How about some helpful photos!

 

The piping bag cut to size

“glue” your parchment to the tray

Hold the nozzle approximately

4cms above the tray and squeeze

the bag gently and then tilt the

bag away in an upward direction

so that you create a little kiss curl

Peel the kisses gently from the parchment

and you can see there's no trace of where

the meringue mixture has been

You can store them in strong food bags or

in tins lined with parchment with well

fitting lids. Alternatively you can buy

pretty glass jars with well fittings lids

like this one.

Store in a cool dry place – NOT in the

fridge and they'll keep for 2 weeks -

if they last that long!

If you'd like a plant based sticky toffee sauce ...

How about a meringue kiss?

Meringue kisses are another perfect addition to your strawberry fest! You can cheat and buy tubs of ready-made meringue kisses. The quality of the ready-made varies, some are better than others, some are powdery and overly sweet, some not so but disintegrate as soon as you look at them – a slight exaggeration may be! It has to be said that the shop bought version has a much longer life than home-made.

If you want to have a go and make your own here's my basic meringue recipe :

4 fl oz egg whites – from large eggs

225g/8oz caster sugar

As is always my mantra, get yourself sorted before you start whisking.

Your oven should be pre-heated 90fan/110c/Gas ¼ – very cool/very slow.

Cut your parchment to size for two baking sheets measuring 30x30 cms.

You'll need a large, squeaky clean mixing bowl, a plain nozzle and a piping bag. If you want to be sure you've got a squeaky clean bowl then wipe it with a drop of lemon juice and let is dry before use.

Whisk your eggs whites until they are stiff – the old fashioned way of testing whether they are stiff enough is to tip the bowl upside down over your head – if the mixture doesn't move it's ready! Add half the caster sugar and whisk again until stiff. Fold in the remaining sugar. Your mixture is now ready for the piping bag.

The great thing about disposable piping bags is that you can cut them to size. The end of the bag is snipped to fit your nozzle. Fold the bag over your hand – it enables you to have a steady hold on your bag. Spoon the mixture into the bag until two thirds full and gently ease the mixture towards the nozzle expelling any air. Twist the top of the bag and hold and then use your other hand to steady the nozzle end.

Place a tiny blob of mixture in each corner of your baking trays and “glue” your parchment to the tray.

Holding the nozzle approximately 4cms above the tray squeeze the bag gently and then tilt the bag away in an upward direction so that you create a little kiss curl – hence “kisses”!

Bake for 45 minutes.

Peel the kisses gently from the parchment.

This recipe will give you approximately 40 kisses. You can store them in strong ziploc type bags or in tins lined with parchment with well fitting lids. Store in a cool, dry place – NOT in the fridge and they'll keep for 2 weeks – if they last that long!

Here are some helpful photos ...

Speaking of ice cream …

… you don't need an ice cream maker – here's a no-churn recipe that I've used for years – imagine my surprise when it made an appearance in July's edition of Waitrose Food Simply Summer Chic!

Vanilla ice cream

Prep – 5 minutes

Total time – 5 minutes

plus freezing at least 6-8 hours

or until firm

Gives you 1.6 litres of ice cream is equal

to 18 scoops

1 x 397g tin sweetened condensed milk

1 x 600ml double cream

2tsp vanilla bean paste

1. Put the condensed milk, cream and vanilla into a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric hand whisk until the mixture is quite thick and stiff, like pipeable whipped cream.**

2. Spoon the mixture into a lidded freezer-proof container and free for at least 6-8 hours or until firm – it's a good idea to split the ice cream into say 4 to 6 scoop size of container.

** My variation – make your own Sticky Toffee Sauce or use a jar of shop bought (260g) and fold into the mixture to give a marbled effect.

My tip is take it out of the freezer and let it soften a little before you serve it - with or without the variation it's delicious.

Just in case you should decide to make your own, here's the recipe :

Sticky Toffee Sauce

4oz unsalted butter

8oz soft brown sugar

2oz chopped stem ginger (optional)

10 fl oz double cream (or whipping cream)

Heat together the butter, sugar and ginger. When dissolved add the cream.

Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring.

The stem ginger in this recipe is optional but it makes a good addition when serving the sauce as an accompaniment to nursery puddings and ice cream.

