Ingredients:

1 large Avocado
1 bell pepper sliced
2 slices of bacon
½ round cooked feta
1 tsp lemon juice
½ cup coriander
Salt and pepper
2 slices Rye Bread

Method:

1. Fry or grill the bacon and then cut it into small pieces.
2. Scrape out the Avo from its skin, place in a bowl and mix with a fork until smooth.
3. Add the lemon juice and a little salt and pepper.
4. Smear the Avo mix onto the Rye Bread (which you can toast or use fresh)
5. Sprinkle the bacon, feta and bell pepper over the Avo
6. Top with the coriander

Ingredients:

6 Lamb Chops
Mint leaves for garnishing

Pesto:

1/3 cup fresh mint, chopped
1/3 cup fresh coriander, chopped
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Salt and pepper
½ tablespoon lemon juice

Method:

1. In a pestle and mortar, add the ingredients for the pesto and mix well.
2. Spread a little pesto over the chops and then place in the fridge for 30 minutes
3. Rub salt along the fatty side of the chops so they go crispy.
4. Grill for 20-25 minutes (or longer if you want them crispier)

Ingredients – Salad:

1 can lentils, rinsed
1 yellow pepper, sliced into cubes
1 green pepper, sliced into cubes
1 tomato, sliced into cubes
1 red onion, sliced into cubes
2 rounds of feta, grated
½ cup chopped coriander

Ingredients – Dressing:

½ cup olive oil
½ cup apple cider vinegar
2 tsp mixed herbs

Method:

1. Chop all salad ingredients and combine
2. For the dressing, combine ingredients together and pour over salad before serving.

Ingredients:

8 rashers bacon
2 rounds of camembert, sliced (+- 200g)
1 red onion, sliced
16 cherry tomatoes, halved
8 spring onions, finely chopped (white part only)
4 cups baby spinach, sliced
2 tbsp cooking oil

Dressing

4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
1tsp mixed herbs

Optional:

Thinly sliced, fried sweet potato goes extremely well with this dish. Add it to the dish or use it as a substitute for vegetarians.

Method:

1. Fry the onion in a little oil and then set aside
2. Fry the bacon in a little oil and once cooled, cut into strips
3. Now combine all the ingredients together and pour the dressing over, tossing well to mix it through.

Ingredients:

8-9 medium potatoes
100g cheddar cheese, grated
200ml cream
½ onion, finely sliced
Salt and Pepper

Method:

1. Peel the potatoes and slice into thin discs
2. In a rectangular, oven-proof dish (about the size of an A4 piece of paper), place a layer of potato slices and then a few slices of onion on top. Add salt and pepper.
3. Create as many layers as possible.
4. Pour the cream over the potatoes.
5. Cook at 180°C for 1 ½ – 2 hours
6. Just before serving, sprinkle the cheese over and grill until golden brown.

Ingredients:

2 eggs
2 slices of ham
1 tsp chopped parsley
Salt
Pepper
2 tbsp cream

Method:

1. Grease 2 patty pans (cupcake baking trays) or however many you wish to use.
2. Slice the ham and cover the bottom and sides of the each tin with ham
3. Crack an egg into each one and cover with a tbsp of cream
4. Grind salt and black pepper over and ½ tsp parsley each.
5. Bake at 180°C for 18-20 minutes.

Mary’s easy-to-follow instructions and handy tips make it ideal for kitchen novices and more experienced cooks alike, and full-colour photographs and beautiful illustrations will guide you smoothly to baking success. Drawing on her years of experience to create recipes for cakes, breads and desserts, Mary Berry’s Baking Bible will prove to be a timeless classic.

BUY THIS BOOK

Here’s a few ideas for you:

Eggnog Cocktail

30 ml Baileys
30 ml Kahlua
30 ml Vodka
1 glass Eggnog

Swirl Irish Cream, Kahlua and vodka gently in a cocktail shaker with ice to chill. Strain into glass. Swiftly fill glass with cold Eggnog to mix.

Black Santa

22.5 ml Coffee Liqueur
7.5 ml Peppermint Schnapps
15 ml Vodka

Pour the vodka and coffee liqueur into an old-fashioned glass half-filled with ice cubes. Add the peppermint schnapps and serve.

Christmas Cranberry Fruit Punch

45 ml Rum
15 ml Triple Sec
90 ml Cranberry Juice
30 ml Raspberry Juice

Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into glass.

Gingerbread Man

1 part Baileys
1 part Goldschläger (Cinnamon Schnapps)
1 part Butterscotch Schnapps
1 part Vodka

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into shot glasses.

Mistletoe Martini

1 shot Melon Liqueur
1 shot Coconut Rum
1 shot Pineapple Juice
1 shot Sour Mix

Chill cocktail glass. In a mixing glass, pour all ingredients together.

Rudolph’s Raspberry Love Potion

7.5 ml Dark Chocolate
7.5 ml White chocolate
15 ml Raspberry Liqueur
15 ml Vodka (Raspberry, if possible)
60 ml Cream

Drizzle chocolate along the sides of a large martini glass. Combine ingredients in a mixing tin with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into martini glass. Sprinkle chocolate shavings on top.

Snowflake

30ml Anisette
30 ml White Rum
30 ml Vermouth, extra dry

Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass.

…Pick your favourite, share with friends and enjoy!

Reference: Drinknation

- Elizabeth Berry -

Cinnamon is the name of a small evergreen tree belonging to the family Lauraceae, native to Sri Lanka, or the name of the spice obtained from the tree’s bark.

Cinnamon has been known from remote antiquity; the first mention of a particular spice in the Old Testament is of cinnamon – where Moses is commanded to use both sweet cinnamon and cassia in the holy anointing oil; in Proverbs, where the lover’s bed is perfumed with myrrh, aloe and cinnamon; and in Song of Solomon, a song describing the beauty of his beloved, cinnamon scents her garments like the smell of Lebanon. It was so highly prized among ancient nations that it was regarded as a gift fit for monarchs and even for a god.

Cinnamon is harvested by growing the tree for two years and then coppicing it. The next year, about a dozen shoots will form from the roots. These shoots are then stripped of their bark, which is left to dry. Only the thin (0.5 mm) inner bark is used; the outer woody portion is removed, leaving metre-long cinnamon strips that curl into quills (rolls) on drying; each dried quill comprises strips from numerous shoots packed together. These quills are then cut into 5–10 cm lengths for sale.

Cinnamon bark is widely used as a spice. It is principally employed in cookery as a condiment and flavouring material. It is also used in the preparation of chocolate – especially in Mexico, the main importer of true cinnamon. Cinnamon is also used in the preparation of some kinds of desserts, such as apple pie, donuts and cinnamon buns as well as spicy candies, tea, hot cocoa and liqueurs. In the US, cinnamon and sugar are often used to flavour cereals, bread-based dishes and fruits – especially apples. A cinnamon-sugar mixture is even sold separately for such purposes. Cinnamon can also be used in pickling.

Cinnamon is also very high in antioxidant activity, it’s believed that one teaspoon of cinnamon contains as many antioxidants as half a cup of blueberries.

Reference: wikipedia