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Super Smoothie: The Goji Beetroot Blast

Charlie Richards, John Lewis Smoothies

Recently, I was invited along to the Waitrose Test Kitchen to create my ultimate super smoothie recipe for the John Lewis website. Images courtesy of Charlie Richards. Smoothie styling by Cynthia Blackett. Recipe by Ren for John Lewis. 

Charlie Richards, John Lewis Smoothies

Move over clean eating, the new kid on the block is wellbeing. This is good news, because it means we can move away from ruling things out, and instead, focus on the good stuff that we can put in to keep ourselves nourished, well and happy.

I was very excited to be invited along to the Waitrose Test Kitchen by the John Lewis team – cue shelves packed with colour-coded cookbooks, and a workspace filled to the brim with fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds and a selection of alternative milks plus an array of mixers and blenders for us to try out.

Here are some smoothie-making tips:

  • Add a small amount of liquid to your chosen blender first to help everything blend well and add more at the end to get the consistency you require.
  • Fruit smoothies can be sweetened with fresh or frozen berries and a squeeze of honey – keep small bags of pre-prepared fruit and veg in the freezer ready to whiz up into instantly in a high-powered blender.
  • Creamy smoothies, such as smoothies blended with banana, go well with dates, honey and almond, coconut or oat milk.
  • One of my favourite smoothie secret ingredients is half  an avocado, peeled and stoned which lends extra silkiness plus a boost of good fats. You’ll never know it’s in there.
  • Sprinkle in nuts, seeds and powders, such as spiriluna or stir in a little nut butter for an extra protein boost. If adding chia seeds, flax or spirulina – do so carefully and sparingly. A little goes a long way.
  • Experiment with adding organic, natural yoghurt or kefir for better digestion and gut health.
  • Add a variety of fruits/vegetables or greens and try and vary the textures. Dried fruit, such as goji berries, work too and add a great boost.
  • A cube or two of ice can help to keep your smoothie fresh and cool.
  • Experiment with nutritional extras such as a little bit of grated fresh ginger, mint, spinach, unsweetened cocoa powder, a pinch of cinnamon or ground turmeric powder – depending on your base ingredients. Check out our varied super charged smoothies here for more ideas.

So, our challenge was to get creative and to blend our own recipe inspired by the freshness in front of us – our signature smoothie perhaps – which was then be beautifully styled by Cynthia Blackett and professionally shot by by Charlie Richards.

And ta-dah – here is my recipe creation for John Lewis, full of goodness – beetroot, avocado, goji berries, raspberries, strawberries, a dash of almond milk and a squeeze of lime.

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Ren's Goji Beetroot Blast 

Yield 1 smoothie

A super-charged smoothie, featured by John Lewis.com 

Ingredients

20 raspberries (frozen, ideally)

10-12 Waitrose LOVE life dried goji berries

5 strawberries

1 small cooked beetroot (not in vinegar)

1/2 avocado, peeled, stone removed

A squeeze of fresh lime

125ml almond milk (or more depending on thickness)

1 ice cube

Instructions

Place all the ingredients into a high-powered blender. Blend until smooth, adding a dash more almond milk if required.

With thanks to John Lewis for the invitation to this smoothie and #MyWellBeing event. I received a fee for taking part.

5 Recipes To Feed a Crowd

Whether you’re hosting family and friends at the weekend and wondering what on earth to cook, or maybe you want to get ahead with some batch cooking, here’s a collection of some of my favourite crowd-pleasing recipes that easily scale up to satisfy a hungry mob.

Busy family life can often seem relentless, so it’s very useful to have simple and nourishing meals like these up your sleeve that you can prepare well in advance. One-pot dishes give you that much-needed time to just catch your breath when you’re feeling overwhelmed.

1. Almost Spring Lamb Hotpot

Lamb Hotpot

This warming seasonal British one-pot wonder is something you can easily make ahead. Crispy golden slices of potato give way to tender Spring lamb and vegetables in this comforting classic. Bring the dish to the middle of the table and let everyone get stuck in.

Grab the recipe

2. Easy Stove Top Chicken Casserole

Classic Chicken Casserole

Warm everyone up after a long family walk with my super easy chicken casserole that you don’t even have to put in the oven. It’s bustling with flavour using a tasty combination of juicy chicken thighs, salty pancetta and earthy mushrooms. I’ve included baby new potatoes in the recipe so you’ve got everything you need all in one dish so there’s no faffing about making any side dishes – hurrah!

Grab the recipe

3. Slow Cooked Beef Brisket with Celeriac Mash and Wild Mushrooms

Beef Brisket Celeriac Mash

Fill your home with delicious aromas by slow cooking beef brisket in a lovely rich beef stock with vegetables and herbs – but be warned, your lunch guests will be storming the kitchen to find out what’s on the menu! Serve it up with creamy celeriac mash and wild mushrooms for a fabulous alternative to a traditional Sunday roast.

Grab the recipe

4. The Ultimate Effortless Pulled Pork

The-Ultimate-Pulled-Pork

 

Pulled Pork is one of the ultimate crowd pleasing meals, especially when you serve it up in soft brioche buns with the juices poured over the top with heaps of salad. Helen from Fuss Free Flavours has a fantastic recipe over on her blog. She creates a tasty spice rub and brines the meat for 24-36 hours before popping it in a slow cooker for 12 hours. You’re actually only spending about 20 minutes hands-on time, so as long as you schedule the brining and slow cooking in advance, this recipe frees you up to do other things. When you’re expecting a houseful of guests that’s VERY useful!

Grab the recipe

5. Veggie Curry with Mango & Coconut

veggie-curry-with-mango-and-coconut

 

This quick and easy family-friendly curry from Katie Bryson over at Feeding Boys is brilliant if you’ve got a group of vegetarians to feed. It’s creamy, mild and packed with vegetables, so it’s great for introducing little ones to curry without blowing their heads off! It freezes beautifully, so it’s also perfect for batch cooking and freezing up in portions for super swift weeknight meals or filling the freezer of someone who’s just had a baby or recovering from illness.

Grab the recipe

What are YOUR favourite recipes for feeding a crowd? Let me know in the comments below!

The Secrets to Successful Food Blogging

This is the first post in a new series from Bloom by Ren – which I’ll be adding to a bank of resources for food bloggers.  

I wanted to kick things off with a post full of really great tips. Thank you to all my food blogging friends for their words of wisdom below. 

Do you have a great idea for a food blog you’ve always wanted to write, but just don’t know where to begin? Well stop dreaming and get started, as I’ve teamed up with my food blogging friends to bring you the best advice to get things moving. I wish I’d had the benefit of this kind of wisdom when I was starting out!

I’m part of a very supportive and inspiring community of food bloggers, who between us have a huge amount of experience, so here are some tips from myself as well as some of the most successful and long-standing bloggers in the UK.

1. Your blog is your brand

Ren
Ren Behan

Think of your blog as an extension of yourself – your voice needs to come through strongly from the outset, sharing your food philosophies and ideally, showcasing the kind of food you like to eat – rather than trying to emulate something else or someone else or a style of eating that isn’t sustainable. In many ways, your blog is your brand, even if you’re not ready to think of it that way – your blog is a platform created by you, showcasing what you chose to feature.

Although you need to have some idea of what you’d like to write about, I have always believed that you shouldn’t be afraid of tweaking or even of changing direction if what you are writing about no longer seems relevant. Don’t overcomplicate or procrastinate – make a start and try and write as regularly as you can, but write about what comes most naturally to you. What you don’t want to do is to jump about so much that you send out a confusing message of what your blog is about.

