Two recipes for Pancake Day: fat and thin pancakes

An original fast food, pancakes take centre stage in February. How do you like yours?

Words: LAURA ROWE Illustrations: VICKI TURNER

Associated with many religious festivals including Shrove Tuesday (celebrated on 28 February this year) and Hanukkah, pancakes’ few ingredients symbolise big things: eggs for creation, flour the staff of life, salt wholesomeness and milk purity. It was also a celebratory way to use up the foods forbidden during Lent fasting.

Over time they’ve become more everyday. In the US they like them in the morning, fat, stacked high and covered in maple syrup. Maybe you prefer a mini version; bitesize buckwheat blinis from Eastern Europe, topped with sour cream, smoked salmon or caviar? Or perhaps you’re a fan of the thin pancake, rolled and stuffed with shredded roast duck, hoisin sauce, cucumber and spring onions for dinner in a bao bing like the Chinese. There’s a pancake for everyone and any time. But whichever way you like to eat them, the question remains: do you flip high or slide low?

FAT PANCAKES

Mix 135g plain flour with 1 egg, 130ml milk, 1 tsp baking powder, 2 tbsp caster sugar and 2 tbsp melted butter and whisk for a thicker batter. You want the consistency of double cream. 

Drop 1 heaped tbsp into a hot, buttered frying pan and fry for 1 min until you begin to see bubbles on the surface. Flip or turn over and fry until golden brown and risen

THIN PANCAKES

Mix 100g plain flour with 2 eggs, 300ml milk and 1 tbsp melted butter. Whisk thoroughly and rest for 30 mins. You want the consistency of pouring single cream. 

When ready to cook, add a knob of unsalted butter to a non-stick frying pan. As it starts to melt, add a ladle of the rested batter and swirl the mix around the pan until it covers the entire base. 

Cook for 1-2 mins before flipping, or gently turning over and repeat on the other side. Then bin it: the first pancake is always the worst. Repeat and you’ll have perfect pancakes for the rest of the batch. Serve with lemon juice and sugar or whatever takes your fancy.

Extract from Taste: The Infographic Book of Food by Laura Rowe, illustrations by Vicki Turner by Aurum Press, £20. Buy your copy here.

This blog was first published with issue 44 of The Simple Things.

More pancake ideas…

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Recipe | Leek & Thyme Flatbreads

A new idea to help use your early spring veg box well

Traditionally known as the ‘hungry gap’, early spring is the time of year when home-grown seasonal veg is harder to come by as winter veg comes to the end of its run but many spring varieties are yet to arrive. This may mean your weekly veg box feels like it is lacking excitement, but with a few new recipes ,there’s always a way to liven up a leek!

You could easily transform this crispyon-the-bottom, fluffy on the top flatbread into a pizza but, equally, the dough with more modest toppings is more akin to an Indian naan bread or a Persian bread made for dunking into dips. Whichever way you go, it’s delicious and a brilliant staple.

Makes 6-8

7g dried yeast or 150g active sourdough starter
4 tbsp lukewarm water
500g strong white flour
Sea salt, plus extra for topping 225ml cool water
2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for kneading and glossing
2 leeks, thinly sliced
A handful of thyme, leaves only (you can infuse the stalks in vinegar with garlic skins for a fantastically tasty garlic and thyme vinegar)
A crumbling of goat’s cheese, blue cheese, mozzarella or grated cheddar (optional)

