Mini Healthy Yummy Pancakes

This recipe appeared in the March edition of the Healthy Food Guide - one of my favourite cookery magazines! OK, I love Vegetarian Living and Cook Vegetarian, and obviously they have an edge in that I could make all the recipes, but they quite often have a lot of cakes, pastry, and cheese - and if you're anything like me, you really have to limit how much of that kind of thing you eat! So enter the Healthy Food Guide - it might not be completely vegetarian, but it is completely healthy.

These are called "fluffy berry pikelets" in the Healthy Food Guide, and they make a nice part of a weekend breakfast, or a good light pudding. My friend Antonia came to stay with me and had a sudden attack of pancake cravings, so this is what we made!

The recipe says this makes twelve - but I'd say it's more like 20! A serving is three pancakes, and has 254 kcal.

85g self-raising flour
25g caster sugar
125ml skimmed milk
1 medium egg
Cooking oil spray
300g low-fat yoghurt, 4tsp honey, and 320g mixed berries

Sift the flour into a bowl and mix in the sugar. Make yourself a well in the centre, and add in the milk and egg (which you should beat together in a bowl first!).

Spritz a frying pan with cooking oil spray and heat it to a medium heat. These cook pretty quickly, so don't go crazy or they'll burn!

A tablespoon of batter makes one pancake, so spoon it out and cook for a couple of minutes. Once you start seeing tiny bubbles, flip it over onto the other side and cook for another couple of minutes. You'll probably need to spray some more oil in between pancakes to stop them from burning.

Arrange the pancakes in stacks of three (I like my stack asymmetrical) and dollop over the yoghurt, drizzle over the honey, and heap over the berries!

What do you like to put on pancakes? Do you have any ways of making them healthier?

Love,

Emy
xxx

Lighter Mac 'n' Cheese

Mac 'n' Cheese, or, for us Brits, Macaroni Cheese - it's comforting, isn't it? It's just the right mix of chewey and gooey and cheesy. But it's not so healthy. And I want to be healthy! So today, I cracked out a recipe from the newest Slimming World magazine for a lighter version of this comfort dish!

To serve four, you need:

300g dried macaroni
Fry Light, any other low calorie cooking oil spray, or, if you want, real oil - but not much, if you want it to stay healthy!
6 spring onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
200g cherry tomatoes, halved
400ml vegetable stock
4 tbsp tomato purée (I completely forgot about this and didn't put it in mine)
200g fat-free natural yoghurt
1 level tsp English mustard (I hate mustard, so I used some Henderson's Relish instead - it's only made in Sheffield, but you could sub in veggie Worcestershire sauce)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
120g Red Leicester, grated (I used reduced-fat mature cheddar instead)

The magazine suggests romaine lettuce leaves dressed with lemon juice as a side - I steamed carrots, spring greens, and broccoli instead.

Preheat your oven to 200C (400F), and get some water boiling. Cook the macaroni and then set it aside.

Heat a pan, spritz it with oil, and throw in the tomatoes, garlic, and spring onions. Fry them off (keep stirring!) for about three minutes.

Get a big mixing bowl out and beat the stock, tomato purée (if your memory's better than mine), yoghurt, mustard/Worcestershire sauce, and eggs. Mix in most of the cheese - maybe 80g. I'm not going to lie, it doesn't look very pretty or smell particularly appetising at this stage! Persevere. It will be fine, I promise.

Tip the macaroni and the fried tomatoes, garlic, and onions into the mixture, and stir through so all the pasta and veg is coated.The original recipe suggests using four individual ovenproof dishes, but I used a big casserole dish - who needs all that washing up??? Scatter the rest of the cheese over the top

Bang it in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until it browns on top and starts bubbling. Make your salad or steam some veg whilst it's cooking and - hurrah! Healthy AND comforting macaroni cheese!

What healthier verisons of classic foods do you make?

Love,

Emy
xxx

Fitting Exercise into your Life Part Two - Blogilates!

Hopefully you've already read Part One of my post on fitting exercise into my life, and maybe even my post on losing weight and being healthier. This time I want to share one of my favourite workouts - Blogilates!