To grow an audience and to keep people coming back, try and work out, if you can;

  • Who your readers are
  • Why they read your blog
  • How you can continually help them when they visit your blog

If you can do that, and keep refining your skills, you will start to see an increase in engagement and readership.

These days, successful blogs are all about the community around them. Successful bloggers aren’t just blogging for themselves, they blog for their readers and in response to what their readers are looking for.

[bctt tweet=”These days, successful blogs are all about the community around them.” username=”@renbehan”]

As your blog grows and develops, you’re aiming to relax into a friendly writing style – imagine your reader as a friend stopping in for a coffee and a chat. Tell them about what you’ve been doing, let them in a little bit. This does not mean sharing every single detail of your private life, but rather, letting your readers know that you are real, that you’re there, that you’re reading and listening to their comments and that you’d like to connect.

2. Choose a name with longevity

Kavita
Kavey Eats

When it comes to naming your blog, stop and think about whether the name you are choosing will restrict you going forward or whether it’s one you can grow with, because for most bloggers, the nature of what they write about does change over time, even if they remain in the same broad sector. I spent all of 30 seconds thinking of Kavey Eats, and for the first several years, it worked well for me. Now that I publish a fairly equal amount of food and travel, I wish I had a name that wasn’t so squarely tied to food, but feel it’s best to stick with it. Think too about how long it is, whether it’s easy for readers to remember, and check whether there are already blogs in your niche with the same or similar names, so you can avoid confusion or claims of plagiarism.

3. Go for a simple design

Ceri Jones
Natural Kitchen Adventures

When it comes to designing your blog and logo, simplicity goes a long way. You don’t need to work with an expensive designer, if you are just starting out, but do take some time to think about what works best on all the blogs you like reading (plain white background for example). Have a play with free software like Canva to create a simple logo using your blog name, and choose one of the smart, well designed templates that you can adjust yourself. I would also suggest you use a similar colour scheme, style and vibe across all your photography, it will help to bring consistency to the look of your site. I think it’s easier now with the wealth of resources than it was, say six years ago when I started!

Check out: these beautiful themes by Feast Design Co. *

4. Have a clear niche

Katie Bryson
Feeding Boys
@cookingkt

Don’t just follow the herd. Have a clear niche that individualises your recipes and content from everyone else and try and stick to it as much as possible. Be the go-to person for that style of food, and you’ll soon grow a loyal following of people who trust what you’ve got to share. To write a successful food blog you need to have an infectious passion and enthusiasm for your niche, that not only drives you to create compelling content week in, week out, but also helps you stand out in a very crowded market. Don’t just copy what other people are doing, make your own mark and don’t be afraid to develop your own voice and visual style. Of course we all learn from each other, but don’t try to be all things to all people.

5. Get your social media organised

Helen Goldrein
Friends Family Food

Get all your social media organised and make sure you can get the same username for everything and that it’s the same as your blog name. Even if you don’t use all the channels to begin with, it’s better to get the account so that no one else gets ‘your’ name. I didn’t do this and now my twitter handle bears no relation to my blog but it’s too late to change.

6. Choose WordPress

Kevin Chambers-Paston
The Crafty Larder 

Go with WordPress. Self hosted. From the beginning. Blogger may seem easier but it’ll hurt you in the long run.

7. Join the community

Laura
How to Cook Good Food

I do think that good name, blog design and photography that is attractive from the start will get you noticed in this ever increasing world of blogging. Also, definitely be committed to making friends and meeting other bloggers as it can be lonely!

If you don’t know how to join food groups, try commenting on a few blogs, or following some of your favourites on social media and ask them whether there are any food blogging groups or circles that you can join in with.

8. Stand out from the crowd

Sus Davy
Rough Measures

Make sure you have a USP! The market for blogs is so saturated you need something to stand out. In my case it was my boat which now doesn’t work as we don’t live on it anymore.

9. Value your content

Helen Best Shaw
Fuss Free Flavours

Think about whether you can add more value to your posts by offering more than a simple review in return for product. For instance, from the outset, practice saying that you offer paid recipe development work and set out a rate – even if it is modest at the start. It’s true that everyone has to start somewhere (and that most of us do start by reviewing products for free), but if you have been blogging for a length of time, have established an audience or a following, then it is fair to charge a reasonable amount for your time if you are creating a post initiated by a brand. If you do wish to include product reviews as part of what you offer your readers, try and offer short, editorial style reviews, perhaps in a round up post and always disclose to your readers when you have been sent a product for free or when you have received payment for producing a post.

10. Just do it!

Jane Sarchet
The Hedgecombers

You’ll never know if you’re going to love it until you start, so stop talking and start doing.

So what now?

As Jane says, just take that leap and get stuck in! You can really over-think things like this and never get going out of fear of doing it wrong. But actually it’s pretty liberating once you publish those first few blog posts and start finding your voice.

Further resources:

Here are some great blog posts to read if you want even more advice

http://www.lovelyappetite.com/how-to-start-a-food-blog/ (UK perspective)

http://pinchofyum.com/resources/how-to-start-a-food-blog (US perspective)

I have always used the Genesis Framework and these themes from Feast Design Co. for my self-hosted wordpress blog*

*Affiliate theme link included

Pin for Later

Successful Food Blogging

 

Grow Your Own Food – Sow and Grow with innocent – Getting Started

I’m working with innocent as a Sow & Grow UK Ambassador from February to April 2017. Follow the tag #sowandgrowUK for updates #sp

This week, the children have been on half term and since we’re always keen to take on a new challenge, we were delighted to be asked to take part in the Sow and Grow project with innocent. Together with the not-for-profit organisation Grow It Yourself (GIY), innocent and GIY have joined forces to encourage kids to grow their own food and in turn make healthier choices. As big fans of innocent smoothies, we knew that the Sow and Grow project would be great fun and just as half term began, we were delighted to receive a colourful package full of cups, seeds and soil to help us get going.  

 

After 14 months of building work at home with diggers pretty much flattening our garden, and with hints of spring on the way, we are super keen to start thinking about our outdoor space again. Peering outside into the feeling-very-sorry-for-itself-garden, the children had already recently asked whether we could create a small space to start growing our own fruit and veg.  Great idea – I thought to myself, but where do we begin?

I’ll be the first to admit that although I’m a dab hand in the kitchen, green-fingered I am not. In fact, other than collecting the odd windfall apple and growing a couple of pots of herbs on the kitchen windowsill, I’ve never had much success growing anything food related at home.

We’re super lucky to have a twice-weekly fresh food market in St Albans and we have a bi-monthly farmers’ market, so although the children are very familiar with trips to the market to pick up fresh fruit and veg, they haven’t really had much experience of growing their own produce at home. However, with three children aged 10, 7 and 2.5 we technically have three pairs of willing hands, so perhaps it’s time to start potting.

Getting outside, learning about nature and growing vegetables at home or in the classroom have been cited as the top ways for children to learn about eating healthily. Recent research has also identified that even the smallest food growing experiences can change the way kids think about healthy food.  This is more than enough to convince me that having a go at growing our own is most definitely a worthwhile activity.

In a recent survey, innocent found that 89% of those over 50 remember their parents and grandparents growing fruit or veg when they were younger. The top five vegetables that the over 50’s remember their parents or grandparents growing are potatoes, carrots, runner beans, tomatoes and lettuce.

