Chocolate Coffee Muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups buckwheat flour
• 2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
• 1 tablespoon ground coffee
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon 
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 125 g butter, melted
• 200 g dark chocolate, finely chopped
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Mix flour, coffee, sugar, salt, cinnamon and baking powder in a bowl.

2. In another bowl, combine cooled butter with milk and egg.

3. Combine dry and wet ingredients. Add chocolate chunks.

4. Spoon the mixture into small muffin cases in a muffin tray. Place the tray in a pre-heated oven at 190ºC and bake for about 20 minutes.

Courgette & feta soup

Yet another summer recipe. Courgettes are in season, so they will be on my menu a lot for the next couple of weeks. They are so versatile - can be steamed, boiled, grilled, roasted, stuffed, used in salads and so on. Today, I am presenting a soup with feta cheese and dill - one of  my favourite herbs. Bon apetit! 

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

500 g courgettes, chopped

1 large potato, peeled and chopped

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

700 ml vegetable stock

80 g feta cheese

salt and freshly ground black pepper

chopped fresh dill, to garnish

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large lidded  saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and sweat, covered, shaking the pan from time to time, until softened but not browned.

2. Add the courgette and potato and cook for about 10 minutes.

3. Add the parsley and stock. Bring to the boil and cook for 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are softened.

4. Set aside and leave to cool for a few minutes. Blend until smooth. Add the feta and stir until melted. You might want to blend it a bit more if the feta doesn't melt. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Serve scattered with dill.

This is a modified version of a original recipe which comes from the book Homemade Soups by Grace Mulligan & Dilwen Phillips

Sweet Potato & Kale Salad

There has been a "super food" hype about kale recently and I've decided to explore the subject. It turns out that it is an excellent source of antioxidant vitamins A, C, and K and helps lower blood cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease, amongst many other health benefits. However, there are a couple of controversial things about kale, also. For example, it  contains a compound that can suppress thyroid function in certain people. It is still healthy, this is not to discourage from including it in your diet, but as with everything else it's probably best not to go overboard with kale and to simply integrate it into an overall healthful diet full of other fruits and vegetables.

Ingredients

• 4 sweet potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup walnuts, roughly chopped
• 3 cups kale, torn into 1-inch pieces
• ⅛ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 tablespoons honey
• ¾ cup finely sliced green onions
• ¼ cup chopped fresh coriander
• ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Add the chopped sweet potatoes to a large baking pan and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt and toss to coat. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer. Bake for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender and soft.
2. Meanwhile, place a medium skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the walnuts. Cook, stirring occasionally, until light brown and toasted (about 4 minutes). Place the walnuts in a small bowl and set aside. Wipe out the skillet and add ½ tablespoon olive oil. Add the kale and cook until wilted and soft (just a few minutes). Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, h and remaining honey, ½ tablespoon olive oil.
4. When the potatoes are done cooking, add them to a large bowl. Add in the walnuts, kale, green onions, coriander and Parmesan cheese. Add the lime juice mixture to the bowl and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or at room temperature.
   
   The recipe, with modifications, comes from a blog Cookie Monster Cooking.

Carrot & Ginger Soup

Recipe from the book Homemade soups by Grace Mulligan & Dilwen Phillips

Ingredients

500 g carrots, peeled and sliced
600 ml vegetable stock
a knob of fresh root ginger, sliced
40 g butter
2 onions, chopped
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
2 tablespoons orange juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper
* optional 60 ml whipping cream, to serve

Instructions

1. Place the carrots, stock and fresh ginger in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Discard the ginger.

2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large lidded saucepan. Add the onions and sweat, covered, shaking the pan from time to time, until softened but not browned.

3. Stir in the ground ginger and orange zest and then add the cooked carrots and their cooking stock. Cover the pan, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Remove the soup from the heat and leave to cool briefly. Blend until smooth. Add the orange juice, adjust the seasoning if necessary and then reheat gently. Serve garnished with a spoonful of whipped cream (optionally).

Spinach Soup

Welcome back after a long break! It's summer already and it's time for some light, fresh recipes. So here it is, a spinach soup, full of green goodness. Mild in flavour, perfect as a starter to a substantial main course.

Ingredients

25g butter
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large potato, diced
300g spinach
600 ml vegetable stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp creamy natural yoghurt
* croutons to serve

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and sweat until softened but not browned. 

2. Add the potatoes. Cover and allow to sweat for a few minutes, shaking the pan from time to time.

3. Add spinach and allow to wilt, stirring well from time to time. Once the spinach is wilted, add stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Remove the soup from the heat and leave to cool a little. Blend until smooth. Stir in the cream, adjust the seasoning if necessary and reheat gently. 

5. Serve garnished with croutons (sun-dried tomato flavored ones work really well).