Flatbread

Ingredients 500g plain flour (I used spelt), 5005 strong white bread flour, 10g yeast, 20g salt, 2 tbs olive oil, 325ml yoghurt, 325ml warm water.

Serves: 10-15 Preparation: 2 hours

Turkish style flatbread is fabulously versatile. Stuff (pitta style) to make cold sandwiches, hot pressed sandwiches, use as a vehicle for dips or top them pizza style with whatever you fancy. They are simple to make and keep well in an airtight container for about 5 days or can also be frozen to use later (though ideally for toasting as the texture will be affected somewhat.)

1) Stir the flours and salt together, then add the yeast to the yoghurt. Add the yoghurt to the flour and add the warm water. I highly recommend using a dough hook for mixing this - after the mixture begins to come together add the olive oil and then keep mixing for at least 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and silky. If you're mixing by hand... good luck with that!!

2) Flour your hands and shape into a round before transferring to a clean bowl. Cover with cling film or a plastic bag and leave to rise until the dough has doubled in size. This takes about an hour at room temperature.

3) Knock the dough back and leave it, covered, to rise for a second time. Purists will repeat this process for three or even four rises but truly I couldn't tell the difference in the finished flatbread so unless you want to spend all day in the house making flatbread I'd get it cooked at this point!

4) Dust your work surface generously with flour and tear off lemon sized pieces of dough (you can make these smaller or larger if you wish - if you have a big enough pan then you can make 10 good sized flatbreads) before rolling them out to 5mm thickness. Leave them to rise for at least 5 minutes.

5) You can make these with a frying pan and grill, or a griddle and grill. Heat your pan as high as you can and drop one piece of dough into it. If the pan is hot enough, after about 30 seconds you will see bubbles begin to form. Use a fishslice to just lift the dough and check for little spots of colour forming. Transfer the pan carefully to the grill (about 15cm from the heat, so middle shelf for most grills) and watch the flatbread bubble and then balloon! Drizzle with oil and serve or save.

Top tip. When it begins to char, it's ready. Just in case you're a bit nervous, here's a vine of my flatbread rising. Don't panic - it's supposed to do that!

Lancashire leek tart

Ingredients Pastry: 4oz plain flour, 2oz butter Filling: 3 eggs, 1 large leek, 2 tsp French mustard, 100g Lancashire cheese.

Serves: 4-6 Preparation: X

My husband loves a good tart. Fnar fnar... And he has very exacting standards, so when I say that this tart made it into the top 5 meals that I have made for him during our years together, that should tell you just how savoury and scrumptious it is. It aint so much to look at, but it really tastes like heaven.

1) To make the shortcrust pastry, cut the butter into small cubes and drop along with the flour into a food processor until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Drip in 2-3 tablespoons of cold water until the mixture quickly forms a ball. Wrap this in clingfilm and put in the fridge for 15 minutes. Once chilled, roll out and press firmly into a buttered pastry case. Bake blind for 10 minutes and set aside to cool.

2) Slice the top and tail from the leek, slice in half and then slice thinly. Sautee in a pan with a little knob of butter until soft.

3) Whisk the eggs and mustard together and crumble in half of the cheese.

4) Spoon the leeks into the tart case and pour over the egg and cheese mix, adding the remainder to the top then bake in a pre-heated oven at gas mark 5 for 30-40 minutes. The tart should be solid, rather than wobbly in the centre with a golden surface.

5) Serve hot or cold.

Coconut grain salad

Ingredients 1 can chickpeas, 1 cup pearl cous-cous, 150ml coconut cream, 1/2 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 can puy lentils.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 20 minutes

It is a truth universally acknowledged that coconut is one of the best things ever. In a world where I do not give my family refined sugar and limit dairy products; coconut palm sugar, coconut blossom syrup and coconut oil, water and milk are constantly on our grocery list. When I was pregnant I consumed so much coconut water that I am not remotely surprised that my son is hopelessly addicted to it. That and it tastes like breastmilk.  
ANYWAY! This salad is subtle and lovely, an extremely lazy nod to rice and peas (one of my favourite dishes at Soul Kitchen - my review here) and super quick to make. Do excuse the slight grey tone of the picture, it was a VERY gloomy day!

