Summer Sunshine Smoothies

Hello summer, hello sun, hello smoothies.

Now, I know what you're all thinking... holidays are approaching and bikini (/ tankini / trunk / whatever your jazz) season is looming. Well, I have a solution for you and your summer snacking. Actually, it's my guest blogger Hannah who's in the know.

They are all nutrition packed and rather guilt-free... we're talking natural, low-fat, low-everything. But fear not, they're also refreshing, sweet with honey, sharp with berries, very pretty to look at and most of all, budget friendly.

We tried to think of snazzy names and failed dismally...

GUILT FREE PEANUT BUTTER AND BANANA SMOOTHIE

•     ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
•      2 frozen bananas
•   2 heaped tbsp smooth peanut butter
•   a good squirt of runny honey
•   2 handfuls of spinach

 
The key to these smoothies is to have to hand a bit more of each ingredient just in case you want to adjust the smoothie to taste. 

      Cut up all your ingredients and place them in your blender... and blitz! I am not from a smoothie orientated family so we used a food processor rather than a blender and I actually really liked the speckled results! The frozen banana gives the smoothie a slightly thicker consistency and makes it all the more cool and refreshing. 

This smoothie is dairy-free, gluten free, packs a punch in the nutty department (you can't taste the spinach) but is also rammed with fibre, is nutrient dense and best of all, is filling. Ideal for curbing those cravings for something sweet.

TUTTI FRUTTI

• 1 frozen banana
• a handful of frozen strawberries
• a handful of frozen raspberries
• ½ cup water
• 1 kiwi

This recipe is super easy and affordable - especially thanks to Sainsbury's ready-packaged 'smoothie frozen fruit' bag.  You just tip the strawberries and banana in the blender, add some raspberries, some water and a kiwi and you're set! If you find it a little sharp, add a little honey.

We decorated it with freeze-dried strawberry... pretty but definitely not necessary!

GET RID OF THE BLUES BLUEBERRY SMOOTHIE

• a handful frozen blueberries
• 1 frozen banana
• ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
• a good squirt of honey
• a heaped tbsp Greek yogurt

   

     

     This smoothie was an all-round winner which is ideal because blueberries are a superfood. The Greek yogurt thickens the smoothie which is definitely necessary due to blueberries high water content but by buying 0% yog your fat content is very low. 

Hannah has informed me that other nutritious additions include a sprinkling of protein powder for all you bulkers, oats, chia seeds and also flaxseed. Obviously, this didn't occur today as I am taking baby steps towards health. (Ideally, I would have replaced the water/almond milk/nonfat yog with spoonfuls and ladlefuls of ice-cream)... But they were delicious, vibrant and ideal for a hot summer's day!

      Btw these are snacks not meal replacements kids. Be wise.

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My Crispy Golden Roast Chicken

You are probably thinking, "Goddamn. It was so pleasant having Bella and her darned food blog off my newsfeed and now she's bloody back". Well guys, exams are over, my body has been sufficiently deprived of all and any nutrients and I'm back on the cooking bandwagon. Last night I roasted a chicken. One of the simplest pleasures in life.

Start off by pre-heating your oven to around 190c.

Pull away the skin from the chicken meat and then pat it dry with a paper towel. This is ideal for crispy, golden skin.

Get your butter and place little knobs of it under the skin on the breasts and thighs. Then push down on the skin to try and smoosh it out. As you can see below... my smooshing did not come to much...

Pierce holes in the meat with a knife and shove in little sprigs of rosemary.

Then get a garlic clove and chop into thin slices (about 2mm thick) and shove in the little pockets with the rosemary.

Sprinkle generously with salt.

Take apart the rest of the head of garlic and place the cloves in your baking tray. Place the chicken above the cloves.

Lightly squeeze half a lemon into the chicken and place it inside.

Shove in the oven for around 1h30 and let the comforting smell of roasting butter and meat fill the house.

When the chicken has finished roasting, you have to let it sit for about 10 minutes. I used this time to make a really simple gravy. Tilt the roasting pan to the side and the clear fat and dark brown juices should separate. Siphon off the fat with a spoon. To the juices add a tablespoon and a half of plain flour, a generous sprinkling of salt and two mugs worth of water. I also like to add red wine to give the gravy depth. Cook this for about 10 minutes on a medium heat (don't let it boil!) and add more flour or water depending on how thick you would like it.

