Damsons in Damson Liqueur

A fantastic way to preserve some of the season's bounty for winter, and if you make the jars look pretty, this is also good to give as a Christmas gift.

Makes approx 3 pint or half-litre jars

• 2 1/2 lbs damsons (or small prune plums)
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• 2" piece of cinnamon
• 5 whole cloves
• Approx 1 1/2 cups good quality vodka

Prick each damson 2-3 times with a darning needle.

Combine water and sugar in a high-sided skillet and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add half the damsons to the liquid in a single layer. Return to the boil and cook, gently moving the damsons around in the syrup with a wooden spoon, for 2 to 3 mins. Remove the damsons to a 9 x 13" glass baking dish.

Repeat with the rest of the damsons, add those to the baking dish. Make sure all the damsons are in a single layer.

Pour the hot syrup over the damsons, cover immediately with clingfilm. Leave the damsons overnight, turning once or twice in the syrup.

With a slotted spoon, transfer the damsons to sterilized jars, filling them to about 3/4 full.

Transfer the syrup to a saucepan, add the cinnamon stock and cloves and bring to a boil. Boil until slighly thickened - you should have about 1 1/2 cups of syrup.

Strain the hot syrup through a fine mesh, then pour it over the damsons, filling each jar about half full. Let cool, then pour in the vodka. The liquid should cover the damsons completely.

Seal the jars, label and store in a cool, dark place. Rest for at least 2 months before opening, gently tilting the jars occasionally to mix the vodka and syrup. The damsons will keep almost indefinitely.

Lemon Walnut Hummus

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained
• 2 garlic cloves

Directions

1. In a small skillet on medium-heat toast the walnuts for 3 minutes or so. Shake the pan every once in awhile while you toast to ensure an even toast.
2. Put the nuts aside to cool down.
3. Toast the coriander and cumin seeds in the skillet for 30 seconds or so. Transfer this to a mortar and add cayenne pepper and grind to a powder.
4. In your food processor, combine the chickpeas, lemon juice, oil, garlic, ground spices and 1 tspn of the salt.
5. Rub the walnuts to remove most of their skin. Add the walnuts to your food processor and puree until smooth.
6. Add water one tablespoon at a time if it is too thick. Add in your pepper and olive oil to serve.

Cheese and Lentil Loaf

• 140g/5 oz cooked lentils (you can use red, green or brown)
• 140g/5 oz grated Cheddar cheese
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 45g/1½ oz wholemeal breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• ½ tbsp soy sauce
• ½ tbsp chopped herbs
• ¼ tsp black pepper

Mix together the lentils, cheese and onion in a bowl. Add the other ingredients and mix thoroughly. Place the mixture in a greased and lined loaf tin. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 for approximately 35-45 minutes (the loaf should be firm to the touch). Let the loaf cool for a few minutes before lifting from the tin.

Serve with a good home-made tomato sauce.

Serves 2-3

Blackberry Syrup, or Cordial

• 600gm (1 1/4lb) blackberries
• 100gm (3 ½ oz) sugar
• 2tsp cinnamon pieces
• 2tsp whole cloves

Mash the fruit and strain through a sieve, pressing the fruit with the back of a spoon to extract as much juice as possible. Add the liquid to a saucepan and to every 300ml (1/2 pint) of liquid, add 100g (3 1/2 oz) of sugar. Add the cloves and cinnamon. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring regularly as the liquid reduces and thickens. Strain through a sieve to remove the spice pieces and pour into clean sterilized bottles. Store in refrigerator.

You can either use this as a fruit syrup, to pour over ice cream, pancakes etc, or dilute to taste with sparkling water.

Oven Roast Sweet Potato

• 2 lbs sweet potatoes
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 450° and lightly oil a baking tray.
2. Cut the sweet potatoes into 1" wedges and put them in a good sized bowl. Drizzle the oil over the potatoes and then toss them to coat. Separately, mix the chili powder, thyme, salt, cumin, and cinnamon. Sprinkle this over the sweet potatoes and then toss everything until the potatoes are well coated.
3. Arrange them in a single layer on the baking tray and bake for about 20 minutes,then turn them over and continue to bake them for another 15 minutes or so until tender and just barely golden brown.

Spicy Root Vegetable & Lentil Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive or vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1-2 garlic cloves (depending on how fat they are), crushed
• 350g potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 2 carrots, thickly sliced
• 1 parsnip, thickly sliced
• 1 - 1 1/2 tbsp curry paste (I like the Patak curry pastes, and some are hotter than others)
• 500ml vegetable stock
• 75g red lentils
• a small bunch of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
• low-fat yogurt and naan bread or chapatis to serve
  
  Note: You can use cauliflower, broccoli, peas, spinach, squash, turnips or swede in place of the carrots and/or parsnip. Simply mix'n'match to your tastes! (or whatever's hiding in the veggie rack)

1. Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onion and garlic over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally. Tip in the potatoes, carrots and parsnip, turn up the heat and cook for 6-7 minutes, stirring, until the vegetables are golden.
2. Stir in the curry paste, pour in the stock and then bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, add the lentils, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the lentils and vegetables are tender and the sauce has thickened.
3. Stir in most of the coriander, season and heat for a minute or so. Top with yogurt and the rest of the coriander. Serve with naan bread to mop it up with.
   
   Serves 2

Ginger and Marmalade Cake

Ingredients

• 140g chunky marmalade
• 175g soft butter
• 150g soft brown sugar
• 3 beaten eggs
• 225g self raising flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2-3 chunks of stem ginger in syrup (drained)
• 100g pecan or walnuts

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180c/gas 4. Butter and line a 900g loaf tin
2. Mix the marmalade in with all the other ingredients except the nuts, whisk or beat with a spoon until smooth.
3. Stir in half the nuts, spoon into tin, smooth top and scatter with remaining nuts.
4. Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. If it starts to brown too quickly cover loosely with foil once the cake has risen and set.
5. Leave to cool for 5 minutes then tip out onto cooling rack.
6. To glaze (optional): Either warm 1 tbsp marmalade gently until it has melted then brush over the top of the cake to glaze or
   Sift 100g icing sugar and mix it to a smooth, slightly runny consistency with approx. 1 1/2 tbsps orange juice. Drizzle the icing over the cake, letting it run down the sides, and leave to set.