Lavender and white chocolate yoghurt

I have been dreaming about this for the last week or 2 and finally get to eat it.

This is the first time I've ever made it and the first time I've ever eaten lavender.

It is a strong flavour so try not to chew the lavender, simply let it's beautiful flavour be tasted.

Method

Melt 120 grams of white chocolate in a double boiler (I used a metal bowl on top of a saucepan of boiling water on high).

Remove from heat, wait a minute or so until the chocolate cools a little but does not harden.

Add 150 grams of low fat natural yoghurt.

Add lavender stripped from 2 sprigs of lavender.

Stir with a whisk to avoid lumps.

Spoon into a jar and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Top with more lavender for a pretty display.

Serve and enjoy.

Disclosure - warning, you might die due to amazing indulgence that is white chocolate but every mouthful is completely worth it.

Salmon pasta bake

Hands up who hates Tuna? That would be a big yes from me so I've decide to make a salmon pasta bake instead of the more popular tuna pasta bake.

Method

Cook pasta (1 cup per person), boil on high until soft but firm.

I used tinned salmon for this (but you can grill some salmon if you like).

In an oiled baking pan, place the drained pasta, the salmon from 1 tin, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 2 teaspoons of salt and then stir.

Top off with 1 tablespoon of paprika.

Cook in the grill on high for 15-20 minutes  

Brown rice bean patties

Brown rice bean patties

This is a great vegetarian option. My dad's a vegetarian and I remember how my parents would make great vegetable patties so hopefully this recipe will measure up to theirs. 

Cook 2 cups of brown rice.

Heat a tin of mixed beans (red). Put the heated beans in a tall container and mix with a hand held electric mixer until pureéd.

Mix the brown rice with the bean puree, add 1 teaspoon of salt, 4 teaspoons of paprika and mix with with a spoon. 

Cover the palms of your hands with olive oil, take a large ball of mixture (smaller than a tennis ball size but larger than a golf ball size), place on an oiled sheet of baking paper and press flat until it is approximately 1.5cm thick. 

Repeat process until all patties have been made (makes roughly 7 patties).

Put under the grill on high for 15 minutes.

Serve with whole egg mayonnaise, red peppers (capsicum) and lime wedges.

Whole egg mayonnaise

Whole egg mayonnaise

Crack 1 egg with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of salt and mix in a tall container with a handheld mixer for 5 seconds.

Take 1 cup of olive oil and 1 teaspoon at a time, mix this in (either stop and start or drizzle the oil slowly). This will thicken by the time the entire cup of olive oil is in the jar. 

The flavour is a little bit stronger than store-bought mayonnaise because of the olive oil so you can use whatever oil you like (but olive oil is one of the healthiest option to have).

Grilled chicken with orange and cinnamon reduction

Grilled chicken -

Put 2 chicken breasts on the grill coated in olive oil and a sprinkle of salt for 20 minutes on high.

Orange and cinnamon reduction -

Peel an orange and bring to the boil with the juice from 1 orange, 6 teaspoons of sugar and 1 cinnamon stick. Once brought to the boil, lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes and then take off the heat.

Slice the grilled chicken and serve on top of pasta with the orange and cinnamon sauce.

   

Iced coffee with cinnamon

Summer is here and it's time to cool down. 

Iced coffee with cinnamon

Method - use either 1 heaped teaspoon of instant coffee or in this case, plunger coffee.

I used Illy branded coffee in my cafetiere (glass plunger jug thing...oh how technical of me) and added 2 spoons of sugar. I poured enough hot water to make one cup.

Meanwhile as that was brewing, I got a handfull of crushed ice and popped it in a jar.

Crushed ice - 

Either use an ice crushing machine or put ice cubes in a plastic bag, wrap it in a tea towel and then use any pent up aggression to whack it against a hard surface such a solid tiles (that's what I did).

Once the ice was popped into the jar, I poured the coffee in followed by the milk and then topped it off with some cinnamon (you know I love my cinnamon...and jars too).

Paprika salad dressing

This recipe can be used to make homemade mayonnaise too. Basically, I just used less olive oil in this as opposed to the amount required for mayonnaise.

Method - 

Crack one egg, add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and a pinch of salt in a tall container.

Use an electric hand-held blender to blend for 5 seconds.

Next, take 1 cup of olive oil and slowly add only 1 or 2 teaspoons at a time and blend with the mixer until all of the olive oil is in the container. In total, it should take about 2 minutes or so. Add 3 teaspoons of paprika and then blend until it is completely mixed in. Make sure your kitchen is not too hot otherwise the eggs will separate.

Done.

Poached apple with toffee lattice

This recipe involves a little bit more technique than some of my other recipes but it's only the toffee that it gets a little sticky (sorry, I couldn't help myself with the pun).

Method -

Poached apples
Bring sugar (4 teaspoons), 1 peeled and sliced granny smith apple, lemon and lime juice (3 tablespoons) to the boil and keep on high for one minute. Simmer on a lower heat until the apples are soft (another 2 minutes or so).

Burnt toffee lattice
You want it to slightly burn to compliment the sweetness of the cinnamon sauce and the acidity of the lemon and lime in the poached apples.

Put the sugar straight into a dry saucepan and stir until the sugar melts. Be careful to not let any sugar stick to the side of the pan as it will crystallise and ruin the toffee. Remove from the heat immediately (otherwise it will burn too quickly). Use a knife or fork to drizzle the toffee into a lattice on the baking paper.

Cinnamon sauce
Bring lemon juice (half a lemon), 4 teaspoons of sugar and 4 teaspoon of cinnamon to the boil then lower heat and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly.

Eggplant (aubergine) parmigiana with feta

This is so unbelievably simple to make it's as ridiculous.

First, lightly fry some thick slices of eggplant (aubergine), remove from heat.

Next, transfer the eggplant to the grill tray and put chopped capsicum (peppers) on top and then some slices of feta. Put under the grill on high for a few minutes or until golden brown.

Done.

Toasted muesli with dried pineapple and dates

I must admit that I am jar hoarder but that is simply so I can create some tasty treats that just seem to look better in a jar (plus a few jars for candle holders and flower vases etc).

The recipe below feels like more of a winter breakfast but here in the UK, although it's summer and we've been getting some amazingly warm and bright days, today it feels more like winter with the grey clouds hanging above.

Method -

Toasted museli; pop enough rolled oats per serving (half a cup) in pan without oil for a few minutes and continuously stir - either that or put in the grill or oven until slight brown.

While that's going on, soak the dried pineapple and dates in some hot water until they become soft.

In another pan, heat 4 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar with a 2 teaspoons of sugar or honey and heat until sugar is dissolved.

Layer the oats, then the dried fruit and a dab of powdered cinnamon then another layer of oats and another layer of dried fruit and more cinnamon. Pour the apple cider vinegar on top and allow it to trickle to the bottom (use a spoon to push oats away from side of jar).

Scoop a little natural yoghurt on top, some more dried pineapple and finish with some more cinnamon.

Parma ham, sun dried tomatoes and feta on toast

Ok, so I didn't make the bread but the toppings are what I got creative with.

First I drizzled some olive oil on the toast then topped each piece with some parma ham, feta cheese, baby spinach and some sundried tomato.