I have to admit. I was so thrilled with the flavors in this dish and thought I was so clever piling them away onto this Naan. Until it was time to eat it… there is no way to do this elegantly guys. Just give up. You only live once. If hummus on your eyebrows is the consequence of these actions, then so be it…

My love of Harissa is never ending. What a magical little concoction of spices it is. If you’ve read the rest of my blog (first of all thank you) but you’ll know it’s one my favorite things to add to just about everything, this recipe being no exception.

I feel like we are only just appreciating Cauliflower and all its glory, it’s having it’s moment to shine on the buzziest food scenes at the minute. And so it should. This humble little cruciferous has so many uses, its currently being turned into everything from pizza bases to curries to gnocchi and even being popped into smoothies (not going to lie that one took some convincing on my part) but it works and its magic. One of my favorite things about this little beauty is its ability to absorb flavour. And it’s ability to adapt to so many combinations of flavour ( check out my cauliflower steaks recipe also). I love it. Its affordable, its healthy and you can make it into practically anything. Do I really need to go on?

Anyway. This simple supper packs a punch flavour wise, but oh how it makes me happy.

Recipe : Makes 2 Naan.

1/2 Large Cauliflower cut into florets

1 Cup Diced Butternut (or any other veg really )

Oil of choice

1/2-1 Tsp Harissa (some like it hot)

Hummus

Naan

Optional toppings :

(but highly recommended)

Yogurt with rose water stirred through

Pomegranate Seeds

Parsley

Preheat oven to 375°

Toss Cauli and other veg with the oil and harissa and roast for 30-40 minutes.

Pop the Naan in to warm with them for the last few minutes.

Once Naan is cool enough to handle, spread with hummus and top with veggies.

Optional toppings :

I use Silk plain almond milk yogurt and stirred through 1/2 tsp rose water. This was magical. I adored it. But rose is one of those love / hate flavours… so be warned. Stay away if people hate it – from the people who hate it I mean, not the rose.

Pomegranate seeds and Parsley just add a beautiful fresh note and I highly recommend.

Enjoy!

Every one knows I love a good kitchen gadget. You know. Those things you use once then never touch again until you find them whilst looking for something else… and remember why you have it and how much you love it… ? Come on. Don’t pretend I’m the only one…

Well I recently refound this little beauty. To pop Quesadillas on the grill. I know, genius. Specially if you’re like me and have the coordination of a drunk trying to flip Quesadillas in a pan.

So the grill was on. And these little darlings were born. Very similar to a recipe in my book – mexican feast but happily grilled instead.

Now everyone knows of my love of all things Sweetpotato. And sweetpotatoes and salsa to me are a match made in heaven. Since we know it’s an unwritten law to have salsa with quesadillas, well. Here we are.

Perfectly simple. Perfectly satisfying. Perfectly easy. Can we have anymore conditions for the simple suppers series ? Other than me laying off the alliteration?

Recipe :

Makes about 4 full Quesadillas. How many you feel that serves is your call not mine.

2 Medium Sweetpotatoes

1 Large Red Bell Pepper

3/4 Cup sweetcorn (I thawed frozen)

3/4 Cup black beans

4 Tortilla

1 Cup grated Cheese of choice ( I used Aldi’s vegan cheese) but whatever you like.

Salsa of your choice to serve. ( You’ll be surprised to hear I also used Aldi’s organic)

Pop a medium saucepan of water on to boil while you peel and dice the sweet potatoes. Once they’re tender, about 20 mins or so, drain and mash with a good pinch of salt and a little olive oil, (so you can spread the potatoes easily but not make them liquid). Leave to cool slightly. Whilst you slice the pepper, then prep the sweetcorn and beans.

At this point I popped the grill onto a medium flame and let it start heating.

At this point I started assembling. Spraying a little oil onto the mesh of my new toy to prevent sticking, as I found it easier to lay the tortilla out onto the mesh and then fill.

