Strawberry & Maple Syrup Salad

This fruit salad is gorgeous. Maybe it is not strawberry season but you can find strawberries all over the place in supermarkets. Anyhow this is just one of our favourite quickly homemade desserts. We used pure Canadian maple syrup which we get straight from Canada, thanks to our dear friend Steven :)) You can enjoy it with vanilla ice-cream, whipped cream or on its own. If you do not have maple syrup you can always use golden syrup...although it does not taste the same! The combination is just delicious. You will need...

• 1 punnet of fresh strawberries, trimmed & halved
• 2 peaches, peeled & stones removed
• 1 banana, sliced
• 2 tablespoons raisins or sultanas
• Pure maple syrup, to taste

Method

1. Mix the fruit slowly in a bowl so as not not to break up the fruit.
2. Pour the maple syrup whilst mixing with the other hand, so as all the fruit is covered in the gorgeous syrup.
3. Serve with vanilla ice-cream, whipped cream or on its own.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Scrumptious Potato Cakes

I mastered these potato cakes from leftover mashed potatoes but if you do not have any leftover mashed potatoes, no problem at all! You can quickly boil two large potatoes and mashed them with some butter...it's important that you do not add any milk to the mash as this will make the cakes very soft and they will crumble very easily when you try and lift them...even when cooked. These cakes turned up so tasty and most of all filling! So make sure you give these a go! They are suitable for vegetarians. You can serve them with a nice fresh crisp green salad and a dollop of mayonnaise! You will need....

• 2 large potatoes, boiled
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 small sweet red pepper, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons grated hard cheese like Kefalotiri, Parmesan or Grana Padano
• Pinch of sweet or hot paprika
• Ground black pepper, to taste
• Pinch of salt
• 15g butter (to mash the potatoes)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 tablespoons plain flour
• 3/4 tablespoons golden breadcrumbs

Method

1. Heat the oil in a small frying pan and add the onion and red pepper. Fry them on medium heat until soft, cover for a few minutes if necessary...about 5-8 minutes.
2. Whilst the pepper and onion are cooking, mash the potatoes with the butter, leaving them a bit lumpy this will give the cakes  a nice coarse texture.
3. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
4. When the onion & pepper are done, add to the mashed potatoes together with the remaining ingredients. Mix well to combine all the ingredients. Set aside.
5. Now place the beaten egg in a saucer, the flour in a plate and the breadcrumbs on another plate. Shape the potato mixture into 4 cakes. Now carefully first dip each one first in the beaten egg, then into flour and then into the breadcrumbs until well coated.
6. Carefully place on a grease-proof paper lined oven dish and bake in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes.
7. Serve with a fresh green salad and some mayonnaise (or any other condiment) to dip them in!!

Enjoy!!

R&A