1) Add the pearl cous-cous to a pan along with the coconut milk, cumin and thyme.

2) Bring to the boil and after about 8 minutes, turn off the heat, stir through and add the drained puy lentils and chickpeas.

3) The liquid should have cooked off, leaving just a gloss of coconut but if not, drain through a sieve before serving. I like to add a little black pepper and salt 

Quinoa, chickpea, pomegranate & artichoke cream salad

Ingredients Quinoa, jar of marinated artichokes, pomegranate, can of chickpeas.

Serves: X Preparation: X

Once upon a time, I was completely obsessed with artichoke cream. From slathering it on bread to swirling linguine into it, it could do no wrong as far as I was concerned. This creation was born of "oh no, lunch is in 15 minutes and all I have is a pomegranate until the market delivers my fresh produce!" panic. I always have cans of chickpeas in the cupboard (there is no emergency that cannot be fixed with hummus. It is the new cup of tea) and jars full of different grains and with this satisfying salad, I'm very glad that I do!

1) Soak the quinoa for 5 minutes and rinse well in a sieve. Depending on where you buy it, it naturally has an acrid coating called saponin which you don't want flavouring your food!

2) Cover the quinoa in slightly salted water or stock if you wish and bring to the boil for about 15 minutes, stir continually as it soaks up the water and fluffs up, then remove from the heat. Drain the chickpeas and add to the mix. 

3) Pour the jar of artichoke into a blender. Personally I prefer to drain away the oil it's marinated in first and just add a little of it, but you can in fact use all of the oil if you wish. Blitz thoroughly until a smooth, emulsified cream forms.

4) Stir some of the cream into the quinoa - just enough to dress it rather than turn it into soup! 

5) Slice your pomegranate in half, hold it over a bowl (cut side down...) and them smack it repeatedly with a wooden spoon or ladle until all of the beautiful jewels have dropped out. Sprinkle onto your salad and serve, hot or cold.

Sweet potato, black bean and kale chilli‏

Ingredients 1 large sweet potato, 1 can black beans, 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp thyme, 1/2 glass red wine, 100ml passata, 100g kale, 1 red onion, 1 stalk celery, 1/4 tsp smoked paprika, olive oil, 2 cloves garlic.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 30 minutes

In the past, I have shared recipes on this blog using Quorn as a meat substitute but since I made the lifestyle choice to no longer eat any kind of processed/pre-prepared foods I have been replacing this occasional protein source with more beans and pulses and grains. Much healthier, a nicer texture, simple to prepare and utterly delicious. This chilli is the most magnificent comfort food and is wonderful served with rice, tortilla chips or in a flour or lettuce leaf burrito.

1) Peel and dice the sweet potato and roast in the oven for 15 minutes.

2) Finely dice the onion and add it to a pan along with the olive oil. Sizzle until soft, then add the garlic (minced). Add the herbs, spices and wine and cook off the liquid.

3) Add the passata, beans and sweet potato and stir through. Remove the hard stalk of the kale, discard, then blitz the leaves in your food processor. Add to the pan and cook until softened.

4) I like my food spicy, so I like to add a couple of teaspoon of chipotle chilli paste, but there should be enough kick from the paprika for those who value the skin on their tongue...

Beetroot, olive & broccoli bolognaise‏

Ingredients 1 small onion, half a stick of celery, a handful of fresh or oil marinated olives - never the rubbery brined ones! 1/2 a head of broccoli, 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1/2 tsp dried oregano, 1 small beetroot, spaghetti, red wine, 100ml passata, 1 clove garlic.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 20 minutes

I have always been rather excited by raw foodism. Partly due to OCD (the idea that I am not getting EVERY SINGLE POSSIBLE nutrient from my food ALL THE TIME can be somewhat crippling during my wiggier moments) and partly because HEY SO DELICIOUS. Baby Led Weaning meant that my son had a good grounding in the individual flavours of different ingredients before he experienced more complex meals and I learned to appreciate how gorgeous simple food could be. This isn't actually a raw recipe, but it's inspired by no-fuss, simple flavours working so very well together.