When I think of my own grandmother, I can remember that she grew lots of vegetables in her garden, such as runner beans, peas, lettuce, cabbage, potatoes, beetroot, chives and dill. She also kept chickens and so I remember the best dippy eggs, lots of soups and the freshest salads. Growing vegetables also fostered a strong sense of community because my grandmother used to swap produce and share seeds with her friends and neighbours. If she had too much of something, she’d simply swap it out or give it away and if she wanted to try growing something new, she’d have a chat with someone who was already growing it. She didn’t have an allotment, but she did make the most of the small space that she had and I remember it being ordered and neat and in the sunshine, the aromas of fresh garden herbs really shone through. In our own garden at home, we had an apple tree, a pear tree, a Victoria plum tree and a blackcurrant bush and so I often remember baking fruity bakes and crumbles with my mum incorporating as much of our garden produce as possible. Supermarket shops were always supplementary to what we could already grow ourselves and the summer gluts made for a winter full of preserves.

In the innocent survey, 92% of the over 50’s believed that people were healthier 50 years ago when more people grew their own – and this is a fact that I have to agree with. Our parents and grandparents simply weren’t exposed to so much processed or packaged food, there was less waste and I can’t help but wonder whether our modern issues of fussy eating have been caused, in part, by our lack of connection with the food they eat.

How to Start Growing Your Own

The key to growing your own at home, particularly when you’re a beginner, is to start with something simple.

  • Runner beans, cress and carrot seeds are the fastest-growing seeds so that children (and nervous adults!) can see results almost straight away, so that’s what we’re going to be starting with at home.
  • You don’t need a big garden or a plot or at this stage, even a raised bed. You can even start with sowing seeds in cups to watch and see how they grow.
  • For more tips check out the Innocent Sow and Grow tips page here

Innocent - Sow and Grow

innocent are keen to encourage as many primary school aged children as possible to start growing their own vegetables. As part of this campaign, schools can sign up to get their very own growing kit (just like ours) full of seeds, information packs, stickers, cups and lesson plans to help teachers incorporate healthy eating into their lessons with everything they need to get involved. Grow-it-Yourself will be sending out 6,666 packs to schools which will reach ¼ of the UK’s primary school children.

You can ask your school to take a look here to sign up for more information.

The children were very keen to get started and I’m very much hoping that once we’re feeling a bit more confident, that we’ll progress to creating a small space in our garden to begin growing some vegetables outdoors.  We love courgettes, and I am told they are easy to grow too so they’ll be next and perhaps then we’ll move onto growing some of the vegetables and herbs that that my grandmother grew.

Home Update from my 7 year-old:  

“When we got the box, we got the cups out, soil, water and the seeds that we were going to plant. I looked at the packets and I saw three things that we were going to grow. They were cress, baby carrots and runner beans. First, we wrote our names on the cups and wrote what kind of seeds were going to go into each cup – even my little brother joined in! Mummy read the instructions and we put some soil into each cup. Next, we sprinkled some cress seeds into some of the cups and watered them. Then we carefully put 15 really tiny baby carrot seeds into some soil in some of the other cups and watered the seeds. Lastly, we opened the runner bean packet and we were surprised to see that they looked much bigger and they were purple. We put one runner bean into each cup that was left then we had to push it down with our fingers into the soil and added some more soil and then watered the runner bean cups. Then we put all the cups into a big wooden box and put the box near a big window. We checked on them and watered them for a few days. After two days, we could see little bits of green in the cress cups. The next day the cress had grown even bigger! We watered them a little bit each day. It is now day four and we are still waiting for the carrots and runner beans to grow. At the weekend we are going to visit my grandma’s house so we are going to pack the cups into a box and take them with us!”    

Innocent - Sow and Grow
Our cups – on the move during half term!

I’d love for you to follow my progress at home with the children and as an ambassador of this campaign I’ll be posting about our progress regularly both here and across all my social media channels.

Look out for the hashtag #sowandgrowUK

Instagram @renbehan

Twitter @renbehan

Facebook.com/renbehanfood

#ad I have been compensated for writing this post. All opinions are my own.

5 Nourishing Cold-Weather Recipes

First of all a belated Happy New Year to you all! I’m currently working on a super-positive, goal inspired post to kickstart 2017, but in the meantime here are five nourishing cold-weather recipes that I love making in the month of January and beyond, to get you in the self-care/happy family mindset…

I’m not really a fan of depriving myself at this time of year, let’s face it January’s hard enough already! Instead I think it’s far healthier to be kind to your body and mind by feeding yourself nourishing food. To me, nourishing your body this isn’t about clean eating, but can sometimes mean upping the comfort levels while perhaps adding in some extra good stuff.

We have our first snow of the season here in St Albans so I’m planning on hibernating and keeping warm.

Skinny Carbonara Ren Behan

1. Spaghetti Carbonara

This delicious take on a traditional comfort food classic from Jamie Oliver’s latest title Everyday Super Food replaces the creamy sauce with a yogurt and pea combination. So you still get the comfort but in a much lighter, and in my view much tastier way. The swap-in of wholewheat spaghetti is a quick-win nutritionally and my kids didn’t even notice when I tried it out on them (own photo of Jamie’s recipe)

Grab the recipe

2. One Pot Cypriot Lamb

This is a warming family recipe and a real crowd pleaser at this rather chilly time of year. You can use lamb or chicken, and if you have any fresh tomatoes throw those in with some home grown mint too. Sometimes I add a creamy, British goats cheese to this instead of feta.

When it comes to home cooking, I think the emphasis should be on using the best quality produce possible. If you are going to eat meat, make sure you buy the best you can, ideally from a local butcher so you can trace the source.

Grab the recipe

Photograph copyright Tenderstem

3. Polish Gnocchi with Tenderstem ® Broccoli

This is proper Polish comfort food with a healthy twist using British Tenderstem ®. The Polish version of gnocchi is called ‘kopytka’ – meaning ‘little hooves’ which I’ve brightened up by adding tiny pieces of Tenderstem ® to the dough itself,  and then served them with more healthy Tenderstem ®, shallots and Polish ham. It’s a really easy recipe to bring together and a fantastic way to use up any leftover mashed potato.

Expect lots more of this kind of food from me, especially with my modern Polish cookery book coming out this September – stay tuned for more info!

Grab the recipe

ClearSpring Gluten Free Noodles

4. Clearspring Gluten Free Brown Rice Noodles with Spinach & Tomato

This is a really simple recipe using only five ingredients, that’s perfect for those times when you really need a re-set but still want the comfort of a steaming bowl of pasta.

The fresh and tasty combination of fresh tomatoes, garlic and spinach will lift your spirits and feel oh-so-nourishing.

Grab the recipe

Courgette or Zucchini Boats

5. Zucchini Boats with Bolognese Sauce

I really enjoyed following a Paleo diet last January. Dialing down on processed foods and carbs while eating plenty of lean and organic protein, fresh seasonal veg and lots of fruit was a pretty simple way to feel healthier and lose a few pounds. When I’m in this kind of mood these loaded courgette boats are my absolute go-to recipe – they make such a tasty alternative to pasta. I sprinkled the bolognese with toasted hazelnuts instead of grated cheese which is such a delicious topper.

Grab the recipe

 


What recipes do you turn to when you want to feel nourished? Are you making any healthy changes to your diet this year? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

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Five Ways with Christmas Leftovers

Here we are in that no-man’s land between Christmas and New Year when our fridges tend to be stuffed with a hotchpotch of leftovers in pots and bowls. From shredded turkey to the remnants of the cheese board, there’s always something that gets lost at the back!

I’m keen not to waste any of these morsels as they can so easily be transformed into another tasty meal. I don’t know about you but there’s something very satisfying about creating something from nothing. Plus when it seems like there’s always a family member or neighbour popping by, it’s handy to have something to rustle up at the last minute. I actually love leftover meals, as when I was growing up my mum would use every last thing up in her kitchen, usually in a soup or a stew.

