If your catering for children then this old favourite always goes down a treat literally. Its something everyone can have fun with, certainly with a little imagionation and some great cookie shape cutters you can use this recipe throughout the year and produce christmas, easter biscuits as well as animal farm biscuits for example to go with a animal farm theme birthday party.

So lets get cooking whether its with the children or not. For your gingerbreadmen you are going to need:50g butter, 3 tblsp golden syrup, 75g castor sugar, 250g self raising flour, pinch of salt, 3 tsp ground ginger, glasce cherries and currants for decoration and milk for glazing.

First place the butter syrup and sugar in a small saucepan and heat slowly until sugar has dissolved. sift together the dry ingredients then make a well in the middle and pour in the warm melted mixture and beat until smooth. Roll out the mixture on a lightly floured surface while still warm and cut into figures using a cutter or homemade template. Make buttons eyes and a mouth from currants and glace cherries. Other decorations can be used depending on who they are for. Then brush with a little milk and bake on a greased baking sheet for 8 to 10 minutes or until the biscuits are firm and lightly golden. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Cooks Note - Uncooked dough can be kept in the freezer for up to 6 months and these biscuits will keep in a air tight tin if they last the day out once made!

See my previous blog Piping bags to use with your cooking as you could pipe faces, clothes etc on to each gingerbreadman too. See the cutters and christmass biscuit ideas in my previous blog christmas hanging biscuits also. Plus other great biscuit recipes in my blog taking the biscuit.

Soups are something which is great for using left overs up including stocks made earlier in the weeks cooking for example. Once you start to expeiment making your own soups you will never return to tinned or brought soups again the taste is delicious and you can add your own twists on common soup recipes.

Also soups start to be ideal as we look for something a little warmer may be for lunch time at work. The beauty of homemade soup is you know exatcly what ingredients have gone into making it. So no added preservatives, colourants etc and with a few handy pots you can simply freeze you soup portions for later use which can be reheaten in the microwave for convenience.

Try to use foods which are in season as I had a abundance of tomatoes from the poly tunnel and also looking for some great vitamin C to boost our imune systems as viruses and bugs start there annual desent onto us I couldn’t think of a better soup than Tomato or which you can make different versions to suit your tastes.

So for a great Tomato Soup you are going to need: 25g butter, 1 medium chopped onion, 1 small chopped potato, 600g fresh tomatoes quartered, 1 garlic clove crushed, 1 bay leaf, 2 tbls tomato puree, 450ml vegetable or chicken stock, 450ml milk and salt and pepper to taste plys parsley to garnish.

Fry the onion in the melted butter until soft then add the potato, tomatoes, garlic, bay leaf, tomato puree and stock before bringing to the boil and shimmering gently for 20 to 25 minutes until the potato is soft. Remove your bay leaf, add the milk and liquidise the soup using a hand blender (or you could press through a sieve if you do not have a blender). Return your soup to the saucepan and reheat before seasoning to your taste with salt and pepper then garnish with parsley and serve.

As I have taught you all before try different variations on this recipe by for instance adding grated rind and juice of a orange or add 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp basil, 1/2 tsp parsley and 1 tsp worcester sauce with some crispy diced pancetta and small congigli pasta for a Italian take on Tomato soup.

Check out my previous blog Your dessert island kitchen blender, or another great soup recipe in my previous blog fasta pasta and my previous blog microwave magic in stock for a great quick way to make homemade stock great to use in soups, casseroles and sauces.

Blenders are great kitchen gadgets which aid the cook tremendously, take a look at the selection available of hand blenders. One I like and have used is the Breville VHB014 Stainless Steel Hand Blender Set 

The Breville VHB014 Stainless Steel Hand Blender Set has everything you need in one, a hand blender, electric whisk and chopper. A great addition to any kitchen.

• Powerful 400 watt motor for professional results
• 2 Speeds
• Brushed stainless steel body & leg
• 700ml beaker
• Ergonomic handle

Why not tell us about the product you use to blend with in your recipes?

One gadget which I keep hearing about more and more and seeing more of in friends kitchens is the Food Mincer. One such item sat proudly on my grandmothers kitchen table always; it was used for allsorts including grinding coffee beans for morning coffee.

It seems this gadget is enjoying a comeback and a return to our kitchens, as we cook more and more homemade. This can be for many reasons, whether your looking to take control of your nutrition and watch what you eat avoiding additives, allergens and colourants etc, or you could be looking at ways of saving money by cooking and preparing foods yourself but using the highest quality ingredients.

By this you could use a mincer for example to, mince a cut of beef from your local butcher in order to make burgers, whether for the kids so you know what ingredients are in them or for that homemade appeal for a barbecue with friends.

