Ingredients:

• fresh ripe figs
• honey
• balsamic vinegar
• creme fraiche or plain yoghurt
• vegetable oil

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 oC for 20 minutes.  (Remember I use a fan oven so you may need a hotter temperature)
2. Take your lovely fresh figs and give them a good wash
3. Now cut a deep cross shape in the top of each fig so that the bottom of the fruit remains whole, but so that you are able to push out the fruit into 4 ‘corners’, (a bit like a spiky tulip!)
4. Place the figs onto a baking tray.  I use a silicone liner sheet but this is not essential.
5. On to each fig spoon in 1 tsp of runny honey, a few drops of Balsamic vinegar (if you keep kosher make sure it is a kosher approved brand), 1/2 a tsp of vegetable oil.
6. Now bake the figs in the oven for about  20 minutes or so.
7. Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche or plain yoghurt

Ingredients:

• 1 roaster chicken quartered (about 4lbs)
• 4 large red peppers
• 1-2 onions
• 1 can chopped plum tomatoes (or twice the volume of fresh)
• vegetable oil (or olive oil)
• seasoning
• 2 tbsps teriyaki sauce

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 oC for at least 20 minutes
2. Take the chicken and take it to the ‘chicken spa’.  This is not remotely as glamorous as it sounds.  You have to put on rubber gloves, scold the chicken pieces with boiling water, and then (this is really gross) scrape the skin of the bird with a sharp knife to remove any yukky bits, and then  set aside.
3. Clean all utensils and kitchen surfaces really well with lots of hot soapy water.  Remember you don’t want to leave anything raw chickeny about (other than the …er… raw chicken you have set aside).
4. Clean and slice the onions and red peppers, and then lightly fry them for about 10 minutes or so to soften the vegetables.  Now how much oil you use depends on your frying pan and whether you are watching your waist line!  I use a large non-stick pan and only 1 teaspoon of oil.  If you want to use more oil it is up to you.
5. Place the fried vegetables into a large, deep casserole dish and season.  Place the chicken on top of the seasoned veg, and now season the bird.  Add the 2 tablespoons of teriyaki sauce over the chicken and a little water (maybe a 1/3 of a glass).
6. Cook in the middle of the oven uncovered for about 40 minutes (remember I use a fan oven so you may need to cook your chicken longer).
7. After 40 minutes test the chicken with a knife and see if the juices run clear, if not place the dish back in the oven for another 20 minutes or so and cover it.
8. Check the bird again and if the juices run clear it is ready to eat.
9. Serve simply with basmati rice and garden peas.

Ingredients:

• 100g margarine or butter
• 75g caster sugar
• 200g plain flour (I used a 50:50 mix of white to wholemeal)
• 1 large ‘dollop’ of jam (about 50g)
• 1 medium sized egg

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to about 18o oC/ Gas Mark 4 for 15 minutes.  (You may need to alter the times depending on your oven.  I use a fan oven and so need less time for it to heat up and bake the cakes).
2. Place the margarine or butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and mix well.  This is called creaming and you need to use a wooden spoon and ‘set your arm to no.3′ and go for it!  … Or you can use an electric whisk for a few minutes.  The fat and sugar mixture should appear pale once you have finished.
3. Now add a little of the egg and mix it in well each time.  Resist the temptation to just bung all the egg in at once because the egg won’t be be incorporated properly.
4. Now add the flour in the same way; a little at a time and mix well.  It might end up looking a bit dry but don’t stress  because now …
5. add the dollop of jam and mix again.  This will give some more moisture to the mixture and you should get a nice cake batter.
6. Now place cake papers in a baking tray and add a soup spoonful of mixture into each cake paper (this recipe makes about 12-15 depending on the size of your spoon and cake papers!).
7. Bake in the top of the oven for 15 minutes or so and then check the cakes with a knife to see if it comes out clean, if not then leave the cakes in for another 5 minutes and check again.  As I use a fan oven I place the cakes in the middle of the oven and check after 10 minutes.  You know your own oven so use your own judgement.
8. Allow the jam buns to cool on a wire rack and then they are ready to freeze or enjoy straight away with a nice cuppa.

