Cooking Essential - Lemon Squeezer

I use lemons like a condiment. They are always in my fridge. I add the juice to all sorts of dishes that need oomph or use them in marinades and salads. This lovely and stylish tool juices lemons better than anything else. It is the perfect shape for getting every last drop of juice out and you can squeeze the lemon directly onto whatever it is you are cooking rather than collect it all in a dish first. Be warned, seeds do go astray with it so I advise squeezing over a tea strainer or small sieve. Feeling inspired? These squeezers are available all over the place, I bought mine locally. Go out, get yourself one, then try my spinach and lemon pasta dish below.

This is a green recipe

Serves 1 greedy person.

- Spaghetti, lasagne or linguine (so hard to measure and depends on your appetite, maybe a 1/4 of pound?)
- 1/2 bunch of spinach
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1/2 small lemon
- 2 tablespoons of parmesan, pecorino or a mixture of both plus a couple of teaspoons for sprinkling
- pinch of nutmeg

Cook the spaghetti in well salted (please!) boiling water.
While it's boiling, blanch the spinach if it is young (just pour boiling water over it in a colander) or cook in a little water for a few minutes if it is coarse.
Drain spinach, squeeze dry and chop.
Once the pasta is al dente, drain and transfer back to the still warm pot.
Add the egg, lemon juice and cheese, mix well and then cover for a few minutes - OFF the heat, otherwise the egg will scramble.
Once the sauce has cooked and thickened, add the spinach.
Transfer to a warm plate or bowl, sprinkle with a little nutmeg and remaining cheese.

*Make sure the spinach is as dry as possible otherwise it will make the pasta watery. I don't add salt here because the pecorino is pretty salty, especially if it is Romano.*

What’s Your Guilty Pleasure

Regardless of our refined our tastes may be, we all have a few guilty pleasures. Foods that we just love even though we know we shouldn't. I am very much against processed food, but there are some to which I just can't seem to shake my addiction! I have to admit that a lot of these were introduced to me on my trips to the US, like Twinkies, peppermint patties and potato bread. Even now back in Zambia I crave potato bread hot dogs. I also love canned pasta, especially Heinz Macaroni Cheese. When I was in Italy I fell in love with Kinder Brioche, a type of oblong cake that Italians like to eat for breakfast. Again I still pine after these tasty sponge cakes that are just wonderful dipped in coffee and I wonder why they have never been for sale in the UK. Then of course the ultimate sin – pork fat (crispy) and roast chicken skin. Most of my guilty pleasures are comfort foods or foods that remind me of a particular time in my life. Sometimes it's just reverting back to my childhood, who doesn't want to do that every now and then?

So, share with me, what's your list of guilty pleasures?

Key Ingredient: Cream

Modern life has a lot to answer for. Due to our obsession with weight and health, cream, salt and butter have pretty much been demonized. This is a shame because, in moderation, they really bring food alive – salt especially. My argument is – cut out all the process rubbish in your diet, cook from scratch with vegetables, meat and grains and you never have to worry about too much salt.

As for cream, it is a wonderful ingredient – any sauce you make with wine and cream is sure to impress. Yes, it has cholesterol in it but it also has fat soluble vitamin D in at as well, and I am not suggesting you eat it everyday. I feel exonerated in my use of cream because I use scant amounts, and I am a female who doesn't drink milk in tea or coffee so think it is a good way to keep my bones healthy and stave off osteoporosis in the future!

Try:

• Melting good quality chocolate with a small pat of butter and whisking into cream,chill and you have chocolate ganache
  


• After cooking meat in a pan, deglazing you pan with wine, reduce, add a swirl of cream and you have an instant sauce accompaniment
  


• Melting a blue cheese like gorgonzola in some cream for a sauce for pasta or steak
  


• Puree rip fruit and whip through double (heavy cream) with sugar to taste for a luxuriant but vitamin packed dessert
  


• Mix some cream through sautéed white cabbage that was fried with garlic and spritzed with lemon juice – mix through pasta or as a great side dish