This large family of vegetables has both summer and winter varieties. Summer squashes such as zucchinis, marrows and the small patty pan squashes generally have thin green or yellow skins and moist, subtly flavored white flesh. They need only light steaming, grilling or stir-frying and a sprinkling of salt, pepper and fresh herbs.

Winter varieties, which include both small and large pumpkins, have dense yellow or orange flesh within their hard skins. They respond well to vigorous flavors. Add to a casserole, or use in well-spiced thick winter soups.

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Sweet potatoes and yams are members of two different botanical families. Sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatus) come from the tropical areas of the Americas and have a distinctive sweetness, particularly the pink-skinned, orange-fleshed variety, also known as kumara. There are also some sweeter white or yellow-fleshed varieties grown in the tropics.

Though sweet potatoes are native to tropical America, they also found their way to New Zealand and Asia, and hot baked sweet potatoes are sold in winter on the streets of many Chinese and Japanese cities. The Yam (Dioscorea),is a large, brown-skinned starchy root that can weigh over 5 kg. Its bland yellow or white flesh is a perfect partner for spicy stews in the parts of Africa, Asia and the Caribbean where yams are a staple ingredient.

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Is there is secret of a perfect mash without the lumpy bits? No, unfortunately all electric tools seem to produce mashed potatoes with the gluey texture of wallpaper paste. The easiest way to a lump-free mash is some hard work with a potato masher, or to put the potatoes through a food mill. Additions such as olive oil, cream, butter and milk should be added while the potatoes are warm, along with seasonings of salt, pepper and nutmeg. Vigorous beating is what lightens the mash and at the final stage you could possibly use an electric beater set on a slow speed.

As an alternative to mashing, try riced potatoes, positively lump-free. A potato ricer, available from catering shops and good kitchenware departments, looks rather like a giant garlic press and crushes whole, cooked potatoes, extruding them in a light snow. Rice the potatoes directly into the serving bowl, adding butter and seasonings to the layers as you go. Riced potatoes can be reheated in their bowl, but stirring will sacrifice their lightness.

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It is not possible to truly bake a potato in a microwave oven. When a potato is properly baked, the heat of the oven reaches the skin first, drying it and sealing in the potato's natural moisture so that the flesh steams as the skin crisps. This delicious contrast of textures cannot be achieved in a microwave oven, which merely cooks the potato.

You can bake small-sized baking potatoes relatively quickly, in about 30 minutes, in a hot oven; they will cook even quicker if you push a metal skewer through them. Alternatively, if you own a convection microwave, compromise and use the combination facility. For best results and to achieve a delicious contrast between crisp skin and soft interior, rub the potato skins with sea salt while they are still damp from washing. Baked potatoes are done when you can press them and feel that the flesh inside is soft and yielding.

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Alas, there is not way we can tell by looking at a potato whether it will be waxy or floury. But retailers are increasingly offering advice as to the suitability of potatoes for various cooking methods. The new baby chats or first early Coliban or Sebago varieties available is spring and summer are waxy and good for boiling to eat hot or in salads. Winter maincrop potatoes tend to be floury and good for mashing, but the red-skinned Desiree and Pontiac varieties and Tasmanian Pink-Eye with its red skin and yellow flesh, are firmer and are better for boiling. Good waxy potatoes to look for in winter are Bintje and Kipfler, both which have a fine flavor. New potatoes are reliably waxy and are good for salads. Waxy and floury varieties of potato all cook very successfully in the microwave oven.

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As the flesh of game birds is very lean, the breast must be protected. Cover it with a layer of pork fat or streaky bacon to prevent it drying out in the oven. The birds should also be basted from time to time during roasting with the cooking juices and melted fat. Remove the pork fat or bacon 10 minutes before the end of cooking to let the breast brown. If the skin is not brown and crisp enough at the end of cooking, put the bird under a hot grill for a minute or two before serving. Using oven roasting bags also helps to retain the moisture when cooking a game bird.

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You can make a flan case using light olive oil. This pastry is not as short as traditional shortcrust and will have a firm texture that needs careful handling.

Sift 250g (2 cups) of plain flour into a bowl with a pinch of salt and make a well in the center. Whisk 4 tablespoons of water in another bowl until blended. Gradually add the oil mixture to the flour, mixing until it forms a firm dough. Knead quickly until smooth then line a 23 cm flan tin; bake it blind. Should a slight crack appear during baking, brush it over with a little lightly beaten egg white and return to a hot oven for 1-2 minutes to dry out. This helps to seal the crack and prevent the filling seeping out.

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There are several possible causes of soggy pastry. One is that oven temperatures vary and the only way to be sure your oven is the correct temperature is to use an oven thermometer. A pie that is soggy inside may not have been cooked for long enough; or a precooked filling may not have cooled sufficiently before being covered with pastry.

Too much liquid in the filling can wet the pastry lid. Fruits combined with sugar require only a little water as they will exude juice during cooking. If you are layering fruit with sugar, make sure the last layer is fruit before the pastry lid is added: if the sugar comes directly into contact with the pastry, it will make it soggy. A hole or cross cut in the top of the pie allows steam to escape from a covered pie and keeps the pastry crisp.

