I don’t have the most exotic of diets, I don’t like Indian, or seafood, I draw a line at even the subtlest of spices and I can’t stand raw tomatoes. I am a seasoned fussy eater and anyone who knows me, knows this. I’m all for trying new things, which is a change from a few years ago – but I have to want to try these things, I won’t do it for anyone else.

So when Superdrug asked us to share some exciting recipes, I was at a bit of a loss. I have cooked some more unusual stuff for my mum and my brother before (I really fancy myself as a chef, no matter how stressful it gets in the kitchen – I somehow enjoy it) but when it comes to eating it myself, I’ll stick with the usual thanks.
With that in mind, I’m going to share two of my favourite things with you. Not essentially summer based, but I never did stick to seasons anyway.

First up, for the main, is good old lasagna. For those of you recoiling, stifling your yawns, there are numerous ways to add a bit extra to this dish if you don’t fancy just bolognese and pasta. Add a bit of curry paste, some chili powder, even some more flavoursome vegetables if you like.
Here’s how I do mine – ingredients are done by eye, so I can’t give any specific measurements, if you haven’t made lasagne before (it’s pretty simple) then trial and error will have to be your method!

Heat the mince in a pan until it begins sizzling, at this point, add about a tablespoon of water and beef stock. Mix in, then add in blended vegetables. My fool proofs are carrots, onions, tomatoes & peppers – but this is a dish that you can chuck any left over veg in and it will still taste great! Granted that the veg is in date of course… carrots were left out of this particular edition because the entire bag was mouldy when I got to them… Yuck!
Stir together, and leave to simmer while you get on with something else.

While simmering, add a large knob of butter to a separate pan, and leave to melt. Once it begins to sizzle, add a spoonful of flour, so it’s sticky lumps, with a little bit of melted butter left, to create a roux. Immediately add milk – in stages, better to add too little than too much – and keep stirring/adding milk until you’re left with a creamy white sauce.

Now to form the lasagna! Get an oven proof dish, and begin layering. First, create a layer of the bolognese, making it smooth and even.

Next up, start layering the pasta sheets. I prefer the green ones, they have a slightly different taste and are apparently better for you, but that’s entirely personal preference. Try and get it to cover all the bolagnaise, so it’ll create an even tower when cooked.
Over the pasta, pour on the white sauce, this has to cover all the pasta, so it has some liquid substance to cook in (this is why we added water into the bolognese!).

Repeat the last steps until the dish is full, or until you run out of sauce/bolognese. I always have the top layer being white sauce.
The last, and optional step is to add cheese. You can also add cheese into the white sauce if you want. I add grated cheese over the top as well as it makes it a little crispy. I like to have a crispy edge to contrast with the soft pasta!

Then, stick it in the oven, covered with tin foil. It’ll need about 20 minutes, on 200degrees (I have a fan assisted oven & this works for me, obviously you might need to moderate it for your own oven!)
After 20 minutes, take off the foil and put it back in, foil less. Keep checking on it, it’s personal taste how much longer you want to leave it in, 5 – 10 minutes is generally enough for me, so it’s got a crispy edge, but isn’t burnt!

Then serve it up! I added peas (and a side of dough balls – yums), but a salad or garlic bread would be the perfect partner.

But what about dessert?!
Well, this is more of a great snack or party favour – but this is something I’ve been making since I was little, bringing out the oldest ‘cookie cutters’ I could find to throw some shapes in, I absolutely love these. I always double the amounts in the recipe book, and the two trays full of biscuits it makes, are generally gone by the end of the following day.

The recipe, taken from the vintage 1984 Sainbury’s Children’s Party Cooking
This makes about 15, but I double up these measurements, it depends how big you cut the biscuits as to how many you can get.

Sift 50g of flour into a bowl, and rub in 25g of butter in, until it resembles bread crumbs. Stir in 25g of caster sugar, then gradually add beaten egg, until it creates a firm dough. Do this in tiny amounts, and use your hands to create the dough.
Flour a surface, and a rolling pin, begin rolling out the pastry, remembering to keep turning/flipping so it doesn’t stick. Roll it quite thinly, but be careful as the thinner it gets the easier it is to burn when in the oven.
You can then have your imagination run wild with what kinds of shapes to create, I went for some topical shapes;

Bake for 12 – 15 minutes, until golden at 180degrees, gas mark 4. Then leave to cool.

Then comes the icing (always my favourite bit). I took my time trying to make the perfect Superdrug pink;

I added a drop of Cochineal colouring to my icing sugar mix…

The before;

The finished product;

They tasted even better than they look

So, not all that exciting to most, but definitely something that will be missed when I make the move to University in September! At least I have mastered how to recreate it if I ever get homesick.