One batch of the recipe produces approximately 539g of the sauce, or, over two portions to fold through ice cream – so it would be a good idea to divide the sauce into two – freeze one portion for next time or for another use. A shop bought sauce is usually 260g per jar.

Another tip - I think you'll find that making your own sauce it is less sweet and really enhances the vanilla ice cream – definitely worth the effort!

Hmm – how about a meringue kiss?

You could try …

… a strawberry compote – you have a choice here – to blitz or not to blitz this is the question – simply if you are going to blitz and pass the strawberries then you needn't hull them. If you intend leaving the compote as is then I would hull them at the beginning of the recipe.

Strawberry compote

500g ripe strawberries, hulled

4 tbsp caster sugar

2 tbsp lemon juice

Cut the strawberries in half – or quarters if large – place in a large saucepan with the sugar and lemon juice. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved and then simmer. Cover and cook for 3/5 minutes until dark in colour and syrupy. Compote can be store in fridge for up to 2 weeks. Again you can split the batch into two and freeze one for a rainy day.

If you prefer a smooth compote blitz and pass through a sieve.

Perfect with ice cream!

… and speaking of ice cream

Strawberries – a very flexible fruit!

Strawberries are superb and a very flexible fruit!

First things first – a little prep is required if you want the best from your berries – and that is hulling.

Hulling is to remove the green leaf on the top and the stalk below – it takes a little time but is worth every second. You can buy a kitchen implement to do the job if you wish but using a paring knife is just as good - slice the tops off your strawberries and cutting, gently, in a circular motion, carefully remove the stalks – it'll do the job just as well.

Here's the result :

Ta dah!

Next up – more ideas for your strawberries ...

A “BLT” with a difference

If, on the other hand, you didn't want to go to the expense of buying submarine rolls you could go the whole hog and make your own bread!

I've chosen soda bread – it's delicious, it's easy to make and it's very much in the cheap and cheerful category.

Soda bread

170g self raising wholemeal flour

170g plain flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

290ml buttermilk

an optional sprinkle of semolina – try a sprinkle of semolina

to flour your baking sheet and after you've added your “x”

on top of the loaf

Pre heat your oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6.

Tip the flours, salt and bicarb into a large bowl and mix.

Make a well in the centre, pour in 290ml of buttermilk and mix quickly with a large fork until you have a soft dough formed. You may need an extra drop if your dough is too stiff but take care it should not be too wet or sticky.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly.

Form the dough into a round and flatten slightly. Place on a lightly floured baking sheet.

Slice an “x” on the top of the loaf and bake for 30 minutes – the base should sound hollow when tapped.

Just to confuse the issue I've found buttermilk in different weights. A low fat version weighing 284ml and a full fat version weighing 300ml – a tip – if you can only source the 284ml rinse out the pot with a drop of milk.

Here it is :

Slice the bread thinly – ideally you want three to four slices per “BLT” - you should easily get two from a loaf.

Have a look at “The “sub” assembly” and “You will need … and the extras” for inspiration on fillings and assemble. Use a bamboo skewer through the top of your “BLT” to secure until you're ready to devour.

Completely home-made!

The “sub” assembly …

...and the leftovers.

Okey dokey, slice the sub, spread the sauce and add the meatballs on one side.

On the other side add mayo or mango chutney (to suit your choice of meatballs or koftas), then layer salad ingredients of your choice, then finish with mozzarella or paneer and top with optional bacon and eggs.

There's a meal!

As for the leftover meatballs and tomato sauce and the koftas and curry sauce, the good news is you can freeze them for another day.

For the Italian meatballs and tomato sauce, defrost in the fridge. When defrosted cook pasta of your choice – as a guide allow 90g of penne pasta for 180g of cooked per serving.

Whilst your pasta is cooking heat the meatballs and tomato sauce together gently. Drain the pasta and add it to your meatballs and sauce. Serve!

For the koftas and curry sauce defrost in the fridge. Heat the koftas and curry sauce together gently for 10/15 minutes and 2 minutes before the end of heating time microwave steamed pilau rice – as a guide a 280g pack from Aldi serves 2. Serve!

The joys of batch cooking – two ideas for a “sub” weekend treat and leftovers for a quick and easy, but home cooked mid-week meal.