PLAIN SCONES

These are fun for the kids to make and they cheer up any rainy weekend afternoon. We tried various recipes but the best (by far) was the recipe from James Martin below (slightly adapted). You need:
75 gr butter (room temperature)
225 gr self raising flour
50 g sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp plain yogurt
1 tbsp milk
a pinch of salt
Pre-heat the over to 220 degrees. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Add the butter and rub in with your fingers until the whole thing looks like breadcrumbs. Add the sugar . Beat the egg, milk and yogurt together and add it to the mixture. Mix it all with a knife and then at the end with your hands. Roll the dough into a 3 cm circle and start cutting out the scones with your cutter. The scones should look tall and thick. Put them on a greased baking tray (we used a silicon tray from Lakeland instead) and brush a bit of yogurt on top. Sprinkle a tiny bit of flour over the scones and bake for 10-15 minutes. Serve with cream and strawberry jam.
The kids did most of this but they particularly enjoyed cutting the scones with their mini-cutters.

ANZAC BISCUITS

One of my sons has been studying the World Wars at school and as a result we have been looking into food they ate at that time. We found in a book (Baking Magic) a recipe for Anzac biscuits which were apparently  cooked for the soldiers in Australia and New Zealand during the First World War. They are a sort of a cross between a biscuit and a flapjack. The kids thought they were yummy - so not sure I managed to convey to them the feeling of 'post-War tough times' as I wanted to but at least we tried...
You need:
100 gr oats
150 gr plain flour
100 gr soft light brown sugar
115 gr butter
50 gr dessicated coconut
2 tbsp golden syrup
1 tbsp hot water
half tsp bicarbonate of soda
Preheat the oven to 190 degrees. Mix the oats, flour, sugar and coconut in a bowl. Heat the butter and golden syrup until the butter is melted. Separately, mix the hot water and bicarb and add it to the butter - this produces lots of foam. Put this foamy butter over the flour mixture and mix it all well. Make little balls of the mixture with your hands and put them over a baking tray (lined with baking paper) ensuring there is some space between them. Bake for 10 minutes. Let them rest on a wire rack for a few minutes after you take them out of the oven. Enjoy.

EASY PASTA WITH BACON AND PEAS

The kids wanted a recipe that they could cook 'even when I am not there'. They have rehearsed this one various times so they know the steps by heart. This time my eldest did it all on his own (except for draining the pasta). He was seriously proud of the dish - and so was I!
You need:
- pasta (we used spaghetti, but you can use any kind of dried pasta)
- olive oil (1 tablespoon)
- a clove of garlic (optional) - crushed
- frozen peas ( 150 gr)
- bacon (100 gr, cut into little cubes - you can buy this already cut at the supermarket)
- creme fraiche ( 3 table spoons), I have also done this in the past with single cream (150 ml) or milk (150 ml). Once I triedthis  with Philadelphia cheese (3 table spoons) and it was also good.
Boil the pasta in plenty of salty water following the packet instructions and drain it well.
While the pasta is boiling fry the bacon on the olive oil (medium heat). After 3 minutes (when the bacon is a little golden) add the crushed clove of garlic if you are using it (if you do not like garlic just disregard this step). Let it fry for just one minute and add the frozen peas and the salt (to taste) Wait for 3-4 minutes and add the creme fraiche. Wait until you see that bubbles appear. That is all there is to it.
Mix the pasta with the sauce and put some grated Parmesan on top.
I do not say it only because my children made it but it is very-very delicious.