Top Bananas!

Lunch box bars Makes 10 100g unsalted butter, plus more for the tin 200g porridge oats 200g mixed seeds 3 tbsp honey 100g light brown sugar 100g dried fruit, chopped into bits if large (anything you’ve got: raisins, glacé cherries, sultanas, apricots…)

1 tsp ground cinnamon (optional) You will need 18 x 25cm tray-bake tin.

Vegetarian Freezable Cool the bars completely after cooking. Open-freeze in a single layer, then transfer to a freezer bag for storage.

Are children’s chocolate bars getting smaller these days? Maybe we are just getting bigger. Perhaps the two things are even related…

But if you want to give your child something more sustaining in their packed lunch, these are a godsend. Easy to make, and even the fussiest child will like them. The ingredients list is flexible and can be adapted to your child’s taste; you can substitute desiccated coconut or nuts for some or all of the weight of the seeds. Don’t serve these to babies less than one year old, because of the honey (see page 14).

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/fan 140°C/gas mark 3. Butter an 18 x 25cm shallow tray-bake tin and line the base with greaseproof paper.

2. Toast the oats and seeds, separately, in a baking tray in the oven until lightly brown; this will take five to 10 minutes. Watch them carefully, as they burn quickly.

3. Warm the 100g of butter, the honey and sugar gently in a saucepan.

Don’t let it boil, or it will become like glue.

4. Add the toasted oats and seeds and the dried fruit, plus the cinnamon, if you like it, to the saucepan. Mix until everything is nicely coated.

5. Tip into the tin, press down lightly and bake for 30 minutes.

6. Allow the bake to cool in the tin before you slice it into 10 bars, otherwise they will crumble.

The health bit Sweet though these may be, they are healthier than plain flapjacks because of the seeds and dried fruits. Nonetheless, you might want to keep slices relatively small.

Packed Lunch

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Frog soup Serves 4 adults Glug of olive oil 1 leek, finely sliced 1 celery stick, chopped 1 large potato (about 225g), finely chopped 1 litre vegetable stock 280g frozen petits pois or peas Salt and pepper Grated cheese (whatever you prefer, or have in the fridge) and/ or crème fraîche, to serve Vegetarian Freezable The health bit Peas may be small but, for their size, they’re a brilliant source of vitamin C, which helps with a healthy immune system. These tiny little wonder-foods also provide useful amounts of vitamins B1 and B6 (good for a healthy heart and nervous system and for making red blood cells), and are rich in folic acid and also soluble fibre, which helps to control cholesterol.

This is a dish that we didn’t name, but don’t let the title put you off. It is made from peas and we think it gets its moniker from the fluorescent green colour. If you want to snazz it up, add a small handful of mint leaves with the peas. Anyway, it is lovely: tasty, healthy and guaranteed to give you a spring in your step. So hop to it. Make some. It is unfrog-ettable.

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan that has a lid over a medium heat.

Add the leek and fry for five minutes until softened.

2. Add the celery and potato and cook for a further five minutes.

3. Pour the stock over the vegetables and bring to the boil. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Check the potato is tender, then add the petits pois or peas and simmer for five more minutes.

5. Using a hand-held blender, blend the soup until smooth, then season to taste.

6. Top with some grated cheese or a swirl of crème fraîche, or both, and grind some pepper over if you like.

Soup

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Cowgirl stew Serves 4 adults 3 large carrots, sliced 1 onion, chopped 6 good-quality sausages, each cut into 3 2 Polish kabanos, or 2 small chorizos, sliced Handful of red lentils, green lentils or pearl barley 400g tin of baked beans 2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes Couple of glugs of Worcestershire sauce 2 garlic cloves, sliced Salt and pepper 400ml lager or vegetable or chicken stock, heated Freezable The health bit This baby counts as three of your recommended five portions of fruit and veg a day. Serve it with some green beans for added colour and crunch and you’ve hit the heady heights of four portions.

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• Slow Cooking

This stew (why should cowboys get all the fun?) is a winner, and dead easy to throw together. It takes eight hours to slow cook on low so, if you are the organised type, you can make it before work or the school run and it will be ready in time for tea. There is no need to do any side dishes because it is full of fibre and has both beans and lentils in it. That means less washing up.

1. Arrange the carrots on the bottom of the slow cooker. Arrange the onion, sausages and kabanos or chorizos over them, then sprinkle the lentils or barley on top. Spoon out the baked beans in a layer, then do the same for the tinned tomatoes. Add the Worcestershire sauce and garlic and season fairly generously to taste.

