, do you wear that special apron someone brought you as a gift? like Robert bless him, he comes to the door everytime in his apron with a muscle man on.  There are some great aprons around so either keep a selection in your kitchen so you can get everyone involved whether a girls or boys night in, or why not buy one as a great gift idea (don’t forget Fathers day will be upon us soon in June). 

Some people cook precisely abit like a military operation I am sure you know one and for these there is the perfect military cook apron a great gift not only for them but also for the man or little man in your life who wants to look macho in the kitchen or while at the BBQ.

This great camouflage chefs apron is made from 100% cotton, the BBQ Chef’s apron with pocket, with its camouflage pattern is ideal for those of you who like to cook or BBQ with military precision, or as I said your looking for that macho image. One size fits all.

C’est Ça! have been making high quality kitchen textiles in Norfolk for over 20 years, they have a great c’est Ca La Cuisine Apron set which again you can add to if you brought the apron there are oven gloves and tea cosy all which match so for the cook who loves everything to match you can’t go wrong in a range of colours and traditional stripes or plain dye.

Sarah Smith ‘Moo’ Fairtrade Aprons add a splash of colour to your kitchen with her classic cooks aprons. Made from 100% Fairtrade certified cotton and available in 6 colourful designs. They are versatile & adjustable with a convenient front pocket for your utensils. Durable & machine washable.

There are such a wide variety tell me about your favourite.

Its my daughters wedding anniversary and I don’t need to ask her what she would like as a gift. She was so thrilled when we brought her a piece of Le Creuset for them both as they are both keen cooks and enjoy spending hours in the kitchen together cooking as they find it de-stressing.  I had been telling them both about the versatility of this great cookware set, which they have seen me use now for years. As they have had to throw away already a wedding giftset which has lost its none stick ability which had upset my duaghter as it was a gift from a friend.

Thats the whole point with Le Creuset it lasts for years, its cast iron so copes with any cooking methods.  I love the way I can be cooking on the hob to brown and then further add the stock etc, and then in the same pan I just simply place this inside my agar oven. Just like that only one pan from hob to oven they are brilliant and then from oven to table it always looks good. Since they had their first piece they have been adding to their collection, putting money together from christmas etc to get the next pan they need.

So the beauty of Le Creuset, it looks good in a variety of colours to match your kitchen decors, its long lasting lifetime guarantee, it versatile and practical what more could you ask for your culinary expertise. So take a look, my star buy has to be this set:

Le Creuset 290706 - Cast Iron 4 Piece Cookware Set in Cerise
Part of the Cast Iron collection which you can find more of on pricegrabber.co.uk

This set includes (picture shown top, right)

• 18cm Round Casserole
• 20cm Round Casserole
• 30cm Rectangular Roasting Dish
• 26cm Square Grill Pan
• Cerise colour
• Cast iron
• Smooth enamel finish
• Suitable for all heat sources including induction
• Oven, grill, freezer and dishwasher safe
• Lifetime guarantee

Whats your favourite pan which you cook with? Mine personally has to be my Le Creuset grill pan and rectangle pan just use it on the hob add your stock etc and place in your oven when cooked straight to the table still looking good!

Hungry after playing his usual Rugby training session and then his 1 1/2hour Rugby Match in second row, (which I have to say they played great exciting Rugby yet again to win 42-10), my son has his head in my cupboard still wet after shower looking for everything and nothing to eat so to speak.

Until you hear ‘Mum, theres nothing to eat!’. The times I hear this, to come to the refridgerator, cupboard or freezer to see an abundance of ingredients.

Moving my attention from the pile of muddy kit I have just stuffed into my washing machine, I tell him to grab a saucepan and fill it with water to boil on the stove and immediately a smile comes across his face as he knows food will be served in minutes!

He’s always fired up after a match but starving, so the best way I find to calm him down is to get him cooking with me. His post match favourites are either  Spagetti with spinach and pesto or Penne with Chilli tomato sauce with mozzarella, (it’s amazing what you can make with nothing in the cupboard, isn’t it!)

