Aubergine curry

Curry seems to be going down well at the moment - you ate this with a little rice and some cumin potatoes, and liked all three.

Makes enough for 4, as one of a couple of main course dishes. It'd also be nice with some chickpeas thrown in.

You'll need:

1 onion, finely sliced
1 medium aubergine, cut into chunks
1 green pepper, cut into large(ish) pieces
whatever veg you have left in the fridge that you need to use up (we had a small piece of butternut squash that got chucked in)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon medium curry powder
1 teaspoon brown sugar
(you could also add some chilli powder, if you're making this for non-small people, or indeed for small people who like spice)
sunflower oil
1 tin of chopped tomatoes

Fry the onion in a little sunflower oil until it turns translucent. Add the pepper and aubergine chunks, and fry until they have softened (you may need to add some more oil - the aubergine will absorb a lot). Chuck in all the spices, and fry for a couple of minutes.

Add the chopped butternut squash (or whatever other veg you want to use up), and the tin of chopped tomatoes. Rinse the tin out with some water, and add this in too. Bring everything to the boil, and then simmer for 20-30 minutes, or as long as you've got.

Pork and olive stew

This is perfect with some basmati rice, and some greens on the side. It vanished fairly quickly, but that’s because you have an ongoing love affair with olives – and have had since you were about six months old.

You’ll need:

400g pork shoulder (or something that will do well when stewed for a very long time), cut into chunks
half a jar of black olives
a tin of chopped tomatoes
1 onion, finely sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
a splosh of olive oil
1 tsp paprika
thyme, black pepper, a little salt

First of all, stick the oven on low – maybe 160 degrees C, and fish out a good, ovenproof casserole dish. We’re still using the old one your Dad went to college with.

Brown the pieces of pork in a little olive oil in a frying pan, and then tip into your casserole dish (I used some of the oil the olives were packed in). Fry the onions in the same pan until they turn translucent, and then add the red pepper. Cook for another couple of minutes until it too has softened. Chuck in the tin of chopped tomatoes, a good sprinkling of thyme, the paprika and lots of black pepper – and then bring to the boil. Tip this into the casserole dish with the pork.

Put the lid on (or cover with foil), and then sling the casserole dish in the oven for a couple of hours. Keep an eye on it – you may want to add a little more water near the end to stop it sticking. It’s ready when the pork falls apart – but it’ll keep in the oven for as long as you need it to (as long as you add enough water).

Lamb and olive stew

It was a proper autumn day today - warmish, but drizzly and grey. There were soggy leaves everywhere on the way back from nursery - which weren't much fun to swish through. So we left the lamb and olive stew to cook in the oven, and went for a swim.

You'll need:

a few lamb pieces, preferably on the bone (we had about 400g of large bits of lamb in some very odd cuts)
one onion, sliced
2 green peppers, sliced
1/2 a jar of green olives
a tin of tomatoes
dried thyme, oregano and black pepper

Stick the oven on at about 160 degrees C.

Brown the pieces of lamb in a large ovenproof saucepan or casserole dish - you may need to add a little olive oil so it doesn't stick. Chuck in the onion and green peppers, and cook for a couple of minutes.

Tip in the green olives, tomatoes, and some water (about a can-ful). Season liberally with thyme, oregano and black pepper. You probably won't need much salt, especially if your olives were packed in brine.

Stick the lid on, and cook in the oven for 2-3 hours, until the meat is falling off the bone, and the tomatoes have cooked down to a beautiful red sludge. Check on it every now and again- you may have to add a little more water half an hour before the end.

We ate this with couscous and a spinach salad.

Chicken, coconut and potato curry

This one was a bit of a 'let's see what there is in the fridge and chuck it in' curry. Makes enough for 4.

You'll need:

1 large chicken breast (or whatever cooked chicken you've got hanging about), sliced
4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 yellow pepper, sliced
a handful of spinach
4 or 5 mushrooms, sliced
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
about half a block of creamed coconut, dissolved in about a tin of hot water
2 teaspoons dried ginger (fresh would be even better)
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder

Chuck the onions and garlic in a frying pan with a little oil, and fry until translucent. Add all the spices, and fry for another couple of minutes. Add the chicken, and stir, coating it in the spices. Cook for 4-5 minutes, and then throw in the pepper/mushrooms/spinach/whatever, and stir round until they're soft.