People always seem to mention Pilates as a relaxing exercise. It's gentle and calming, isn't it? Yeah? Not the way I like it! Cassey Ho, the fitness instructor (and force of nature) behind Blogilates, really knows what she's doing. I've noticed a big difference in my strength just in a few weeks of doing her videos - in fact, thanks to Cassey, I even did a real proper sit up for the first time in my life! Pilates is a series of toning exercises using mostly your own bodyweight, focusing especially on core strength. It can be gentle, but Cassey knows how to really push you!

Do you think you've experienced real pain before? Wait for the bicycle crunches!

Are you one of those language purists who can't stand the misuse of the word literally? If I say, "I'm literally dying," are you about to spring in and correct me? Well, OK, no my heart didn't literally stop, but I think you should try some of these workouts and see if you don't find a 'literally' phrase on the tip of your tongue!

And it doesn't stop there! Cassey also does cardio videos, HIITs, and recipes! If you sign up to the mailing list (and I promise she doesn't send spam!), you can even get passwords for thought-out workout calendars - so you don't have to strain your brain working out how to combine the videos! There are recipe videos and ideas, and even plenty of vegan recipes for us animal product eschewers, along with plenty of advice on living healthily. Can't afford a gym or a personal trainer? I'm afraid that's no excuse!

Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum

 A word of warning: these videos are really really hard! If you are going straight into this without a high level of fitness or strength, you will find them difficult. DON'T let that demotivate you. Make yourself notes - how much you manage of each video. How many of each exercise you managed to do. Work on increasing it until you can keep up with Cassey for the whole video (and yes, I'm still working on that too!). And celebrate your little successes, please!

This is all my own opinion, I promise - no ad deals or anything! But check out Blogilates website - there are links to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and both of her Youtube channels. I think it's fantastic that she's uploading all this for free and is so passionate about helping people become fit and healthy - me included.

Love,

Emy

xxx

Easter Bun and Cheese

So, for once, I am going to be able to bring you a celebration recipe before the celebration itself! Bun is a sweet bread made in the Caribbean and traditionally eaten at Easter with slices of cheese. It has similar ingredients to English traditional Hot Cross Buns, so it's likely that the recipe was taken from English colonisers and adapted. And some good news? It's easily vegan-isable! As long as you have some vegan cheese, some soya or other non-dairy margerine, and some egg replacer (or flax eggs)... if anyone does make a vegan version, I'd love to hear about it! It seems like it has a lot of ingredients, but none of them are hard to come by. I put this recipe together from a few different ones I've looked at!

You need:

3 1/2 cups of flour

2 1/2 cups of sugar - I'd go for brown sugar!

4 teaspoons of baking powder

2 tablespoons melted butter (I used soya margerine)

2 eggs (I'm sure you could use egg replacer or flax eggs here)

1/2 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 tablespoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon allspice

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup mixed peel

1/2 cup sultanas

1/2 cup chopped glacé cherries

1 cup stout or beer (I used Guinness)

Preheat the oven to 150C, or 300F.

Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl, and add the sugar, baking powder, mixed peel, sultanas, and glace cherries. Mix those babies together.

Add in the spices, then make a little well in the centre. Pour in the melted butter, the eggs (beat them first!), and the vanilla extract, and mix again. It will start looking like fine breadcrumbs.

Make another well and pour in the beer, and mix. I forgot to take a picture of mine at this stage, but it got a lot darker and was quite sticky - a bit like Christmas cake mix. It also smells gorgeous! Spoon it into a greased and lined baking tin. From what I understand, a loaf shape is traditional, but I only have a cake tin, so cake shape it is! Pop the bun in the oven (and please, please make a witty comment whilst doing so), and let it cook for about an hour and fifteen minutes. You can stick a knife through it and check it comes out clean - when it does, it's cooked through.

Have you ever had bun and cheese? What is your favourite Easter food? Do you ever make your own traditional treats?

Love,

Emy

xxx

Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa

Quinoa? For breakfast? YES. I made this recipe from 101 Cookbooks today - it was easy and very filling! I changed the quantities to 1/3 cup of quinoa, water, and milk, seeing as it was just for me.

What do you like to use quinoa for?

