Stilton and Broccoli soup

Serve 1 greedy person or 2 normal portions
Put 1 tablespoon garlic infused olive oil in a pan over a medium heat, add 2 chopped spring onions and cook for a couple of minutes.

Add 1tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp garlic powder, a quarter head of diced broccoli (you can use frozen if you wish), 1 grated carrot, half a stick of diced celery and leek, 1 tsp garden peas, 1tsp lemon juice and stir in the heat for a minute.

Add the half pint hot vegetable stock and 60g crumbled or chopped Stilton and bring to a bubble, then put on the lid and cook for 12 minutes.

Liquidize in a blender carefully then pour back in the pan and add 1 can of chick peas and a handful of washed baby spinach and heat for 5 minutes before serving with black pepper to taste, a swirl of double cream and crusty bread.

Tofu in Pulses

In a sieve place 1 tbsp each dried butter beans, dried pinto beans, and dried black-eyed beans and rinse well. Place them in a bowl and cover with cold water. Fridge overnight before cooking.

Serve 1 or 2 small portions.

Put the beans in a deep fry pan and cover with the tomato sauce drained from a large can of baked beans. Bring to the boil and boil for 10 minutes whilst preparing veg: -

Dice half a white onion, half a leek, 1 carrot. half stick celery.

Cube 1" round of aubergine.

Grate 3 garlic cloves.

After the 10 minutes reduce heat to lowest setting to simmer adding a quarter pint of boiling water.

Add all the prepared veg to the fry pan, bring back up the boil, then reduce heat again to low simmer for 30 minutes. Meantime prepare the tofu:-

Cube into 4 large pieces, a small carton of soft silky smooth tofu. Sprinkle 2 tsp hot paprika and fresh ground garlic salt with chillies over the tofu and leave in the fridge until the 30 minutes cooking time has elapsed. Stir the beans and even out then place the tofu in the centre of the fry pan (do not break up) and cook for 10 minutes still on simmer heat.




Carefully turn over the tofu in the fry pan and cook a further 5 minutes before serving.


Use the baked beans you sieved in my recipe Rosemary Butternutsquash Wedges

For more on pulses click:
What's great about pulses

Tomato Farfalle

Why bother making your own tomato sauce when you can get a quick version from canned fish.

Using 2 tiers of a steamer

Bring three quarters pint of water to the boil with 3 cloves of garlic, sliced shallot, 2" piece of sliced leek.

Add a handful of Bio Organice Farfalle pasta bows, 6 sticks of halved tomato spaghetti and 2 large prawns.

Add the second tier of the steamer containing an opened can of your chosen fish in tomato sauce (I used mackeral). 2 tbsp each frozen broad beans/ garden peas/cut green beans/halved button mushrooms/cubed aubergine/broccoli florets.

Place the lid on top and bring ot the boil again then turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Carefully remove the can of fish and tipped onto a deep dish and rough mash the fish. Top with the remaining veg and drained sieved pasta. Serve 1.

Rosemary Butternutsquash wedges

Not all seeds are edible but butternutsquash seeds are fine.


Serves 1:

Wash a medium sized butternutsquash well and cut it lengthwise.

Remove the seeds and pith area, discarding the pith and put the seeds spread out in a single layer in an ovenproof dish.

Cut both butternutsquash pieces lenthwise again and cut all of the pieces in half widthwise.

Cut each segment into wedge shaped pieces and place evenly in a deep roasting dish.

Cut a white onion in half and add this to the sides of the roasting dish.

In a small bowl add 2 tbsp sunflower oil, 3 grated garlic cloves, 1 level tbsp dried rosemary, 10 grinds of garlic salt with herbs and fresh black pepper. Brush the wedges with the mixture and brush the seeds with some also.

Place the butternutsquash at the top shelf of a preheated 200 fan oven or 220C and roast for 15 minutes. Drain a can of baked beans in tomato sauce and place only the beans on top of the butternutsqash and return to the oven for another 15 minutes along with the butternutsquash seeds in their separate dish on the floor of the oven.

You can also roast a whole garlic bulb alongside the wedges for the whole of the cooking time which can be used in other dishes or just enjoy some along with the wedges.

Serve the wedges / whole roasted onion with the seeds sprinkled on top.


A recipe using the tomato sauce drained from the can of beans above is

Tofu n Pulses

In a sieve place 1 tbsp each dried butter beans, dried pinto beans, and dried black-eyed beans and rinse well. Place them in a bowl and cover with cold water. Fridge overnight before cooking.

Serve 1 or 2 small portions.

Put the beans in a deep fry pan and cover with the tomato sauce drained from a large can of baked beans. Bring to the boil and boil for 10 minutes whilst preparing veg: -

Dice half a white onion, half a leek, 1 carrot. half stick celery.

Cube 1" round of aubergine.

Grate 3 garlic cloves.

After the 10 minutes reduce heat to lowest setting to simmer adding a quarter pint of boiling water.