Add the tin of tomatoes, and stir in the coconut/water. Tip in the potatoes, and bring everything to the boil. Leave to simmer for as long as it takes the potato to cook - the longer the better (45 minutes or so), though you may have to add a little extra water if it starts to stick to the bottom of the pan.

Eat with lots of basmati rice, and a scattering of cashew nuts on top.

Ratatouille

We returned home to be greeted by the largest courgette ever on the allotment. (Seriously, it was about a foot long). This is probably not the world's most authentic recipe for ratatouille, but it did have the benefit of using up about a third of the monster...

Makes lots and lots. We ate this with meatballs and rice, and I'll probably also puree some of the leftovers to make a pizza topping.

You'll need:

1 medium aubergine, cubed
1 large onion, finely sliced
a couple of cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 monster courgette, cubed
1 red or yellow pepper, sliced
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tin of tomato puree
lots of black pepper and Mediterranean herbs
2 bay leaves

Sling the onion and garlic into a frying pan, and add a large slosh of olive oil. Fry until they've turned translucent. Add the aubergine, and fry until it's softened. It absorbs a lot of olive oil, so you may need to add another large dollop.

Throw in the courgette and pepper, and fry for a couple of minutes until they too have softened. Tip in a tin of chopped tomatoes, another tin full of water, and the tomato puree. Season with a good sprinkling of dried Mediterranean herbs (think oregano, thyme etc), and a couple of bay leaves. Bring the sauce to the boil, then leave to simmer for a good 30-40 minutes - the longer the better.

Indonesian noodle salad

This one surprised your Dad by being so good - he's not a natural vegetarian. You liked the peanuts best, but did enjoy dipping the noodles in the sauce.

It's adapted from a recipe I found in Olive magazine - their's has raw veg instead.

Makes enough for three. You'll need:

1 egg per person (hardboiled, and halved)
medium egg noodles
1 yellow pepper, sliced
2 green peppers, sliced
1 carrot, peeled and finely sliced into batons
1 onion, finely sliced
roasted peanuts - a scattering per person
1 lime, halved
ketjap manis - a tablespoon per person
a little olive or sunflower oil

Sling the onions in a pan with a little olive or sunflower oil, and cook until they've softened. Add the pepper and carrot, and fry for another 5 minutes or so, until they are tender.

Cook the noodles in boiling water for 3-4 minutes until they are tender. Drain, and add to the vegetables in the pan. Mix everything together, and dish out into three bowls.

To each bowl of noodles add an egg and a scattering of roasted peanuts. Drizzle with a little ketjap manis, and squeeze a little lime juice on top.

Pepper, courgette and asparagus couscous

This is a very green salad, that goes well with chicken. It's probably a complete waste of asparagus, but I had a couple of stalks leftover from something I'd made the other day, so I chucked it in.

This makes enough for 4 adults, if you're using it as a side-dish. You'll need:

1 green pepper, diced
1 medium courgette, chopped into chunks
a couple of spring onions, sliced
4 or 5 stalks of asparagus, sliced
olive oil
butter
black pepper
100g couscous
a handful of raisins
a few flaked almonds

Fry the pepper and spring onions in a good slug of olive oil for 3 or 4 minutes, until they've softened. Add the courgette, and cook for another 3-4 minutes, and finally the asparagus (that'll only need a couple of minutes).

In the meantime, melt a knob of butter in a large pan. Add the couscous, and stir round for a minute or two on a low heat. Pour in some hot water (you need the couscous to be covered by about a centimetre), and allow it to become absorbed (this might take a couple of minutes). Test the couscous - if it's really hard still, add a little more water, and give it another minute. Turn the heat off and cover the pan with a plate so the steam can't escape. Leave for 4-5 minutes.

Fluff up the couscous with a fork, and tip into the pepper/courgette/asparagus mixture. Mix everything carefully together, and season with lots of black pepper. Scatter the raisins and flaked almonds on the top.

