viv's Site

Description:
I found this recipe in a booklet currently being sold in Somerfield Supermarkets to raise money for the wonderful Macmillan Nurses.

These brownies are very chocolatey, very soft, very moist, very delicious, and very very easy to make.

Ingredients:
125g/4 1/2 oz butter, 125g/4 1/2 oz dark chocolate, 200g/7 oz soft brown sugar, 3 medium eggs, 50g/1 3/4 oz plain flour, 50g/1 3/4 oz cocoa powder, 1/4 tsp baking powder, 200g/7 oz cream cheese (I used Philadelphia Light), 50g/1 3/4 oz caster sugar

Directions:
Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180C. Lightly grease a 7" square by 2" deep tin.

Place butter, chocolate and brown sugar in a pan and stir over a medium heat until the chocolate has melted. Remove from the heat, cool for a minute or two, then briskly whisk in the eggs.

Add the flour, cocoa and baking powder and mix until smooth. Pour into the prepared tin.

Beat the cream cheese with the caster sugar and spoon randomly over the chocolate mix. Use a knife to roughly swirl the cheese mixture into the chocolate mixture, aiming for a marbled effect.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until just firm. Leave to cool in the tin, then cut into squares. Once cooled transfer to a container and keep in a cool place or the fridge, (oh who am I kidding, transfer it straight to plates and watch as the family scoff the lot in a matter of seconds).

Description:
I set out to make a delicious butterbean dish that I ate at a Cypriot Restaurant last week, but it went a bit wrong so I converted it into possibly the nicest soup I've ever made

Ingredients:
100g dried butterbeans, soaked in cold water overnight, then drained and the skins removed. A small red onion, chopped. 250g vine tomatoes, chopped (the ones I used were baby plum tomatoes). Parsley.

Directions:
Place the butterbeans in a pan and cover with water, bring to the boil and boil rapidly for 10 minutes, uncovered. Drain. Add the onion, tomato and parsley, reduce temperature to simmer and cover, cook for approx 15 minutes. Zazz the whole lot in the food processor until almost smooth. Serve.

Description:
A moist loaf cake, ideal for taking on a picnic

Ingredients:
4 oz/100g butter, 4 oz/100g soft light brown sugar, 2 eggs, 4 oz/100g raisins, 3 tbls milk (or dark rum), 8oz/225g can pineapple, drained and finely chopped, 8oz/225g SR flour, 3 tbls demerara sugar

Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3. Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin.

Place the butter, light brown sugar, eggs, milk and flour in the food processor.
Zazz until well blended.
Add the raisins and 2/3 of the pineapple.
Zazz again, just enough to stir the fruit into the cake mix.
Pour into the prepared loaf tin.
Spread the remaining pineapple over the top.
Sprinkle the demerara sugar evenly over the pineapple.
Bake for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours, until the surface is golden brown and the cake feels firm.
Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack, remove the greaseproof paper and allow to cool completely.

Optional: When the cake is cold warm 2 tbls of honey in a small pan and use to glaze the top evenly.

Serve the cake cut into slices, spread with butter if wished.

Description:
A very refreshing, summery tasting dip. My daughter has recently become a vegetarian and I've been looking for food that we can both eat and that will give her some of the nutrients she's lost since she stopped eating meat. We've tested this dip out, just dipping cucumber sticks and we think it's pretty nice. We're going to have it for supper with some grilled haloumi cheese, falafal, asparagus spears and more cucumber. Here's a link to the nutritional value of peas, they contain, amongst other things, protein, handy for a vegetarian.
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=55

Ingredients:
500g frozen peas, 125g carton natural yoghurt, 2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint (from my garden), 2 tablespoons olive oil, juice of 1/2 lemon, salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Cook the peas in boiling water for about 3-5 minutes until just tender. Drain, rinse in cold water to cool them quickly, drain again. Tip the peas into the food processor along with all the other ingedients. Zazz until smooth.

