Homemade Raspberry Sauce

The raspberries as they start to cook & slowly disintegrate .....

The (almost) finished sauce, with raspberries now completely disintegrated and ready to be strained

The finished sauce after straining - such a gorgeous, deep red colour - and completely natural, too !

This is a deliciously tangy yet slightly sweet homemade raspberry sauce – once you try it, I guarantee you’ll never go back to the shop bought variety again ! I usually make a large batch – this recipe yields around 800 ml’s of sauce - and it is well worth it (but you can always halve the quantities below if you prefer).

It can be served either warm or cold over ice cream, meringues, waffles, pancakes, chocolate cake, chocolate mousse or a hot sponge pudding. (You can even eat spoonfuls of it just on it’s own straight out of the fridge *wink* *wink*).

I use frozen raspberries for this recipe, but I’m sure that fresh would work just as well. Alternatively, you could also use another berry (like blackberries, strawberries or blueberries) to make this versatile sauce -:


Homemade Raspberry Sauce

4 tbsp Cornflour (Corn Starch)
6 tbsp Sugar*
¾ cup warm Water
6 cups frozen Raspberries

Place the cornflour, sugar and warm water in a large, heavy based pot and put on a gentle heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved, then add the raspberries. Mix all together and bring to a gentle boil, stirring every so often to prevent sticking. Turn the heat down and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes (keep stirring every now and then). As you stir the raspberries will break up/disintegrate and you will be left with a lovely ruby red pulp. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly, before straining to remove all the pips. Store the sauce in a sealed container in the fridge until ready to use.

(This recipe yields around 800 ml’s of raspberry sauce)

*depending on the tartness of your raspberries, you may need to add more or less sugar – which is a good excuse to taste the sauce as you go along !

A Tasty Cheese, Onion & Bacon Sauce For Pasta

This tasty Cheese, Onion & Bacon sauce is delicious served over pasta - or even toasted bread rolls

This is a delicious ‘go to’ recipe which can be made on the stove top for a quick & filling meal. I usually add (husband pleasing) bacon to this sauce, but it’s just as nice if you leave the bacon out (if husband is away – or in the dog box !) and add extra onions instead (spring onions work well in it, too).

I sometimes serve the leftovers (if there are any !) the next day over toasted bread rolls for lunch. Delicious !


Tasty Cheese, Onion & Bacon Sauce for Pasta

Oil for frying
2 Onions, sliced
1 pkt (400 gm) Back Bacon, cubed
2 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Flour
¾ Cup Milk
¼ tsp Salt
Pinch of Pepper
1 Cup Cheddar Cheese, grated
1 tsp Hot English Mustard
1 tsp Worcester Sauce

Fry the sliced onions & cubed bacon in a pan until done. Remove from heat & set aside. In a separate pot, melt the butter & slowly add the flour and blend until smooth. Add the milk, a little at a time, stirring constantly until the sauce is thick & smooth. Add the salt & pepper, cheese, mustard & Worcester Sauce, and simmer to blend. Finally, add the cooked onions and bacon and stir well to combine, before serving immediately over freshly cooked pasta.

Easy Mustard Sauce

Easy to make, this tangy & slightly sweet mustard sauce goes really well with pork chops

I have featured recipes for mustard sauce on the blog before (“Fresh Asparagus with a Mustard Sauce” which you can see over here & “Chicken Breasts In A Tangy Mustard Sauce” which you can see over here) but this is a slightly different recipe which I’ve recently discovered, which is really thick, tasty, slightly sweet and so simple to make.

This mustard sauce is great served with pork chops and you can easily make it a few hours before you plan to use it, and simply heat it up in a double boiler just before serving. (If you don’t have a double boiler, just use a stainless steel mixing bowl which fits snuggly into the top of one of your saucepans or pots – it does the job just as well !)

If you don’t have dry Mustard, you can use 3 to 4 teaspoons of prepared mustard instead (or to taste). I use a milder Dijon mustard for this sauce.

I have included measurements (which I’ve used successfully for this recipe) in the equivalent cups/tablespoons & teaspoons for those of you who don’t work in ml’s.


