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Hello, best sauce I've ever made. It was so good for three reasons - firstly, it tasted amazing. Secondly, it can be used in a million different ways - pizza sauce, spaghetti bolognese, lasagne... (and this recipe actually makes enough for at least two meals). Thirdly, it only took about five minutes of effort, because the slow cooker did all the rest. Winning! (are people still saying that?
HOW ON EARTH DO YOU SPELL THAT WORD? Hummus? Houmous? Wikipedia has about a million ways listed. Even 'hoummos' - what is that?! Anyway, since the default seems to be 'hummus', I went with that, even though it looks totally weird and wrong. I don't even know any more, the word has lost all meaning. Is hummus even a thing? Aaaanyway, this recipe is sort of hummus (gah), but sort of
So I've started going to yoga classes. I know, it was a shock to me too. I last went on Monday, and my muscles still hurt - that's three days of pain (so far). My stomach muscles, especially, seem to have stopped working. I can no longer gently ease myself down into bed, I now just flop. I'm hoping that this pain is a good sign - my muscles are probably just a bit confused since they weren't
Isn't that just the most beautiful thing you've ever seen? I don't mean the photograph, I'm not that big-headed (although I must admit I have improved a lot since my first ever food photo...), I mean the fooood. Crunchy breaded avocado - baked, not fried, of course - served alongside a tangy coriander-lime mayonnaise (that's cilanto-lime to some of you). There has never been a more perfect c
Technically this bake contains both sweet potatoes and normal potatoes, but I thought that would be a bit of a clumsy title. The normal potato provides the bulk of the dish, and the sweet potato gives a little sweetness, along with some added nutrition. However the real star of this recipe is the topping - smoked paprika, and fresh spring onions and coriander. Do not leave off the topping! I
I'm almost entirely off work this week because the schools around here are on their Easter holidays. I'm trying my hardest to make the most of all this bonus free time - get lots of recipes lined up to show you, get the house spotless, tackle some of those nagging tasks that have been hanging over me for ages (I sewed up a hole in a cardigan that has literally been there for about two years,
No, this isn't an April Fool. I really am posting a recipe with only 4 ingredients (plus salt and pepper, but surely they don't count?). The thing is, I don't often have time to spend an hour in the kitchen before lunch every day. You know when your alarm clock goes off, and the urge to press 'snooze' is just overwhelming, and you end up pressing it about twelve times in a row? Yeah, that's
So it appears I can't even make rice without adding cheese. Everyone okay with that? Yep? Great. Because it turns out, that's sometimes all it takes to change something everyday into something spectacular. A bowl of plain, dry pasta is rubbish, but add a smidgen of butter and a sprinkling of grated cheese, and bam! Best thing ever. A pile of lettuce is not tempting in the least, but ad
Here we go, here's a recipe that's a little more suited to the current weather (um, I guess it's true, us Brits really do talk about weather all the time). What could be better when it's bitterly cold and snowy outside than a steaming bowl of French onion soup? Actually, there is one thing better - French onion soup that's been made in the slow cooker with barely any effort. Win! Wh
As usual, Britain's ridiculous weather has totally ruined my plans. I was going to post this light recipe to celebrate the beginning of spring, but it's now been snowing for about 18 hours and doesn't show any signs of stopping yet. Will somebody please inform the weather that it's late March? Anyway, those of you who follow me on Facebook may have gathered that it was my birthday on Wedn
(Did you use Google Reader to follow blogs? Now that it's closing down, try Bloglovin instead. Follow my blog with Bloglovin here) Sunday is quickly becoming one of my favourite days of the week. I take it as a sign that I'm getting old - it used to annoy me that Sunday was the day that I had to do all my homework for the week, but now I'm pleased that I have a free day to get chores done. Sad
Today's post isn't so much a recipe as a generic framework for making one of my favourite puddings in any flavour you want. Bread and butter pudding is a dish my mum has made on a vaguely regular basis for years. It's especially perfect when you have guests - it can be prepared in advance (in fact it's better if prepared in advance) and then you can just stick it in the oven for half an hour or so
For me, eating salad is usually tinged with regret. Obviously it feels good to eat healthily, but there's always that slight resentment that everyone else in the staff room is munching on thick sandwiches or leftover pasta for lunch while I have a tub of limp lettuce. But not with this salad! I took a big tub of this to work and happily worked my through the whole lot without any jealousy of other