As promised here is a lovely recipe for baked apples

Ingredients:

• 3 large eating apples
• 2 tbsps dried fruit
• 2 tbsp honey or sugar
• 1/2 tspn mixed spice
• a little water

Method:

1. Wash the apples well and removed the core very carefully keeping the rest of the apple in tact.  There are special corer gadgets for this but it is possible to get rid of the core using a sharp knife if careful – take your time!
2. Place both apples in a medium sized microwave dish.
3. Carefully put some of the dried fruit (can be raisins, sultanas, cranberries, mixed fruit etc.) into the hole left by the core, and put the rest around the outside of the apples.
4. Sprinkle over the sugar (or drizzle the honey if using) and the spice.
5. Now add enough water to cover just 1/3 of the apples.  You want some juice after cooking but not so much it swaps the bowl.
6. Put the cover over the microwave dish and place in the microwave for about 3-4 minutes on high.  If the apples are not soft then cook for another minute or so.  Remember you don’t want the apples to collapse.
7. Btw if you are using the oven you will need to preheat the oven to 180 oC and bake in the top of the oven for about 15-20 minutes (and use an oven safe dish!)
8. The baked apples taste great hot or cold … and very yummy with a little ice cream!

With this in mind I had to go back to that classic old skool treat of home made strawberry jam (or preserve if you are being posh and using plenty of fruit!)  This is a recipe that I cannot take complete credit for because it is adapted from a Marguerite Patten one from 1968 as used by Mother of Marge.  However it stands the test of time and I say get jammin’!

Ingredients:

• 1lb strawberries (450g in new money)
• 1lb granulated sugar (or jam sugar with pectin added)
• juice of one lemon

Method:

1. Wash your strawberries well and remove the green stalk (d’uh!)  Chop up the strawberries into slices or quarters, set aside.
2. Take a large pan, and by large I mean large as you will need plenty of room for the jam mixture especially when it starts boiling.
3. Also have your clean-to-within-an-inch-of-their-lives jam jars, lids, and cling film (or wax circles if you are posh) ready.
4. Now if you want you can use jam sugar which includes pectin to make things easier for the jam to set, but ordinary sugar will work fine.  Also do note that not all recipes will work on the ’1lb fruit to 1lb sugar’ as this depends on the natural amount of pectin in the fruit, hence my tip to use jam sugar.
5. On a medium heat you want to stew the fruit slowly with just a little water (half a teacup full or so) so that the fruit is soft.  Jam making takes time and you need to keep a watch on the pot, no breaking off to answer the phone etc.
6. Now add the sugar and stir it in.  Make sure the sugar is dissolved by tapping the bottom of the pan with your wooden spoon to check for sugar crystals.
7. Now comes the scary bit: once the sugar is all dissolved you need to boil the jam rapidly on a high heat for 5 minutes – and don’t stir the pot! (And don’t leave it alone!)
8. After 5 minutes give the jam a stir and then test for setting.  To do this take a teaspoonful of jam and put it on a saucer, wait for 10 seconds and if it doesn’t ‘drag’ when the saucer is lightly tipped upwards then it is not ready.
9. If the jam is not ready then let it boil again for another few minutes and then test again (repeat this step again if necessary).  Once the jam is setting nicely turn the heat off under the pan.
10. Take your jam jars and sterilize them in the microwave as per my green tomato chutney recipe.
11. Now take great care, and do not answer the phone etc (even if George Clooney is calling!) transfer the jam to the sterilized, warm jam jars using either a soup ladle or funnel.  Remember hot jam is dangerous and can burn your skin so don’t rush.
12. Place your wax circle or piece of cling film directly in contact with the jam to make a seal and put the lid on.
13. When the jam has cooled down test it on a piece of toast or just dive straight into the jar!  Totally yum!

The following week I just had to have another go to make sure I could still do it and so I did.  And thus I made a double batch of Britannia Buns *waves flag*.

The recipe is very similar to the Burlesque Buns I made ages ago you just miss out the coconut, add cinnamon, and leave off any icing.  So I won’t be posting a new recipe here … but naturally I took some pics!