Easy Mustard Sauce (from “More Food With Flair” by Lynn Bedford Hall)

250 ml Milk (1 cup)
1 Egg yolk
10 ml dry Mustard (2 teaspoons)
37,5 ml Flour (2 tablespoons & 1 ½ teaspoons)
12,5 ml brown Sugar (2 ½ teaspoons)
12,5 ml brown Vinegar (2 ½ teaspoons)
pinch of Salt
knob of Butter (about 1 level tablespoon)

Place all the ingredients (except the butter) in the top of a double boiler & whisk well. Stir over the simmering water until thick & smooth, then add a knob of butter.

Homemade Apple Sauce

Homemade apple sauce is very easy to make, tastes great & best of all - is preservative free !

Tinned apples are hard to come by here, as is apple sauce. I usually order cases of apple sauce from Holland with a big food order I place each year (you can read about last year’s order over here).

At the moment, I have no apple sauce in my pantry (my 2009 Dutch food order is floating on the ocean on a container ship somewhere between Europe and Africa at the moment !) so I have resorted to making my own again. I usually make this to serve with pork chops or roast pork -:

Homemade Apple Sauce

4 Apples (cored, peeled & chopped)
1 ½ tbsp brown Sugar (or to taste)
1 ¼ cups cold Water

Place the apple pieces, sugar & water in a small pot & stir to blend. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat to simmer for around 30 minutes until the apples are soft. Remove from the heat (there should be very little liquid left at this stage – around 3 tablespoons or so – no need to drain) & blend with a hand blender until smooth. (You can keep this in a covered container in the fridge for a few days.)

Tangy & Sweet Onion Marmalade

This Onion Marmalade tastes wonderful when served with cheese & biscuits

A close-up of the onion marmalade, just after cooking

There’s a well known franchised group of “Food Halls” in South Africa which sell a delicious Onion Marmalade. My husband and I both love it and it is always one of the things which we bring back home to Tanzania with us after a visit, or ask people to bring for us when they come to visit us from South Africa.

Of course, no matter how many jars we bring home with us, supplies do eventually run out so over the years I’ve learnt how to make my own by researching various recipes both online & in my cookbooks and I can honestly say that this recipe below is a very close match to the ‘original’ !

This onion marmalade goes wonderfully with roast chicken, pork or a nice piece of steak. I also like to serve it with cheese, and with cold meats too – it goes particularly well with ham -:

Tangy & Sweet Onion Marmalade

300 gm’s red Onions, sliced
1/3 cup Balsamic Vinegar (you can also use red grape vinegar)
1/3 cup Red Wine (I use white wine instead sometimes, & it still works well)
¼ cup brown Sugar
¼ cup Honey
2 tbsp Lemon Juice

Place all the ingredients into a small saucepan and bring to the boil whilst stirring. Once the sugar has dissolved, turn the heat down & allow to simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the mixture has thickened a little & reduced by at least half, remove it from the stove and allow to cool before placing in a sealed jar in the fridge (it will thicken further on cooling). This will keep, refrigerated, for 2 to 3 weeks. This recipe makes enough to fill a +- 300 gm jar.

Plum Jam - & Some General Jam Making Tips ;)

The plums & sugar, just about to be cooked

The mixture as it is cooking

The finished product !

Plums start appearing here in our local markets at Christmastime each year and as a result, I always associate them with Christmas and call them a “Christmas fruit”. They are one of my favourite fruits and my best way to eat them is fresh.

As I had a glut of them recently, I decided to make some plum jam, thinking that it would be nice served on toast on Christmas morning, and would also make nice jarred gifts over the festive season.

This is a very simple jam recipe, and contains some tips on jam making in general, so you could adapt the recipe to use whatever fruit you happen to have on hand (see tips at end of recipe) -:


Plum Jam

500 gm Plums (halved, peeled & stones removed)
500 gm Sugar (I use brown)

Place the plums and the sugar into a heavy bottomed saucepan and stir on a low heat until the sugar has dissolved, then bring the mixture to the boil. (Do not bring to the boil before the sugar has dissolved). Simmer for around an hour, stirring as little as possible as frequent stirring can cause the mixture to crystallize. The jam is ready when a little poured onto a plate and quickly cooled goes thick. Pour into sterilized glass jars whilst the mixture is still warm (but not too hot), cover with paper rounds dipped in brandy & then seal the lids. It is best to warm the jars in the oven first, so that they do not crack when you pour the jam into them.

A Few Tips :

Don’t use plums which are too ripe, use ones which are just ripe as if they are over ripe the jam may not set properly.

Skim any foam which forms on the top of the mixture at the beginning of the cooking process when it is easier to remove.

