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As mentioned in Day 48 of The Challenge This is very definitely a comfort food. It is super simple but you just have to have the patience to stir for about 45 minutes. I like mine sweet, but not super sweet. Feel free to add more sugar though if you feel it needs it for you. It is also very easy to vary the flavouring depending on what you are in the mood for by changing what goes into the pudding. At its core, it is short grain rice, milk and a little sugar. I almost always add raisins too. Beyond that, you can add brown sugar, jam, spices or apple sauce. The possibilities are endless! Toppings like toasted slivered almonds add a contrasting texture. As with the flavours, toppings are up to you. Ingredients: 1 tbsp butter 1 c short grain rice 1/2 c raisin 4 - 4 1/2 c milk 1/2 - 1 c sugar 1/4 tsp cloves 1/4 tsp fresh nutmeg 1 - 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1) Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the rice. Stir briefly then allow the rice to go transparent in the butter. 2) Once the grains are transparent, add the other ingredients and stir. It will take about 45 minutes for the rice to absorb all the liquid and to thicken to a pudding. Serve it up and add any toppings you want! I grew up having this only after trips to see my German grandparents when we would pick up the special rice for Milchreis. It was and is a once in a blue moon dessert, but I love it!

We've already had two (the Non-Traditional 6 Veg Rösti from way back, and the Courgette and Apple Rösti

I love my morning porridge, and the Baked Porridge we've been having recently has been very tasty, but once in a while it's nice to switch it up. I don't tend to buy breakfast cereals because the sugar content is through the roof, and instead decided to make my own granola. It's been ages since I last did it, but I am rather pleased with how this came out. Little Bit and I were snacking on it dry when it came out of the oven, and it's been a hit for breakfast in yogurt. The clumps are quite small, but if you want them bigger, just add more of the molasses. Ingredients: 2 c oats 1/2 c almonds, finely chopped 1/3 c walnuts, finely chopped 3 tbsp chia seeds 1/2 c hazelnuts, finely chopped 1/4 c pine nuts, chopped 3/4 - 1 c tahini 1/4 c raisin molasses 1) Mix all ingredients together on a baking tray. Bake at 170°C for 30-45 minutes until toasted and golden brown. Allow to cool and then serve with milk, yogurt or plain. The raisin molasses hadn't been the plan, but I picked it up in the Turkish grocery story strapped to the tahini as though they belong together, so when I put the tahini in, I figured that the raisin molasses might as well follow. It is not too sweet and has a relatively light flavour. I quite enjoy the combo and think it came out well in this, but the granola could work well with honey instead. I plan on playing around a little with different combinations over the next few months for different granolas, so stay tuned!

