The important thing with this recipe is to use the freshest, most free-range and organic eggs you can get your hands on. The egg yolk is (effectively) cooked by the acid in the vinegar, so the qaulity of the eggs is vital.

First, make the dressing. This is best done in a screw-topped jar - something that used to hold jam or pickles. In the jar, put the yolk (only) of one egg. (There's a clever gadget for separating the yolk and whites of eggs - more toys for boys - or you can fiddle with the yolk in the halved eggshells.)

To the egg yolk, add a teaspoon of Dijon mustard and a little finely-ground black pepper. Then add a good splash of white wine (or tarragon) vinegar. Stir well, then close the lid and shake hard - make sure the lid is firmly closed, otherwise you will have beaten egg all over the place!

Open the jar, and add plenty of high-quality olive oil. About four times the volume of the egg-and-vinegar mixture seems to be about right. Close the lid and shake hard again. If you've got this right, the dressing will be quite thick.

Another interesting and low-effort way of cooking potatoes.

Peel three or four decent-sized potatoes, then cut them into slices about 1/8 inch (3mm) thick. Peel a large onion, and slice similarly. (Use a large knife!)

In a large oven-proof dish (ceramic or pyrex), put alternate layers of potato and onion, finishing off with a layer of potato.

Dissolve a chicken stock cube in half a pint of boiling water, and pour over the potato. The liquid should not quite cover the layers of vegetables - add a little more boiling water if necessary. Sprinkle with a little salt (not too much, since stock cubes are often quite salty) and oots of freshly-ground black pepper.

Put a cup of washed white Basmati rice in a saucepan which has a tightly-fitting lid. Add two-and-a-quarter cups of cold water. (The ratio of rice to water is critical!) Also add a pinch of salt.

Now the flavouring. I like to use green cardamoms. Put three or four into the cold water, first crushing them slightly with the side of a knife to crack the husk. (Don't smash them up!) Be sure you remember to count how many you put in, since you will want to remove them after cooking.

Take a medium-sized cauliflower, and split in half. Trim off all of the leaves, and break into large florets. (Don't be tempted to chop up small - this works better with quite big pieces.)

Put the cauliflower into a big saucepan with a tightly-fitting lid. Add enough cold water to come half-way up the florets - about half a pint. Add half a teaspoon of salt. Bring the water in the pan to the boil, and cover; simmer for 5 minutes only - the cauliflower should be not-quite-cooked at this point.

Drain off the water used for cooking into a jug - you will need this to make the sauce. Tip the part-cooked cauliflower into a ceramic ovenproof dish.

Now for the sauce. I prefer to use a wheat-free recipe here, since Tracey tends to react badly to wheat products.

In a small saucepan, mix three ounces of grated cheese with a splash of milk and some freshly-ground black pepper. I like to add a teaspoon of english mustard (bright yellow!) which adds bite and colour to the result. Add about a quarter-pint of the liquid used to cook the cauliflower. Warm the mixture, stiring continuously to allow the cheese to melt.

Let's face it - cabbage has a lot of poor press as a vegetable. It's certainly one of those foodstuffs that I was forced to eat as a child (at home and for school meals) which I really did not care for much, but was assured that it was good for me. So, let's do better! Here's a recipe which was suggested by Tracey.

Take half of a medium-sized white cabbage and slice into fine strips about 3mm wide. (Use a big knife!) The other half can be wrapped in clingfilm and kept in the fridge for a few days.

Put the cabbage in a large saucepan with a tightly-fitting lid. Add enough water so that the cabbage is only half-covered, and add half a teaspoon of salt. Bring to the boil, then cover and reduce the heat, and simmer for about 8 minutes.

After this time, turn off the heat, and allow the cabbage to cool slightly for a few minutes. Drain thoroughtly then return the cabbage to the saucepan. It should still be firm to the bite at this point - al dente, like pasta.

Another interesting way to prepare rice - works well with white (polished) Basmati rice. This makes for a nice light lunch or dinner, which can be quickly prepared, or can be used to accompany asian or chinese-style dishes.

Put a cup of washed white rice in a large saucepan which has a tightly-fitting lid. Add two-and-a-quarter cups of cold water. (The ratio of rice to water is critical!) Also add a pinch of salt. Optionally, add a couple of green cardomom pods. Also, you might consider adding a handful of frozen peas or sweetcorn to the rice.

Bring to the boil uncovered, stiring occasionally to prevent the rice from sticking. Once boiling, turn off the heat, fit the lid, and leave it alone for at least fifteen minutes.

Meanwhile, put three tablespoons of vegetable oil to a large frying pan. Finely slice a large onion, and cook gently in the oil. I like to add a couple of rashers of streaky bacon, cut into small pieces (use kitchen scissors!). Alternatively, add a couple of ounces of cubed pancetta. Optionally, add a clove of garlic, finely chopped or crushed, and a medium-strength red chilli.

Once both rice and onions are cooked, drain the rice (there should be very little water left in the saucepan!) and rince with boiling water. Remove the cardamoms (if used) and return the rinced rice to the saucepan. Add the onion, bacon, etc. from the frying pan to the saucepan, and stir in well.

