Rocky Road is the American variation of the good old ‘fridge cake’ (that means that there is no baking required as it sets in the fridge). The beauty of these recipes is that you can tinker until your heart (or stomach) is content with this little recipe. You can change the types of nuts you use, (brazil nuts, pecans, chopped almonds, etc), add or remove the glace cherries, or leave out the marshmallows (not sure why you would want to!) – whatever you like! You just need to keep the basic template of butter, chocolate, biscuit and syrup, and you can play around with the other pieces in your own way.

Ingredients:

• 4tbsp golden syrup
• 200g plain chocolate
• 150g milk chocolate
• 150g unsalted butter
• 175g malted milk) biscuits, crushed
• 150g marshmallows
• 150g unsalted peanuts (you can use chocolate covered ones for that extra chocolate kick!)

Method:

1. Line your 30×20cm tin with cling-film and put it to the side.
2. Weigh out the biscuits and put them into a large plastic sandwich bag. Seal it and use a rolling pin to crush the biscuits. (This step can also be done in a food processor.)
3. Weigh out the marshmallows and peanuts, and put them aside ready.
4. Melt the chocolate, syrup and butter in a pan over a low heat. When this is smooth and molten, tip in the biscuits and stir quickly.
5. Continuing to work quickly, tip in the marshmallows and peanuts, and stir thoroughly.
6. As soon as everything is evenly mixed in, tip into the prepared tin and smooth it out with a spatula.
7. Leave the tray in the fridge to cool; once set, cut it into squares and enjoy!

As a child, I always ate what was put in front of me, without argument – then I got to go out to play, and have desert, etc – I knew how to play the game. But my sister did not, especially when it came to meal times. She never wanted to eat the meal the way we were supposed to eat it – main first, then desert, or sometimes she would want to combine foods – so, raw vegetables with baked beans or pizza dipped in soup but then not eat the soup.

I never understood it, and still don’t. My parents never really let her get away with it, but I wonder what she would be like now if she had been allowed to eat as and when she wished? She ate a range of foods without complaint, she just didn’t want to eat them in the order she was told. Is this perhaps the way to get kids eating things that are good for them? Or is the social custom of eating certain foods in certain ways and orders so ingrained into our society, that we simply cannot get away from it?

On a busy morning, when I am rushing to get out of the house and beat traffic, I have a tendency to forget breakfast, and grab a cereal bar instead. But it never feels like actual food, and it certainly doesn’t set me up for the day. But i do enjoy the “healthy” meals to microwave for lunch – like the supermarkets steamed veg and fish, or the chili chicken noodles – they taste great, and don’t cost too much, and are incredibly light on the washing up.

So why do I not grab a porridge pot and take it to work to heat up? One and a half minutes, with a little water, and porridge is my breakfast. Perhaps the stigma of eating breakfast at work is too great?

Either way, I am very pleased to have convenience food around – but I still prefer the taste of the real thing, made at home.

The sound of contented eating is “nom nom nom”, and whenever I pull out my pinny and baking supplies, I can practically hear my boyfriend make the sounds!

In our early days, we went out to eat more often than not, ensuring that we never looked silly in the kitchen or accidentally gave the other food poisoning. But these days, economy and being of a certain age, we prefer to stay in and cook (well, I cook, and he eats!). And now our friends are coming over and we are making an evening of it. And I’ve noticed, over the last 6 to 12 months, that our friends girlfriends or wives, are starting to bring desert with them. Which is great! And when we go to visit them, I’ll take desert.

It has suddenly occurred to me that I have turned into my mother! And, technically, it’s all my boyfriends fault – because until he started talking about my cooking, it was my little secret and noone wanted asked for cakes except him. Now he is stuck sharing the nom nom nom’s with our friends!

Although Christmas is 9 months off (and 3 months gone), the winter months are slowly turning into Spring and this is starting to reflect on the food I am buying, cooking and eating for my family and I. The thick soups and stews are slowly being replaced with the occasional salad and lighter meals of fish and steamed vegetables.

The main reasons behind the changing menu will be down to the seasonal changes in foods being available or not (lettuce won’t grow in winter, and doesn’t keep long enough to store, but potatoes are available, etc), and the temperatures making us want warmer, more filling meals.

I love stews, and would happily eat them all year, but when it gets to the nice sunny weather, we simply don’t need that amount of intake.