I served this with my favourite salad ever (pancetta, avocado, blue cheese & tomato), roast veg and potatoes and some bread for gravy dipping!

SERVES 4

Ingredients:

Chicken

• 1 chicken
• 30g butter
• 1 lemon
• 1 head of garlic
• A sprig of rosemary
• Salt, a sprinkling

Gravy

• 1.5 tbsp plain flour
• 3/4 glass red wine
• 2 mugs of water
• Salt, a sprinkling

May Ballin'

Dear friends, I wish you the best of luck with your revision... I have not yet found the courage to start but am (hopefully) concluding my procrastination with a blog post.

This weekend I hosted a nibbles predrinks for some pals prior to attending our May Ball.

The weather was grey and drizzly but the bubbles were flowing, Rihanna was singing in the background and my friends dug into the canapés...

* disclaimer: Rihanna was not actually present.

I thought I'd give you a little insight into my menu...

And how I made most of it! But not all of it... unless I have requests for the very tricky things I left out (i.e. Cheese on toast: slice cheese, add to sliced bread, grill)

 I was serving about 40 hungry (and beautiful) mouths...

Lamb Koftas

• 1,200g lamb mince
• 40g fresh mint, chopped
• 6 garlic gloves, crushed
• 2 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 tbsp ground garam masala 
• 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
• A few pinches of salt

Really simple! Combine ingredients in a mixing bowl, roll into small meatballs and cook on a medium-high heat, in a non-stick pan for 8 minutes, turning regularly. 

You don't need to add oil cause lamb mince is pretttty fatty, you may even have to drain some off! 

Bruscetta

• 8 mini baguettes (or 4 large)
• 2 heads of garlic
• extra virgin olive oil

• 500g mozzarella
• 175g parma ham
• 100g milano salami
• Basil, to garnish

• A knob of butter
• 1 red onion
• 700g mushrooms, finely diced
• 150ml white wine
• 300ml double cream
• a pinch of salt
• a grating of parmesan

Preheat oven to 180c, slice baguettes on a diagonal to about 1.5cm wide and shove in the oven until they are crispy on the outside but not brittle (about 4-5 minutes). While the bread is in the oven, peel a head of garlic cloves (this may not even be enough). When they are ready, drizzle the warm breads with a little olive oil, and rub each one with a garlic clove. 

For the creamy mushroom topping (so delicious it hurts), chop up an onion very finely, add it to a pan with a knob of butter and cook until the onions are translucent and soft. Wash your mushrooms and dice them up quite finely. Add them to the onion and cook on a low heat for about 10 minutes. Drain off any water that has left the mushrooms. Add two cloves of crushed garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Add the 150ml of white wine and cook for 2 minutes. Add the 300ml of double cream and a pinch of salt and cook for 6 minutes. The lower and slower you cook this, the richer and more indulgent the creamy sauce will be! 

Don't top your bruscettas until you are about to serve or they will go soggy and mushy. Yuck.

When you are ready, cut the mozzarella into slices, add to half the breads, on top of them add a slice of salami or some parma ham and top with a small basil leaf.

For the mushroom bruscetta, spoon the mixture onto the breads and grate over some parmesan! 

These went down a treat!!

Cocktail Sausages

• 1,200g cocktail sausages
• 180g mustard
• 340g honey

I must say, you probably don't need that much mustard and honey but I wanted to give mine a good coating and a half, so I went all out.

Preheat the oven to 200c, combine the mustard and honey in your baking dish, add the sausages and shove in the oven to caramelise for about 12-15 minutes. I served with some cocktail sticks and ketchup to the side.

Sweet Potato Wedges

• 1.25kg Sweet Potato
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp paprika
• 2 tbsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• a generous pinch of salt

Pre-heat your oven to 200c, scrub and wash your sweet potatoes (no need to peel them), cut them until into small wedges (I cut mine in half length ways and then into three). In your roasting pan combine the oil, spices and salt, add the wedges and give em a good mix to coat them in the oil. You'll want to roast them for about 35 minutes. I gave mine a thorough shaking half way through, when they were just starting to soften up - to make the edges more floury and to get a crispier outside! 