Love,

Emy
xxx

Sundried Tomato Pesto

Making pesto! My favourite Domestic Goddess hobby. Maybe you've seen my Beetroot Pesto? No? The Edamame Bean version? This time it was a jar of sundried tomatoes that inspired me. Get your food processor out ladies and gents, because this is EASY.

You need:

About 100g sundried tomatoes
30g of pinenuts
30g or so of cheddar (I think you could easily leave this out or sub in a little vegan cheese if you don't do dairy)
A couple of cloves of garlic
You might need some oil - olive oil or the oil the tomatoes came in will do!

Toast the pinenuts by dry-frying them in a pan. Keep an eye on them, because they want to burn, and you will need to leap in and stop them. Grate the cheese. Peel the garlic cloves and chop them a little (no need to make them too fine, but it works better if you've cut them up a little). Chuck it all in a good blender or a food processor.

Blend until it's as smooth as you like it (I usually make my pesto quite chunky), and, if you prefer it runnier, add some oil a tablespoon at a time. I try and add as little as possible to cut the calories - there's plenty of oil in the tomatoes and pine nuts. That's it - so get to it!

What are you favourite pesto ingredients? And what do you use your pesto for, once you have it?

Love,

Emy
xxx

Irish Soda Bread

I'd like to share with you Ladies and Gentlemen, my very first loaf of bread (and in fact, my second, which has been baked even whilst writing this post). I'd never baked bread before because - let's be honest - it's scary. I once looked at some bread recipes only to be confronted with words like 'starter' and 'prove', and I had to close the book and sit down until I was calm. So when I saw a recipe for Irish Soda Bread, I was beside myself with glee - there's no proving! No yeast! No starter! And very simple ingredients.

I should start by saying that I have been informed by a very dear Northern Irishwoman that this bread is simply referred to as 'soda' over there, and should be eaten untoasted with butter and jam. I should also say that I'm no authority, but soda bread doesn't have butter or currants or anything like that - but I think those are common in American recipes. It's really just lovely, dense, tasty bread!

You need:

450g flour - plain white or wholemeal
150-200ml buttermilk (about a cup and a half to two cups)
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (that's baking soda for you Americans)
A few twists of salt (maybe half a teaspoon, for those of you who don't have a grinder!)

That's it, honest.

Preheat your oven to 200C.

Sieve the flour, bicarb of soda, and salt into a big bowl and give it a stir. Mould a well in the middle with your hands (this reminds me of helping my Dad mix cement when I was little). Pour in a cup and a half (that's about 150ml, maybe a bit less... accurate, I know!) of buttermilk.

The weird extra-whiteness around the edges is just from the camera

Use your hands to mix the flour and the buttermilk. I promise it's not as sticky as it looks! Just press and fold and roll the bread around until it comes together in one big lump, with no dry flour left. You might have to add the rest of the buttermilk, but be careful, and do it a little at a time! The dough shouldn't be sticky or wet.

OK, you'll need to wash your hands! Once they're less doughy, move your bread from the bowl onto a floured surface, and shape it so that it's round and an inch or two thick. Then use a sharp knife to cut an X in the top. Tradition demands it!

Pop into the oven on a baking tray (I line mine with baking powder so) and leave it for about half an hour, depending on your oven. Ours is quite fierce, so don't be surprised if it takes more like 45 minutes. When the top has turned golden and the bread makes a hollow noise if you tap the bottom, it's done!

This did NOT get this much darker! The other pictures are from my first (white) loaf, and this is my second (wholemeal) one - but the photos of this one came out much more nicely!

 

Do you make bread? Are you like me and find baking terms confusing? What do you normally have on your soda bread?

Love,

Emy
xxx

Fitting Exercise into your Life Part One - Tips for Getting Started

You might have read my post about losing weight and being healthier before, and, well, I mentioned exercise, but I focused on food. Today I want to talk about exercise, so here we go...!