1) Blitz the celery, onion and garlic in your food processor and tip into a pan. Add a little olive oil and sizzle until soft) 

2) Add the broccoli and olives to the food processor and blitz until reduced to the size of breadcrumbs. Grate the beetroot (I just pull out the blade spindle and add the grater blade to my food processor so it's all contained in one bowl.) and then add to the pan of softened onions and celery.

3) I like to add a little red wine along with the passata tomatoes and herbs, but this is entirely according to taste. Cook for just as long as it takes for your spaghetti to boil (8-12 minutes depending on the type of spaghetti) and drain.

4) Add the pasta to the pan and stir through. Serve hot (with a sprinkle of parmesan if you aren't vegetarian)

Pumpkin pancakes

Ingredients 1/2 can pumpkin puree, 1 egg, 1 1/4 cup self-raising flour, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp allspice, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1 tbsp honey, agave or maple syrup.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 15 minutes

Scotch pancakes (or American style) are a big favourite in this house. On those mornings when I have totally forgotten to put the Overnight Oats in the fridge the day before, it's great to grab an egg and just chuck in some flour, flavour, something wet and a few minutes of whisking later, the griddle is sizzling with perfect little dollops of impending deliciousness. These pumpkin pancakes are so very perfect for this time of year; Autumn is coming and comfort foods are on the horizon. They're also sugar free and low in fat. I quite often use low gluten flours like spelt or buckwheat and add a bit of baking powder instead of self-raising - get experimenting!

1) Crack the egg into a bowl and give it a whisk.

2) Add the spices, pumpkin puree and your choice of sweetness. Whisk again.

3) Add the flour and whisk thoroughly to ensure that the batter is smooth. It should be of a thick, dropping consistency, so add a little extra flour if necessary.

4) Drop a tablespoon at a time of the batter onto a hot griddle or non-stick frying pan. When tiny bubbles begin to work their way through the batter, slide a fish slice under the pancake and flip over. Press lightly to ensure they're evenly cooked, then transfer to a wire cooling rack or stack straight onto the plate. Gorgeous hot or cold.

Raw gluten free vegan chocolate & coconut cookies

Ingredients 1 cup ground almonds, 1/2 cup dessicated coconut, 1 tbsp cashew butter, 1/4 cup Planet Organic chocolate coconut butter (or 1 tbsp ground cacao nibs, 1/2 cup coconut oil) 10 dates.

Serves: 24 Preparation: 10 minutes

Do you ever have a craving for something sweet? Rather than reach for some hideous, unhealthy snack food from a vending machine because it's there RIGHT NOW ALREADY, take 10 minutes to prepare these delicious, soft, nutty crumbly sweet morsels of completely sin-free pleasure. If you are dairy or gluten free or, like me, don't give your child sugar or processed foods then these will be right up your street. So quick, so simple, so so good.

1) Put all the ingredients in a blender and blitz thoroughly until sticky crumbs form.

2) Press firmly into ice cube trays or silicone moulds, then remove and eat! These are good when stored in tupperware in a cool, dark place for about a month before they start to dry out a little.

Linguine with wild garlic pesto & plum tomatoes

Ingredients 100g wild garlic, 100g fresh basil, 50ml olive oil, parmigiano, 1/2 lemon, 50g pine nuts, linguine, tomatoes.

Preparation: 5-10 minutes

If you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen me recently posting about foraging for wild garlic pesto but I have finally got around to actually updating here! I love wild garlic. It's so vibrantly green and though every bit as pungent as garlic bulbs, when eaten raw it does not have that same sting of heat. When I was pregnant with The Starchild I swapped garlic bulbs for wild garlic on many an occasion to avoid getting heartburn. This dish is so fresh and glorious and ridiculously quick and simple to make.

1) Put the pasta on to boil and slice the tomatoes into quarters.

2) Add the basil and wild garlic to a mortar bowl and grind to a fine pulp. You can use a blender if you wish of course.

