What a scarey fish! a little voice said and my neice looked on quite astonished I was buying some of this frightening fish. Well it may look scarey but it tastes delicious and it has been described as resembling a lobster meat, so maybe you should give it a go!

The flesh of this fish is really meaty and you’ll find if you cook for guests in general alot of them will really like it. Have a try using my summer recipe for you.

For my Midsummer Monkfish your going to need: 450g monkfish, 1 tblsp soya oil, 1/2 onion chopped, 100g mangetout topped and tailed, 50g broccoli florets, 1/2 red pepper thinly sliced, 100g baby sweetcorn, 2 tblsp dry sherry, 1 tblsp light soy sauce and 1 tsp cornflour.

Right are you ready here we go, skin the monkfish and cut away the flesh from the bone, better still smile nicely at your local fish monger and ask him to do this bit for you. Put the fillets on a plate cover with clingfilm and microwave for 6 minutes. Then cut your fillets into slices about 1cm thick. Put the oil, onion, mangetout, broccoli, pepper and corn in a large bowl. Mix well then microwave this for 4 minutes stirring halve way through. Now stir in the monk fish, sherry and soy sauce and microwave for 1 minute. Mix your cornflour to a smooth paste with a tablespoon of water and stir this into the fish dish and mix well. When blended microwave for 1 minute and serve immediately with some homemade crusty bread and a crisp dry white wine.

Are you still eating cod or have you been trying other sustainable fish? What fish have you tried and enjoyed, why not let us know? See my previous blog like Great simple fish pie recipe, or recommended simple fish supper, and blogs like Perfect omelettes for a great haddock cream omelette. There are many more fish recipes in my blogs do a search on fish to find one just for you and I even do fish dish recipes ideal when cooking for one, so top up on your omega 3.

Well did you try my fantastic Red Mullet? I have some very fond memories of great Red Mullet Dishes over the years, as many of my friends and family know this is one of my favourites.

I first tried Red Mullet while enjoying a Jazz River Cruise down the River Thames in London. It was a special anniversary and boy what a night! All dressed up to kill, as we say; in my long black dress, jewels & high heels. Everything that night was perfect, the food was excellent, as was the Entertainment & the Company, well as delicious as the rest of the evening! Have you a favourite dish connected with a great memory? Tell us all about it, go on!

Right, I promised you a lovely scrummy dessert, you can make in quick time for one, well here it is, my Mango & Orange Oatey Crunch. Quick, easy and your could try it using different fruits of your choice too, so don’t be afraid to experiment, that’s where all the very best recipes come from.

You will need: 1/2 ripe mango peeled, 1/2 orange peeled, 2 tblsp rolled oats, 1/2 tblsp demarara sugar, 1 tblsp plain flour, pinch of ground cinnamon, pinch of ground or fresh grated nutmeg and a small knob of butter.

Cut your mango flesh into dice and segment your orange (discarding the pith and pips), and put into a large microwaveable ramekin. Mix your oats with the sugar, flour and spices then rub in the butter and spinkle on top of the fruit to make a crunchy fruity crumble. Microwave for 2-3 minutes until thoroughly heated and serve with homemade icecream or custard of your choice. A hot, scrumptious healthy pud! Hmmmm!

For another great quick dessert to delight check out my previous blog berried treasure and pick your own or if you like yogurts why not make your own see my previous blog yogurts recipes depends on milk used, loads of great homemade desserts and icecreams etc in my blogs so take alook. Let me know if there is something you would like me to cover or you need help with?

Its very easy to get into the habit of saying to yourself, ‘its just for me!’, when you cooking just for yourself. However I believe that eating a home cooked meal should be a pleasure even if alone and something to look forward to at the end of a busy day, and well let me tell you my days are definitely busy!

I do however have some tips: try to plan a menu to make sure you get a balanced diet to include fresh fruit and vegetables goes without saying really. Buy your food little and often to ensure freshness and avoid bargain offers of family sized packs unless of cause you can freeze it. You can however cook a recipe for 4 and then plate this and freeze for you to use when your tied or need something in a hurry.

Now check out my previous blogs on microwave as cooking for one its cheaper and more convenient, more energy efficient and less time consuming so make sure you consider this means of cooking. Look at my blog Microwave magic,  microwave combo this is a fantastic peice of kitchen equipment.

One of my favourite recipe for cooking just for me is Red mullet wrapped in parma ham, I love red mullet.

You will need: 225g approx of red mullet, 1 slice of onion, 1 slice of lemon, 1 bay leaf, few sprigs of thyme, sea salt and ground black pepper for seasoning, 2 tablsp olive oil, 25g thinly sliced parma ham and 1 tblsp dry white wine. (Sorry I love my Italian, don’t you great wine, food and lots more, delicious!)

Clean the mullet and rinse under a cold tap, scrapping with a knive to remove the scales, before triming the tail and fins then pat dry with kitchen towel. Of course your fish monger can do this and prepare it for you if you ask nicely. Fill the cavity with the slices of onion and lemon and a few sprigs of the thyme and seaon lightly. Then brush the fish with the oil and wrap in the ham. Place onto a microwaveable plate and pour over the wine and add some more thyme to flavour to your taste. Now cover and microwave for 6-7 minutes until the fish is cooked and serve with fresh seasonal vegetables or a crisp salad. One more thing make sure you set the table and sit and eat as you would with guests, relax put on that light music and grab yourself a great glass of wine to enjoy your beautifully cooked meal with. Enjoy!

