Home Made: Good, honest food made easy

Linguine puttanesca (#litres_trial_promo)

Penne with fresh tomato, chilli and prawns (#litres_trial_promo)

Rigatoni with purple sprouting broccoli and pancetta (#litres_trial_promo)

Pappardelle with butter, mushrooms, parsley and garlic (#litres_trial_promo)

High summer spaghetti (#litres_trial_promo)

Linguine with crab and chilli (#litres_trial_promo)

Seafood pasta (#litres_trial_promo)

Ciabatta bruschetta (#litres_trial_promo)

Mini pizzas (#litres_trial_promo)

French bread pizza (#litres_trial_promo)

Fruit (#litres_trial_promo)

Clementine tart (#litres_trial_promo)

Peach cobbler (#litres_trial_promo)

Oranges in red wine (#litres_trial_promo)

Pineapple and mint sherbet (#litres_trial_promo)

Lemon and meringue puddings (#litres_trial_promo)

Tasty apple tarts (#litres_trial_promo)

Banana tarte tatin (#litres_trial_promo)

Maple syrup nectarines and warm raspberry sauce (#litres_trial_promo)

Roast plums with cinnamon and lemon (#litres_trial_promo)

Apple snow (#litres_trial_promo)

Easy blueberry tart (#litres_trial_promo)

Chocolate (#litres_trial_promo)

Chocolate and beetroot cake (#litres_trial_promo)

Chocolate and vanilla fancy biscuit bites (#litres_trial_promo)

White chocolate cake with dark chocolate topping (#litres_trial_promo)

White chocolate-coated strawberry ice-cream balls (#litres_trial_promo)

Chocolate soufflé cake with cherries and mascarpone (#litres_trial_promo)

Chocolate bread and butter pudding (#litres_trial_promo)

Chocolate pancakes (#litres_trial_promo)

All-purpose chocolate sauce (#litres_trial_promo)

Chocolate Malteser ice cream (#litres_trial_promo)

Chocolate caramel slices (#litres_trial_promo)

Acknowledgements (#litres_trial_promo)

Index (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

Cook’s Notes (#ulink_e7ce4984-4559-5313-84b2-6302466988d7)

Butter: The type of butter is specified where it is critical.

Citrus fruit: If you’re using the zest of oranges and lemons, buy unwaxed fruit. If you can’t find this, wash the fruit in hot water before use.

Eggs: These are medium size unless specified otherwise. I use free-range eggs.

Poultry: I buy free-range wherever possible.

Salt and pepper: Generally I use sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper; sometimes white pepper is more appropriate and a finer or coarser grade of salt is required, and the recipe will tell you this.

Spoon measures: All spoon measures are level unless otherwise stated.

Introduction (#ulink_7fd5fc57-439d-5aab-aa27-784308f1199d)

Home has always been the most important place in my life – from my earliest childhood memories when home was the farm I lived on with my parents, brothers and sister, right up to today when home is where Gordon, the kids and I retreat to from the chaos of our busy lives. Even the word ‘home’ conjures up so many emotions for me – happiness, love, security; it’s my haven from the world outside.

When I was growing up in the country, life seemed much simpler than it does today. On non-school days my brothers, sister and I would leave the house early in the morning and run around the fields, making camps amongst the hay bales and only returning home when we were hungry. My children don’t have such freedom to roam in the modern city, but, just as we were, they are out at school and other activities from early in the morning and really active from dawn to dusk. And as they get older, life seems to get even busier.

Weekdays are usually pretty chaotic, and after all the rushing around, the place we all long to be is home, where we can have time out and find some sense of peace (as much as you can with four boisterous children bouncing around the house!). Home is the place where my family and I can switch off and just be. As a family of two working parents and four busy schoolchildren, coming home gives us the opportunity to be together, to take a break from the madness and pause long enough to catch up on everything that’s going on.

Once through the door, the coats and bags are put away and we all switch from working mode into a more relaxed atmosphere. We usually end up in the kitchen and talk about our days and all the things that made it good or bad – doing well at sport or lessons, something nice that someone said, not making the school team or play, or the friendship fall-outs and fights. All these things can be poured out within the comfort and security of our home, where we all know that none of us will judge the other, but just listen. This is home. This is where, for us, real life happens.

Even before I had my children, creating a sense of home was important to me; just as now it is a place for us to talk with the children, so it was for Gordon and me before they arrived on the scene. When we first met he was working late every night and I was working all day and studying to be a Montessori teacher in the evenings, but even then we would have a cup of tea in the small hours when he got home so that we could spend time together (something we still do now). Like any other mother, I want the best for our children; I want them to be happy and healthy and remember their childhood as fondly as I do mine. Even though my childhood in the country was very different to their urban lifestyle, the one thing that remains the same is having that sense of security and peace. And that’s what I believe a home is all about.