All posts filed under: Recipes Index

Prize Giveaway: Healthier Recipe Cookbook

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Who said creamy Arctic Roll can’t be healthy? Low fat doesn’t always mean low taste. Yes we’ve heard it all before; Many of us who have been round the diet block a few times will be familiar with this phrase. What sends me back to old habits however is usually a lack of planning and scarce range of healthy tasty recipes to work with. I’ve even gone as far as eliminating the word diet from my vocabulary whenever I embark on a new eating (dis)order…determined that this is how I’m going to eat for the rest of my life: no more bread. no more diary. No more strawberries. But somehow my body is smarter than what I think it is and so it kicks into survival mode clinging on to whatever morsel of sugar, fat or berry I ‘treat’ myself with…on my ‘cheat day’ of course! 😉 Over the years you soon learn that the key to long-term weight-loss and health is a lifestyle change: So here comes another healthy recipe book and I’m thinking, do we need …

“Make-Away” Thai Green Fish Curry

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The last two weeks have probably been the most hectic; if I haven’t seen the inside of my fridge for a few days, you know there is something wrong. It’s in those spaces that I’ve found myself darting across the road from my local train station… to the nearest take-away. I don’t say it with pride: take-away is not for pleasure or a treat; what could be less appealing than eating your dinner out of a greasy brown paper bag or shallow plastic container? Ok I know it’s not that bad. But there is one thing: I don’t expect the food to be authentic, or satisfying. In fact I wasn’t suppose to maintain this for more than a few days…it lasted a few weeks! I really miss cooking. And the extra change in my pocket. But my hectic schedule hasn’t eased off to make much room for it. This is the dilemma; tasty food in little to no time and no effort. As it turns out that my local Sainsbury’s has created a ‘Make-away’ range featuring Italian, Indian, Chinese and Thai dishes …

Puerto Rican Pineapple ‘Rum’ Cake

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  This sweet and sticky dessert had me licking my fingers long after I’d finished eating it (a disturbing image I know). This is a dense, warm and crunchy cake (from the added pecan nuts) to share on a plate of vanilla ice cream or warm creamy custard. The creation of the ‘Rum’ syrup was a very think on your feet moment today; although I don’t drink, I really wanted to make this cake with the sweet sticky albeit rum glaze. I have eaten a few pineapple cakes in my time but they were either very dry or looked way too dated with the huge pineapple rings and ‘red eye’ of the cherry staring up at me.  No, it’s time pineapple cake had some refresher training. The ingredient combination for the ‘Rum Syrup’ work very well together, you get the warmth from the ginger and the spice from the cloves, the closest you may get to the real thing, if you want to substitute it that is. Lifting off the cake tin is the most exciting part of the whole …

Virgin Passion Strawberry Daiquiri

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Another wonderfully hot day in London. I woke up with a bright clear blue sky before me. As the days are getting longer, the sense of urgency and frantic busy-ness which comes with city life is slowly being replaced with a casual, ‘we-still-got-time-ness’. Summer is finally here and with it comes my favourite part of the day: warm summers’ nights. I love it with a passion: I enjoy being outside with friends and family watching the sun take the slow roll down the western sky, leaving a warm breeze in its path. It’s a reflective time of the day. Yes warm summers’ nights: it almost feels like the day will never end which is why this sunset coloured drink is a perfect accompaniment. The fresh tangy taste of the passion fruit will revive anyone trying to hang on to the last few hours of the night to finish some good conversation or activity. It takes minutes to create, you can even prepare the ingredients before hand to save you time. As an alternative to water, you can use coconut or sparkling water. Angostura Bitters, …

My Writing Process Blog Tour

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Thank you so much Jess for inviting me to be a part of the My Writing Process blog tour! Jess of food blog Cooking Is My Sport, first told me about this project a few months ago, it’s basically an opportunity to share the inspiration behind what drives me to write on a weekly basis. I have to say since joining the Word Press community, Jess has been one of my ‘biggest fans’; if you haven’t already, please check out her gorgeous blog where her writing matches the mood of her food photography: very rich and appetising! I really enjoy her recipes and her online support, I hope we all benefit from the time we spend affirming one another to continue writing and sharing what we love! So as part of this tour, I have to answer a set of questions about my writing process and then introduce three other bloggers who will answer the same set of questions next week. 1) What am I working on? Well recently I have been working on a ‘Street Food Series’ which should last …

Street Food Series: Elote w/ Chipotle Mayo

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  Elote, is Spanish for Corn on the Cob, or should I say corn on a stick as on the streets of Mexico where this recipe originates from, the husk of the fresh corn is pulled down to form a ‘handle’ making it easier for all the butter and juices to run down your hand and drip from your elbow. Before you overreact, let’s be real; this is what makes street food so delicious right? The mess, the impatience, the flavours and most of all the condiments. Where would street food be without the ‘side dishes’. In fact this is what separate’s Elote from all other ears of roasted corn: you combine a blend of lime juice and butter, which is no surprise to many of us. But then here come’s mayonnaise and Cotija anejo (a mild flavoured Mexican cheese with a crumbly texture) which transforms the corn from a snack to a meal as the mayonnaise soon becomes a dipping sauce and the tangy cheese just melts between the honeycomb of the corn, forming gooey puddles along the cob. …

