Radish
50g quinoa
1 tsp chopped mint
1 tsp chopped parsley
4 radishes, finely sliced, then quartered
10 thin slices of cucumber, cut into matchsticks
1/2 lemon (juiced)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp agave syrup, maple syrup or honey
1 tsp shoyu or soy sauce
Cook the quinoa in water for 14 mins until tender, then drain. Mix with remaining ingredients. For an impressive lunch, serve in half a melon, where the seeds used to be.
1 courgette
1 aubergine
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
3 carrots, peeled, halved and quartered
10 baby tomatoes
3 sprigs thyme
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tin lentils (rinsed and drained)
Dressing
1 tsp tahini
2 tsp vinegar
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp honey
juice of half a lemon
Heat the oven to 200c. Chop all the vegetables into inch sized cubes, mince the garlic and mix it all with the oil and thyme in an oven proof dish. Bake for 40 minutes or until all the vegetables are cooked. Check and stir a couple of times during the cooking.
Mix the dressing together well and stir into the warm vegetables. Serve warm or cold with some cous cous that has been prepared with vegetable stock and seasoned with the juice of a lemon.
Make a mulling syrup:
2 pints water
2 tsp cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
2 cups sugar
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Boil the lot for around an hour until thick and syrupy. Strain into jar and bottle when cool.
Mulled wine
1 bottle wine
2 mugs orange juice
1 mug strong black tea
1 mug mulling syrup
1 lemon (juice only)
Mix it all together in a pan and heat gently. Do not boil! Taste and add more syrup if necessary. You can mix this in advance and then heat it up anywhere!
Mulled Apple juice
1 litre cloudy apple juice
1 lemon (juice only)
1 mug cold water
1 mug mulling syrup
Mix it all together in a pan and heat gently. If it is too sweet/strong, add a little more water.
Mulled Tea (a bit like a quick chai)
Stir a spoonful or two of syrup into your tea!
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup muscovado sugar
3 eggs
3 cups coarsely grated carrot – about 6 medium ones
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 1/2 cups self raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
2 tsp mixed spice
cupcake/muffin cases
for the topping
30g butter
80g cream cheese
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
to decorate (if you fancy)
green food colouring
orange food colouring
100g marzipan
Preheat oven to 180c. Place carrots and nuts in a large bowl.
Blend oil, sugar and eggs together (I use one of those stick blenders). Mix into carrot and nut mixture, then stir in all the other ingredients.
Spoon into cupcake/muffin cases. Bake for around 25mins until a skewer comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
Mix together topping. Colour half marzipan green and half orange and make miniature carrots to decorate your cakes.
When the carrot cakes are cool, either freeze as they are and decorate on another occasion, or top generously with the frosting and decorate with a marzipan carrot.