Stir Fry and Rice Pudding.......

An unlikely combination, I admit, and sweet, scented rice pud really doesn't follow a mouthful of raw garlic......

So, it's Easter Holidays and, as usual, my boys are always hungry. Try as I might, I can't get them to eat the fruit that I'm told I should, so my house is now stuffed full of bread and bread products in the hope of stemming their appetites long enough for me to be able to cook something wholesome!

Today was stir-fry with lots of veggies. I love this recipe; so simple and so lovely. You will be cooking dinner in under 20 minutes - hurrah!

And rice pudding is always a great favourite in my house - wolfed down in seconds, after the hour and a half to cook! It's a great one, though, because it takes about 3 minutes to construct and then you can forget it.

Stir-Fry (serves 4 hungry bods)

1-2 tbs vegetable oil

1 carrot, cut into matchsticks

1 red pepper, cut into strips

5 spring onions, chopped

1 courgette, cut into matchsticks

150g mushrooms, sliced

1 large clove garlic, crushed

1 inch long piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated finely

1.5 tbs soy sauce

1.5 tbs sesame oil

4-5 noodle portions

Cook the noodles as per the packet, then drain and cover.

Heat a wok over a medium heat.

Meanwhile, make the dressing: mix the garlic, ginger , soy sauce and sesame oil together.

Add a tbs or so of vegetable oil to the wok. Add the carrots and stir fry for 3-4 minutes. Add the pepper, onions, courgette and cook for another 7-8 minutes or so. Add the mushrooms, cook for another 2-3 minutes. Finally, add half the dressing to the noodles and half to the vegetables.

Serve immediately.

(it always appears that chef's children eat everything they cook, making the rest of us feel wholly inadequate - but I'm more real! Only one of my three children will eat the vegetable part of this: the others only have the dressed noodles - so you're not the only one!)

Rice Pudding (serves 4-5 depending on how many hungry boys are present!)

150g pudding rice

75g sugar

750ml milk

fresh nutmeg

butter

Heat the oven to 150 degrees/Gas mk2. Butter a 1 litre souffle dish or equivalent.

Put the rice and sugar in the dish and cover with the milk, poking the rice grains beneath the surface. Grate nutmeg all over the top and dot with pieces of butter.

Bake in the oven for an hour and a half until golden brown on the top.