Doro wat is a peppery, spicy stew from Ethiopia. I first came across it when I was living in Northern Kenya near the Ethiopian border and always looked forward to opportunities to enjoy a serving of doro wat. Traditionally, goat is used as the protein in this dish; however, we prefer to keep it vegetarian and the Indian cheese – paneer works very well.

Is there a better breakfast than hot fresh baguettes straight from the oven? (Well, probably, ‘yes’… but these are fantastic, especially when eaten with homemade marmalade).

The baguettes start with one quantity of sourdough (to make sourdough see sourdough bread). Leave it overnight and then turn the dough out onto a floured surface.

Yesterday, we made vegetarian’s pie and cooked an extra 650g of potatoes in preparation for making gnocchi today. Gnocchi is not only delicious and easy to make, it is also fun to make especially if you have children wanting to help in the kitchen.

This is a version of shepherd’s pie but, as the name suggests, only using vegetables. It uses lentils in place of meat and, if you haven’t used lentil or simply don’t like the idea of lentils, do give this one a go; you might be surprised at how good they are in this pie. This recipe can easily be made vegan and is already gluten-free.

Scones – a teatime treat and very easy to rustle up in minutes.

This recipe calls for clotted cream; if you can’t get clotted cream, then you could use whipped cream (but they won’t be as good) and any jam (‘jelly’ for you Americans) will work.
[Edit: I am very grateful to Carole in Washington DC for pointing out to me that I have misunderstood the American difference between jelly and jam. I had made the assumption that ‘jelly’ was the American word for ‘jam’ – probably from years of watching movies that refer to ‘pb&j sandwiches’. I have discovered that in the US jelly is jam without the ‘bits’; which is not so far from the UK definition. My misunderstanding might have come from the UK/US difference between jelly and jell-o.]

Today, I have pickled some large chillies. These are great – they are a combination of sweet (from the sugar), acidic (vinegar), heat and salt. Overall, they are delicious and can be eaten with (almost) anything. We especially like them with fishcakes and stir-fried rice.

They are very easy to prepare and keep well in the fridge (although they are so good they don’t last long).

These really are easy vanilla biscuits (and for American readers, these are not biscuits, they are cookies). One reason we like these is that they are very ‘light’ on sugar – of course, you could add more but please do try them like this.

They can be made with white flour, wholemeal flour or gluten-free flour and, if you can’t get self-raising flour you can use plain (all-purpose) flour and add baking powder.

As a family, we are mostly vegetarian. I will eat pretty much anything, the boys eat meat at school and Rose occasionally eats fish (and calls herself a pescatarian). Most of our meals at home are vegetarian and those that aren’t only incorporate fish. Last night we decided it was time for a ‘fish-fix’ and opted for fishcakes.

This is Rose’s recipe and Rose cooked them; I am simply reporting on them – so all credit should go to her (they were delicious).

There are those evenings when all you want is fast-food. This rice stir-fry is our family ‘go-to’ when we are not in the mood to make a complicated dinner. It is ready in minutes. The quantities are very variable; these ones below are for four people.