As I stated in my last post, I’m not quite done with pumpkin yet. Today I’ve got this colourful double pumpkin goats cheese pizza for you; what makes it double pumpkin you ask? Well, not only did I top the pizza with chunks of roasted pumpkin, but much like the chocolate ginger pumpkin bread wreath that I posted last week, I made the pizza dough using pumpkin puree. This not only gives it a lovely orange colour, but is also a great way to pack in a bit of extra veg….
The weather suddenly got properly chilly and Autumnal, so much so that we have (reluctantly) had to switch on the heating. It is definitely the time of year for hot drinks, cosy jumpers and hearty soups. Although I do make soup year round, it becomes much more of a staple in the colder months, and I make at least one batch a week; it is so easy to make, healthy, filling and is just the thing to warm you up after a wet, chilly dog walk….
Spinach, ricotta and feta quiche – Crisp parmesan shortcrust pastry filled with spinach, ricotta and feta cheese; all the flavours of spanakopita in a tart.
One of the ingredients that I always make sure my freezer is stocked with is frozen spinach; I even prefer it to fresh spinach as the fresh stuff cooks down so much that you have to buy a vast quantity of it to end up with barely any once cooked. …
Continuing the theme of hearty, warming recipes, today I’ve got one of my favourite soup recipes for you – spiced yellow split pea and sweetcorn soup; it is really healthy, full of protein and vegetables, incredibly delicious, and because of the split peas it is also very filling. I make it regularly over the colder months when I am in need of a nutritious yet comforting and filling meal, and it’s bright, sunny yellow colour is sure to brighten up a gloomy day….
Warm quinoa, lentil, kale and feta salad with salmon and broccoli – an extremely high protein, nutritious, filling and delicious meal.
Barring some extremely boring vegetable broths I made when I tried following the 5:2 diet for a while (I lasted 5 weeks and only lost 2lb… and fast days were a nightmare, I have been banned from trying it again, apparently I am not very nice to be around when I’m starving, shocker.), this quinoa, lentil, kale and feta salad has to be the healthiest meal I have ever cooked. …
Harissa halloumi & roasted vegetable wraps – harissa marinated halloumi cheese, roasted vegetable and houmous flatbreads with spiced sweet potato wedges.
I’ve been trying to lay off the baking a bit for a while after overdosing on sweets over Christmas… On Christmas Eve I spent the entire day in the kitchen preparing four desserts, two for Christmas day and two for Boxing day! …
Vegetarian nut roast pie – an impressive mixed nut roast pie with vegetarian hot water crust pastry, perfect as a Christmas centerpiece.
Like fruitcake, nut roast is another very divisive and much-maligned food; oft-mocked and shunned by vegetarians in favour of something a little less clichè, it is rare nowadays to find it on a menu anywhere. Which is a shame as it is both incredibly nutritious and, if done well, extremely delicious. …
I have only recently discovered the joys of a slow cooker – the ability to just throw everything into a pot, abandon it and come back hours later to a delicious meal. Slow cookers aren’t just good for meat and stews though, you can cook a lot of things in there that you maybe wouldn’t think to; things like brownies, macaroni cheese, porridge, steamed puddings and cheesecake…….
Vegetarian cottage pie (or shepherds pie, either name works seeing as there is no meat in it to distinguish between them) is a meal that I make fairly regularly as it is so simple, hearty and healthy. Lentils make a great (and very healthy) replacement for meat in a lot of recipes, particularly in warming Winter ones such as stews and pies; and I always have a stash of several different varieties in the cupboard. Although I often cook with dried lentils, they can take a while to cook and some varieties need to be soaked overnight before you can cook them so I also keep tins of pre-cooked lentils for when I want to make something a little more low-effort. I used a tin of lentils in this cottage pie, they really help to bulk it out and make it far more filling than it would be if just made with veg….
Something a little different from me today; I have mentioned before on the blog that I am a boring breakfaster and generally just eat cereal or porridge; occasionally I make an effort to have something a bit more interesting, though what usually happens is that I will have my cereal for breakfast then have a second breakfast for lunch…This is mainly because I tend to wake up hungry and just want to EAT, I don’t want to have to cook first……
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