Red Pepper Soup

Ingredients
4 Red Peppers, chopped
1 large Onion,chopped
3 oz (85 gms) Butter
Pint (600ml) Chicken Stock
Salt and Pepper
Tabasco sauce
Method
Fry onions in butter for 3 mins.
Add chopped peppers, season and cook for a further 5 mins.
Add chicken stock bring to boil and simmer for 20 mins.
Allow to cool slightly and then liquidise.
Pour back into saucepan, stir in a few drops of tabasco to your own taste
Serve with a swirl of cream or creme fraiche and chopped parsley or chives + croutons if you have any

Ginger Banana Cake

Ingredients
2 - 3 very ripe Bananas
1 Egg
125 gms SR Flour
75gms Margarine or softened Butter
100gms Demerara sugar plus 1 spoonful for sprinkling
i teasp Ground Ginger
1 teasp Cinnamon
1 teasp Mixed Spice
1 teasp Baking Powder
100 gms Crushed Walnuts
100 gms Raisins
pinch Salt
Method
Preheat oven to 160C.
Grease and/or line loaf tin
Mash bananas, then add beaten egg to this mix in a bowl.
Sift the flour into a big mixing bowl, then add all the ingredients including the banana mix sifting the dry ingredients.
Using hand-held electric whisk, mix until all smoothly mixed together.
Stir in nuts, then raisins with knife at the end, pour into the loaf tin.
Lightly sprinkle demerara sugar over the top of the mixture and place in oven for between 1hr 15 mins and 1hr 30 mins, checking after 1hr 15 mins.
Allow to cool in tin on rack for 10 mins then remove and allow to finish cooling on rack.

Ginger biscuits

Ingredients
110g SR Flour
1 tsp Ground Ginger
1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
40g Granulated Sugar
50g Marg
2 tbs of Golden Syrup
Method
Sift flour, ginger and bicarb in bowl.
Add marg and rub in until crumbly.
Add sugar.
Add syrup and mix together to form stiff paste.
Divide into 16 balls, place on baking sheet and flatten slightly with back of spoon.
Cook gas 5, 375F or 190C for 10-12 mins.
Cool and place on wire rack.

Spicy Mexican Chicken with Potatoes

Ingredients
1 tbsp Oil
4 skinless Chicken Breasts, diced
1 Onion, diced
750g Potatoes, diced
1 Red Pepper, diced
2 tsp Mexican Chipotle Paste
400g tin Black Beans
400g tin Chopped Tomatoes
To serve, chopped coriander, soured cream and corn tortillas
Method
Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the chicken, onion and potato for 5 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients, cover the pan, reduce heat and simmer stirring occasionally until the potatoes are tender. Depending on the size of the potatoes this should take about 30 minutes.
Serve garnished with sour cream and chopped coriander.

Spinach and Brie Triangles

These tasty triangles are really easy to make and make an interesting lunch or supper dish served with a salad and some new potatoes. They would also make a perfect picnic treat, or make smaller triangles and serve for pre-dinner nibbles with drinks.

Ingredients
225g/8oz frozen spinach, defrosted and well drained
50g/2oz Brie, thinly sliced
1 egg, beaten
good pinch freshly grated nutmeg
salt and freshly ground black pepper
225g/8oz frozen puff pastry, defrosted
finely grated Parmesan cheese

Method
Put the spinach into a sieve and drain thoroughly, pressing the spinach with a large spoon to extract as much moisture as possible.
Heat the oven to 220C/Gas7.
Place the spinach in a bowl, stir in half the beaten egg and the nutmeg.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface. Trim to a 30cm/ 12 inch square, then cut into four 15 cm/6 inch squares.
Divide the spinach equally between the squares, spreading it diagonally over one-half of each and leaving a 1 cm/ ½ inch border.
Top the squares with Brie slices, dividing them equally between the 4 squares.
Brush the edges of the pastry with beaten egg, then fold the pastry over to form a triangle and enclose the filling. Press the edges firmly together to seal them.
Dust liberally with the parmesan cheese.
Place the triangles on a lightly greased baking tray and cook for about 20 minutes or so until cooked.
Remove from the baking tray and serve warm.

Lemon Cheesecake

Ingredients
For the base
225g/8oz chocolate digestive biscuits, crushed
75g/3oz butter
for the filling
200g pack cream cheese
300g can condensed milk
300ml/1/2 pt double cream, lightly whipped
juice and rind 3 lemons
mini chocolate eggs to decorate if needed
Method:
Butter a losse-based 20cms/8" cake tin
Melt the butter in a saucepan, remove from the heat and add the crushed biscuits.
Stir well to coat with the butter then turn into the cake tin.
Place the cream cheese in a bowl with the condensed milk and, using a hand held electric mixer, mix together.
Add the lemon juice and rind.
Mix in the lightly whipped cream until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
Pour the mixture over the base and chill for at least 2 hours before serving; it will thicken as it stands.
If serving this for Easter, then decorate the top with mini eggs.

Butternut and Goat's Cheese Quiche

Ingredients
500gms Ready-made Shortcrust Pastry
1 Red Onion - small and cut into wedges
I Butternut Squash - small
4 Cloves of Garlic
I Pack Soft Goat's Cheese
I Pack Goat's Cheese with rind - cut into rounds
1tbs Fresh Sage
1 tbsp Fresh Thyme
Method
Heat oven to 190C.
Roll pastry out to circle about 5mm thick.
Line a 23cms round quiche tin with pastry.
Put in oven and bake blind for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, peel and de-seed the squash and cut it into chunks.
Put it in a roasting tray and drizzle it with olive oil.
Add the onion, thyme and garlic.
Cook for 20 minutes.
Spread the soft goat's cheese on the base of the pastry.
Mash the garlic with the squash and the sage, leaving it lumpy.
Spread half of the squash mixture over the pastry.
Season and then scatter the onion and then the rest of the squash mixture.
Put the sliced goat's cheese on the top.
Bake for 20-30 minutes.