** Cooking Thermometers **

Traditionally mussels were eaten during the colder winter months because they were at their cheapest and best in the cool weather. However, fish farming, refrigerated transport and air transportation have made them available virtually throughout the year, and refrigeration keeps them safe.

Mussels are sold while still alive, and although they are now sold much cleaner than they used to be, it is important to follow careful preparation procedures, and particularly to ensure you discard uncooked mussels that gape open or have chipped shells.

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Millet can be used to thicken soups, or cooked in milk to make a breakfast cereal or added to breads and teabreads to boost their texture and flavor. While it is not a gourmet ingredient, millet can be tasty and is a good source of proteins as well as carbohydrates. Since Roman times at least, millet has been widely grown in North Africa, Asia and the Mediterranean countries. It is an important food for many of the world's poor, and is often fermented to make beers.

The dried grains are tiny, about the size of a pinhead, and colored pale yellow with a darker brown spot on one side. They swell considerably during cooking so it is important not to add too much to dishes such as soups. Millet flakes cook faster than the whole grains and are also used to thicken soups. Unless whole millet grains are cooked in plenty of liquid, they should be presoaked before cooking.

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What is the best way to arrange food in a microwave oven?

Microwaves are generally focused around the oven edges with less energy present in the center. Arrange individual items around the outside of the turntable in a circular fashion, with thinner parts placed towards the center. Be guided by the instruction manual for your oven and consult microwave cookbooks for good tips and handy information.

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Apart from reheating cooked food, thawing frozen food and cooking raw foods like fish and vegetables, the microwave is an invaluable cook's mate. Use it to soften butter, heat sauces and melt chocolate. Microwaving is very fuel-efficient and fast, taking a quarter to a third of the time needed in conventional cooking. Both oven cleaning and washing up are usually reduced.

As microwaves stop when the oven door is open, and the oven itself is not hot, there is less risk of anyone being burnt. This is especially helpful with children, the elderly and the disabled. The chances of food boiling over or burning are reduced as the oven is set to switch off. Microwaving is also healthier in that less fat, oil and liquid are needed and more nutrients are kept in the food.

Microwave ovens are very useful but have disadvantages with some types of recipes. Anything which needs hot air to rise, such as puff pastry, will fail as the air inside a microwave does not get hot. Roasting is also less successful, but you can brown meat by frying or grilling it briefly before or after microwaving. A combination oven can work as a microwave and convection oven simultaneously, and speeds up cooking while also giving food a brown, crisp finish.

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The only way to be absolutely sure that meat has been cooked to your liking is to use a meat thermometer. The thermometer should be inserted into the thickest part of the joint, without touching any bones, just before the end of the cooking time. When cooking beef and lamb, the meat will be rare when the temperature reaches 60C, medium rare when it is 71C and well done when the temperature reads 80C. Pork and veal should only be served well done, which means that the temperature should reach 75C for pork, and 71C for veal.

If you do not have a meat thermometer, you can insert a metal skewer into the thickest part of the cooked joint and wait for 30 seconds. If the skewer feels cold to the touch when it is withdrawn, the meat is not done; if it feels warm the meat is rare, and if it is hot the meat is well done.

It is wise to take the resting time into consideration when you are testing for doneness because the meat will continue to cook while it is sitting. This is more important for a piece of meat that you wish to serve rare or medium and less crucial if the meat is going to be eaten when it is well done.

** Cooking Thermometers **

It is possible to make mayonnaise without using raw eggs. Sauce remoulade is made with hard-boiled egg yolk, which makes it particularly suitable for anyone hesitant about eating raw eggs. Mash a sieved large egg yolk thoroughly, add 1 tablespoon of boiling water and stir it to a smooth paste. Gradually add 250 ml of olive oil, beating the mixture continuously. When the mayonnaise has thickened, add 2 tablespoons each of finely chopped gherkins and parsley, 1 tablespoon of drained capers and a dash of anchovy essence. This sauce is often combined with celeriac.

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You can cut kilojoules and reduce the fat content of sandwiches by using a low-fat spread and, if you include well-flavored ingredients, still make a filling that is satisfying and appealing. You may also find that wholewheat bread sandwiches have not only more flavor but more staying power.

For example, you can use a low-fat spread on brown bread, top it with cottage cheese, scatter chopped sliced canned pineapple over the cheese and then sprinkle it with chopped chives or scallions. Add a final generous seasoning of sea salt and black pepper. Another successful combination is flaked cooked or canned salmon and chopped watercress, bound with 2 tablespoons reduced fat mayonnaise, garnished with a sliced tomato and sprinkled with lemon juice to finish. You can also use canned tuna or crabmeat with a handful of freshly chopped herbs and use finely shredded lettuce instead of watercress. Chopped red pepper or canned corn kernels add a crunchy texture.

Instead of sliced bread use muffins, lightly toasted focaccia, a walnut or tomato bread or halved French sticks. To give reduced-fat mayonnaise more zest, stir in a teaspoon or two of good strong mustard. And the addition of fresh herbs, such as basil, coriander or flat-leafed parsley, will help to make sandwiches much more attractive and tempting.

Pungently flavored foods in unusual combinations can be so interesting and delicious that no one will ever miss the fat.

** Baking Recipes **