Mini Meringues with Indulgent Cream and Berries

• 32 mini meringues
• 300ml cream
• 5 tbsp icing sugar
• 300g summer berries 

These are heavenly and oh so simple to make. Whisk your double cream and icing sugar, until it becomes thick but still soft like Mr Whippy ice-cream. Add more sugar to taste (I always add more... and more.... and more and more). Add your berries and stir them through. I used frozen but thawed berries because they are way cheaper and also because they leave a gorgeous trail of pink and purple through the cream. Spoon this mixture onto your little meringues. 

(You can also do this with normal sized meringues for a dinner party and serve one up to each person!!!!)

My dreams of drunken munchies on return to the house were shattered by the revelation that EVERYTHING had been consumed. Except for some, by then, stale original pringles and pitta breads... Not ideal. But I'm hoping that's a sign that people had a great time. I know I did. 

Many thanks to my gorgeous flatmate for letting this happen...

** for those of you who have been asking, my dress was from Nasty Gal. They've sold out now but definitely have a peek - it's like a cheaper, sexier Urban Outfitters! 

Where's the Sun Gone Salad

What on earth has happened to the weather?! My superfood salad was like a sundance welcoming the spring but now it's just grey and wet and I have been forced to revert to the winter comforts of warm roasted veg and salty pancetta with my goats cheese.

The ingredients list seems pretty long but you'll most likely already have many of the staples so for me it came in at a not too shabby £6.72 (for 3 people)!

1. First things first, preheat your oven to 180c
2. Now cut your butternut squash in half and scrape out the seeds

3. Cut it into wedges and add to a roasting tin
4. Add the cloves from a head of garlic and a few sprigs of rosemary
5. Coat it all with oil, followed by a sprinkling of herbs (I used thyme and nutmeg) and salt

Make sure to really coat everything in the oil - especially the garlic as it easily burns... much like a scot

The squash takes 50 minutes, the peppers 30 minutes and the tomatoes 15, so...

6. 20 minutes into your butternut squash cooking, add your pepper to the roasting tin
7. 15 minutes later, add your tomatoes

8. Whilst those are roasting away, chop up an onion to get long slices
9. Fry in pan with some oil, balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar and a few pinches of salt until caramelised

10. Put your pancetta in a dry frying pan and cook on a medium heat until it looks something like this

11. While these are frying, get on with your vinaigrette (see point 7 of this link for instructions)

Time to layer up your salad!

Caramelised onions, pancetta, vinaigrette...

 ... and your peppers, butternut squash, garlic, crumbled goats cheese and tomatoes to finish!

This salad is laden in feel-good food but it's all pretty nutritious. It's jam-packed full of antioxidants from the salad, butternut squash, onions, peppers and tomatoes. It's high in fibre and it's gluten free. An added bonus is that both butternut squash and goat's cheese are lower in calories than their potato/cow's milk alternatives.

And then... well... the pancetta, everything in moderation right?!

SERVES 3 (...or 2 gluttons)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 bag of watercress, spinach & rocket salad

Roasting

• 1/2 butternut squash
• 1 red pepper
• 1 vine of tomatoes
• 1 head of garlic
• 3 sprigs of rosemary 
• a sprinkling of some herbs (I used thyme and nutmeg)
• 3 glugs of olive oil
• a pinch of salt

Caramelised onions

• 1 red onion
• 1 glug of olive oil
• 2 big pinches of sugar
• 3 glugs of balsamic vinegar
• 2 glugs of red wine vinegar  

The rest

• 130g pancetta

• 100g soft goat's cheese    

Vinaigrette

• 1 teaspoon french mustard
• 1/3 lemon, juice
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Banoffee heaven

The mention of banoffee pie gets my heart all a-flutter: the crunchy biscuit base, the thick layer of oozy toffee, the sweet bananas and the refreshing topping of whipped cream with a sprinkling of chocolate shavings. The combination is so perfect it hurts.

Until now I'd never made it myself, it seemed like a bit of a daunting dessert - no-one told me that it's actually a piece of cake. Because it's not. LOL. 

