I was never a huge fan of pork before I started to cook for myself. It would always be served in the same bland way with very few herbs and spices. The thing about pork is that it’s such a mild meat that I think it needs a lot of flavour added.

The chilli went perfectly with the pork; it really gave it a kick and tasted fabulous.

I still need to work on the presentation though!

Ingredients

pork loins (or chops if you like)
3 cloves of garlic
a handful of corriander
2 red chilli peppers (or as much as you want)

Method

Chop the corriander, garlic and chilli and rub it all over the meat. Leave to marinade for as long as you can – or not at all if you don’t have the time.

Grill on a medium heat for around 15 to 20 minutes – keep checking the firmness of the meat; you don’t want it to be too hard or it’ll taste dry and nasty!

I served my pork with a light salad and sweet potato wedges. Easy and tasty!

When the seasons change and the cold, wet weather starts coming in there’s only one thing for it: comfort food!

My other half, James, suggested an apple pie. I’m a crumble fan myself so I compromised and set out to make a crumble pie!

Ingredients

350g shortcrust pastry – recipe
crumble topping (200g plain flour, 150g butter, 100g brown sugar)
4 bramley apples
2 handfuls of blackberries
a spinkle of ground cinnamon
a few tablespoons of caster sugar

Method

To make the crumble topping combine the flour and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Gradually add cubes of the butter and mix the ingredients with your hands until it forms a sort of breadcrumb consistency. Add more flour and butter if you need more crumble topping.

To make the filling, peel and core the apples. Chop them into medium sized cubes, then place in a large pan and gently heat them for a few minutes or until they go soft. Add the blackberries and stir for 2 minutes.

Roll out the shortcrust pastry so that it will line your pie dish / cake tin / whatever you’re using to cook it in. Pour the apple and blackberry mixture into the pastry-lined dish, sprinkle with some caster sugar and cinnamon.

Cover the fruit mix with the crumble topping and bake in the oven for 30-50 minutes at 200 degrees (gas mark 6). It’s ready when the crumble topping is crispy and golden.

Serve with some yummy custard or just sprinkle some caster sugar on top.

(More spicy recipes coming soon, I promise!)