Once upon a time, of course, people didn't need to worry about how much exercise they did, because they did physical jobs (and housework before all our modern gadgets were invented was one of the most physical jobs!), walked more often, and generally led more active lives. Most of you, like me, probably have a job where you sit down a lot. I do a lot of sitting, reading, and writing. And sadly, that means I can't go through my life not worrying about working out! I was, until reasonably recently, horribly unfit.When I lived in Germany and was overweight, I did no exercise at all. I've never been sporty, and that damn efficient German public transport meant that I wasn't even walking anywhere.

When I decided I wanted to lose weight, I knew that it wasn't going to just be about diet. Of course, you can lose weight just by changing what you eat, but you can still be thin and unhealthy! I wanted to be able to run for the bus without it taking me the whole journey to recover, or go out with my friends and dance all night - things that anyone my age should be able to do! But like I said - I'm not sporty. I hated PE at school. I was never interested in team games. The thought of the gym doesn't exactly thrill me. So how to start?

I started by swimming twice a week, and trying to do two more lengths each week. I could barely do ten to start with! I kept swimming until I could do about thirty lengths, then I started increasing the amount - three times a week, then four, then five, all the time pushing to be able to do forty lengths (a kilometre!). Then I started making myself go to classes at my gym. Organised exercise has been a phobia of mine since school, but I told myself I would go to at least three of a class before I made up my mind about whether or not I liked it. I hated Zumba the first time I went - I felt so self-conscious, and it was hard. But I made myself go two more times - and now I love it! I tried lots of thing so that I wouldn't get bored. I also started doing toning and strengthening classes and exercises to build some muscle. Now I work out five or six times a week, 45 minutes to an hour a time, usually about three sessions of cardio and three sessions of strength or toning. I'm not as strong or as fit as I'd like to be - and my core strength still needs a lot of work! - but I've gone from being completely unfit to being reasonably fit. I feel so, so much better

• "I don't have time" isn't an excuse, and you need to admit it to yourself. I am terrible for saying I don't have time for things, even now. But the first thing you need to do is commit to spending time exercising. Decide when and how - half an hour before dinner? 45 minutes when you get up before breakfast? - and make the time. Of course, there will genuinely be periods where you are very busy, and it's hard to exercise - maybe for a couple of days or a week or two - but otherwise, you can fit it in to your day. And hey, you don't have to do five-hour long work outs. Do an hour each day at the weekend, and a couple of half-hour sessions at the weekend. Do ten minutes of more intense cardio if you're really pushed for time. Do exercise at home to cut out the commute to the gym.

 I love this picture, and it is sort of relevant, so...

• Be realistic, and remind yourself that building strength and fitness takes time. Don't jump in to doing five exercise sessions a week if you weren't working out at all before! Build up. Don't start with really heavy weights! Use some smaller ones until you get stronger. I am terribly impatient with myself, and it's so easy to be angry that you can't run a 5k after three weeks, or you can't see your muscles coming through yet, but IT WILL COME! A good way to keep yourself positive about your progress is to keep a little exercise diary. Record what you've done, and write a little paragraph with how you felt about the exercise afterwards. Did you swim two more lengths today? Did you hold a plank for longer than normal? Give yourself small targets to work towards, and be proud of yourself when you meet them.

 Can you bend like this? Yeah, me neither. Work up to things and set yourself smaller targets!

• Know that you will end up liking exercise. To start with, you have to force yourself. You might hate it for the first week, or even the first month. But, somewhere along the line, your body will come to crave the exercise and the endorphine rush afterwards. You'll find you don't feel quite right if you go too long without a workout. I'm not saying I spring out of bed at 6am every day energised and desperate to exercise, but even if I don't want to start, I'm always so glad when I've finished!

However awful you feel before exercise, I promise you'll feel better afterwards!

• If you hate something, try something else. There's a difference between giving things a chance and just forcing yourself to carry on with something you don't like indefinitely. If you've done something a few times and you still dread the thought of it - pick something else!
• Make sure you do some strength exercises - buy some cheapie hand weights (or use tins!), Google some moves, and get going! If you're a girl and you panic about strength stuff - don't. You're not going to put muscle on like a man, you'll just tone up.
• Remember, exercise will make you feel good not just because of how it makes you look, but how it makes you feel to know you're looking after yourself. Sounds stupid, I know. But you'll find yourself standing straighter, being more confident, focusing better - it's like magic. Honest.