3) Add the pine nuts, olive oil and grated parmeggian and grind thoroughly, adding lemon juice to taste, and if you wish a pinch of salt though personally I find the parmigiano and wild garlic take care of the savoury notes.

4) Drain the pasta and stir in a few spoons of pesto, then toss with the tomatoes and serve.

Wild Garlic Pesto

Ingredients 100g wild garlic, 100g fresh basil, 50ml olive oil, parmigiano, 1/2 lemon, 50g pine nuts.

Preparation: 5-10 minutes

There will never be anything like fresh pesto. Grinding the basil into the pine nuts releases a sweet perfume, further enhanced with notes of citrus which is then brought down to earth with the earthiness of the garlic and tang of parmeggian. As the kitchen fills with the scent I become giddy with the anticipation of it, and it's short lived because it's so quick and simple to make. Don't buy it, celebrate every aspect of this gorgeous, fresh sauce by making it yourself - particularly now when you can still find a glut of wild garlic growing abundantly outdoors, for free!

1) Add the basil and wild garlic to a mortar bowl and grind to a fine pulp. You can use a blender if you wish of course.

2) Add the pine nuts, olive oil and grated parmeggian and grind thoroughly, adding lemon juice to taste, and if you wish a pinch of salt though personally I find the parmigiano and wild garlic take care of the savoury notes.

3) To store, cover with a thin layer of oil to protect the contents from oxidising or to serve, stir a few spoons into cooked, drained pasta, drizzle onto a caprese salad or slather on bread or pizza.

Beetroot brownies

Ingredients 3 eggs, 250g salted butter, 250g dark chocolate, 250g caster sugar, 150g self-raising flour, 250g grated beetroot (approx 2 beetroots).

Serves: 10 Preparation: 1 hour

There is a saying, a very good saying; "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
This is good advice, except to people who are creative. It's just not applicable! Being creative means the desire to explore and perfect an idea will never really be fulfilled, and it is with this in mind that I give you the beetroot brownie. The gungey, squidgy glory of a good brownie is a formula which needs very little tinkering with, but like making chocolate cake without grated beetroot is unthinkable to me now, so it goes with brownies. That added moisture, that depth of flavour, that incredible colour... you absolutely have to try it.

1) To prepare the beetroot, wash them and slice off the stalks and leaves. Then peel and grate into a bowl.

2) Break the chocolate into a heatproof bowl, add the butter and set it on a pan of hot water to form a bain marie. Stir until the butter and chocolate melt completely.

3) Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl until combined then beat in the melted chocolate and butter until smooth.

4) Sift the flour over the chocolate mixture, then gently fold it in. Fold in the grated beetroot, then pour into a greased baking tin and smooth with a spatula.

5) Bake for 20 – 25 minutes at gas mark 4 until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with sticky crumbs. Remove the tin from the oven and leave on a wire rack to cool before cutting in to squares.

Cornbread

Ingredients 1 1/2 cups Rachel's Organic Greek yoghurt, 1/2 cup butter,1 cup polenta, 3/4 cup self-raising flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp bicarb of soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 eggs

2 bell peppers, 100g sweetcorn, 1 small red chilli or 1/2 tsp chilli flakes (optional)

Serves: 5 Preparation: 30 minutes

Cornbread is a fabulous example of mixing the best of both worlds in one dish. Savoury with sweet nuggets of corn and pepper, a little spicy if you like that sort of thing with a fluffy yet grainy texture on the inside and a fabulous toasty crust on the outside. I like this with my Mexican mole soup, or part of a fried breakfast but it can be eaten cool just as a snack on its own. 

1) Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6 and grease a baking tray.

2) Melt the butter in a pan and whisk in the eggs and Greek Yoghurt.

3) Add the polenta, flour, baking powder, bicarb of soda to a bowl and mix thoroughly. Pour the wet ingredients from the pan into the dry ingredients and mix together until a smooth batter is formed.

4) Dice the bell pepper and add, along with the sweetcorn (frozen is fine) to the batter and transfer to the baking tray.