1 Tip the yeast into a large mixing bowl and whisk in the warm water until frothy; if using a sourdough starter, simply mix in the warm water. Add the flour, a pinch of salt and cool water. Leek and thyme flatbreads
2 Use your hands or a spoon to bring the dough together. Add the oil and knead the dough for 5-10 mins, or until smooth and stretchy. Add a little more oil as you knead to keep it moist and prevent it from sticking.
3 Put the dough in a clean bowl. Cover with a plate, a lid, or clingfilm and set in a warm place for about 30 mins, or until it has doubled in size. If you’ve used sourdough in place of yeast, it will need longer to rise – at least 2 hrs or overnight.
4 Once the dough has risen, heat your oven grill to high and warm a large frying pan over a high heat.
5 Roll out pinches of dough (roughly golf-ball size) on a floured surface. Roll them thin for crispy flatbreads or about 2cm thick for fluffier (more naan-style flatbreads). Thicker flatbreads keep better.
6 Put the dough on the hot, dry pan. Drizzle a little oil on top, then add the chopped leeks, thyme and cheese, if you’re using it. Add a finishing gloss of oil and season with salt and pepper.
7 Once the bottoms are firm and look like they’ve been in a tandoor oven, remove from the pan and put them under the grill. Cook until golden on top. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Cook’s note: The dough will keep in the fridge for a week. It also freezes beautifully if you want to make it ahead of time or have any left over.

This recipe is just one of the ideas from our Veg Box Suppers feature by Rachel de Thample with photography by Ali Allen, which also includes creamed kale, coconut, cardamon and beetroot soup, rhubarb frangipane tart and an array of veg box pickles.

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More veggie suppers…

Make | a hand-me-down recipe book

Making a culinary heirloom is so easy and will give you much joy in making it, too

In our April issue, there’s a lovely feature by Lia Leendertz all about a recipe book she inherited from a relative. You can find some of the recipes from ‘Ellen’s Cookbook’ in the feature, including a blancmange with strawberries, egg flip and Abernethy biscuits. If you’re inspired to create a recipe book of your own to one day bequeath to future generations, here’s how.

1. Gather all your favourite recipes and ask members of your family what their favourite ones are too so it’s filled with memories as well as tasty treats.
2. Split them into categories – starters, snacks, mains, pudding etc. If you’ve got far too many , consider a theme, such as Italian dishes or vegetarian cooking, and create a few cookbooks instead.
3. Decide on your layout. What measurements will you use? How many people does it serve? How long does it take to prepare? How long will it keep? How do you store it?
4. Add notes of all the little tricks and tips you use when making them. Add personal memories about the times you served them up and the reactions they received. These little stories and additions are what make the books personal and a real treasure to pass on.
5. Get the picture – Think about adding photos of each dish so you remember how you presented them. It’s also a great excuse to get cooking so you can take a snap and scoff your favourite food.

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More from our April issue…

More food for the soul…

Recipe: carrot houmous

Photography: Ryland Peters & Small

Shop-bought houmous comes in many flavours. This roasted carrot version is brilliant with savoury pancakes.

Serves 8

500g carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

200g chickpeas

1 small garlic clove, crushed

Squeezed juice of 1/2 lemon

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1⁄4 tsp ground cumin

1 Preheat oven to 180C/Fan 160C/Gas 4 and line a roasting pan with baking parchment.

2 Place the carrots, olive oil, salt, pepper and 1 tbsp of water into the prepared pan, cover with foil and roast for 40 mins until tender. Set aside to cool.

3 Drain the chickpeas, reserving 3 tbsp of their liquid. In a food processor blitz the carrots, chickpeas and reserved liquid, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, cumin and some salt and pepper until smooth.

4 Serve, spread on the turmeric pancakes you can find in the February issue of The Simple Things, topped with seasonal raw veg, herbs and salad.

Recipe from Modern Pancakes (Ryland Peters & Small).

More fresh recipes for March…

More from our March issue…

Hanger: the struggle is real

Do thoughts of delicious food bring out the hulk in you when hungry?

If you know someone who suffers from ‘hanger’ (the condition of becoming particularly irritable when hungry), it might be time to cut them some slack. Or perhaps just cut them a slice of cake. It may sound like an excuse to either fly off the handle, or snack at will for the sake of peace, but scientists say ‘hanger’ is a genuine phenomenon.