Building with Sweetpotato first and then topping happily with everything else. Carefully sandwiching everything together and carefully popping onto the grill and turning every couple of minutes until golden and crispy. Then repeating for the others. Falling happily in love with my little grilling tool all over again ❤

If you want to serve them all together, I recommend popping them into a low oven to keep warm while you work. These really are best warm and crispy.

So who said you can’t have Nachos for dinner? I certainly didn’t. Infact. I’m not one huge advocate for them. It may have happened several times now and the only thing that that makes me is happy.

This is the easiest thing you will ever even blink at. And it’s delicious. And most people are happy when they see nachos. Most people. If your friends arent one those – I advise you find new friends if I’m honest.

I cheat here massively. I use my favourite salsa. Everyone has one… and I just add some fresh goodies to it.

I’ve played with a few vegan cheeses here but if you have a cheese preference by all means – go for it. No one’s judging here.

Recipe for 2 of the portions shown above – once again eaily multiplied.

Recipe:

1 Red pepper

1 Husk Corn or 1/2 cup ish frozen corn

2 Tbs Black beans (optional)

1/2 Jar of Salsa

Splash of oil of choice

1 Portion of Tortilla chips

Sprinkling of cheese of your choice

2 Spring onions

Dice pepper and cut corn from husk.

Heat a small frying pan, and saute veggies in oil till softened. Add black beans if using and then stir in salsa.

Warm through. And remove from heat.

Meanwhile add the tortilla chips to an oven safe dish sprinkle with cheese and pop under a low broiler or oven until cheese has melted. Keep a close eye in this, they’ll burn fast.

Top with the warm salsa or serve on the side. With a good sprinkle of spring onions on top too!

So I was really excited to find brown rice ramen noodles on clearance the day I made this. They did not disappoint! Not the easiest to source but you can grab them online, if not just use your favourite noodles 🙂 This is one of the fastest meals I’ve ever prepared and it hits the spot whenever I make it again. It’s perfect for those cold wintery nights when you just need it hot, fast and filling. 10 minutes start to finish with this gorgeous little cheat. And I love the way it smells. I know that’s probably not information you need. But as we have established. That’s the kind of person I am….

I feel there’s some versatility to this recipe aswell as the stirfry one earlier. You can swap up the veggies to what you have on hand easily. I’ve chucked broccoli and bean sprouts in this recently and they worked perfectly too !

I made this just for me. But the recipe would be easy to multiply.

Serves 1

1 Portabello mushroom sliced

3 Spring onions chopped

1 tbs of sliced fresh ginger

2 cloves of garlic diced

1 star annise (optional)

1 stock cube – I use “no beef” but mushroom stock would be great here too.

Splash of soy sauce / Shoyu

1 Portion Ramen

Handful of veggies I usually stick with something green – broccoli -snow peas -sugar snaps- mangetout- bean sprouts- edamame.

Bring 2-3 cups of water to the boil in a medium saucepan. Add stock cube, garlic and ginger and star annise if using and a good splash of shoyu.

Chop the spring onions. Add 2/3s to the water and let simmer. Slice mushrooms and add to the pan bring back to a boil.

Once everything is starting to soften, add your nest of ramen noodles and cook as long as your chosen noodles instructions say. Chop the rest of the veggies that you’re using and add to the pan too. Bring back up to temperature and once the noodles are cooked, you’re ready to serve.

Decant all veggies noodles to a bowl and add as much or as little stock as you like. Remove and discard the star annise. Top with the rest of the spring onions.

This to me is just happiness in a bowl.

Enjoy !!

You know lately finding the time for the things I love has been a little difficult. Travel.Work. Illness. Holidays. One after the next. And I’ve been throwing whatever I can into a pan, wok, soup or oven, on an evening to make something easy. Sometimes quick and easy. But no matter what I still want to enjoy my food and respect my body. So over the last few months I have accidentally created a small handful of “go-to” meals. For those nights when sustenance needs as little effort as possible, here are some of my suggestions. I hope you enjoy them like I do, take a look at these simple suppers.

Recipe 1 : Black Bean stirfry.