Another great use for these is I make christmas cakes, mincemeat and christmas puddings, (yes I know its that dreaded word none of us wish to discuss), but I make these for relatives and the elderly do appreciate their fruit minced slightly, as do children.

This kitchen craft cast iron mincer for example looks fantastic and being cast iron will last you through all of your kitchen recipes. This Kitchen Craft cast iron mincer from John Lewis has three different sized mincing discs and even a sausage making attachment. This mincer is easy to set-up and securly clamps to the worktop which is less than 1¼” thick with a plastic guard supplied to protect the worktop surface too.

So why not join in the trend today, and try making your own burgers and sausages for example. Its easy, try different meats with added vegetables like tomato, onion and leek for example, or even apple and add you favourite spices and herbs to create your own brand of sausage. Imagion your next barbecue when you annouce the chefs special!!

See my blog its just minced beef, and man sized burger to satisfy and lots more recipes for all occassions and meals in many more of my blogs.

Muffins are a real family favourite and I love to make muffins with strawberries throughout the summer. These delicious easy, fruity muffins are a perfect summer treat for a picnic, garden party or just to enjoy with a cup of tea alfresco.

I like to serve my muffins slightly warm and they are at there best eaten the day they are made but I have to say I never ahave any left to put in a airtight tin for another day.

For my Strawberry and Cream muffins you are going to need: 250g self raising flour, 150g caster sugar, rind of 1 orange, 1 egg, 75ml sunflower oil, 142ml single cream, 125ml milk, 150g english strawberries and icing sugar for dusting.

First preheat your oven to 180 c/ 350 f/ gas 4. Now shift your flour into a large bowl and grate the rind of the orange placing the rind and sugar in with the sieved flour. Mix together the egg, oil, cream and milk and whisk together before pouring in to the flour mix and mix together with a wooden spoon. Remove the hulls from your strawberries and shop them into small pieces before adding these to the mixture and gently stirring them im. Place the mixture in to silicone muffin moulds or muffin paper cases. You will have enough for 8 to 10 muffins. Bake the muffins in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until well risen and golden. Then dust with icing sugar to finish and serve warm. Delicious!!!!  I bet you don’t have any left over!

Cooks tip - Try using other fruits like raspberries, blueberries etc for even more fruity muffin ideas!

Take a look at my previous blog silicone bakeware makes it oh so easy to clean and great traditional recipe in my blog classic recipe for Victoria sponge cake, plus there are many many more delicious recipes for you!

What fun! fields and fields of various bushes, plants and trees, me and my neice Rosie with a bucket to hand and were off. How many fruits are going to make it to the punnet before your mouth,  (now be honest! I know so many who have eatten more than there fair share while picking, or before you are ill!).  Looking at the state of beautiful Rosie, my sister is going to kill me, when she sees the colour of her beautiful little dress, now stained with berry juice where she has duely wiped her hands down it, bless!

A trip to a local pick your own farm is a great way for you to discover newly harvested fruits, picked at there peak, fresh and usually cheaper than the shops and markets. Plus its a great day out for the kids too.

Presently you can pick not only the last of the strawberries but raspberries, currants, cherries and  gooseberries throughout both June and July, with further fruits and berries to be available from september for picking.

These soft summer fruits are at their best when freshly picked, so packaging and storage of your freshly picked fruits are very important.

There are over 400 PYO (pick your own) farms through out the UK so theres sure to be one near you, check your local press and plan your visit. Some PYO Farms also have restaurants, cafe, farmshops etc too which make a great day out.

Some sound tips for picking from the Farm shop and pick your own association (FSPA) make great sense they are:

1. Pick at least half inch of stem to avoid touching and bruising your freshly picked fruit
2. Wear sensible clothes and shoes
3. Pick just enough for yourself as its very easy to get carried away
4. Punnets are usually provided but you may wish to take your own containers too.
5. Fruits nearest the entrance get picked first so stroll to the far side of the field.
6. Pick strawberries and raspberries last as these are the most fragile
7. Make sure to put your fruit in a cool place as soon as possible after picking.

For a great Raspberry Fool with your freshly picked produce, you will need: 350g raspberries, 75g icing sugar, 2 tblsp port, 450g fromage frais and extra fruit or cream to decorate (can use chocolate shavings too)

Wash and dry your raspberries and place in your food processor. Puree until smooth and pass through a seive to remove the seeds, into a bowl. Then stir in the sugar and the port before folding in the fromage frais into your puree. Spoon into wine glasses or dessert bowls and decorate before serving. Summery, delicious and simple, what more can you ask for?