Check out my mango and orange oaty crunch for a great quick dessert to go with this in my next blog.

It was lovely to hear from Heather whose been collecting my recipes and making a booklet with her favourite recipes, having found her passion for home cooking again, well done Heather enjoy your cooking & eating your creations too of course! 

As I stand at the sink to a never ending stream of pots to wash up while at me daughters I am then met by the the baking tray from hell. Oh yes! we all know the one!  The one which no matter what you use will not come clean, the one you grab a knive to, in a effort to try to get the caked cooking residues off!

“What on earth!”, was my comment.  ”Where is the Silicone baking set I brought you!”, guess what? its still in the box I sent it to her in!

I do not know anyone who once they have tried silicone they wonder how they coped before they found it. Its so versatile, easy to store, light, easy to clean and so easy to get your baked delites out or off. Its a must in my kitchen, no matter how delicate your baking is, it just pops out, literally!

This WellBake® Silicone Bakeware Professional 5 Piece Easy Baking Set, as shown above is not only a great gift for the cook in your life, but its a kitchen essential in my kitchen.  A great set comprising of 2 x 6 Cup Muffin Pans, 2 x 8″ Cake Mould Dishes, 1 x 9″ Square Lasagne Dish - Heavy Duty Non-Stick Silicone and what’s more, a 10 Year Guarantee.

This set features:

So whats it going to be? hours scrapping at the kitchen sink or easy baking? I know which one I’d choose. Why not tell me about your favourite bakeware or even a tip for cleaning?

See my previous blogs Traditional Soda Bread Recipe, Irresistable eggless cake, and quick homebaked tea time treats plus loads more recipes for you to try out your silicone bakeware on!

Not all homemade ice creams need to be made in a ice cream maker. This particular one dosen’t need constant stirring and whisking to obtain a smooth and creamy ice cream. Made with cream cheese which dosen’t need whipping but gives the cream density this chocolate delight ice cream just couldn’t be easier for you to make so have a go.

A great appliance to have handy in your kitchen is this great Kuhn Rikon 300w hand blender shopper & whisk, with its high power 300w  with 2 Speeds. It also is a great price and comes with measuring cup and chopping container Whisk attachment and stainless steel rod and blade. Its uses in cookery are endless you will be using in most recipes. 

Your going to need: 500g vanilla Custard ( you could use a ready made version if you wish for quickness too), 400g light cream cheese, 100g icing sugar sifted, 300g plain chocolate broken in the pieces and 100ml milk (remember to use the variety to suit your diet like soya etc if needed).

First start by melting 200g of your chocolate in a bowl with your custard over a saucepan stirring until smooth. PLace the cream cheese and icing sugar in a mixing bowl and gradually whisk this into the warmed chocolate custard mix. Then whisk in the milk and chill in the refridgerator. When chilled pour this into a freezer grade plastic tupperware container (at least 1.5 litres in size) covering with a fitted lid or clingfilm if you don’t have a lid and freeze in your freezer for at least 2 hours, (until almost frozen). You can if you have a ice cream maker follow the instructions and use your appliance if you wish as in my previous blog  homemade ice cream in a flash. 

Put your remaining chocolate into a microwave proof food bag, seal the bag and microwave for 1 minute on high to melt. You can then snip of the corner of the bag and drizzle this chocolate in to the readymade ice cream in it tupperware container. Leave to set and stir the set drizzled chocolate into the ice cream which gives you small slithers of chocolate throughout your icecream. Finally freeze your icecream for around another 2 hours until completely frozen.

Then serve as required whether thats with a scrummy hot chocolate pudding, with fresh local strawberries, on top of a delicious homemade dessert or even as my kids love to do sandwich digestive biscuits with a scope of ice cream and enjoy.

Another idea might be to fill profiteroles with this instead of fresh cream see my previous blog chocolate profiteroles with chantilly cream made in your mixer for a great dessert and recipe.

Tell me your ideas of how you serve ice cream and what you favourite variety of ice cream is?

Making jams in the microwave is simpler & cleaner than conventional cooking. When making homemade jams you will need to sterilize the jam jars you are using. This can be done by filling the jars 2/3rds full with cold water and simply bring this to the boil in your microwave, make sure you use oven gloves to remove the jars from the microwave then empty & dry.

To test your jam for setting simply place a little of the boiled jam on a clean cold saucer & wait a minute or two and push your finger through the jam, the jam will crinkle if settingpoint is reached. If it dosen’t crinkle then boil the mixture for another minute or so & test again.

For a great Raspberry jam preserve you will need: 1kg freshly picked raspberries & 1kg caster sugar

Place the raspberries in a mixing bowl and crush with the back of a wooden spoon. Add the sugar & cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave in a cool place overnight. peirce the wrap and then microwave on full power for 5 minutes and then stir. Microwave on medium power then for abround 24 minutes, stirring twice during cooking and test for setting as above. If the jam is ready potin sterilised jars, seal & cover.

For all your homemade jams bits just take a look here for jars, labels etc its all here so give it a go and you will never buy supermarket again.

Then enjoy your jam in homemade cakes, scones or on toast or bread etc. Tell me what you favourite jam is? have a go a making home made jam see my previous blogs on making homemade jams.