If like me your a gardener too, your vegetables should be growing well with the weeks worth of rain and now this glorious sunshine, what more could the plants, vegetables or even ourselves ask for?

Well as the sun hits the clear blue skys, its the sound of mowers echoing around the gardens and then the smell of bar-b-q’s so why not invite some friends around and join the rest of us eatting alfresco. If your not a bar-b-q fan this might be because of old memories of bar-b-q’s, but take it from me, now adays the barbecue has reached another level!

There is such an array of bar-b-q’s on the market to suit any taste from built your own, electric, gas and all singing all dancing versions which put our kitchen cookers to shame.

The Kingsford Olympic 3 Burner Plus Barbecue features a stylish cabinet style trolley allowing you to store all of your barbecue essentials. With a dual skinned hood and warming rack you are able to keep your barbecued food warm to eat at your leisure.

This barbecue not only has every thing you need but everyone I know who has had one speaks highly of it. Its big and great to cook on, easy to use and clean what more do you need. Its great features including a heat indicator, removable side shelves and porcelain coated grills mean you will soon be cooking up great food outdoors fast.

So for a great barbecue for all the familly with:

• Dual skin hood
• Removable side tables
• Warming rack
• Porcelain coated cast iron grills & griddle with matt finish for easy cleaning
• Porcelain coated flavour bars
• Porcelain coated cast iron burners
• Porcelain coated firebowl
• External gas bottle holder
• Storage cabinet
• 4 x lockable casters
• Heat indicator

Look no further!

Check out some of my barbecue recipes to follow in furture blogs and there are lots too in my previous blogs. Let me know about your favourite barbecue or barbecue memory as I bet like me there are many, have fun and enjoy your cooking!

If you feel that a dish needs a side salad but you do not have any salad leaves to hand, then green vegetables like beans, courgettes and peas can make a great substitute. Just cook the choosen vegetables briefly so they remain crunchy and refresh them under cold running water, then serve with mayonnaise or salad dressing with a sprinkling of fresh herbs.

You could also make a salad from raw root vegetables like carrots, turnips and white & red cabbages shredded finely and tossed in a flavoured dressing.

As in my previous blog a great gadget to use for these types of things if you do not have a food processor with the necessary blades is a Julienne Vegetable slicer like this one!

Alternatively if you have only a few salad leaves why not shred them and add to other store cupboard ingredients like crumbled cheese, chopped egg or even canned beans.

Do you have a favourite salad recipe or ingredient? Perhaps you have a tip for our avid readers too then don’t be shy join the rest of us foodies and send me your comments!

Looking for something tempting to serve up on the side is sometimes quite daunting especially when your looking for something different too!

I remember my grandmother showing me a fabulous dish with a classic flavouring concept called persillade. She added this to an array of fruits and vegetables for a great tasting and looking side to accompany fish or meats alike, but my grandmother favourite was to serve this with gammon.

If your not good at preparing vegetables or want to take the time element out of this make sure you have a handy Juliene Vegetable slicer in your kitchen. You will find one invaluable for preparing vegetables in an array of shapes and sizes for all of your recipes needs. This versatile Wide Julienne Vegetable Slicer is ideal for thinly slicing fruit and vegetables for speedy preparation. Made from toughened plastic, this sturdy slicer features a comfortable handle and stay-sharp ceramic blade. A finger guard is also supplied

Try this and let me know what you think.  For Grandmothers Courgettes, Apples & Persillade-  your going to need: 1 red onion, 4 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 medium apple, 1 medium tomato, 500g courgettes, salt & pepper, a bunch of parsley & 1 clove of garlic.

Peel & thinly slice your onion and heat 2 tablespoons of oik in a frying pan before adding your onion and cook over a low heat for 7 minutes until the onion has softened. Rinse & core the apple and then chop in to cubes. Rinse & chop in to cubes your tomato also and stir in with the onion and cook for a further 5 minutes stirring occassionally. Trim and rinse your courgettes and then slice lengthways into thin strips before cutting the strips into batons. Sprinkle these with salt, heating another frying pan fry your courgettes over a moderate heat until they release their moisture then turn up the heat and continue to cook until the moisture has evaporated, saking the pan to make sure the courgettes do not burn. Reduce the heat then add the apple, tomato & onion mix to the courgettes and leave to simmer for 5 minutes. Meanwhile rinse, dry & chop enough fresh parsley to make 4 tablespoons & crush the garlic. Mix this with the parsley to make the Persillade. Stir the persillade into the frying pan with the vegetables and simmer for a few minutes to cook the garlic, then grind in some black pepper & add some salt to season to your taste before serving immediately with some delicious griddled gammon.