5) Bake for 20-25 minutes until the top begins to turn golden and a skewer in the centre comes out clean. Cornbread can be eaten when cool, but is best toasted on a griddle.

Sugar-free pina colada muffins

Ingredients 350g spelt flour, 2 eggs, 2 tsp baking powder, 30g desiccated coconut 75g diced pineapple and dried cranberries, 150ml pineapple juice, 100g coconut palm sugar, 1 tbsp coconut oil, 1 tsp honey.

Serves: 6 Preparation: 45 minutes (plus an hour soaking)

When it comes to food critiquing, my husband is a man of few words, and many facial expressions so his reaction to these muffins of "oh my god! mmmmmm!!!" before grabbing a second one, posting a picture on Facebook and then begging me to bake some more for him to take to work with him says it all. These are absolutely luscious and will fill your house with the most incredible tropical scent. Plus they're sugar free and made from "good fat" and healthy flour! Hurrah!

1) Soak the dried pineapple and cranberries in the pineapple juice along with the honey for ideally an hour, then pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4.

2) Sift together the flour, baking powder, dessicated coconut and set aside.

3) If the coconut oil has solidified, melt it gently, then whisk in the eggs and palm sugar before adding the pineapple and juice.

4) Roughly fold the wet ingredients into the dry - don't overmix it. Muffin batter should never be completely smooth. Spoon into muffin cases and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes. I like to sprinkle a little extra coconut on the top before baking - the toasted coconut smells and tastes WONDERFUL.

5) Leave to cool, if you have the willpower, then devour. These are good for up to 3 days afterwards if sealed in a tupperware container but benefit from being gently warmed in the oven for a few minutes before serving after that!

Carrot, cardamom & caramelised onion soup

Ingredients 5 carrots, 1 potato, 2 onions, 6 cardamom pods, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp allspice, 1 clove garlic, 1 tbsp olive oil.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 30 minutes

I love soup. I find all the chopping, stirring and pureeing very soothing, the warm smells that fill the house comforting, and I love ladling out steamy bowls of soup for people to dunk hot crispy bread into, dressing it with ever more creative croutons or swirls of cream and yoghurt. Some soups, like this spiced bowl of sweet carrotty joy, are so packed full of flavour that they don't even need any vegetable stock. This works just as well with sweet potato but the silkier soup will come from using a good waxy potato.

1) Peel and finely slice the onions, then slice the rings in half before adding the slices to a hot pan with the olive oil. Stir them well, breaking the strips of onion up, then leave to completely caramelise, stirring only when you see them begin to turn brown.

2) Crush one clove of garlic and add to the pan, along with the freshly ground cardamom seeds, ginger and allspice. Stir well and leave to sizzle for a few minutes.

3) Peel and dice the carrots and potato, then add to the pan. I like to stir them for a minute or two to add a little colour before adding the water.

4) Allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes until the carrots and potato are soft, then add to a blender to puree thoroughly before serving.

Protein pesto salad

Ingredients 1 can cannellini beans, 250g red & white quinoa (Merchant Gourmet), 250g beluga lentils (also Merchant Gourmet), 100g fresh basil, 1 clove garlic, 50ml basil oil, parmigiano, 1/2 lemon, 50g pine nuts.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 5 minutes (+ 20 if using dried lentils and quinoa)

I always have a kilner jar of pesto on the go in the fridge so that in a rush for a quick meal I can chuck some pasta or gnocchi or buschetta together in about 5 minutes flat. I was recently asked for a recipe for a healthy, satisfying salad packed with protein and this is one of my favourite picnic staples. Merchant Gourmet make fabulous little pouches of cereals and grains which seriously cut down on prep time, but Quinoa and lentils are quick enough to cook from scratch using the instructions below.

1) If using raw quinoa and lentils: Soak for 5 minutes and rinse thoroughly in a sieve before transferring to a pan. Depending on where you buy it, quinoa naturally has an acrid coating called saponin which you don't want flavouring your food! Cover with lightly salted water and bring to the boil for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently as it soaks up the water and fluffs up, then remove from the heat, add the drained and rinsed cannellini beans and set aside to cool.

