From Season to Season: A Year in Recipes. Sophie Dahl

cups of milk

      1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

      A knob of butter

      2 tablespoons of runny honey or agave syrup or brown sugar

      For the apple and apricots

      12 dried apricots (like the tapioca, soaked overnight, but in about 250ml/1 cup of orange juice)

      250ml/1 cup or so of water

      1 cinnamon stick

      A few tablespoons of orange juice

      1 tablespoon of agave syrup or honey

      2 eating apples, peeled, cored and sliced

      Having soaked the tapioca overnight, drain and place it in a saucepan with the milk, vanilla extract and a knob of butter. Bring to the boil, turn to low and simmer, stirring in the honey, agave or sugar, for another 10 minutes.

      Cut your overnight magically plumped apricots into halves or quarters if desired. In another saucepan, place the water, cinnamon, orange juice, agave or honey and apple and bring to the boil, giving it a good stir now and then. Simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the apple is tender.

      Now, here you can do one of two things. Serve the stewed fruit as is on top of the tapioca or put the tapioca in a small ovenproof dish with another knob of butter, pour the apple and apricot on top and bake at 180°C/160°C fan/Gas 4 for 15 or so minutes. The choice, Cilla, is yours.

       Argan oil, almond and honey smoothie

      Argan oil comes from the Argan tree, a Moroccan tree with magical properties. The oil is now easy to obtain through mail order or online, or if you live in a city, at your local health food shop. I get mine from Wild Wood Groves, www.wildwoodgroves.com. If you can’t access it, use a cold-pressed oil instead, something like an almond oil. I eat Argan, put it on my face and in my bath. It’s also great for babies with eczema. Frozen bananas are perfect for adding to smoothies, so have some in stock. Chop up the banana and put it in the freezer in a Ziploc bag or Tupperware.

      SERVES 1

      ½ a frozen banana

      8 or so blanched almonds

      1 glass of soy milk

      1 teaspoon of Argan oil

      1 tablespoon of runny honey

      Put your banana, almonds, soy and Argan in the blender with your honey. Blend until smooth and drink and be joyful.

       Crab cakes with poached eggs and spinach

      Perhaps the thing I miss most about living in the US is the ubiquity of brunch, or the ready availability of breakfast foods in a restaurant, long after breakfast is normally finished. Crab cakes are such a thing, perfectly so with eggs on top. If the mountain can’t come to Mohammed…

      SERVES 2

      For the crab cakes

      450g/1lb of cooked crab meat – white and brown

      1 tablespoon of home-made or good mayonnaise

      1 teaspoon of mustard

      A few drops of Tabasco sauce

      A small handful of fresh mixed herbs – dill, chervil and parsley

      Salt and pepper

      1 egg

      2 tablespoons of olive oil

      A handful of spinach

      A dash of vinegar

      Salt

      2 eggs

      Get the crab cake mixture ready, by mixing all the ingredients, bar the egg and olive oil, and forming into little cakes. Beat the egg and brush the crab cakes with it, then heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan. Throw on the crab cakes and cook them for a few minutes on each side until golden. You can also wilt the spinach in the same pan for a few minutes. Plate, with the spinach around the crab cakes.

      In another pan, boil some water with a dash of vinegar and some salt. When it is simmering away, carefully add your eggs and poach for 3 minutes. Drain and put the eggs on top of the crab cakes. Eat immediately.

       Spelt French toast with smashed blueberries and blackberries

      Another very happy childhood food memory. French toast is as comforting as a feather-filled bed.

      SERVES 4

      A day-old spelt loaf

      4 eggs, plus 1 egg yolk

      125ml/½ cup of milk

      1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

      2 tablespoons of agave syrup or brown sugar

      Pinch of salt

      1 tablespoon of butter

      For the smashed blueberries and blackberries

      2 generous handfuls each of blackberries and blueberries

      1 tablespoon of water

      3 tablespoons of agave syrup or honey

      4 heaped tablespoons of Greek yoghurt

      Put the berries in a saucepan with the water and agave or honey. Bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes, or until they begin to split into a big jammy autumnal mess.

      Slice the stale loaf into manageable toast-sized pieces. In a mixing bowl, beat together the eggs and egg yolk with the milk, vanilla, agave or sugar and the pinch of salt. When well incorporated, pour this mixture into a shallow baking dish. Start putting the bread in it, making sure it’s fully dunked. You need to let the bread sit in this eggy bath for at least 20 minutes, so it can really soak it up. If the bread needs help, prick it with a fork to help the egg mixture permeate.

      Take a big griddle pan or large heavy-bottomed frying pan and melt the butter. Put the egg-soaked bread in, in batches if needs be. Cook it for about 4 minutes on each side, until the bread is bronzed on the outside and soft on the in. Serve on warmed plates, with the smashed berries and yoghurt on top.

       Mushrooms on toast

      This is also perfect for a Sunday night supper when there are few around and you can eat this on your lap, a poached egg on top of it, watching a good old costume drama.

      SERVES 2

      A good few handfuls of mixed wild mushrooms, roughly chopped

      1 tablespoon of olive oil

      1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

      A handful of fresh parsley

      A pinch of fresh chopped tarragon

      A knob of butter

      A whisper of single/light cream

      Salt and pepper

      Slices of soda bread or dark rye, toasted and buttered

      First of all, make sure your pan is searing hot. Otherwise, your mushrooms can get soggy and unpleasant and, frankly, a soggy mushroom is a bit grim. Toss in the mushrooms at the same time as the olive oil and the garlic. You should