I made the mistake this time (as the plums I used were really tiny) of leaving the skins on. The skins did not soften and I had to painstakingly remove them all by hand after the jam had cooked and cooled – ugh !

You can use any quantity of plums, just match their weight in sugar e.g. 1 kg plums plus 1 kg sugar.

If you use a sweeter fruit to make your jam (eg. figs, grapes, apples, peaches) then use 375 gm sugar for every 500 gm fruit. Four sour fruits like these plums

Tanzanian Mango Chutney

The chutney mix just before cooking (above)

The chutney mix almost cooked

A spoonful of the finished product before putting it into jars - delicious !

Mango’s grow in abundance in the hot, tropical Tanzanian coastal heat and you can buy a huge bucket of delicious, green skinned mango’s (over 30 in a bucket) for around 4000/= Tanzanian Shillings (about U$3) along the main road between Tanga/Pangani and Moshi/Arusha.

The mango’s are usually sold by young men standing on the roadside and when you stop your car, they all come running up to you holding the heavily laden buckets with their fragrant, juicy fruit spilling out over the top. We usually buy a couple of buckets and when we get home, divide the mango’s up amongst the staff as they are a real treat. I keep some for us for fruit salads and for eating whole, and the rest get used to make Mango Chutney.

This coastal trip was no different, and we came home laden with delicious mangos, their peppery fragrance filling the car as we continued our long, hot, journey home …..

This recipe is one which I came up with to suit my own taste, because although I enjoy spicy foods I don’t enjoy mango chutney which is too hot or peppery (the mango’s here themselves have a slightly peppery taste, not to mention the peppery taste of the fresh ginger which is added to the chutney), especially if used as an accompaniment to a hot curry ! (My daughter also much prefers this more ‘child friendly’ version).

This Mango Chutney goes well with cold meats, pickles and cheese and of course can be added to sandwich fillings or served with curries, too.


Tanzanian Mango Chutney

800 gm almost ripe Mangos, peeled with pips removed & cut into cubes
4 red Onions, sliced into cubes
1 cup white grape Vinegar
1 cup brown Sugar
2 tbsp finely grated fresh Garlic
1 tbsp finely grated fresh Ginger
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
Salt – to taste

Place all the ingredients in a heavy bottomed saucepan & bring to the boil, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat and simmer for about an hour (stirring from time to time to prevent sticking and burning) until the mixture has thickened & reduced in quantity. Pour into sterilized glass jars and seal.

A Delicious African Recipe for Meat Marinade

This marinade can be used for chicken, pork or beef

This is a great marinade for meat. I have used it for chicken, pork and beef and it works equally well for all three.

It’s so easy to throw this all together, put it in the fridge overnight & forget about it – and the next day you’ll have a really tasty and tender piece of meat (and believe you me, if it’s tough-as-old-boots Tanzanian beef, it’ll need some marinating !)


Meat Marinade

1 ½ cups Water
½ cup Olive oil
¾ cup Worcestershire Sauce
1 Onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp Garlic, chopped
4 tbsp Vinegar
4 tbsp Sugar
4 tbsp Tomato Sauce (Ketchup)
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Mustard
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper (or you can use Paprika)
4 tbsp Soy Sauce

Blend all the ingredients together. Place the meat in a glass dish and pour the marinade over it. Leave to marinade overnight. Discard marinade before cooking.

Easy Homemade Honey & Mustard Salad Dressing

This Honey & Mustard Salad Dressing is always a winner & can just as easily be used as a basting sauce for chicken or pork

I’ve had this recipe for years & seeing as it is on a typed page in one of my own recipe books, I cannot remember where I got it from. It’s a really good recipe and one which I used to make often in the days when a variety of salad dressings were unavailable to buy in the shops here.

I have also used this dressing as a coating for cooked chicken on the barbecue, and it really is delicious. As you can see by the ‘photo, it is quite a thick and dark coloured dressing – but don’t let that put you off because it tastes simply heavenly !


Honey & Mustard Salad Dressing

4 tbsp Honey

3 tbsp Vinegar* (I’ve used balsamic or red wine or white grape vinegar)
6 tbsp Mayonnaise
2 tbsp Wholegrain Mustard
1 heaped tsp dried Garlic flakes (or use finely minced fresh garlic if you prefer)
Pinch of Salt
½ cup Olive Oil

Place the honey in a saucepan over a gentle heat & stir until it has dissolved & is completely liquid. Then pour the honey into a bowl & whisk in the vinegar, mayonnaise, wholegrain mustard, garlic flakes and salt. Once well blended, gradually whisk the olive oil in … slowly pouring a thin stream of oil into the mixture & beating until it is all well blended. Pour into a glass jar and store in the fridge until needed. Shake well before serving.

