SALMON AND PASTA MORNAY

For this simple and delicious seafood dish , you will need 400gm of small pasta shells . 30 gm of butter/ marg , 6 spring onions chopped , 3 tbs of minced garlic , 1 tbs of plain flour , 250 ml of milk , 250gm of sour cream , 1 and 1/2 tbs of lemon juice, 425 gm of drained and flaked canned salmon and 1/2 cup of chopped fresh parsley . Let's begin , cook the pasta shells in a large pan of boiling salted water until en dente . Drain,ightly sparay with cooking oil to prevents clogging and return to the pan . Melt the butter / marg in a fry pan and add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion has softened . In a separate bowl mix together the flour , milk , cream and lemon juice . Stir over over a medium heat until the sauce thickens . Now add the salmon and parsley to the sauce and heat through . Toss the sauce through the pasta and season with cracked black pepper .

FIND OF THE MONTH

Find of the month at Churchill Lifeline ... I'm a collector of old cook books . Last week I found a WOMAN'S WEEKLY COOKERY , booklet with over 300 recipes , the original cost 2 shillings and sixpence . Guess what the recipes are still relevant !!! The second find was cooking with soup ''HEINZ RECIPES 1966 ' Third find of the month was salt and pepper shakers ... Love Churchill Lifeline ...

DORSET APPLE CAKE

Preheat your oven to 180 deg C . Apart from 500gm of peeled , cored and finely chopped cooking apples , the rest of the ingredients are pantry staples . Grease a loaf pan with cooking spray and a light sprinkle of fine polenta . 225gm of self raising flour , 1 tsp of salt , 100gm of butter/ marg ,100gm of castor sugar , 2 lightly beaten eggs and finally 25gm of soft brown sugar . So let,s get started ,mix the self raising flour in a large bowl with the salt and using your hands rub in the room temperature butter/ marg till the mixture resembles breadcrumbs . Now mix in the finely chopped apples , castor sugar and the lightly beaten eggs . Pour the batter into the prepared pan . Level off the top of the batter and sprinkle with the soft brown sugar . Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean . Remove from the oven and allow to sit in the pan until the cake shrinks slightly before turning out . The Dorset apple cake can be served warm with cream or cold with a thick covering of butter.

BOSTON BAKED BEANS

I love this dish and have prepared it in 'COUNTRY ' cooking classes to the delight of the participants, over the years. The ingerdients you need, 350gm of dried cannellini beans, 1 whole ham hock, 2 onions peeled and chopped, 2 tbs of tomato paste, 2 tbs of Worcestershire sauce, 2 tbs of molassses, 1 dsp of wholegrain mustard, 45gm of soft brown sugar and 125ml of tomato juice. So let's get started, cover 350gm of dried cannellini beans with cold water in a bowl and and soak for 8 hours or overnight. Next day .... drain the beans , rinse them well and place in a large pot along with the ham hock, cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 25 minutes or until the beans are tender. Preheat your oven to 160 deg C. When the beans are tender, remove the ham hock from the pot and set aside to cool. Drain the beans, reserving 250 ml of the cooking liquid. Trim the ham of the skin, fat and then roughly chop the meat and discard the bone. Transfer the meat and beans to a 2 litre ovenproof / casserole dish. Now add to the reserved liquid with 2 tbs of tomato paste, 2 tbs of worcestershire sauce, 2 tbs of molasses, 1 dsp of wholegrain mustard, 1 dsp of sweet paprika, 45 gm of soft brown sugar and finally 125 ml of tomato juice. Mix the liquid gently to incorporate all the ingredients. Finally pour the reserved liquid over the meat and beans in the the ovenproof / casserole dish , cover with foil / lid. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes. Serve with thick toasted bread ...

