One of my favourite fruits - blueberries not only look and taste great but contain antioxidants known as anthocyanidins, some of the strongest antidotes to oxidative stress.

Wholemeal Blueberry Cake

Ingredients:

- 1 cup caster sugar
- ¼ cup butter
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons lemon rind
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup plain flour
- ¾ cup wholemeal flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- ¼ cup of ground almonds
- 1½ cups fresh blueberries or bilberries

Sauce:
- 1 small punnet of blueberries
- 50 grams golden caster sugar
- 50 ml water

Preheat the oven to 180° Celsius
Lightly grease and line a Vienna ring mould

Method:

Place the sugar, oil, lemon juice and rind into a mixing bowl, beat until thoroughly combined, add the eggs and mix in. Sift the dry ingredients and add to mixture. Thoroughly mix all the ingredients together. Pour half the batter into a lined 8” ring tin, mix the ground almonds and blueberries together and scatter over the mixture in the tin, spread the remainder of the batter on top.

Bake until the cake is light golden brown and the top of the cake springs back when lightly pressed – approximately 1 hour.

Leave in the cake tin to cool a little.

Make the syrup by placing the fruit, sugar and water into a small saucepan, bring to boil ensuring sugar has completely dissolved, then simmer for about 5 minutes until a light syrup has formed. Drizzle over the cake and leave to cool.

Serve with clotted cream or vanilla ice cream.

I believe that Pie’s are something the British do extremely well, and I love Game and Rabbit Pie in particular. One of my favourites is by a chef known as Rick Stein. A chef I admire not only for his culinary expertise in general, but because of his passion for British food at its best. It seems every nationality loves to jump on British food, believing we eat nothing but fried breakfasts and roast beef. Its nice to see a commercial chef champion this cause, and tackle it head on!

Here is his recipe for Rabbit Pie, slightly adapted.

Ingredients:

1 whole rabbit, jointed
1½ plain flour seasoned with sea salt and pepper
2 oz unsalted butter and 1 tbsp olive oil
6 oz streaky bacon, cut across into strips
4 shallots – diced
6 oz carrots, diced
Zest of a lemon – finely grated
2 sprigs of thyme
½ pint Newcastle Brown Ale [or any will do...]
½ pint of vegetable or chicken stock
12 oz puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten
Sea salt and black pepper

Forcemeat Balls:

5 oz fresh white breadcrumbs
2½ oz vegetable suet
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 tsp finely chopped lemon thyme
Zest of a small lemon – finely grated
2½ oz streaky bacon, finely chopped
1 large organic egg, lightly beaten

Method:

Coat the pieces of rabbit in the seasoned flour and then pat off the excess. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large frying pan, add the rabbit and brown lightly on both sides, transfer onto a plate and put to one side.

Add the bacon to the pan and when it is lightly coloured, add the shallots and carrots - fry gently for 3 minutes.

Mix the remaining seasoned flour with a little butter and add to the vegetables, along with the lemon zest, thyme, ale and vegetable stock. Return the rabbit to the pan, cover and simmer for an hour, or until the rabbit is tender.

Mix the breadcrumbs, suet, parsley, chopped lemon thyme leaves, zest and bacon together, stir in seasoning to taste and sufficient egg to bring the mixture together, then shape into ‘large’ marble’ size balls.

When the rabbit has cooled, remove from the pan and take out all the bones. Place into a shallow pie dish with the sauce, cover and put to one side leave to cool.

Place the forcemeat balls on top of the rabbit.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured work surface until it is a little larger than the dish. Cut off a narrow strip of pastry and place around the edge of the pie dish, brush with a little water and press onto the rim of the dish. Put the pastry on top of the dish and – using a fork – crimp the edge. Cut a slit in the centre of the pastry to allow the steam to escape.

Put into the fridge to chill for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 210 degrees Celsius or Gas Mark 6.

Brush the top of the pie with the beaten egg yolk and water, and bake in the centre of a preheated oven for about 35 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.

Beets are not only low calorie but also packed full of nutrients

• Beets contain high levels of carotenoids and flavenoids; anti-oxidants that help reduce the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, protecting our artery walls and reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke.
• They are a rich source of folic acid, which helps to protect unborn babies from spina bifida, and is also thought to help lower homocysteine levels in the blood.
• Beetroot also contains the mineral silica, which helps the body to utilise calcium, so is therefore important for musculo-skeletal health and reducing the risk of osteoporosis.
• Beetroot juice is often utilised for its cleansing and detoxifying properties.