Tomato, Onion & Basil Sauce For Pasta

I usually make a huge batch of this sauce, & freeze it in smaller portions

This is a simple sauce for pasta (you can try my simple homemade pasta recipe over here) which is really easy to prepare. It’s a ‘standard’ in our house as it keeps forever in the fridge and I also always make a large batch and freeze smaller portions of it in re sealable plastic bags (this way they freeze flat & I can fit more of them in my freezer than using bulky plastic tubs with lids).

My husband likes eating this sauce on bread for lunch sometimes (!!), & other times I add ground meat (beef mince) or chicken to it to bulk it out a little and for a main meal I serve it over pasta, topped with cheese (Parmesan – the real stuff – if I can get my hands on it !) and a nice side salad and some garlic rolls. In fact, whenever I have guests for a meal and I’m not sure if some/all of them are Vegetarian or not, I always make sure that I have some of this sauce out, just incase. (Hah – you see, that goes back to my hotel roots .... force of habit and all that!)

So, here it is …. very simple and incase you were wondering about the addition of brown sugar - that is a trick I learnt years ago from my Dad as it helps to take the acidic taste of the tomatoes out of the sauce a little.

Tomato, Onion & Basil Sauce

Olive Oil
6 red Onions, finely chopped
3 tbsp Garlic, finely chopped
2 x 400 gm tins peeled Tomatoes, chopped
1 x 70 gm tin Tomato Paste
2 tbsp mixed herbs (Basil)* use fresh if you have
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 tbsp brown Sugar
½ cup cold Water

Pan fry the onions & garlic in some olive oil until golden, then add the tinned tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir to blend and season with the basil, salt & pepper to taste. Add the sugar and the water and bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 40 minutes, allowing the sauce to reduce and thicken and for all the flavours to develop.

(The taste of this sauce develops with time, so it’s always best to make it at least a day before you plan to eat it.)

Memories of Mozambique ... & Peri Peri Sauce

I was followed by local Mozambiquean children during a walk on Inhaca Island in the early '90's - more & more kids joined me as I passed through each village !

Here I've used Peri Peri sauce to coat chicken breasts - I always like to serve lemon wedges on the side

Many years ago, I spent some time travelling in Mozambique (an African country in the South of the Continent, which used to be a Portuguese colony) and also on Inhaca Island (an Island which lies just off Mozambique's coastline).

During the time I spent there, I discovered that Mozambiquean food has a huge Portuguese influence, and peri peri (& garlic !) sauces & butters are served there with almost everything - I have fond recollections of gorging myself silly on peri peri prawns, caught fresh that morning (not by me though !) and eaten on the beach in the moonlight .... and whenever I eat peri peri sauce, I am always transported back to that magical time again ...

Here is a simple Peri Peri sauce recipe which originates from South Africa. In Tanzania, Peri Peri is often referred to as “Pili Pili” and if it is really hot, you call it “Pili Pili Ho Ho” – the “Ho Ho” supposedly being the sound you make when eating something that is burning your mouth !

Chilli’s grow well in our climate and can often be found in the local markets either fresh or dried, and it is not uncommon to find colourful chilli bushes growing in even the smallest, dustiest African village.

Peri Peri Sauce (this recipe comes from “The Complete South African Cookbook” by Magdaleen Van Wyk)

2 tbsp Butter
1 tbsp Cornflour
1 medium Onion, grated
1 small Chilli, finely chopped
1 ½ cups Chicken (or Fish) Stock*

Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the cornflour & stir until smooth. Combine the onion, chilli & chicken (or fish) stock in a small bowl and add to the butter & cornflour mixture. Simmer over low heat, stirring continuously, until thickened. Add the sauce to the meat or fish and simmer for 15 to 30 minutes.

*If you are going to be using this sauce for chicken, use a chicken stock & if you are using it for fish or seafood, use a fish stock instead.

Our Lazy Sunday Barbecue ... & An Easy Marinade Recipe

Nothing beats the taste of meat cooked on a fire out in the open ....

