Chicken noodle soup

• 900ml chicken or vegetable stock (or Miso soup mix)
• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, about 175g/6oz
• 1 tsp chopped fresh root ginger
• 1 garlic clove , finely chopped
• 50g rice or wheat noodles
• 2 tbsp sweetcorn , canned or frozen
• 2-3 mushrooms , thinly sliced
• 2 spring onions , shredded
• 2 tsp soy sauce , plus extra for serving
• mint or basil leaves and a little shredded chilli (optional), to serve

1. Pour the stock into a pan and add the chicken, ginger and garlic. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, partly cover and simmer for 20 mins, until the chicken is tender. Remove the chicken to a board and shred into bite-size pieces using a couple of forks.
2. Return the chicken to the stock with the noodles, corn, mushrooms, half the spring onions and the soy sauce. Simmer for 3-4 mins until the noodles are tender. Ladle into two bowls and scatter over the remaining spring onions, herbs and chilli shreds if using. Serve with extra soy sauce for sprinkling.

Mum's Play Dough

2 cups self raising flour
1 cup salt
4 teaspoons tartaric acid
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 cups water & food colouring

Mix in LARGE saucepan over medium heat until it lumps - cook well
No wonder it tasted salty...

Mum's Xmas Pud

Makes 1 3lb pudding or 2 x 1.5 lb puddings

8 oz Currents
6oz Raisins
8 oz Sultanas
2 oz Mixed Peel
In a bowl with
2 tablespoons of Brandy
The rind & juice of an Orange

(Leave above overnight if possible)

Sieved Together
5 oz Self raising flour
A pinch of salt
1 heaped TABLESPOON mixed Spice
1 level TEASPOON Nutmeg

5 TABLESPOONS Milk
6 oz Margarine – melted
3 Eggs – beaten

4oz Brown Sugar
5 oz Fresh breadcrumbs

Mix together ALL dry ingredients

Add wet ingredients and MIX thoroughly

Grease pudding bowl/s

Cover with 2 layers of greaseproof & one layer of foil

Tie with string & make handle

Cook as instructed in Pressure cooker book of boil for hours

Once cooked and cooled, wrap in fresh greaseproof and store until next year.

Mum's Fudge Biscuits

8oz cooking choclate
4oz marg
3oz Icing sugar
1 small pkt digestives

melt choc & marg
crush biscuits in blender 1 at a time
add crumbs to choc
add icing sugar mix throughly
grease shallow 9" tin - press in & cut into square before it hardens

Christmas Tree Biscuits

Oven : 170 (160 fan)
Overall time : 1 hour (Plus cooling and setting overnight)
Cooking Time : 15-20 (frozen 20-25) (Note I foudn they were done after 10 minutes myself)

100g Unsalted butter (room temp)
100g dark brown soft sugar
295g Plain flour
1 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 egg (medium, lightly beaten)
4 tblsp Honey

Icing sugar for icing and stuff to decorate

* Whisk butter and sugar until pale
* Add flour, pinch of salt, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves and black pepper and whiz to combine
* In seperate bowl combine honey and egg and then gradually beat into the dry ingredients (it is possible you won't need all the liquid - I didn't)
* Either chill in the fridge now if you don't wont to cut out immeadiately, or roll out to 1/2 inch think and cut. Use skewer to make hole in top if intended for tree and arrange on baking trays (I did them on greaseproof paper) and baked until golden brown. Cool on rack
*Make up icing and pipe/pour, splash icing on the biccies any old how. Leave to set overnight


Pre Iced will keep for a week in a sealed container, raw biscuits can be frozen on sheets and baked latre (after defrosting @ room temperature)

Perfect oven chips

1 large baking potato
Paprika
Olive oil
Salt

Serves 1-2

Cut potato into chunky chips and pop in tupperware with a dash of paprika, a tablespoon of oil and a good pinch of salt

Spread on lightly oiled baking tray and leave for about 25 mins (fan oven) or 45 mins (regular oven)

Rhubarb Macaroon Cake

Serves 8 Prep 45 mins, cook 1hr25 180 (fan 170) degrees

200g unsalted butter
375g caster sugar
3 large eggs seperated
1 tsp vanilla extract
175g sr flour
142ml soured cream
200g ground almonds
2-3 tblspn milk
1/2 tspn cream of tartar
25g chopped almonds
400g rhubarbs (yuk)
zest and juice of 1 orange
1tblspn orange flower water or contreau
284ml double cream
icing sugar

Filling :
Slice rhubarb and place in shallow layer in ovenproof baking dish, sprinkle with orange zest, juice, 50g sugar and 2tblspn of water
Cover and bake for 20-35 mins until tender Leave to cool

Cake :
Neat together butter and 175g sugar then beat in egg yolks one at a time followed by 1/2 tspn vanilla extract
Fold in 1/2 flour then the soured cream thn remaining flour, 100g groun almonds and milks
Divide between 2 23cm sandwich tins (should be buttered and lined)
Bake for 20-25 mins until firm in center

Topping:
Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy and stiff
whisk in 75g sugar and continue until merangue is shiny and firm. Fold in 1/2 tspn vanilla and another 75g sugar and the 100g ground almonds

Take cakes out of oven and spread topping over the top of each cake
Sprinkle chopped almonds on top of one cake the return to oven for another 20-25 mins until topping is firm and browned to a crisp crust
Cool in tins for a few minutes then turn out of cool on arack topping side up

Once cooled, tip rhubarb into a sieve and drain into a bowl, keeping the drained off syrup. Put orange flower water and 2 tblespns of syrup in a large bowl and refridgerate. Pour remaining srup into a jug and chill

Just before serving, add the cream to teh syrup mixture in the bowl and whick to soft peaks then fold in 1/2 the rhubarb and add sugar is necessary

Sandwich cakes together with cream mix and remaing rhubarb, dust with icing sugar and serve with chilled syrup in jug

NOTE: Cake and rhubarb can be prepared up to a day in advance and kept in an airtigt tin, fill the cake up to an hour before serving