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Original recipe Makes 2 servings (sauce + 2 servings of spaghetti) Ingredients 1 tin tomatoes 1 medium sized yellow onion 5 tablespoons butter 1 1/4 teaspoons salt Directions Put everything in a pot over medium heat. When mixture bubbles, lower to a slow but steady simmer. Stir ever 15-20 minutes until sauce has reduced (45 minutes) Toss together with 2 servings of spaghetti, optionally top with parmesan cheese. Notes I added pepper, olive oil, red wine vinegar, thyme, rosemary, and chopped parsley from the garden. This recipe is easy to add to and hard to mess up.

Original Recipe Ingredients 250g high grade plain flour 1tsp fine sea salt 250g butter, at room temperature, but not soft About 150ml cold water Directions Makes 700g pastry. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Roughly break the butter in small chunks, add them to the bowl and rub them in loosely. You need to see bits of butter. Make a well in the bowl and pour in about two-thirds of the cold water, mixing until you have a firm rough dough adding extra water if needed. Cover with cling film and leave to rest for 20 mins in the fridge. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board, knead gently and form into a smooth rectangle. Roll the dough in one direction only, until 3 times the width, about 20 x 50cm. Keep edges straight and even. Don’t overwork, you should have a marbled effect from the butter streaks. Divide rolled pastry into thirds visually. Fold a third across then fold the remaining third over the top. Cover with cling film and chill for at least 20 mins. Give the dough a quarter turn (to the left or right) and roll out as before to three times the length. Fold as before. Depending on time and for best results you should repeat this rolling, folding (laminating) and chilling process 3 times before rolling and cutting pastry for use. Notes If using a stand mixer then grate butter into bowl and mix using paddle attachment Freezes well. Freeze before final fold. Always mark (finger dents) how many folds your pastry has

Original Recipe Ingredients 1 medium onion, chopped 2 celery ribs, chopped 1 cup shredded carrots 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed 3 chicken bouillon cubes 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 12 cups water 2 cups uncooked egg noodles 2 cans (14-3/4 ounces each) cream-style corn 1/4 cup butter Directions Place first 8 ingredients in a Dutch oven; bring slowly to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until chicken is no longer pink and vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in noodles, corn and butter. Cook, uncovered, until noodles are tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Original Recipe Ingredients 1 kg apricots 300 g sugar 1 vanilla pod 10 cardamom pods 1 organic lemon (Makes 4 small jars) Directions Wash the apricots and remove the stones. Collect them in a large pot with the split vanilla bean and the lemon juice. Add also the squeezed lemon to the pot, as it will release pectin, very important to have a thick jam. Crush the cardamom pods and place them in a piece of tighly closed cheese cloth. Add the cardamom, too. Cook the apricots over low heat for about 20 minutes, or until they begin to collapse. Stir often. When the apricots are soft, remove the vanilla bean, the cardamom pods and the two half lemons, then mash the apricots. Add the sugar and stir well until melted. Put the pot back on the stove and bring to a boil, then simmer for about 20 minutes. If you have a pastry thermometer, the jam will be ready when it reaches 105°C. The jam will be still very liquid, it will thicken up once cooled down. You can also check empirically whether the jam is ready or not with the saucer test. Pour a drop of jam onto a cold dish from the freezer. If it thickens and does not slip away when you tilt the saucer, the jam is ready to be poured into sterilized jars. To sterilise the jars, you can boil the jars placed in a large pot and covered with water for about 20 minutes. Then turn off the heat and let the jars cool down completely before removing them. They can be kept in the pantry for more than a year.