Sweet cucumber pickle

I am a pickling and canning novice but when I found small cucumbers for sale in our local supermarket, I remembered the 'bread and butter pickles' we used to buy when we lived in Canada. These are sweet, crunchy and full of flavour - the perfect pickle for a cheddar cheese sandwich, as an aside to cold meats and of course with a beefburger.

So I decided to see what I could do and this is what I came up with ...

You will need -

500g small cucumbers

half an onion (or 1 shallot), very thinly sliced

25g fine salt

225g light brown sugar

250ml cider vinegar

¼ tsp turmeric

½ tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp yellow mustard seeds

If you don't have any fennel seeds, you can use 2 teaspoons of mustard seeds.

First of all, slice the cucumbers into thin slices (about 3mm thick) and put into a large bowl with the onion slices. Add the salt, mix together and cover. Put them into the fridge for a couple of hours minimum. This helps to get the water out of the cucumber, ensuring they stay crisp. When the time is up, drain them into a colander and rinse thoroughly with cold water.

Next put the sugar, spices and vinegar into a saucepan and heat slowly, stirring occasionally. Once the sugar has dissolved, turn up the heat and allow to boil for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the sliced cucumbers and onion. Leave to cool slightly before pouring into your sterilised jars. When cooled, label and keep for up to a year (although they can be eaten straight away!).

This amount will make 2 large or 3-4 small jars.

Super sausage rolls

Everybody loves a classic sausage roll and home made is best. They are so easy to make - a sheet of puff pastry, a few tasty sausages and some herbs or spices. Perfect for a packed lunch or as the ultimate party snack. Here I've used my red onion marmalade to give it a sweet and spicy kick.

You will need -

1 sheet of puff pastry

8-10 sausages (depending on their size) or 400g sausage meat

2 tablespoons of red onion marmalade

black pepper

1 egg (beaten)

Take the pastry sheet out of the fridge at least an hour before you want to use it.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC and line a tray with baking parchment.

Remove the skin from the sausages (I simply snipped them lengthwise with a pair of scissors and pulled off the skin) and put the sausage meat into a bowl. Mash with a fork and then add the red onion marmalade and a few grinds of black pepper. Give it a good mix.

Unroll the pastry sheet onto a board and cut it in half lengthways. Then divide the meat mixture in half and make two sausage shapes to lay down the middle of each pastry length. Brush one side of the pastry with your beaten egg and roll up from the other side. Now chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

When the time is up, cut each length into 6 slices and place on your lined baking tray. With a sharp knife, score two little lines across the top and brush with the remaining beaten egg. Pop into your oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Raspberry and cinnamon tray bake

This is a simple tray bake which is equally delicious with a cuppa or as a pudding with custard. It's an adaptation of my blackberry and apple pudding, but I've used vegetable oil instead of butter (which makes it lactose free) and raspberries, cinnamon and ginger topped with flaked almonds.

240g caster sugar

100ml vegetable oil

50ml water

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 large eggs, beaten

½ tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ginger

¼ tsp mixed spice

300g self-raising flour

250g raspberries

For the topping you will need -

60g demerara sugar

75g flaked almonds

Preheat the oven to 170ºC and line a baking tin (34cm x 25cm) with greaseproof paper.

Put the oil and caster sugar into a large bowl and whisk together. Add the beaten eggs, water and vanilla extract and continue whisking until well combined. Sieve in the dry ingredients mixing everything thoroughly together and lastly, stir in the raspberries. Pour the mixture into your baking dish and sprinkle the demerara sugar over the top followed by the flaked almonds.

Put into your preheated oven and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool in the dish before portioning into slices or squares.

I have also made this with chunks of rhubarb but the raspberries were a favourite in our house!