Month: January 2016

Cappuccino cake

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I am a really lazy baker sometimes. I love to make a recipe that you just put all the ingredients into a food processor, whizz it up then pour into a cake tin then bake while you make the icing. This is one of those recipes and it is really rather tasty too. I realised that I kept making carrot cakes as my default tea time treat when friends came over so needed to show them I could actually bake something else. I love to invite friends over for tea, it is the time of day when I feel one needs a sweet treat and I am very British in that I always have a cup of tea late afternoon.  Also during the winter months, once it is dark it can become a very long evening ahead of you so the perfect time to see friends and then all can go home to get tucked up in front of the tv with their loved ones without having to brace the dark cold night too late. Cappuccino …

It’s Soup Weather!

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Are you like me, a little bit bored of soup with no texture and in need of something a bit bulkier to make lunch time more of a pleasurable experience rather than just feeding time? I have always shied away from lentils, thought they tasted like chalk and were a little too ethnic for me. But I have been proved wrong recently on more than one occasion when I had a delicious coconut dhal and also a lentil and chorizo soup. Two very different dishes but it made me think what do I have in the house that I can make something delicious and hearty for my lunch during these winter months. I bought tinned puy lentils ages ago but never used them and have some bacon in the fridge so thought actually lets try making a soup out of these two and top it with some fresh parsley. I’m going to use the basics of a good soup: carrots, celery, onion, garlic and chicken stock. These basics can be used for many soups or …

Sugar free apple crumble

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I am a real puddings person, such a sweet tooth and my January rule is no refined sugar so I have been looking for sweet treats that are not filled full of sugar. My friend asked me round for dinner the other night and I said I would bring pudding. This meant I didn’t have to have the awkward conversation of  “Oh i’m trying to be sugar free at the moment. Do you mind making  a real effort because I am being difficult?” I wouldn’t call this a diet as much as more of a changing my way of thinking long term. Eventually I would like to avoid using natural sweeteners* too but then I come back to the way of thinking that life is too short to worry about everything and I should just take a little more exercise when I can. Apple crumble with a big dollop of ice-cream is one of my all time favourites so here is my version which is packed full of oats, nuts, fruit and a few variations …

Coffee – a fat burning start to the day?

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My one vice that I just can’t give up is coffee and each year I think to myself.. maybe this new year I should make a resolution to give it up. Then when I wake up from lack of sleep on New Years day I quickly realise this is a rubbish idea. I have also managed to wean myself off a teaspoon of sugar and on to agave syrup in my coffee so I am not going to give up everything for the one thing that will get me out of bed! I am actually one of those people who likes to get up in the morning. I hate to lie in bed thinking about all the things I could be doing. I would much rather just get up and do them (sometimes of a weekend, I have an afternoon nap – it feels like the ultimate indulgence). Anyway, back to coffee. I have recently read that it isn’t as bad as once thought and some studies have proven that one is less likely to …