Chocolate Muffins

Chocolate muffins for New Year's Day.

I made these on the spur of the moment, and didn't follow a recipe as such (I've made them before). I used 250g of spelt flour, three teaspoonfuls of baking powder, a dessert spoonful of sunflower oil, six dessert spoonfuls of drinking chocolate powder, six teaspoonfuls of black treacle, a dash of nutmeg and half a teaspoonful of mixed spice. Plus two large eggs and two pinches of salt.

I added the eggs to 300 mls of cold water, the treacle, and the salt. Beaten thoroughly. Then I began to add the dry assemblage of the spelt, chocolate powder, baking powder, plus the nutmeg and the mixed spice. Beat thoroughly together along with the sunflower oil. Allow to stand for ten minutes or so.

The oven was preheated to 180 deg C. Add three dessert spoonfuls of the muffin mixture to each muffin case. Cook for thirty minutes, watching progress carefully.

Apricot, Date and Almond Salad

An incredibly simple and satisfying fruit salad, with apricots, dates and almonds.

I used semi-dried apricots rather than fresh, which I soaked in water overnight. This version of the dish is sweeter than what you get if you use fresh apricots.

In the morning I halved the apricots, and diced the dates (be sure to stone the dates if you haven't bought them pre-stoned). I kept the juice from the apricots, and fortified it with a shot-glass full of Scotch whisky (Bourbon will do fine instead!).

I added whole almond kernels, without crushing them, and put the fruit and nuts in the fridge for three hours.

Serve with yoghurt dressed in a little nutmeg or mixed spice.

Fruit Salad with Spiced Yoghurt

A Fruit salad containing apple, seeded orange, and melon pieces, plus red seedless grapes, dressed in three dessert spoonfuls of yoghurt (or yoghurt made with soya, which is a pretty good substitute). The Yoghurt was flavoured with a quarter teaspoonful each of mixed spice and ground mace.

Mix the yoghurt and the spices in a small bowl and decant into the serving bowl. Lay the fruit pieces on top, and give the fruit a couple of swirls before serving.

Red Grape, Honey, and Pecan Salad

Food of the Gods. Halved red grapes, sliced nectarine, half an apple, finely sliced, diced dates, pecan nuts, a dash each of mixed spice and cinnamon, and a dash of white pepper.

Mix into the fruit a dessert spoonful of soft honey, and allow to stand for 10 to 15 minutes. Add the pecan nuts, and stir in Greek yoghurt. Serve.

Seeing this recipe, a friend said: 'Greek yoghurt is fabulous, and even more so if you use Greek honey... [it has] quite a distinctive, herby flavour...' Which is true. Greek honey is worth trying with this recipe.

Red Grape, Honey, and Pecan Salad