Serve with whatever you want. eg vegetable sticks, baby sweetcorn, tortilla chips....

This dip can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Description:
Little pastry cases filled with chocolate

Ingredients:
6 oz SR Flour (or plain would be fine), 3 oz very cold butter, 1 egg yolk, water, chocolate spread

Directions:
Put the flour and butter into the food processor and zazz it until it resembles very fine breadcrumbs, add the egg yolk and zazz again, then add just enough water until when zazzed it binds together, I used half of the eggshell to take the water from tap to processor and 2 half eggshell's worth was plenty.

Roll out the pastry on a floured work surface. Cut out 12 small circles, I used a teacup as I've lost my pastry cutters. Place them in a patty tin.

Put a small dollop of chocolate spread into each tart. I used Choco-Duo which is a combined chocolate & vanilla spread, but any brand will do, Nutella would be particularly nice I think.

Bake at gas mark 6 for about 15 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown.

Description:
A tasty, low calorie, quick and easy, soup

Serve with a slice of wholemeal bread, with a scraping of butter, (i personally would always prefer to have a teeny tiny amount of real butter than any 'low fat' spread). If following the weight watcher's points plan this whole meal would be 2 1/2 points, the only points in the soup being 1/2 a point per portion for the cooking apple, plus 1 point for the slice of bread, and 1 point for the butter. It also gives you 3 of your 5 a day fruit and veg requirement.

Ingredients:
1/2 butternut squash, seeds scooped out but skin left on, small onion, medium cooking apple, water



Directions:
Chop up the squash, onion and apple. Place in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil. Leave to simmer gently until vegetables are tender. Pour into food processor, zazz until as smooth as you want it.

Description:
I have posted this recipe before, on Yahoo 360, but thought I would repeat it here for anyone interested.

This cake is a treat, did you see the amount of butter in it, but it is very easy to make, tastes lovely, and is often requested by the kids for their birthdays. I've also made it before for an adult's birthday and replaced the cola with irish mist, that was gurt lush!

Hope you make it and enjoy it.

Ingredients:
250g self-raising flour
generous pinch of Bicarbonate of soda
3 heaped tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
300g caster sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
250g butter
175ml cola
250ml milk

For the frosting:
200g icing sugar
100g butter
2 tbsp cola
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder


Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 C/Gas 4. Grease a 24cm loose-bottomed cake tin. (one with spring release sides is ideal)

2. Sift the flour into a bowl. Mix in the bicarbonate of soda, cocoa powder and sugar.

3. Stir in the eggs and vanilla extract.

4. Put the butter in a saucepan and melt over a gentle heat.

5. Add the cola to the butter and stir to mix, making sure the mixture doesn't boil. Stir in the milk and
remove from the heat.

6. Quickly whisk the cola mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix gently but thoroughly.

7. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Bake for about 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the
centre comes out clean. (it took more like 50 minutes to be honest)

8. Leave to cool in the tin for about 15 minutes.

9. Meanwhile make the frosting. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Put the butter in a saucepan and
melt over gentle heat. Stir in the cola and cocoa powder. Bring the mixture to the boil, then pour it over the icing sugar. Beat until smooth.

10. With the cake still in the tin, pour the frosting over it and leave in the tin until completely cool.

11. Remove the cake from the tin, cut into slices and eat.

Description:
Delicious tray bake

Ingredients:
8 oz butter, 8 oz SR flour, 8 oz semolina, 4 oz sugar, 3 ripe bananas, 1/4 pint single cream

Directions:
Melt the butter, stir in the flour, semolina and sugar.
Spread half the mixture over the base of a flat baking tray, (a swiss roll tin).
Slice the bananas over this mixture, spreading them out evenly.
Pour over the cream.
Top with the remaining mixture, press it down a bit.
Bake at gas mark 6 for half an hour until golden brown.
Allow to cool in the tray, then cut into squares.

Tastes even better if you can leave it 'til the next day!