TUSCAN APPLE AND LEMON CAKE

Ingredients required 200gm of plain flour ,1 tsp of baking powder , 2/3 rds cup of castor sugar , 3 eggs ( lightly beaten ),3 tbs of room temp butter / marg ,1/3 cup of milk ,finely grated zest of 1 lemon ,1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg ,3 apples peeled , cored and sliced and finally icing sugar for dusting . First things first , preheat your oven to 180 deg C . Grease a 23 cm springform cake pan and line with baking paper . Mix together 200gm of plain flour with 1 tsp of baking powder in a medium bowl. Now place 2/3 cup of castor sugar into the bowl of your electric mixer along with 3 lightly beaten eggs , 3 tbs of room temp butter / marg ,1/3cup of milk , the finely grated zest of 1 lemon , 1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg and finally the flour mix . Beat until thick and smooth . Pour the batter into the prepared pan . Arrange the peeled , cored and sliced apples in a circular pattern over the top of the batter . Cook in the preheated oven and bake foe 60 minutes , but if the apples start to brown too much cover with a sheet of baking paper . The cake is cooked when a skewer is inserted and comes out clean . Remove the cake from the oven and let it sit for 10 minutes before removing from the pan . Dust lightly with icing sugar.

POLENTA BAKED WITH A TOMATO HERB SAUCE

The ingredients you will need to prepare this dish . FOR THE POLENTA. 500ml of water , 500ml of vegetable stock .1/2 tsp of salt , 165 gm of polenta , 1 tbs butter/ marg , 1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg and ground black pepper to season . FOR THE SAUCE . 1tbs of rice bran / canola oil ,1 onion peeled and chopped ,2 tbs of minced garlic , 1 x 400gm can of diced tomatoes , 2 tbs of tomato paste , 2 tbs of dried thyme , 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese , 1/2 cup of grated mozarella cheese . Now let,s begin , to make the polenta , bring 2 cups of water and 2 cups of vegetable stock to the boil in a large non stick saucepan . Add 1/2 tsp of salt , then slowly pour in the 165 gm of polenta in a fine steam , stirring all the time . reduce the heat to low and continue to cook for 4-5 minutes , stirring continuously and scrapping down the sides of the saucepan . When the polenta is cooked it should have the consistancy of thick porridge ( but not grainy), stir in 1 tbs of butter/ marg , 1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg and a sprinkle of ground black pepper . Lightly grease a 28cm x 18 cm baking tray or dish with oil , pour the polenta in and smooth over the top , cover with cling wrap and place in the refrigerator to set . Preheat your oven to 180 deg C . To make the tomato herb sauce , heat 1 tbs of oil in a medium sized saucepan . Add 1 peeled and chopped onion , 2 tbs of minced garlic and saute until the onion softens . Add the 400gm can of diced tomatoes , 2 tbs of tomato paste , 2 tbs of dried thyme and finally ground black pepper to taste . Cover and simmer on low for 10 minutes. Lightly oil a medium sized ovenproof dish . When the polenta has set , slice into 5cm squares and place 1/2 the polenta squares in the prepared baking dish , spoon over 1/2 the sauce and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozarella cheese . Add the remaining polenta squares over the cheese and top with the remaining sauce , making sure you cover all the polenta squares . Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes , finally sprinkle 1/2 cup of grated parmesan over the top and bake for another 10 minutes . Serve immediately in the company of a mixed leaf salad .

CHILLI BASA WITH BROCCOLI AND BUCKWHEAT

This is my son Dale Murphy's contribution to the Manor menu. This is a simple, but generous and healthy dinner serve for an active runner on a tight budget. Ingredients: -200g Basa fillet -1 teaspoon chilli flakes -500g Broccoli florets -1 teaspoon granulated garlic -1 rice cup (180ml) dry roasted buckwheat -2 rice cups (360ml) of water -1 teaspoon turmeric -black pepper Method: 1. Preheat Oven to 200 degrees celcius. 2. Place buckwheat along with two cups of water, turmeric and pepper into rice cooker and turn on. 3. Place a sheet of baking paper on an oven tray place upon it the basa fillet as well the broccoli fillets adjacent. 4. Sprinkle chilli flakes upon basa fillets. Sprinkle granulated garlic over broccoli. 5. Place the basa fillets and boccoli into theoven and let sit for 20 minutes. 6. After 20 minutes, the food should be prepared; serve the basa ontop of the buckwheat adjacent to the broccoli and enjoy.