Do you have a favourite side dish, why not tell me about it or any of my recipes or blogs?

Stuffing a omelette is an easy way to transform a handful of eggs into a delicious dish in a matter of minutes. This can add flavour like fresh variety of mushrooms in a cream sauce, or a generous scattering of freshly picked herbs. The filling can also build substance like potato in a cheesey sauce, it can also offer the chance to use up left overs too. There are no rules to stuffing an omelette so you can experiment with your own variety of favourite flavours.

For perfect results where the egg is light, layered & slightly runny always make individual omelettes using a 15 to 18 cm omelette pan.    The Le Creuset non-stick omelette pan made from tough, durable enamelled cast iron which has excellent heat retaining properties. Each piece is unique, cast from molten iron in a sand mould which is used only once. Suitable for all cooker types and it is dishwasher safe

For 2 people break 4 to 6 eggs into a large measuring jug, seasoning lightly with salt and pepper and beat together. Put 15g of butter into your omelette pan over a high heat and when it is sizzling pour half of your egg mixture into your omelette pan and stir quickly with a fork. Draw the set mixture to the centre and tilt the pan to allow the uncooked egg to run underneath. Cook until the omelette is golden brown underneath but still moist on top. Remove the pan from the heat and spoon half of your choosen filling down the middle (slightly off centre) then fold the rest of the omelette over to enclose the filling as you roll it from the pan onto a plate and serve immediately.  (I cover with foil to keep it warm in the oven while I make the other omelettes so we can eat together).

One of our favourite fillings for omelettes is Haddock Cream: Simply skin, bone and flake 100g of cooked smoked haddock. Warm through the fish in 3 tablespoons of double cream stirring in 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley and plenty of black pepper. You could also used smoked salmon or even trout for this too which work well.

Tell me about your favourite omelette filling?

I developed this great finale to any dinner party over the years. If your in our house no meal is complete without some form of dessert, even if we are heading for the cheese & fruit platter. Sweet Toothes hey! we all know one and my house is no exception.

So I developed a twist on a great british traditional pudding to give not only fabulous flavours, enough sweetness to melt the heart of even the sweetest of toothes amoungst us; but also packed with a good source of vitamins A, B C E, iron, calcium, selenium & zinc, too good to be true I know, and there is more.

This fantastic pudding can be made in advance and kept in a fridge, so no last minute panic.

What am I talking about well its Luxurious, warming & colourful Fruity Bread & Butter pudding!

Your going to need: 350ml full cream milk, 300g fresh or frozen mixed fruit of your choice, 50g butter, 8 slices of wholemeal bread, 3 tablespoons of light muscovado sugar, 2 large eggs, 1/2 teaspoon natural vanilla extract, nutmeg for grating & icing sugar to decorate. Oh and either fresh cream, greek yogurt or custard to serve with your finished pudding.

Preheat your oven to 220 c/425 f/ gas 7, heat the milk gently in a pan, do not let it boil. Grease 4 overproof ramekins. Remove the crusts from the bread and butter the slices cutting into 4 triangles. Arrange a few pieces in bottom of each dish (pointing slightly upwards) then add a spoonful of your fruit mix and a sprinkling of sugar then repeat this process until all the bread and fruit it used up ending with a layer of bread in each dish. Break your eggs in a bowl and whisk lightly, stir in the warm milk and vanilla. Whisk again and carefully pour over the custard mix evenly into each pudding dish. Grate a little nutmeg over each of the puddings and place them on a baking tray before baking for 15 minutes or until set and golden brown. To serve sift icing sugar over the tops and serve with cream, yogurt or custard of your choice.

 I think this funky Le Creuset Stoneware Heart Shaped Ramekin Gift sets are great they look superb and make a pudding special, so surprise your guest by serving your desserts in something extra special like them ! ahhhhh!

 They are stylish tableware for both entertaining and everyday use, coming in their fabulous     Espresso Exterior finish, they offer the perfect presentation for individual desserts. Suitable for use in the Freezer, Dishwasher, Oven,Grill and Microwave and each ramekin holds 0.3l and is 11cm in diameter.