So, if you can’t quite face another turkey sandwich or cheese and crackers buffet tea, here are five simple ideas to create a bit of magic with all those random leftovers:

1. Turkey Stronganoff With Soured Cream

Turkey Stroganoff - Turkey leftovers recipe on Renbehan.com

This Eastern European-inspired recipe for a turkey stroganoff uses up leftover turkey (or any poultry, really) along with some red onions, mushrooms, mustard, soured cream and a few sprigs of dill.

It’s perfect for a buffet or for a quick family supper, and is in fact a firm family favourite for us all year round.

Grab the recipe

2. Polish-Style Open Turkey Sandwiches

Open Turkey Sandwiches - Turkey leftovers recipe on Renbehan.com

Far more elegant than a bog-standard butty, these open sandwiches common to both Scandinavian and Eastern European cuisine, are the perfect vehicles for turkey (or other meat) leftovers.

Simply have a good loaf of rye or sourdough to hand and plenty of garnishes, such as radishes, pickles, tomatoes, cress, dill, sliced boiled eggs and kabanos (a type of smoked Polish sausage) and bingo, you’ve got a platter of loveliness to serve up to family or friends popping in for festive drinks.

Watch the video & grab the recipe

3. Wholewheat Fettuccine with Kale

Wholewheat Fettuccine recipe by Amy Chaplin on renbehan.com

This comforting supper is taken from New York-based chef Amy Chaplin’s book At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen. It’s perfect for any veggie guests you might be entertaining or if you’re just feeling like you’ve had enough meat!

Amy uses marinated goat’s cheese in her version, but I think any leftover creamy (or even crumbly) cheese can work well here. The recipe also calls for kale (cavolo nero) but you can happily use spinach in its place in this beautifully simple pasta dish.

Grab the recipe

4. French-Style Irish Beef Salad

Bord Bia French Beef Salad

Did you have roast beef over Christmas? Well here’s a wonderful protein-packed salad to make with the leftovers.

The tender slices of meat look stunning nestled amongst wedges of vibrant red tomatoes and yellow yolks of the boiled egg. I love the addition of lip-smacking capers, gherkins and French-style Dijon mustard dressing. All you need is a fresh baguette to serve on the side and a glass of chilled rosé.

Grab the recipe

5. Quick Risotto-Stuffed Vegetables

Risotto Stuffed Veg

This recipe was born out of a virtually empty fridge and a visit from the cleverest cook in the work – aka my mum! It really does prove that you can make something out of virtually nothing.

We simply made a quick risotto using one of those two-minute pouches of rice, some vegetable stock and a tin of tomatoes. You could add some shredded turkey in with the rice before stuffing it into some pre-baked peppers. To pretty up the plates we served ours with some tiny cubed courgettes and a really good sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.
Grab the recipe

What do you do with YOUR leftovers? I’d love to hear about the creations you’ve been rustling up, so share your ideas below!

10 Festive Makes and Bakes

From Christmas gifts for teachers and local friends, to canapés and cocktails for all those parties, I’ve pulled together a cracker of a round-up of my absolute favourite makes and bakes for the festive season. So grab a glass of mulled wine, blast out those cheesy Christmas tunes and plan your shopping list!

Gifts

1. CHRISTMAS SPICED CRANBERRY & PLUM CHUTNEY

Spiced Cranberry and Plum Chutney

It only takes twenty minutes to make this delicious chutney, and it goes with a whole host of Christmas goodies like your Christmas day roast, cold cuts or how about a baked Camembert? Jar it up, add a pretty label and you’ll have another present ticked off your list. This recipe makes two jars, so one to give and one to keep – perfect!

Grab the recipe

2. CREAMY SEA SALTED FUDGE

Sea Salted Christmas Fudge

Another quick and easy option for gifting is a batch of indulgent creamy fudge, packaged up in smart boxes or popped into cellophane bags tied with pretty ribbon. My version is flavoured with vanilla and sea salt, which always transports me right back to British seaside holidays. Your friends and family will delighted when you hand them a little bag of these sweet treats.

This recipe is featured on JamieOliver.com.

Grab the recipe

Canapes

3. COD, CHORIZO AND PEA PUREE BITES

cod, chorizo and pea puree bites

These elegant canapés should impress your party guests this season. Combining fluffy white chunks of cod with a feisty slice of chorizo on a bed of buttery pea puree, this is a one-bite experience not to be missed!

Grab the recipe

4. MAKE AHEAD LEEK & POPPY SEED SAUSAGE ROLLS

Sausage Rolls

Once you make your own sausage rolls, there really is no going back! Gorgeous flaky pastry and top notch quality sausage meat makes for an exceedingly crowd-pleasing party canapé. Crucially, you can get them ready in advance and just bake as needed, so it’ll save you faffing about in the kitchen when you could be enjoying yourself!

Grab the recipe

Christmas Baking

5. RICE KRISPIE HOUSE

Rice Krispie House

This cute little rice krispie house is a great project for little people (and big people) and it’s a great alternative when you feel like making something, but don’t quite have the energy for full-on baking. Let’s face it, we’re all exhausted at this time of year!

Grab the recipe

6. MINCE PIE CUPCAKES

Mince Pie Cupcakes

If you’re looking for a festive twist on a batch of Christmas cupcakes, then you should check out my Mince Pie Cupcakes – made with a vanilla sponge, mincemeat and a luxurious brandy butter icing. You can decorate them with sprinkles, coloured sugar or some retro-picks.

7. WHITE CHOCOLATE MALTESER CAKE

Malteser-Cake-1-of-1-2

Or how about this simple but spectacular White Chocolate Malteser Cake? It makes a wonderful centrepiece for a party spread, and is a great swap-in for a fruit-cake if your family aren’t fans.

Find both recipes here

Cocktails

8. APEROL SPRITZ

Aperol Spritz

Let’s kick off with a round of Aperol Spritz cocktails – I think the jewel-bright orange colour of these 19050’s inspired drinks are perfect for the holiday season!

Grab the recipe

9. GIN & RHUBARB FIZZ

New Year's Eve Cocktails

What better way to get your New Year’s Eve party started than welcoming your guests with a glass of Gin & Rhubarb Fizz. It’s fruity, classy and fun – just like all the perfect party hosts should be!

Grab the recipe

10. POMEGRANATE & VANILLA VODKA

I love how achievable this recipe is! You could make this and give it as a gift, but you could quite easily keep it to share at parties this Christmas. It’s also brilliant for defrosting the grown ups when they’ve got back in from all those frosty family walks or trips around the park with the kids test-driving their new bikes and scooters!

Pomegranate Vodka

Grab the recipe

Hope some of these recipes appeal to you! Let me know if you make any by tagging them with #renbehanfood

I’ll be back soon to share a couple of festive recipes from my new You Tube channel.

Lemon & Poppy Seed Baked Cheesecake

A light and airy baked cheesecake, perfect with a cup of lemon tea .

1 vote

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Lemon, Rose and Poppy Seed Baked Cheesecake

Prep

Cook

Total

Yield 8

A baked cheesecake, flavoured with lemon zest, rose, cardamom and vanilla, dotted with poppy seeds.

