Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients
150g Plain Chocolate (chopped into small chunks)
4 Tablespoons Chocolate chips
65g Self Raising Flour
4 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder
215g Light Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
120ml Sunflower Oil
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Essence
75g Chopped Mixed Nuts (or just chopped nuts that you like, walnuts? pecans?)

Equipment
1x19cm Square Cake Tin (greased)
1 Sauce Pan (half filled with boiling water and a bowl sat in it to melt the chocolate)
1 Large Mixing Bowl
1 Electric Whisk (although a balloon whisk/fork will do)
1 Sieve
1 Spatula/Wooden Spoon (for mixing and spreading out mixture)
1 Wire Rack

The Good Bit

1. Pre heat your oven too 180c 350f gas 4, start by melting the chocolate in the bowl over just barely simmering water, beat the eggs, oil sugar and vanilla essence together in your mixing bowl then stir in the melted chocolate (this is where the whisk comes in handy)
2. Once you have a smooth mixture sift in the flour and cocoa powder and fold in with either the spatula or the wooden spoon, finally stir in the chopped nuts and chocolate chips then tip out into the cake tin and smooth over the top.
3. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the top is crusty then allow to cool slightly before moving onto the wire rack, when it is cold enough, cut into chunks and serve (cream or custard goes really well)
   

Pork in Coconut Milk

Ingredients
750g Pork
2 Onions (quartered)
4 Red chillies
25g Mixed nuts
1 Teaspoon Thai Fish Sauce (or 1/2 teaspoon shrimp paste)
250ml Water
200ml Coconut Milk
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 Lemon (juiced)
A Splash of Oil
Fresh Coconut Slices to garnish
Fresh Coriander (chopped to garnish)

Equipment
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Zester
1 Blender/Food Processor
1 Frying Pan
1 Spatula
1 Ladle

The Good Bit

1. Put the onion, nuts, chillies, fish sauce and 1 tablespoon of water into the blender and blend until you have a paste, once this is scoop into the frying pan with a splash of oil and heat for 4 minutes over a low heat, then add the pork and cook until evenly coloured and coated with the paste.
2. Pour in the water and add a pinch of salt, cover and cook for for 30 minutes. At this stage add in 200ml (1/2 a 400ml can) of coconut milk, leave the lid off now and simmer for a further 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Finally drop in the sugar and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, give it a good stir then ladle into bowls, to be fancy you can garnish with strips of fresh coconut, a sprinkle of chopped coriander leaves and for a touch of red, a couple of thin strips of red chilli,
   

Serves 4

Autumn Crumble

Ingredients
250g Blackberries (picked fresh in august they are at their sweetest, i know i went picking some yesterday!)
2 Cooking Apples (peeled, cored and chopped into slices)
150g Sugar
2 Teaspoons Cornflour
125g Plain Flour
50g Butter (diced)
50g Demerara Sugar
25g Bran Flakes (optional but adds texture and crunch)
50g Chopped Mixed Nuts

Equipment
2 Mixing Bowls
2 Wooden Spoons
1 Oven Proof Dish

The Good Bit

1. Pre heat your oven too190c/ 375f/ gas 5. Mix the fruit in a bowl then sprinkle over the sugar and cornflower, gently stir this with a wooden spoon, pour mixture into your oven proof dish.
2. Sift the flour into the other mixing bowl and add the butter, mix together with your fingers until you have breadcrumbs then add the nuts, bran flakes and demerara sugar and mix this together, whack on top of the fruit and level out with the back of a spoon.
3. Cook for 40-45 minutes until golden brown, serve hot with either custard or ice cream.

Serves 4