Take at look at my previous blog perfect raspberry jam for your toast and cakes, also  its very sundae (check out the great sundae glasses in this blog too), and seasonal june strawberry food events with a great cheesecake recipe!

Whats your favourite PYO fruit, have you got a recipe to share or tip? Why not tell us all about a PYO farm near you?

My house always seems to be full of guests which I am not complaining about at all, infact I enjoy a full buzzing house and I wouldn’t want it anyother way. 

Everyone knows how important it is to eat 3 good meals a day. Enjoying seasonal nutritious foods that are a pleasure to eat, meals which keep you feeling full and satisfied and stop you nibbling on modern sugar packed snacks. However, in an ideal world we would all sit down to share our day in the evening over dinner, or plan out our days together over breakfast in the morning. This is something I have always insisted on, but this scenario is not always possible. Especially with children now with various hobbies and attending various clubs, which you need a whole dedicated diary for on their own now adays. Then you have adult members of the family being held up at work (as we work some of the longest hours in Europe now), stuck on public transport or even in the never ending traffic jams upon our roads today. Fewer and fewer families can get to do this.

So I make one rule in our house, to make at least one healthy meal that can be tucked into as and when all the family can sit together; and if this can’t be in the evening, as I must admit our evening meals seem to get later and later due to all of our commitments.  I like us all to catch up with each other, so we can support each other, sort out whose going where and whose taking them etc so we always make breakfast together. Just as our grandparents would of done, they ate 3 good meals, at regular times throughout the day and ate together.

So try to plan say a evening meals together and make sure to minimise those distractions insisting on no mobiles or TV, so you can catch up with each other and enjoy your food too.  I know you may find this hard to start with but it will be worth it in the end.

One supper which will always bring my son Ed and his mates out of the wood work is my Sesame chicken noodles.

For serving you sesame chicken noodles check out this swift spice chinese serving set. The  Swift Chinese Serving Set Includes: -Four ceramic bowls. -Four ceramic spoons. -Four bamboo placemats. -Four pairs chopsticks and rests, and can make serving and eatting a chinese meal alot more fun and its great for entertaining too.

To serve 4 people your going to need: 1 tblsp sesame oil, 1 tabls sesame seeds, 3 free range local chicken breasts, 2 teaspoons vegetable oil, a knob of root ginger peeled and shredded, 2 cloves of garlic peeled and sliced, 200g oyster mushrooms halved and quartered, 200g dried edd noodles, 6 spring onions trimmed and sliced on the angle, 150g sugar snap peas, 100g peas (fresh or frozen), 1 tblsp cornflour, 1 tsp five-spice powder, 2 tblsp rice wine or dry sherry, 1 tsp caster sugar and 2 handfuls of spinach.

Slice your chicken breasts into long narrow strips, heat a wok and toast the sesame seeds in it for about 20 seconds then tip into a bowl. Heat the pil and when sizzling add the ginger, garlic and cook stirring for 1 minute then transfer to a plate. Add the mushrroms and stir fry to 2 minutes then scoop out and put these on the plate too. Add the chicken to the wok and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until cooked through then tip in to a heatproof dish and keep warm in a preheated oven on a low setting. Bring a pan of water to boil on the hob & boil the noodles takes about 4 minutes or as shown on packet. Add the spring onions, sugar snap peas & peas to your wok with 2 tablespoons of water. Stir these over a medium heat for 3 minutes then return the ginger, garlic and mushrooms. Drain the noodles and toss with the sesame oil. Blend the cornflour with the five-spice, rice wine (or dry sherry), sugar and 3 tablespoons of water. Add this mixture to the wok and toss everything together over the heat for 1 minute. Toss the warmed chicken in the oven with the toasted sesame seeds and serve the noodles in bowls topped with strips of chicken and stir fried vegetables. You can drizzle with a little extra sesame oil before serving if you wish.

Take a look at my previous blog flexible spring cookery to cope with the great british weather for further recipes and my blog chinese new year - the year of the Ox. 

Whats your families favourite meals to eat together? have you got a favourite chinese recipe? Let me know its always great to hear from you all!

Great picnics start here, I have had (and aim to have many more too!) some fabulous times over the years attending Royal Ascot week. Let me tell you if you have never been the atmosphere is electric. Its one of those calendar events many of us wait for. Some of us spend months planning our outfits espically if your attending on Ladies Day which can be a right eye opener let me tell you. Everyone gets into the spirit with all the guys in full morning dress and every lady with her best hat addorned, its a day when fashion has no boundaries and that includes the picnic.