Sophie Medlin, lecturer in nutrition and dietetics at King’s College, London, told Radio Four’s Woman’s Hour recently: “We’ve long recognised that hunger leads to irritability, but the wonderful world of social media has merged the two words and we now know it as ‘hanger’.”

And (here comes the science bit) “When our blood sugars drop, cortisol and adrenaline rise up in our bodies - our fight or flight hormones.” These then cause the release of neuropeptides, which affect the way the brain works. “The ones that trigger for hunger are the same ones that trigger for anger and rage. So that’s why you get that sort of same response,” she explains.

So now you know.

And if all that has made you hungry, well, we wouldn’t want you to leave in a bad mood. Please enjoy this recipe for Crunchy Indian Spiced Chickpeas (pictured above), which appears in our November issue and is taken from Sight, Smell, Touch, Taste, Sound: A New Way to Cook by Sybil Kapoor, (Pavilion) with photography by Keiko Oikawa.

Crunchy Indian Spiced Chickpeas

Makes 2 bowls

1 x 400g can chickpeas, drained  and rinsed

¼ tsp ground turmeric

¼ tsp chilli powder

¼ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp ground coriander

¼ tsp amchoor powder (dried sour mango), optional

1 tsp fine sea salt, or to taste

1 tbsp cold-pressed sunflower oil

½ tsp lemon juice, or to taste

1. At least 30 mins before cooking, rinse, drain and pat dry the chickpeas on paper towels. Spread them out in a single layer on a plate.

2. Preheat oven to 200C/Fan 180C/Gas 6. Mix the spices and salt in a small bowl.

3. Place the chickpeas and oil in a separate bowl and mix well, before adding the spice mixture. Toss until completely coated, then tip onto  a non-stick baking sheet and spread the chickpeas into a single layer.

4. Bake for 35 mins, giving the tray the odd shake. If you prefer your chickpeas floury inside, remove after 35 mins. If you prefer them crunchy throughout, turn the oven off after 35 mins and leave inside for a further 15 mins.

5. Once done, leave the chickpeas in their roasting pan and season with the lemon juice. Leave until cold, then serve as needed.

These make a great snack for a chilly November evening. We recommend serving them with friends and your choice of drink, and our November Playlist, all about food, on in the background. Feeling calmer yet?... Good.

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More food to comfort and cheer…

More from the November issue…

Recipe: Fruity 'slaw

There’s got to be ’slaw at a barbecue – and this one has extra fruit in the form of mango, raisins and sultanas. 

Fruity 'slaw

Serves 8

3⁄4 medium white cabbage, finely sliced
1⁄4 medium red cabbage, finely sliced
4 carrots, grated
1 red onion, finely sliced
2 mangos, sliced
Large handful mixed raisins and sultanas

For the dressing
3 tbsp sour cream
3 tbsp mayonnaise
21⁄2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 lime, juiced
salt and pepper, to taste

1 Mix all the dressing ingredients together in a bowl.
2 Combine the vegetables, mangos and dried fruit in a large bowl and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
3 Pour over the dressing and mix well. 

Need some bits and bobs for your next barbecue or picnic? Head over to The Simple Things shop for plenty to buy, including our Here comes the sun collection, for picnic days and for beach days. A few ideas below...

Hand-stamped wooden cutlery, from £3.50

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Whitstable BBQ, from £24.00

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Acrylic tumblers, from £4.95

Recipe: Bircher muesli and other breakfast suggestions

In a nod to a more wholesome, nutritious new year, we present the ultimate breakfast for starting the day as you mean to go on, with the power to stave off morning munchies. Stir and leave to soak before you go to bed and wake up happy.

BIRCHER MUESLI

2 apples, such as Granny Smith, peeled and cored
300ml coconut water (or use apple juice or milk)
300ml plain Greek yogurt (3.5% fat or more)
250g rolled oats, kamut, or spelt
85g dried goji berries
3 tbsp flaxseed
2 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves
3 tbsp maple syrup

To garnish:
Fresh berries, mint leaves, granola, Cape gooseberries and chopped nuts

1. Using a box grater set over a large bowl, coarsely grate the apples. Add the coconut water, 60ml of the yogurt, the oats, goji berries, flaxseed, and mint to the bowl and stir until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.

