Grilled lemon chicken

3-4 chicken breasts

1/3 cup olive oil
2+ cloves garlic, finely chopped
Zest and juice of one large lemon
1 tsp honey
Some parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Combine marinade ingredients and then place it with chicken in container or ziplock bag. Marinade at least 30 minutes or overnight. Grill the chicken (duh).

Calabacitas

1 x zucchini (aka courgette)
1 x yellow squash
1 x white onion
3-4 cloves garlic
1 x poblano pepper
1 x jalapeno
3-4 x roma tomatoes
1 can sweetcorn
salt and pepper for seasoning
Cotija cheese (can substitute with feta) and chopped cilantro for garnish

Start by roasting the tomatoes at 400F for 30 minutes.

Next, quarter the zucchini and squash lengthways then chop into thin slices. Deseed the poblano and cut into small chunks. Quarter the jalapeno (do not deseed). Finely chop the garlic.

Roughly dice the onion and fry it and the poblano in a tablespoon of oil over medium heat in a large frying pan -- cook for somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes until the pepper has softened and the onion has got some color on it. Add the garlic and stir; cook another 30 seconds or so until fragrant.

Transfer a few spoonfuls of the onion/pepper/garlic mix to a blender, then add the zucchini and squash to the pan. Season well and stir to combine. Lower the heat while you prepare the tomatoes which have hopefully finished roasting about now if your timing is good :-)

Pull off as much skin from the roasted tomatoes as you can and drop into the blender along with one quarter of the jalapeno. Blend until smooth and taste -- if not sufficiently spicy add another jalapeno quarter and try again. Repeat until you get the heat you want.

Add the tomato puree to the pan and stir to coat. If it seems a bit dry add some water -- you might rinse out the blender with some water to get every bit of tomato out from there.

Return the heat to medium, add the sweetcorn and simmer for around 8 minutes. Don't overcook or the vegetables lose their bite.

Absolutely fantastic in tacos with cotija (or feta) and cilantro topping.

Chicken Pita Sandwiches

Chicken and marinade
~1.5lbs chicken tenders
1 cup Greek yoghurt
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

To serve
Pita bread
Tzatziki sauce
1 small red onion, sliced or diced
1 large tomato, sliced or diced (or sub for some cherry/grape tomatoes)
1 green bell pepper, sliced or diced
Half a cucumber, peeled, de-seeded and diced
Some pitted Kalamata olives

Mix the marinade in a large bowl. Add the chicken and cover. Leave for at least 30 minutes, overnight is better.

Fry the chicken in a little olive oil. Try not to bring too much of the marinade along for the ride. Set aside and keep warm.

Warm the pita bread (easy technique: wrap in damp kitchen paper and microwave). Place the pita into a square of aluminum foil, spread generously with tzatziki and then add chicken and veggies. Fold up and secure with the foil. It's ready to eat...

One-bottle sangria

1 x 750ml Spanish Rioja red wine
Half a green apple (granny smith or similar)
Half a lemon
1 large orange
1/4 cup brandy
1/4 cup brown sugar + 1/4 cup water to make syrup

Dice the apple, lemon and half the orange -- place into a pitcher and add the brandy. Juice the remaining half orange and add that in too. Muddle to release some of the juices from the solid fruit. Add the bottle of wine and stir to combine.

In a small saucepan bring the sugar and water to a vigorous boil and maintain that for several minutes. Take off the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes; you should have a sweet thin syrup. Add about half to the sangria mix, stir and taste. Add more to taste as required.

Chill the pitcher of sangria in the fridge for a couple of hours to allow the flavors to develop.

Serve over ice -- add some sparkling water if you wish.

Tiramisu

24 Savoiardi biscuits ("ladyfingers")
7fl oz / ~200ml instant espresso (or go get the real thing from a coffee shop)
2 tbsp brandy + 2 tbsp dark rum (miniatures are good enough)
4 eggs, separated
75g (~1/3 cup) caster sugar
500g (~17oz) marscapone (in the US this seems to often come in 8oz containers and 16oz is good enough)
Pinch of salt
High quality cocoa for dusting the top



Start by making the espresso and place it in a shallow dish along with the booze.

Next place the eggs yolks in a large glass bowl and the egg whites in another.

Add the sugar to the yolks and beat with a hand mixer until you have a smooth pale yellow custard-like sauce. Add the marscapone and continue to mix until fully incorporated.

Now add the salt to the the egg whites and (with clean beaters) mix until they are stiff. Add to the bowl containing the yolk and marscapone mix. Fold in gently until you achieve a uniform mix.

Taking one ladyfinger at a time, dip into the coffee + booze mix and place into a 9" x 13" baking dish. Don't dunk them in too long, or they will go soggy and collapse...but equally don't scrimp too much or they'll lack flavor.

Cover the biscuits with half the egg and marscapone mix. Now add on a second layer of biscuits and top with the remaining mix. Finally shake over a generous dusting of cocoa powder.

Place in the fridge for at least 6 hours to allow everything to firm up and further soften the biscuits before serving.

Switchel

2-3" piece of ginger
2 1/4 cups of water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup runny raw honey


Peel the skin off the ginger and slice into thin sections. Place in a saucepan with the water, bring to a boil and then cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Take off the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.

In a quart sized mason jar place the honey and vinegar. Add the still warm ginger water (ginger included) and then screw the lid on tight and give a good hard shake. You want the honey to be completely dissolved.

Allow to cool then place in the refrigerator for two days. (You can drink it sooner if impatient or let it go longer for a stronger flavor).

To server: in a glass tumbler place several ice cubes and then pour over the switch until about 1/2 to 2/3rds full. Top up with sparkling water.

"Muy Fuerte" Margaritas for two

3oz lime juice (typically 3 limes)
3 oz Cointreau
5 oz blanco tequila
Juice of one large orange
Small drizzle of agave syrup (optional, adds some sweetness, don’t overdo it)

Prepare two glasses -- salt the rim if desired, then add a decent amount of ice cubes.

Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker that's just over half full of ice cubes. Shake for one minute. Pour into glasses. Add a wedge of lime.