This picnic has a silk tablecloth and table, candles, even full barbecues, waiters and enough bubbly to sink the titanic. But it dosen’t stop with the highlights of the days horse racing and meeting the celebraties and royal family in the flesh as afterwards the picnics start, the music turned up and the partying truely begins.

I remember one year when we had been having alot of rain and the buses park a distance from the race course, they placed straw down for all of us to walk on and provided shoe cleaners to clean our shoes when we arrived at the race track, how funny to see people tottering around in shoes worth more than a family holiday in mud, dolled up to the eye balls, not forgetting the hat. The things we do hey!!

Tell me about your trips to ascot and the food you enjoyed, we took everything. Bubbly, crab, salmon, trifles no luxury was spared.  Check out my previous picnic blogs like greatfood, great style and don’t forget the wine Take a look at the great picnic items available including blankets and hampers, I love this Spey De Luxe Hamper it has everything ready for you to go just grab this and your bubbly and food and your away. This spacious and quality hamper (shown right) for four. With plates, cutlery, condiment set and wine glasses and integral bottle compartment for three bottles. The ‘wash’ willow hamper has twin opening flaps cream tones for cutlery, plate and wine glass straps and clasp and hinges to add to the style presentation. Also included is a cream tablecloth and matching cream napkins for the perfect picnic!

Some great pinic ideas include:

Salmon - Mix Salmon (fresh or tinned) with cannellini beans, chopped tomato, diced shallot, chopped black or green olives, chopped parsley and basil. Dress with olive oil and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper. Serve with bread or salad of your choice.

Trout - Combine a bunch of watercress or rocket with thinly sliced radishes and red onion; add flaked smoked trout. Dress at the last minute with olive oil, sherry vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper (which you pop in your picnic hamper!)

Local Lamb - One of my favourite is Local Lamb thinly sliced, then toss with cherry tomatoes, olive oil, mint, feta and chopped red onion, serve with a rustic bread and a beautiful  rich red wine (Yummy!)

Come on ladies whats your picnic going to have, tell me all about it!!

Well to cheer us all up and take our minds off the ever increasing petrol pump prices again, June is the season to eat like the Gods! The first of the British Fruits is reaching our shops. Lucious Strawberries with that unbeatable British flavour, Asparagus as in my previous blog  quick and easy Asparagus recipes can still be found. With the first crop of new potatoes, peas and broad beans and of course salad crops too. I have started picking mine straight from out the garden you cannot beat that fresh from the garden taste & of course, the great cost - as its FREE. 

Its best to eat in season, as seasonal produce is fresher and higher in nutrients, with less food miles and its kinder on your purse strings too. So just take a look at whats about as great seasonal foods for June to enjoy are:

Fruit: blackberries (early), cherries, elderflowers, gooseberries, raspberries, redcurrants, rhubarb (outdoor), strawberries, tayberries. Imported figs.Vegetables: asparagus, baby carrots, broad beans, broccoli, chervil, chives, courgettes and flowers, cucumbers, fennel, globe artichokes, green beans, horseradish, lettuce, mangetout, new potatoes, peas, peppers, radishes, rocket and other salad leaves, samphire, spinach, sorrel, spring onions, tomatoes, watercress. Imported aubergines.Fish & shellfish: black bream, brown and rainbow trout, brown shrimp, cuttlefish, first fresh kippers (run until Oct), grey mullet, haddock, hake, john dory, lobster, pollack, prawns, sardines, sea bass, sea trout, signal crayfish, spider crab, whitebait, wild salmon. Don’t bother with oysters, mackerel, mussels, scallops and flatfish - they’re all spawning. Meat: hogget lamb, Welsh lamb.

So with the start of wimbledon days away now and great racing at Ascot lets find you a tantalising dish to serve made with the one and only strawberry. Strawberries are low in fat and calories and strawberries are naturally high in fiber, vitamin C, folate, potassium and antioxidants.

With fathers day upon us here is one of my dads own favourites, a yummy Strawberry Fudge Cheesecake:

You will need:75g butter, melted, plus extra for greasing, 250g HobNobs biscuits (or homemade oat biscuits), 250g strawberry or vanilla fudge, 300g mascarpone, 400ml double cream, softly whipped, 250g British Local strawberries, quartered and 2 tsp icing sugar to decorate.