Recently I've started to see the occasional hint of spring in the air. It was sunny for about a day before the clouds returned. I've actually been outside without wearing gloves on one or two occasions! And although I've had a cold and zero voice for the last week, I'm just beginning to feel myself getting better. But before spring officially arrives in a couple of weeks, I thought I'd squee
You're going to have to trust me on this one. I know halloumi and pineapple might seem a bit odd, but I've been hooked on this combination ever since I discovered it. The salty halloumi pairs perfectly with the sweet pineapple - it's just like a posh version of those cheese and pineapple skewers you get at kids' parties. Try it, and tell me you don't agree. I often find a sandwich to
Have you seen that episode of Friends where Phoebe can't get the fire alarm to stop beeping at her? That was me the other night. Of course, just like Phoebe's, my alarm decided that 3am would be the perfect time to tell me that its battery was low, and rather than conserving the little energy it had left, it began beeping at me around every 60 seconds. Unfortunately the fire alarm is directly outs
I'm baaack! (What's that? You hadn't noticed I'd gone anywhere?). If you follow me on Facebook you'll know where I've been - I was off eating far too much ice cream in Rome for a week. And before that... well, honestly, I was just being lazy. But I'm back now, and even after spending a week in the country that invented pasta, I couldn't resist joining in with this month's Pasta Please, hosted by W
You know something must be good if you find yourself picking at all the crispy bits of sauce around the edge of the pan after you've finished eating, just to make it last a few seconds longer. This was goood. I've only had enchiladas in red sauce before (like the homemade red enchilada sauce recipe I posted a while back), but I've seen sour cream sauces around various blogs and recipe web
Where on earth do the hours go? I'd planned to write this post yesterday, but between watching 3 episodes of Dexter (the end of season 7, omg!) and reading half a book, I somehow didn't find the time. Hey, I'd been working hard all week! Saturday is a day for rest. Unfortunately, today has also been fairly restful, and before I know it, it will be Monday again and I will have achieved nothing al
So apparently there's some American sporting event going on this weekend? The Super... Plate? Heh, only joking, I know what the Super Bowl is (am I the only one who finds myself funny?). Although, I may have had to Google it to work out what sport it involved... not even joking. Anyway, apparently for Americans, the Super Bowl means finger food. What better opportunity to be completely narcissi
So - two goat's cheese posts in a row. It doesn't bother me whatsoever, how about you? I don't think anyone could complain about a dish this pretty... I have a bit of a soft spot for pastry, but obviously it's not the most healthy thing to eat on a regular basis. Enter filo pastry (or phyllo, or however you prefer to spell it) - far fewer calories and far less fat than puff p
Gah! This week has been pretty hectic, so apologies for my short absence. At various points throughout the week, I've found myself on my hands and knees with my arm wedged under the floorboards, standing on a stack of big speakers to paint the ceiling while white paint dripped into my hair, and standing in the middle of a room full of five year olds playing dress-up. TGIF. If you hadn
I thought we might get away with not having any snow this winter, but unfortunately I was wrong. We had about 10cm fall overnight, which may not sound a lot to those of you who live in countries that get proper snow, but in the UK, 10cm basically means everything stops. Schools are closed, trains and planes are cancelled, people work from home... I have every intention of not leaving the house at
It often seems to be the case that the most delicious recipes aren't particularly beautiful. Plus, if someone's put too much thought into how a dish looks, I wonder whether they put enough effort into actually making it taste good. So, I bring you my ugly-but-irresistible white bean pâté, with all sorts of Mediterranean flavours: lemon, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, basil and black olive
So, who's still on the bandwagon? I'm doing pretty well with my healthy eating - at least I haven't caved in and eaten an entire pizza yet. There's even a tub of ice cream in my freezer that has remained entirely untouched (although now that I've just remembered it's there I might have to go and stare at it for a while before putting it away again). I've not been depriving myself entirely of an
Please tell me I'm not the only one whose house looks like a bomb's just gone off? Over Christmas I acquired so much stuff, but unfortunately not a single item of furniture to store it all in. I only returned home from visiting my family on Monday, so my living room floor is still littered with new books (but my bookshelves are full), my kitchen counters are covered in new cooking equipm
Happy new year! This was the perfect dish for January 1st. In America, black eyed peas (or black eyed beans, as I would usually call them) are traditionally eaten at New Year to bring good luck. We don't have this tradition here in the UK, but since I can always do with a bit of extra luck (even just to stop me bruising my shins on the corners of my bed every other day), I decided to give it a go.
