One thing that helps lull you back into the rat-race after the bliss of Christmas holidays are the January Domain concerts. Its been a while since I went to one but it used to be a regular yearly thing to see either the Symphony, Opera or more recent addition Jazz, for free and flinging your picnic blanket onto the lush green grass of the lawn. Its always a battle to get there and back as driving is not really a great idea and it inevitably rains but that, I keep saying to friends and family, is all part of the charm. And perhaps they’ll believe me one day…

I have many memories of eating pâté with water crackers, not the fantastic kind you get from DJs but the tinned kind, but when you’re young, do you really know the difference? Now that I am “grown up” I am a big fan of trout or salmon pâté and will any excuse to make this rather than buy the version from the supermarket, no matter how excellent it might be. For this recipe I used smoked salmon as that was just what I happened to have in the fridge which I lightly steamed to get the same texture as smoked trout.

Smoked Trout Pâté from Nigella Express

Smoked fish was an absolute staple of my childhood-I used to have smoked mackerel with horseradish in my lunchbox-and if I have some form of smoked fish in the fridge, I feel there is always going to be, instantly, something to eat. Pepper and lemon, that’s all you need to add to it. And its a gift to the cook in a hurry: this pâté takes the merest moment to make and yet it is a wonderful start to a meal or, indeed, a whole meal in itself. I don’t even need a salad with it: I’m happy with toast, crusty bread, or maybe even some good shop bought English muffins or cheese scones, along with a few cornichons (baby gherkins) and any other tangy pickle.

This doesn’t make very much, but its filling and also-which is obviously how I like it-full of pep. If you want something a little milder, with less boisterous heat, then add a mere sprinkling of cayenne.

• 2 smoked trout fillets , approx. 125g total weight
• 50g of Philadelphia cream cheese
• 15ml horseradish sauce
• 30ml lemon juice
• 30ml olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1. Put all the ingredients into a blender or food processor and blitz until smooth and pâté like

2. Spoon the mixture into a vow (I used a small terracotta dish of about 12cm in diameter), scraping out any mixture remaining in the processor with a spatula. Cover the bowl with clingfilm, and place in the fridge to chill.

Recipe by Nigella Lawson from Nigella Express

When I was teaching in Japan, whenever I went back home to Sydney, I’d ask my Australian colleagues what I could bring back for them. Forget Vegemite and Tim Tams, the most requests were for Cherry Ripes.

I bought these cupcake liners from an ebay seller and it only seemed fitting to make cherry ripe cupcakes (quite frankly it would seem strange making a non cherry themed cupcake in them!). I adapted these from the Womens Weekly Cupcakes book recipe called Coconut Cherry Hearts. I prefer the name Cherry Ripe Cupcakes as you’ll know exactly how these will taste just from hearing the name-like a Cherry Ripe!

Cherry Ripe cupcakes

Choc cherry cake

• 125 g butter softened
• 1/2 teaspoon coconut essence
• 2/3 cup (150g) caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup (80ml) milk
• 1/2 cup (40g) dessicated coconut
• 1/3 cup (70g) red glace cherries
• 50g dark eating chocolate chopped coarsely
• 1 cup (150 g) self raising flour
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup (35g) plain flour

Milk Chocolate ganache

(this amount of ganache only iced 4 cupcakes for me…heavy handed on the icing, moi?)

• 1/4 cup (60ml) cream
• 100g milk eating chocolate coarsely chopped

1. preheat oven to moderate 180c/160c fan forced. Line muffin tins.
2. beat butter , essence, sugar and eggs in a small bowl with electric mixer until combined
3. stir in milk, coconut, cherries and chocolate then sifted flours and cocoa. Divide mixture among cases, smooth surface
4. Bake large cakes about 35 minutes, small cakes about 25 minutes. Turn onto wire rack to cool

For ganache, bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan, pour over chocolate in bowl stir until smooth. Cover bowl and stand at room temperature until ganache is spreadable.

I named this soup after me, mainly because I love home made soup but I dislike expending energy effort for things (cupcakes and cakes excluded). I’m convinced that pumpkin peeling and cutting is a task that’s reserved for people in hell (or whatever you happen to believe in) as its thankless, difficult and may risk a potential scrape of skin or loss of finger.

So the fabulous thing about this is that you wash the pumpkin, stick it on an oven tray lined with a baking sheet, turn your oven onto 200 degrees Celsius and let it roast whole for an hour (more if you have a particularly large whole pumpkin) while you do something much more worthwhile like read a magazine or watch tv. I prefer using whole pumpkins as they last longer than the cut versions. For very large pumpkins you can speed up the cooking process if you’re losing patience with your pumpkin (and I sometimes do when I’m hungry) after an hour you can cut it open into slices as it will be very soft to cut and this makes the cooking even faster and caramelises the pumpkin slightly too. If one thing, we’re safe from pegging him with an Oedipus complex such is the vast difference between his Mother and I (although we do get along very well).

If I am working from home I usually put this in the oven in the morning at about 10am and go and do some work and before I know it, its ready for lunch. The best thing about this, like most soups, is that it freezes so well. I realise that this is more a winter dish but the way that Sydney’s weather has been lately and with the rampant flu bug going around its definitely time for a renaissance!

Lazy person’s 3 ingredient 3 step and no elbow grease pumpkin soup

• 1 small Jap pumpkin-700g or thereabouts doesn’t matter if its larger, you’ll end up with more roast pumpkin afterwards
• 150ml coconut milk (the creamy layer at the top of a tin of coconut milk if you don’t shake it is best)
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock (plus an extra spoonful of chicken or vegetable stock powder)

1. Roast whole pumpkin in 200c oven for 1 hour or until soft
2. Remove seeds and peel off the skin, it will come off satisfyingly easy
3. Add pumpkin, stock and coconut milk into blender and blend away

I added a swirl of flaxseed oil but this is completely optional

Variation: add fresh finely grated ginger
Variation: omit coconut milk and add dollop of sour cream and chives