Saturday 24 May 2014

Tasty, Healthy Mezze for a light lunch with friends or family

Tasty lunch for some of our closet friends

So, I had a lovely time on Saturday with some friends at home and some nice, tasty food. When cooking for a few people, I like to make a large selection of food that can be put in the middle of the table and then everybody can take what they like and leave what they don't! That way, you have a marvelous spread, a nice busy table and also some good interaction with people - even if it is just 'pass the salt'.
I stupidly didn't photo all the food I made, but I did do a little. Here are some of the recipes of the food that I did, nice and easy :) My favorite way!
I also did 2 whole chickens roasted with garlic, rosemary and lemon, my spicy sweet potato wedges, a big loaf of warm bread and a simple green salad. The sun had his hat on! What a lovely weekend :)

Char grilled Peppers and Courgettes

  • Simply slice up the courgettes lengthways - relatively thin.
  • Grill on a hot griddle pan until nice and tiger striped
  • Drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of salt
  • Do the same for the peppers- slice them in long strips and place on the hot griddle pan
  • Once nice and charred, drizzle over a little extra-virgin olive oil, a sprinkle of salt and some fennel seeds
Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
  • One of my fav things ever! place your tomatoes into a baking dish and drizzle over some balsamic glaze, salt, pepper, honey and mixed herbs
  • Bake in the oven at around 200 degrees for about 45mins to an hour - carefully stirring occasionally
  • Serve with an extra drizzle of balsamic glaze
Miso Baked Aubergines

  • Slice the aubergines into quarters lengthways
  • Brush over some miso glaze mixed with a little garlic infused oil
  • Bake in a hot oven for about 60 minutes
  • Serve with a sprinkle of chopped red chillies, crispy onions, salt, fresh chopped mint and parsley
  • Finish with a drizzle of the balsamic glaze
Caprese Salad

  • Super Easy! Slice the beef tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella and arrange on a plate in alternate colors
  • Sprinkle over some fresh basil leaves, extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper - Finito!! :)




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Sunday 18 May 2014

The ULTIMATE Steak

I LOVE STEAK. There... I said it! I just love it! I usually treat myself now and again - maybe a special occasion to a proper tasty steak.

Here's my recipe for my ULTIMATE steak. I advise that you marinade the meat for at least an hour if possible first...

Ingredients for the marinade
  • 2 tsp. hot sweet chilli sauce
  • 2 tsp teriyaki sauce
  • 1/2 tsp oyster sauce
  • salt and black pepper
  • drizzle of golden syrup
Method
  • Marinade the meat in all the above ingredients except the golden syrup
  • Get a griddle pan nice and hot and drop the steak on it.
  • Cook the steak to your liking - depending on the size and thickness. I usually like around 2-3 minutes on one side then around 4 mins on the other (sometimes less - I like mine really pink)
  • Before you turn the steak, drizzle it with the golden sryup, spread it around and then turn the steak over
  • It's important not to move the steak around when cooking and do not keep flipping it over as you will not get the 'charred lines' and also it will not be as juicy.
  • Once cooked, place on a plate and cover with foil to allow it to rest for a few minutes whilst you prep the rest of your plate.
  • I like to serve my steak with a green salad and fried green beans for some crunch. Then maybe some coleslaw and fried mushrooms... yum!



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Sunday 11 May 2014

Sunday Morning Breakfast - 'You snooze you loose hunni!'

So, it's Sunday morning and I'm up and getting ready for work. Hubby's still snoozing and all I can say is he's missing out! I decided to make myself one of my all time favorite brekkies - Poached Eggs and Spinach on Toast.
This was soo tasty :) - This isn't really a recipe but more of an assembly - but hey ho! Even better right? Super Easy!





Ingredients

2 x Eggs
1-2 Handfuls of Spinach
1 or 2 pieces of Granary Bread (or whichever bread you prefer)
1 tsp. Sweet Chilli Sauce
2 tsp. Mayo
Salt & Pepper

Method

  • Start by poaching your eggs by dropping them into a pan of swirling boiled water
  • Whilst these are cooking pop your toast in the toaster
  • Put the spinach into a bowl and cover with boiled water 
  • Cook your eggs to your liking - I usually like soft boiled (around 4mins)
  • Take your toast out and spread with the chilli sauce
  • Drain and 'dry' your spinach and arrange on top of the toast
  • Bring your eggs out of the pan and 'dry' with kitchen towel and place on top of spinach
  • Drizzle with some mayo or hollandaise (if you prefer)
  • Add a little salt and pepper
  • Enjoy with a glass of fresh juice 


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So Beautiful!