But oh me, oh my, it really is super easy and completely delicious. If you see me wandering town in my former glory (carrying one or two extra pounds...) you can put it down to my newfound dedication to the simplicity of the no-bake, shove things in a cup heavenly adventure that you are about to embark upon.

I'm not sure this photo really gets across how elegant and scrumptious these banoffees were - I am yet to grasp any photo-taking skillz but JUST LOOK AT THAT GLORIOUS TOFFEE/CREAM.

Not only is it super simple but banoffee pie for 6 comes in at just £4.12... ideal.

So first the biscuit base - put all your biscuits in a food-processor: you can only hope yours is as trendy and advanced as mine...

 And blitz.
Look at them go (#artsy)...

If you are lacking in the food-processor department perhaps try a handheld soup blender or if all else fails, shove in a plastic freezer bag and bash away with a rolling pin

Melt your butter in the microwave, pour in the blitzed biscuit, and mix together

Add the biscuit base to whatever you're serving your dessert in (I chose wine glasses cause I'm fancy) and press down lightly to firm up your base a little

Then add the Carnation caramel onto the base (always have to forget to take photos of one of the stages don't I...)

Next slice your bananas

 And add them on top of the caramel

(I know I said I was fancy using wine glasses but it turns out I only had two, so swiftly moved onto tumblers)

Little cutie banana slices

Then whip up your cream (we used a handheld blender to avoid any unnecessary exercise)

And add to your little pots of heaven

 Last but most definitely not least - shave on your chocolate sprinkles

 Scrumptious, easy & cheap. The ideal dessert.

SERVES 6

INGREDIENTS

• 80g unsalted butter
• 200g plain digestive biscuits
• 400g Carnation caramel
• 2 large bananas
• 300ml whipping cream
• a little milk chocolate

A Superfood Salad (aka the Second Best Salad Ever)

This wasn't supposed to be a blog post.
This was just another salad thrown together.
But booooy was it tasty... I can't keep it to myself.

As a result - I don't have photos of the stages, just the finished product and that was hard enough to get because it was wolfed down in about 2 minutes.

1. Boil your kettle
2. Peel a garlic clove
3. Rinse quinoa
4. Crush garlic into pan, add boiling water and then quinoa (cook for 15 mins)
5. Chop a red onion (watch this for expert tips but miss the last step so that your onion slices are long and thin)
6. Put the onion in a frying pan on medium heat with a good glug of olive oil, a sprinkling of sugar, a few dashes of red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar, and some rosemary if you have it

(I just grabbed some on my way in..... helloooo my darling rosemary bush)

While that's cooking away you can get on with your vinaigrette and veg prep.

7. For a really simple vinaigrette, put a generous teaspoon of french mustard in a mug, add the juice of a third of a lemon, about 3 tablespoons of olive oil, a sprinkle of salt and mustard and whisk together with your teaspoon. Taste and add whatever you think is missing!

I put my salad leaves on a chopping board to make it more exciting and built it all up from there

8. Lettuce, baby leaves, rocket... whatever takes your fancy
9. Then layer on the garlicy quinoa, the caramelised onions, a chopped avocado, some pomegranate seeds (spot the heart shaped seed!!), the goats cheese
14. And finally, drizzle over your vinaigrette and some balsamic glaze

Serve with pitta breads, some beetroot and plenty of water :)

SERVES 2-3

Ingredients

Quinoa

• 1 garlic clove
• 3/4 cup quinoa
• 1.5 cup water 

(we used an actual cup..... I like to call it guestimating but the rule is ratio 1:2 - quinoa:water)

Caramelised onions

• 1 red onion
• 1 glug of olive oil
• 2 big pinches of sugar
• 3 glugs of balsamic vinegar
• 2 glugs of red wine vinegar  

Vinaigrette

• 1 teaspoon french mustard
• 1/3 lemon, juice
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Ensalada

• 1 romaine lettuce, 1 bag of babyleaf & rocket
• 1 avocado
• 1 pomegranate
• 100g soft goat's cheese

There are so many layers of taste and texture - the crunch of the lettuce & the creamy goat's cheese, the sweetness of the onions & the sharpness of the pomegranate seeds. SO BLOODY GOOD.


for Jess & Coral