Beetroot is back!

Since being a student and being freer to cook for myself (without the restraints of younger - pickier - siblings), I've been able to experiment. Beetroot is now something I buy quite regularly, particularly fresh from farmers markets. With the help of my other half, we've found the best way to cook it is to pop it in a bowl with a few inches of water, cover with a plate and zap in the microwave for about ten minutes (or longer for a large beetroot). Don't bother with peeling it as the skin sloughs off easily once it's been cooked. It's so easy and very tasty! On one of his internet trawls, the boy came across this amusing website. Just to ram the point home if you needed some persuation?

Chewy Flapjacks

I like flapjacks - they feel all wholesome and good for you. Which I guess they are, if you ignore the copious amounts of butter that go into making them. Not a biscuit, not a cake; they fall into that undefinable weird snack group. My grandmother makes lovely crunchy flapjacks which is what first inspired me to look into a recipe but I must admit that I'm more of a soft and chewy person myself. Hence, when I tried some of a friend's yummy batch, I was quick to nick the recipe and modify it to make my perfect flapjack experience. Just so you know, porridge oats are really cheap - you can buy 1kg of Tesco Value Oats for a mere 58p which will make four batches of flaps.

Soft & Moreish, Ultra Tasty Flapjacks
(with thanks to Dan for the initial inspiration!)

Makes:

Soft and chewy flapjacks with a sweet and buttery taste. A great way to use up over ripe bananas.

Ingredients:

80g demarera sugar

110g (unsalted) butter

250g oats

1 banana (ideally really ripe)

2 tbsp golden syrup or runny honey

Method:

- Preheat oven to 220c

- Melt butter on a low heat

- Remove from heat and stir in sugar and syrup/honey for a few minutes (it won't all combine into a smooth mixture so don't worry too much!)

- Add oats to wet mixture and mix well until all the oats have a thin coating of buttery sugar-ness

- Mash up the banana with a fork until it's smooth and gooey

- Fold banana into oats

- Spread evenly into a non-stick tray so that it's about 2.5cm thick

- Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until golden brown on top

- Leave to cool for 5 minutes and then score into pieces with a knife

Variations:

Add dried banana chips, chocolate chunks or soaked raisins to the mixture before you bake for more flavour.