As mentioned in Day 18 of The Challenge As it was plum season, we somehow managed to buy several kilos of plums in a very short time period. In addition to eating them plain, they made their way into a variety of dishes. The plum jam was one batch, then the next day, starting with plums, apples and ginger in one pot, I split the jam and the chutney into 2 separate batches after passing it through the food mill. Play around with the sugar and spicing. I like my jam more fruity and less sweet. The compromise there though is that then it may be a little runnier, but I'll take it. If you like your jam sweeter or more gelled, add more sugar. Boiling for longer will also firm up the jam a little. Just be careful you don't boil it too long! One batch of marmalade I made a few years ago ended up a bit caramelised as the door bell rang just before it was ready. Plum Jam Ingredients: 2 kg of plums, halved and pitted 750g sugar 2 tbsp dried orange peel 1 cinnamon stick 2 tsp ground cloves 2 c water 1) Place plums in a heavy bottomed pan. Add water and bring to a simmer. Stir in other ingredients. Put a saucer in the freezer. 2) Stir occasionally to prevent the jam from sticking. As it thickens you'll need to stir more consistently. 3) Taste test to check for sugar and spicing. I go light on sugar, you might want to use more. 4) Drop some of the hot jam on the saucer from the freezer. If after a minute if starts to solidify and the top wrinkles and pulls tight, it should gel nicely once cool. If not, then boil it a bit longer or add sugar (or both). 5) To sterilize jars: boil clean jars and their lids for at least 15 minutes. Fill them with the boiling jam immediately on removing them from the boiling water (canning tongs make this so much easier and makes it less likely that you'll burn yourself, but you can do it with a spoon or a spatula and a dish cloth). Fill to just below the rim, wipe the grooves clean and screw the lid on tight. As the jars and contents cool, the centre of the lid should be sucked down and the jars will be sealed properly. Place the jars upside down on a clean cloth. Label when cool. (The part about putting them upside down is from my German Oma, I don't know what's behind it but it works. ) Plum and Apple Jam: Ingredients: 1 kg of plums 3 apples 1 large knob of ginger, peeled and minced or cut into julienne strips 4 cloves (2 tsp of ground cinnamon or 1 cinnamon stick. I didn't as I wanted this jam sufficiently different from the plum jam I had made the day before, but it works both ways) 500 g brown sugar 1) Place plums and apples in a heavy bottomed pan. Add water and bring to a simmer. Put a saucer in the freezer. 2) Stir occasionally to prevent the jam from sticking. As it thickens you'll need to stir more consistently. 3) Once the apples are soft, strain the jam through a food mill or push through a strainer. You can then either keep the skins and the pulp, as I did, or toss it and have jelly instead. Personally, I like the bits. 4) Stir in other ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste test to check for sugar and spicing (I tend to go easy on the sugar, so you might want to use more.) 5) Drop some of the hot jam on the saucer from the freezer. If after a minute if starts to solidify and the top wrinkles and pulls tight, it should gel nicely once cool. If not, then boil it a bit longer or add sugar (or both). 6) To sterilize jars: boil clean jars and their lids for at least 15 minutes. Fill them with the boiling jam immediately on removing them from the boiling water (canning tongs make this so much easier and makes it less likely that you'll burn yourself, but you can do it with a spoon or a spatula and a dish cloth). Fill to just below the rim, wipe the grooves clean and screw the lid on tight. As the jars and contents cool, the centre of the lid should be sucked down and the jars will be sealed properly. Place the jars upside down on a clean cloth. Label when cool. (The part about putting them upside down is from my German Oma, I don't know what's behind it but it works.) Plum and Apple Chutney: Ingredients: 1 kg of plums 3 apples 1 large knob of ginger, peeled and minced or cut into julienne strips 2 red onions, minced 2 red chillies 1/2 c apple cider vinegar 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 1 c brown sugar 1) Place plums and apples in a heavy bottomed pan. Add water and bring to a simmer. Put a saucer in the freezer. 2) Stir occasionally to prevent the jam from sticking. As it thickens you'll need to stir more consistently. 3) Once the apples are soft, strain the jam through a food mill or push through a strainer. Add the pulp and the peels to the strained fruit. 4) Stir in other ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste test to check for sugar and spicing. 5) Drop some of the hot chutney on the saucer from the freezer. If after a minute if starts to solidify and the top wrinkles and pulls tight, it should gel nicely once cool. If not, then boil it a bit longer or add sugar (or both). 6) To sterilize jars: boil clean jars and their lids for at least 15 minutes. Fill them with the boiling chutney immediately on removing them from the boiling water (canning tongs make this so much easier and makes it less likely that you'll burn yourself, but you can do it with a spoon or a spatula and a dish cloth). Fill to just below the rim, wipe the grooves clean and screw the lid on tight. As the jars and contents cool, the centre of the lid should be sucked down and the jars will be sealed properly. Place the jars upside down on a clean cloth. Label when cool. (The part about putting them upside down is from my German Oma, I don't know what's behind it but it works.) In my experience, these keep for several years if properly sealed. These batches all came out very well. My husband swore that each successive one was the best I'd ever made and then declared that he couldn't choose a winner. We always have far too much jam as I can't resist buying home-made jam at farmstalls, and I make some every year, but it is like money in the bank. With jam in the cupboard, breakfasts are safe for a while to come! Jam is so tasty stirred into porridge, spread on bread, waffles, pancakes or used in cooking... I'm also enjoying taking advantage of fruits in season as the appear.

