A Modern Way to Eat: Over 200 satisfying, everyday vegetarian recipes

2 large handfuls (150g) of quinoa flakes

2 handfuls (80g) of seeds (I use sunflower and pumpkin)

2 handfuls (150g) of nuts (I use skin-on almonds and pecans), chopped

a handful (30g) of unsweetened desiccated coconut

grated zest of 2 unwaxed lemons

a handful (100g) of raisins

2 handfuls (100g) of any other dried fruit, roughly chopped (I use dates and dried apricots)

SERVE WITH YOGHURT AND FRUIT

Spring • vanilla-poached rhubarb and soya yoghurt

Summer • roasted strawberries with coconut milk yoghurt

Autumn • poached pears with maple syrup

Winter • dates poached in blood orange juice

Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/gas 5. If you are using honey, heat it in a saucepan until warm (no need to do this if you are using maple syrup). Mix the oats, quinoa flakes, seeds, chopped nuts, coconut and lemon zest in a large bowl, then scatter over two large, lightly oiled baking trays.

Pour over the maple syrup or honey and mix well with your hands to coat everything. Pop into the oven for 20 minutes. Remember to give it a good stir every 5 minutes or so.

After 20 minutes, add all the dried fruits and put back into the oven for another 10 minutes to get that slightly chewy, caramelised fruit texture. Then remove from the oven and allow to cool. Store in airtight jars or containers for up to 1 month.

Ten ways with avocado on toast

To me, avocado on toast is sunny food – it feels right on a summer’s day and brightens up a dreary one. It is a go-to when time is short and cupboards are bare. I often eat it as a hurried breakfast, very simply with some lime, salt and pepper. But these other ways have crept in too.

Since avocado is the star of the show, accept nothing less than soft, yielding, ripe and perfect. Avocados are loaded with good fats and omega 3, like the stuff you find in olive oil, and an artillery of vitamins and minerals. I would struggle to eat without them.

EACH MAKES 2 PIECES OF TOAST

· Mash an avocado with lemon, salt and pepper. Pile onto toasted sourdough, top with tomatoes, a little balsamic vinegar, a bit of basil and some olive oil.

· Mash an avocado with lemon juice and pile onto rye bread with a drizzle of honey.

· Mash an avocado with some lime juice, salt and pepper. Pile onto toasted bread and top with a good sprinkling of chopped, fresh red chilli.

· Mash an avocado with a little lemon juice. Pile onto hot buttered toast and top with a poached egg and some chilli sauce.

· Mash an avocado with a little lemon juice. Spread a toasted bagel with a fine slick of cream cheese and top with the mashed avo, generously grate over lemon zest and sprinkle with lots of black pepper.

· Mash an avocado with a little lime juice, salt and pepper and stir in a chopped spring onion, a teaspoon of toasted mustard seeds and some chopped coriander. Pile onto hot toast.

· Mash your avocado with a tiny bit of lemon juice. Top hot toast with a slick of coconut oil, the mashed avo and then some toasted almonds.

· Mash your avocado with a little lemon juice, pile onto toast, then top with a few thin slices of banana and a sprinkling of cinnamon.

· Mash a ripe avocado with a little lemon juice, pile onto toast, and top with chopped pistachios, some toasted sesame seeds and a little honey and cinnamon.

· Whiz some basil with a little olive oil. Mash an avocado with a little lemon juice and pile onto hot toast, crumble over some feta and pour over the basil oil.

Herbed Parisian scrambled eggs

Sometimes I need a reminder that something simple and classic is really, really good. In my imaginary life where I spend my days roaming around Paris flea markets this is what I would eat for breakfast. Classically, chervil is used in harmony of herbs too, but it’s not easy to find so I’ve left it out; however, if you come across some, buy it – it’s got such a piercingly delicate flavour and is great chucked into green salads. Basil and mint can be thrown into the mix here too.

A note on how to keep soft herbs: I use herbs a lot – their flavours are like nothing else, and each is so completely different from the others, I couldn’t cook without them. I appreciate that buying a lot of herbs for a little breakfast recipe feels extravagant. This is how I make herbs work harder for me. I buy a load once every week or so when they look good at the greengrocer, and I keep them like flowers, in glasses filled with a dash of cold water in the milk-bottle compartment of my fridge. This way they keep for a week or so. Every time I open the fridge I am met with a heady smell and a grassy green wall of herbs, which means they are appreciated and make their way into much more of my cooking.

SERVES 2

a little olive oil or butter

4 really good organic or free-range eggs

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

a few sprigs each of fresh parsley, tarragon and dill, leaves picked and roughly chopped

2 slices of good buttered toast (I like sourdough)

Everyone has their own way with eggs. This is how I scramble mine.

Heat a little oil or butter in a frying pan on a medium-low heat. Crack the eggs into a bowl, mix with a fork, season well, then pour into the hot pan and use a wooden spoon or a spatula to pull the eggs away from the sides of the pan, creating golden folds. Continue to do this until the eggs are how you like them. I like mine to just come together but keep a faint little bit of wobble.

Take the pan off the heat, taste, add more salt and pepper if necessary, and stir in the herbs. Pile on top of buttered toast.

MY MORNING FRUIT

To my mind there is no better way to start the day than with a bowl of in-season fruit. Here are the bowls I make as the seasons change. Some can be made in a batch for quick weekday breakfasts, others can be put together in a few minutes – try with the granola here (#ulink_619d4c45-4866-5f71-8c13-d285a3d58353).

SPRING

APPLES · PEARS · RHUBARB ·

RASPBERRIES · EARLY STRAWBERRIES

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QUICK RHUBARB COMPOTE