In defence of sweetcorn fritters

Say what you like about sweetcorn fritters and ketchup, but if you haven't sat down on your birthday to a plate full with a load of cava then I'm afraid your argument can stop right there. Sweetcorn fritters are the BOMB. It doesn't need to be pancake day to bust these out, and they go down a treat as a change to a fry-up on a hungover Saturday morning.

My boyfriend made me a stack yesterday to celebrate me becoming a little bit older- he played it safe with golden syrup, bananas, strawberries and blueberries, where as I went in for sweetcorn, ketchup and tea. If you want to make half the mix without sweetcorn, just add the sweetcorn to every other pancake when you first pour in the batter. And obviously scorn at the plain mix and its lack of ability to become a match made in heaven like sweetcorn and pancake batter is. Thank you again to Jenny for this recipe! And Becca and Joe for the amazing plates and pans, you can check out Becca's blog too!

Makes a lot of two or enough for three

Ingredients

1 cup plain flour
2 tbsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup soy milk
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Plus a tin of sweetcorn or fresh corn if you can get it.

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, then add the soy milk and oil and mix until smooth. I've found the batter will always improve if you chill it for as long as you can. So if you have time, pop it in the fridge for 20 minutes while you get your fruit/coffee/tea ready.

When you're ready, heat up a frying pan with a little oil, until you can see smoke coming out of it when you look closely. Add a large tablespoon of mixture, so it's about as big as your palm. If you're adding sweetcorn, put a teaspoon in now as this mixture cooks very quickly. After a few second they will be ready to flip, then a few more seconds on the other side and they will be ready! Stack up in a pile and add whatever toppings you fancy.

Roasted chestnuts and spiced apple cider

Spiced apple cider and roasted chestnuts- perfect for helping to decorate the Christmas tree or getting through a long list of online Christmas shopping orders. With a rich, almost fleshy and woody flavour, I like to roast a big batch of chestnuts, pinch a couple to fuel Sunday afternoon chores and save the rest for a stuffing mix or pie filling.

Having been lucky enough to try this spiced apple cider recipe for the first time this week, I've decided it's my tipple du jour and will be spurning frowns in the supermarket aisle with my three litre bottle of cider for the rest of winter. I urge you to do the same.

Ingredients for the chestnuts
Bag of chestnuts
Pinch of salt

For the spiced apple cider
Original dry cider
One apple chopped into small chunks
Brown sugar
Mulled wine sachet/flavouring
Extra cinnamon, cloves, or whatever you fancy.

Preheat the oven to 200C, and make a small cut in the pointy end of each chestnut so the flesh can cook and the tough outer shell won't burst. Place in an oven-proof dish and sprinkle over a pinch of salt. Cook for 20-30 minutes.

Heat around 1 litre of the cider, add the mulled wine sachet, around 2 tablespoons of sugar and any extra flavourings you'd like. Stir so it is well mixed through. Place chopped apple in clear glasses and once the cider is heated pour in and share around.

Once the skin of the chestnuts can peel away, and the inner flesh is hot to touch, remove from the oven and de-shell, taking away the tougher pith layer. Snack on them now with a little extra salt, or save for recipes later.