As mentioned in Day 21 of The Challenge Growing up, my dad made jambalaya a lot. I have never been to the South of the US, never been to New Orelans or had true creole food, but jambalaya is a comfort food for me, a childhood flavour. I have no idea how close mine approximates a true jambalaya, call it a faux jambalaya if you want, but it is tasty and filling, with few dishes and a warming flavour hitting all the right notes. It can be meaty or fishy or both, always with a bunch of vegetables. I cheated for this one and used the last of my homemade Thai red curry paste as it needed using. Ingredients: 1 spicy sausage, sliced (I used Turkish Suçuk) 2 pieces of chicken per person 2 tbsp olive oil 4 prawns per person, shelled and veined 6 medium onions, roughly chopped 2 heads of garlic, chopped 3 tbsp Thai red curry paste 2 red peppers, chopped 3 celery stalks, chopped 1 courgette, chopped a dozen okra, chopped Hot peppers - as many or as few as you like depending on taste and which ones you have. I used 5 or 6 little ones of medium heat 2 cups of rice (we used a wild rice mix for this) 1 cup red cooking wine 4 cups broth 2 stalks fresh thyme 2 stalks fresh oregano 2 tsp cayenne pepper (or sometimes I substitute tandoori powder as it has a different heat and a warmth to it) 1 tsp cumin salt and pepper to taste. 1) Brown the chicken pieces and sausage in the oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Grind pepper over it while it cooks, add salt if you are going to, and add cayenne and cumin. Set aside. 2) Cook onions and garlic in the oil and sausage fats. When they change colour, add the curry paste and stir for a few minutes. Add the rest of the vegetables and allow them to start to soften slightly. 3) Add the cooking wine and cook further before adding the rice. (This allows the acid in the wine to react with the okra so they don't turn slimy). Stir until the rice turns translucent and add the broth. Stir the chicken and sausage back in, allowing them to cook alongside the rice, absorbing all the flavours now bubbling away. 4) Cook approximately 20 minutes until the rice is cooked and the liquid almost entirely absorbed. Tuck the shrimp into the rice 5 minutes before you are ready to serve and cook until they are just opaque. 5) Serve it hot, on its own, with mustard or hot sauce. Jambalaya is one of those dishes which never comes out the same way twice for me. The general lines of the dish are there, but the exact flavouring and final product depend on what meat and/or seafood I am in the mood for, what veg I have at home and what the sniff test around my spice cupboard reveals which might be of interest.... Play around with it, use whatever veg or meat you want, and tweak the spicing to suit you. Have fun!

baked ginger snap As with the Basler Christmas Cookies on Day 7, these are a Christmas cookie that are traditional

As mentioned in Day 18 of The Challenge As previously mentioned, it is plum season. We spent a couple of days making two types of plum jam and a plum and apple chutney, so we decided to use the immature chutney to marinate a couple of pork chops, which we then slow roasted over veg. Served with its veg and juices, with a cider on the side it was beautiful. Ingredients: 2 pork chops 4 carrots, sliced 3 potatoes, in chunks 2 red onions, chopped 1 apple, chopped 8 plums, chopped 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar 2 tsp cooking sake 1 red chilli, chopped 4 big cabbage leaves 2 tsp black sesame seeds 1) Line a deep oven proof dish with the cabbage leaves. Add potatoes, onions and carrot to the dish, reserving 1/2 onion. Place pork chops over the top. 2) Stew plums and apples in a small amount of water. Add sake and rice wine vinegar, chilli and the remaining half onion. 3) Spoon the plum and apple over the pork. Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the top. 4) Roast covered at 150°C for 2 hours, then uncover for the last 20 minutes. Serve with crusty bread for the juices. We were very happy with this. No tweaks! The pork was tender, the veg absorbed the flavours and juices. Extra juices are great mopped up, or save them for a risotto!