Beetroot Salad

Ingredients

300g beetroot trimmed
4 slices of jamon serrano, or similar
1 tbsp olive oil
3 oranges skinned & sliced
1 clove garlic crushed
5 tbsp orange juice
1 tsp sugar
salt and pepper

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Place the beets in a baking dish with ½ cm of water, cover and bake until they are tender. This will take about 45 minutes depending on size.

2. Skin the beetroots, trim the ends and slice into thick batons or wedges.

3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan; and throw in the jamon serrano and garlic. Fry for a a minute or two, but before the garlic browns, add the orange juice and sugar.

4. Mix thoroughly and bring to the boil. Tip in the beetroot and coat with the hot dressing. Season well. Stir in the orange pieces.

Serve on a bed of young Spinach leaves

I love avacado, so it is with great delight that I read they provide more heart healthy monounsaturated fat, fibre, vitamin E, folic acid and potassium than any other fruits. Not only this, but they are also the number one fruit source of beta-sitosterol, a substance that can reduce total cholesterol. Lutein has also been linked with protecting your cardiovascular system and preventing prostate cancer. Avocados are very easily digested, which makes them ideal for people that have problems digesting fatty foods.

Avacado Dip
Ingredients
1 large or 2 small avocados
1 (8 oz.) cream cheese
1/2 c. diced fresh tomato
1/4 c. finely diced onion
1 tbsp. lemon juice

Mash avocado and cream cheese in a bowl and cream until smooth. Add tomatoes and onions and lemon juice, salt to taste.

Great served with crisps and crudites.

Have you ever heard the saying “An apple a day keeps the Doctor away”. Well, there is more to that saying that old wives tale. Apples contain the phytonutrient quercitin, which prevents the oxidation (damage) of LDL cholesterol, and thus the risk of damage to our arteries and in turn, the risk of heart disease. They contain pectin, a soluble fibre that seems to be very effective in lowering levels of blood cholesterol. Pectin is also useful for removing heavy metals in our body - it does this by binding itself to them thus allowing them to be removed via the gut.

So, in celebration of our love of all things happy here is my all time favourite apple recipe - guaranteed to coat your ribs in winter.

Bramley Apple Crumble

Ingredients
150g Caster sugar
2kg Bramley apples
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

For the crumble
200g unsalted butter
250g plain flour
50g Semolina
100g flaked almonds
1 lemon, zest only
1 orange, zest only
125g caster sugar
100g oatmeal

Method.

• Put the golden caster sugar and 50ml water into a pan and cook over a low heat until it’s a chestnut caramel colour.
• Peel, core and cut the apples into 4cm dice. Add to the caramel and stir over a high heat for 2 minutes. Put in a dish, season with the cinnamon. Stir, then set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4. To make the crumble, in a bowl, rub the butter and flour together (you can do this in a food processor if you prefer). Add the semolina, almonds, zests and sugar. Fold in the oatmeal and a pinch of salt. Place the mix on a top of the apples and cook in the oven for 20-30 minutes.
• Remove and serve with custard, or cream

Bram

I am not one for diet trends, but I could not help but be interested in talk of superfoods recently. I’ve been doing my own digging, and have developed my own list of foods which are not only good for you but extremely tasty too! Each day I will post one of these foods with an appropriate recipe to go with them.

Today I am concentrating on Almonds, one of my favourites. If you love to snack on nuts, then these really are the foods for you. They are a good source of protein and fibre, and several minerals including calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium and zinc. They are also high in vitamin E, and contain smaller amounts of folic acid and vitamin B2. Almonds contain monounsaturated fats, which can help to keep our arteries supple, and help prevent heart disease. Eat them unroasted, and preferably without the salt!

Now how about a recipe that is both savoury and sweet to celebrate this wonderful nut - this soup is traditionally served at Christmas.

Andalucian Almond Soup
Ingredients
# 1.25 liters (5 cups) milk
# 75 g (5 tbsp.) sugar
# 150 g (5 oz.) powdered almonds
# 2 tbsp. bread crumbs
# 2 cloves of garlic + some coarse salt
# A few saffron threads
# A few sprigs of parsley
# White peppercorns
# 200 ml (3/4 cup) extra virgin olive oil

Garnish
# 12 small thin slices of bread, fried in olive oil
# 50 g (2 oz.) toasted chopped almonds

Method
In a mortar, mash together the salt, saffron, pepper, garlic and parsley.

