Treacle tart

I wanted to find the original recipe that Uncle Dom used to make - but Grandma thought she'd thrown out the book with it in. Nigel Slater's recipe was a good substitute (although I've tweaked it slightly to make it more lemony).

Makes enough for 6-8. You'll need:

1 lemon
200g fresh white breadcrumbs
1 small tin (454g) golden syrup (I know - the whole tin!)
180g self-raising flour
90g butter, cut into small cubes
a little cold water

Stick the oven on at about 180 degrees C, and dig out a pie/flan dish (about 20 cm across) - you'll need to grease it, or line with greaseproof paper.

In a food processor, whizz together the flour and butter, until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add a little cold water (2-3 tablespoons), and let it form small pellets in the processor. Tip into a large bowl, and bring together gently into one large blob. Cover with cling film, and leave in the fridge for 10 minutes.

Once the pastry's rested, roll it out, and line your flan dish. Prick with a fork, then stick a sheet of greaseproof paper on top, and use some baking beans (ceramic or just dried beans) to weight it down. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the pastry is golden.

In the meantime, mix together the breadcrumbs and golden syrup. Zest and juice the lemon, and sling that in there too. Tip this mixture into the pastry case, and then bake in the oven for 30 minutes or so.

Serve with ice cream. In very small portions.

Moules mariniere

Last time we were in France with Grandma and Grandad you decided you really liked these - especially the way you can use a mussel shell as a pincer to grab the mussel bodies out of their shells. Grandma was a little surprised at how quickly her pile of mussels disappeared...

We decided to have a bistro meal for tea - a green salad with dressing, followed by the moules (with a crusty baguette), and then a silly ice cream/fruit/chocolate sauce/hundreds and thousands pudding.

You'll need:

a net of fresh mussels - about a kilogram
about half a bottle of nice white wine (ours was Italian)
a couple of good knobs of butter
a medium onion, finely chopped
a good bunch of fresh parsley, chopped

First of all, you'll need to clean the mussels, and check for any that are dead - if they're open, and their shells don't close when you tap them, chuck them out. Take the beards off the others (this really tickled you), and give them a good scrub.

Sling the onion in a large saucepan, and fry gently in a little butter for 5 minutes or so, until it goes soft. Add half a bottle or so of white wine, and then bring to the boil. Chuck in the mussels, and put a lid on tight. You'll need to steam them for 5 minutes or so - a couple of minutes before the end, throw in another good knob of butter, and the parsley, give it a good stir, and stick the lid back on.

You'll know when they're ready - the shells are open, and the mussels themselves are hot, but not rubbery in texture.

Decant into some bowls, and spoon the liquid over the top. Remember to chuck out any mussels that haven't opened...

Celeriac soup

This received an enthusiastic welcome - you said it was even better than lentil and carrot, your current favourite. It's dead easy to make, once you've got past the peeling of the celeriac (always a bit of a pain).

Makes enough for 3. You'll need:

1 medium-sized onion, finely chopped
vegetable or chicken stock
1 medium celeriac, peeled and chopped into chunks
salt and black pepper
a drizzle of olive oil

First of all, fry the onion in a little olive oil until it turns translucent. Add the celeriac, and then the stock (I must have put in a pint or so - you need enough to cover all the celeriac, and then it really depends how thick you like your soup after that).

Bring to the boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the celeriac is tender. Blitz everything with a handblender (or shove in the food processor) - you should get a beautifully smooth, silky soup. Add salt and pepper to taste, and dilute with water/milk/cream if it's too thick.

Eat with lots of crusty bread. Your dad decided he quite liked his with a drizzle of olive oil on top.

Fish, spinach and rice parcel

This is a bit like the koulibiac recipe I've done before - except with a bit more veg. The parcel sounds rather sinister, but is actually made with puff pastry. Hurrah!

You'll need:

trout - a couple of fillets
200g (ish) cooked rice
1/3 bag of fresh spinach, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 lemon, zested
salt and black pepper
250g block puff pastry

Stick the oven on at about 200 degrees C, and get out a large baking tray.

First of all, fry your onion in a little olive oil until it turns translucent. Chuck into a large bowl, and mix in the cooked rice. Add the spinach, and mix until everything has turned green.

Cover the trout with cold water, and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes or so until the fish is poached, and has turned pink throughout. Remove from the water, flake and add to the spinach/rice mix. Season everything with the lemon zest, and a good screw of salt and black pepper.

Roll out your puff pastry into a long rectangle, and then put carefully on your lined/greased oven tray. Place the fish/rice/spinach mix in a line down the middle of the pastry. It'll be quite a big, fat line - carefully ease the pastry up on both sides, and pinch together at the top (if it doesn't stick, use a little water to wet it).

Sling the whole parcel/roll into the oven, and bake for 25-30 minutes. It's really nice with a green salad, and a wedge or two of lemon.

Soda bread

This is really nice just out of the oven - and goes especially well with soup on a snowy day after lots of sledging.

You'll need:

450g plain flour (not strong)
1 teaspoon bicarb of soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
350ml buttermilk (I used full cream milk, with a squeeze of lemon)

Stick the oven on at about 220 degrees C.

Sling the flour/salt/sugar/soda in a large bowl and mix. Make a well in the middle, and pour in the buttermilk. Bring the dough together (it should be soft, but not too sticky), and tip out onto a floured worktop. Don't overmix it or knead it - just shape it gently into a round, about 4cm deep. Cut a cross in the top to let out the fairies (you loved this bit), and place on a baking tray.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, then turn the heat down to 200 degrees C, and bake for another 20-30 minutes. It's ready when it's turned golden brown - to check, tap the base, and if it sounds hollow, you're good to go.

Cool slightly, then slice and slather in butter.

Egg and bacon pie

Perfect snow food.

You'll need:

6 rashers of bacon (we like streaky)
4 eggs
1 onion, finely chopped
140ml milk
salt and pepper

shortcrust pastry

Stick the oven on at about 200 degrees C, and fish out a deep pie tin/dish, about 18cm across.

Hardboil 3 of your 4 eggs - sling them in a pan with some cold water, bring it to the boil and then simmer the eggs for 7-8 minutes. Run under some cold water, then peel and chop.

Fry/grill the bacon rashers until they are crispy. Take them out of the pan, and place on some kitchen roll, to absorb any grease. Chop the rashers into small pieces.

You could use a splash of olive oil to fry the onion, or you could just throw caution to the wind and chuck it into the remaining bacon fat, and frying until translucent.

Grease your pie dish, and line with half the pastry. Chuck in the chopped egg and bacon pieces, together with the onion. Beat egg 4 with the milk, and pour over the lot.

Using the second half of the pastry, roll out a lid, and place on top (you might need to dampen the edges a little, to make them seal). Make a small hole in the centre of the pie to let the steam out, then bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Turn the heat down to 180 degrees C, and give it another 25-30 minutes, until the top has turned golden brown.

Eat hot with lots of steamed greens, or cold with a green salad.