Dad's Cuisine

CHRISTMAS GINGER CAKES Looking for an alternative to traditional mince pies at Christmas? Spice up the holiday season with these mini ginger cakes. These ginger cakes are part of my rebellion against mince pies. I hate mince pies. There, I said it. I don't hate them completely: I really love the buttery pastry, I love how they smell, and I love the mulled wine that often accompanies them. But I loathe the sticky, sweet stuffing of a mince pie. Despite all my best efforts - and there have been many - I can't bring myself to enjoy them, much to my mother's despair. But these ginger cakes are a fantastic alternative - or even a complement - to mince pies. They're not overly sweet, have a nice spicy kick and combine orange zest, ginger and cloves for a real Christmas flavour.  A few years ago, I offered to host Christmas on the condition there were no mince pies or Brussels sprouts. Mum, being a stickler for tradition, was aghast. I explained that I would be

BAKED FALAFEL Packed with tasty herbs and spices, falafel is the ultimate vegetarian finger food that'll have you reaching for more!  I distinctly remember the first time I had a falafel . I would love to tell you it was in a tiny Lebanese eatery tucked away in a hidden backstreet, but it was in the food court of a brightly-lit shopping mall a few miles out of the city. I must have been about 11, and Mum and I were having a girls' day out shopping. (I loved shopping with my Mum. Even if we were just doing a supermarket shop, we always had a great time pointing little things out to each other and people watching.)  As lunchtime approached, we found ourselves uninspired by the usual offerings of Chinese and Italian cuisine, so Mum suggested I try some Lebanese food at a little stand, insisting I would enjoy it. At 11, I knew what I liked and I liked what I knew, so I wasn't thrilled at the idea of trying something different. But I was hungry and tired, so we took