the Recipe - How to make an Aubergine, Courgette and Green Pepper Ratatouille (Vegan friendly)

We made the Ratatouille which is a traditional French dish, because it is good to diversify and try other cultures' food. Here we used green pepper, onion, aubergine, courgette, tomatoes and fresh oregano. Oregano grows well in this country in summer and we have some of it growing ourselves in the back garden in a tub. It is not so easy to source in the supermarkets, it's more of a public market herb, and sometimes you can order it from them if they haven't got it in as I have done previously. This meal has quite a sharp taste with the oregano, and a slightly bitter one too. Different coloured peppers would give vastly different tastes to this recipe. Here we served it with rice, but you could also put it in a jacket potato.

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The Recipes - How to make a Proper Cheese and Onion Pie

Cheese and onion pie is a British institution just like fish and chips! You can definitely tell this as this recipe is my most viewed - by over 100,000 people! I tried a few recipes to make this and realised that with the addition of water it makes the pie more moist, so you can have it without a sauce. The milk brushed over makes it brown evenly too. My daughter has this with mashed potatoes and beans, but you can have it with a side salad, with chips and beans, or new potatoes and other vegetables like carrots, cabbage or green beans perhaps. I prefer the ready made pastry here but I have sometimes made my own and it has been just as good. This doesn't really work with any other cheese but mature, and extra mature cheddar.  You could try it with filo pastry too for a lighter pie if you like. Fussy guests never refuse this, and even ask for more....

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The Recipes - How to make a Cheesy Mash - get your kids to eat onions without knowing!

Cheesy mash - this is real comfort food. Serve it with a big helping of baked beans for a night in by the fire! It's got to be made with mature cheddar cheese too, and onions chopped up really fine. It is also a great way to get the children to eat onions without knowing! You can also do this as a tray bake for a party with a large pan of baked beans. My daughter was also an onion hater, and once when she was about five years old, we went into Greggs bakery and I said to her tell the lady what you want. Lia said, " Can I have a cheese and onion pasty without the onion please?" And the lady behind the counter looked at me, winked and smiled, and simply said, "Certainly darling" Try not to smile at that....

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The Recipes - How to make an Asparagus Soup (Vegan friendly)

Asparagus soup has a really rich and unique taste if you haven't tried it. It is very good, and it has a nice creamy taste.  It is best to use the young asparagus tips, but it still works with the thicker variety. We always buy two bunches for this soup. Most of the soups start as a basic recipe of potato, onion and your chosen vegetable. Be sure to blend this soup well though, and make sure that the pieces of Asparagus are relatively soft before finishing it off on the stove, otherwise you can end up with little strands of Asparagus stem floating in it. Everyone who has tried this soup likes it. It's mum's favourite too... It's crusty rolls time again! 

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The Recipes - How to make a Red Pepper and Mushroom Sausage Casserole (Vegan friendly)

Who doesn't like a sausage casserole, especially when the nights draw in and you know that winter is now approaching. This is a one pot dish so just throw everything in and simply cook in the oven. I got the idea from a ladies magazine whilst in the hairdressers. I simply changed the sausages, made use of an onion gravy, altered the mushroom and red pepper quantities and ended up with this! The Bisto onion gravy in the glass jar works well with this but I suppose you could try the red onion gravy in a jar that is less expensive too, as I have also tried this gravy before on things and it is very flavoursome as well. Just check that it has quite a good thickness before you put it in. Otherwise add a little more powder. We like this with a good helping of mashed potatoes to soak up all the juices. I found the Linda McCartney sausages worked the very best in here, but I have made it with the other brands too. You can also serve it with new potatoes if you like....

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The Recipes - How to make a Vegetarian Shepherds Pie

This recipe took a lot of tries to get it just right. I made quite a few samples on this. Quorn did not work with it, it had to be more of a mince. I started with Vegemince. Then I had to decide the amount of carrot which gives the recipe the sweetness. I needed a good onion gravy and found the Bisto one in the glass jar had a great taste. Then I had to find a good vegetarian Worcester sauce  Then at last I had it. I tried it out on mum and her friend when they came back from their holiday in Torquay and they loved it, and so did my friend Gail who nearly always insists on having this whenever she comes to see us. Even my daughter Lia ate the lot too, the first time she tried it. You can have this with beetroot, pickles, and red cabbage, or beans even.  Recently I made it with the red onion gravy in a jar which gave it a different taste, but just as good!! It's real comfort food and there is NEVER any leftovers.... 

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The Recipes - How to make a Celeriac Soup (Vegan friendly)

What is celeriac? For those of you who don't know, it is the large root bulb of the celery plant. This is why this soup tastes like a sort of much creamier and thicker celery soup. It's a very good winter soup because it's especially thick and warming. It has a look of semolina when its out. The root can be hard to peel, it's best to cut it in half but maybe peel it with a potato peeler first. Then cut chunks off it. Don't make the chunks too large because you want them to cook through. If you smell it it does have a slight celery smell, though it does look like an old skull or something from Doctor Who, with the tendril bits coming off it. Try it out, I am sure that you will like it, and it's the crusty rolls yet again to serve....

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