Raspberries in Vodka Jelly with Lime Syrup.

I got home with a punnet of raspberries and a lime, in the fridge was the remains of a bottle of vodka that my flatmates friend had left from the night before. The following day I saw a James Martin recipe for this in a magazine - sorted!
Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and add sugar to make a syrup.
While the Syrup is cooling soak gelatine leaves in cold water and add to the syrup, when cooler add vodka to taste.
Line a mould with a little olive oil and then clingfilm. Pour in some of the syrup as it begins to set. Leave in the fridge until set enough to support the raspberries.
Add more syrup and repeat until the mould is full.
Leave in the fridge to set.
For the Lime syrup zest and juice several limes into a sauce pan and add sugar to taste. Bring to a simmer.
Add a teaspoon of arrowroot disolved in a small cup of water and add.
Pass through a sieve and allow to cool.
Turn the jelly and raspberries out of the terrine mould and remove the cling film.
Slice and serve with the lime syrup.

Mushroom Bolognese with Tagliatelle.

This is a traditional bolognese sauce with the addition of mushrooms because I just happened to have a lot the needed using up.
For a more traditional sauce just leave out the mushrooms and serve with spaghetti rather than tagliatelle.
Some traditional recipes are  vegetarian and I have also read that if meat is included its was usually pork knuckle - so plenty of room for variation and experiment with this one.

Finely chop carrot, onion and celery, season and soften in olive oil for a few minutes.
Add minced beef and colour, breaking up the meat.
Add a glass of red wine and cook off the alcohol.
Then add a can of chopped tomatoes (fresh are just as good!).
Add a small amount of chopped chilli and a teaspoon of good vinegar (both optional) and leave on a low heat to slowly cook down to a thick sauce.
Add chopped mushrooms while the sauce is cooking down if you decide to use them.
Serve with pasta of choice and grated Parmesan and a sprinkling of chopped parsley or basil.