Promising a end to garlicky fingers, this marks and spencers garlic slicer is a great handy gadget for the kitchen.

By holding the garlic cloves securely in a plastic carriage, which you then move across its stainless steel blades. It slices and shreds without mess or waste.

Put your gadget to great use by trying out my recipe for Tropical Noodles. This is one of those dishes which we have developed over the years to teach my son to cook for himself while studying.

For my Tropical Noodles you are going to need: (This makes enough for 2 servings) 25g cashew nuts chopped, 200g pineapple chucks in natural juice, 100g chinese egg noodles, 1 tblsp vegetable oil, 1 garlic clove sliced, 1 bunch of spring onions sliced thickly on the diagonal, 1 large firm mango cubed, 1 large red pepper, deseeded and diced, 2 tblsp sweet chilli sauce and 1 tblsp soy sauce.

Place the cashew nuts in a non-stick pan and stir over a medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes until golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside. Drain the pineapple chunks and reserve the juice. Cook your noodles according to the instructions. Heat the oil in the wok, add the garlic, spring onions, mango and red pepper and stir fry over a high heat for 5 minutes. Then stir in the sweet chilli sauce, soy sauce, pineapple chunks and 1 tblsp of the reserved juice. Stir fry for a further 2 minutes before draining the noodles and arrange on 2 serving plates then spoon over the tropical stir fry and finish by sprinkling over the top the cashew nuts.

If you like chinese dishes try out my recipes in my previous blog bring back time to eat together as a family and chinese new year - year of the ox along with many more recipes in my blogs to tantalise your tastebuds!

My friend Tracy was astonished to see me using marmalade in recipes. I use marmalade in marinades and various sauces for meats aswell as adding to various cake and dessert recipes, it really brings out a great tangy flavour I love. So for Tracy it was a lesson that marmalade is more than just for the toast in the morning!

One of my favourites is Marmalade Duck, I remember like yesterday the very first time I tried this when my grandmother cooked it for me. I was at that age where I fed the ducks but didn’t want to think I was eatting them too. But being brought up on a farm meant it didn’t take long before I appreciated everymeal laid before me, and that everything on the farm from the land be it, crop or meat, eventually would be taken to market or eatten. This dish was divine and I in turn have made it many times for my family and today I was cooking for my dear friend Tracy.

For this scrumptious of dishes your are going to need: a duck cut into 6 or 4 large duck legs (so talk to your local butcher), 1/2 tsp sea salt, 2 tblsp groundnut oil, 3 medium onions, 100g fresh ginger, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 heaped tablsp flour, 1.5ltr stock, 3 tblsp rice wine (dry sherry or even vermouth), 4 star anise, 100g dried apricots, juice of 1 lemon and 4 tblsp quality marmalade (homemade if possible).

Start by preheating youroven to gas 4 or 180 c. Rub the pieces of duck all over with the sea salt. Warm the oil in a deep heavy pan or cast iron pan and lower the duck legs or pieces in to brown (be careful they will spit at you!). Turn them using tongues and brown the other side too. Lift them out and set aside on a plate. Peel the onions and slice, then stir into your casserole dish and leave to soften stirring occasionally. Peel the ginger and cut into matchsticks and stir in with the onion. Flatten the garlic cloves, remove the skin and put the flesh in to the casserole dish with the onions and ginger. When the onion is soft sprinkle with the flour then pour in the stock and stir throughly while bringing to the boil. Return the duck to the casserole dish and pour in the rice wine (sherry or vermouth), the star anise and dried apricots and leave to bubble for 15 minutes then cover with a lid and place in the oven. After 35 minutes remove and stir in 3 tblsp of marmalade and return to the oven without the lid. After a further 30 minutes of cooking lift the duck out and cover again with the lid. Leave this to cool a little as any fat will come to the surface so you can ladle this off. Check your sauce for seasoning and add the remaining marmalade and juice of a lemon. Now bring the sauce back to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes then return your duck peices to the sauce bringing it back to the boil before serving with a rich mash of potato and sweet potato.

Look at my previous blog confit away other duck recipes can be found in my previous blog walking recipe encore

For a cast iron casserole dish which is versatile for your cookery try this  Vogue cast iron 2.5 litre cast iron casserole dish.  This casserole is Black. 2.25 litre dish with lid. Being Cast iron ensures even heat distribution. When properly seasoned, provides long life non-stick and rust free pan. This casserole works with all heat sources; gas, electric, induction and ceramic top ranges. Also, attributes of cast iron means food stays hot for longer, providing greater energy efficiency. The recipes which use such a dish are endless, so make sure you buy a good one, such as this to add to your kitchen equipment for many years of great cookery.

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!