Spring has arrived and although the weather is not quite as warm as we would have hoped there are plenty of seasonal spring vegetables becoming available to brighten up our kitchens. In season during April are greens such as spinach, cabbage, asparagus and cauliflower and there are plenty of fresh and exciting ways to introduce these on to plates for the whole family.

If you find yourself rained in this weekend then Ainsley Harriott’s chickpea and spinach curry with flatbread is the perfect choice for a spring time curry using seasonal veg. Whilst avoiding being too heavy on the palette this dish is hearty and warming enough to tuck in to during those April showers.

Finding new and exciting ways to cook greens can be difficult but you don’t have to create whole dishes from scratch. Explore the recipes below for simple yet adventurous ways of cooking spring vegetables as side dishes and bring some spring sunshine to your plate this weekend!

• Cabbage stir friend with red pepper paste
• Spinach with paneer (saag paneer)
• Stir fried broccoli

Although the recipes on My Kitchen Table have been tested by professionals, we’re keen to share our experiences of cooking the recipes and hear about your experiences too! The My Kitchen Table team will be writing about different recipes from time to time and will have some guest bloggers writing for the site too. If you’re interested in writing about how you got on with a recipe (and getting featured on the site), just get in touch with us telling us what you want to cook and why.

I know that Easter and all those bank holidays are long gone, a distant memory. But the memory of my first attempt at the hot cross bun is still very much with me. I hadn’t planned on making hot cross buns, in fact I made a Colomba (an Italian Easter cake) that day and was pretty much doughed out by the afternoon. But then a combination of the Mary Berry recipe landing in my inbox and the boyfriend bothering me about them meant I found myself starting to make a batch on Good Friday afternoon.

I think one of the other reasons that I tried them was that the recipe didn’t call for a pastry cross. Call me lazy if you will but that part has always put me off so when this recipe arrived with its cross cut in the top of the buns it was meant to be.

I made half the recipe because I knew if there were 12 buns in the house 12 buns would be eaten. This was very simple, all the ingredients are mixed together into a dough and then kneaded until it is smooth and elastic. You then pop it in an oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise for about an hour and a half.

As it was such a beautiful sunny day I left the bowl in the conservatory where it was lovely and warm and the dough rose a treat. You then knock back the dough and divide into buns (6 in my case), shape into balls and make the all important cross on the top. These are then left to rise again on the baking tray, covered with clingfilm, until they have doubled in size. I put the buns on the tray close together so that when they rose and baked they were connected, you know like you get your hot cross buns in the supermarket?

I then baked them for 15 minutes and glazed them immediately as they came out of the oven and voila. No disasters this time! All that was left now was to grab some butter and dig in and they were great. Why you would buy hot cross buns when they are so easy to make and so delicious I will never know. I won’t be from now on.

Top image: Mary’s recipe as cooked and photographed by our professionals
Below: And then by our guest blogger at home…

From My Kitchen Table guest blogger, Sharon. Sharon blogs about knitting, baking and life at Cakes and Cardies

The recipe cooked in this blog post is Hot Cross Buns by Mary Berry

There’s been a lot of hype recently about diet plans and intermittent dieting, which might throw up connotations of bland, tasteless rabbit food. But we’ve found an excellent solution – a diet book for foodies!

Luckily The 2-Day Diet book offers over 100 delicious recipes for both diet days and non diets days. This yummy two day diet  recipe for Black Pepper Salmon with olives and tomatoes is perfectly balanced so you don’t feel hungry but stay on firmly on track.

The diet its self was designed by Dr Harvie who work at the Genesis Breast Cancer Prevention Centre,  part of The University Hospital of South Manchester. Genesis Breast Cancer Prevention is the only breast cancer charity in the UK entirely dedicated to prevention. Because weight is a significant contributing factor to an individual’s risk of developing breast cancer, Dr Harvie and Prof Howell have spent years researching and developing the optimum diet to help people lose weight quickly and easily as well as keep off weight lost in the longer term. This incredibly effective diet is the result of their clinical research and this unique way of eating will transform the way you think about dieting.

One day, every year, we are all encouraged to practise the art of seduction… How about making that little extra effort and making a bit of the magic happen in your own kitchen? We have selected some of our favourite recipes for you to try out this Valentines Day, so depending on how much of your adventurous side you want to set free, there is a recipe for all…

Start Valentine’s Day on the right note with a bit of passion! Annabel Karmel’s Mango, Banana and Passion Fruit Smoothie is a mouth-watering way to start on a healthy note; probably wise with all of the naughty treats lined up! If you are more of a berry fan, this is also a great basic recipe that can be adapted to any taste buds, and is a fantastic blueprint to know for everyday wellbeing.