As mentioned on Day 16 of The Challenge This brings back memories of visiting my German grandparents near Frankfurt. Essentially we had 4 meals a day there, the three standard ones and a fourth, Kaffeetrinken, at about 4, where there would be fresh baked cakes (yes, plural), every day. Needless to say that visits involved a bit of weight gain, but also cooking with my Oma in her kitchen, and picking fresh fruit and berries in the garden with Opa. This recipe comes with fond memories, both of times with them and since starting to make it for myself. Plus, did I mention, it's plum season?! I hope you enjoy! Ingredients: Cake: 1 1/2 c flour 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp cinnamon 273 c butter, soft 3/4 c sugar 3 large eggs 3/4 c ground nuts (I like using almonds) 8 plums or apricots, halved and pitted Crumble topping: 1/4 c oats 1/8 c chilled butter in pieces 1/8 c light brown sugar 1/2 c nuts, chopped ( Walnuts or hazelnuts) 1) Sift dry cake ingredients. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and mix well. Add a little of the flour mixture, stir, and add in the rest and the ground nuts. 2) Spoon (yes, not pour, as it will be quite thick) the batter into a prepared pan. Arrange plums cut side up over the cake and press gently. 3) Mix crumble with fingers and scatter over the top of the cake. Sprinkle nuts over the top. 4) bake at 177°C for 45-50 minutes until golden and knife comes out clean. Cool in the pan 10 minutes then serve. It serves up well on its own, with cinnamon sugar, cream or heavy cream, custard, jam, or a combination of these (although that is a bit decadent!) I hope you enjoy this as much as I do and that you can create your own memories with it :)

After going up to my parents' chalet for Easter, we discovered on our return that there was a forgotten loaf of bread in the bread box which had gone very stale. I had been planning on making either French toast or bread pudding with it, and then I got a request for a sweet bread pudding recipe after my Eiderdown of a week or so ago. So it was decided, sweet bread pudding it was. There are many different ways of making this, and I don't think I make it quite the same way any two times I make it. I've made it with all sorts of different breads, including croissants, tresse and panettone which have gone stale. Sometimes I butter the slices, sometimes not. Often I add a layer of jam. Sometimes I sweeten the egg and milk mix, but not always. Occasionally I spice it, sometimes it has fruit or dried fruit. It all depends on my pantry and on my whims at the time of making it. The key is to give the bread enough liquid to soak up and enough time to absorb it in. And then have fun with it! Here's the one I made this time. Ingredients: 1 tbsp butter 1 loaf stale bread, sliced (mine was so stale that it shattered rather than slicing) 2-3 cups of milk or whey (I used a mix of each. Exactly how much liquid you need will depend on exactly how dry your bread is and exactly how much there is of it. Play it by ear.) 3 eggs, beaten 2-3 tbsp jam (in this case I used the last of a jar of mango syrup) Dried fruit - I added raisins (1/4c approx), a handful of chopped apricots and some dried ginger 1 banana, sliced 2 tbsp cinnamon sugar 1 c yogurt or sour cream Maple syrup to serve 1) Butter a shallow baking dish. Lay a first layer of bread slices. Spread the jam evenly over the layer (or drizzle the syrup as the case may be). Scatter some of the dried fruit over this first layer and tuck between pieces of bread. Layer the rest of the bread on top, and tuck the rest of the dried fruit between the pieces. 2) Beat together the eggs and about 2 cups of the milk or the whey. Pour evenly over the bread. Leave to soak over night. 3) Place the sliced banana over the top and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake uncovered at 180°C for about 45 minutes, until firm but moist with a golden crust on top. 4) Serve hot with a dollop of yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup. I am so grateful to have gotten a request for this as it is a while since I've made it. It made a very tasty breakfast, and cold later in the day was not bad for picking at! Don't be fooled by the way the bananas look when they come out of the oven either. They are pure caramel goodness! Enjoy it, and don't forget to have fun with it and play around with flavours a little!

