Sensational, speedy and easy! These applied to all of the meals I made for my family today. From the Roasted Tomato and Basil Pasta Sauce with spinach and ricotta ravioli for lunch, to the Banana and Curly Coconut Muffins for school lunch boxes tomorrow and finishing with Chickpeas and Chicken with Sweet Spices  for dinner. 

Of course it helps to have the correct utensils to start with: a well balanced, sharp chef-style knife; a sturdy chopping board; powerful blender; good quality, stove top and oven proof pots and a well stocked pantry and fridge. 

When I refer to the meals being “speedy”, I mean that my hands-on input was minimal. The electric appliances did the actual time consuming role of cooking or blending while I walked away and worked through my “to do” list (which but the way appears to be growing longer despite tackling it each day…). 

Roasted Tomato and Basil Pasta Sauce to serve 5 people. Perfect tossed through spaghetti, gnocchi or ravioli. it can keep in a sealed container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days or in the freezer for 1 month. I incorporated some of the fresh BASIL that I blogged about last night. Lovely. 

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees fan forced. 

Cut the 10 very ripe Roma tomatoes in half lengthwise and arrange in a baking pan. Sprinkle the tops with a good grind of sea salt, drizzle with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Add 6 whole garlic cloves.

Roast for 1 hour then remove from oven.

While still hot, scoop all the contents of the baking pan into a blender, add 2 handfuls of fresh basil leaves and about 2 tablespoons of water and blitz until it resembles a textured sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. 

Banana and Curly Coconut Muffins makes 16 golden, high topped muffins. I used the recipe for my Banana, Lemon and Coconut Loaf posted on the 28th May. I omitted the lemon and dropped tablespoonfuls into muffin cases. Top each muffin with shredded coconut and raw sugar before baking for 25 minutes at 180 degrees on a conventional setting. 

Chickpeas and Chicken with Sweet Spices to serve 8 people. I had this dish in the oven within 15 minutes of washing, chopping and sauteeing the ingredients. This meal is marvellous! So tasty with a twist that manages to encourage second servings all round. Even picky… cautious… unadventurous eaters won’t even notice the chickpeas snuggled under glistening veggies, golden chicken meat and a fragrant sauce. A delicious aroma and a one pot wonder too!

Dice into chunky slices, 1 large brown onion, 8 baby carrots, 2 medium zucchini and 4 cloves of garlic. Add to an oven-proof pot (like a Le Creuset), along with half a tablespoon of turmeric, 1 teaspoon of ground ginger, half a teaspoon each of ground nutmeg and cinnamon and a quarter of a teaspoon dried chilli flakes. Sauté over a medium heat in olive oil and 30 grams of butter for 5 minutes.

 Add 1.5 kg of chicken to the veggie/spice mixture. I used a combination of breast with the wing attached and thighs, both with the skin on. The chicken should be chopped into thirds. Sprinkle with sea salt to taste (about 1 heaped teaspoon) and brown quickly. 

Pour in 500 mls of chicken stock, 2 tablespoons of runny honey and 2 x 400 gram tins of drained chickpeas. Do not use the liquid from the can. Stir to combine, pop on the lid and place in a preheated oven at 165 degrees on a conventional setting for 75 minutes. Serve with rice that has been steamed with butter and a cinnamon stick and a decent dollop of Greek style yoghurt.