Add all the prepared veg to the fry pan, bring back up the boil, then reduce heat again to low simmer for 30 minutes. Meantime prepare the tofu:-

Cube into 4 large pieces a small carton of soft silky smooth tofu. Sprinkle 2 tsp hot paprika and fresh ground garlic salt with chillies over the tofu and leave in the fridge until the 30 minutes cooking time has elapsed. Stir the beans and even out then place the tofu in the centre of the fry pan (do not break up) and cook for 10 minutes still on simmer heat.

Carefully turn over the tofu in the fry pan and cook a further 5 minutes before serving.
What's great about pulses:

Paprika and tea chorizo pulses

A brew of tea brings out the subtle flavours of the beans with this dish. Canned beans can be used but it is so much tastier to prepare your own. If you use canned beans, bring to boil and reduce cooking time to 15 minutes.

Rinse 1 tbsp each of your favourite selection of dried pulses in a dish and cover with cold water then leave in the fridge to soak overnight. I used pinto beans, butter beans, yellow split peas, red and green lentils.

Brew a quarter cup of black tea and place in with the pulses in a deep pan. Bring to boil and boil for 10 minutes.

Add all of these to the pan:

Diced - 1 carrot, 1" round of sweet potato, 1 shallot, 1 fresh tomato, 3 sundried tomatoes (from a jarred in oil), 3 garlic cloves, 4 broccoli florets

Shred half a leek.

Rough chop pieces of red, green and yellow bell peppers (quarter of each).

Brush any dirt from 4 button mushrooms and leave whole.

A handful of washed spinach.

Thin slices of chorizo as much as you fancy.

1 tsp balsamic vinegar.

1 tbsp tomato paste.

In a bowl - 1 tbsp white pepper and hot dried paprika, 10 grinds of fresh milled black pepper and herb/garlic salt.

Add about eighth of a pint of more boiling water and bring it all back to the boil then turn down heat to simmer for another 40 minutes whilst continuing to check the water level which should have mainly boiled off by this time but drain any additional off with a slotted server before serving.





What's great about pulses

Newspaper quinoa with turkey

Dice half a leek, 1 carrot and 1 shallot and stir fry in 1tsp sesame oil in a deep pan for 1 minute.


Add 4oz reduced fat turkey mince broken up, stir for 1 minute.

Add 1 tsp fennel seeds, 1 tbsp whole chia seeds, 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper and white pepper, 2 tsp oregano and herbal garlic salt, 3 grated garlic cloves, stir 1 minute.

Add 4 diced mushrooms, 4 tbsp frozen garden peas, 4 tbsp newspaper quinoa ( ie from mixed pack of black, white and red quinoa [I know old rubbish joke - newspaper - black, white and read all over] ).

Add a good handful of washed spinach.

Add quarter pint vegetable stock and bring to the boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Stir then place a couple of large frozen prawns in the middle of the pan and simmer for another 5 minutes before serving.

Steamed minced pork with sweet potato / turnip mash

Steamed minced pork with sweet potato / turnip mash


It's easy to make a steamed low calorie meat dish and by using reduced fat mince and with these strong flavoured vegetables you can even omit salt with this tasty dish.

As the meat is reduced fat there will be no runny fat draining into the lower tier vegetables.

I used a food processor, firstly cutting the veg into thick strips and used a shredder attachment to slice them thin which will also reduce cooking time. You can easily shred prepare by hand if you want to.

Of course wash all veg before preparing to cook.

Using a three tier steamer place half pint boiled water into the first tier.

In the second tier place 4oz shredded turnip and sweet potato slices.

In the third tier add in layers as follows:

Shredded 4" piece of leek, 1 carrot,.

On top of that add 4oz 15% fat pork mince (it doesn't have to be separated as it will do this as it is cooking),.

4 whole button mushrooms,

3 peeled whole cloves of garlic,

1 shallot peeled and sliced lengthways,

2 mediem sized broccoli florets,

2 oz whole washed spinach leaves.

Place the lid on top and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium and steam for 20 minutes.

Mash the cooked sweet potato and turnip and serve alongside all other ingredients.

Retain the cooking water to use as stock for another dish. 

Sweet potato and chick pea tandoori

Dice 1 small carrot, 1 shallot, half inch round of sweet potato cut from the middle and 6 fresh topped and tailed green beans.

Drizzle a fry pan with chilli oil and heat a few minutes. Add the diced veg and stir for 1 minute.

Dice 3 garlic cloves, add to the pan and stir 1 minute.

In a small bowl mix 1 tbs tandoori spice, 1tbsp white ground pepper, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tbsp freshly ground chilli with garlic salt, 2 whole cloves, 3 cardamon seeds, half tsp mustard seeds and quarter tsp fennel seeds. Add to the frypan mixing in with the veg.

Add a 254g drained can of chick peas, 2 tbsp frozen peas, 1 tbsp milled linseed, 4 tbsp brown rice, 1 tbsp brown lentils

Pour in half pint home made veg stock. Bring to the boil, turn down heat and mix in 1 tbsp garam masala then simmer for 40 minutes. Sprinkle on half tsp dried fenugreek and serve with a tbsp of greek yoghurt and rinsed pakchoi leaves.