1. Bring a small sauce pan to boil. You just need enough water to cover the egg. If you are cooking more than one egg it is important not to overcrowd them. Less is more here. 
2. Bring your water to a rolling boil, then turn it down to a steady roll. 
3. IMPORTANT! If you are in the UK and keep your eggs in the fridge, just rinse your eggs under some warm water to bring them to room temperature before putting them in the boiling pan. 
4. Using a slotted spoon (or spaghetti server if you're as classy as me), gently place your eggs in the boiling water. Again, slowly, not to shock the eggs. Shocking the eggs = leaking egg white aka, dreadful, wet ramen egg. 
5. Boil for 7 minutes on a steady, even boil. 
6. Meanwhile, prepare a bowl of ice water. Just tap water is not going to cut it. You need to stop this cooking immediately. 
7. Once the 7 minutes are up, gently remove the eggs and place into the iced water. 
8. Allow the eggs to cool completely and then peel! 
9. For the perfect presentation, simply cut in half with a sharp knife. 

1. Over a medium heat, saute the onion until golden brown (about 20 minutes) in a large knob of butter. If the onions begin to stick, deglaze the pan with some of the red wine. 
2. Once golden, add the garlic and cook until the garlic smell is gone. 
3. Add the grated carrots, cook for about 20 minutes or until softened.  
4. Add the sausage meat into the pan, combine well with the vegetables and cook through. Season well with salt and pepper. Make sure to taste and adjust. 
5. Reduce the heat on the pan on to medium low. 
6. Pour in the milk and then add the nutmeg. Stir through gently and continue to cook until all the milk has disappeared. 
7. Add the red wine and tinned tomatoes. Stir well. 
8. Bring the entire bolognese sauce to a steady simmer. Cover and cook for at least 1 hour. 
9. The longer you let the bolognese cook, the better the flavours will develop. The longest I have been able to resist is around the 2 hour mark. An hour and half seems to be sufficient to develop significant flavour. 
10. At this point, taste and adjust any seasoning. If you feel the sauce needs a little life, add the balsamic to brighten the sauce. Taste again, make any necessary adjustments in seasoning. 
11. Cook your pasta according to directions. 
12. Serve the bolognese sauce over the cooked pasta. Garnish with some fresh or dried herbs and some grated cheese. 
13. Enjoy! 

1. Cut the carrots into even chunks. Cook until tender either by steaming or boiling, then set aside to cool. 
2. Over medium heat, saute the onion until translucent. Then add the minced garlic and cook off until the aroma settles. Add the spices, stir. 
3. Add the tomatoes and Sriracha, continue to cook until the tomatoes have softened. 
4. Season with salt and pepper and then remove from the heat. 
5. Into a food processor add the cooked carrot, onion and tomato mixture and the chickpeas. Pulse until desired texture. Alternatively, mash all the ingredients in a large bowl. 
6. Adjust the seasoning as needed. 
7. If the mixture feels too wet, add some breadcrumbs and combine. 
8. Divide the mixture into 8 even chunks. Use your hands to mold them into even cakes. 
9. Scatter the breadcrumbs over a large plate. Gently, coat the cakes in the breadcrumbs. 
10. In a large pan, head oil over a medium heat. 
11. Add the cakes into the pan and cook until golden brown on both sides. 
12. Serve with all the trimmings and enjoy! 

1. Peel and dice your onions. Add into a frying pan on medium heat with a generous glug of olive oil. 
2. Whilst the onions are cooking, cut your courgette into bite-sized pieces. 
3. Then add your courgette and continue to cook for another few minutes or until the courgette has softened slightly. 
4. Crush in your two, peeled cloves of garlic and cook for another minute.
5. Add the risotto rice and stir through the vegetables and garlicky oil. 
6. Then add your vegetable stock. Yes, all in one go. I know, shocking but trust me. Bring the stock to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Cover and allow to cook gently for 20 minutes. 
7. Just before the 20 minute mark, grab a large bowl. Into the bowl add the crème fraîche and eggs. Whisk together. Then season well with salt, pepper and the paprika. Fold in the grated cheddar and the tsp of balsamic vinegar. 
8. At the 20 minute mark, stir in the creamy sauce. Let the rice come to a slight simmer, taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. 
9. Serve with an extra grating of cheddar and a drizzle of balsamic. Enjoy! 

