Seared Japanese Salmon with vegetables and noodles

Some days you just don't fancy what you planned for dinner and you want something quick and easy with stuff that's in the cupboard.
That happened with us, I was going to make salmon fish cakes but at about 4.30 we didn't fancy them so a quick change around and seared salmon was made.

I used 4 salmon fillets, they were just the Sainsbury's basics ones and made a marinade of 1tablespoon of each of  honey, dark soy sauce, Shaoshin rice wine (it should have been sake but we didn't have any) and a tiny bit of wasabe paste. I mixed them all up and squished the salmon about in it then left it for about 10 minutes whilst  I chopped some vegetables into julienne strips and small florets, just stuff we had in the fridge ; a couple of carrots some broccoli a few runner beans from the garden, half a courgette and  some celery. These were then sightly steamed so hot and still crispy whilst some noodles were thrown into boiling water. I heated a frying pan with a little oil till smoking hot and flung in the salmon skin side down for a couple of minutes till the skin was crisp, then over for a couple of minutes, when cooked (I can't bear undercooked fish where it has that slightly creepy texture about it!) heated through the rest of the marinade in the same pan. Then drained the noodles and put them in a bowl with the vegetables on the top and the salmon on top of that with the sauce and a tiny bit of chopped chilli!
All done in 15 minutes for £1.25 each!

Nom, nom, nom!

Chocolate Lava cakes

I love those hot little chocolate puddings that they do at M&S where its all spongy on the outside and a sumptuous torrent of molten chocolate comes out when you stick a spoon in . I had always assumed that they were some magical Heston Blumenthal mix of a secret alchemichal blend till I found the recipie and gave them a shot.
So easy I think they will be a regular on my menus!
This amount makes about 6 but if there is any mixture left over make more, they won't hang around for long!
 Once they are in the tins you can keep them in the fridge for a few hours before baking which is always handy!

Butter 6 small dishes such as ramekins or muffin tins.
Melt 125g or 5oz of 70 - 90% cocoa solids dark chocolate in a bain marie, thats a bowl over hot water. When that has melted add 100g or 4oz butter and let that melt too then stir them together so they are well blended.
In a food processor or mixer  beat 4 eggs with 150g or 6oz castor sugartill it begins to thicken then pour in the chocolate and butter mix.  Fold in 50g or 2oz of plain flour.
 Spoon into the  dishes  and bake for 10 minutes at 180 fan, 200 normal gas mark 6.

Unmould and  sprinkle with icing sugar and a swirl of blackberry coulis, serve with cream and a few berries, (I popped a few raspberries into the middle  for the ones we had).
Nom, nom, nom, nom!