Month: October 2016

Indian spiced cauliflower soup

It’s October, and I really hoped it might still feel like summer but with this ever changing weather (mostly rain) I realised it is back to cosy comfort food. With half a cauliflower in my fridge and not much else I was going to have to get inventive. So what can I do with a cauliflower that isn’t steaming it and covering it in white sauce and cheese? (This was my obvious choice!) I stared at the fridge for rather a long time and then realised that I also have a cupboard full of spices and tins like coconut milk so let’s have fun and throw a few items together in the hope it turns out to be a delicious lunch. If it fails, then scrambled eggs on toast it will be! So here we go… the ingredients: (This will do you for 2 lunches) Half a cauliflower 1 lrg garlic clove 1 red onion 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp turmeric 1 tbsp curry powder half tsp chilli flakes 2 tbsp olive oil lrg pinch of …

Apple & Date Crumble

WHOOPEE it’s the time of year when I get to drink copious amounts of red wine and do nothing all Sunday evening because it’s dark by the time lunch has finished! Yes, that’s right, it is proper cosy Sunday lunch season when one can have friends round in the afternoon and sit for hours over a two or three course lunch and have nowhere to rush off to afterwards. This time of year, we generally end up having a lazy start to the day, do a bit of lunch prep in PJs, try to get a walk or bike ride in, shower and be laying the table as our guests arrive pretending there wasn’t a last minute rush around tidying the house. Why do we all insist on cleaning and hiding any  visible items on a table or shelf into a drawer to then spend the next few weeks wondering where we put things when our friends come round? It is the strangest illusion we all insist on giving – clean house living. Enough of that, now to …

Millionaire’s Shortbread

  It has been a while since I posted a blog, I have actually been travelling for the last month seeing friends and family across Asia, and the UK. It has been a great experience and so wonderful to eat so many different foods and learn about new flavour combinations. I have to admit that all the eating out has made me desperate to get back into my kitchen and cook food from scratch again. With Autumn in full swing, if you are anything like me, you will be rather enjoying the fact that winter jumpers are back covering up those ever increasing muffin tops. It’s my winter layer and I can’t help myself as the leaves turn orange, my belt loosens by a notch. However, this winter I am going to try and stick with my refined sugar free diet and will be trying to make a few favourites along the way. Here is my ‘millionaire’s shortbread’ which is a crumbly shortbread base, covered with sticky caramel then topped with chocolate . You can make this dairy …