Whats your dinner party finale! (& keep it clean please!)

If like me your having friends & relatives over who you have invited around to enjoy some bank holiday jollities, shall I say? who are on a diet, or trying to get into shape for that fabulous holiday they have planned for the summer. Well then just whip up this terrific sexy and one of my personal favourites of all salads.

“Salad!” I hear you say. “Oh yes”, a salad can be sexy too! & whats more this is a great source of vitamins & iron.

All of my friends know I am not keen on mayonaise, so I have come up with this version; which I’m not bragging apart but my guests have adored and ask for again and again, & guess what, ‘yes’, I will be serving it up over this bank holiday!

My Salad, well its succulent morsels of rich avocado in oil, strewn throughout a delicious combination of dark, tender young spinach & peppery rocket leaves, which are delicately tossed with bright colourful tiny cobs of crunchy sweetcorn!

For my Baby corn & spinach Salad your going to need: 100g baby sweetcorn, rock salt, 85g rocket leaves, 225g baby spinach leaves, 1 avocado, 1 clove of garlic, 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of tabasco sauce. (Note if you cannot get rocket then add peppery watercress)

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Cut the baby sweetcorn across in half and add them to the boiling water with some salt and simmer for 1 minute before draining in a colander. Rinse your rocket & spinach leaves and drain them. Make your dressing by cutting your avocado in half and removing the stone before scooping out the flesh with a spoon into a large salad bowl. Peel your garlic (as shown in my blog 15th May 09), and crush this into your bowl , add your oil and vinegar, sugar and tabasco sauce along with seasoning and stir the dressing together. Now add your well drained sweetcorn and rocket & spinach leaves to the dressing and toss well before serving.

I think these Joseph Joseph Salad Bowls with Servers are great & funky for any dinning table, alfresco or in door. This large salad bowl and server set is perfect for family dinners and outdoor use.  It’s also great for pasta or fruit salad and it makes an ideal fruit bowl.The distinctive form and vibrant colours make this product the ideal centre piece for all dinning occasions. Made from durable, easy to clean polypropylene. Designed by Morph and available in black, white and green.

Tell me about your great salad combinations you have served up to your dining guests and whats more enjoy the bank holiday, ir the weatherman is right for once your going to need the suntan cream!!!

Left over potato, we have all had some at some stage but what have we done with it.

Are you the adventurous cook who plays with recipe ideas with leftovers or are the the conservationist who has a set number of recipes for all left over foods, or adds this to a composting bin. Of course you could also be one of the millions of us who just throughs away leftovers which could make a very good meal ingredient?

I learnt to cook from one of the best conservationalists, my grandmother. Nothing was thrown away it was either placed on the compost or used as a meal simple, not like the over flowing dustbins you see adorning the pavements today on bin collection day.

Potatoes are particularly versatile & their flavour makes them a great accompaniment to a variety of other foods. Potatoes can give substance to salads and add texture to soups, and they can also be combined with other ingredients, reshaped or even reheated to accompany many different meal varieties to suit anyones tastes.

Surplus mashed potato can be shaped into croquettes or potato cakes, coated in flour and fried. Add a well beaten egg which will help to hold the mixture together. You can also add in canned fish for example and any left over vegetables to make fish cakes.

Leftover new potatoes can make a delicious potato salad, by tossing them in a little olive oil while they are still warm enough to absorb the flavour, then cool them and put them in the fridge. Dress your cooled potatoes with a herb mayonaise or yougurt for a great potato salad.

Turn cooked new potatoes in to a fast and tasty accompaniment to hot or cold meats by frying them in olive oil and sprinkling with parmesan which will melt and turn crunchy as they cook. You could also fry these with some rosemary & garlic for some great panfried potatoes too.

Leftover boiled potatoes can be turned into hash browns to make a tasty breakfast with eggs and bacon too.

What other ideas can you come up with to do with left over potato? Let me know who likes what! Tell me if the recession has made you use leftovers for a meal?

Dried pasta is a great storecupboard favourite, but did  you realise that fresh pasta is actually faster to cook. Fresh pasta can also be frozen, and will only take a minute or two longer to cook straight from frozen.

