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A lovely side dish for a roast dinner, light lunch or picnic salad, which surprisingly I ate .

Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 10 mins

Serves 3-4

2-3 leeks
A few glugs of olive oil
1 tin butter beans
1 lemon, juice and zest
A handful of pitted black olives (optional)
A splash of balsamic vinegar
A pinch of chilli powder
2 sprigs rosemary and/or a large handful of sorrel or mint
100g crumbly goat’s cheese like Abergavenny
Sea salt and black pepper

Sizzle the leeks in olive oil with a good pinch of salt and pepper, until meltingly tender and starting to show a hint of gold around the edges.

Mix the warm leeks with the butter beans and lemon. Fold in the olives and, if using, balsamic and chilli powder. Finely chop the herbs and scatter. Taste. Adjust seasoning. Drizzle a bit more oil over the top and serve warm or refrigerate and dish out cold.

Tomatoes and chillies unite to form these small yet explosive delights.

Been busy trying to take my mind off of incredibly dark places , so this week I’ve been mostly making Elderflower Cider, Sugar wash , Summer Ale , Whispering Wheat Ale , Souper Mix , Rhubarb Ketchup , Cauliflower A La Greque and this little recipe of fire.

Transplanting seeds etc etc.

Liquorice Basil , Genoan Basil , Purple Cherokee Tomatos , Wormwood , Chamomile, Blue Hopi Corn , Gourds a plenty. : Giant African , Birdhouse and small ornamental. Enorma Beans.

Not my normal , because I’ve made a rough tomato sauce to make it go further.

It’s flaming hot.

Makes 2 x 112g jars

Ingredients

• 250g tomatoes
• 100g hot chillies, such as Scotch Bonnets
• 1 tsp caraway seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 4 fat garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
• 100g shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
• ½ tsp salt
• 50ml olive or hempseed oil

Directions

Drop the tomatoes into a pan of boiling water for 30 seconds, then scoop them out.

Peel off the skins.

Remove the stalks and calyxes from the chillies.

The seeds and membranes inside the chilli contain most of the heat: you can choose to leave all the seeds in or, for a less intense paste, halve the chillies and cut at least some of the seeds out.

To be honest, if you use Scotch Bonnets, the paste will be pretty fiery whatever you do!

Chop the chillies roughly.

Put the caraway, cumin and coriander in a dry frying pan and toast for a couple of minutes, shaking the pan to make sure they don’t burn.

Put the skinned tomatoes, chillies, toasted spices, garlic, shallots and salt in a food processor and blitz until well blended.

Tip into a small saucepan and heat until boiling then simmer for about 10 minutes until reduced and starting to thicken.

Leave to cool.

Pack into warm, sterilised jars, leaving a 1cm gap at the top.

Pour oil over the paste to completely cover it.

Seal the jars.

Store in the fridge and use within 4 months.

If you want to extend the shelf life of the paste, pack in small, sealable containers and freeze.

Once opened, keep in the fridge, making sure the paste in the jar is completely covered by a layer of oil.

TTFN

Ingredients

Makes 9 large or 16 small squares

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for pan
6 ounces coarsely chopped good-quality semisweet chocolate
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a buttered 8-inch square baking pan with foil or parchment paper, allowing 2 inches to hang over sides.

Butter lining (excluding overhang); set pan aside.

Put butter, chocolate, and cocoa in a heatproof medium bowl set over a pan of simmering water; stir until butter and chocolate are melted.

Let cool slightly.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl; set aside.

Put sugar, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat on medium speed until pale, about 4 minutes.

Add chocolate mixture; beat until combined.

Add flour mixture; beat, scraping down sides of bowl, until well incorporated.

Pour batter into prepared pan; smooth top with a rubber spatula.

Bake until a cake tester inserted into brownies (avoid center and edges) comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet, about 35 minutes.

Let cool slightly in pan, about 15 minutes. Lift out brownies; let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares.

Just to make it different than normal , I added some orange zest and some white choc chip chunks and so now it tastes like a Terry’s choccie orange.

Ingredients

Makes 16

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch cocoa
1 tablespoon finely ground espresso beans
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees with two racks spaced evenly apart.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift together flour, cocoa, and espresso beans; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, combine the butter, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla until creamy, 3 to 4 minutes.

Gradually beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture, scraping down sides of bowl twice.

Roll 2 1/2 tablespoons of dough between the palms of your hand to form a ball.

Place on prepared baking sheet; repeat with remaining batter, spacing cookies two inches apart.

Using a dinner fork, press tines into dough, and gently press into biscuit shape. Bake biscuits just until firm to the touch, 12 to 15 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Serve these dessert biscuits with coffee ice cream.

Ingredients

Makes about 4 dozen

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
8 ounces white chocolate, chopped
7 ounces dried apricots,chopped (1 1/2 cups)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, oatmeal, and baking soda in a medium bowl.

Cream butter and sugars with a mixer until light and fluffy.

Reduce speed to low.

Add salt, vanilla, and eggs, and beat until well combined, about 1 minute.

Add flour mixture gradually, beating until just combined.

Stir in chocolate and apricots.

Cover, and refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes.

Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart.

Bake until cookies are golden brown around the edges but still soft in the center, 14 to 16 minutes.

Let cookies cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes.

Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool. Cookies will keep, covered, for up to 1 week.

Prep time:
20 mins + 12 hours standing
Cook time:
15 mins
Makes:
4 large jars

3-4 tlarge cucumbers, very thinly sliced (about 12 cups)
4 large onions, peeled and very thinly sliced
½ cup salt
3½ cups sugar
4 cups white vinegar
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp celery seed
2 tbsp mustard seed
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

Place sliced cucumber and onions in a large, non-corrosive bowl, sprinkle with salt and cover with cold water.

Leave at least 12 hours then drain off all liquid.

Place the sugar, vinegar, turmeric, celery, mustard and garlic in a large pot and bring to the boil over high heat.

Add the drained cucumbers and onions.

As soon as the liquid boils remove from heat and spoon into sterilised jars, leaving 1cm at the top.

Screw down tightly with plastic lids and store in a cool place.

Ingredients

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups raisins

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir together oats, flour, wheat germ, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl; set aside.

Put butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add oat mixture; mix until just combined. Mix in raisins.

Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart.

Flatten slightly.

Bake until golden and just set, about 14 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks using a spatula; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.