Mexicana Smoothies

How to Make Mexicana Smoothies Recipe - preparation 5 minutes

Serves 1

Ingredients:
1 small lemon, peeled
2 ripe pears, peeled, cored and chopped
1 small, ripe avocado, peeled and stoned
50g/2oz baby spinach leaves

Method:
1 Chop the lemon flesh, discarding any pips. Place in a blender with the chopped pear.

2 Chop the avocado roughly and add to the blender with the spinach. Blitz until smooth, then pour into a glass to serve.

Carrot Blitz Smoothies

How to Make Carrot Blitz Smoothies Recipe - preparation 10 minutes

Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 medium oranges, peeled
1cm/½in piece fresh root ginger, peeled
150ml/¼ pint/scant ⅔ cup orange juice
150ml/¼ pint/scant ⅔ cup pressed carrot juice

Method:
1 Chop the orange flesh roughly, discarding any pips. Chop the ginger.

2 Blitz the orange, ginger and apple and carrot juices in a blender until smooth. Divide between two glasses.

Veggie Combo Smoothies

How to Make Veggie Combo Smoothies Recipe - preparation 5 minutes

Serves 2

Ingredients:
375g/13oz cucumber, seeded and chopped
50g/2oz kale
150ml/¼ pint/scant ⅔ cup pressed carrot juice
ground black pepper

Method:
1 Put the cucumber, kale and carrot juice in a blender. Season with black pepper and blitz until smooth. Pour over ice in two glasses.

Pink Mango Smoothies

How to Make Pink Mango Smoothies Recipe - preparation 5 minutes

Serves 2

Ingredients:
1 pink grapefruit, peeled
300g/11oz mango, peeled and stoned
150ml/¼ pint/scant ⅔ cup pressed apple juice

Method:
1 Chop the grapefruit flesh, discarding any pips. Chop the mango flesh.

2 Blitz the grapefruit, mango apple juice in a blender until smooth. Pour into two glasses.

Black Beauty Smoothies

How to Make Black Beauty Smoothies Recipe - preparation 10 minutes

Serves 2

Ingredients:
175g/6oz/1½ cups blackcurrants, stalks removed
150ml/¼ pint/scant ⅔ cup pressed apple juice
3 fresh mint sprigs
2 tsp runny honey

Method:
1 Put the blackcurrants in a blender with the apple juice and mint. Blitz until smooth, and sweeten with honey. Pour over ice cubes into two glasses.

Blue Orange Smoothies

How to Make Blue Orange Smoothies Recipe - preparation 10 minutes

Serves 1

Ingredients:
175g/6oz/1½ cups blueberries
2 medium oranges, peeled
1–2 tsp maple syrup

Method:
1 Chop the orange flesh, then blitz briefly in a blender with the blueberries. Taste and add maple syrup to sweeten. Pour over ice in a large glass.

Papaya Passion Smoothies

How to Make Papaya Passion Smoothies Recipe - preparation 10 minutes

Serves 1

Ingredients:
½ medium papaya, peeled, seeded and chopped
juice of ½ lime
2 passion fruit

Method:
1 Blitz the papaya, lime juice and passion fruit seeds and pulp in a blender until smooth, then pour into a glass.

Summer Crush

How to Make Summer Crush Recipe - preparation 5 minutes plus freezing

Serves 1

Ingredients:
175g/6oz/1½ cups strawberries, hulled
150ml/¼ pint/scant ⅔ cup pressed apple juice

Method:
1 Put the strawberries on a tray and freeze for 40 minutes or until firm. Blitz in a blender with the juice until slushy. Pour into a glass.

Peach Crush

How to Make Peach Crush Recipe - preparation 10 minutes

Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 ripe peaches, stoned and chopped
250g/9oz pineapple, peeled and chopped
1 small, ripe banana, peeled

Method:
1 Put all the fruit in a blender and blitz until thick and smooth. Pour into two glasses.

Berry Orange

How to Make Berry Orange Recipe - preparation 10 minutes

Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 oranges, peeled
50g/2oz/½ cup cranberries
50g/2oz/½ cup raspberries
1 tsp runny honey (optional)

Method:
1 Chop the orange flesh and blitz in a blender with the cranberries and raspberries until smooth. Sweeten to taste with honey and pour into two glasses.

Coriander Naan Breads

How to Make Coriander Naan Breads Recipe - preparation 30 minutes plus rising cooking time 8–10 minutes

Makes 8

Ingredients:
500g/1lb 2oz/4 cups strong white bread flour plus extra to dust
a handful of fresh coriander (cilantro), roughly chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp caster (superfine) sugar
2 tsp easy-blend dried (active dry) yeast
50g/2oz/4 tbsp butter or ghee, melted
4 tbsp low-fat natural yogurt
250ml/8fl oz/1 cup warm water
ground black pepper

Method:
1 Put the flour, coriander and cumin in a large bowl. Season with pepper and stir in the sugar, yeast and salt.

2 Add the melted butter or ghee and the yogurt, then gradually mix in enough warm water to form a soft dough.

3 Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in the bowl, cover loosely with oiled clingfilm (plastic wrap) and leave in a warm place for 45–60 minutes until doubled in size.

