Muesli Breakfast Bars

Roughly based on Nigella Lawson's breakfast bars.

1 can condensed milk (397g)
500g mixed oats, seeds and nuts - you can use cheap muesli as a large part of it, porridge oats, nuts such as peanuts, cashews, pecans; seeds like sunflower, poppy, sesame - basically whatever you've got to make up to 500g. Aim to have around half the 500g as oats.
75g desiccated coconut
100g dried fruit eg cherries, apricots, raisins

Mix all ingredients well together.

Spread into a greased brownie pan.

Squash down with the back of a spoon.

Bake in a low oven (130 centigrade) for one hour, turning half way through.

Take out of oven and mark into pieces. When cool, break up into pieces.

Courgette, lemon and mint soup

Roughly based on the brilliant Jamie Oliver Minted Courgette Soup recipe, but adapted to appease the cheese-haters of the family. I added cheddar to mine, stirred in at the end. Goats cheese or feta might go well with it - I'll try that next time. Can also be vegan, by not adding butter, sour cream and cheese - it's still really good.

I reckon even the courgette haters of the family might like this one, but they weren't around to try it. We've had so many courgettes from the two little plants we put in at the start of July that I'm trying all kinds of different recipes. This one is a keeper.

Serves 4

1 large onion, chopped
750g courgette, ends removed, sliced
olive oil
butter
bunch of fresh mint
juice and zest of half a lemon, zest finely grated
1 litre stock (I used half chicken stock and half veg stock made with a Knorr cube)
2 - 3 tbsp sour cream
optional grated cheddar to serve (about 30g per bowl of soup)

1. Gently saute the onions and courgettes in some olive oil and a knob of butter along with the lemon zest (make sure it's very finely chopped or grated), about 10 mint leaves and some salt and pepper. Don't let it brown. Cook for around 30 minutes until the veg is soft.

2. Add the stock and bring to the boil, simmer for 5 mins.

3. Remove from heat and stir in the  lemon juice.

4. Blend the soup and check for seasoning.

5. Stir in sour cream to taste when serving. If you like cheese, put a pile of grated cheese in the bottom of a soup bowl and pour the hot soup over.

Cornish Pasties

300g beef eg skirt or chuck, chopped fairly small 

25g beef suet

275g diced potato

275g diced swede

250 chopped onion (about 2 medium onions)

Salt and pepper 

3 x 300g packs puff pastry (ready rolled)

Beaten egg

Preheat the oven to 190c.

Prepare all the veg and meat, stir it all together, with the suet and plenty of black pepper and salt.

Roll out the pastry and cut into circles about 20cm diameter (small plate). This should make 9 pasties. 

Pile a ninth of the filling onto one half of each circle, leaving about a centimetre in front of it. Fold the pastry over the filling to form a semicircle, then crimp the edges to seal it completely. You don't want any holes or gaps to let the steam out.

Place on a baking tray. The pasties can be frozen at this point. Freeze on trays, the transfer to freezer bags.

Brush the pasties with egg wash and bake at 190 c for about 40 minutes, until golden brown.

20cm diameter 8"

Blondies

Like a brownie but not chocolaty. Should have a nice crust on top but be gooey underneath, not cakey.

325g self raising flour 

1/2 tsp salt

200g butter 

300g dark brown sugar 

3 eggs, beaten 

120g chopped nuts eg mixture of hazelnuts, walnuts and pecans

170g butterscotch chips (can substitute white chocolate or peanut butter chips but the flavour will be different, I had some chipits butterscotch chips left over from when we were in Canada, but you could try crumbling up some caramac maybe)

Melt the butter and heat it until it just starts to turn goldy  brown; don't burn it!

Stir in the sugar and let it melt into the butter until combined into a thick paste.

Leave to cool for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, grease a brownie tin (about 30 x 20cm) preferably non stick. If not non stick, line with baking parchment.

Preheat the oven to 180c fan.

Once the sugar and butter mixture has cooled to around body temperature (test carefully with your finger) beat in the beaten eggs. If you do it too soon the hot sugar will scramble the eggs so be patient.

Fold the flour and salt into the mixture, then stir in the nuts and chips until combined.

Tip the mixture into the baking tray and spread it evenly.

Bake for around 20 mins, spinning it round halfway through if your oven is uneven like mine. A skewer stuck in should come out clean, but the middle of the Blondies will seem quite soft.

Leave for a few minutes then turn out carefully onto a cooling rack.

Cut into squares.

Mini Filo Canape Cases

Great for holding all kinds of sweet and savoury treats. Guacamole, pea puree, smoked mackerel pate, coronation chicken, prawn cocktail... They keep in a tin for a few days, so you can make them ahead.

Pack of frozen filo, defrosted and unrolled - keep moist under a damp cloth.
melted butter - melt in batches of 25g in the microwave as you need it.

1. Take a sheet of filo, cut it into roughly 4cm squares. It doesn't matter if they're a bit uneven; it all adds to the charm!
2. Grease a mini muffin pan.
3. Brush 3 squares with butter, lay the first in the base of the pan, then put the next on top rotated slightly, them the next rotated a bit more, so you get interesting spikes.
4. Press into the pan.
5. Repeat until the pan is full, then bake at 150C for around 5 minutes, until they are golden.
6. Leave to cool.