To those of you who celebrate: Did you all have a good Christmas? Mine has been great, and it's been lovely to have a week or so off to laze around and do absolutely nothing. Since I've been splitting my time between my parents' house and my boyfriend's parents' house, I've eaten twice as many enormous home-cooked meals as usual - which is a lot. No complaints from me though, since it's all been f
Are you sick of cookies yet? All I seem to be seeing on people's blogs lately are cookies. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy seeing the recipes, but I just don't have a sweet enough tooth to be particularly excited by them. I was offered a cupcake at a party last night, and when I declined the girl looked horrified and told me I was absolutely mad for turning down free cake. Aside from the fact that I d
So, Christmas is upon us, and I'm back at my parents' house for the week. It's so strange getting used to cooking in a different kitchen - it took me a while to remember where everything's kept. I nearly tried to slice a loaf of bread with a spoon. The biggest obstacle so far is that my parents eat entirely different types of foods to me, so things that I view as kitchen staples are nowhere to
After a busy week of Christmas parties, I've already eaten my fair share of canapés and drunk far too much mulled wine and it's not even Christmas week yet. Although I'm definitely still excited about Christmas, it's nice to have something unfestive for a change. There are only so many mince pies one person can eat before craving something different. (also I only just learned that mince pies ar
Holy productive day, Batman! I know today is meant to be the end of the world and all, but I've still done loads today. Well, loads compared to watching nineteen episodes of 90210 as I would have liked to do, anyway. I've done some laundry, taken my car for its MOT (which involved walking across town in sub-zero temperatures, so that was an achievement in itself), annnd I went swimming! This is to
Despite doing really well in school, I can generally be a little bit dim, and I have next to no common sense. However, occasionally an idea pops into my brain that is so genius, it makes me want to kiss myself. This was one of those ideas. Best sandwich in the world, coming atcha (anyone else remember Cleopatra? Gotta love horrible, horrible 90s pop). Next time I say I don't li
Rocket is one of the few green leafy things that I actually love. I really like spinach. I can tolerate lettuce. I love rocket. It's so peppery and full of flavour. Plus it's got a name like a spaceship, which is surely the best thing ever? (unless you're American and call it 'arugula', which is far less exciting) One way to turn awesomely-delicious-rocket into even-more-awesomely-deli
Risotto is one of my favourite things to cook - it involves a little bit of work, but not too much, and I enjoy watching the rice become more and more irresistible as it progresses. Plus, it doesn't hurt that it's nearly impossible to make a bad risotto. This particular dish was no exception - how can you possibly go wrong with caramelised carrots and onions, creamy arborio rice and little pockets
I'm a little obsessed with food. I spend a rather ridiculous proportion of my day thinking of what I could cook next for the blog, trying to think of interesting ideas and original flavour combinations. Whether or not I achieve this is another matter, but I definitely think about it a lot. However, sometimes I see a recipe that I know I'm not even going to attempt to put my own stamp on - somet
I love foods that are healthy-indulgent. A salad that's scattered with croutons and dressing. Roasted vegetables covered in melty cheese (see here). Or this soup, which is full of vegetables and cannellini beans, but also has a bit of tortellini to make it hearty and filling. I could live off foods like this - you can make out like you're being really healthy, and in reality these foods do contain
Pasta might not be the first dish that springs to mind at this time of year, but who says you can't combine it with autumn vegetables? Especially since today is Thanksgiving in the US (Happy Thanksgiving Americans!), so a lot of you will probably have a load of veg left over that you need to find a use for (hint hint, do this). I enjoyed my roasted brussels sprouts with goat's cheese, lemon and
Green vegetables seem to be everywhere at this time of year - sprouts, leeks, broccoli, cabbage... somehow they've managed to bully their way into the last few recipes I've posted. Considering I find green vegetables to be pretty uninspiring, I'm not too sure how this has happened. There's no denying that cabbage isn't quite as exciting as vibrant summer tomatoes and peppers. But, there are plenty
The best thing about the fact that people across the pond are celebrating Thanksgiving next week is that I can post all these recipes that I'm clearly preparing for Christmas, and just pretend that they're for Thanksgiving instead. That way I can start celebrating Christmas a few weeks early, which is never bad. So thank you, America! Reckon I can blame singing The Pogues' Fairytale of New York
I keep getting told off for talking about Christmas, even though everyone knows that November means Christmas. Apparently it's too early to be buying my pet rats Christmas presents? Or perhaps I shouldn't be buying my pets presents at all? What do you mean rats don't celebrate Christmas? Anyway, to avoid being told off any more, I'm putting Christmas on hold for a short while and just going bac
I originally called this recipe 'carrot and cheddar balls' but I just knew I wouldn't be able to get through a post with a straight face, so I changed it. I just about managed to get through writing 'medium-sized balls' in the recipe but that's all I can manage. 'Bites' sounds much more pleasant, yes? Anyway, that's quite enough of that. These delicious little bites would be great as canapés, o
It's my one year blog birthday! Blirthday? Bloggiversary? Whatever it's called, I'm really pleased that my little blog has made it this far. I feel like I've progressed in so many ways, most notably my photography. Here's the first photo that appeared on this site exactly one year ago: Mmm - attractive! I kind of feel bad for laughing at myself, but honestly... what was I thinking? I d
I've seen chickpea salads similar to this several times in various places, and they're usually referred to as a vegetarian version of tuna mayonnaise. I have absolutely no idea why, because if the smell of tinned tuna is anything to go by, this chickpea version is infinitely nicer. I often find sandwiches a bit boring - especially being a vegetarian, the choice is usually cheese or cheese (not tha
I know that if I'd made this into lots of diddy rolls instead of two big ones, they'd basically be veggie sausage rolls, but I decided to go for a slightly fancier name because this recipe deserves it. As you can see, I had mine with some steamed broccoli and crushed new potatoes, but you could go all out and have it with your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner; it would be a great veggie alternativ
You're going to hate me for this one. It's going to make you very, very fat. When I make cookies, only about half of the dough ever actually gets baked. The rest inexplicably jumps into my mouth straight from the bowl. In fact... I usually start picking at the dough when it's only at the 'sugar creamed with butter' stage (why is this so delicious? It's so wrong). Although eating raw cookie doug