Served up as a chicken melt. About a year ago, I made some of my own vinegars. After leaving them to age for a while to allow the flavours to develop, I started trying to think of ways to use them. I've used a number of them in different things (I used my apple and rosehip vinegar in my Black Pudding and Pumpkin Pie, and I used some of my lemon vinegar in the Creamy Lemon Pasta for example). An idea I had a while back was to use the rosehip vinegar in a homemade mayo and then to use that mayo as the flavour base for a chicken salad. It took a while but I finally got around to it. And I'm glad I did, too. It was nice to make my own mayo again after a bit of a hiatus since making my other ones. You could use apple cider vinegar instead of the rosehip vinegar for an easy swap. Recipe Cook Time: approx. 1 hour -- Portions: 4-6 -- Cooking Level: Easy Ingredients: for the mayo: 1 egg yolk 3/4 c rapeseed oil 3 tbsp rosehip vinegar 1 tsp mustard (preferably whole grain) pinch of sumac salt to taste For the chicken salad: 2 c shredded leftover roast chicken 2 celery sticks, diced 2 1/2- 3 tbsp rosehip mayo 3-4 tbsp yoghurt 1 tsp mustard 1 spring onion, dicced 1/2c raisins For the melts: butter, toast, grated cheese to top, urfa biber 1) Place the egg yolk in a small bowl and beat with a whisk. Then, very gradually, whisk in the oil, a few drops at a time to begin with. You can go a bit faster once it begins to emulsify. As it thickens, add the vinegar. Once all the oil is incorporated, stir in the mustard (I used some of my homemade wholegrain mustard) and the salt and sumac. Set aside. 2) In a large bowl, place the shredded chicken, then mix in the other ingredients. For the Chicken melts: Butter a cast iron skillet, then arrange pieces of toast on the bottom. Spoon chicken salad on top, sprinkle with grated cheese and urfa biber. Bake at 180°C until the cheese is melted and beginning to brown, 10-15 minutes. I was really pleased with these. They made a relatively quick and very easy dinner to assemble. Trying to juggle Little Bit and Littler Bit's schedules, I made the mayo and the chicken salad ahead of time, then the melts were extremely quick and easy when we got home. The flavour of the rosehip vinegar worked in the mayo, but was less pronounced than I would have liked it, and even less so in the chicken salad. As a whole though, the flavours were delightfully balanced. The mayo, yoghurt and cheese do produce a rather rich meal, but in my defence, temperatures outside were decidedly negative and we had been out rolling in the snow. Swaps and substitutions: If need be, it would work equally well with leftover turkey. Use apple cider vinegar instead of the homemade one, or in a pinch, use a pre-made mayo. Skip the raisins and toast to make it keto-friendly, or use gluten-free toast for a gluten-free meal. Instead of Urfa Biber, use your favourite tandoori or paprika to sprinkle over the top. Leftover cabbage in the fridge? Slice some thinly and use that instead of the celery. Book Pairing: While mixing the mayo, I was listening to Adam Kay's This is Going to Hurt, all about his time in the NHS. Having worked in the NHS just after he left, it did bring back some memories, some good, some bad. Nurses had it easier than junior doctors at that point, so my experiences were quite different, but many experiences resonated, from idiots in A&E, especially on a Friday night (looking at you Glasgow), to the unavoidable, or even worse, the avoidable deaths. It was entertainingly written for the most part, and I did enjoy it, but it was bittersweet. I do definitely recommend it if you feel you don't understand why nurses and doctors have been striking in UK.