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This is such an easy soup to make. The basil gives it a lovely pungent flavour but you could also use mint to give a fresher flavour.

Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a large pan and add the onion, celery, carrot and garlic. Cover and cook over a low heat, stirring frequently, for 30-40 minutes.

This is the Rolls Royce of hot chocolate puddings and this recipe is foolproof. You can make them up ahead of time and either chill or freeze until ready to use. Apologies for the lack of photograph for this recipe - they were so good I forgot! Thanks to Babbie for the recipe!

Grease 4 ramekins and dust the insides with cocoa powder.

Melt the chocolate and the 50g of butter slowly in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water. Stir occasionally with a spatula. Allow to cool slightly.

This is a very simple recipe, place the prawns in a small food bag and add the ginger, garlic, lime juice and chilli. Leave to marinate for 30mins at least.

For the pancakes whisk together the flour, eggs and milk and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat the oil in a frying pan then pour in a ladle of the batter. Swirl the batter around the pan to make a thin pancake and cook until bubbling. Flip the pancake with a palette knife, cook for one more minute, then transfer to a warmed plate. Repeat with the remaining batter; you will need six pancakes in total.

To make the batter, sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a large bowl and whisk in the lager to give a thick batter, adding a little extra beer if it seems over-thick. It should be the consistency of very thick double cream and should coat the back of a wooden spoon.

Another winter warmer, full of spicy goodness! Great for lunch on a snowy day...Fry the onions in the oil in a large pan over a gentle heat until soft and slightly caramelised - about 15 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and fry for a few minutes.

This is hardly haute cuisine. Basically all you need to do is make the sauce by adding the can of tomatoes with the paprika, onion powder, sugar and butter into a hot pan and reduce until you have a thick sauce.

First make the marinade by combining all of the ingredients well, place in a bowl or a food bag and add the pork making sure the meat is well covered.  Ideally you should leave the meat to marinate overnight but an hour will do fine if you are in a hurry.

Prepare the salad by mixing all of the indredients apart from the olive oil and red wine vinegar, set aside.

Place 12 muffin cases in a muffin tin and Preheat oven to 170C. Chop the chocolate into rough chunks. Sieve the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into a large bowl.

These are lovely and light and with all their warming spices have a delicious Christmassy flavour. Line a cupcake tin with paper cases. This recipe makes 12-16 depending on the size of the cases. Preheat the oven to 180C.

Add the onion and carrot to the pan and fry, stirring until they start to soften. Next add the chilli, garlic and potato and mix well. Fry for a few minutes. Return the chorizo to the pan along with the tomato and stock

Mix all the spice rub ingredients together and add the beef, massage it with the spice rub. Cover with cling film and put into the fridge for a couple of hours – ideally overnight to let the flavours combine.

Soak the rice paper wrappers in warm water, you will be able to buy these from some supermarkets or preferably find a chinese supermarket which will be full of amazing ingredients.

Apparently this cocktail is "eminently appropriate for any time of the day"! Combine the tangerine juice, lime juice and vodka in a jug. Mix well. Fill 6 tumblers with ice cubes and pour over a splash of cassis.

A great lunch for the winter months - warming, filling and healthy. Kale, an under-appreciated member of the cabbage family, is packed with bet-carotene, folate and vitamin C so should keep the sniffles at bay!