2) To make pesto: add the fresh basil leaves to a mortar bowl and grind to a fine pulp. Sautee 1 crushed clove of garlic in the basil oil and add to the mortar bowl along with a pinch of salt and a handful of pine nuts. Grind thoroughly, adding lemon juice, basil oil and parmeggian to taste.

3) Stir 2 tablespoons of the pesto into the quinoa, beluga lentils and beans and either serve or refrigerate for up to 5 days for lunch. If you want to vary this a little from day to day (I liked to make a batch on a Sunday and portion it out for the week) it's nice to sprinkle pomegranate jewels though it, or add some salad leaves, or chopped cherry tomatoes or bell peppers (raw or roasted) and I especially love blitzing up some spinach or kale in the blender and stirring that through)

Spinach & avocado soup

Ingredients 800g spinach, 1/2 nutmeg, 1 onion, 1 avocado, 1 potato, 1 tsp avocado oil.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 20 minutes

I love soup. I find all the chopping, stirring and pureeing very soothing, the warm smells that fill the house comforting, and I love ladling out steamy bowls of soup for people to dunk hot crispy bread into, dressing it with ever more creative croutons or swirls of cream and yoghurt. This soup is so thick and glossy and brimming with super-healthy spinach and avocado to keep those winter colds at bay.


1) Peel and finely dice the onion and the potato. Add the onion and avocado oil to a pan and allow to soften (about 5 minutes if you've chopped it finely enough) before adding the potato and enough water just to cover them (ideally about 1/4 pint)

2) When the potatoes are soft (about 10 minutes), add the spinach to the pan in installments, stirring well as it wilts down. Remove from the heat and strain the liquid away from the other ingredients (do not discard).

3) Halve the avocado around the stone and twist it apart. Remove the stone and scoop the avocado flesh from the shell. Add to a blender and blitz thoroughly. Add the contents of the pan and puree, adding a little of the liquid at a time until the desired consistency is reached. I like a good, thick soup but this is entirely your preference.

4) Stir in about half of a freshly grated nutmeg (don't ever bother with the powdered stuff - it tastes and smells of nothing!) with half a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper (and salt if you wish, though I never do) to season, and serve.

Caramelised onion & aduki bean soup

Ingredients 2 white onions, 5 shallots, 1 can aduki beans, 1 tablespoon of butter or olive oil.

Serves: 2 Preparation: 20 minutes

This soup is RIDICULOUSLY simple. It seems impossible that something can taste so delicious without stocks, herbs, spices, seasoning or more than two ingredients... but it's true, with just onions and beans and twenty minutes, you too can have this velvety thick, satisfying soup which is packed with flavour.

1) Peel and finely slice the onions and shallots. Pop the rings from the onion slices with your fingers and add to a pan with a knob of butter, stirring only when the onions begin to brown in order for them to caramelise evenly.

2) When the onions are soft and caramelised (about 15 minutes) add the aduki beans and a cup of water. Bring to the boil and transfer to a blender to puree before serving.

Chestnut hummus

Ingredients 400g chickpeas (dried or canned), 1 bulb garlic, olive oil, 1/2 can chestnut puree plus lemon juice, sesame seeds/tahini and paprika to taste.

Preparation: 30 minutes (canned) 1hr 45 plus overnight soaking (dried)

I love Merchant Gourmet's chestnut puree. I use it to thicken my vegetarian gravy, soups and stews but it wasn't until recently that I ever had leftovers to decide what to do with. And lo, yet another variation on hummus! This also works beautifully as a vegetarian pate if you pack down into a container and allow to chill in the fridge.

1) Roast the entire bulb of garlic at 200 degrees for 20 minutes. Squeeze the garlic puree gently from the cloves and add to your food processor.

2) If you are using dried chickpeas leave them to soak in cold water for a minimum of 6 hours (ideally 10-12) and cook them for 1 1/2 hours, changing the water frequently to avoid a bitter aftertaste.

