Food Minia

Rhubarb is such an odd fruit.  It's almost a twisted fact of nature that rhubarb is great at this time of year, just as we should be donning our suncream and sunglasses.  Then you have a spring like this one.  Days of dismal rain and almost tempted to switch on the central heating. So rhubarb suddenly has a strange purpose.  The joy, if you like, in the drizzled disappointment of British weather! After initial reluctance, my son loved this cake and so did I.  It lasted for 2 further days in a tin and I also froze some wedges which defrosted in the microwave beautifully. Great served warm as a pudding with silky double cream or custard or cold as a cake.  Ok, I'm not winning any prizes on health here but I figure it's still healthier than a chocolate bar, and, cream aside, it's pretty low in fat. Rhubarb Cake - makes 1 large cake Ingredients 60g, 2oz Margarine 300g, 10.5oz Sugar (I used a mix of half white and half dark soft brown sugar which...

Pasta salad is one of those things you can use any old stuff in.  Leftover cooked chicken?  Marvellous.  Tuna?  Equally at home.  Well I'd picked up an avocado which was actually ripe (unheard of so of course it was down to 20p and 'reduced for quick sale'!)  I would have loved some guacamole and maybe I'll use the other half for that but I had nothing to serve it with so a pasta salad it was.  It's a great way to squeeze in fruit and vegetables which your child might not ordinarily try. I should have made this during my week of eating 7 fruits and vegetables a day !  A surprising hit with my youngster who's normally a bit of a salad dodger.  Substitute the dressing for mayonnaise or a mayo / yogurt mix if you prefer. Pasta Salad - Serves 2-3 Ingredients 90g, 3oz Wholewheat pasta (use regular if you prefer) 90g, 3oz Frozen sweetcorn 100g, 3.5oz Smoked bacon, chopped 90g, 3oz Cucumber, chopped A handful of cherry tomatoes or baby plum tomatoe...

Weetabix cake?  Am I serious?  Well I'd been trying different ways of using cereals quite a bit recently what with rice krispies with mackerel but I'd never found a way of using them in cakes like I had with bran loaf .  Shreddies seemed promising but were a bit of a failure when I gave them a go.  Who knew Weetabix would work? This tastes similar to my bran loaf , loads of fibre, sweet whilst being low in added sugar, dairy free fat free and lovely with a pot of tea! Weetabix Cake Ingredients 2 Weetabix (or own brand equivalent) 350ml, 12 fl oz Decaffeinated tea (just make with one decaf teabag) 110g, 4oz Muscovado or soft brown sugar 280g, 10oz Sultanas (golden raisins) 1 egg 225g, 8oz Self Raising Flour (or all purpose / plain flour plus 2 tsp baking powder) 1 tsp mixed spice Method Crush up the weetabix, mix with the sugar and dried fruit.  Soak in the tea for about an hour. Preheat the oven to 160oC.  Mix in the spice, flour and egg and pour into a gr...