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Sounds delicious Maggzz. I tend to stick with the same old, same old. Usually as they are tried and tested and quick.
I do lots of one pot meals and freeze individual portions so OH can help himself (he's no Gordon Ramsey bless him!)
Chilli, curries, casseroles, but enjoy cooking fish. I usually wrap in foil with butter and herbs and bake for 20 mins.

I haven't made this cake myself, but I have tasted it and its lovely.
You can use any combination of mixed fruit

1lb mixed dried fruit,
6oz granulated sugar
2oz mixed peel
4oz margarine
1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of mixed spice
8 floz water.

Put all of the above into a pan and bring to the boil, simmer for 1 minute then allow to cool before adding


4oz self raising flour
4oz plain flour
and 2 eggs

Mix well and pour (yes pour it makes a runny batter don't worry) into a lined cake tin it suggests a 7 inch square or 8 inch round, I used a 9in spring form and that was fine.

Cook at 350 F about 175 C for 1 -1/4 hours I reduced the temperature slightly after the first half hour, then test with a skewer which should come out clean.

I dont have any dried fruit in at the minute, but I will get some and make this cake.

Trisha

I have made this cake a few times Magggzz, it is from Phil and Kirsties perfect Christmas, although it doesn't have to be just for Christmas, it's a delicious fruit cake and very quick to make, just have to soak the fruit in cider for a few hours/overnight. I sent one out to my son when he was on a tour of duty... I got a request to send more as it was a favourite with the rest of the commandos:))))

This is taken from Kirsties website... of course you can ice it or not:)

Ingredients

900g of your favourite mixed dried fruit
* I used cranberries, cherries, a vine fruit mix (raisins, sultanas and currants) and some extra juicy raisins.
300ml dry cider
225g butter
225g soft brown sugar
Juice and finely grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
1 tbsp black treacle (optional)
4 large eggs, beaten
225g plain flour
1 tsp ground mixed spice
½ tsp ground nutmeg
170g chopped mixed nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, pecans)
Approx. 6 tbsp apple brandy (ordinary brandy or whisky could
be used instead)

Method

1) Preheat the oven to 150°C/Gas mark 2 and line a 20cm cake tin.

2) If your dried fruit is not prewashed, wash it all thoroughly, and then chop up the larger pieces so they’re about the size of the sultanas and currants. Put all the fruit in a pan with the cider, bring to the boil and simmer for 2–3 minutes. Set aside and allow cooling. The fruit should absorb all the liquid, but if there’s any left, drain it off.

3) In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar with the finely grated zests of the orange and lemon. Add the treacle, if using – it’s great for flavour and colour, but if it’s not to your taste, it can be left out. Pour in the beaten eggs and mix well. Sieve the flour with the mixed spice and ground nutmeg and fold into the egg mixture. Now stir in the soaked dried fruit, the chopped nuts and some of the citrus juices to produce a mixture that has a soft dropping consistency.

4) Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, smooth the top, then make a shallow dent in the middle so that the cake will rise evenly as it cooks.

5) Wrap a thick layer of brown paper or newspaper around the outside of the tin – as high as the lining paper – and secure with string. Place the tin on a baking tray lined with more brown paper and bake for 3 – 4 hours. Check the cake halfway through the baking time – if the top is getting too brown, cover it with a piece of brown paper.
* I cover the top with a circle of brown paper with a little hole in the centre from the beginning. As the first year that I made this cake it had burnt by the halfway check. My cake was also cooked in 2 hours 10 mins.

6) Check the cake is cooked by inserting a skewer in the middle – it should come out clean. Remove the cake from the oven, prick it all over with a fine skewer and carefully pour the apple brandy into the holes. Allow the cake to cool completely before removing from the tin (usually around 2 hours).

Although my cake didn’t really need leveling off, I leveled it (cut a big slice of the top 😉 ) so that we could taste some. It was delicious! My husband wanted to eat the whole thing. There was no difference in taste or texture to when I have baked the cake using full fat butter.

Now I just need to decide how to decorate it. I always like to better last years attempt. This was my cake last year.

Have you ever cooked " salmon à l'unilatéral" (One-sided crispy salmon)



You need salmon fillets with skin.

On medium heat, add a tablespoon olive oil to a heavy-bottomed pan.
Place salmon fillet skin side down and season with salt and pepper.
Only cook on this side until skin gets brown and crispy, the flesh turns opaque (but about 1 cm on top is still "transparent")  and white liquid is released. (It should take about 10/15 minutes)
Sauce : a simple squirt of lemon juice
or butter mixed with chopped aneth
or a minced shallot, just browned in olive oil

When fish is cooked, remove from pan and place skin side up on serving platter. The salmon should be moist and flaky and the skin is crisp.  Pour sauce on salmon fillet and serve with small boiled potatoes ( my lexicon says "fingerling potatoes"), or lightly braised leek, or green beans (or your side of choice). 


You could also use trout fillet .

Oh, sorry, it's French for "dill" !