In general to serve 4 people you will need to cook 500g of fresh pasta or 350g dried pasta. Small pasta shapes are very useful items to have in your storecupboard: they can be used to thicken soups, as they cook much faster than rice used for this purpose plus pasta is more filling.

Vermicelli and fine oriental egg noodles can also be used to thicken soups: crush the dry noodles between your hands to break them up into tiny pieces then stir the pieces into the soup 5 minutes before you serve it.

For a quick pasta soup: Simmer a handful of small pasta soup shapes from your store cupboard in a good stock ( from my previous blog 1st May 09 Microwave magic in stock) you can use fresh stock in a carton if you haven’t made your own. Garnish this with a few slices of thinly sliced lemon, chopped coriander or parsley and some sliced mushrooms or even chopped sun-dried tomatoes and enjoy with a couple of slices of homemade rustic bread.

Don’t forget for the perfect soup you need the perfect soup bowl to serve it in! Take a look at these great soup bowl ideas.

I love the Royal Doulton Fusion Soup Tureen, its a classic. Royal Doultons Fusion Platinum tableware is a dash of platinum on these bold bone china designs from Royal Doulton which adds elegance to any dining experience. Made to show off your colourful soup ranges in.

Whats your favourite quick pasta dish, send in your tips and recipes!

Well lets start by peeling a few layers off some handy kitchen tips for you all.

You may actually not need to waste time peeling vegetables - many actually taste better & retain more nutrients when cooked in their skins. The thick skins of older vegetables should be removed however the thinner skinned younger vegetables such as aubergines, courgettes, new potatoes or parsnips will need nothing more than a good scrub!

The exception is carrots as the advice is to peel even young carrots because of the risk of chemical residues, unless they are from your very own vegetable patch that is or by buying organic.

For great peeling try the Henckels Stainless Steel Vegetable Peeler,crafted entirely from stainless steel in a sleek and timeless design and at a great affordable price. A definite to your kitchen must haves!

If your removing the flesh from a avocado to be mashed or blended, do not bother to peel this simply cut the avocado in half, remove the stone & scoop out the flesh using a large spoon.

What about Garlic something I am always asked about! To peel garlic, press down on the garlic clove with a flat blade of a large knife and the peel will split and slip off easily.

Tell me about your top peeling tips which you use in the kitchen!

With fresh asparagus, sweet peppers, chunks of chopped tomatoes & just anough chilli to tantilise your spanish tastebuds & served with scrumptious scrambled eggs this traditional spanish dish of Asparagus Piperade is a winner through & through.

This is one of those lighter dishes which I love for many reasons. It not only brings together some fantastic flavours, but it is one of those dishes you can always eat more of; also it has some fantastic memories for me. ‘Oh Yes!’,  dining alfresco in the centre of Madrid with a full bodied spaniard, oh! I meant spanish wine, fantastic company and lots of glorious spanish sunshine & hospitality. Oh yes!, I remember it well!

For this fantastic dish of Asparagus Piperade your going to need: 1 large spanish onion, 1 green chilli, 1 large red pepper, 1 large green pepper, 3 tblsp olive oil, 3 cloves of garlic, salt & black pepper to season, 500g asparagus, 400g canned chopped tomatoes, 8 slices of homemade bread or rustic bread, butter for spreading & 4 large free range eggs.

Peel & slice the onion, rinse, deseed & slice the peppers, heat the olive oil in a wok or large frying pan with a lid. Peel the garlic and crush before placing into the oil, add the onion, diced chilli & peppers, salt & pepper to taste & stir fry for 1 minute then cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 minutes shaking the pan or wok occasionally. Trim the woody ends from the asparagus & rinse cut each of the spears into 4 pieces on the angle. Add the asparagus to the onion mix & cover the pan leaving to cook for another 7 minutes. Preheat your grill. Stir in the canned tomatoes in to the vegetables and increase the heat & bring to simmering before cooking for a further 2 minutes uncovered.  Meanwhile toast your bread and butter them. Break the eggs into a bowl & beat them lightly, then add them to the vegetables 7 scramble over a moderate heat stirring until the eggs are set. Then serve immediately surrounded by your buttered toast.

Why not tell me about a dish that holds special memories for you, our tastes & smell sensations all connect with our Limbic systems which link further to memories which is why as above a certain smell etc reminds you of something!