So today I received a beautiful package from http://www.inkwellprojects.com/
my gorgeous friend custom made me a collection of beautiful plates to display my goodies on! I was so excited I immediately decided I needed to go create something photo worthy.. Hope I did her proud.  Big big thank you ❤

So here’s what I went with :

Stuffed Butternut squash. It’s a bit of a classic.. everyone has thier own version I know. But this one’s mine.

Recipe :
1 Small Butternut
Oil of choice
1 Cup Quinoa
1 Red Pepper
1tbs chopped Ginger
1tbs chopped Garlic
1 Chilli (optional)
2 Spring Onions
I Lime zest and juice
1/2 Tsp Sesame oil (optional )
Handful of Mint
Salt

Preheat the oven to 400°.
Start by chopping the squash in half (be careful ) and giving it a drizzle of oil. I used Avacado. Give a sprinkle of salt and pop in the oven for 40min- 1hr.

Meanwhile Cook the Quinoa according to packet instructions. Chop the Pepper ,Garlic , Ginger, Chilli and Onions.

Once the Butternut is cooked through and the Quinoa is ready, heat some oil in a pan and add all your chopped bits and saute for a few minutes , being careful not to let the Garlic burn. Once they have the kitchen smelling yummy add the Quinoa to combine everything. At this point add your Lime juice and zest and Sesame oil if using.

Spoon as much of this as you want over the Butternut and top with your fresh (mint chopped or torn ).

I was in London a few weeks ago and had this amazing sticky sweet  Aubergine( eggplant to all my state side friends ). It was love at first bite. Ever since, I’ve been concocting ideas of how to replicate it. But as in my own style , I needed to add in a little heat. Tonight I played around with this and it worked . I imagine this on kebab sticks popped over a grill would work great too, add some charred goodness to the mix ! Will try that out soon.
The Carrot Salad I’ve been making for a while , but it’s a old favourite keeping it raw too always makes for a refreshing feast. I love my Spiralizer for adding texture to a dish. Granted I’m a litte obsessed with it at times but here it works specially with the Diakon, this Japanese radish is alot milder than the type of Radish I grew up with so it’s delicate heat works here. Garam Masala has to be one of the sexiest spice blends in the world I love adding it to salad dressing !

Recipe :
Sticky Harissa Aubergine :

1 Aubergine / Egg plant
2 tbs Maple Syrup
2 Tsp Harissa
1 Red Pepper
Soy sauce (or Tamari or Shoyu)
Oil of choice

To serve : Wraps , Red cabbage , sprinkle of Parsley

Carrot salad with Garam Masala :
1 Large carrot
1/2 large Diakon.
1 tbs Maple syrup
2 limes zest and juice
1 tbs Grape seed oil (or any flavorless one)
1/2 tsp Garam Masala

Peel the Aubergine and chop into a little bigger than a 1cm dice. Pop in a bowl with the Harissa and 1 tbs Maple syrup and about a tsp oil (I used avacado ). Mix everything in and let that sit and soak for a while. Give the Pepper a chop as you wait.

At this point I made the Salad too. I put the Carrot and Diakon through the spiralizer, but you can grate them too! Then made the dressing with the remaining ingredients and a sprinkle of salt. Toss that all together.

Now that the Aubergine is all soaked up (seriously it’s like a sponge ) heat some oil in a NON Stick pan. This has alot of sugar in and you need a non stick!  I used Avacado oil as I wanted this hot ** Once it was hot I threw in the Aubergine Pepper and a dash of Shoyu and gave everything a good stir fry for 4-5 minutes. Once it was tender and hot it was ready to go! At this point I took it out of the pan and did the final sticky end with the last tbs of Maple syrup. Sticky sweet and spicy.

I served this with Wraps Parsley  and a side of Red Cabbage.

