They look classier over at Bakerella's beautiful blog, but i chose to shorten the process for almost immediate satisfaction.

1 cup peanut butter
½ cup sugar
1 egg
approximately 18 chips of chocolate

Preheat oven to 325ºF/ 160ºC
Mix peanut butter, sugar and egg until well blended.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Pinch into 18 pieces and roll mixture into small balls.
Place on cookie sheet 2 inches apart.
Place a chip of chocolate in the centre of each cookie ball and flatten with a fork to make a criss-cross pattern.
Bake 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned.
Cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet and then cool completely on a wire rack.

Happy Birthday Baby Boy

Being a single parent (or at least, the only parent at home) brings an extra responsibility on birthdays and christmases. I have felt anxious about this one in particular - his first in double figures, the significant 10.

I've been a mum for a decade, and i still feel like a total novice.

Rhubarb & Fresh Ginger Crumble Cake, Adapted from Tamasin Day Lewis' Kitchen Classics.

Crumble

110g plain flour

4 tablespoons light muscovado sugar

85g unsalted butter

Pulse the ingredients together briefly until they stick together in a gravelly fashion.

Fruit

750g rhubarb, cut into 1cm chunks

2 tablespoons vanilla caster sugar

1 inch (thumb knuckle size) of dried ginger root, finely grated.

Toss the rhubarb, sugar and ginger pulp together. Use ground ginger if you wish - a teaspoon or so - but the dried root, with its papery skin which i don't bother to peel, has a particular fresh flavour that works best.


Cake

170g softened, unsalted butter

170g vanilla caster sugar

3 eggs, beaten

170g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tablespoon milk

Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and adding a spoon of sifted flour if the mixture looks like curdling. Sift in the rest of the flour and baking powder, folding carefully and firmly. Fold in the milk.

Scrape the mixture into a 25cm springform cake tin, base lined with baking parchment. Pile the rhubarb on the batter, then sprinkle the crumble over the top. Bake for an hour at 190ºC.





The crumble will be golden, crunchy and smelling of sweet butter.

Leave to cool for 15 minutes and eat warm with cream, although just as delicious cold, later.

gluten-free hazelnut chocolate biscotti .. work in progress.

A mexican ragu (via Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Meat Book). Olives and raisins and all things nice. Try it as a refreshing change to a tomato-rich herby bolognese.

250g minced beef
250g minced pork
1 tablespoon wine or cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 finely chopped onion
1 finely chopped red pepper
1 or 2 fresh chillies
50g raisins
50g stoned green olives (pimento-stuffed for preference), finely chopped
250ml beef stock
135ml chopped tomatoes or a tube of tomato puree



Put the meats in a large bowl and season with the vinegar, salt, sugar and pepper, mixing well together. Leave to stand.



Heat the oil in a large pan and sweat the onion, garlic, red (or orange) pepper and chilli for about 10 minutes until the onion is soft and lightly browned.

Add the meat to the pan and cook hard until well browned all over.

Add the rest of the ingredients (and 50g flaked almonds, if you wish) and mix well. Bring to a very gentle simmer and cook, partly covered, for about an hour, stirring occasionally. Add a little water if mixture is looking dry, but don't let it be too saucy.

Be sure to make enough that you have some to put aside for a day or so and gently reheat. Serve with whatever you fancy .. soft tortillas, guacamole, salsa, sour cream and grated cheese or rice, or potatoes or pasta or bread and butter; it is all good.

I made these: Bittersweet Biscotti (or so i named them) with walnut, spice & white chocolate. They are gluten-free, which makes them a little crumbly but the chilli hit is slow and luscious in combination with the darkest, bitterest chocolate that i had in the cupboard.

The original recipe came from here, but i adjusted with a little less gluten-free flour, walnuts instead of almonds and a majority of dark 70% chocolate, with white chocolate chips for contrast.





Oh, and i also made this: Rick Stein's Fennel Sausages with lemony potatoes and bay. Delicious.

This is easy, quick and deeply satisfying.

It is not baking, but it might be alchemy.

Line a deep baking tray (26 x 31 x 2.5 cm) with baking parchment.

Melt 200g good dark chocolate and 100g unsalted butter in a large bowl over gently simmering water, stirring until combined.

Fold in 350g condensed milk and 250g grated coconut

(gently toasted in a large dry pan) and 200g glace cherries, chopped.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tray and spread into an even layer.

Chill in the 'fridge for 4-5 hours, then cut into small squares.

Store in the fridge between nibbling.