You may find you need a little olive oil drizzled on top when you serve it (or maybe a squeeze of lemon juice). Some chopped flatleaf parsley would also be nice.

Picadillo

It was beautifully sunny this afternoon, so we sat on the balcony and looked at the new bulbs, which are just poking their heads out from the soil. Half an hour later it snowed. Hmm.

Tea was therefore something wintry and warming - although yours was minus the chilli.

You'll need:

500g minced pork or beef
a large onion, finely diced
a couple of peppers, finely diced
a large potato, cubed
2 tablespoons tomato puree
a tin of tomatoes
a clove of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
a little sugar or honey
1/4 pint stock
a teaspoon of dried chillies

Fry the mince until it's browned, and then add the onions and garlic. Cook until they've softened, and then add the peppers and diced potato. Cook for another 5 minutes.

Chuck in the tomato puree, tomatoes and the herbs/spices (parsley, cumin, oregano), as well as the chillies. Add half a teaspoon of sugar or honey, and mix everything together well. Add enough stock so that the potatoes and meat are completely covered.

Bring to the boil, and leave to cook for half an hour or so. You'll probably need to add a little extra stock from time to time, to stop it sticking. Once the potato is tender, it's ready to eat.

We had ours with some couscous, but really it's a Latin American dish and deserves some rice on the side, or to be used in a burrito, taco or empanada.

Prawn, pepper and tomato pasta

We spent this morning filming for your Dad's promo video, in a freezing cold alley. You were surprisingly amenable...

Tea was unsurprisingly swift.

You'll need:

a tin of tomatoes
a large onion, finely chopped
a red pepper, diced
a green pepper, diced
a slug of balsamic vinegar
lots of black pepper, and dried oregano
half a bag of frozen prawns, defrosted (the larger the better - ours were definitely on the shrimp side)
pasta (bows are good)
capers (to garnish)

Gently fry the onion in a little olive oil, until it softens and goes translucent. Add the peppers, and cook until they've softened too. Chuck in the tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, oregano and black pepper, bring to the boil, and simmer (you'll need to leave it for a good 23-30 minutes if you want a nice tomato-y taste).

Stick your pasta on to cook (at the regulation three handfuls per person). After a couple of minutes, slide the prawns into the tomato sauce, and let them cook gently for 5 minutes or so, until they're hot.

Drain your pasta, and tip into the sauce pan. Swish it all about until all the pasta's coated with the sauce, and drop a few capers on top. Ladle out into some bowls, and away you go. A little grated cheese/mature cheddar/parmesan on top would be a bonus.

Chicken, pepper and apricot tagine

This one was also made in the slow cooker, due to the fact that the oven is kaput, and keeps tripping the electric...

You'll need:

a couple of large pieces of chicken (I used a leg/thigh combo)
a handful of apricots, chopped
an onion, finely chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped into smallish pieces
1 orange pepper (ditto)
chicken stock - enough to cover the chicken and vegetables
a heaped teaspoon each of cinnamon, cumin and turmeric
lots of black pepper and a little salt

Brown the chicken pieces, and place in the stockpot/tagine. Chuck in the apricots, onion, and peppers. Heat up your chicken stock, and add the spices to it - then carefully cover the vegetables and chicken with liquid. Don't use too much (whether you're doing this in a tagine or in a slow cooker), or you'll end up with spiced chicken soup.

If you're slow cooking, you'll need to stick it on medium for a good 6-8 hours. In the oven, a couple of hours in a tagine should sort it out in about 1.5, if you stick the oven on at about 160-170 degrees C.

Serve with lots of fluffy couscous.

Salmon, tomato and pepper pasta

We ended up at the Tyneside Cinema today, watching the free news reel screening. I'd forgotten how magical it is when the curtain rises up to reveal the screen - you were entranced.

Tea was a bit of a leftover-fest. I used the three or four spoonfuls left of yesterday's peppers in a smoked paprika and tomato sauce and added a little more water and tomato puree to make enough for the two of us.

I then poached a little piece of salmon (Morrisons had some fantastic salmon trimmings last time we were there) in a little hot water for 4 or 5 minutes (you need just enough water to cover the fish). I flaked the fish, checked obsessively for bones, and added it to the tomato sauce, along with a little extra black pepper.

