Book Review - Easy Food Home-Cook Hero

Not so much a book review this month, more a call to cook: Easy Food Home-Cook Hero, 100+ recipes and other favourites (paperback, 146pp; Zahra Publishing, €4.95) is an action-packed little paperback based on entries submitted to the 2011 Home-Cook Hero Awards and including the winning dishes in ten categories.

The wide range of dishes and ease of preparation make this a useful little book to have in the kitchen whether or not you’re interested in competing but, with no age limit, and categories covering everything from Tasty Pastry and Larder Luck to Special Diets and Tiny Tastes, the idea is to encourage all keen home cooks to get involved.

So, if you have a favourite recipe, why not give it a whirl – you can enter any time up to 28th September 2012 and you’ll find all the details at www.easyfood.ie/be-a-home-cook-hero/. Could be a great way to keep the kids busy through the long summer holidays …

This pretty anytime recipe for Good Stripey Fun is from 7-year old Holly Meehan of Gorey, Co Wexford, who says “It looks cool. It tastes lovely too, and is sooo easy and fun to make. Even though there is chocolate in it, mum says it’s still good for me. It’s better than any breakfast I know! You could eat it at any time as a healthy snack.”

Serves 4

400ml natural yoghurt
175g fresh raspberries or frozen summer fruits (defrosted); reserve 12 for decoration
2 tbsp icing sugar
125g granola
75 hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
50g dark chocolate, grated

1 Combine raspberries and icing sugar in a bowl and crush with a fork.

2 Spoon a little yoghurt into each of four serving glasses.

3 Add a layer of granola and chopped nuts.

4 Divide the raspberries between the glasses.

5 Add a further layer of yoghurt, then granola and chopped nuts.

6 Top with a layer of grated chocolate and decorate with reserved raspberries.

7 Cover with clingfilm and chill until ready to serve. Enjoy!