This one came to me on the way home last night when I recalled that my wife had a couple of large portabellla mushrooms in the fridge.  Pretty dead simple too.

8oz crab meat (preferably jumbo lump)

1 egg beaten

2 slices of brown bread (crusts removed)

1 tbsp chopped parsely

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tsp worchestershire sauce

2 tbsp mayonnaise

Dash of Old Bay seasoning

Salt and pepper

Panko Breadcrumbs

Two portabella mushrooms

Beat the egg, pinch the bread in to it in little bits, then add all the rest of the ingredients leaving it to soak up a bit before flaking the crab in last.  Stir it up and refrigerate for 10 minutes or so.  

Grab the two portabella mushrooms, take the stems off and fill with the crab mix.  Bake in a 375f oven for about 20 minutes.  Top with the panko, swtich from bake to low broil and crisp the top a bit.

Half an Avocado

1 tsp srichacha

1 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tbsp lime juice 

1/4 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup milk

Throw everything but the milk in a mini-prep and puree, then add the milk and blend until smooth.  Done.

So with my wife on a bit of a health kick the family has gone all vegetarian.  Sunday night I made a nice puttanesca pasta, cooked lots of pasta and made a lot of base sauce so we could do this in the week, it was a bit of a stretch for me ; hell ask me to pull something out with a solid protein base and usually I can do it, tell me all I have is some veggies . . . ARGH!  But hey, it worked!

Two cans 32oz San Marzano Tomatoes whole peeled (often use fresh romas but couldn't be bothered to peel them!)

Four cloves garlic

Two large springs of thyme

Half an onion or  2 shallots (Chopped)

Olive Oil

1/4 Cup Red Wine

Two of three decent sized shitake mushrooms\

Salt and Pepper to season

Really, really easy.  Preheat the oven to 375f, bit of olive oil in an iron skillet, throw everything in, leave it to roast for an hour.  Give it a stir every once in a while to submerged the top tomatoes back into the juices.  When it's done, smelling fantastic, pull the thyme out, throw it all in a blender and give it a whizz.  Taste it a bit and then season.

Suitable amount of fusilli or penne pasta (cooked to al dente)

Pasta Sauce

Log of Goats Cheese

Two large carrots (cut relatively thin)

Two zucchini (cut slightly thicker)

Two spaghetti squash

Handful of sliced crimini mushrooms 

Gated Parmesan

Panko or Breadcrumbs

Really how much of what you put in is up to the dish you have (size wise) and what veg you fancy.  Japanese eggplant would work great, the above is just what happened to be in our organic delivery box this week.

Wipe the dish with a splash of olive oil, then add a layer of pasta sauce.  Put a layer of pasta on top, then a layer of your veg.  Sprinkle some chunks of goat cheese across the dish.  Add a second layer of pasta then top with more sauce and grate parmesan on top.  Cover with foil and bake in a 375f oven for about 45 minutes to an hour (I pulled the foil off and checked the veg with a knife to ensure it's done).

Remove the foil, top with the breadcrumbs and a few more sprinkles of parmesan then whack the oven over from bake to low broil and let the top crisp.

This is a nice little one, somewhat adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe.  Works well as a side salad of as a meal in itself.

Really the choice of vegetables is up to you, carrots are a bit of a must if you ask me, this variation had asparagus, italian eggplant and zucchini done on the bbq outside, as well as carrots, radishes and some crimini mushrooms done in the oven.  Most important piece is the rub :

Two Cloves of Garlic

1/2 tsp coriander (powdered)

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chilli powder

pinch of salt and pepper

1 tsp thyme ; chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

Smash the garlic and stick in a pestle and mortar ; throw in the spices, salt, pepper and thyme and a dash of the olive oil - bash the hell out of it until it's a nice paste.  Then slowly add the rest of the olive oil and red wine vinegar.  Alter the recipe whichever way your taste buds tend to go in terms of quantity.

Heat an oven to 400 degrees.  Steam the carrots to par cook them, same with the asparagus if doing in the oven.  Basically you want partially cooked veg.  When tenderish, chuck them on a baking sheet lined with foil and smother them in the rub.  If you're doing the zucchini / eggplant outside, smother it cold then throw it on the BBQ (I use a grilling basket to help here btw).  

1 Orange

1 Lemon

Slice them in half, stick them on the baking sheet too.  Stick it all in the oven for about 25 minutes, tossing every now and again. Meanwhile - croutons. . . 

Baguette of some flavor ; ciabatta works great.

Slice it at an angle, or slice into cubes depending on your preference.  Stick it in a bowl with some olive oil, salt and pepper and toss to coat.  Throw it onto a sheet and into a 350 oven (you can get away with sticking it in the oven below the veg but watch it carefully) and bake for 6 minutes or so ; come back and toss it round every now and then to even the cooking.

Grab a bowl throw some arugula in the bottom them when the veg come out dump them on the arugula and toss.  This wilts the arugula nicely.  Throw the croutons in too.  Grab a pair of tongs and make the dressing :

Juice of the Orange

Juice of the Lemon

2-3 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar

Salt

Pepper

Using the tongs squeeze the juices of the citrus into a bowl ; whisk up the other ingredients, coat the salad, toss and serve.

