Here’s my recipe for Hot Cross Buns. Today we had them for morning tea with freshly brewed coffee sitting on the balcony in perfect weather – not too hot, not too cold. We always invite family or friends to share them. Delicious!

1 teaspoon dried yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

325 ml warm water

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

500g (3-3.5 cups) flour  (I used a 7-grain flour from the health food shop)

1 tablespoon mixed spice

1/2 cup raisins or currants

Do you go through cooking phases? I do. My latest one has been Khao Pad Krapao, pronounced ‘cow pat’ which is rather unfortunate for us English speaking people. It’s fried rice with basil – that’s the ‘krapao’ part – and it’s delicious. What makes it so special is the Thai basil. I have a plant sitting on my kitchen bench begging to be used every few days, and I’ve been happy to oblige. Making this meal brings back wonderful memories of our numerous visits to Thailand although it loses some of its authenticity when eaten without car fumes.

Thai basil tastes quite different to the basil that goes so well with tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and olive oil. But it comes from the same herb family. That’s right: herbs come in families just like vegetables. Basil belongs to the mint family (real name – lamiaceae). Its brothers and sisters include lemon balm, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, sage, savory and thyme. No, I haven’t forgotten that other essential Thai herb, coriander.

Apples didn’t feature in my Christmas/New Year menus. Why would they? It’s summer and apples are an autumn fruit. But there they were – languishing at the bottom of my fridge and desperately in need of using up. It was too late to simply slice and eat them. These middle-aged wrinklies needed a serious makeover. I found this recipe in my favourite French cookbook – ‘At home in Provence’ by Patricia Wells – and adapted it to the ingredients

The last day of 2009 – New Year’s Eve and the inevitable new year’s resolutions. In anticipation that some of us will wake up tomorrow resolving to eat less, drink less, grouch less, exercise more, give more, chill out more – at least for a couple of days – here’s a muesli recipe to start you off on your new resolutely healthy day!

It’s so easy to make: just chuck it all in a big oven tray and bake for 20 minutes, then toss in some dried fruit. I like to use cranberries and dried apricots because they look pretty, plus my nephew and niece don’t like raisins and I usually give them a container full to eat while it’s fresh. You can use any ingredients you like but I like to use health-foodie stuff that my family wouldn’t normally touch such as linseeds, wheat germ and oat bran. The batch I made this week uses whole linseeds but you will likely absorb more nutrients from ground linseeds.