Hot Cross Buns

Ingredients
For the ferment starter:
1 large egg, beaten
215ml warm water
15g fresh yeast
1 tsp sugar
55gstrong white flour
For the dough:
450g strong white flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground mixed spice
85g butter cut into cubes
85gsugar
1 lemon, grated, zest only
170g mixed dried fruit
2 tbsp plain flour
oil, for greasing
1 tbsp golden syrup, gently heated, for glazing


1. Prepare the ferment starter for the dough by combining the beaten egg with enough warm water to give approximately 290ml/½ pint of liquid. Whisk in the yeast, sugar and flour, cover and put in a warm place for 30 minutes.
2. make the buns: sieve the flour, salt and spice into a large mixing bowl and rub in the butter. Make a well in the centre and put the sugar and lemon zest in the well. Pour on the ferment starter.
3. Gradually draw in the flour and mix vigorously, then knead to a smooth, elastic dough.
4. Carefully work in the mixed dried fruit. Shape the dough into a ball, put it in a warm, greased bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
5. Turn out the dough and knead to knock out any air bubbles and give an even texture. Shape it into a ball again, put back into the bowl, cover and put back to rise for another 30 minutes.
6. Turn out the dough again and divide into 12 even pieces. Shape them into buns and leave to rest for a few minutes on the work surface covered with the tea towel.
7. Place the buns on a lightly greased baking sheet. Slightly flatten each bun and then cut into quarters, cutting almost all the way through the dough, so that as each bun rises, it has a well-marked cross on it.
8. Grease a large polythene bag and place the tray with the buns in it and tie the end. Put in a warm place and leave to rise for 40 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 240C/475F/Gas 8. Make a paste for the crosses on the buns with the plain flour and 2 tbsp cold water. Mix until it is soft enough to pipe through a nozzle.
10. Remove the polythene bag and pipe a cross on each bun. Bake the buns for 8 -12 minutes or until risen and golden. Brush the buns with hot golden syrup as soon as they are ready. Cool on a wire rack.

Prawn and Chorizo Jamalaya

150g dice chorizo
1 each, small red pepper and yellow pepper, diced
1 onion finely chopped
2 celery sticks finely sliced
2 garlic gloves chopped
1 red chilli chopped finely
200g long grain rice
227g chopped tomato, tinned
700ml vegetable stock
1/2tsp tabasco sauce
200g raw tiger prawns, peeled
Cook the chorizo in a wide deep frying pan. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

To the pan add peppers, onion, celery, garlic and chilli, stirring occasionally, cook for 5 minutes. Stri in the rice, cook for 1 minute, add the tomatos, stock and tabasco sauce and bring to the boil. Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 12 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated.
Stir in the chorizo and prawns and cook for a further few minutes.
You might like to garnish with spring onions and lime wedges.

Cheesy Macaroni

Ingredients For the cheese sauce

1pint milk

50g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing the dish

50g plain flour

1 bay leaf

175gcheddar cheese

50g Parmesan

300g macaroni
.Heat oven

Gas 6. Fill a large saucepan three-quarters full with water and put it on a high heat to boil. Meanwhile, make the sauce. Using hot milk to make a béchamel greatly reduces the risk of a lumpy sauce, so start by pouring the milk into a medium saucepan and place it over a medium heat, until the milk is hot, but not quite boiling. Pour the hot milk into a jug and keep it standing by

Putthe butter in the medium saucepan and melt it over a low heat. As soon as it has melted, tip in the flour. Turn up the heat a little. Stir the flour and butter with a wooden spoon to make a thick paste called a roux. It is very important to cook this roux a little or you will end up with a floury-tasting sauce, so keep stirring it for a minute or two while it sizzles gently. Pour in about a quarter of the hot milk and stir it carefully into the roux. Gradually add the rest of the milk and keep whisking gently until it is all thoroughly mixed in. Add the bay leaf. Bring the sauce to the boil and then turn the heat down to low. Let the sauce gently simmer for about five minutes. Meanwhile, grate the two cheeses, keeping them separate. Grease a large ovenproof dish (about 22cm square) with plenty of butter.

