Banana Coffee

Ingredients

1 ripe banana, chopped
200 ml soya milk (preferably sweetened)
instant coffee

Instructions

1. Dissolve instant coffee granules in the warm soya milk - use the portion of coffee to your own taste, some prefer is stronger, others - weaker. I used 2 heaped teaspoons.

2. Place the coffee-milk mixture and a banana in a blender and whizz until smooth.

For a mocha effect, add a tablespoon of Nutella. Yummy!

Banana Cranberry Milkshake

Ingredients

1 banana
1 cup soya milk
50 g dried cranberries
mixed seeds, to serve (e.g.pumpkin, sesame, linseed)

Instructions

Place the banana, cranberries and milk in a blender and whizz until smooth. Serve with seeds sprinkled on top.

Very chocolatey Lime and Ginger Cookies

These cookies are not the healthiest, unfortunately. Oh well, a little bit of indulgence from time to time cannot be that bad ;) Actually, I made these as part of a birthday gift for someone, thank goodness, so it stopped me from eating too many of them... Hope he'll like them ;)

Ingredients

225 g dark chocolate, melted
4 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup plain flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated fresh root ginger
zest of 1 lime

Instructions

1. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler.

2. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

3. In a separate large bowl, beat the eggs with sugar and vanilla, add ginger and lime zest and mix again. Add the melted chocolate and mix well. Add the flour mixture. Stir well.

4. Spoon the mixture immediately on the lined baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven (175 C) for 15 minutes. Cookies should be shiny and have cracked surface, but soft inside. Cool on the wire rack.

Celery And Cashew Nut Soup

Actually, I don't really like celery. But I came across this recipe (in the book Homemade soups by Grace Mulligan & Dilwen Phillips) and it intrigued me. I couldn't quite imagine the taste of it and decided to go ahead and test it. And I have to say that the combination, unusual as it is, works well. Definitely worth trying. And it's such a great way of using up leftover celery ;)

Ingredients

25 g butter

1 onion, chopped finely

1 potato, peeled and diced

1/2 head of celery, chopped

80 g cashew nuts, chopped roughly

700 ml vegetable stock

15 g plain flour (I skipped it)

450 ml semi-skimmed milk

salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Gently melt the butter in a large lidded saucepan. Add the onion and potato and sweat for 5 minutes, covered, shaking the pan from time to time, until softened but not browned.

2. Stir in the chopped celery and cashew nuts and cook for a further 5 minutes.

3. Stir in the stock, bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Blend the flour with a little of the milk, stir in the remainder of the milk and pour into the soup, stirring until the soup has thickened. I actually skipped the flour and just added milk to make it lighter. It works fine, too. 

5. Adjust the seasoning if necessary and reheat gently.

Lemony Polenta Cake (Gluten-free)

Incredibly light and very lemony cake, perfect with a cup of tea. Quick and easy, too. Recipe from the book Gluten-free cooking by Lyndel Costain and Joanna Farrow

Ingredients

175 g unsalted butter, softened
250 g golden caster sugar
125 g ground almonds
2 eggs
finely grated rind and juice of 3 lemons
75 g polenta flour
50 g gluten-free plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons flaked almonds


Instructions

1. Grease and line a 15 cm spring-form tin with baking paper. Beat together the butter and 175 g of the sugar until pale and creamy. Mix in the almonds, eggs, and rind and juice of 1 lemon. Mix well.

2. Add the flours and baking powder, and stir in gently until combined. Turn into the tin, level the surface and sprinkle with the flaked almonds. Bake in the preheated oven, 180 C, for about 30 minutes until risen and just firm.

3. Meanwhile, put the remaining lemon rind and juice in a small pan with the remaining sugar and heat gently until the sugar dissolves. Spoon over the cake and serve.

Parsnip And Ginger Soup

Ingredients

20 g butter
750 g parsnips, sliced
2 large onions, roughly chopped
1 l chicken or vegetable stock
25 g fresh root ginger, grated
crème fraîche (to your liking)
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the parsnips and onions, and fry very gently for 10 minutes until softened but not browned.

2. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes until the parsnips are tender. Stir in the ginger. Blend the mixture  in a food processor or using hand blender until smooth.

3. Add the crème fraîche and heat through. Add a little seasoning if you like.

Recipe from the book Gluten-free cooking by Lyndel Costain and Joanna Farrow

Low-fat Carrot and Almond Loaf

Ingredients

100 g low-fat spread
100 g soft brown sugar
2 eggs
125 g wholemeal flour
40 plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground mixed spice (I used a mixture of cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and cloves)
2 tbsp low-fat yoghurt
140 g unsweetened apple sauce
75 g carrot, coarsely grated
60 g flaked almonds (or chopped ones)


Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C. Line a loaf tin with non-stick baking paper.

2. In a bowl, beat the spread and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, beating well.

3. In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Add the egg mixture and mix until well combined, then fold in the remaining ingredients.

4. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 40-50 minutes until springy to the touch. Cool on a wire rack.

Recipe from Healthy Food Guide, but modified a little bit.

Goat's Cheese Squash Salad

Ingredients

• 1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into julienne strips
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 big handfuls rocket
• 150 g soft, crumbly goat's cheese

For the vinaigrette

• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp honey
• small handful mint leaves, chopped

Instructions  

1. Heat oven to 200C. Slice the squash. Place on a large, greased baking tray and drizzle with 1 tbsp of the oil. Roast for 15-20 mins or until golden. 

2. While the squash is roasting, make the vinaigrette. Heat the remaining oil in a small pan. Add the garlic, keeping the heat low, and cook until golden. Remove from the heat and add the vinegar and honey. Return to the heat for 1 min, whisking until the vinaigrette becomes syrupy, then set aside.

3. To serve, arrange the rocket and cheese on 2 plates. Add mint to the vinaigrette. Divide the squash between the plates and drizzle with the vinaigrette.

*This salad was inspired by the recipe from BBC Good Food website, however, the original called for mozzarella, I used goat's cheese instead and works better for me :)

Pumpkin Houmous

Ingredients

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup tahini (sesame paste)

2 cloves garlic, minced

dash of sea salt and fresh ground pepper

2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

+ some plain water (optional) if the consistency is too thick

Instructions

Whizz all the ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add a little water if needed. Taste and add more sea salt and pepper to your taste.

Enjoy as a dip or sandwich spread.

 Inspired by recipe by Pure Ella