So how gorgeous is this tea?!?!? OMG! I love it!
This is called 'mountain dream' flowering tea - just thought I had to do a quick post on it.
I can honestly say that I find nothing more relaxing than sitting down on an evening with a nice cup of herbal tea, this is definitely one of my favs!




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Wednesday 7 May 2014

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cheesecake

So, it was hubby's birthday on Thursday last week so I decided to make him a cake. Not just any cake may I add, this hits you between the eyes and knocks you out! It's definitely not for the faint hearted either! This chocolate and peanut butter cheesecake is a recipe I have again stolen from my favourite lady of them all... Drum roll please... Nigella Lawson! It's rich, decadent and heavenly! I highly suggest you try it sometime, if you're concerned that you may not be able to finish it all, maybe adjust the recipe to make a smaller one, just make sure you change the timings to suit - its meant to be rich and silky with a little wobble ;)




Ingredients

for the base

  • 200 grams digestive biscuits
  • 50 grams salted peanuts
  • 100 grams dark chocolate chips
  • 50 grams soft unsalted butter

for the filling

  • 500 grams cream cheese
  • large eggs
  • large egg yolks
  • 200 grams caster sugar
  • 125 ml sour cream
  • 250 grams smooth peanut butter

for the topping

  • 250 ml sour cream
  • 100 grams milk chocolate chips
  • 30 grams soft light brown sugar

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas mark 3/325°F.
  2. Then process the biscuits, peanuts, dark chocolate chips and butter for the base in a food processor.
  3. Once it comes together in a clump, turn it out into a 23cm / 9inch springform tin and press into the bottom and up the sides to make the crunchy crust.
  4. Put in the fridge while you make the filling.
  5. Process the filling in the cleaned or wiped-out processor bowl, putting in the cream cheese, eggs and egg yolks, sugar, sour cream and peanut butter and whizzing to a smooth mixture.
  6. Pour and scrape the filling into the base in the chilled springform tin and cook for 1 hour, though check after 50 minutes. The top – only – should feel set and dry.
  7. Take the cheesecake out of the oven while you make the topping.
  8. Warm the sour cream and chocolate with the brown sugar gently in a small saucepan over a low heat, whisking to blend in the chocolate as it melts, and then take off the heat.
  9. Spoon and spread the topping very gently over the top of the cheesecake, being as careful as you can in case you break the surface of the cheesecake. (not that anything bad will happen; you’ll just have chocolate marbling the cake a bit.)
  10. Put it back in the oven for a final 10 minutes.
  11. Once out of the oven, let the cheesecake cool in its tin and then cover and put into the fridge overnight.
  12. When you are ready to eat the cheesecake, take it out of the fridge, just to take the chill off: this will make it easier to spring from the tin. don’t let it get too warm, though, as it will become a bit gooey and be hard to slice.
Additional information - for vegetarians make sure the cream cheese is a brand that doesn't contain rennet
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Friday 2 May 2014

Detox Waters

 

I love water. LOVE IT!! Ok, I know that sounds really 'Goody Two Shoes' but I do, I never really struggle to drink it and its pretty much all I drink all day (apart from one or two cups of herbal/green/white tea).
I do know however, that there are a few of you out there who find it a little more difficult to down your water in the day. Ideally you should get around 2 litres, but I'm sure you know that already.
For those of you that struggle, or even just for those who fancy something a little different in their water, why not try making detox water instead? It's so pretty looking mainly - that's why i love doing them so much I guess, but also pretty good for you. The recipe all depends on your own likes and dislikes so you make whatever you like the most.

Ingredients
  • 1 litre bottle of water or mason jar filled with water
  • handful of frozen berries of your choice
  • small bunch of mint leaves
  • couple of slices of lemon or lime
  • herbal tea bag/tea ball (optional)
Method
  • Simply add all the ingredients to the water bottle
  • If adding the herbal tea, only leave it for 5-7 minutes to infuse then remove it
  • Drink throughout the day - I personally don't eat the fruit as it goes a bit 'wilted' after a while, but you can top up your water to keep it going
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