SO! Those are the things I wish I had known about exercise before. I hope maybe some of you who are thinking of getting fit feel more resolved, and some of you might have started thinking that exercise is something you can do too - because it is. AND if you're still stuck for ideas, in the next couple of days I'll have the Part TWO of these tips up with some specific work out ideas.

OK! How do YOU fit fitness into YOUR life?

Love,

Emy
xxx

Lovin' my Blog!

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Apparently Google are giving up on the reader! Please add me over on Bloglovin' - I'll be setting up there!

Love,

Emy
xxx

White Bean Mash

First of all, I'm sorry that my posts have been so erratic lately! I'm in my final year at university and have a lot of work - so sometimes I can't find time, or I can't face doing any more typing! BUT! I have not left you!

This is a really nice, quick recipe that I quite often make for lunch. It's very healthy, and is especially good if you find it hard to make meals without a big pile of carbs on the side (like me!). Not that carbs are evil, but it's easy to eat too many.

You need:

Beans! I have tried this with canellini and butterbeans, and both were nice! You can pick any white bean you like, or go for a mixture. I'd go for about half a tin per person

A courgette - or even a zuccini, if you live in the States...!

Pepper - sweet peppers work nicely!

Mushrooms

Vegetarian sausages - I use these to bulk this out into a more satisfying meal. You could leave them out, or replace them with something else protein-rich if you fancies.

To make the bean mash a bit more interesting, you can add some olive oil the way you might add milk to mashed potatoes, but beware - this adds a lot of calories! I prefer just to give it a twist or two of pink Himalayan salt. You could add some black pepper too!


Cut the veg artistically into thin strips (you'll have to improvise with the mushrooms), and grill, put them in a griddle pan, or roast them (I grilled mine).

If you're using sausages, now is the time to cook them! I also do mine on the grill, but I'm sure you have yur own favourite method!

Whilst they're cooking, warm up the beans - I gave mine two minutes in the microwave, but you could easily do it on the hob if you don't have a microwave! - tip them into a bowl, and mash! If you're using olive oil, add it slowly now. Now is also the time to season. By the time you've mashed the beans, the veetables and sausages should be ready. Arrange the veg in a studied mess on top of the mashed beans, whack the sausages onto the same plate, and there you go!

Do you have any favourite meals that are light on carbs? What do you make for lunch in a rush?

Love,

Emy
xxx

Russian Banana Porridge (Гречневая каша с бананом)

Прокручиваете пожалуйста вниз за рецепт по-русски!

You might remember that in my post about Valentine's Day I mentioned making Russian porridge for my flatmate as breakfast in bed. Russians are big fans of porridge, which they call kasha. They have porridge made out of oats just like we do, but they also sometimes make it out of toasted buckwheat, or grechka (you can get this in any Eastern European supermarkets - give it a Google; there will probably be one near you!). It has a really nutty kind of taste, and I've become a little obsessed.

For one portion, you need:

Toasted buckwheat groats - about half a cup, or 40g
A cup of milk. The recipe says soya milk, but I used oat milk. The main thing is to use about double the amount of milk as you use buckwheat.
A pinch of cinnamon
One banana, mashed
Two tablespoons of almonds, chopped
A spoon or two of agave nectar (optional - this isn't in the original recipe)

Bring the buckwheat in the milk to the boil, then add the cinnamon and agave, then turn the heat down and simmer until all the milk is absorbed - it should take about fifteen minutes.

Whilst your kasha is simmering, mash up a banana with a fork in a bowl, and add the almonds.

When the milk has been absorbed, take the pan off the heat and add the buckwheat to the bowl. Mix it all together and there you go!

I hope you try this; it's delicious, healthy, and filling - exactly what you need from a breakfast, right?

Love,

Emy
xxx

Original Russian recipe:

Ингредиенты:

• 1/2 чашки гречневой крупы

• 1 чашка соевого молока

• щепотка корицы

• 1 спелый банан, пюрированный

• 2 столовые ложки миндаля, порубленного

Инструкции:

1. В маленькой кастрюле смешать гречневую крупу, соевое молоко и корицу. Накрыть крышкой и довести до кипения, затем варить на медленном огне, пока греча не впитает всю жидкость и станет мягкой, около 10 минут.