Bring the milk up to a boil, and add the powdered almongs, sugar, and the above mixture into the boiling milk. Mix thoroughly.

Lower the heat, and cook gently for about 10 minutes. Top with the slices of fried bread and chopped almonds.

Ingredients:

1 wine glass of pudding rice
Pinch salt
1 litre milk
1 stick cinnamon
1 strip lemon peel
9 tbsp caster sugar
3 eggs
Ground cinnamon

Method:

Put the unwashed rice in a saucepan, cover with water, add a pinch of salt and bring to the boil, continue boiling for 5 minutes or until the water has been absorbed.

Cover the rice with milk and add the cinnamon stick and lemon peel, stir well with a wooden spoon until the mixture becomes creamy.

Turn the heat down to very low and gradually add the remainder of the milk while continuing to stir. Add the sugar, stirring again until dissolved.

Cover and simmer gently for about 1 to 1¼ hours.

Separate the eggs, and in a large bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff. Beat the yolks and mix gently into the whites.

Remove the lemon peel and cinnamon stick from the cooked rice, and stir in the egg mixture. Pour into a deep serving bowl and sprinkle with ground cinnamon.

There is nothing more summery than a lovely salad, and this lovely citrus salad really adds a zing to any luncheon. I made this very one yesterday, but unfortunately with no digital camera to speak of I am unable to photograph the results! Maybe when my adsense earnings build up I’ll be able to afford one - and then I can photograph all these lovely recipes I have provided you with! But I digress…

Ingredients – salad:

90 grams of rocket (or mixed salad leaves)
40 grams of crumbled feta cheese
½ blood orange – peeled and pith remove
½ pink grapefruit – peeled and pith removed
25 grams toasted pine nuts

Ingredients - dressing:

1½ tablespoons light olive oil
1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 large tablespoons fresh mint – finely chopped
Sea salt and black pepper

Method:

Wash the rocket leaves and place in a salad bowl, add the feta cheese and fruit.

Cut the grapefruit and blood orange into segments and add to the salad bowl.

Toast the pine nuts for a few minutes in the oven being careful they do not burn, transfer to a bowl and allow the pine nuts to cool.

Whisk oil and lemon juice together, then stir in the chopped fresh mint, sea salt and black pepper.

Pour over salad and toss to coat.

* as a change, substitute the lemon juice for lime and try out other herbs – to taste.

Ingredients - Syllabub

5 fl oz white wine
¾ cup of caster sugar
1 tablespoons Cognac or Brandy
1 tablespoon Pale Cream Sherry
1 carton of Double Cream
Juice and zest of 1 unwaxed lemon

Ingredients for the rhubarb mixture:

500 grams “forced” rhubarb – pink skin - cut into 2cm pieces
150 grams caster sugar
50 ml water

Method:

Pour the wine into the bowl of an electric mixer (or a mixing bowl if you are going to make it by hand), add the Sherry and Brandy and grate into it the zest of the lemon. Squeeze the lemon juice and add to the mixture. Put into the refrigerator overnight.

Preheat the oven to 170C or gas mark 3. Place the rhubarb in an ovenproof dish and cover with the sugar and water, bake until the rhubarb is tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Remove the mixture for the syllabub from the refrigerator and strain through a sieve lined with muslin, add the sugar and beat gently until dissolved. Add the cream and continue beating until the mixture starts to thicken – you should stop when the mixture will only just keep its shape. This stage is crucial as it should not be too thick.

To assemble the dish, spoon half of the rhubarb mixture into sundae glasses, add half of the Syllabub, then add the remainder of the rhubarb finishing with the rest of the Syllabub.

Refrigerate until cold, serve with very thin Black Gingers.

I love Lasagna. Its something Garfield and I have in common. I love Eggplant too. Check out the recipe for Eggplant Lasagna over at Chef Tom Cooks.

Update 14/06/2007 - Made this recipe today. Absolutely wonderful! This is one recipe I would use again. I used my homemade tomato frito recipe for the tomato sauce, and had to replace the mozzarella with just plain manchego - but it was fabulous.