Both are cooked in a flash and before you know it he fuelled up and ready to go again. Try these quick pasta dishes after a session at the gym or playing your favourite sport.

For Spaghetti with spinach & Pesto - you will need: 450g spaghetti (dried, fresh or homemade), 450g Spinach (fresh or frozen), 2 tbsps pesto sauce, 4 tbsp creme fraiche, 50g frozen peas, seasoning and 4 tbsp grated parmesan optional.

Simply bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add your spaghetti pasta cooking according to instructions depending on which pasta you have. Make sure your stir to separate the strands. Meanwhile in a large frying pan cook the spinach over a gentle heat until wilted (this takes only a couple of minutes). Drain away any liquid and retun pan to heat adding the pesto and creme fraiche and mix well. Cook for a few minutes then drain your pasta and return to the pan tossing with the sauce and serve immediately with parmesan & seasoning to taste. You can serve this with a simple salad or even chicken for added protein and fresh crusty bread.

And if you like it hot try the Penne with chilli tomato sauce with mozzarella. You will need: 450g penne pasta (dried or fresh), 2 tsp olive oil, 2 crushed cloves of garlic, 2 tsp chilli powder, 500ml passata (this is simply sieved tomatoes if you are making your own), 100g mozzarella chopped, handful of fresh basil leaves and seasoning.

Bring your pan of salted water to the boil adding your pasta cook according to instructions. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and gently fry the garlic and chilli powder for 1 minute before adding the passata and cooking for 5 minutes. Drain your pasta and add to the sauce and mix well over a gentle heat. Stir in the mozzarella. seasoning and basil and heat for 1 minute before serving with fresh crusty bread spread with garlic butter and a mixed salad. Again you can add some cooked chicken for added protein. You can add more chilli if you like it hotter, if you doing this remember to keep tasting as you are cooking to make sure you don’t make it too hot.

Take it from me, they need something to fill them up after using up all their energy reserves up. Whats you favourite dish in a hurry after playing or taking part in your favourite sport?

The original Easter Eggs were decorated painted hen, duck or goose eggs, something which many people still do today. By the 17th Century manufactured easter eggs made out of various materials were available for giving as easter gifts. By the 19th Century the hollow highly decorate cardboard eggs filled with gifts, brought about the Faberge Eggs, encrusted with jewels originally made for the Czars of Russia and today these eggs are extremely costly.

It was around the early 1800’s when the first chocolate Easter eggs appeared in Germany and France. This then spread to the rest of Europe. These first chocolate eggs were solid and they were soon followed by the introduction of the hollow eggs. Making hollow eggs at that time was no mean feat, because the easily worked chocolate we use today didn’t exist then, they had to use a crude paste which was made from ground roasted Cacao beans. 

By the 19th Century and the discovery of the modern chocolate making process and improved mass manufacturing methods meant that the hollow, moulded Chocolate Easter Egg was fast becoming the Easter gift of choice in the UK and of course what we all give to each other today!

Whats your favourite chocolate milk, white or dark??

Why not make the most of your chocolate and try this fantastic Chocolate Mousse recipe.

You will need 165g dark chocolate finely chopped, 25g cocoa powder, 10 free range egg wgites, 25g caster suger and  1 free range egg yolk.

To Make - With an electric beater, whisk the egg whites and sugar for around 2 to 3 minutes until it forms soft peaks. Stir the egg yolk into the chocolate and cocoa mixture and whisk in a quarter of the egg whites. Place the chocolate and cocoa powder mixture in a large bowl set over a pan of hot water and leave to melt over a low heat. Do not boil water else your chocolate will become grainy. Stir until smooth and remove from the heat. Fold in the remaining egg whites with a large spatula and then pour into individual glass bowls and leave to set in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Tell me your favourite easter egg or easter recipe! Enjoy your Easter bank holiday weekend and have fun cooking.