Yumi is not into consumables and plastic crap as gifts.

Because don't you reckon everyone you love already has the things they need? Why buy them something that will probably end up in landfill?

If you *REALLY* want to give gifts, how about money? We'll take some!

Failing money, a wonderful gift is something home-made. A card, some bikkies, or *THIS* beautiful, vivid and amazing-looking raspberry jam.

I took the main bones of the recipe from The River Cottage but added pectin, which you can find pretty easily in mainstream supermarkets.

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TO MAKE MY CHOCOLATE COATED STRAWBERRIES

Prepare by

1. Washing, drying and hulling the strawberries
2. Checking there's space in the fridge for them
3. Lining a flat tray with baking paper then lightly spraying it with cooking oil

I use an ALDI block of dark chocolate, melted in a metal bowl over a pot of boiling water. Simon blasts his in the microwave in ten second increments until it's perfect.

I then roll my prepared strawberries in the chocolate using two wooden skewers.

Use the skewers to lift up the now bathed-in-chocolate strawberry and place it carefully on the tray you prepared.

Allow to firm up and serve within 24 hours.

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Yumi and Simon are getting into the spirit of Christmas preparation on your 5 Minute Food Fix! Now is the time to start envisioning your perfect meal. So...

SIMON'S MONSTER BRUSSELS SPROUTS

Halve 500g of Brussels Sprouts, toss in 2tbs of good olive oil and sprinkle with salt, then roast them in a hot, 230C oven for 15 - 20 mins.

In a mixing bowl, toss the now cooked and charred sprouts with a tablespoon of your favourite chilli crisp oil, and a teaspoon of soy sauce and/or rice wine vinegar. At the end, toss through a handful of chopped roasted peanuts or sesame seeds.

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Yumi and Simon catch up with each others' Christmas plans and while Simon will be a guest at someone else's soiree on Christmas Eve, he plans to bring this amazing Panettone ice-cream dessert which will be both AMAZING, and really easy to make!

Allow 1L of your best quality vanilla ice-cream to soften on the bench for 10 mins.

Meanwhile, crumble up a 300g mixture of inside soft bits and outside crusty bits of the Panettone you have that's getting a bit tired.

Stir these through the ice-cream, along with half a cup of chopped nuts, eg., pistachios, half a cup of dark chocolate chips, and a quarter to half a cup of glacé fruit like cedro. Add half a teaspoon of orange zest and a splash of amaretto.

Smoosh it into a lined loaf tin and smooth the top and get the whole thing back in the freezer.

TO SERVE:

Slice the loaf into neat slices. Garnish with crumbs of Panettone or, Simon's suggestion? Some microwave-softened PISTACHIO CREAM.

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What is not to love about some of the weirdly specific cookbooks out there?

You're going to hear about one that Yumi found that is so weird, and so niche, she will obviously never cook from it! Lol.

THEN, there is the wonderful 'Tomato' by Claire Thompson. The book is a celebration of this wonderful ingredient and all that it can do, and from the book a recipe that is now officially Yumi's Summer Fling / Crush, and yes, we will be having it over and over. (I even dehydrated a version of this without the fresh mint and took it hiking. It slapped.)

PEEL 1kg of fresh tomatoes.

(Do this by marking criss-cross in the bum of the tomato with a sharp knife, dunking the tomato for about 30 seconds in a pot of boiling water, then dunking the tomato into an ice bath. The skin should come off easily after this,)

Fry up 2 cloves of garlic in 2tbs of oil. (I skip the garlic.)

Add in a chopped fresh red banana chilli or 2.

Add in the peeled, loosely chopped tomato.

Season well with salt and pepper.

Cook down for 12 minutes. In the last 30 seconds, add 1/2 tsp mint.

TO SERVE: Spoon the tomato mixture onto a lipped platter. Fry up 2 more tbs of good olive oil with 2 more cloves of chopped garlic, add in 2 tbs (I add a lot more: 1/3 cup) of pine nuts. Drizzle this mix over the top, adding in as much freshly torn mint as you want.

