Light banana pancakes

Ingredients

One over ripe slightly fermenting banana 

One egg

1 tbsp plain flour (wheat or buckwheat etc) 

A little olive oil or fat 

Method 

1. Mash the winey banana in a large breakfast cup.
2. Break the egg into the cup and stir.
3. Add a spoonful of flour, and whisk it a little.
4. Leave it to stand for a bit. (The longer you leave it the more bubbly it will be).
5. Heat the oil in a large flat non-stick pan and fry small drop scone size spoonfuls of the mixture.
6. Turn once with a non-stick spatula.
7. Serve with fruit and cream or syrup etc.

Good for breakfast or pudding at any time. Can also be taken on picnics.

 

Catherine's best oatmeal pancakes

Make the batter a bit in advance if possible, to allow the oatmeal to soak up the liquid. If you are serving the pancakes with bacon and syrup for breakfast, cook the bacon in the pan first and then keep it warm while you fry the pancakes in the bacon fat that remains in the pan. You can also mix in chopped apple, apple rings or slices of banana to make fritters (very good with bacon and maple syrup!).

Ingredients

1 oz fine oatmeal
1 egg
Pinch of salt
A little milk

Method

1. Weigh up the oatmeal and put it in a large soup cup or small bowl
2. Break the egg into it, and stir to make a thick batter
3. Add a small slosh of milk (about 2tsp) and the pinch of salt.
4. Leave the batter to stand for as long as poss (five minutes is good, an hour is better, overnight is fine).
5. Add more milk to achieve the right consistency. The batter can be thickish for small griddle cake/scotch pancakes, or a bit thinner for large crepes.
6. Heat an oiled griddle or crepe pan or frying pan (or the pan left after frying bacon), and cook the pancakes. 

Serve them with bacon, fruit, yogurt and syrup for breakfast. Serve them with lemon and sugar for pancake day. Save the extras and use them as sandwich wraps. Spread them with jam, or cheese...

Catherine's best baked eggs

For starter or light meal, serve one egg for each person. For a main meal for hungry and hardworking folk, you can put two large eggs in some or all of the pots.
Preheat the oven to 180º/350º/Gas 4.

You will need:

Ramekins or other small oven-proof dishes, one for each person.

Ingredients:

• Eggs: one or two per person, as explained above.
• Tzatziki: about a teaspoon per person.
• Double cream: about two tsp per person.
• Seasalt

Method

1. Break one or two eggs into each small oven-proof dish.
2. Blob a small spoonful of tzatziki into the egg white (anywhere: no need to spread it).
3. Grind a little salt over the egg.
4. Pour enough double cream over the top to more or less cover the surface. (Do this slowly: the cream will rise to the surface after a moment. Don't put more than you need).
5. Stand the dishes on a baking tray. Some people say you should put some hot water in the tray but that will slow the cooking down and makes little difference to how much they stick. 
6. Bake in the oven until the top rises and browns a little. About 10 to 15 minutes I guess.
7. Serve the eggs in the dishes, on a larger plate with toast fingers and garnish for a starter, or on a larger plate with vegetables and side dishes for a main meal.

Note: The cream is to prevent the top of the eggs going leathery: it can't be omitted. A little grated cheese can be used instead if you have no cream.

Lemon Curd

For this recipe you will need a microwave oven (conventionally it is done in a double boiler saucepan).

Makes about three jars.

Ingredients:

1 lb sugar
4 eggs
4 lemons
8 oz butter

Method:

1. Find a large mixing bowl, made of glass, plastic or china (not metal).
2. Put the pat of butter in the mixing bowl and warm it in the microwave for 30 seconds to soften it.
3. Add the grated rind and juice of the lemons to the bowl.
4. Add the sugar.
   
5. Put the bowl in the microwave again and heat it for a minute or two till it's all runny. Stir it.
   
6. Add the eggs and beat the mixture with a hand whisk (or a fork would probably do okay) until it's all smooth and a consistent colour and consistency all through.
7. Microwave for 30 seconds on full power. Remove and whisk the mixture again.
8. Repeat step 7 for as many times as required (about 7-8 times) until the mixture becomes thick and creamy. It must not boil. Use medium power for the last one or two sessions if you are anxious about going too far.
9. Pot into warm glass jam jars, and screw on the lids while it is still hot (or use the traditional wax paper and cellophane jam covers).
10. Use within about 4 weeks. May need to be refrigerated after opening depending on how fast you eat it.
    

No flour chocolate cake

250 g bitter/plain chocolate
2 tbsp milk
6 tbsp sugar
6 eggs separated
240 g ground almonds

(For some reason the hand written version of this recipe also has [butter & flour) written on the bottom of the left column of ingredients... possibly it means butter and flour the tin before you pour the stuff in)

Preheat oven, 180ºC.

1. Melt the chocolate with the milk in a bain marie vel sim.
2. Mix melted chocolate with almonds, sugar and egg yolks and beat well.
3. Fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites and pour into cake tin, preferably with removable base. [no size given...]
4. Bake in preheated oven for 3/4 to one hour.
5. When cool, turn out and sprinkle with caster sugar/icing sugar to decorate.

Icing:

125 g plain chocolate
50g unsalted butter
1 egg, beaten
175 g sifted icing sugar

1. Melt chocolate and butter in bain marie
2. Mix with wooden spoon
3. Add egg and beat until smooth
4. Remove mixture from heat.
5. Stir in icing sugar and beat until smooth and glossy.
6. Pour straight on for smooth thin icing or leave to cool for thicker icing (recommended)
   

Cottage Cheese Griddle Cakes

Ingredients:

1 tbsp melted butter
4 oz (100 g) cottage cheese
2 eggs
2 oz (50 g) Self raising flour
1 tbsp milk

1. Add the melted butter to the cottage cheese and gradually whisk in the eggs (a hand whisk or fork is fine for this).
2. Stir in the flour and milk, and mix to a smooth thick batter.
3. Grease the griddle or frying pan.
   
4. Heat the griddle or frying pan.
5. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto the griddle. Turn them over with a wooden spatula or with a knife and wooden spoon. They should be golden on both sides by the end.
6. Serve freshly cooked with crisp hot bacon, honey, jam or jelly.

"These scones are very light and digestible, and particularly good for anyone who does not want much starch in his diet."

Bread and Butter pudding: an everyday version

Ingredients:

• About six slices of bread, white or brown. Stale baguettes are good but you'll need lots of slices if so!
• Lots of butter (salted variety is best)
• A handful of sultanas, currants or raisins
• Two eggs, made up to one pint with full cream milk
• Two tablespoons of demerara sugar or white sugar
• Spice etc if desired.

1. Butter an ovenproof dish.
2. Cut the crusts off the slices of bread and butter them on one side.
3. Cut them into irregular shapes and lay some in a layer on the bottom of the dish, butter side down. Sprinkle a few sultanas etc on.
4. Lay another layer of bread and butter pieces, butter side up this time, and sprinkle with fruit again.
5. Continue until all the bread is used up.
6. Whisk the eggs with the milk and pour over the bread and butter layers.
7. Leave to soak for an hour.
8. Sprinkle the top with sugar, and a little spice if you like.

Bake for about 35 minutes in a moderate oven, at 350º F, 180º C, 160º for a fan oven and Gas mark 4. The pudding should be bouncy and not too runny in the middle, nor too brown at the edges.
Serve with cream and/or fruit.