Pacific Lime Chicken (4)

An easy chicken recipe from Hawaii which i found in ” Cook Simple ” by Diana Henry. Serve this with rice and stir fried greens, or in warmer weather a mixed salad. The second Marinade is for a Spanish Catalan chicken, cooked in the same way but good with roast potatoes and a green salad.

Ham, Cheese and Leek Scones (12)

More delicious scones from Claire Ptak’s ” The Violet Bakery Cookbook”. When I lived in London I used to love visiting her stall in Broadway Market on a Saturday morning to pick up some naughty but nice treats. You can also make the scones in advance, then freeze and bake as and when needed. The dough will keep in the freezer for up to a month.

Cauliflower and Pear Bake (4-6)

A recipe from Israel to serve as a main with salad or to accompany roasts or kebabs. In 1980 I spent four months volunteering on Kibbutz Eynat in Petah Tikva near Tel Aviv. I mostly worked in the restaurant ( three shifts…) or bakery( nights) but they also grew cotton besides the runway at Tel Aviv airport. Volunteers were not meant to work there but we did, and it was my favourite job as we completed work by late morning leaving the rest of the day free. It involved a 5 am start and drive to the airport , then after a couple of hours we would take a breakfast break. We would finish by 11am because after that it was to too hot. Back to the kibbutz for lunch and an afternoon spent lounging by the pool.

The recipe is from ” Vegetarian Dishes from the Middle East” by Arto Der Haroutunian.