On Sunday my (workaholic) husband took a break from the farm (i.e. was ‘torn away’ … ha ha) as it is a quiet time now between our planting and havesting seasons. When it is quiet like this, he usually takes Sunday’s off and I treasure these days we can spend together as family with no work interruptions.

It was an unusually hot and sunny day (considering we are entering our Winter season here) and my husband suggested that we have a barbecue - I thought that this was a great idea as it meant I could have a day off from cooking (not that I really mind it, but Sunday’s are usually my really lazy days). Well, it was not a complete break from the kitchen as I wanted to make some nice marinades and things.

First I took out a packet of pork sausages which I cut and threaded onto wooden kebab skewers with some onion, and then I basted these in a mixture of equal amounts of tomato sauce (ketchup) and Worcestershire sauce. We love cooking pork sausages on the barbecue, except they are often tricky and fall through the grill bars – so making ‘kebabs’ out of them is ideal.

My husband wanted a nice steak, and I happened to have some individually portioned Kenyan fillets so I took one of those out for him and my daughter, but left it plain. (We only eat imported Kenyan beef – I’ve mentioned before that the quality of our local Tanzanian fillet is terrible.) I rarely eat red meat and was happy to stick with chicken.

I took out a packet of chicken pieces which were skinless. I automatically remove the skin from all the chicken pieces before I portion and freeze them, but usually for a barbecue I would leave the skins on. I made a lovely lemon, thyme & garlic marinade for these which was quick and easy and even though they only had time to marinade for about an hour, they were still tender and tasty. (The recipe for that is below).

I then made some garlic rolls wrapped in foil to put on the fire, and a quick salad with lettuce, rocket, tomatoes, onions, cucumber and carrots …. and that was lunch !

My husband had one of his farm workers make us a barbecue in the workshop here a few years ago – just out of an old oil drum. It looks pretty professional, just like one you would buy in a shop …. it was all welded together and aside from a few modifications to the grill / grid (the gaps were large enough for all the meat to fall through into the fire !) it was perfect.

So, my husband cooked our meat in the garden (with all the dogs begging at his feet !) and my daughter splashed around in her paddling pool, and we ate at the dining table I have on the veranda. It was a really lovely day, and the only thing that would have made it even better, would’ve been if we’d had our extended families (parents, in laws, siblings, nieces and nephews) to join us !

Here is the easy marinade I made for the chicken pieces -:

Lemon, Thyme & Garlic Marinade for Chicken

5 Chicken Pieces (I used skinless)
Juice of 2 large lemons
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Handful of fresh Thyme, roughly chopped
2 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients together and pour into a glass dish. Add the chicken pieces and turn to coat well. Leave to marinade for a couple of hours, or overnight in the fridge.

A Spicy Parsley & Yoghurt Salad Dressing Recipe

This dressing also works really well as a healthy topping for baked potatoes

Sometimes it’s nice to add a bit of a ‘kick’ to your salad. Especially if it’s a simple salad containing ingredients like lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and onions which can be rather bland if eaten on their own. This is a great creamy tasting dressing with a little bit of a ‘kick’ due to the addition of the Chilli powder. (You could use Paprika powder if you prefer.)

I have also made this dressing before without the oil and by using fat free natural yogurt and skim milk to make a tasty ‘diet friendly’ version of the original !

This dressing keeps in the fridge for a few days. I like to keep mine in a screw top glass jar, as it makes it easy to shake/mix it before pouring.

The dressing is a little thicker than most, so you can thin it out with some more milk if you prefer, but a tip is to use the thicker dressing as a topping for baked potatoes (my husband loves to use this dressing that way) . It’s really very tasty !


Spicy Parsley & Yogurt Salad Dressing

150 ml Natural Yogurt
50 ml Milk
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp finely grated Onion
1 tbsp finely chopped Parsley
1 tsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Sugar
½ tsp finely grated Garlic
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of red Chilli Powder

Whisk all ingredients together and store, covered, in the fridge until ready to serve.

Chicken, Tomato & Basil Sauce for Pasta

This sauce tastes great with pasta - but is just as nice served over rice

I came up with this recipe one day when my husband said he was craving ‘a nice tomatoey sauce for pasta. But it must have meat in it, too’. The recipe worked out really well, and now I make it quite often. It also freezes well.