We ate our fishy pasta covered in grated cheese. Your tiny grater has been very popular.

Peppers in a smoked paprika and tomato sauce

We spent this afternoon cruising up and down on your bicycle, rolling out playdoh, and baking scones. It was a bit action-packed...

We ate the peppers with yesterday's leftover pilau rice (your Dad always makes enough to feed a small army), and some chicken legs, roasted in the oven with lots of salt and pepper.

You'll need:

a couple of peppers, sliced (we had red and yellow today, your favourites)
a clove of garlic, finely chopped
a large-ish onion, or 2 small ones, sliced
a tin of chopped tomatoes
a squirt of tomato puree (depending on how watery a tin of tomatoes you've got - top tip, Lidl's are fairly awful)
half a teaspoon of smoked paprika
a teaspoon of thyme
a teaspoon of runny honey
lots of black pepper and a little salt

Fry the onions and garlic in a tablespoon or so of olive oil for 5 minutes. Add the peppers, and fry until they, and the onions, are soft. The more olive oil you use, the glossier and richer the sauce will taste.

Bung in the herbs and all the tomato-type products. Bring to the boil, and then leave to simmer for 15 minutes or so. Have a taste and see what you think - add some salt, pepper, and a teaspoon of honey if the paprika is a little harsh. Leave simmering for another 20-30 minutes - while whatever you've got to eat with it is cooked.

Pepper and chickpea couscous

It was a leftovers kind of night - there was some pastry left from yesterday's quiches, and tomato sauce from the night before's sausage, roasted vegetables and couscous. Magically, these became pizza, to be eaten with salad and some chickpea couscous.

You'll need

5 handfuls of dried couscous
a little butter
half a large red pepper, chopped
an onion, finely chopped
a clove of garlic, finely chopped
salt and pepper
a can of chickpeas

Stick a little knob of butter in a non-stick pan, and let it melt. Add the couscous, and swirl it about in the butter for a couple of minutes. (If you wanted a spiced couscous, you could add a teaspoon of ras al hanout at this point). Add enough water to cover the top of the couscous by about half a centimetre, and leave on a low heat for a couple of minutes until it's been absorbed. Have a try of the couscous - if it's still too gritty and hard, give it a stir, add a little more water, and take off the heat. When you come back to it in a couple of minutes, it should be done, and you should be able to fluff it up with a fork.

Fry the onion and garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil until softened. Add the pepper, and cook until everything is soft. Drain the chickpeas and add to the mixture. Take off the heat, and add in the cooked couscous. Chuck a bit of salt and pepper over the top, and you're good to go. If you've got some flat leaf parsley hanging around that looks quite nice finely chopped and scattered on top.

Lamb with pepper and onion pilaf

I thought this would be enough for three people, but in the end it could have fed nearer six.

You'll need:

leg of lamb (ours was butterflied, which made things a lot easier - it was about 600g)
a lemon
some olive oil
lots of black pepper

Slice up the lemon into chunks, and then sit the lamb on top. Rub a bit of olive oil into the skin, and then season with black pepper. You could bash some mint into the olive oil, and maybe add some toasted cumin seeds if you're in a Moroccan frame of mind (slash the skin, and then push the smashed up mint/oil into the slits). It depends really on whether you intend to eat it all that day or not, and if not, what you're going to reuse the lamb in - I'm not sure a Middle Eastern feel would really suit a Lancashire hotpot...

Stick in the oven on 200 degrees C for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on how pink you like your lamb. Give it a prod after 40 minutes or so, and check how it's doing.

In the meantime, you need to make a pepper and onion pilaf. For that, you'll need:

rice - about a mugful is more than enough for three
an onion, chopped up small
a pepper (red or green) chopped up small
slivers of almonds to scatter on top
a little flat leaf parsley

Fry the onion in some olive oil until its translucent. Add the pepper, and cook until its softened. Stick the rice in a pan, and add double the amount of water - cook until it's soft, but not sticky. Mix the onion/pepper into the rice, and serve with some almonds/flat leaf parsley scattered on top.