Short Mead is a wonderful and very easy beverage to make. It is easier than beer, and a little simpler than wine. Unlike Great Mead, Short Mead has a lower alcohol volume, and you should keep it below about 11 % ABV as if you go too high fermentation will not be quick and simple as desired.

You can add any sensible flavouring you desire, and fresh or frozen fruit is a great option. This recipe suggests dried elderflower and frozen raspberry in modest amounts. Too much might make an overpowering flavour once the mead is dry and bottle carbonated.

A favourite in Asia, plum wine is easy and inexpensive to make, though it has a reputation for not always clearing fully, but this recipe gives you a good chance because of the inclusion of Pectolase. This recipe is also sound for peaches, nectarines and other stone fruits, so keep an eye out for seasonal and inexpensive sources of fruit.

Ingredients (To start)

These are the ingredients you will need to get the fermentation started, which takes about 2 hours over two days. Where a quantity is not given for an ingredient this means either:

Elderflower is a traditional wine that was historically popular because it ferments on the wild yeast in the elderflowers, though this recipe uses commercial wine yeast for consistent results. The recipe begins by making a tea with dried elderflowers, though you can also use freshly collected elderflowers without the stalks if you like (You need about 20 heads). The elderflower tea begins to smell very appealing on the second day, so suspend judgement when the tea is fresh.

Fresh strawberries are decadent, more so if you forego the pleasure of eating them and ferment them as nature intended. To make the compromise more appealing you can use 2 kg of fresh or frozen strawberries for this recipe, so you can start it all year around. Try substituting some raspberries as well for a delicious variation.

Ingredients (To start)

These are the ingredients you will need to get the fermentation started, which takes about 2 hours over two days. Where a quantity is not given for an ingredient this means either:

This recipe uses Sodium Nitrite to turn 1 to 2 kg of beef into corned beef. You can use Sodium Nitrite if you are very careful or you can obtain Instacure #1 / Prague Powder #1 / Pink curing salts. Quantities for both are given. Ensure that your Pink Curing Salts are 6.25% Sodium Nitrite and 93.75% Sodium Chloride. Any other concentrations will require recalculation.

Use up to 2 kg of beef like brisket, round roast or housekeepers cut. The best cuts will have marbling of fat but no seams running through. Brisket is commonly considered best for this purpose.

The recipe makes about 30 small squares of delicious imitation fudge, and is very quick and easy to make.

400 g Ground Almonds 70 g Unsweetened Dessicated Coconut 430 g Hazelnut Butter 200 g Cocoa Liquor Buttons, chopped 100 g Whey of appropriate flavour (Not fruity) 200 g Organic Raw Cold Pressed Coconut Oil 1 teaspoon Cinnamon 1 teaspoon Sea Salt 100 ml Strong Espresso/Ristretto 20 g Splenda or equivalent sweetener (Or 1 g pure sucralose)

This avocado soup is lightly cooked and very nutritious. It may cause nostalgia for the 70s and is a vibrant bright institutional green. The recipe is designed to be served hot, but can be chilled too.

This recipe is calibrated to serve 2 - 3 people as the servings are small, not exceeding 250 ml because the soup is filling. Relative quantities can be adjusted widely to taste for salt and acid levels. The fluid is non-newtonian once puréed and will splatter if overheated. Use a vegan stock if you absolutely must but chicken stock gives a classic flavour.

A robust mulled wine for cold winter evenings in the run up to Christmas. Make sure all your spices are fresh and remember to keep the pot covered as much as possible to avoid losing the nutritious alcohol. This recipe yields about 1.1 litres. Multiply the recipe up if required (Recommended.)

Ingredients

750 ml robust red wine, merlot, malbec, pinotage 37.5 ml vodka 37.5 ml gin 37.5 ml cointreau 5 ml orange bitters (10 splashes) 5 Oranges 5 (About 300 ml of juice) 0.5 teaspoon allspice Small piece of Ginger 4 pieces of star anise 2 teaspoon cinnamon 0.5 teaspoon nutmeg 2 loose teaspoon of cloves 4 cardamom pods crushed Splenda, sugar or sweetener to taste

In the Country they don’t call them cows: cows are just for milk, what we eat are heifers or bullocks (That’s not a rude typo, it’s a kind of cow.) However to those of us who don’t wear wellies to work, they’re cows, and they’re tasty, and in modern Ireland you can buy them in Aldi.

[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“360”] A Cow[/caption]

Meat

To make perfect burgers your meat has to be right. It needs about 30% fat. If you are cooking sous vide as described below, you could get away with 20% because of the reduced cooking temperature.

Therein lies the problem though, any beef mince you buy in a supermarket is going to have a maximum of 10% fat, sometimes 5%, and may be labelled ‘Lean Mince’. This will work fine in a Bolognese sauce or chilli, but it won’t work for burgers. Burgers are 100% mince or very close, and the meat just has to be right, and it has to be 20% fat for sous vide, or 30% for frying or contact grilling.