PS. I discovered this dish exists in Sami Tamimi's wonderful cookbook 'Falastin' as a dish called Galayet Banadoura that is pretty much exactly the same, including the need to peel the tomatoes!

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On one of Yumi's hikes, the hikers went bananas for Gemma's Cheesy Vegan Kale Chips, based on this recipe.

The question was: Would the yumminess translate to home?

Good news is:

YES!

So with a fair bit of pride, Yumi wants to share her version of the recipe, which leans into her love of spice (and allergy to garlic and onion):

YUMI'S BEST-EVER CRUNCHY VEGAN "CHEESY" KALE CHIPS

Prepare 1 big bunch of good kale, washed, dried and torn off the inedible spine in big pieces

In a food processor or blender, mix:

400g cashews, soaked for a couple of hours or overnight

100g nutritional yeast

2tsp flaked salt

100ml macadamia oil

1 tsp ground white pepper

1 tsp chilli flakes

1/2 tsp ground ginger

60 ml water

zest and juice of one good, juicy lemon

Massage or wipe the cheese mixture onto every kale leaf. This is a long and somewhat tedious process so before you get your hands dirty, have a podcast ready. (Can I recommend 'Ladies, We Need to Talk'?)

Spread each leaf out onto your drying racks or oven tray. They dry better if not clumped together and not folded or scrunched.

In a dehydrator: on the highest setting for about 10 hours.

In the oven: at 120C for around 2 hours, but check. Some spots on the trays will be hotter than others.

Store the crispy chips in an airtight container.

Any leftover cheesy mix can be stored for 4 days, or frozen until needed.

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Yumi has a dilemma.

A beloved friend has given her a sourdough starter!

Now what?

Do you really want to take care of another living being?

Your hosts also lament the demise of printed food magazines that they have loved and appreciated over the years!

DATE SWIRL

240g sour cream

1-2 tbs date syrup

Gently swirl the two together (but don't fully mix) and serve on pancakes, on sticky date pudding, etc.

THE FULL RECIPE HERE

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Feedback can be ...alarming? Unwelcome? But in Simon's case, it was feedback from a parent at his kids' school that reminded him of just how good a crispy chickpea can be!

So what else to do with the idea?

A coeliac-friendly, vegan delight, this is CLASSIC Food Fix: Simple, quick to prepare and within reach for the average home cook, but with STUNNING results.

METHOD

Drain and rinse 1 tin of chick peas, dry them well, then crush them with a rolling pin or another tin.

In a large frying pan, heat 4tbs of olive oil.

When hot, add the chick peas and spread them out.

Give them time to crisp up, stirring occasionally.

When you're pretty sure they're ready and crispy, add two finely sliced garlic cloves and fry for another 30 seconds.

Take off the heat and add the zest of 1 lemon, a handful of finely chopped parsley, and season well with salt and pepper!

Serve on top of pasta, salads, a tomato carpaccio, a tuna rice bowl or on top of a bowl of roasted vegetables.

Store in an airtight container!

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ENGLISH CULTURE?

Simon loves sharing where he's from and frankly, these delightful insights always go down well, especially with a strong mug of English Breakfast tea. Today he waxes lyrical about something I've heard of but never really experienced: the Flapjack

SIMON'S SUPER SIMPLE FLAPJACKS

200g butter

200g brown sugar

200g golden syrup

Melt together in a saucepan until smooth

Stir in 400g of rolled oats

Press into a 20 x 30cm square tin

Add whatever yummy nutty thing or fruity thing you want. Or leave plain!

Bake 180C for 20mins.

Allow to cool in the tin then slice into bars or squares. It should last a couple of weeks! Take it on hikes, to work, football, etc.

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Yumi kicks off the episode with a confession that SOUNDS bad but if you're an over-worked, under-slept working parent, you probably get it.

And HOW GOOD IS FRESH CHEESE?

Get some inspo for how a little tub of bocconcini could level up tonight's meal XX

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