This one started life as an entirely vegetarian dish, which I found in that wonderful little book called Not Just a Load of Old Lentils by Rose Elliot. It can easily be returned to a strictly vegetarian dish by replacing the anchovy paste and worchester sauce (which contains fish) with a spoonful of Marmite.

Put a cup of orange split lentils (thoroughly rinsed) in a large saucepan. Add a cup of water and a cup of milk. Don't add any salt at this stage. Simmer for twenty minutes or so until the lentils are completely soft.

Meanwhile slice a large onion, and cook gently for ten minutes in another pan with a little olive oil. The onions should be very soft but not browned.

In a third pan, cook ten or so large mushrooms, cut into thick slices in a little more olive oil for ten minutes or so. Add plenty of freshly-ground black pepper. The mushrooms should be soft right the way through.

Add the onions to the cooked lentils, then add the juice of a lemon, a large spoonful of anchovy paste (or a couple of tinned anchovies chopped up), a couple of dashes of Worcester sauce (if you like) and lots of freshly-ground black pepper. I find that salt is not needed here, since the anchovies tend to be quite salty on their own. Stir well.

Spread the cooked mushrooms over the bottom of a wide shallow oven-proof dish (ceramic or pyrex). Cover with the lentil mixture, then sprinkle a little grated cheese over the top. A sprinkle of paprika will add colour, if you want.

This dish is one frequently served by our good friend Alice as part of a late breakfast on Sunday monings (after a late Saturday night!). Delicious! Also good as a sweet dish with lunch or dinner.

This fruit salad is characterised by what it doesn't contain. There's no apple (which I find a bit hard and tasteless), no banana (which goes a bit slimy all too quickly) and no melon (because I don't particularly like it!).

First, prepare a fresh pineapple. You have to slice off the top and bottom, then cut off the prickly outer skin. Then, cut into slices, and cut out the tough centre from each ring. Then, slice each ring into pieces.

This is a low-calorie, low fat vegetarian soup which is both healthy and internally cleansing. We find it a summertime favourite, helpful in keeping the waistline in trim.

First, prepare all the vegetables. Peel and finely chop the shallots. (You could use a bunch of spring onions if you prefer.) De-seed and finely chop the chillies - you may wish to use more (or less) chillies if you like your food particularly spicy. Peel, crush and finely chop the garlic cloves. Wash and chop (moderately roughly) the cabbage and the celery.

Put all the vegetables in a large saucepan with a well-fitting lid. The pan should be big enough so that the vegetables fill only half of it. Cover the vegetables with boiling water from the kettle, then bring to the boil and bubble for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat, cover the pan and simmer for another 30 minutes, until all the vegetables are soft. Stir occasionally.

Next, add the tins of tomatoes (with the juice) and bring back to the boil, stirring well. Then, stir in the French Onion soup packet mix and add more water from the kettle. Bring back to the boil, stirring briskly, and cook for another 5 minutes. Add plenty of freshly-ground black pepper, and add salt to taste - don't be tempted to add a lot of salt straight away.

Serve as a starter or a light meal, on its own or with crackers and cream cheese.

Peel and finely slice the onion and crush and chop the clove of garlic. Put a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large frying pan, and gently cook the onion and garlic for 5 minutes or so, until the onion is nicely softened but not browned.

Next, add a teaspoon or so of Garam Masala to the frying pan. This, which is a fairly hot mixture of spices widely used in Indian-style foods. How much you use is up to you, but make sure the spice is added to the oil early in the cooking, so that the full flavour is brought out.

Cook the spices for a minute or so, then add the vegetable stock cube previously dissolved in half a pint of boiling water. Bring to the boil, stiring continuously, then add the mashed banana. Turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes until all the ingredients have infused nicely.

Meanwhile, hard-boil and peel the eggs following the instructions found here. Once the eggs are ready, disolve a teaspoon of cornflour in a little water and stir into the sauce. Bring to the boil so that the curry sauce is thickened. Remove from the heat, halve the boiled eggs and very gently stir the eggs into the sauce.

Serve immediately with my flavoured rice and perhaps some naan bread on the side.