 

Ingredients

For the flavoured sugar:

  • 200g caster sugar
  • 1 tsp dried rose petals
  • 2 whole cardamom pods
  • 2 tbsp lemon zest
  • 1 whole vanilla pod, optional

For the cheesecake:

  • 200g unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 200g flavoured sugar (as above) or use caster sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean extract or the seeds from one pod
  • 6 eggs, separated
  • 500g curd cheese (or Polish white cheese, Twaróg)
  • 500g ricotta cheese
  • 3 tsp cornflour or potato flour
  • 25g poppy seeds

Instructions

  1. To make the flavoured sugar, mix the caster sugar with the rose petals, cardamom pods and lemon zest. Tip it out onto a tray lined with baking to allow the lemon zest to dry out. Leave for a couple of hours at room temperature and then transfer to a sealed container. You can also add a whole vanilla pod. This can be made up to a week in advance. Remove the two whole cardamom pods and vanilla pod before using.
  2. Pre-heat the oven to bake the cheesecake to 180C.
  3. Using an electric beater or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter for five minutes until it is pale and creamy. Remove the cardamom and vanilla pods from the flavoured sugar and slowly add the sugar to the butter, beating until incorporated. Add the vanilla bean seeds from the pod, or one teaspoon vanilla extract and beat again.
  4. Add in the egg yolks, one by one and mix until incorporated.
  5. Add the curd cheese and ricotta cheese. Beat well until smooth.
  6. In a separate clean bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peak stage. Once stiff, using a metal spoon, gently fold the egg whites into the creamy cheese mixture. Stir in the cornflour or potato flour and the poppy seeds.
  7. Take a 20cm round spring-form cake tin, grease the bottom and sides and line the bottom with a circle of baking paper. Pour the cheesecake mixture into the tin. Wrap tin foil around the outside and bottom of the tin to protect any water from seeping in when baking in a bain-marie.
  8. Take a large roasting tin and half fill it with water to create a bain-marie. Gently lower the foil wrapped tin into the water and bake for one hour. The top should be golden and the centre a little wobbly but not too much. Leave the cheesecake to cool completely before releasing it from the tin and chill in the refrigerator, preferably overnight before cutting and serving. 

Notes

Keep any leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Courses Dessert

Cuisine Polish Inspired

 

With thanks to Waitrose for this commission.

Easy Christmas Cake with Crunchy Apple Frosting

A light and easy Christmas cake, infused with crunchy apple, sultanas, dates, cinnamon and brandy. Recipe commissioned by Emily Crisps.

easy-christmas-cake-crunchy-apple_-3

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Easy Christmas Cake with Crunchy Apple Frosting

Ingredients

  • 150ml warm water mixed with 2 tsp honey
  • 60g Emily Fruit Crisps Crunchy Apple
  • 80g pitted dates, chopped into sultana-sized pieced
  • 200g raisins or sultanas
  • 1 tbsp brandy
  • 200g butter
  • 4 eggs
  • 100g light brown muscovado sugar
  • 100g dark brown muscovado sugar
  • 200g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract or the seeds of one vanilla pod
  • 3 tsp cinnamon

Apple Crisp Frosting

  • 500g icing sugar
  • 250g unsalted butter
  • 60g Emily Fruit Crisps Crunchy Apple (finely blitzed to a powder)

To decorate

  • 60g Emily Fruit Crisps Crunchy Apple

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas Mark 2. Line 2 x 9inch cake tins with baking parchment. 
  2. Boil a kettle, add 2 tsp runny honey to 150ml water. Pour over the fruit (apple crisps, sultanas and dates) with 1 tbsp brandy and leave to soak.
  3. Beat the butter with the eggs and sugars. Stir in flour and baking powder. Add the vanilla and cinnamon.
  4. Stir in the pre-soaked fruit.
  5. Pour into the cake tins, bake for 1 hour at 150C.
  6. Remove the cakes and leave to cool completely. 
  7. For the frosting, beat the butter until creamy and light in colour. Add the icing sugar and the powdered apple. 
  8. Place 1 cake layer on a cake stand. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake. Decorate with apple pieces and other Christmas decorations. 

easy-christmas-cake-crunchy-apple-crisps-5

For more festive treats with Emily Crisps try:

easy-christmas-cake-crunchy-apple-crisps-6

With thanks to Emily Crisps for this festive-inspired commission. #ad 

7 Soups for Winter

It’s that time of year when all I want to do is curl up on the sofa in a toasty blanket with a delicious bowl of soup, and forget all about the wind and rain hurling itself around outside (and generally everything else!) So, let’s all get cosy while I bring you a batch of my favourite soups to warm up those winter months.

1. Slow Cooker Chicken Soup

Chicken Soup

Let’s kick off with a restorative bowl of Slow Cooker Chicken Soup, a Polish recipe I got from my mother. It’s a clear broth that uses a whole chicken cooked ultra gently in the slow cooker, so it requires very little fuss. It’s usually served with homemade egg noodles or dumplings and makes for a really decent meal.

Get the recipe

2. Chickpea, Chicken and Chorizo Soup

Chicken & Chorizo Soup

For a hearty meal in a bowl, try my Chickpea, Chicken and Chorizo Soup on for size. It’s packed with both texture and flavour, plus it’s a great way to use up any leftovers lurking in your fridge. I can totally recommend serving it up with some chunky slices of garlic bread for dunking. Here, I’ve used giant cous cous, but you could make this with brown rice, or a grain such as kasza, and don’t forget to add plenty of chopped kale or spinach for extra nutrients.

Get the recipe

3. Beetroot and Kale Soup

Beetroot and Kale Soup

If you’re on the hunt for a super healthy and nutritious meal idea, then take a look at this vivid Beetroot and Kale Soup with tasty Almond Crumble topper. As well as being ridiculously good for you, it’s also absolutely gorgeous to look at so makes for a pretty starter if you’ve got guests round for lunch.

Get the recipe

4. Rainy Day Pizza Pasta Soup

Pizza Pasta Soup

My kids made up the name of this soup Rainy Day Pizza Pasta Soup when I served up a quick family meal stretching out some bolognese leftovers, plenty of Parmesan and fresh basil. It makes a change from the usual after-school Spag Bol and is oh-so-warming. If you’re got a gaggle of kids to feed, this is the one to bring to the table.

Get the recipe

5. Polish Wild Mushroom Soup

Mushroom Soup

Another absolute winner. When I’m feeling poorly I crave either Chicken Soup or a bowl of Mushroom Soup which reminds me of home. This simple recipe really makes the most of the strong, earthy flavours of the mushrooms, with fresh cream for extra comfort.

Get the recipe

6. Chicken Soup Two Ways

coconut-courgetti-chicken-soup

A classic chicken soup is a thing of beauty, because once you’ve got it cracked you can customise it to your heart’s content. I love changing it up by adding things like coconut milk and courgetti or giving it a bit more bulk with some basmatic brown rice and spinach.

Get the recipe

7. Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic Soup

Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic Soup on feedingboys.co.uk

And finally, my favourite soup from around the web is this little number from Katie Bryson at Feeding Boys. It’s a thick, creamy and intensely flavoured soup using roasted cauliflower and garlic cloves blitzed up with stock and parmesan cheese. We all love cauliflower soup in our house, and roasting it adds a wonderful depth of flavour to this soup.

Get the recipe

What’s your favourite soup for the winter? Do you have a classic recipe you always turn to when you’re feeling under the weather? I’d love to hear your thoughts below!

Also, I’ll be pulling some more round ups together over the coming week so do let me know if there is anything you’d like to see.

Lamb Steaks Wild Mushroom Sauce and Dill Mash

A comforting recipe for Eat Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef

welsh-lamb-ren_-2

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Lamb Steaks with Wild Mushroom Sauce and Dill Mash

Prep

Cook

Total

Yield 4 servings

A creamy and comforting recipe using Welsh lamb steaks. 