1. In a large frying pan, sauté your chopped chopped onions and minced garlic in the oil. 
2. Once translucent, add the rest of your vegetables: mushroom and courgettes. 
3. Once the vegetables start to soften, add your dried sage, stir into the vegetables. 
4.  Then, add the vegetable stock and bring to a simmer. 
5. Whilst the rest of the casserole is simmering, cook your sausages until golden brown on either side in a separate pan on a medium high heat.
6. Add the juice of half a lemon, the tin of tomatoes and the balsamic vinegar. Stir well. 
7. Cut the sausages into bite-sized chunks before placing them into the casserole. 
8. Simmer for 10 minutes. 
9. Season with salt and pepper. 
10. Serve with couscous (as pictured), pasta, mashed potato or a lovely slice of fresh bread. 
11. Enjoy! 

Woodsy, Fragrant and Fresh 

From Left to Right

• Dill - Light and earthy when dried with slight oniony tones. Common in Northern European and some Asian dishes especially pickles and with potatoes. Pairs well with seafood. 
• Tarragon - Very aromatic with anise flavour. Especially nice when fresh. Pairs well with creamy sauces and white wine, for example Italian pasta dishes. 
• Sage - A fragrant dried herb with pine like notes similar to rosemary but with lemon and eucalyptus notes. Found in many English sausages and usually the best veggie sausages too! Common in European cooking especially English and Italian. 

Not Pictured

• Basil - Often used fresh, dried basil is also great in Italian cuisine such as creamy pastas. Dried basil still has that fragrant almost sweet flavour but slightly earthier.  
• Garlic Powder - Made from dehydrated garlic, it definitely tastes like you would expect. Garlic powder is a bit mellower and sweeter than fresh garlic. Commonly found in many Mexican spice mixes. 
• Rosemary - Very fragrant, woodsy, pine-like and pungent. Pairs well with roast meats but also a lot of vegetarian cuisine. Excellent with roast vegetables, in soups and with eggs even.

Warm, Earthy and Aromatic 

From Left to Right

From Left to Right

Whole Spices 

• Cardamon - Similar to cinnamon in its warm, aromatic flavour. Commonly used in all my favourite cuisines: Swedish, Indian and Middle Eastern. Mainly featured in desserts but also curries and tagines. 
• Cloves - Very fragrant, sweet, aromatic and warming spice. Often paired with spices such as cinnamon and cardamom making it popular for baking. Cloves are also used to decorate oranges at Christmas time, and for meat eaters is popular with low-roasted meats. 

From Left to Right

• Saffron - More expensive than gold, in terms of weight anyway. Saffron is the styles and stigmas of crocuses and is a very unique spice. For me saffron is a sentimental spice because it reminds me of Christmas for its use in Swedish "Lussebullar." It has a very unique flavour quite unlike anything else. It is, as you would expect, floral and aromatic. Like turmeric it gives food a distinct yellow colour. Saffron is also common in Middle Eastern and Indian cuisine. 
• Cinnamon - True cinnamon in called Cinnamomum verum but Cinnamon cassia is often what is found in supermarkets. Cinnamon is a dried bark and is common in both sweet and savoury dishes. See cardamon. 

Blends 

From Left to Right

• Curry powder - Usually made with coriander, cumin, turmeric, fenugreek and red pepper. Most store bought curry powders are used for quick Indian dishes. 
• Italian Seasoning - This one simply contains dried parsley, dried garlic and chilli flakes. 

Cuisine Classics 

• Cajun - Bay leaves, cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, oregano, paprika, rosemary, thyme
• Caribbean - Allspice, cinnamon, cloves, garlic powder, ginger, nutmeg
• French - Bay leaves, herbs de provence, garlic powder, nutmeg, oregano, rosemary, thyme
• Indian - Bay leaves, cardamon, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, curry powder, garam masala, ginger, nutmeg, paprika, turmeric
• Mediterranean - Basil, bay leaves, cardamon, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, oregano, rosemary, thyme
• Mexican - Chilli powder, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, paprika
• Middle Eastern - Bay leaves, cardamon, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, garlic powder, ginger, oregano, za'atar
• North African - Cardamon, cinnamon, cumin, ginger, paprika, ras el hanout, turmeric
• Thai - Basil, cardamon, cumin, garlic, ginger, thai curry powder or paste, turmeric

1. Finely chop your roasted red peppers and tomatoes. Do the same with your nut of choice. If you have a nut allergy the nuts can easily be replaced with seeds or omitted.  
2. Mine your onion.
3. Add the onion, red pepper, tomato and nuts into a salad bowl. 
4. Crumble in the feta and add the chickpeas. 
5. Drizzle over the olive oil, squeeze in the lemon and add the oregano. 
6. Season with salt and pepper. 
7. Place the spinach on your plate of choice or a large bowl if serving many. Top with the dressed mixture. I prefer to dress the mixture without the spinach because it minimises the amount of necessary oil and prevents the salad from getting too wet. 
8. Enjoy! 