2. Cover the muesli and refrigerate overnight.

3. The next morning, mix the remaining 240ml yogurt, maple syrup and a pinch of salt into the muesli and spoon into bowls. Garnish as desired before serving.

Notes:
Makes about 900g. The muesli can be prepared ahead and refrigerated for up to 3 days. If you’re using coconut water, it’s better to use a yogurt with a fairly high fat percentage.

RECIPE ADAPTED FROM BREAD EXCHANGE BY MALIN ELMLID (CHRONICLE BOOKS, £21.99). 

Want more breakfast ideas?

It's easy to get into a rut when it comes to breakfast, particularly during dark winter mornings. But a warming meal first thing will set you up for the rest of the day. Try these three breakfasts for size, or head over to our Rise and Shine Pinterest board for more ideas.

Quinoa porridge with apples and spice

Image: The Teacup Chronicles

Using quinoa instead of porridge oats results in a lighter, more nutritious porridge, while the spices are warming and the apples add natural sweetness.

Get the recipe.

Shakshuka

Image: The Natural Cook by Tom Hunt

After something savoury? Shakshuka - a traditional Middle Eastern dish - features eggs, tomatoes, and a peppy blend of spices. Guaranteed to get the blood pumping and keep you full until lunchtime.

Get the recipe. 

Brioche French toast

Image: Sunday Suppers

Not everyone is dieting and detoxing this month, and this recipe for brioche French toast is almost bread and butter pudding-esque. Indulgent and delicious - perfect for those with a sweet tooth.

Get the recipe.

Words: Lottie Storey

Bircher muesli recipe from page 128 of January's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe now.

Want, knead, love: Real, down-to-earth bread baking

There's something about bread that is so fundamental, so magical, so right. Our passionate baker boy, Alex Gooch, is here to pass on his bread baking knowhow.

Meet Alex Gooch, our new baker boy, in the first of his new series about baking bread.

“Good bread takes patience, passion and instinct. Making it brings you into the moment completely. It stimulates all of the senses, whether it be the feel of the dough, the sweet smell of the baking bread, or the crackle as you squeeze a ciabatta. “When I was growing up, my brothers and I ate toast, toast and more toast! And that was about as close to bread as I got until I started as a kitchen porter when I was doing my A levels. “I loved the camaraderie of the kitchen and felt at home there. They offered to train me, so I ditched the idea of college and settled into the chef’s life of long hours and a surrogate family of fellow foodies. “I liked baking bread and worked at a few Italians where I mastered focaccia pretty well and at hotels I made plenty of pastry and croissants. But it was while at Penrhos Court in Herefordshire that I started experimenting, encouraged by chef Daphne lambert (who I named my first sourdough starter after). In 2007 she let me take over one of the kitchens at night and this was my first bakery. I began selling bread and jams at farmers’ markets and food festivals, then the following year I opened my bakery called Alex Gooch Artisan Baker in Hay-on-Wye. “There are so many possibilities with bread: rye sourdough, mixed grain, ciabatta, brioche but one of the things that keeps me excited and inspired is following the seasons, and letting them dictate the bread I make. It turns out that pink fir apple potatoes make the most scrumptious potato and onion bread, and the magical cep makes a mind-blowing garlic and cep foccacia with herb oil. “Baking is a hard job – pulling all-nighters and the need to step up a gear when things are busy. But baking at home is different: one of the reasons I think it is now so popular is because the results are so rewarding. The process is so enjoyable, too. It is very natural; you can listen to the radio or chill out for a while – bread is at its best when it is left to rest a lot.”

Turn to page 49 of October's The Simple Things for Alex's seasonal bread bakes, including Black garlic flatbread with sesame, nigella and a kale, miso dressing; Roast pumpkin and apple rolls; and Plum and ginger bread with a cider and honey glaze.