So confession. This recipe was half inched from my bestie. When I travelled to Australia last year, after a day of three flights. My darling girl made something similar to this for me after collecting me from the airport. I was starving and after the first few mouthfuls I slowed down to realise just how much I was enjoying it.I have been obsessed with it ever since. Kate served it with rice noodles and I highly recommend this option as it just seems to make it, it feels a little more exotic and well everyone loves noodles what else do I need to say? I’ve swapped out the veggies a few times and there hasnt been a combination that hasn’t worked so far with this super simple dressing and really quick easy dish. If these arent the veggies you have, just aim for a 3-4 cups of mixed veggies of choice. It sounds like alot of garlic and ginger but it works I promise.

I love black beans in stirfrys just to add a little protein, but edamame would be great here too, or tofu if that’s your thing!

Massive thank you to Kate and Alex 🙂

Serves 2

1 cup chopped Broccoli

1 Red Pepper diced

1 small Courgette(zucchini) (or a cup of aubergine/eggplant)

1/2 Punnet of mushrooms.

1/2 cup Cooked Blackbeans (I use tins)

1 Thumb size piece of fresh ginger diced finely

3 cloves of garlic

Splash of oil of choice. I use avocado.

1-2 tsp Sesame oil

1-2 Tbs Soy sauce /shoyu

Use this as a guide to taste. I’ve found certain veggies need a stronger amount of one or the other.

To serve : rice or noodles

Optional toppings- Sesame seeds or Spring Onions.

Depending on rice or noodles, prep according to packet instructions, you may need to start rice in advance but noodles can cook along side quite quickly.

Prep all veggies, and heat a wok on medium high with a splash of oil in. Once hot, add garlic and ginger cook for a few seconds in the oil and then all veggies to the wok. Let them sear a little and then keep it moving. That’s the beauty of a wok. A high temperature and a quick cooking time. Once veggies are softened and nearly cooked, (it won’t take too long) add sesame oil and soy/shoyu and keep on the move for a little longer. Finally adding in the black beans to warm through.

Dish up along side the rice or noodles. And top with spring onions or sesame seeds if you’re using them !

By now everyone is aware of my obsession with all things colourful at the farmers market. And this recipe is no different. I love the varieties of veggies in the summer. And the stalls all look so pretty stacked with corn and courgette and peppers in colours galore. I really wanted a recipe to bring all of these colours and flavours together. . And this one finally just fit. And I have to confess I’ve made it a fair few times since just tweaking here and there. But this is it and it just makes me happy. Besides there’s just something so satisfying about huge bowls full of veggies. Fresh is always best 💛

“If it grows together it goes together” is a saying that always sticks with me and this recipe is no exception. It’s a bowl full of summer.

I have to admit watching these all sizzle together was oddly satisfying.

Recipe:

3 Corn on the Cob ( cut from the cob)

1 Bell pepper – I used Red

1/2 Courgette (zucchini)

1 Plum Tomatoe

1 Cup New Potatoes

1/2 a Leek

Olive oil

2 Cloves Garlic

1 Tsp tomato paste

5/6 Cups Veggie stock

1/2 cup Almond milk

1tsp Corn flour /corn starch

Optional topping : Parsley or Coriander.

Cut corn from the cob (carefully) and dice all veggies and garlic. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat and add a splash of olive oil. Pop the veggies and garlic into the pan and let them cook a little while until they have a little colour on them.

Then carefully add the stock and tomato paste. Bring everything up to a simmer and partially cover. Let simmer gently for 30 minutes, occasionally stirring to make sure nothing is sticking. Add more stock if needed if it gets a little thick.

Once all veggies are soft remove a cup of the veggies and stock and pop into a blender, with the almond milk and the corn starch. Blend together to a smooth consistency, then pour this back into the pan. This is to thicken the soup slightly, to make it feel a little creamier.

Once everything is mixed back in well and the chowder has thickened slightly, you are ready to serve 💛

Top with fresh herbs too of you’re using them!

Mam and best friend approved, we hope you like this recipe as much as we did 💛