Not your everyday sandwich

a pack of part cooked ciabetta or slices of bread

one pack of halloumi cheese

half a cucumber

tub of hummus

lemon

jar of roasted peppers

olive oil

rocket

started with a part cooked ciabetta(these are the small ones that look like rolls) and put it in the oven for 5/6 mins. While this is cooking fry a fairly thick slice of halloumi cheese in a bit of olive oil until golden on both sides. When the bread is ready cut it in half and spread it with houmous or hummus. Peel a cucumber and put a wedge on the bread. Get a roasted pepper from a jar and put a quarter on the bread. Put on the halloumi cheese and some rocket. mmmmm oh yeah and a a squeeze of lemon over it.

You could use toast instead of the ciabetta and you could roast your own pepper if you wanted.

Grandmother's Chicken Fried Rice

Serves 2

1 tablespoon ground nut oil

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

2 shallots finely chopped

2 dried chinese mushrooms (pre-soaked in hot water for 20mins)

100g skinless chicken breast finely diced

1 tablespoon of shaohsing rice wine

1 tsp five spice powder

1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

25g dry roasted peanuts

150g cooked jasmine rice

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

ground white pepper

1 spring onion

Heat a wok or pan over a high heat add the ground nut oil. Add the ginger, shallots and mushrooms and cook for a few seconds

Add the chicken and cook for a minute or two then and the rice wine followed by five spice powder. As the chicken starts to turn white add the dark soy sauce. Add the peanuts and then the rice , mix well and stir-fry for 1 minute. Season lightly with light soy sauce , sesame oil and pepper to taste and stir to mix. finally stir in the spring onion, transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately.

menu for the week

Tues: Quorn Vindaloo (Jamie MOF)

Wed: Not Your Everyday Sandwich (Bill Grainger)

Thurs: Silvana's Pan Fried Pizza (

Fri: Grandmother's Chicken Fried Rice (Ching-He)

Sat: Trout in a Bag

Sun: Caramel Salmon (Bill Grainger)

Mon: Valentine's welsh rarebit

Menu for the week

Tues: Welsh Rarebit

Wed: Spanakopita

Thu: Caramelized onion and bacon fritata

Fri: Spicy potato pasties

Sat: Cavalero nero bruschetta

Sun: Cauliflower quiche

Mon: Hash browns with soft poached eggs and roasted cherry tomatoes

Granola bars (from Ottolenghi book)

Oh these are good, you make them in a similar way to the granola, you mix all the dry ingredients together and then add the melted butter, sugar etc to bind together. I changed some of the ingredients ; for example I didn't have dried cherries so I put in californian raisins, I think I might try dates next time, also I didn't have enough sesame seeds so I put some poppy seeds in.

I also used a mix of honey and maple syrup, same reason. You need to bake it in the same way as flapjack, low heat 150C in the middle of the oven for about 20 mins and gently mark it into bars when hot and then WAIT until it is cold and separate into bars.

45g Pecan nuts

45g dried apricots roughly chopped

45g dried cherries

45g pumpkin seeds

30g sesame seeds

30g ground almonds

190g rolled oats

one and a quarter teaspoons Cinnamon

pinch of salt

95g unsalted butter

85g honey

95g demerara sugar ( I used soft brown)

Line /grease baking tray with parchment so it doesn't stick

oven 150C and roast pecan nuts for 8 mins. Soften and rehydrate apricots and cherries by soaking in hot water for a few mins. Chop apricots.

Mix all ingredients except for butter honey and sugar into a big bowl ( I broke up the nuts a bit)

Put honey , sugar and butter into a small pan and cook , simmer until golden brown, don't burn it. Mix this together with dry ingredients and press into the baking tin.

Just like flapjack really.

Bake until coloured on top, experience will guide you here because all cookers seem to be different.