4 Knock the dough back with your fist, then knead well. Cut into eight pieces, then roll out each piece to a rough oval. Place on two baking sheets, cover loosely and leave to rise for 10–15 minutes until puffy.

5 Cook under a hot grill (broiler) or on a hot, ungreased griddle pan for 3–5 minutes on each side until puffed and golden brown. Serve or freeze.

Farmhouse Bread

How to Make Farmhouse Bread Recipe - preparation 25 minutes plus rising cooking time 25–30 minutes

Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients:
sunflower oil to grease
1kg/2¼lb/8 cups strong white bread flour plus extra to dust
50g/2oz/4 tbsp butter, cubed
2 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar
2 tsp salt
2½ tsp easy-blend dried yeast
600ml/1 pint/2½ cups warm water

Method:
1 Oil two 900g/2lb loaf tins. Put the flour in a bowl and rub in the butter until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar, salt and yeast, then mix in the water to make a soft dough.

2 Knead on a floured surface for 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Return the dough to the bowl, cover loosely and leave in a warm place to rise for 45–60 minutes.

3 Knock the dough back with your fist, then knead again. Cut into two and shape into loaves. Press into the prepared tins and cover loosely with oiled clingfilm (plastic wrap). Leave to rise for 30–40 minutes until just above the top of the tin.

4 Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas 7. Dust the loaves with flour and cook in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when tapped. Turn out on to a wire rack to cool. Freeze when cold.

Fudge Brownies

How to Make Fudge Brownies Recipe - preparation 25 minutes cooking time 25–30 minutes plus cooling

Makes 24

Ingredients:
100g/3½oz/¾ cup blanched hazelnuts
½ tsp coarse salt
250g/9oz dark (semi-sweet) chocolate, broken into pieces
175g/6oz/¾ cup butter
3 medium eggs, beaten
225g/8oz/1 cup light brown sugar
75g/3oz/¾ cup self-raising (self-rising) flour
1 tsp baking powder
100g/3½oz cream fudge, roughly chopped

Method:
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Line a 20 x 30cm/8 x 12in roasting pan with parchment paper.

2 Dry-roast the hazelnuts and salt in a small frying pan over a low heat until the nuts are golden. Chop roughly.

3 Melt the chocolate and butter in a large bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water for 5 minutes.

4 Whisk the eggs and sugar together until light and frothy, then gradually whisk in the melted chocolate mixture. Sift the flour and baking powder over the top and gently fold in with half the nuts. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the remaining nuts and salt.

5 Bake in the oven for 25–30 minutes until well risen, the top has begun to crack and the centre is still slightly soft.

6 Sprinkle the fudge over the top, then put back in the oven for 2 minutes to soften. Leave the brownies to cool in the pan. When cool, lift out and peel away the paper.

7 Freeze or cut into small squares and serve.

Triple Choc Cookies

How to Make Triple Choc Cookies Recipe - preparation 20 minutes plus chilling cooking time 12–15 minutes plus cooling

Makes 20

Ingredients:
250g/9oz/2½ cups plain (all-purpose) flour
125g/4oz/½ cup caster (superfine) sugar
175g/6oz/¾ cup butter, cubed
1 tsp vanilla extract
50g/2oz dark (semi-sweet)chocolate, roughly chopped
50g/2oz milk chocolate, roughly chopped
50g/2oz white chocolate, roughly chopped

Method:
1 Put the flour and sugar in a bowl, add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

2 Stir in the vanilla and chocolates, mixing until the crumbs and chocolate stick together. Squeeze gently to make a ball.

3 Knead the dough lightly until smooth, then place on a piece of parchment paper and roll into a cylinder, 25cm/10in long and 5cm/2in diameter. Wrap the parchment around the dough and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

4 Unwrap and cut into 20 slices, about 1cm/½in thick.

5 Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Arrange the slices on a non-stick baking sheet and bake in the oven for 12–15 minutes. Cool and serve or freeze.

Blueberry Choc Muffins

How to Make Blueberry Choc Muffins Recipe - preparation 15 minutes cooking time 15–20 minutes

Makes 12

Ingredients:
125ml/4fl oz/½ cup sunflower oil
150g/5oz/scant ⅔ cup natural yogurt
2 medium eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
250g/9oz/2½ cups self-raising (self-rising) flour
1 tsp baking powder
125g/4oz/½ cup caster (superfine) sugar
125g/4oz/1 cup blueberries
125g/4oz white chocolate, roughly chopped

Method:
1 Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5. Put twelve paper muffin cases into a 12-hole muffin pan.

2 With a fork, mix the oil, yogurt, eggs and vanilla extract in a bowl. Put the flour, baking powder and sugar in a large bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and fork together until just mixed – the briefer the mixing the lighter the muffins will be.

3 Add the blueberries and chocolate and stir briefly, then spoon the mixture into the paper cases.

4 Bake in the oven for 15–20 minutes until well risen and golden brown. Cool and freeze, or serve warm.