Buy or download your copy now.

Alex Gooch supplies restaurants, hotels, delis, functions and events and sells at markets in different towns four days a week. He also runs bread-making courses: www.alexgoochbaker.com. Tweet Alex @alexgoochbaker to let him know how your bread bakes.

Food on the face: natural skincare recipes

Our gardens and fridges provide skincare that’s healthier, cheaper and more natural than anything we could buy. Try these natural skincare recipes.

The beauty business is all about selling us “hope in a jar”, as Charles Revson, founder of Revlon once put it. If you’ve ever searched the cosmetic and beauty aisles of a department store, you’ll have noticed how expensive the promise of beauty, youth and freshness can be. Face masks from reputable skincare manufacturers cost up to £50 for a tiny jar; add in the price of cleansers, exfoliators, oils, serums and creams and you could spend upwards of several hundred pounds just for the privilege of plumping, de-stressing and adding some glow. Small wonder, really, that the global skin care industry is worth a staggering £25 billion per annum.

But there are plenty of natural skincare ingredients lurking in your kitchen. Try these homemade beauty recipes out for size.

Lavender Lemongrass Body Wash

Oats, rosemary and coconut oil make this body wash a culinary delight.

Recipe from Little Seed Farm.

Oat and Lavender Bath Soak

Pick lavender flowers from the garden for this relaxing bath soak.

Recipe by Always Order Dessert.

Vanilla Sugar Body Scrub

This effective body scrub uses just four ingredients.

Recipe by Freutcake.

Turn to page 84 of September's The Simple Things for more natural skincare ideas. Buy or download your copy now.

Recipes: Garlic

Spicy or smoked, raw or roasted, garlic comes in many guises and varieties to make your dishes sing. Try these three garlic recipes.

Is there a more amazing a plant than garlic? Venerated by the Egyptians, eaten by the first Olympians before competitions and worn as buttonholes by Palestinian grooms to guarantee potency on their wedding night, it has been credited with medicinal, aphrodisiacal and magical powers. Ulysses apparently used it to escape from the clutches of Circe the witch, while King Tut took enough into his tomb to last him for all eternity.

In September's issue of The Simple Things, we meet Mark Botwright, who owns South West Garlic Farm in Dorset and believes “there is nothing more beautiful than a field of garlic.”

Three garlic recipes

In celebration of the stinking rose, we've hunted high and low for three top garlic recipes that really bring out the best of allium sativum.

Fancy a fragrant garlicky mayonnaise? Try aioli - perfect with prawns in this recipe.

Ottolenghi's legendary caramelised garlic tart recipe brings out the sweetness without the stink.

But if it's vampires you want to avoid, go for Alice Hart's very garlicky roast chicken - the epitome of garlic recipes.

Turn to page 47 of September's The Simple Things for the full garlic feature. Buy or download now.

Autumn fruit jam recipes

Go foraging for fruit and get jamming with some autumn preserve and jam recipes. Make the most of all the blackberries, plums and damsons this month. Stew with a bit of sugar and serve cool with cream on late summer days when you want to be outdoors, or pass a rainy afternoon happily in the kitchen making jars of homemade jam or jelly.

Jam recipes

How about trying one of these jam recipes for rosewater plum compote, bramble jelly, damson jam, or plum and Earl Grey jam?

For more ideas on our September 'could-do' list, turn to page 17 of The Simple Things. Not got your copy? Buy or download now.

Recipe: Three ways with cherries

Go cherry crazy! This year’s crop of British cherries looks like it is the longest and largest ever, mostly due to our mild winter. They’re around until September so find a ‘pick your own’ and use with gay abandon to add colour and sweetness to meals.

Here, we've picked three delicious recipes for a sweet treat this summer.

Cherry Compote

The original, simple way with cherries. We love what Rachel writes about her favourite fruit. Cherry Compote recipe by Rachel Eats.