Then, quickly scramble an egg in the remaining oil in the frying pan - break up the yolk and stir to get the egg cooked through. Add the egg to the rice and stir to distribute bits of egg throughout the rice. Finally, add a little freshly-ground black pepper and a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce. Spoon into a couple of bowls and serve immediately with extra soy sauce at the table.

On our recent trip to the fairy-tale city of Prague, our guide gave me her recipe for potato cakes. This was something, she said, that she liked to cook for friends and family, when she had the chance, and was very traditional.

So, here's my interpretation of her recipe, which certainly goes well with the long thin sausages we brought back with us! It makes use of the food processor (toys for the boys!) and is therefore dead quick and easy.

Peel four or five large potatoes, and chop them into lumps. Toss the lumps into the food processor. Add five cloves of garlic, also peeled. (This makes the cakes quite garlicky - you might want to include less - or more!) Run the processor briefly to chop up the vegetables.

To the food processor, add one egg and three tablespoons of plain flour. Also add lots of freshly-ground black pepper and a little salt. Also, add a tablespoon (or more) of chopped or dried marjoram - I have some fresh growing in a tub in the garden. Whizz thoroughly in the food processor to form a slightly lumpy paste.

Heat vegetable oil in a large frying pan - use enough oil to fill the pan to about a quarter of an inch. When the oil is hot, use two tablespoons to put spoonfuls of the potato paste into the frying pan. Cook on one side for about four minutes, then use a spatula to turn over each cake - they should be cooked to a golden brown.

Cook for a further four or five minutes, then remove from the oil and drain using kitchen paper on a large warm plate. You may need to cook the cakes in batches, depending on the size of your frying pan, so keep the cakes warm until you have cooked them all.

Serve as a winter warmer with spicy sausages, mixed pickles (onions, sweet peppers and especially huge gerkins!) and/or a green salad. Drink Czech beer and, to quote our guide, toast your guests with Becherovka (the traditional Czech bitter spirit) afterwards!

Brussels sprouts have quite a poor reputation for being inedible and tasteless, even though they are popularly served with Christmas Dinner. So, here's a simple recipe to put an edge on your sprouts, which may even have your guests coming back for more.

First prepare the sprouts in the usual way: cut off the base of each sprout, remove the discoloured outer leaves and cut a slot in the base. Even better, buy a packet of ready-to-cook sprouts from the supermarket!

Put the sprouts in a saucepan with enough cold water to cover them. Add a chicken stock cube to the water. You may wish to add some salt as well, althiugh I find that stock cubes are usually quite salty enough.

Here's a way with vegetables with a Mediterranean feel. Excellent with a summer dinner, perhaps al fresco. This dish works well with soft vegetables: courgettes or celery are both good.

Wash three or four courgettes and remove top-and-tail. Cut them in half length-ways and place them, cut side up, in a shallow ovenproof dish. Alternatively, wash and chop four or five sticks of celery.

I like to use vine tomatoes - that is, with the tomatoes still on the stalks. This adds interest to the resulting dish. Place five or six tomatoes on top the the courgettes (or celery) in the dish. Alternatively, use three or four ordinary tomatoes, cut in half.

Add a couple of cloves of garlic, peeled and gently squashed with the side of a kitchen knife. If you like, you can add a small chilli, finely sliced, or a handful of stoneless black olives.

Slice a lemon in half, and cut a round from one half. Slice in half, and place the lemon slices on top of the vegetables. Squeeze the remaining lemon and pour the juice over the vegetables. Add a good splash (a technical term, meaning three or four tablespoons!) of good quality olive oil.

Sprinkle with a half-teaspoon of salt and plenty of freshly-ground black pepper. Garnish with a spring of herbs: rosemary or oregano both work well. Alternatively, use a little mixed dried herbs from a jar.

Celeriac is a rather unusual vegetable these days, and not so very often seen. But if you do mamage to pick some up in the supermarket, here is a simple and very traditional way of cooking it.

Peel and slice the celeriac - one root is enough as a side dish for four people - and place in a shallow oven-to-table dish. Dissolve a beef stock cube in a quarter of a pint of boiling water and pour over the vegetable. Add a splash of olive oil and plenty of freshly-ground black pepper. You may want to add salt, but most stock cubes are alrady salty enough.

Place in a pre-heated oven at 180C (Gas Mark 5) for at least 45 minutes. The celeriac should be tender and the flavours of the vegetable and stock should have mingled nicely.

Serve at the table in the cooking dish. This dish works well in conjunction with traditional Roast Beef.

Another dish of Chinese origin. To be authentic, I believe it should be made with Pak Choi, but it seems to work equally well with green cabbage or even a robust kind of lettuce, such as Cos or Romaine. Two or three Pak Choi, or a whole head of lettuce makes a nice side dish for four people.

Trim and finely slice two or three spring onions. Chop the Pak Choi or Cos Lettuce into smallish chunks, something which will fit in the mouth without cutting. (So you can eat it with chopsticks!)