Street Food Review: Alchemy Food Market

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Since last week Friday, London has been smothered with generously hot weather; the kind that has you kicking off the duvet covers in the middle of the night; and for the first time in months, has most of the windows of your home wide open to hear the buzz of the bees blending in with the morning traffic and chatter from passers-by. Never would I have tolerated such a disruption to my daily routine but for the beautiful sunshine and warmth we have experienced - quite by surprise! If there is one thing the British love to do, it’s to moan about the weather, and it’s no wonder why: with so little sun matched with heat and not knowing how long it will last and assuming it WILL be our last, we make every effort to find some reason to be out and about in London town on a hot sunny day. This is what led me to the South Bank: so named the centre of Arts and Entertainment in London during the 1950’s. All I know is that by …

Spiced. Pistachio. Chilled. Latte

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  Don’t worry, you read it correctly. I didn’t think I would see these words all in the same sentence either. But it’s real: Pistachio Milk is the next big thing following Almond, Oat and Rice as substitutes to dairy milk. Its one of my favourite’s to add to cereals, porridges or just to enjoy on its own. I find that it also lends itself to exotic flavours more than other whole nuts, partly because of its earthy green, yellowy, brown colour and also because it crops up in some many East Indian recipes both savoury and sweet. I also love a good latte, especially Chai Latte’s and so creating this recipe with Pistachio’s is really a play on the flavours and spices of Chai tea. I served this chilled and as mentioned in my previous post, try to soak the nuts for at least 6 hours or more, the longer you soak them, the silkier the taste. Enjoy!

Spring Salad Series: Fennel with “Ranch” Dressing

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  I had a spring in my step last weekend. For the first time in about 5 months or more, the first signs of Spring began to emerge. The most noticeable effect of this glorious beam of sunshine and clear blue skies, is actually waking up happy. Seriously it’s as simple as that: when you have spent the last winter waking up and working and going to sleep practically in the dark, it’s like someone literally flicked a switch on in a dark damp room: suddenly everything is clearer and looks attractive. London feels like a welcoming place again. Another noticeable change is my appetite. I don’t know about you, but it’s a lot easier to eat and enjoy fresh fruits and salads in the summer than it is in the winter. Maybe the problem started when we started eating fruits and vegetables out of season, I mean the king of comfort vegetables, Pumpkin just feels better in winter than in the middle of March right? That’s why I thought for this months recipe I …

Supermalt Banana Fritters

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This is an original creation of mine which I am so excited to share with you! Don’t let the deep-frying put you off, this is an occasional irresistible, seriously addictive dessert which is best served hot and crispy with vanilla ice cream. I can’t say I am a huge fan of Supermalt, but I do get a thirst for it with certain meals. Fans of Supermalt, when you make this dish, tell me if you can taste the drink in the batter? Not being a malt novice, in my mind Supermalt gives the batter its colour and the crispy light texture. It also makes an incredible caramel sauce which detailed below. One thing to remember, make sure the bananas you use are not overly ripe, the firmer the better with no dark spots - they need to take some intense heat while frying!

Cardamom Pistachio Pancakes

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It was Shrove Tuesday a few days ago or Pancake Day to the rest of us which meant a floury of crepes and pancakes came flooding into the office for us to consume. I was curious to notice that my Boss hadn’t taken any of the crepes that had been brought in and so I inquired as to her withdrawal from the sweet treats. “I don’t like those kind of pancakes” she said, “I prefer the thick American style ones” to which we all nodded in agreement. “But they’re made from the same ingredients?” piped in another colleague of mine helping himself to the strawberries on the table. To some extent he is right, the only difference is the water content, classic pancakes have a bit more water so tend to be lighter and less dense. These pancakes below adapted from a Lebanese blog by Bethany Kehdy are nice and dense and as suggested can be made lighter with a little more water.

Red Onion Fougasse Bread

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This flat, round fougasse loaf is very popular all over France and is a very similar to the Italian focaccia. Here I decided to make a mustard/ garlic butter which I brushed over the bread once baked, if I’m honest I was trying to mimic the fougasse garlic bread I love so much which is served at the restaurant Cafe Rouge, which came drenched in this garlic butter sauce which tasted like none other. But I digress, this bread is as enjoyable and fun to share and tear over some soup! I strongly recommend using a strong white bread flour for this recipe, it will make such a big difference to the to the texture: the bread turned out really nice and fluffy on the inside and with a light crust. I also found it expanded in size quite a bit, so make sure you leave a lot of space in the pan between breads. This recipe is adapted from the BBC Good Food website if you want to see other versions of the bread.  

White Chocolate & Lemon Viennese Whirls

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Viennese Whirls growing up and pretty much as they are today, are made with a combination of jam and cream. What separates them from your average jammy dodger is the light crumbly shortcake texture of the biscuit. For this recipe you don’t have to keep to the classic ‘mountain peak’ or Swirl shape, why not experiment with shortcake fingers or squares? The real reason why you should go to the trouble of squeezing the dough through a piping bag is because it’s aesthetically pleasing and makes you look like a pro. So why not give it a try? Biscuit 250g/9oz very soft unsalted butter 50g/2oz icing sugar, plus extra to decorate 250g/9oz plain flour 50g/2oz corn flour ½ tsp pure vanilla extract Filling 1/4 cup double cream 150g white chocolate chopped coarsely 1/4 cup (or more) lemon juice 1 tsp grated lemon rind Yellow food colouring (optional) For the Biscuit Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5. Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper. Put the butter, icing sugar, plain flour, corn flour and vanilla extract in …