Instructions

  1. Season the lamb steaks with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, on both sides. Drizzle a little oil onto the steaks and rub the oil into the meat. Set to one side.
  2. Drain the peeled potatoes and put them into a pan of fresh cold water, cover, bring to the boil and cook for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Drain into a colander and set to one side to dry.
  3. Place a dry frying pan onto a low heat. Throw in the pine nuts and allow them to toast until they turn golden – this will take around 30 seconds. Tip the pine nuts onto a plate and set to one side.
  4. Add a little oil to the same pan, turn up the heat to medium-high and add the lamb steak to the pan. Fry for 5 minutes on one side then flip them over. Add the mushrooms to the pan and a teaspoon of butter and continue to cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove the lamb steaks (which will be cooked rare-medium rare) and leave them to rest on a plate.
  5. Pour the stock into the pan, swirl the stock around and allow to bubble for a minute. Add the fresh dill and double cream, stir and and bring up to the boil. Then take the pan off the heat.
  6. Mash the cooked potatoes, or put them through a potato ricer. Add one tablespoon butter, double cream and the fresh dill. Season with salt and pepper. Using a wooden spoon, stir the butter, cream and dill into the mashed potatoes, until the potatoes are creamy and smooth.
  7. Divide the potatoes onto 4 plates. Slice each lamb steak in half and place on top of the mash. Spoon over over the creamy mushroom sauce. Sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts and serve straight away.

Courses Main

Cuisine British

You may also like:

Lamb Steaks with Mint Ajika Sauce (Olia Hercules for Marley Spoon)

One-Pot Cypriot Lamb with Orzo 

Make-Ahead Lamb and Potato Moussaka

Jamie Oliver’s Mothership Roast Lamb

This is a paid recipe commission for Eat Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef. Find more Llambassador recipes here.

 

3 No-Bake Desserts

Summer is here and it’s hotting up so today I’m sharing three really easy recipes that require little effort and no baking! Hope you enjoy them, you can find the recipe links below which will take you straight to them on the Good to Know site. As you can probably imagine from these images, it’s a hard life creating recipes!

PINA COLADA FREAKSHAKES

Pina Colada Freakshake

Have you ever made a Freakshake?! A ‘freakshake’ is an Australian-inspired milkshake designed to wow and this weekend might be the time to have a go. These are adult shakes, made with rum, coconut cream, fresh pineapple, coconut cream and topped with fresh cream, roasted pineapple and coconut macaroons.

Get my Pina Colada Freakshake recipe here ->

NO-BAKE CUSTARD CREAM CHEESECAKE

Custard Cream Cheesecake

I love making no-bake cheesecakes as they are really just a case of combining a few ingredients, assembling them and leaving then leaving your cheesecake to set in the fridge. This cheesecake is perfect for taking along to summer BBQ’s and garden parties. Custard Cream biscuits are whizzed to make the biscuit base as an alternative to digestive biscuits and a creamy custard cheesecake filling finished with real Custard Cream biscuits on top.

Get my No-Bake Custard Cream Cheesecake recipe here ->

RAW CARROT CAKE WITH VEGAN CASHEW FROSTING

Raw Vegan Carrot Cakes

What?! A healthy carrot cake – really? Yes, these little carrot cake bites are raw, vegan and full of good things such as carrots, oats, raisins and pineapple with an alternative frosting made with just cashew nuts (soaked), almond milk, raw honey or maple syrup and a dab of coconut oil. Fear not, I have not turned into a clean-eating convert, BUT, it’s good to balance things out and try something different new every now and again! You’ll need a good food processor or a high powered blender.

Get my Raw Carrot Cake with Vegan Cashew Frosting here -> 

That’s it for now, have an amazing weekend.

With thanks to Good to Know/Time Inc. for the paid recipe commissions. Food, styling and photography my own. 

The New Jamie Oliver Cookery School at Westfield, London

Hello, Happy Bank Holiday Monday!

It’s hard to believe that five years have flown by since I last took a fresh pasta class. Given that it had been quite so long, I jumped at the chance recently of brushing up my fresh pasta skills with the ‘pasta master’ himself, Gennaro Contaldo, ahead of the official opening of the brand new Jamie Oliver Cookery School within Jamie’s Italian at Westfield.

As you can imagine, with Gennaro as our tutor, there were lots of laughs and the evening whizzed by with great hilarity. Some of the regular Jamie’s Italian diners were also taken by surprise as they saw Gennaro and Jamie walking through the restaurant to greet a team of instagrammers!

Jamie Oliver and Gennaro Contaldo

Gennaro and Jamie by Giulia Mulè with permission

The new school is spaciously set out within a self-contained area towards the back of the existing Jamie’s Italian restaurant – which has its own space just across from Debenhams. I had eaten at the Westfield London Jamie’s before and whilst I had been as far as the open kitchens towards the back of the restaurant for a nosey, I was quite surprised that there was even more space beyond the kitchen where the new cookery school has been established. I really like the location – it’s great that you can be out at Westfield having a bite to eat or a shop, before popping along to a cookery class for a couple of hours.

Within the cookery school, there are two main teaching areas as well as a bar and a separate seating area where students can sit after the class and eat their creations. Our lesson took place in a bright, airy room with big windows overlooking Wood Lane. The second kitchen teaching area is within the centre of the school. It is very much kitted out in trademark Jamie Oliver style with plenty of Jamie tea-towels and books on display, funky chairs and fresh flowers. All the work stations are well-equipped and fitted out with ovens and induction hobs and everything you need to take part in a class, including aprons. Lessons are ‘designed to be informative and hands on, but easy-going so you can enjoy yourself while you learn.’

PASTA MASTER

During the ‘Pasta Master’ taster we watched Gennaro make and fill some fresh pasta before knocking up some quick and tasty sauces in real-time. Then we rolled up our sleeves and had a go at making and filling pasta ourselves. We used plenty of fresh ingredients for the filling, including peas, ricotta, fresh herbs and Parmesan. To make the sauces, we used a little olive oil, garlic, fresh tomatoes and herbs and some of us made a sage and butter sauce, too. All very simple and achievable to recreate at home. Gennaro advised that fresh tomatoes should always be left out at room temperature to ripen and shouldn’t be stored in the fridge.

Gennaro Contaldo

COOKING WITH KIDS

Since it’s half term this week and with the summer holidays only a few weeks away, you could also book a couple of places for the kids to take part in a class. Children have to be 7 -14 years old to take part and one adult is required to stay and supervise up to 2 children. The Unbeatable Pasta Class is £30 per child, the Junior Sushi Master is £35 and Pizza for Kids is just £25 for a 2-hour class.

LESSONS

Over all there is a good range of courses and all the tutors are trained chefs. Classes are really well priced (approx. £40 for a class) and I think a 2-3 hour lesson is much less daunting that signing up for a whole day course at a school that could be tricky to find or get to – although there are a couple of full-day classes, such as the Ultimate Knife Skills Masterclass if you want to get stuck in for longer. The cookery school can also host birthdays, hen parties, kids’ parties and corporate events.

There are lots more classes I’d love to take – a Mexican Street Food Feast, A Taste of Japan, and the South Indian Prawn Curry class are all on my wish-list. The Showstopping Beef Wellington Class seems to have been really popular on social media this week – gift vouchers would make for a great present…particularly as Father’s Day approaches. Who knows, perhaps we’ll see a Modern Polish cookery class amongst the lessons on offer one day!

JO_2 (1 of 16)

  • The Jamie Oliver Cookery School
    Jamie’s Italian
    1078, Westfield London,
    Westfield Shopping Centre, Ariel Way,
    Shepherd’s Bush,
    London W12 7GB

  • The cookery school is situated within the Jamie’s Italian Restaurant at Westfield

  • Follow the cookery school team on Twitter @JOCookerySchool

I attended the class as a guest for a preview evening ahead of the official launch of the school – with many thanks for the invitation. This is an unpaid/editorial post. 

Quick-Fix Dark Chocolate Pudding (Individual)

Chocolate week or not, sometimes, you need an immediate chocolate fix. This one works! I used lime and chilli chocolate thins, but you can use any flavoured chocolate buttons, or use 4 small squares (or 2 large squares) of good quality dark chocolate.