Image above: Rachel Eats

Sour Cherry Milkshakes

These sound incredible. Although it may be a job to hunt down Montmorency or Morello cherries at a 'pick your own', we think it looks worth the effort. 

Sour Cherry Milkshakes recipe by Orangette.

Image above and at top of page: Orangette

Pluot Summer Salad

Not a fan of sweet desserts? Cherries make a surprising addition to a summer salad.

Pluot Summer Salad recipe by 101 Cookbooks.

Image above: 101 Cookbooks.

Find more seasonal recipe delights in August's The Simple Things (buy or download now).

Recipe: Brazilian cake - Broa de Fuba

Tonight's the night! Let's celebrate the FIFA World Cup Final in a very British way. Tea and cake, anyone? Brazilian cake, of course! In a nod to the ubiquitous workshop of all things Brazilian, we’ve found a polenta sponge that’s a winner in our book.

Moreish, moist and not too sweet, this Brazilian take on polenta cake is a highly loveable sponge.

BROA DE FUBA (CORN BREAD) 250g butter, softened 230g caster sugar 4 large eggs, separated 150g polenta 190ml milk 150g self-raising flour Icing sugar, to serve

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan 160C/350F. Lightly grease a round 20cm springform cake tin and line with baking parchment. 2. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add half the polenta, then half the milk, beating after each addition to combine; repeat. Sift in the flour and mix to combine. 3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Stir one large spoonful of the egg whites into the batter to loosen it. Using a metal spoon, gently fold in the remaining egg whites. 4. Spoon the batter into the lined tin, smoothing the top. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the bread comes out clean. Leave the bread in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature, dusted with icing sugar.

Recipe taken from This is Brazil by Fernanda de Paula and Shelley Hepworth (Hardie Grant, £16.99)

Want more Brazil? This month, Andy Martin shows us round his home town, the hip Brazilian city, Sao Paulo. Turn to page 60 of July’s The Simple Things for food, football and (very) late nights from the Brazilian metropolis.

Not got July’s The Simple Things yet? Buy or download your copy now.

Recipe: Peppermint chocolate chip ice cream

Homemade and anything but lurid, this peppermint chocolate chip ice cream recipe is all grown up.

We thought that mint choc chip was a pleasingly synthetic treat we'd left behind in childhood. Then this recipe came along, offering cooling mint flecked with devillishly good chocolate in a wholesome creamy form. We're converted.

Don't be tempted to use milk chocolate over dark, say Bountiful authors Todd Porter and Diane Cu. "It doesn't work as well."

Peppermint Choc-Chip Ice Cream

Makes about 1 litre

360ml double cream 240ml milk 100g caster sugar Peppermint leaves from 15 stems 5 egg yolks 140g dark chocolate, finely chopped

You will need an ice cream maker

1. In a pan over medium heat, mix the cream, milk, sugar, a pinch of salt, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a simmer, stirring often. Add mint. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes.

2. In a bowl, whisk egg yolks. Sieve cooled cream and discard leaves. Slowly whisk into egg yolks. Return mixture to pan and stir on a medium heat. Cook until custard thickens to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

3. Pour custard through a sieve into a clean container. Place container in an ice bath, stirring occasionally until cool (about 20 minutes). Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

4. When ready to freeze, set a bowl over a pan of simmering water and melt the chocolate. Stir until smooth, then remove from the heat.

5. Freeze the custard according to the ice cream machine instructions. While it's churning, place storage container in freezer to chill.

6. In the last moments of churning, drizzle a fine stream of chocolate into the ice cream. If your ice cream machine makes this tricky, fold in chocolate manually straight after churning. Transfer into the chilled storage container and freeze.

Recipe from Bountiful by Todd Porter and Dian Cu. To order a copy for £18.99 with free P&P, call 01903 828503 and quote ref 50480.

How to be a mindful eater PLUS three simple tea infusion recipes

Yes, we love food, but it doesn't always get our full attention. Time to reconnect your mind with your mouth and become a mindful eater.