2. В миске смешать бананы и приготовленную гречу. Посыпать миндалем и подавать.

Pistachio and Rosewater Cookies

Valentine's Day! How did you celebrate? I don't have a boyfriend, but I think it's sad that single people quite often feel bad on Valentine's Day. I mean, how boring is it listening to what your friends did and what presents they got when you didn't do or get anything? So I like to try and do things with my other single friends, so that we get to have a fun day as well! I got up early and made my flatmade breakfast in bed (Russian porridge - and you'll be getting the recipe soon!), then headed out to my lectures in appropriately festive red high-heels. In the evening, Iwent out for a date with my lovely Alice. We went to a restaurant called Wildwood - I think it's a small chain - and shared some wine and a lovely meal. We shared a garlic flatbread with mozarella and caramelised onions to start with, then I had a Margherita pizza (sorry to be boring, but I REALLY fancied pizza), and  I finished it off with a lemon meringue sundae - gorgeous vanilla ice-cream with chunks of meringue and lemon curd. Alice gave me these beautiful flowers:

...and a book of love poetry! I also got some chocolates in the shape of roses from my lovely friend Diana (which I ate too quickly to take a picture), and these fantastic moustache-themed bracelets from Hannah.

What did I do in return, you might ask? Well, I baked cookies! Vegan ones from the book Veganomicon, by the redoutable Misses Chandra Moskowitz and Romero. I absolutely love their cookery books and very strongly recommend that you get one! But, for now, you can have a look at this recipe...


You need:

1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup canola oil (I used rapeseed oil, which is more widely available in Britain)
3 tablespoons rice or soya milk (I used oat milk)
1 tablespoon rose water (I didn't think this was enough - I'll be using two tablespoons next time)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon freshly-grated lime zest
1/4 cup cornstarch (or cornflour, as we say over here)
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 cup shelled pistachios (chop these up finely before you start)

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F), and grease a couple of big baking trays.

Get your big mixing bowl and your whisk! The sugar, oil, milk, rosewater, vanilla extract, lime juice, and lime zest are all going in first. They should mix together pretty easily.

Like so! Then add in the cornflour a little at a time, whisking until it dissolves. Then the normal flour, the baking powder, the salt, and the cardamom. Mix, mix, mix!

The mixture you get is nice and sticky and weirdly fun to shape, which is good, because you need to form them into little balls with your fingers - I did mine about half the size of a tablespoon. Roll them and then press one side into the pistachios. Turn them back over so the pistachio is at the top, and press them down a little (but not too much - they spread!).

 

Put them on the baking tray and into the oven for thirdteen minutes. The books says they'll come out of the oven still a little soft but firm up. Mine came out already firm!

Once they've cooled, they taste delicate but sweet - delicious!

So what did you get for Valentine's Day? What did you give?

Love,

Emy

xxx

Healthy Burger and Fries!

...or chips, as we say this side of the Atlantic. I know, I can hear your scepticism - burger and chips isn't a healthy meal. Well, I'm not saying you should eat this absolutely every day, but. on the whole, this isn't bad for you - good ingredients, no added fat, and you're getting some vegetables in there too. So here we go!

Beetroot Burgers - recipe from The Guilt-Free Gourmet. This isn't a completely vegetarian book, but it's got some nice recipes (butternut squash falafel, anyone?), and is useful if you know anyone who can't have sugar, wheat, or dairy

For ten burgers, you need:

350g skinned and grated (raw) beetroot
150g carrots, finely grated
120g oatmeal
3 eggs
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
A handful of fresh dill
Leaves from two sprigs of fresh thyme
A handful of fresh parsley (I haven't used this, but it's in the recipe!)
The recipe says to season with salt and black pepper too, but I never do

Finely chop the herbs and put them in a bowl with the grated carrot and beetroot. Crack the eggs into the bowl, and add the oats, garlic, and onions. Mix!

Form the mixture into patties with your hands - if they don't want to stick, add some more egg. If they're too runny, add some more oats. Fry the burgers for a few minutes on each side (I use Fry Light to avoid adding a lot of fat).

