Inspired Naturally – Kate MacAndrew, artist and school workshop leader based in Derbyshire

Today is the first day I have woken up feeling considerably better and to celebrate feeling more myself I decided to treat myself to pancakes this lunchtime!

Here’s the super easy recipe I followed to make mine:

Ingredients used:

• 4oz (100g) plain flour.
• Half a Pint (250ml) of milk.
• 1 Standard Egg. (Size 2)
• Pinch of Salt (half teaspoon)
• Lard or fat for the frying pan.
• Sugar, Lemon, Orange etc to add flavour. (I used sugar and lemon juice)

1. Gather your ingredients.

2. Sieve the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. 

3. Make a small hollow in the center of the mixture and drop in the egg (disgarding the shell).

4. Begin to mix while gradually adding about the milk, about a quarter of the mixture at a time. 

5. Pour batter into a jug for easier pouring into pan.

6. Melt a small piece of lard/fat in a hot pan and then pour in some of the batter (tilt the pan to help the batter spread evenly) Cook until nicely golden brown on the bottom.

7. The tricky bit – toss / flip the pancake and cook the other side until nicely golden brown.

8. Serve with your choice of topping and enjoy!

This felt like such a treat because I never have pancakes except on shrove Tuesday! Enjoy!

PS. William wanted to get in on the action but I didn’t think he’d be too helpful so I left him to roll around on the floor!

A few weeks back, my Nana asked me to try a new soup she’d made, but wouldn’t tell me what was in it. It was only once I’d tasted it and loved it that she told me it was a celery soup! (normally I wouldn’t touch celery) I was impressed and asked to take a copy of the recipe. It’s taken from the Cranks Recipe Book.

I made the soup myself yesterday and here’s the step-by-step:

1. Gather together the ingredients (I doubled the quantity) 

2. Chop the vegetables.

3. Melt the butter in a large pan.

4. Saute the prepared vegetables gently until the onion is transparent & then add cashews and cook for a further 5 mins. (I forgot to buy cashew nuts so will get some over the weekend to add to it!)

5. Add the stock and bring to the boil.

6. Cover and simmer for 20 mins.

7. Add milk and then liquidise.

8. Enjoy! (I added garlic and herb croutons to replace the cashews for now!)

It really is an easy soup to make and very tasty! Let me know if  you give it a go!