Many of us fall easily into patterns of mindless eating. We pick at food while working at our computers. We reach for the quickest - and usually the unhealthiest - snacks for a quick energy boost. We don't take proper lunch breaks. We are constantly distracted while we eat, by television, by work by our phones and computers. We have lost a lot of the enjoyment of eating and as a result we are guilty of just shovelling food into our bodies.

Turn to page 100 of July's The Simple Things to read Rebecca Frank's rediscovery of the joys and pleasure of conscious eating. And sit down with a cuppa, taking time to enjoy the fragrant flavours of one of these mindful infusions. Glass tumblers work really well, as you can fully appreciate not only the refreshing taste and aroma, but also the visual delights. You can sweeten any of the teas with a dash of honey.

Simple Mint Tea

2-3 sprigs of fresh mint Freshly boiled water

Place the mint sprigs into your favourite tea tumbler.

Pour over hot water.

Leave to steep for a few minutes and you will notice the water start to turn slightly green. Savour and enjoy.

Mindful tea notes: This simple, refreshing mint tea has long been used as a natural digestive aid. It works well if sipped slowly after a meal.

Rosemary Tea

2-3 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves Freshly boiled water

Add the fresh rosemary to your favourite tea tumbler.

Pour over hot water and leave to steep for a few minutes.

Enjoy immediately or strain mixture first depending on your preference.

Mindful tea notes: Rosemary is associated with memory and is a lovely tea when you need focus and concentration on your side.

Lemon, Ginger and Lemongrass Tea

1 inch ginger; peeled and sliced into long thin strips 1 organic, unwaxed lemon A few seeds from a cardamom pod 1 stalk lemongrass Freshly boiled water

Press down on the ginger slices and cardamom seeds with the back of a teaspoon to release the flavours and place them in your favourite tea tumbler.

Slice the top and bottom off the lemongrass stalk and then slice in half lengthways, remove the outer layer, and place sliced inner sections into your tumbler.

Pour over hot water and leave to steep for a few minutes.

Squeeze the juice from the lemon and add to the tumbler.

Stir well and enjoy.

Mindful tea notes: The combination of lemon and ginger is energising, while the extra cardamom adds spicy warmth to boost your metabolism.

Not got July's The Simple Things yet? Buy or download your copy now.

More recipes from The Simple Things.

Homemade sweet recipes

Clear an afternoon, you're going on a confectionary adventure! We've found four homemade sweet recipes. 'Fruit pastilles aren't tricky to make,' says Annie Rigg, author of Sweet Things, whose recipe is featured in the June issue of The Simple Things (p112). 'All you need is a sugar thermometer, heavy based saucepan and an hour.'

If you've tried your hand at these already, you probably want to make more. Go Willy Wonka and turn your kitchen into a candy production line with our top picks for homemade sweets from around the web.

Red candy apple slices

Let's kid ourselves these aren't all bad, shall we? Recipe here.

Microwave salted caramels

Yes, you read that right - salted caramels you can make in the microwave. This could get dangerous... Recipe here.

Homemade sweet tarts

We love how cute these look all wrapped up and ready to go - recipe here.

Homemade marshmallows

Easy to make, apparently, and can be flavoured with anything that takes your fancy. Let's give it a go. Recipe here.

Turn to page 112 of June's The Simple Things for a homemade fruit pastille recipe (buy or download now).

A midsummer night's feast: wine matches

Enjoy a laid-back celebration in the lingering dusk with super-chilled drinks and plenty of nibbles with our midsummer night's feast. This isn't a time to think about your five-a-day. Instead, make it a solstice to remember with decadently moreish savouries and summery sweet treats.

String up lanterns in a sheltered corner and lay on drinks and nibbles for an informal party for friends; young children will be thrilled at being out in the garden after dusk. Even if you don't quite make it through to the dawning of Midsummer's Day (24 June), you'll need breakfast to set you up for the longest day of the year.

