GingerBread Man / House

A seasonal favorite... and not just for Christmas

You can have great fun with your family making gingerbread men (women, children and pets too) and of course a gingerbread house.

If you are making a house, do a plan before hand so you don't end up with four sides and no roof!







Ingredients:
For the dough:-

• 200g butter
  
• 200g dark muscavado sugar
  
• 7 table spoons golden syrup
  
• 600g plan flour
  
• 2 tea spoons bread soda
  
• 4 tea spoons ground ginger
  
• 2 tea spoons ground cinnamon
  

For the icing:-

• 2 egg whites
  
• 500g icing sugar
  

To decorate:-

• Selection of sweets and jellies - M&Ms are good for color.  An essential part of the decorations in at least a few children let loose to decorate as they see fit.

Directions:
Heat the oven to 180c.  Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a heavy pan.  Remove from the heat and while it is cooling (only slightly) mix together the flour, bread soda and spices in a separate bowl.  Stir all together to make a dough.  Roll out onto sheet of greaseproof paper to a thickness of about 5mm.

If you are making a house, follow your plan and cut out the sides and roof - cut out your doors and windows. Place the gingerbread shapes on a tray into the freezer for about five minutes - this helps them keep their shape as they cook.

For the Ginger Bread Man / Woman / Children - cut out the shapes and place flat a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper.

Cook for between 15 and 20 minutes until it has turned darker brown.

Make the icing by whisking the egg white and sugar together until firm.  Once completely coled, decorate your cookies with icing, sweets and jellies.

For the house, use the icing to glue the walls together and to keep the roof on.  Dab the sweets with icing to make them stick to the walls.

Eat & enjoy.

One minute Meringue Cake

Eton Mess stacks

From the hallowed halls of Eton (a prestigious private school in England) comes Eton Mess - a scrumy dessert but this one is ready in a jiffy.

Ingredients:
For the Meringue

• 1 Egg white
• 12oz Icing Sugar
• 1 tsp crushed cardamon seeds

For the toppings

• 142ml Double cream
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 10oz Raspberries

Directions:
Whisk the egg white and add the sugar and seeds. You should have a firm icing. Roll the icing into 8 golf ball size balls. Place two balls on a piece of greased baking paper at opposite ends of your microwave. Cook on full power for 30-40 seconds until quadrupled in size. Lift off the paper and allow to cool.

Whip the cream with the lemon juice. Crush half the raspberries and fold through the whipped cream.

To serve, place a little cream in the centre of the plate and settle one meringue on top (the cream on the plate stops the stack from sliding around too much). Add more raspberry cream on top and then another meringue. Finish with more cream and some whole raspberries. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

Note: Traditional Eton Mess has the above just all bunged together in a "mess".

Sweetcorn & Seafood Chowder

A real winter warmer!

One thinks of Chowder as a winter food, welcoming and warm on a cold day, a respite from the harsh elements. True, but you can eat (yes, you eat soup) this at any time.


The seafood you add is up to you; best to use what's readily available or failing that something from the freezer but not battered or breadcrumbed.

Ingredients:

• Knob of butter
• 1 Onion, finely chopped
• 12oz Potatoes,cubed
• 18 fl oz Milk
• 5oz Sweetcorn
For the fish I use:-
• 10oz Smoked Haddock
• 5oz Prawns

Directions:
Heat the butter in a large saucepan and add the onion and cook until soft. Pour over the milk and add the cubed potatoes. Bring to the boil but drop the temperature immediately to the mixture just simmers - you do not want the milk boiling vigorously. Simmer for about 10 minutes - the potatoes should not be cooked fully but should be getting there.

Add the fish and the sweetcorn and simmer for another 5 minutes. Scatter with parsley and serve with crusty bread.

Optional:

• You can add a few slices of bacon (chopped) with the onions - not suitable for vegetarians.
• Try adding some frozen peas for colour, texture and taste; similarly some chopped sun-dried tomatoes!