Ingredients:

• 120g cocoa powder
• 30g ground almond
• 120g matzo cake meal
• 180g beetroot
• 2 tbsps vegetable oil
• 3 tbsps grape juice
• 2 apples
• 150g caster sugar

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 oC for 15-20 minutes.
2. Take your fresh beetroots and just cut most of the leaves off leaving the main top bit on so the colour won’t bleed out when they cook.
3. Just lightly rinse the beetroots under the tap and then place in a pressure cooker with a little water.  Bring to steam and then cook on low for 15 minutes.  If you don’t have a pressure cooker you will have to boil the beetroots for 30 minutes in a normal saucepan.
4. Carefully de pressurise the pressure cooker and wearing thick rubber gloves carefully slough off the beetroot skins and tops, which should come off easily.  Make sure you have plenty of hot soapy water and newspaper around so you don’t make a great big purple mess!
5. Place the hot beetroots into the food processor with the chopping blade attached and blitz.
6. Wash, core and blitz the apples too.
7. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl
8. Add the beetroot, apple, egg and other wet ingredients.
9. Mix well with an electric whisk until well combined.
10. I made little Chocolate Exodus cakes in cake papers etc. and baked them for 15 minutes in the middle of the (fan) oven.  If you want you can make a big cake but use a shallow dish and bake for 25 minutes before checking to see if it is done.

Wishing you and yours a very Happy, Kosher Pesach

Ingredients:

• Two chicken portions
• 6oz wholemeal flour
• 3oz margarine
• 10 large mushrooms (sliced)
• 2 large onions
• seasoning
• herbs (fresh or dried)
• 2 tsps cornflour
• Sunflower oil (for roasting the chicken and frying the other vegetables)
• sauce of your choice – optional
• 1 egg (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven on 180 oC for 15 minutes (longer if you are not using a fan oven)
2. In a large mixing bowl add the margarine to the flour (you can use white flour if you wish I just had wholemeal in the larder), and combine using the rubbing in method.
3. Season the pastry before you add a little water and mix together with a knife (don’t stir, do a windscreen wiper motion!) and use your hands to make a ball shape.  Don’t over handle the pastry or it will go tough.
4. Place the bowl and pastry in the fridge for at least 10 minutes as this will make the pastry easier to roll out later.
5. Clean and prepare your chicken pieces and place in a roasting dish on a bed of onions, herbs, and seasoning.  Add a couple of tsps of oil over the chicken.
6. Place the chicken in the oven to roast for 20 minutes in a fan oven on the bottom shelf, or 35 minutes in a conventional oven on the middle to top shelf.  If your chicken is still on the bone it may need even longer to cook.  To test if the chicken is done the juices run clear when pierced by a skewer or knife.
7. Chop up the onion and microwave for 3 minutes on high. This will soften the onion and mean less time frying!
8. Fry the onion and mushrooms until soft and nicely browned, and then season.  You can add a little sauce of your choice if you wish.  Add a little water if need be and the cornflour and stir quickly to thicken.
9. Place the cooked vegetables into your pie dish.
10. Take the cooked chicken pieces and using a sharp knife and fork cut the chicken up into to pieces and add to the pie dish.  Leave any bones and skin out!
11. Take the pastry out of the fridge and on a floured surface roll out the pastry ball to make a top crust for the pie.  Roll the pastry up onto the rolling pin and carefully unroll over the pie dish.  I used a pie flute to allow any steam to escape.  If you don’t have one just make a hole in the middle of the pastry.
12. Now the best bit of pie making: take a dinner knife and cut away any extra pastry from around the edge of the pie dish.  You can use the bits to make shapes and place them on top of the top crust.  I make little stars of David for mine.
13. If you want a glaze then beat an egg and brush the top crust.  This will go a nice golden brown in the oven.
14. Bake the pie in the oven for 20 minutes (35 minutes in a conventional oven)  lightly covered with foil, and for the last 10 minutes or so remove the foil.  Remember if you are not using a fan oven it will take longer to cook.
15. Serve with some nice steamed cabbage and a large dollop of brown sauce!