Turn to page 26 of June's The Simple Things for a midsummer menu to remember, which includes the following recipes:

Gougeres

Spicy nougatine

Orange & yoghurt cake

Chocolate mousse

Babas au gin & tonic

Sweet chilli bruffins

Croissant pain-perdu

Making the menu? You'll need a few wine suggestions to go with the food.

Gougères with a side of Red Wine - Naudin Tiercin Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2011

Made from the Pinot Noir grape, this wine has just a subtle hint of spice, which picks up on the gentle kick of the chilli and paprika, yet the juicy berry fruit flavours in the wine give it a light and fresh quality that won’t overpower the wonderful cheesy bites!

Roast Garlic Bread - Coulaudin Bussy Chablis Premier Cru 2010

This Premier Cru Chablis sublimely combines a fresh, lemony character, with a strong backbone of acidity which perfectly cuts through the intensity of the garlic and makes for a very moreish combination.

Orange and Yoghurt Cakes - Bach Extrisimo Semi Seco Cava NV

The slight sweetness to this Cava makes it the perfect partner for these little delights. The gentle effervescence reflects the light, crumbly texture of the crumb and the delicate almond and citrussy flavours of the wine highlight the wonderful zesty orange of the cakes.

Five ways with mint: recipes

The only herb that's also an adjective, mint deserves more than a cursory dip in your Pimm's. So don't leave it to run rampage in the garden, or wilt in a glass on the kitchen worktop - show it a good time with our recipes.

Five mint recipes from The Simple Things:

Chicken, preserved lemon and herb salad

Prepare 250g couscous with 400ml chicken stock, cover and leave for 5 minutes before fluffing up with a fork. Mix 3 roasted, torn chicken breasts, 2 chopped preserved lemons, 50g toasted flaked almonds, 1 tsp crushed cumin seeds, a packet of lightly crushed fresh coriander and a packet of roughly chopped fresh mint. Whisk 2 tbsp juice from the lemons with 2 tbsp oil and season, toss into salad and serve with couscous.

Fish cakes

Cook 700g King Edward potatoes until tender. Meanwhile, poach 300g salmon and 2 eggs in boiling water for 10 minutes; leave to cool. Flake salmon; chop eggs. Mash potato and stir in salmon, eggs, a bunch of sliced spring onions, 10g dill, 1 tbsp chopped mint. Season. Mould into 8 cakes and chill for 30 minutes. Shallow-fry fish cakes until golden. Serve with a dip made from 200ml creme fraiche, 2 tbsp garlic mayonnaise and 10g dill.

Mint and cranberry smoothie

Place 600ml light cranberry juice, 100g fat-free Greek yoghurt, 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint and 1 tbsp clear honey in a large jug and blend with a hand blender. Pour into 2 tall glasses. Add a handful of fresh or frozen raspberries for even more zing.

Minty summer pudding

Cook 800g fresh berries, 25g caster sugar and 2 tbsp water for 5 minutes. Drain, reserving juice; cool. Stir in most of a packet of fresh mint. Dip 6 slices of white, crustless bread in juice (one side only), sprinkle with leftover mint and lay 5 in a bowl. Keep leftover juice. Fill bowl with fruit, top with final bread slice and fold edges over. Place a saucer on top then something heavy. Chill overnight. Turn out and serve with remaining juice and cream.

Thyme and mint pears with raspberry sauce

Combine 150g caster sugar and 500ml water and bring to the boil. Simmer until sugar dissolves. Trim bases of 4 ripe, peeled pears so they stand upright. Add them to syrup, along with 10g fresh thyme and 3 sprigs mint, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove pears, discard herbs and reduce syrup by half (about 8 minutes). Add 300g raspberries and juice of half a lemon. Cook 1-2 minutes, blend, add thyme and serve with pears.

Taken from May's issue of The Simple Things - buy or download now

More recipes from The Simple Things.

Image: Alice Hendy Photography