Chicken, Tomato & Basil Sauce for Pasta

1 – 2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 Onions, finely sliced
2 tsp Garlic, minced
2 chicken breasts, cubed
2 ½ tbsp Tomato Paste
400 gm tin whole peeled Tomatoes
1 – 2 tbsp Fresh Basil leaves, chopped
Salt & Pepper to taste
¼ cup Water

Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the onions and garlic. Cook until golden and then add the chicken. Fry for around 5 minutes before adding the tomato paste, tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper. Add some of the water if the sauce seems too thick. Continue to cook until the chicken is done and garnish with a few fresh basil leaves just before serving. (This is great served over pasta, and is just as nice with rice).

Yogurt Sauce for Curry

You can sprinkle a little chopped coriander over the sauce just before serving, if you like

This is a great sauce to have as a side dish when you are serving a curry – especially if it’s a little hot ! The sauce really helps to cool things down a little, as well as adding extra flavour to the curry. (You can find my Dad’s great Chicken Curry recipe here.)

This sauce also goes really well with spicy roast or peri peri chicken (or, as we call it here in Tanzania “Pili Pili Chicken” and if it’s really hot … “Pili Pili Ho Ho !”)


Yogurt Sauce

250 ml Plain Yogurt
Handful of fresh Coriander leaves, chopped
1 tsp Cumin Seeds (optional)

Mix all ingredients together just before you are about to eat, and serve – it couldn’t be simpler !

Salsa, Anyone ?

This colourful mango salsa tastes as good as it looks !

We get the most divine mangoes here. I mean, really heavenly mangoes that can even turn a life long non mango eater (me) into a mango fanatic. We get the juicy, fragrant mangoes from Mombasa, Kenya in our markets as well as the locally grown ones which are smaller and firmer with a spicier taste. Freshly squeezed mango juice is also a popular – and healthy – drink here, too.

This mango salsa recipe is so easy to make, with quite common ingredients. I serve it as a side dish to a cold meat & cheese spread, or even as a salad topping and of course it also goes really well with fish or chicken ….. or tortilla’s …. the possibilities are endless -:


Mango Salsa

1 Mango, cut in to cubes
2 Tomatoes, pips removed & cut into cubes
1 red Onion, cut into cubes
Bunch of Coriander (Cilantro), finely chopped
Garlic Flakes to taste
Sprinkling of Chilli Powder (or use fresh equivalent)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together & store in the fridge. This salsa tastes even better if made a day before you plan to use it, as it gives time for all the delicious flavours to intermingle & develop.

Diet Friendly Chocolate Sauce (Yes, really !)

As you can see, I am still making good use of my glut of bananas - here are some smothered in chocolate sauce !

Can it possibly be true ? The words “diet” and “chocolate” in the same sentence ? It certainly can ! This is a great almost fat free chocolate sauce …. I say “almost fat free” because the cocoa powder does, of course contain some fat (if we really want to split hairs !)

I was amazed the first time I tried this sauce … it tastes almost like the real thing. I think that the addition of the cornflour thickens it to such a degree that it has the texture of the real thing – which makes it that much more convincing !

Pour it over fruit or ice cream, or stir it in to milk and make a guilt free hot chocolate drink with it … mmmmmm !

(You can even play around with the amounts of cocoa powder and coffee, to get the “perfect” taste which appeals to you ………..)

Diet Friendly Chocolate Sauce

½ Cup Skim Milk
1 tsp Cornflour (Cornstarch) – blend with a little of the milk above for easier mixing
½ tbsp Instant Coffee powder
¼ cup unsweetened Cocoa Powder
¼ cup Brown Sugar
½ tsp Vanilla Essence

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan, & bring to the boil whilst stirring constantly. Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes to “cook” the cornflour taste out of it. This can be stored in the fridge for around 2 days.

Sweet & Tangy Barbecue Sauce

It also makes a great topping for cheese sandwiches !

This is a simple, delicious sauce which goes well with hamburgers, as a relish for cold meats & cheese, or as a sauce for chicken or pork.

I keep it in a screw top jar in the fridge, and usually serve it cold. (My fussy husband gives it two thumbs up - so you know it must be good !)


Sweet & Tangy Barbecue Sauce

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Large Onion, chopped
1 tsp Tomato Paste
2 Tbsp Vinegar (Balsamic works well)
2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 tsp Mustard Powder
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
150 ml Water

Fry the onion in the oil until soft. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for another couple of minutes, then add the rest of the ingredients. Allow to simmer until mixture has thickened slightly & onions are soft. (You can add more/less vinegar or sugar according to your taste).