• 250 g oven roasted mixed nuts
• 1/3 cup each of: glace mixed peel, figs and apricots all roughly chopped
• 75 g of 70% dark chocolate roughly chopped
• 1/3 c rice flour
• 1 tbsp cocoa
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp mixed spice
• ½ c honey
• ½ c caster sugar
• 2 tbsp butter
• Icing sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 160C and line a 20 cm tin with baking paper, greasing the sides of the tin with butter.

Place the nuts and dried fruit into a large mixing bowl.  Sift in the dry ingredients until combined.

Place the honey, sugar and butter in a small saucepan and stir over a medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. When the mixture is bubbling, pour it over the nut and flour mixture and stir until combined.

Place the mixture in the tin and press it down with wet hands to flatten the surface.  Bake for 30 mins or until the mixture is just bubbling in the centre.  Leave to cool and then remove from the tin and dust with icing sugar.

• 1 punnet of strawberries, hulled and halved
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1-2 tablespoons of caster sugar
• Ice
• 4 x 330ml bottles of soda water
• Extra strawberries to garnish.

Place the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in a blender or food processor and whizz until smooth.

Strain through a sieve if you wish, and then devide between four glasses.

Add a handful of ice to each glass and top up with soda water.  Garnish with extra strawberry halves and a sprig of mint.
(For particularly stressful days, a shot of vodka could be a good addition!)