** always be careful to use an oil with a high smoke point when cooking at high temperatures.

Ok. So this one was a little random I will admit. I’d been making Beetroot juice and decided that I wanted to use us the weird sawdust like stuff that comes back out if the juicer. My original plan had been Falafel. But I had some lovely Organic buns from my favourite Bakery, so decided Burgers were on tonight’s menu. And I’m pretty happy about that …

Recipe :
1 Carton Chickpeas drained
1 Handful Mint
1 Handful Parsley
1 Handful Corriander / Cilantro
1 1/2 Cups post juiced Beetroot (or finely grated should work too , maybe even a blitz in the processor ?)
3/4 cup Water
3tbs Ground Flax
Salt and Pepper
Tbs Oil  X2

To serve : Buns , Lettuce , and condiments of choice ( I used sweet chilli on the bun and a drizzle of Tahini ontop).

Start by putting the ground flax in the  water and let that sit. Then throw herbs and chickpeas in the processor , pulse till coarse but well chopped ( you should still have nice big flashes of green herbs in the crumbly chickpea .  Empty this into a large mixing bowl and add in your beet pulp. Give everything a light toss to mix. At this point pour in your flax egg , Salt , Pepper and oil , mix till incorporated.
Now squish your hands in, and lightly compress the mixture into burgers. You don’t want to crush them.

Heat your remaining oil in a non stick pan and place the burgers in when it’s hot , you want a nice crust on it to to ensure the burgers stay in tact. After the initial sizzle , drop the heat so the burgers cook through before burning , they don’t take very long 2-3 minutes per side !

Next step is to add these to you’re favorite bun , and all you’re own condiments. Enjoy !

Ok so we’re actually having cold weather in Florida. Excuse me. This isn’t what I signed up for ?? Haha. So after a chilly day and a cold evening setting in my go to is always something spicy. My theory is it’ll warm me up from the inside. Bit of blonde logic there for you.

After a quick stop off at my favourite farmers market , I couldn’t help but be inspired by all the colours !! There was everything. So I came home laden with goodies of all kinds. Fruit, vegetables , nuts , herbs. And set to work. Colourful and spicy. And so these little Cups came to life. And I was sooo happy with them. Though if the cups aren’t your thing, just have a try roasting some veggies with Piri Piri spices. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Piri Piri is a blend of Chillis, Salt , Sugar , Paprika , Garlic , Lemon , Onion , Cumin , Oregano and Thyme. So it really packs a punch flavour wise! It is hot so of you like your food on the cooler side just do a light sprinkle on the veggies !

Recipe :

1 Sweet Potato. (Mine were red with a yellow center )
1 Baby Butternut
1/2 cup Lentils (I used black ones )
1 Red Pepper
1 Yellow Pepper
A few Cabbage leaves (I used red , but for something a little more refreshing I imagine Romaine lettuce would be great too)
Piri Piri spice blend
Oil of choice ( I used Avacado)
Peas
Parsley
Limes (optional )

Start by heating the oven to 400°. Peel and chop the Butternut , chop the sweet potato. I did these in about 1cm cubes you don’t want them too big to fit a load in the cup. Chop the peppers in to larger chunks though as they will shrink a little and cook faster.  Once everything’s chopped , toss with the oil and a heaped tsp of the Piri Piri. Throw them on a baking sheet and pop in the oven for 30 mins to get nice and crispy.

While they’re happily roasting , put the lentils with plenty of water on to cook. They shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes. Once they’re cooked and tender , then add the frozen peas for a few minutes if using them. Drain everything together. Make sure you drain this well by the way !

Now comes the fun bit. Peeling the leaves off the cabbage… this takes a little love and patience. Something I’m not exactly accustomed to I must add haha! But after I’d torn the first few to shreds I seemed to get the hang of it ! Then I just rinsed the leaves and cut them in half down each side of the tough center stem  as mine were pretty huge !

Then it was time to fill them! I put a layer of the lentils and peas in first then topped with all the spicy veggies.
Sprinkled them with some Parsley and served with lime wedges !