Cannoli

Well we finally did it. Cannoli are one of our very favourite things in the little moon house, and we've been wanting to try and make them ourselves for a long time. So after we found some pastry tubes, we finally took on the cannoli challenge. Its a complex process, and one that definitely requires an assistant, but the final product looks and tastes so good.

Apricot and ginger frangipane tart

This was another Bake Off inspired recipe search that yielded very interesting results. At first it seems a super complicated process but its definitely worth the effort.

Poached Pears

I'd always wanted to make these because they look so pretty, so I finally found a recipe for them and gave it a go. Its a surprisingly simple process as most of it is inactive, waiting for the wine to absorb.

Spiced apricot and lamb stew

I've been wanting to cook Persian for ages then I found this gorgeous recipe for spiced lamb with apricots and the rest, as they say, is history.

Moussaka

One of my lovely assistant's favourites, this makes a very generous sized moussaka for two with enough left over for a lunch or another tea.

Fig, walnut and goat's cheese loaf

This one was inspired by the Great British Bake Off. Tamal made something similar as a soda bread and I liked the sound of the flavour combination so much that I decided to try and make my own at home. I couldn't find an exact recipe for this so I looked at a couple and adapted them myself.

Lasagna

An absolute classic and very easy to adapt to suit your taste or whatever ingredients you have in stock

Chilli Chicken with Noodles

Last night's challenge was to find am interesting recipe for chicken, that would use some of the veg and stuff that we already had in. So we adapted a really nice recipe from the Chinese Food Made Easy book we have. This makes a lovely sized meal for two and the sauce is really fragrant and full of flavour.

Toad in the Hole

An absolute favourite of mine, so when we bought sausages the other week I just couldn't resist making toad in the hole.

Nectarine Tarte Tatin

I bought nectarines intending to make a crumble with them and some plums but I used the plums making sauce for duck which meant I needed to rethink my dessert options. Then I found a recipe for tarte tatin which we happened to have all the ingredients in stock for.