1lb Jumbo Lump (shelled)

Top with a bit of the dressing and mix to taste.

One shallot (finely chopped)

One clove garlic (finely chopped)

One sprig thyme (leaves pulled and chopped)

3 tbsp butter

1/4 cup sherry

1/4 cup chicken stock

Fleur De Sel

Black Pepper

Stick 1 tbsp butter in the pan, get it nice and hot then throw in the shallot and start to sweat it.  After a minute or so throw in the garlic wait for that aroma to fill the room then throw in the thyme for a minute.  When it smells like heaven add the sherry and chicken stock and reduce, reduce, reduce until you basically have a paste of unbelievable goodness.  Allow to cool / chill.

Slice the focaccia, stick it in a toaster and partially toast top and bottom.  Take the jam out of the fridge mix it with another 1 tbsp butter, a pinch of fleur de sel and black pepper and spread on the top of the focaccia.  Don't be tight, lavish it on!  Put the bread on a pan and stick it under a broiler for about three minutes so the crunch comes to the top of the bread and that caramelized goodness seeps into the bread.

Morels ; sliced, in a pan, 1 tbsp butter, fleur de sel on top with a crack of black pepper, heat over medium high heat for a couple of minutes.  Serve on the bread with a touch of parsley on top.

One of the most simple dishes you'll ever put together and one of the tastiest ; takes no time at all and is ridiculously indulgent.  I tend to do this by eye so adjust the ginger and garlic ratio to how you like it, but basically it's just this :

2 tbsp Ghee (or 2 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp olive oil) + 1 tbsp butter to finish

1-2 tbsp Ginger, finely diced

1-2 tbsp Garlic, finely diced (about six cloves)

Bunch of Cilantro (Parsley also works and makes it all a bit more French) finely chopped

1/2 Cup of White Wine (plus 1/2 bottle for the chef)

1/2 Cup of Chicken Stock

1lb Shrimp (up to you if P&D, so,somtimes I just devein, sometimes I peel for easy eating!)

1/2 (at least) French Baguette

Ghee in pan, get it hot over medium high heat, throw the ginger in for a minute or two, then throw the garlic in ; wait until it's nice and fragrant then throw the shrimp in.  Stir it up, turn the shrimp over after a minute or so, when they're nearly cooked through throw the white wine in, then the chicken stock - bring to a nice boil, throw in half the cilantro.  Stir it up for a minute then remove the shrimp to the serving bowl.  Continue to reduce the sauce, throw in the extra tbsp of butter, whisk it in, reduce till thickened a bit then throw it all on top of the shrimp.  Top with the rest of the cilantro.

Half the baguette ; chuck it in a 350f oven for five minutes, slice, in a bowl, use to mop up that sauce!

Orzo pasta

Fillet of salmon

asparagus

dill (1 tbsp)

juice of two lemons (3 tbsp)

feta cheese crumbled (1/3 cup)

olive oil (2 tsps)

salt

white pepper

Cook up the orzo, leave it to one side chuck a wee bit of olive oil on it and mix it up to stop it sticking.  For the salmon, heat a skillet with about 1/4 inch of water in the bottom.  Bring it to a simmer, dust the salmon on both sides with salt and white pepper and put it in the pan.  Let it cook from the bottom up, add more water if required.  It's a wonderful way to cook salmon, keeps it insanely moist ; when it's warm to the touch on top you're done.  Meanwhile chop the asparagus into two inch chunks and steam till al dente.

In a bowl put the dill, feta, lemon juice, olive oil and touch of salt and pepper and whisk it all up.  Throw in the orzo, chop the salmon into bite size chunks, put that in along with the aspargus, mix it up serve with a touch more feta and dill on top.  Fab.

As a bonus addition toast up some pine nuts and throw them on top.  Additional crunch and great flavor.

bacon/pancetta

mirepoix (1 onion chopped, half as much carrots and celery)

Handfull of cherry tomatoes (sliced in half)

1/2 lb ground pork

1/2 lb ground beef

tomato paste (1/2 can to a can depending on your tomatoeyness)

white wine (1/4 cup)

chicken stock (1/2 cup add more to simmer longer)

shitake mushrooms

regular sliced mushrooms

ground nutmeg

salt and pepper

Fry the pancetta ; get a nice bit of fat in the pan then throw in the mirepoix and the tomatoes.  Tomatoes cooked in bacon fat are super super tasty!  In a separate pan brown the beef and the pork together.  I started doing this as it's easier to manage the fat run off, use a slotted spoon to transfer the meat into the pan with the pancetta/mirepoix mix and it makes life far easier than having to try and scoop the fat out of that pan with everything in!

With all that done, throw in the tomato paste, mix it up and get some browning on that.  Deglaze with white wine and let the wine cook off, throw in the chicken stock, season and add ground nutmeg, then throw in the mushrooms and let it all simmer away.

1lb ground turkey

half an apple ; small dice

celery ; small dice

large shitake mushroom ; small dice

two sage leaves ; small dice

mixed herbs

salt

pepper

teaspoon of sriracha sauce ; or more to taste!