How about some helpful photos!

 

The piping bag cut to size

“glue” your parchment to the tray

Hold the nozzle approximately

4cms above the tray and squeeze

the bag gently and then tilt the

bag away in an upward direction

so that you create a little kiss curl

Peel the kisses gently from the parchment

and you can see there's no trace of where

the meringue mixture has been

You can store them in strong food bags or

in tins lined with parchment with well

fitting lids. Alternatively you can buy

pretty glass jars with well fittings lids

like this one.

Store in a cool dry place – NOT in the

fridge and they'll keep for 2 weeks -

if they last that long!

If you'd like a plant based sticky toffee sauce ...

How about a meringue kiss?

Meringue kisses are another perfect addition to your strawberry fest! You can cheat and buy tubs of ready-made meringue kisses. The quality of the ready-made varies, some are better than others, some are powdery and overly sweet, some not so but disintegrate as soon as you look at them – a slight exaggeration may be! It has to be said that the shop bought version has a much longer life than home-made.

If you want to have a go and make your own here's my basic meringue recipe :

4 fl oz egg whites – from large eggs

225g/8oz caster sugar

As is always my mantra, get yourself sorted before you start whisking.

Your oven should be pre-heated 90fan/110c/Gas ¼ – very cool/very slow.

Cut your parchment to size for two baking sheets measuring 30x30 cms.

You'll need a large, squeaky clean mixing bowl, a plain nozzle and a piping bag. If you want to be sure you've got a squeaky clean bowl then wipe it with a drop of lemon juice and let is dry before use.

Whisk your eggs whites until they are stiff – the old fashioned way of testing whether they are stiff enough is to tip the bowl upside down over your head – if the mixture doesn't move it's ready! Add half the caster sugar and whisk again until stiff. Fold in the remaining sugar. Your mixture is now ready for the piping bag.

The great thing about disposable piping bags is that you can cut them to size. The end of the bag is snipped to fit your nozzle. Fold the bag over your hand – it enables you to have a steady hold on your bag. Spoon the mixture into the bag until two thirds full and gently ease the mixture towards the nozzle expelling any air. Twist the top of the bag and hold and then use your other hand to steady the nozzle end.

Place a tiny blob of mixture in each corner of your baking trays and “glue” your parchment to the tray.

Holding the nozzle approximately 4cms above the tray squeeze the bag gently and then tilt the bag away in an upward direction so that you create a little kiss curl – hence “kisses”!

Bake for 45 minutes.

Peel the kisses gently from the parchment.

This recipe will give you approximately 40 kisses. You can store them in strong ziploc type bags or in tins lined with parchment with well fitting lids. Store in a cool, dry place – NOT in the fridge and they'll keep for 2 weeks – if they last that long!

Here are some helpful photos ...

Strawberries – a very flexible fruit!

Strawberries are superb and a very flexible fruit!

First things first – a little prep is required if you want the best from your berries – and that is hulling.

Hulling is to remove the green leaf on the top and the stalk below – it takes a little time but is worth every second. You can buy a kitchen implement to do the job if you wish but using a paring knife is just as good - slice the tops off your strawberries and cutting, gently, in a circular motion, carefully remove the stalks – it'll do the job just as well.

Here's the result :

Ta dah!

Next up – more ideas for your strawberries ...

Finely diced onions – the easy way!

The best way of describing this technique is with a photo-guide, here goes :

all that's required is a small chopping board and

a sharp paring knife - peel a medium onion as shown

below

cut the onion half and

lay it flat on your chopping board – take a

close look at the onion and you'll see natural lines

take your paring knife and follow the lines in

the onion – slicing through leaving

the root alone, stopping short by 1.5cms/½”

approximately so that the onions stays

in tact

assuming you're right handed, hold the

onion with the root to your left and slice across the

onion finely with your paring knife, carefully,

keeping your fingers slightly tucked away

take it slowly and if this is your first attempt

I'd suggest you stop well short of the root as shown

then repeat with the remaining half - ta dah!

I've always diced onions using this method and was taught that the root is the cause of “tears”. I can honestly say that I've never had an issue.

Back to the remaining pie filling ideas ...