Start by lightly buttering a 23cm springform cake tin. Pulse the biscuits to crumbs in your food processor. Add the melted butter and pulse until combined and clumped together. Tip into the base of the tin and press down evenly, then chill. Put 200g of the fudge in a large bowl and melt in a microwave for 1 minute on High, until it forms a soft paste (or alternatively you could melt in a pan over a very low heat). Cool slightly, then beat in the mascarpone in a bowl with a wooden spoon, until soft, add to the melted fudge and mix until all combined and then gently fold in the whipped cream. Chop the remaining fudge into small chunks and stir into the filling. Spoon this over the chilled biscuit base, smoothing the top. Cover and chill for at least 6 hours or overnight – the fudge will set the cheesecake. Put your strawberries in a bowl and toss with the icing sugar. Set aside to macerate for 20 minutes. Once the cheesecake is set, run a knife all around to loosen and remove the springform collar. Slide onto a serving plate and spoon over the strawberries to serve. If your feeling really indulgant serve with champagne or a good chilled sparkling wine for something just that bit special.

This is a great recipe to do and take with you to one of these great outdoor concert events up and down the country, no matter what the weather we British can always enjoy good food and a party!!!

Why not tell me about your favourite strawberry recipe? Also check out other food processor recipes like on my previous blog chocolate profiteroles with chantilly cream made with your mixer.

 Asparagus will soon be disappearing from our shelves (well the British Variety will anyway!) The asparagus season goes from April to mid June, but you can still enjoy this marvellous vegetable, if your quick.

When choosing your asparagus make sure you go for the firm asparagus with good colour, not wilted tops etc. You can simply cut off the woody ends and scrap this end with a knive, before you simply saute in a little butter and black pepper, delicious or why not try my Asparagus & Mushroom Fusilli, again simple to make and one of my sons favourites, so it has to be easy to prepare and cook!

You will need 300g Fusilli Pasta ( or use your homemade pasta as shown in my blog homemade pasta ), 25g Butter, 2 cm piece root ginger - grated, 125g mushrooms -sliced, 2 100g bunches of asparagus, 250ml tub half fat creme fraiche, 1 tbsp freshly chopped flat leaf parsley & salt and pepper to season.

First you will need to cook your pasta in a large pan of boiling slated water for about 10 minutes, (less time if fresh), while this is cooking melt your butter in a large pan and fry the ginger. mushrooms and asparagus (which you have prepared and cut on the diagonal into pieces) for about 5 minutes until cooked. Now add the creme fraiche, parsley and then seasoning to your taste. Drain your now cooked pasta

I found this great gadget for making draining pasta easy after I watched my mother in despair try to drain pasta using a saucpan lid only to feed the sink with some of this delicious homemade pasta as it slipped her clutches so to avoid this try using this great pasta spaghetti vegetable boiler colander drainer basket it  is made of  wireware, this stainless steel spaghetti, pasta vegetable basket is ideal for boiling and easily draining pasta or vegetables, for either domestic or commercial use.

Now mix into your sauce before serving immediately with either a salad or crusty homemade bread and a glass of cool white wine.

Also check out my other blog Tantalising spanish sunshine for another great alfresco asparagus recipe for you to enjoy in the sunshine with friends and family.

One thing alot of people struggle with is dairy and I am very often asked to make a eggless cake. This recipe has developed to suit our tastes shall I say but its moist, chocolaty, keeps well in a airtight tin and no one will ever know that this cake is different, just simply delicious!!!!

Making a eggless cake can be a nightmare, however you can buy various egg substitutes and use alternative ingredients like oil and rising agents so try my chocolaty cake.

You will need: 225g light soft brown sugar, 400g self raising flour, 50g cocoa powder, 5ml baking powder, 125g creamed coconut, pinch of salt, 200ml sunflower oil & icing sugar for dusting.

First you need to oil and line a 1.7 litre loaf tin. Then pour 650ml boiling water over the coconut and stir until dissolved and then cool. Sift the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder & salt into a bowl and mix together with the sugar. Making a well in the centre, pour in the coconut mixture and the oil and using a wooden spoon beat the ingredients until a smooth batter. Pour this into the prepared tin and bake in a preheated oven at 180 c/ 350 f/ gas 4 for 1 1/2 hours or until well risen and firm to touch. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for around 10 minutes then turn out on to a wire cake rack and allow to cool before dusting with icing sugar before you serve.

Make sure you have the tool for the job and have the right loaf/cake tin to obtain perfect results for your baking. I love these flexible silicone bakeware so check out this great tefal jamie oliver silicone bakeware loaf tin. It dosen’t get as hot as conventional bakeware and its so easy to get your cake out once baked.

There are loads of ways to serve your eggless sponge, you can serve this as it comes with a cup of tea in the afternoon or why not add fruits and whipped cream to a piece for a scrummy summer dessert.

Have you tried baking without certain key ingredients and made substitutes, how did you get on??