2. Pour over the heated lager or stock (if the food is still not fully covered, top up with some water).

3. Put the lid on the slow cooker, set it to low and leave to cook all day, or for at least eight hours.

Life-saving noodles Serves 2 adults Glug of garlic-infused oil ½ head of broccoli, divided into florets, or 1 pack of Tenderstem broccoli 12 large prawns, fresh or frozen, whatever you have Good glug of soy sauce, plus more to serve 2 x 150g packs of straight-to-wok noodles Sesame seeds (optional)

The ultimate fast food. A gorgeous prawn and broccoli noodle stir-fry that takes just seven minutes from start to on-the-plate.

The noodles are bought part-cooked and are one of Mumsnet’s favourite shortcuts.

Replace broccoli with sweetcorn for an even easier meal.

And did you know prawns can be cooked from frozen? There is no need to defrost them, just make sure you heat them until they are cooked right through.

1. Put some garlic-infused oil in a wok or large frying pan over a medium heat, then add the broccoli florets, prawns and soy sauce.

2. Cook for about five minutes, stirring well, then add all the noodles.

Cook for two more minutes or until the prawns and noodles are heated all the way through.

3. Sprinkle on some sesame seeds, if you want, stir and serve. Offer the bottle of soy sauce on the side, for those who want to add more.

194

• Fast Food

The perfect chocolate cake Makes 8 adult slices For the cake 175g unsalted butter, well softened, plus more for the tins 1½ tbsp cocoa powder 175g self-raising flour 1½ tsp baking powder 175g caster sugar 3 eggs, lightly beaten For the filling 3 tbsp raspberry or strawberry jam Maltesers or 284ml pot of double cream, whipped About 150g raspberries

A party would not be a party without chocolate cake. This one is our favourite. It is chocolately enough to sate even the most hormonal of mothers, but not overpoweringly rich, making it a hit with little people. Scattered with sweets, or sandwiched with whipped cream and raspberries, it can even take centre stage.

All that’s missing is some candles.

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas mark 4. Butter two 18cm sandwich tins and line the bases with greaseproof paper.

2. Using a spoon or fork, blend together the cocoa powder with 3 tbsp of hot water in a cup until there are no lumps. Once cool, beat the cocoa mixture into the remaining cake ingredients in a large bowl. If you have an electric mixer or a blender you can blitz everything in this instead.

3. Divide the mixture between the two prepared tins and bake in the oven for 25 minutes. When the cakes are cooked, put them on a wire rack in their tins until they are cool enough to handle, then turn out of the tins on to the rack, peel off the papers and leave to cool completely.

For the decoration 75–100g milk chocolate Sprinkles or sweets

4. Put the least nice-looking cake on a serving plate, flat-side up, spread on some jam and Maltesers and then put the other cake on top, flat side facing the ceiling. Or spread the base cake with whipped cream and arrange on the raspberries before adding the top layer.

You will need 2 x 18cm round cake tins.

5. Use the milk chocolate to make a batch of Melted chocolate icing (see page 256), then chill it for 10 minutes, as directed.

Vegetarian

250

• Party Time

6. And now for the fun part… decorating the cake. Spoon the icing over the cake, starting in the centre and allowing the chocolate to cascade down. Add sprinkles or sweets before it sets. If your kitchen is hot, put the cake in the fridge until the icing hardens up.

Frozen rhubarb and custard Serves 4 adults 2 x 500g pots of ready-made custard 600g jar of rhubarb compote, available from most large supermarkets Ginger thins, to serve (optional but lovely) Vegetarian Freezable

Rhubarb and custard is such a heavenly combination. The way the sweetness of the creamy custard cuts through the tartness of the rhubarb has us more excited than is probably right and proper.

We’re a little bit in love.

This is not supposed to be a perfectly layered confection, more of a custardy/rhubarby swirl.

1. Custard freezes really well (it makes delicious lollies) and here all you do is take a shallow, freezerproof Tupperware container with a lid and simply layer the custard and compote. Start with three spoons of the custard, then two spoons of the compote, then carry on until finished, ideally ending with a layer of custard. Put the lid on the container and bung it in the freezer.

2. After a couple of hours the rhubarb and custard should be semi-frozen (this is when it is most delicious). If you’ve left it too long and it has frozen solid, remove from the freezer for 30 minutes before serving, to soften. Spoon it into bowls and – if you like – serve it with ginger thins.

274

• Pudding