Put a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a wok or large frying pan, and heat until smoking. Toss in the onion and leaves, and stir fry vigorously for a couple of minutes. The leaves should all have wilted. Then, add a tablesppon of Chinese rice wine or vinegar and stir for another minute. Finally, add a tablespoon of Oyster sauce, and stir fry for one final minute.

Tip onto a warmed plate and serve immediately. Works well with Salt and Pepper Squid.

Wash and prepare the potatoes carefully, cutting out any "eyes" or other undesirable bits. Cut a deep cross in each potato. Rub the skins all over with a little vegetable oil using a piece of kitchen paper, and place the spuds in an oven-proof ceramic dish.

Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 6 (200C). Meanwhile, cook the spuds in the microwave for ten minutes at full power, turning them over half way through. Then, finish them off in the oven for another ten or fifteen minutes. Alternatively, you could just cook them in the oven for an hour or more, depending on the size of the spuds.

Serve hot, opening up each potato along the cross cut earlier. You could top with butter, but these days I like to add a splash of good-quality olive oil to each one, together with plenty of freshly-ground black pepper and ground sea salt.

Dissolve a fish stock cube and a vegetable stock cube in two pints of boiling water in a large saucepan. Add a stick of lemongrass (preserved from a jar is fine), a few dried Kaffir Lime leaves, and a teaspoon of Thai fish sauce. Then roughly chop up a whole lime (just wash the outside and hack into lumps!) and add the whole thing to the broth. Bring back to the boil, then cover and simmer gently for at least twenty minutes.

While the broth is simmering, fill another large suacepan with water and bring to the boil. Once at a rolling boil, chuck in 4 ounces of rice noodles (there are various kinds and thicknesses, all good) and cook for a couple of minutes (or whatever it says on the packet!). Drain in a sieve.

With a slotted spoon, remove the lime, kaffir leaves and lemongrass from the broth and discard. Bring back to the boil and add a couple of spring oinions (chopped), a couple of small hot red chillis (more or less depending on how spicy you like your food!) and a small piece of ginger (about half and inch on a side), very finely sliced. Also add a good handful of fresh coriander leaves - or dried if you must.

After a few minutes, add the drained noodles, stiring gently to distribute them evenly. Once thoroughly re-heated, split broth and noodles into two large bowls. Top the noodles with chicken or fish cooked separately - Teriyaki Tuna or Chicken Teriyaki both work well - and a few pieces of cucumber, finely sliced length-ways. Serve immediately.

I'm told this dish is traditionally eaten with chopsticks and a wooden spoon, although a metal one works fine.

This one sounds strange - a warm salad dressing - but is actually really tasty, and very easy to do.

You will need two or three tablespoons of mixed olives from a jar. Put the olives in a sieve and rinse off the vinegar, then put them in a small saucepan. Add half a teaspoon of whole black peppercorns - or you could use green or pink onces for added interest if you like. Also add a couple of teaspoons of pickled capers - rinse these first - and a tablespoon of sundried tomatoes.

Add eight tablespoons of good-quality olive oil to the saucepan and heat the whole lot gently on the stove. The objective is to get the oil piping hot without boiling it - remember that olive oil boils at quite a low temperature. Simmer very gently - really, just keep warm - for at least ten minutes.

While the flavours are infusing into the oil, arrange salad leaves on two plates. What kind of leaves you use is up to you, but I find that including some strongly-falvoured leaves, like Rocket or Watercress, works very well. Spoon the olives, etc. over the leaves, together with at least some of the oil itself, and serve immediately, perhaps with Barbecue Chicken.

A simple classic. This works best with fresh clives - these are very easy to grow in pots, on the patio or even on a sunny windowsill.

Peel three medium-sized potatoes, and boil in lightly-salted water for about 20 minutes, until they are cooked. Check by pushing a knife into the centre of a potato - it should be soft all the way through.

Drain the potatoes, then add a large knob of butter (or low-fat margerine), a splash of milk and some freshly-ground black pepper. Mash vigorously (!) until the potatoes are smooth and soft - add a little more milk if necessary.

Wash four or so stalks of clives, then cut them into lengths of about 1/8 inch (3mm). Use kitchen sissors. You can do this directly over the mashed potato in the pan. Stir in well, then serve.

Kohlrabi is an unusual vegetable, not so very often seen these days, and is something like a cross between a cabbage and a turnip. Here's a tasty way of serving it.

Peel the thick skin from the vegetable and chop the flesh into large lumps about an inch on a side. Place in a saucepan with enough water to cover, add a little salt, bring to the boil and cook for five minutes. (This is not enough to fully cook the kohlrabi, but makes sure it is ready to absorb the flavours from the sauce.)

Meanwhile, warm a tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan and add a chopped onion. If you like, you can also add a rasher or two of streaky bacon (cut into little pieces) or even a little chopped pancetta. Saute until the bacon is cooked and the onion is soft, then add a quarter of a pint of cheap red wine.