Strawberries with Golden Meringue Pieces

The end of September marks the end of the strawberry season in most places in England, so I wanted to bid a fond farewell to my favourite fruit and I whipped up this little dessert.  I decided to make a whole meringue as it keeps for up to a week in an airtight container (and I just love meringues!) so use your discretion about how much you want to use when it comes to serving this up.

Ingredients:-

- 225g golden caster sugar

- 1 1/2 tsp cornflour

- 4 large egg whites

- a large handful of strawberries, quartered

- caramel sauce or ice cream to serve (optional)

How to:-

1.  Preheat the oven to 160C / Gas mark 3.  Draw a 25cm circle on baking paper, and place on a baking tray.

2.  Stir the golden caster sugar and cornflour in a jug together.

3.  In a large bowl, whisk the egg white until they are stiff (do the holding the bowl over your head trick!), and then whisk in the sugar mix a tbsp at a time until everything looks thick and glossy.

4.  Pour the mixture carefully onto the circle of the baking paper.

5.  Bake for 1 hr, then turn the oven off and allow it to cool inside for a further 1hr.

6. Once cooled, break the meringue up into chunks and arrange in dessert bowls with the strawberries.

7.  Serve with caramel sauce (as shown) or ice cream if desired.    

Grilled Halloumi & Pepper Open Ciabatta Sandwich

My appetite finally returned with an avenge today after nearly a week of having the flu.  I was craving something carb based so I opted for this open ciabatta sandwich which was exactly what I needed!

Serves 1 very hungry person

Ingredients:-

-  2 or 3 thick slices of halloumi

-  4 slices of pepper, ideally red or yellow (I chose both for some variety in colour)

-  2 slices of ciabatta

- a touch of flour

- oil for grilling

How to:-

1.  Heat some oil in a grill pan over a medium temperature.

2.  Gently blot the halloumi slices with some kitchen paper to soak up any excess water, and then lightly flour each slice on both slices.  This will give the halloumi that lovely, slightly crunchy outside texture and some colour.

3.  Place the halloumi slices into the grill pan and cook each one evenly on both sides for a few minutes until lightly browned.  Do the same with the pepper slices.

4.  Pop the ciabatta slices into a toaster or put them straight into the grill pan to warm it up.

5.  Arrange everything into an open sandwich, and tuck in!

Warm Exotic Mushrooms Salad

This meal was entirely down to the fact that I stumbled across some of the new packs of exotic mushrooms in M&S for a reduced price today.  Super quick and easy to throw together, and just the right portion size for a light lunch.  You could also bulk it out with some basmatic rice for something more substantial, or if you're making it for two people.

Serves 1

Ingredients:-

- 1 small pack of mixed exotic mushrooms

- 2 or 3 handful of mixed salad leaves

- 2 tsps of toasted sesame oil

How to:-

1.  In a wok or large frying pan, heat the sesame oil and then quickly fry the mushrooms over a medium heat for 1-2 minutes.  

2.  Arrange the mixed salad leaves on a place, and serve the mushrooms warm on top.