Quick Chocolate Cake

A chocolate cake in under a minute you say?!

Chocolate Pudding

1 vote

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Quick-Fix Dark Chocolate Pudding (Individual)

Prep

Cook

Total

Yield 1

A super-quick (40-second) microwave pudding - note this makes one ramekin-sized cake. 

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon mild, light olive oil
  • 3 dark chocolate thins, giant buttons or 4 squares of dark chocolate
  • 1 tablespoon self-raising flour
  • 1 tablespoon cocoa powder 
  • 1 tablespoon light muscovado sugar
  • 4 tablespoons whole milk

Instructions

  1. Take a ramekin dish (or a coffee mug) and lightly grease the bottom and sides with a little olive oil. Place two chocolate thins, or 3 squares of dark chocolate into the bottom of the ramekin.
  2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar and milk.
  3. Pour the mixture into the ramekin.
  4. Place a chocolate thin or one square of dark chocolate onto the top.
  5. Microwave for 20 seconds. Wait ten seconds. Microwave for a further 20 seconds.
  6. Eat right away!

Courses Dessert

 

You may also like:

No Bake Cheesecake 

3 No Bake Desserts 

Easy Chocolate Trifle 

Market Experience Food Photography, Oktoberfest and the St Albans Street Finale this weekend!

If today’s news of the giant sinkhole in St Albans hasn’t caught your attention, then I hope this weekend’s St Albans and Harpenden Food Festival activities will!

As I type, there are just two spaces left on our market experience food photography workshop this Saturday – take a look at Stephanie’s site to book if you fancy joining us. If you’ve never visited St Albans before, let me entice you…

Our beautiful city is just 22 minutes by train from London St Pancras.  According to the Guinness Book of Records, Ye Olde Fighting Cocks (situated in the heart of Verulamium Park) is the oldest pub in Britain. We also have more pubs per square mile than anywhere else in the country (woo hoo) and we are incredibly proud to host one of the oldest regular street markets in the UK, dating back to the 9th century.

St Albans

For a real taste of what St Albans has to offer by the way of independent restaurants, cafes, delis, market stalls and street food, then this weekend is by far the best weekend to come and visit.

Here are a few treats to look forward to at the weekend:

Stephanie and Ren’s St Albans Market Experience Food Photography Course

  • Meeting at 9am outside Thompson@Darcy’s
  •  2 Hatfield Road, St Albans, AL1 3RP

Click here for more details – two spaces left (as of today)

stephanie belton

Photo credit: Stephanie Belton

Octoberfest, The Foragers at The Verulam Arms – Saturday 3 October

  • 41 Lower Dagnall Street, St Albans, AL3 4QE
  • 12 noon – midnight

After the workshop, I’ll be heading along to The Verulam Arms to join The Foragers for their annual Okterberfest. The Foragers are promising live ‘Oompah’ music, a special ‘festbier’ from their microbrewery and beers from Munich, as well as their ‘unique brand of wild food with a German twist’ including sausages, homemade stews and sauerkraut. Who’s with me?!

St Albans Street Finale – Sunday 4th October

  • St Peter’s Street, St Albans (head for the city centre)
  • 12pm – 6pm

On Sunday, St Albans high street will be transformed into a street food haven with a pop up village green complete with hay bales and beer from some of our best local pubs. There will also be a Kitchen Garden area with an emphasis on grow your own and locally grown produce, a City Farm, a Family Zone (including a children’s Fairtrade chocolate factory) as well as a cookery theatre and a World Food Zone. See demo times here (page 14).

St Albans Seasonal Salad

Thank you also to everyone who made the St Albans Seasonal Salad (there’s been lots of love on Twitter!) that I created especially for the food festival and the #kidscookalong this year and to Stu McLellan for illustrating it.

St Albans Salad

Happigreetings

As I’m dishing out some local love, I’d also like to thank Glen Cooper for sending me one of his happigreetings by happijar cards, featuring an image created by a local St Albans artist, Mandy Reekie and some inspirational quotes behind the little windows on the front. The really cool thing about these cards is that you can customise them and include your own quotes in each window – think of an advent calendar in a card with eight windows – six on the front and two on the back. Take a look at Glen’s Etsy store here for more versions.

Happiness Jar

If you can’t visit St Albans this weekend, then I hope you can visit the St Albans Christmas Market within the grounds of St Albans Cathedral from Thursday 26th November to Sunday 20th December. Find out more here.  

Seattle-Style Cream Cheese Hot Dogs with a Quick Pickled Cabbage Salad

It’s been a few years since my last visit to Seattle, where my sister lives, which means too long since my first taste of a Seattle Dog – cream cheese adorned hot dogs sold by street vendors around Seattle. A little stand in Pioneer Square called ‘Dog in the Park’ sold me my best-ever Seattle Dog…in case you are ever visiting. The Seattle Dog is often made with a Polish hot dog sausage (bonus) and is usually served with cream cheese, onions, sauerkraut or cabbage and fried potatoes, oh, and mayo or chilli sauce. The cream cheese, in case you are wondering, is spread onto the inside of the toasted hot dog bun. They are not the easiest things to eat (pick up an extra large stash of napkins) but my goodness, as street food goes, they are really good.

Seatle Cream Cheese Hot Dogs

A few little tips to make this recipe extra special: after boiling the hot dogs, split them and griddle them in a hot pan. Also, split the buns and griddle them, too to warm them up a little. You can make the Quick Pickled Cabbage Salad in advance – store in in a jar for up to three days in the fridge.

Sarsons Street Food Recipe

3 votes

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Cream Cheese Hot Dogs with Pickled Cabbage

Prep

Cook

Total

Yield 4

A Seattle-style hot dog, with cream cheese and onions. 

Ingredients

  • 4 good quality hot dogs – all-beef, or Polish sausage preferable
  • 4 hot dog buns
  • 4 tbsp cream cheese
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 medium white onion
  • ½ head of white cabbage
  • 1 medium carrot
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp pickling vinegar, I used Sarsons 
  • 1 tsp mild olive oil
  • 2 tsp caster sugar

Instructions

  1. Bring a pan of water to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, place the hot dogs into the water and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the water, place on a plate and keep to one side.
  2. In the meantime, finely chop the onions. Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the onions to the pan. Cook for ten minutes on the heat, stirring occasionally, and cook until caramelised.
  3. Very finely shred the cabbage and grate the carrot and tip into a large bowl. Sprinkle over the salt and mix well. Set to one side.
  4. Heat a separate frying pan. Split the hot dogs in half lengthways and place them into the frying pan, flat-side down. Gently fry the pre-cooked hot dogs until they are a little browned. Split the hot dog buns in half and gently toast them in the griddle pan, split side down for a few seconds.
  5. Drain some of the liquid away from the salted cabbage and pour in the Sarsons malt vinegar, olive oil and sugar. Mix well.
  6. To assemble the dogs, spread the cream cheese onto the inside of the toasted hot dog bun. Add the griddled hot dogs, sprinkle over some of the caramelised onions and top with the quick pickled cabbage salad.

Cuisine American

What has been your best street food experience ever? I’d love to know!

With thanks to Sarsons for commissioning this recipe. Photo credit: Sarsons #ad

Pizza Pasta Soup

Think of this as a hearty soup, suitable for stretching a little leftover bolognese. You could also use a jar of tomato sauce – a good quality one and add the same amount of stock to achieve a soup consistency. On other occasions, I’ve thrown in chopped, fried pepperoni, mushrooms or shredded chicken. A good sprinkle of mozzarella is a must and a big heap of grated Parmesan cheese for the top. Fresh basil or oregano is lovely, too. Get creative!