3) If using canned chickpeas drain them and rinse well. It's entirely your choice whether you shell the chickpeas first - personally I prefer the texture with them shelled and find the process (pinching gently then shucking) very soothing! To avoid shelling them you can add a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda to the water and boil them for 5 minutes - the shells will be so soft that you won't even notice them when pureed.

4) Place the chickpeas and the chestnut puree into your blender and pulse thoroughly, drizzling olive oil through until the desired texture has been reached.

5) Flavour to taste with lemon juice, tahini/sesame oil/sesame seeds and season with salt and a pinch of smoked paprika. Stir through and serve or store in the fridge.

Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

Ingredients 1/2 can pumpkin puree, 1 clove garlic, 1/4 leek, 250g macaroni, 1 pint vegetable stock, 1 tsp truffle oil, 100g cheese, 1/4 tsp allspice, 1/4 tsp sage, 1/4 tsp thyme, 1/4 tsp smoked paprika, 1/4 sweet potato.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 30 minutes

I absolutely adore mac and cheese. So much so that despite it's obvious perfection, I am constantly re-inventing it in order to have it more often, without being bored. This version is about as far as the traditional roux-based cheese sauce as you can get, but it's healthy, can be made lactose intolerant or vegan-friendly by using a wheat-free pasta or substituting the layer of cheese with a dairy-free alternative respectively. As Autumn rolls in, I go pumpkin crazy and this truly is an out-of-this world dish.
Check out some of my other favourite versions: avocado mac and cheese using my roast garlic and avocado puree, cauliflower mac and cheese, broccoli mac and cheese and of course mac and peas.

1) Use 3/4 of the vegetable stock to put the macaroni on to boil, reserving the remaining 1/4 for the sauce.

2) Slice and dice the leek finely (discarding the root and leafy ends) and add to a pan with the truffle oil. Sautee gently, adding the garlic (crushed) once it begins to soften.

3) By the time the garlic begins to sizzle the macaroni should be ready - drain and set aside, reserving a ladle of the vegetable stock to add to the leek and garlic. Reduce this by about 50% and add the pumpkin puree, herbs and spices.

4) If the sauce is too thick, add a little more vegetable stock to thin it out (or cream if you want to be REALLY decadent), then stir in the drained macaroni.

5) Transfer to an oven-proof dish and grate the sweet potato and cheese onto the top. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes (until the cheese is gooey and golden and the sweet potato is just beginning to crisp) and serve hot.    

I very rarely add salt as standard to a dish, advising only to season to taste, but in this case I found a tiny bit of salt and black pepper to be a nice touch once I'd removed a portion for my toddler.

Mango sorbet

Ingredients 2 mangoes, 1 tsp honey (or agave syrup if you are vegan).

Serves: 6 Preparation: 20 minutes

It has been sorbet central over here in the Lavender Kitchen. At this time of year the fruit in my bowl ripens so fast in the last of the summer heat, so I find myself making smoothies, jams and chutneys and baking puddings and pies and tarts galore so as not to waste any fruit. Mango sorbet is a particular favourite of mine because the buttery, silky texture of mango feels like it MUST be sinfully bad for you - and yet this sorbet contains nothing naughty at all!

1) Peel and slice the mango. There are many methods for doing so, from hedgehogging it to simply hacking away until you find the thick, rough core that stretches the full length of the fruit. Personally, I approach it like an avocado, slicing it towards the middle but not completely in half, then rotating it until it comes apart, revealing the core which can then be sliced away.

2) Transfer the fruit to a food processor (you'll want to save every single drop of the gorgeous juice as you're slicing it - I scrape it from the peel, from the chopping board etc) and puree thoroughly.

3) Add the honey and taste - remembering that freezing something dulls the flavour, so if it isn't sweet enough, it most certainly won't be when it's frozen! Add extra honey if necessary, but a ripe mango should certainly be sweet enough.

4) Transfer to your ice-cream maker and churn until frozen. If you don't have an ice-cream maker, transfer to a suitable container and freeze, removing every 30 minutes to whisk it to ensure that linear ice crystals do not form, solidifying the texture.