Banana, honey and oat smoothie

Smooth, creamy and filling :-)

Makes: 1 serving
Takes: 1 minute

Ingredients

1 ripe banana
1 heaped tbsp oats
1 tsp honey
some milk

Method

1. Peel the banana and break it into 3 or 4 pieces. Put it into a blender with the oats and honey and add some milk. Blend until smooth.
2. Er.... That's it!

Sorry I can't be more specific about the quantity of milk, I basically just pour it in till it looks about right, but it must be about a cupful. You can use any kind of milk (full-fat or lower-fat cow's milk, soya milk, rice milk, almond milk, etc) - my own preference is for skimmed. A bit more milk will make a slightly thinner smoothie; the way I make it, it turns out the thickness of a McDonald's milkshake!

Aromatic Chicken Curry

This is a full-flavoured curry with a rich sauce, delicious with rice and naan bread :-) (Chipped plate optional!)

Makes: 2 servings
Takes: 15 minutes preparation + 30 minutes cooking time

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion
1 garlic clove
3cm piece of fresh ginger root
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp garam masala
2 ripe tomatoes
2 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts
150ml (1/4 pint) chicken stock
2 tbsp half-fat creme fraiche
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Finely chop the onion and crush the garlic, add to the pan and cook for 5 minutes until softened.
2. Finely grate the ginger and add to the pan with the spices, cooking for a further minute.
3. Chop the tomatoes and cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add tomatoes and chicken to the pan with the chicken stock and bring to the boil.
4. Turn the heat down to medium and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the sauce is thick and rich.
5. Turn off the heat and stir in the creme fraiche, adding salt and pepper to taste.

The sauce can be frozen at the end of step 4. Reheat then add the creme fraiche to serve.
It's easy to increase the quantities (especially if wanting to freeze part of the sauce) but allow extra cooking time.
You can use garlic puree, ginger puree and a couple of tinned tomatoes if preferred.