Chips - the recipe is a Slimming World one. If you want to know more about me and Slimming World, you can read about it here.

You need:

Potatoes!
Some kind of low-cal spray oil - I use sunflower oil Fry Light

Peel the potatoes (you can skip this step if you like), and chop them into chip-sized pieces. Par-boil them for about five minutes, then drain and let them dry out a bit.

Spray a baking tray well with Fry Light, spread the chips out flat over it and spritz with the oil spray again. Put them in an oven preheated to 240C (460F) and leave them for about half an hour, checking and turning a couple of times.

Sides - we used sweet potato, sweet pepper, gherkins, and flat mushrooms - just chopped up and grilled (apart from the gherkins, obviously!)

Assemble it all on a plate and tuck right in!

Do you make healthy versions of unhealthy food? What are some of your favourites?

Love,

Emy
xxx

Chocolate Pasta

What is this madness, I hear you cry. Well, it's pasta... but... chocolate? I was first made aware of this phenomenon by the fantastic Nigella, who used it on her latest TV series, Nigelissima, and, when I saw some for sale in the restaurant-deli chain Carluccio's, I decided that I absolutely had to try it! It's made, as I understand it, by adding cocoa powder to the flour. Nigella makes her pasta sweet with caramel sauce, but I thought it would be nice savoury.

You need:

Butternut squash
Goat's cheese
Capers
Chocolate pasta

If you can't get this in a shop near you, give it a quick Google - you can order it online

I chopped and grilled butternut squash, boiled the pasta, and mixed it all up with some chopped goat's cheese and capers - easy and delicious! You could add a splash of olive oil too, if you wanted, but I don't like my food oily. Voilà! It's weirdly savoury-sweet and delicious!

Love,

Emy
xxx

p.s. If you want to see Nigella's sweet recipe, you can have a look here.

Homemade Coconut Ice

Are you starting to think about Valentine's Day? I'm not expecting any serious presents from secret admirers myself, but I think it's nice for us single people to get together and give each other presents as well - no one likes feeling left out! So whether you want to make a present for a significant other or a friend, why not try preparig some easy coconut ice?

I'm not sure how wide-spread coconut ice is... It's definitely very common in Britain. Coconut ice is super-sweet, but very more-ish - plus I think it looks really cute!

You need:

A can of condensed milk (these are normally 397ml - you'd think they'd round it up to 400, but that's how much you need!)
Dessicated coconut - 200-300g - Start with 200, but you might need to add more
Icing sugar - about 250g
Pink food colouring

So! Pour about two thirds of the condensed milk into a big bowl, then sift in the icing sugar, and mix together with a wooden spoon (it gets too stiff for a whisk). Start adding the coconut, stirring it in as you go. If the mixture isn't stiff enough, add some more coconut and icing sugar. If it's rock solid, add some more milk. Play around with it until you get a sticky, but very stiff mixture.

Split the mixture in half, and flatten one half into a tin (greased and lined).

Add the pink food colouring to the other half. Add a drop and mix through, another drop and mix through, and keep going until you get the pink you want!

Squash this layer flat on top of the other layer.

Refrigerate, uncovered, overnight, then ease it out of the tin and chop into little squares. A perfect mini-present for someone special!

Are you expecting gifts this year come February 14th?

Love,

Emy
xxx

Tapas

Prepare to be jealous. Prepare to know envy. Because yesterday, my wondergirl of a flatmate, Hannah, made me the most amazing tapas spread, and you are about to see the photos.

The spread (please excuse the grim carpet in my dorm room!)

Gorgeous olives stuffed with pickled garlic

Chicory with stilton and toasted walnuts

Courgette and aubergine involtini... the stuffing had capers and basil and sundried tomato

Balsamic-glazed baby figs and manchego

Patatas bravas topped with sweet pepper, and (in the background!), stilton-topped portobello mushroom

How lucky am I? This meal was so delicious and I ate so much that I had to lie down on the floor afterwards and couldn't get up! It was THAT good.

Do you ever make and share tapas or mezze with your friends like this? What are your favourite things to make?

Love,

Emy
xxx