Parsnip and apple soup with vegetable bread

Bread

300g flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
75g grated carrot and 75g grated courgette
6 chopped spring onions
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 large egg
300ml low fat sour cream
skimmed milk
100g melted lowfat butter.

Preheat oven to 200c gas 6.
Stir the flour, baking powder,carrots, courgette, spring onions and nutmeg together.

Wisk together the sour cream, egg and butter, then mix this into the dry mix. Add a little milk if needed.

Pour into a tin and bake for 1 hour.

Soup

Oil
1 onion
1kg parsnips chopped
250g Potatoes chopped
4 apples chopped
1tsp rosemary
2 litres veg stock
skimmed milk

Heat the oil and cook the onions untill soft. Add everything else and boil until the veg is cooked. When cook puree. Reheat and stir in the milk if liked.

Eat hot with the bread

Christmas cookies

Makes 30

11oz flour

1 tablespoon ground almonds

4oz butter

4oz dark muscovado

2 eggs

4 teaspoons runny honey

preheat the oven to gas 3 170c 324f

Mix together the flour, sugar, nuts and butter, then beat the eggs and honey together, add this to the mix to make a dough

roll out and cut into shapes, place on a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes

cool and decorate.

Vegetable Strudel

Will serve 4, I have given per person weights so that you can increase the amounts if you are serving more people. I found this recipe in an old magazine, and have changed it a bit to make it lower in fat and salt.

3 sheets of filo pastry per person
4oz fat reduced Mozzarella cubed
1 tablespoon hard Italian cheese per person grated
4oz Pine nuts
Spray oil

1 Courgette chopped
1 small Aubergine chopped
3 large tomatoes chopped
1 small red and yellow pepper deseeded and chopped
1 onion chopped
Garlic as much as you like chopped
½ teaspoon ground coriander
Black pepper.

1 Place the courgette and aubergine in a colander and mix with a little salt, place a weight on top so that all the bitter juices come out. (about an hour) rinse in running water

2 Spray two baking sheets or tins with oil and place the onion, peppers and tomatoes in one pan and sprinkle over the coriander. In the other tin place the courgette, aubergine and garlic and season well with the black pepper. Roast until just cooked, and leave to cool.

3. When the veg have cooled mix them together.

4 Lay a sheet of filo on a board and spray with oil, place another sheet of pastey on top, do this until ypu have three sheets of pastry.

5 Sprinkle over the nuts, then the vegetables, mozzarella and hard cheese.

6 Roll and place in tin seam side down, bake for 40 minutes on gas 4, 350f 180c

smoothies

easy

Take 7oz of cooked beetroot (not picked) and ¼ pt of tomato juice and the juice of one lime

Place in a blender and whiz like mad.

Good for headaches, or so I am told.

Take 11oz berries fresh or frozen
11fl oz apple juice
teaspoon honey

blend

Good for after a binge

1/4 melon
2 kiwis
teaspoon grated ginger

blend

good for fighting a cold

A nice drink

take A pineapple fresh or tinned
Two passion fruit
One mango

Blend

Beer stuffing

easy

You will need…

Stout
Oil
500g pork sausages skin removed
Peeled chestnuts
1 egg beaten
Bacon
Chopped dates
1 onion chopped
1-2 tbsp sage
1 apple grated
Breadcrumbs

Soak the dates in a couple of tablespoons of stout, oh dear you will have to drink the rest.

Cook the onion until soft then add the sage, drain the dates, (keep the juices). Add the dates to the onions and leave to cool.

Chop some of the chestnuts and add to the onion along with the sausage meat, apple and egg, mix and add enough breadcrumbs to bind it all together.

Roll into balls and add one chestnut and wrap in bacon, place in tin and pour over the reserved juices.

Cook for 25 minutes at 180oc or gas 4.

If you make them meat ball size they are filling enough to serve with veg as a meal.