Season the sauce very well with a good grinding of black pepper, a generous grinding of salt and pepper. Add the grated cheddar cheese to the sauce . When the water in the large pot starts to boil, add a good pudding spoonful of salt and the macaroni and cook the pasta for two minutes less than the time it says on the packet. Add the pasta to the cheese sauce and stir together well until thoroughly combined. Pour the cheesy macaroni into the ovenproof dish. Spread evenly and sprinkle it with the grated Parmesan. Place the dish in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, until the cheese on top has turned golden brown and the sauce is bubbling.

Sometime we just need a bit of comfort from our food, and what could be better than this?

Pea and Watercress Soup

2tbsp olive oil
15g butter

1 large onion chopped

1 garlic glove chopped

1 large potato cubed

1.5 litres of chicken stock

900g frozen peas

100g watercress

Heat the oil and butter in a large pan, add the onions and garlic, cook gently until softened. Add the potato and toss with the onion and garlic before adding the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 mins until the potato is tender.

Add the frozen peas and simmer for a few minutes. Add the watercress and stir until wilted. Remove from the heat, cool, and then blend until smooth. Season to taste, and reheat to serve.

Lemon Seed Loaf

Zest of 1 lemon

200g sugar

250g self-raising flour

1tsp baking powder

1 medium egg

100ml semi-skimmed milk

2tbsp soured cream

2tbsp poppy seeds

Preheat the oven to gas mark 4. Lightly grease a 2lb loaf tin, or line as I do with a paper case.

Mix together all the ingredients, except for the milk in a mixer. Continue mixing and add the milk, the mixture will turn into a lovely lemoney batter. Turn into the prepared cake tin. Bake for 55-60 minutes until cooked through ( you might need to cover lightly with tin foil after approx 40 mins).

Leave to cool in the tin for a good ten minutes before turning out onto a rack.

So having become addicted to the lovely DaniK's newest blog, http://www.daisybakery.co.uk/daisy-bakery-danis-blog/index.php, I had to accept the challenge and join in the Flavour of the Month Competition. Having trawled through my cook books there was nothing for it but to submit this, which has been adapted from The Good Housekeeping Great Cakes book. Now I just have to see how stiff the competition is........

The original recipe uses plain yogurt, and a sticky syrup to drizzle on top. I much prefer this addition of soured cream, and too keep it as a simple, non-sticky loaf, perfect with a cup of afternoon tea.

Love Buns

125g plain flour
125g caster sugar
125g butter
2 eggs
1/2tsp bicarb
2tsp baking powder
2tsp vanilla extract
2-3tbsp milk

Preheat the oven to gas mark 6.

If you have brought all the ingredients to room temperature, put everything except for the milk into a food mixer and blitz unil smooth. Add the milk to make a smooth dropping consistency.

Divide the mixutre into a muffin tin lined with papers and bake for 15-20 minutes. They should be risen and golden.

I find the topping in Nigella's book for these to sweet and sickly, so used a simple vanilla icing. The bling is obviously optional.....

Pancakes

110g plain flour,
2 eggs
200ml milk mixed
Butter for the pan

Method
Sift the flour and a large mixing bowl with a sieve held high above the bowl so the flour gets a airing. Whisk the eggs into the milk. Add the flour to the egg mixture and whisk like furry, then whisk once more until the batter is smooth, with the consistency of thin cream. I like to leave my batter to stand in the fridge for at least an hour.

Melt a tiny amount of butter in a pan. I found it easier to use a pastry brush and smear the pan with that, after it had been dipped in the butter. Get the pan really hot, then turn the heat down to medium and, to start with, do a test pancake. I use a nearly full ladel of batter per pancake. As soon as the batter hits the hot pan, tip it around from side to side to get the base evenly coated with batter. Flip the pancake over with a pan slice or palette knife - the other side will need a few seconds only - then slide it out of the pan onto a plate.Stack the pancakes as you make them between sheets of greaseproof paper.

To serve, spinkle each pancake with freshly squeezed lemon juice and caster sugar, fold in half, then in half again to form triangles, or else simply roll them up. Serve sprinkled with a little more sugar and lemon juice and extra sections of lemon.

As an alternative drizzle with mapel syrup, melted chocolate or a fruit coolie.

And you must, must, must at least once try tossing in the traditional manner!