1. Chop your sweet potato into bitesized pieces. Place them into a large bowl. 
2. Drizzle over your oil, season generously with salt and pepper. You can add chilli flakes too for some heat. 
3. Cook the potatoes on a medium heat for 15-20 minutes in a skillet or frying pan until golden brown (see picture). 
4. Combine the cooled couscous or quinoa with the fresh herbs, cucumber and tomato. 
5. Add 2-3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. Squeeze the juice of the lemon on top. 
6. Season with salt and pepper.  
7. Serve the tabbouleh with your sweet potato and a dip. I used greek yoghurt but hummus would be perfect too for a vegan option. 

1. Combine your blueberry jam, ricotta and lemon zest. 
2. Cut each filo sheet in half. 
3. Place a heaped tsp of filling into the corner of your filo. 
4. Fold into a triangle. Repeat the triangle folds until you run out of pastry. Like this! 
5. Make sure to seal the pastry well with your fingers.
6. Heat one 1 tbsp of olive oil in a non-stick pan on medium heat. Add the parcels and cook on both sides until golden and crisp. You may need to do this twice depending on the size of your pan. 
7. Serve with honey, yoghurt and a sprinkle of sea salt. 
8. Enjoy! 

1. Saute your onions, garlic, peppers and spices in a large frying pan, approx. 10 minutes or until everything has softened and lightly browned. 
2. Add the tomatoes, sugar, bay leaves and thyme. Stir to combine. Let the sauce simmer for 20-30 minutes or until nicely thickened. Add a little water if necessary. 
3. Make four indentations in the sauce and crack one egg into each one. 
4. Cover the pan really well with a lid or foil. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the whites have set but the yolk is still runny. 
5. Scatter with parsley or basil. Season with salt and pepper 
6. Serve with bread, couscous, rice or even pasta. 
7. Enjoy!  

1. Once your water has boiled, add the stock cube and combine with a fork. 
2. Pour the boiled water over the couscous. Make sure to use a heatproof bowl. Set it aside. 
3. Chop the salmon into small bite-sized chunks. Combine it in a bowl with the sweet chilli sauce, coriander and spring onion. Season with salt and pepper. 
4. Lay out the filo pastry, add 1/4 of the mixture into the middle of the sheet. You want them to be about the size of a deck of cards. Put your thumb in the middle mix to allow room expansion during the cooking process. 
5. Fold in filo around the filling to seal the package. Reap for all four briks. 
6. Heat one 1 tbsp of olive oil in a non-stick pan on medium heat. Add the briks and cook on both sides until golden and crisp. 
7. Chop your chilli, cherry tomatoes, spring onion and mint.  
8. Fluff up your couscous using a fork and then add in the herbs and vegetables and your pomegranate seeds. Season with salt and pepper. 
9. Combine everything well. 
10. Serve your couscous and briks together. 
11. Optional: dollop some greek yoghurt on top of your briks and drizzle with honey. My couscous has some balsamic glaze, but it is fine plain too! 

1. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the egg yolks and sugar. 
2. Sift in the flour and cornflour and combine into the egg and sugar. It should form a paste. Set aside. 
3. In a saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. It is perfect when the milk starts to foam. 
4. Remove the milk from the heat whisk in the paste. Whisk constantly to prevent curdling. You might want an extra hand here!
5. Pour the mixture back into the sauce pan and cook over medium heat until boiling. Make sure to whisk constantly. 
6. Once it reaches boiling, whisk constantly for another 30-60 seconds or until thick. 
7. Remove from head and add the vanilla extract. 
8. Set aside to cool to room temperature. 
9. Preheat the oven to 170C and line a cupcake tin. 
10. Cream together the butter and sugar. They should be well incorporated into a pale yellow mixture. 
11. Whisk or beat in one egg at a time. Then add the vanilla. 
12. Finally, sieve in the flour and baking powder. Combine in or whisk for 5 minutes. 
13. Bake in the oven for approximately 14 minutes. Use a fork to check for readiness. The top of the cakes should not be brown but have a spongy texture when touched. 
14. Set aside to cool. 
15. For the frosting, mix together the icing sugar and the butter. 
16. Mix on low until well blended and then on medium/high for 3 minutes. 
17. Add the vanilla and milk/creme and continue to beat for another 1 minute. Add the liquid slowly until you reach desired texture. 
18. The right amount should produce a frosting that can hold a peak. 
19. Once the cupcakes have cooled, fill them with the pastry cream and then frost.