As a well known favourite for the romantic time of year, you can’t really go wrong with a bit of chocolate. Not only is good quality chocolate absolutely delicious and believed to be an aphrodisiac, but it is genuinely good for you! Cocoa solids contain compounds of Theobromine and Phenethylamine, which are known to have physiological effects on the body and it has also been linked to serotonin levels in the brain.

Bite-sized chocolate truffles are such a simple way to share a bit of love and they are great fun to make; a brilliant Valentine’s Day recipe for two perhaps?! For a more substantial dessert, why not try making some of Mary Berry’s Chocolate Éclairs?

Mary’s Chocolate Brownies are a lovely treat for taking to work; perhaps a little red bundle for that special day? If you are thinking of brownies as more of a dessert, why not combine with Gizzi Erskine’s naughty but oh-so-nice Butter Caramel and Honeycomb Ice cream?

With mouth-watering ideas like these, the time to share the love can’t come soon enough now!

Shrove Tuesday is just about to get a whole lot better with these tasty pancake recipes. So ditch the traditional drizzle of lemon and sprinkle of sugar, and prepare your taste buds for these flavour extravaganzas!

If you’re feeling fruity try Ainsley Harriott’s American-style Apple Maple Pancakes with Blackberry Compote, which taste just as gorgeous as they look. Or if you’re a bit more adventurous in the kitchen then have a go at these zesty Orange Scotch Pancakes – a little bit more difficult to make but definitely worth the extra effort.

If you have more of a savoury than a sweet tooth then try Raymond Blanc’s Baked Pancakes with Gruyère which elevate the humble pancake into a seriously satisfying main meal. Or go with these guilt-free Chickpea Flour Pancakes which are a popular breakfast dish in India. Not only are they delicious but they’re also nutritious, which is something of a rarity in the pancake world with the traditional egg/milk/sugar combo.

Whichever you decide, happy flipping!

January is often a time for cutting back – particularly on alcohol consumption, after the general excess and indulgence of Christmas!

And as we approach the mid way January mark, we’d like to help you on your way with some top tips on how to have a ‘drier’ and even ‘slimmer’ January!

Top Tips for a more virtuous January:

• Have a small glass of white wine topped up with soda or lemonade rather than a large glass of wine
• Have a lager top or a shandy rather than a pint
• Don’t be tempted with offers on double spirits
• Experiment with virgin cocktails
• Alternate alcoholic drinks with soft drinks
• Choose low calorie/low alcohol versions of your favourite tipple
• Choose cider instead of larger
• Choose red wine instead of white
• Choose sparkling white wine or cava instead of white wine
• Choose soda water with fresh lime or lemon instead of cordial
• Avoid high sugar fruit juices or alco pops
• Drink in half pints rather than full ones – you won’t want to keep going to the bar so will drink slower
• Choose slim line tonic and diet soda instead of the full fat versions
• Learn exactly how much a unit is!

Our Culinary Christmas Calendar continues with a fabulous recipe to revolutionise you’re cheese and crackers!

It’s sometimes nice to take a break from Christmas dining – and have some cheese and crackers at the end of the day! We’ve found a delicious cracer recipe to make your snacking even better….

Our recipe is taken from The Great British Bake Off Showstoppers.

Savoury Crackers

Crisp and crunchy, these crackers are perfect with dips and cheese.

Read the full recipe in The Great British Bake Off, Showstoppers!

Our Culinary Christmas Calendar continues with some inspiration for boxing day nibbles!

When the turkey’s finished up and you’re back from the boxing day walk – why not prepare some delicious pork pies to perk up the family!

Our recipe is taken from The Great British Bake Off How to Bake

Pork Pies

Christmas is all about tradition. And my fave family tradition is getting back from a brisk winter’s walk on boxing day and tucking in to an indulgent spread of Christmas leftovers! Cold meats, crusty bread, a chunk of cheese and pork pies! – this recipe from How to Bake if delish!

Our Culinary Christmas Calendar continues with an quirky idea for a twist on Christmas Pud!

Often when the Turkey’s been and gone, it’s a struggle to get to the final hurdle – the Christmas pud! So we’ve come up with a fun alternative to bring it back to life at the dinner table!

Our recipe is taken from The Great British Bake Off Learn to Bake.

Christmas Puds

Read the full recipe in The Great British Bake Off Learn to Bake.

Our Culinary Christmas Calendar continues with some inspiration to get crafty in the kitchen.

With the kids just breaking up for Christmas, we’ve got the perfect way to entertain them this weekend – Make and Decorate your own Winter Woodland!

Our recipe is taken from The Great British Bake Off Showstoppers.

Winter Woodland Cottage

The challenge is to create a Christmas ginger bread structure – Hansel and Gretel wouldn’t be able to resist this edible home! You can make it as colourful or as decorative as you like:

Read the full recipe in The Great British Bake Off, Showstoppers!