Peckish at the sound check? Ravenous at the rehearsal? Fancy a nibble in the back of the transit (or something to eat, if you prefer)? We have the answer. From the team that brought you the One Two Testing knitting pattern come 'five recipes for the road...'

Yes, these dishes will keep a hungry musician working through the wee small hours. They can be made with the minimum of appliances and require only the most basic understanding of culinary techniques. If you know which part of an oven is hot (the blue bits with the flickering yellow tops) you can go Haute T.T. Cusine.

As any touring band knows, constant greasy spoon fry-ups will make you spotty and spoil your fun with groupies. Travelling is exhausting and needs a sensible diet, and that means vegetables and green stuff, not beans and chocolate. If you must eat between wheels (Transit joke) try apples, oranges and other fruit instead of chip butties. This is NOT being wimpish.

And don't stuff yourself with a Mega Mac and bucket of fries three minutes before going on stage. Always leave at least an hour between eating and performing, unless you enjoy feeling like a kitchen with a Gibson.

For the poverty stricken, obtain at least one, good-balanced meal a day — seriously. Forget the romantic notions — undernourished musicians do not look good, play well, or sound convincing.

We've laid out five recipes which, with a little organisation, a pet cooker or a camp stove, you could arrange for rehearsals, mix-downs, pre-gig meetings or after-gig postmortems. If nothing else, 20 minutes of chopping, peeling and cooking is a fine way of working off your frustrations when you'd rather sock the drummer.

All of these ingredients should be available in a small supermarket or reasonable corner shop. Some, like the chicken slices and beefburgers, you'll find in the chill box, but try to keep things as fresh as possible. Look at it this way... fresh food has the best nutritional value per penny, so get your money's worth.

SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA

Preparation time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 15 mins

14oz spaghetti
5oz bacon
4 medium sized eggs
2oz parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons single cream (optional)
1 tablespoon oil
Black pepper

Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling water (approx 12 mins). Lightly beat the eggs and mix in the parmesan, black pepper and cream. Lightly brown the bacon in a wide pan, with the oil. When the pasta is Al dente (cooked but firm to bite), drain and put in the pan with the bacon over a low heat. Stir, remove from the heat, add the egg and cheese mixture and mix well together. Serve immediately.

BEEFBURGERS WITH APPLE AND CHEESE TOPPING

Preparation time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 15 mins

4oz grated Cheddar cheese
3 dessert apples
Worcestershire sauce
4 beefburgers

Set aside loz of cheese and put the rest in a bowl. Peel, core and grate two of the apples, add to the cheese with a few drops of Worcestershire sauce. Cook the beefburgers under a moderate grill (approx 8-10 mins), turning once. Spread the cheese mixture over the burgers. Core the remaining apple, cut into four slices, place one on each burger. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and replace under the grill for 3-5 mins. Serve.

CLUB SANDWICHES

Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 5 mins

12 slices of brown wholemeal bread
2oz butter
4 sliced tomatoes
8 small lettuce leaves
8 rashers of bacon
8 thin slices of cooked chicken
Mayonnaise
Oil

Fry the bacon in a little oil, toast the bread and remove the crusts. Butter eight slices on one side and the remaining four on both sides. Cover four of the single buttered slices with tomato and top with the fried bacon. Put the slices buttered on both sides on top, cover with the lettuce and chicken. Spoon over the mayonnaise and cover with the last four slices of toast. Press the sandwiches firmly together and quarter.

SAVOURY SCRAMBLED EGGS

Preparation time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 10 mins

1 finely chopped onion
2oz butter
4oz ham
4 large tomatoes, skinned and roughly chopped*
3 large eggs
Salt and black pepper

Cook the onion in the butter over a moderate heat for 3 mins, add the tomatoes and meat, cook for a further 2-3 mins. Stir the lightly beaten egg into the mixture and season to taste. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the eggs are set. Serve with toast or wholemeal bread.

*To skin tomatoes, immerse in boiling water for 1 min, then peel the skin away.

VEGETABLE AND NUT CURRY

Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 15-20 mins

3 tablespoons oil
1 small chopped onion lib potatoes, peeled and diced
4oz green peas
1 green pepper, cored and seeded
1 small cauliflower, divided into florets
1 8oz can of plum tomatoes
About 1 teaspoon chilli powder
½ teaspoon of ground turmeric
1½ teaspoons of ground coriander
OR (instead of last three) 2 teaspoons of curry powder
Salt
½ pint of water
4oz salted cashew nuts (washed)

Heat the oil and fry the onion gently for 5 mins. Add the potatoes and cauliflower, fry for a further 3-4 mins. Stir in the chilli powder, turmeric and coriander (or the curry powder) and continue frying for 1-2 mins. Add the tomatoes, salt, green peas, sliced peppers and stir well. Cover and cook gently for 1 min, then stir in the water. Bring to the boil then lower heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender but firm. Add the washed cashew nuts, stir them into the vegetables just prior to serving.