Say cheese! Just grate with macaroni

Macaroni Cheese with Sweet Potato

If you love macaroni cheese - and why would you NOT - this cheap dish provides real comfort. Why not try this version of a traditional dish.

A similar dish appeared in the 14th century - Italian Book of Cooking Liber de Coquina. Some years later it cropped up in 1769 in its modern form in the Experienced Housekeeper by Elizabeth Raffald. You can add anythingcrab, greens, sweet potato, etc - and create a dish that tastes completely different. Evaporated milk creates this delicious rich and creamy sauce. Cook the sweet potatoes in the oven when cooking something else. You can even put them on the oven floor until soft.

Use any cheese that you find in the fridge - at the moment I’ve got tasty cheddar bought from the lovely local Open Air Dairy. The main thing is to use your favourite. Stirring the sauce with a wooden spoon can make it lumpyI find a whisk better.

Serves 4

500g approx 2 sweet potatoes

200g dried macaroni

35g butter (plus a little extra for the dish)

35g flour

400g evaporated milk

150g milk

1 tbsp wholegrain mustard

125 g cheese (reserve 25g for topping), grated Salt and pepper n Find Lizzie at The Old Ship Inn, Upwey on Saturday mornings or look out for her at various food festivals and farmers markets. If you try this recipe tag Lizzie in on Instagram lizziebakingbird.co.uk

Butter (or oil) an ovenproof dish for the macaroni. Heat the oven to Gas 6/ 200C and put the sweet potatoes in. Cook until soft (45 - 55 minutes). When cool peel the skin off and gently mash. You can keep the potatoes in the fridge, covered, until needed (up to three days). Turn the oven down to gas 4/ 180C. Cook the macaroni (according to the instructions on the packet) until firm to the bite and drain.

Melt the butter in a pan and tip in the flour and stir. Cook on a low heat for around a minute. Pour in the milk, mix well and cook for around five minutes until thickened. Use the mustard, salt and pepper and season to taste. Add the squished potato and cheese and stir well. Pour the mixture into your prepared dish. Scatter the reserved cheese on top and pop in the oven for about 20 - 25 minutes or until the cheese on top is brown and bubbly.

Serve with roasted veggies or a simple salad.

Mum’s Kitchen... with Diana Holman

Easy Lemon Curd and Almond Cake

This unusual cake is very quick to make, and has a dense texture and a good flavour. It is best served slightly warm, or at room temperature.

Ingredients:

200g ground almonds

300g self-raising flour

500g lemon curd

2tablespoons flaked almonds

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan, and line a 20.5cm round tin with non-stick baking paper. Spread the ground almonds on a baking tray, and spread the flaked almonds onto another baking tray. Cook in the oven for 10 minutes until both ground and flaked nuts are golden. Tip the ground almonds into a large bowl and whisk in the flour. In a jug, whisk the lemon curd with 200ml just-boiled water. Pour into the flour mixture and mix until just combined.

Scrape the mixture into the lined tin and smooth the top.

Sprinkle over the flaked almonds and bake for 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Homes & Gardens x sponsored by Valley Drains

By Karen Bate karen@westdorsetmag.co.uk

A horrific motorcycle accident changed everything for Spencer Lewis. His career in refurbishing homes and gardens came to an abrupt halt.

Thankful to be alive but with metal in both hands, Spencer knew his 18-month recovery was going to be a long haul, so he started exploring a long-held dream to start his own company designing and creating high-end garden buildings.

And then without warning, the whole country came to a halt. The silent skies and sunny days of the first few months of lockdown gave Spencer the boost he needed to plan and plot his future as his ideas, designs and strategy came alive on sheets of paper and his trusty Apple Mac.

In 2021, healing nicely and his mission complete, Spencer and his partner Kate launched Timber & Black. Thousands upon thousands of people had been working from their kitchen tables and spare rooms and with a complete return to the office almost a thing of the past, many home workers want a quiet space in their gardens. Lockdown for Spencer was serendipity. And then came Alan Titchmarsh...

“Timber & Black was in the early days and then something brilliant happened. Alan Titchmarsh’s ITV programme Spring into Summer was looking for some planters for a set they were building. None of the mainstream suppliers could make and deliver the planters ‘next day’, but I knew we could.

“We spent an entire day and