Double Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Summer has finally come to England, and there's no better way to celebrate it than strawberries. This delicious and indulgent dessert looks as good as it tastes, and is much easier than you may think. For the adults out there, add some liqueur to the melted dark chocolate for an extra boozy kick. Also, i recommend cutting the stalks off, and chilling the strawberries before starting. I've written approx. for the chocolate, as it depends how much you use per strawberry. If you don't want to have the dark chocolate, skip to halfway step 3.

 Ingredients

1 punnet strawberries

Approx. 50g Dark/Plain Chocolate
Approx. 25g White Chocolate

Method

1. Wash and dry the strawberries, and melt the dark chocolate. Once melted, pour into a ramekin.

2. Dip each strawberry into the chocolate about 1/2-3/4 of the way, and let all the excess chocolate drip off into the ramekin. Place with the chocolate facing up onto a sheet of greaseproof paper.

3. Let the chocolate set completely (if in a rush, put them in the fridge to set), and melt the white chocolate.

4. Hold a strawberry from the bottom over the pan/bowl of white chocolate. Take a small spoon of white chocolate, and let some drip off until the stream is thin. 

5. While moving the spoon around the strawberry, let the chocolate drip onto it, and enrobe the strawberry. WARNING: do not try to scrape off failed attempts of white chocolate from the dark base layer; the liquid white chocolate will melt some of the chocolate below, and you'll end up with a smudged mess.

5. Again, let the chocolate set, and let them come to room temp. before serving.

Halloumi Pasta

One of my absolute favorite recipes, originally found on the bbc food website, and originally created by Tony Tobin, and changed a bit by me. Every time I say I am making it, my sister goes crazy! It's a fantastic dish, though I would say to leave some time for chopping up and preparing the ingredients. Serves 4.

      Ingredients

4 tbsp olive oil

1 and ½ red onions, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

A pinch of dried chilli flakes

250g halloumi, cut into cubes (make them not too small - they'll melt)

4 tomatoes, seeds removed and finely chopped

425g penne pasta 

4 tbsp chopped fresh basil

A squeeze of tomato puree

Method
1. Boil some water in a big pan and add the pasta, cooking it for as long as the packet says

2. While this is happening, heat the olive oil in a frying pan until you can feel the heat when placing your fingers near. Add the onion, garlic and chilli flakes and fry until the onions have softened.

3. Add the halloumi and fry until golden (don't worry if it melts, just chop it up and separate it with a wooden spoon in the pan). Add the tomato puree.

4. Add the finely chopped tomato and basil, and mix on a low heat for a few minutes.

5.Add the sauce-thing to the pasta, season and serve.

Egg Separator

'Gone are the days of egg yolk being passed over eggshells'

Today I would like to share something that has made my life so easy. Don't be fooled by the simplicity, it's an incredible kitchen gadget. You crack an egg into it, and it leaves the yolk on top, letting the white drain into a bowl. It saves time and effort, and is really worth the cheap price tag. I recommend getting a stainless steel one, because the others are hard to wash. 
I don't know what brand my one is, but this one looks similar.