Pizza Pasta Soup

5 votes

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Rainy Day Pizza Pasta Soup

Prep

Cook

Total

Yield 4

A great way to use up leftover tomato or Bolognese sauce. Simply add a handfull of pasta and some of your favourite 'toppings' such as chopped, fried pepperoni, mushrooms, or shredded chicken. Add grated mozzarella and a good handful of Parmesan cheese on the top.

Ingredients

  • 500g/two cups Bolognese or good quality tomato sauce (leftovers are ideal)
  • 250ml/one cup vegetable or chicken stock
  • 1 bay leaf
  • sea salt
  • black pepper
  • 280g/2 cups cooked pasta
  • 100g mozzarella, torn or grated
  • 100g fresh Parmesan cheese
  • 1 small bunch fresh basil, leaves and stalks separated
  • (optional - fried pepperoni, mushrooms or shredded chicken)

Instructions

  1. Pour the Bolognese or tomato sauce into a large pan. On a medium heat, bring to the boil. Add in the stock and stir well. Add in the bay leaf. Stir in half a teaspoon each of sea salt and black pepper.
  2. When hot, add in the cooked pasta and stir. Remove the bay leaf Add the optional extras, such as pepperoni, if using. Divide the soup between four bowls.
  3. Add the torn mozzarella, and top with grated Parmesan cheese and a few basil leaves per bowl.
  4. Serve straight away

Cuisine Italian-ish

Pizza Pasta Soup

 

Let me know if you make this by tagging me on Instagram or Twitter as @foodren

Or, add your recipes and ideas to our Pizza Love Pinterest board (338K followers)

Follow Ren Behan Food’s board Pizza Love! on Pinterest.

Recipe: Skinny Carbonara from {Everyday Super Food by Jamie Oliver}

Today sees the publication of Jamie Oliver’s brand new cookbook Everyday Super Food and I’ve been busy trying out some of the recipes for myself at home, beginning with Jamie’s Skinny Carbonara.

If you’ve been following Jamie on Instagram or on the You app, you’ll have noticed that this is the year he turned 40. He himself has enjoyed making some simple lifestyle changes, for example, by practicing mindfulness and by making some changes to his diet and lifestyle. Everyday Super Food is really his ultimate manifesto for helping you do the same.

I have four copies of Jamie’s new book to giveaway (see entry form below) with the recipe for Jamie’s Skinny Carbonara also shared below with the publisher’s permission.

Every Day Super Food

The Skinny Carbonara was very tasty and quick to make – fifteen minutes at most. I didn’t see any instructions for juicing the lemon and I ended up adding in the juice of one whole lemon. Next time, I would use the juice of half a lemon. I had quite a lot of pea mixture left over, so blitzed it up with some chicken stock and had a an extra cup of pea soup for lunch the next day. The whole family enjoyed it and the addition of peas and ground almonds gave the dish an extra lift and a bit of texture, along with the crispy bacon. Nobody noticed the wholewheat spaghetti so that’s a permanent switch for us in the future!

I can’t wait to try the Mega Veggie Burger featured by Helen here, or the Baked Eggs with Popped Beans that Katherine tried here. I’m also looking forward to trying Jamie’s Grilled Corn and Quinoa Salad, shared by The Happy Foodie.

Skinny Carbonara Ren Behan
My version of the tasty Skinny Carbonara recipe from the book

The book ties in with a new six-part Channel 4 series, Jamie’s Super Food, due to broadcast this autumn and you can buy the book from today.

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SKINNY CARBONARA SMOKY BACON, PEAS, ALMONDS & BASIL

Prep

Cook

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Yield 2

Humble little peas are a source of nine different micronutrients, and are especially high in thiamin, a B vitamin that helps our hearts to function properly

Ingredients

  • 200g freshly podded or frozen peas
  • 1 tablespoon flaked almonds
  • 1 small clove of garlic
  • ½ a bunch of fresh basil (15g)
  • 15g Parmesan cheese
  • 1 lemon
  • 150g wholewheat spaghetti
  • 1 rasher of higher-welfare smoked streaky bacon
  • olive oil
  • 1 large free-range egg
  • 100g fat-free natural yoghurt

Instructions

  1. Put a pan of boiling salted water on the heat for your pasta, dunk a sieve containing the peas into the water for just 30 seconds, then put aside, leaving the pan on the heat.
  2. Very lightly toast the almonds in a dry non-stick frying pan on a medium heat, then blitz until fine in a food processor. With the processor still running, peel and drop in the garlic, a pinch of sea salt, the basil leaves, the finely grated Parmesan and the lemon juice. Blitz until it comes together, then pulse in the peas, to try and keep a bit of texture.
  3. Cook the pasta in the boiling salted water according to the packet instructions. Meanwhile, very finely slice the bacon and fry slowly in the frying pan with 1 teaspoon of oil on a medium-low heat until golden and crispy, then use a slotted spoon to transfer to kitchen paper, so the flavoursome fat stays in the pan.
  4. Scoop in three-quarters of your pea mixture to heat through.
  5. Whisk the egg and yoghurt together well. When the pasta’s done, reserving a mugful of cooking water, drain the pasta and toss straight into the pea pan, mixing well, then take the pan off the heat (this is very important, otherwise the egg will scramble when you add it, and we don’t want that).
  6. Pour in the egg mixture and toss until evenly coated, silky and creamy, loosening with cooking water if needed. Taste and season to perfection, and serve topped with the remaining pea mixture and the crispy bacon.
  7. It might be skinny, but it’s beautifully light and delicious. Enjoy!

Courses Healthy

Cuisine Italian

 

Skinny Carbonara
Jamie’s Skinny Carbonara {Image from the book, taken by Jamie Oliver}

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Everyday Super Food by Jamie Oliver is published by Penguin Random House

ⓒ Jamie Oliver Enterprises Limited (2015 Everyday Super Food) Photographer: Jamie Oliver

With thanks to Jamie’s PR team for the recipes, previews and review copy in the post.

{Win} A Sage by Heston No-Mess Waffle Maker (RRP £99.95)

Hello, I hope you’ve all had a good summer?

As I ease myself back into the swing of things, I’m giving away a Sage by Heston Blumenthal the No Mess Waffle maker (RRP £99.95) – perfect for making classic waffles at home. I’m going to road-testing this little baby next week and we’ve already got a whole host of toppings planned – from breakfast waffles topped with halloumi and maple syrup (trust me!) to sweet banana and toffee waffles with ice cream.

No Mess Waffle

The main features of the Sage by Heston the No Mess Waffle product are:

  • A wide, wrap around moat to catch any mess or excess batter overflow – super easy to clean up, too
  • Browning controls to customise your waffles from light brown to crispy golden brown
  • Made by Sage by Heston Blumenthal (high-quality gadgets that are used and endorsed by Heston)

You can see my review of Heston’s Kitchen Wizz Pro here – I was super impressed with the quality and performance of this.

To be in with a chance of winning this waffle maker, simply fill out the Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

UK Entrants only. Closes on 26th September 2015. Winner will be chosen by random and has 4 weeks to respond with address.

Enter Here:

Good Luck!

How to make an Aperol Spritz Cocktail #ItStartsNow

This summer, I’ve been re-living some of my Italian holiday memories by making a simple 1950’s-inspired Italian cocktail at home called an Aperol Spritz, which is made with Aperol, Italian prosecco and a dash of soda water.

Aperol Spritz Cocktail

A classic Aperol Spritz made with the 3-2-1 method!

If you’ve ever visited Italy, particularly Venice or the North of Italy, then you might have tried a version of the classic Italian ‘Spritz’ cocktail – traditionally made with Aperol or Campari, white wine and soda water. I’ve certainly sampled my fair share of these, most recently, at Attilio Beach at Milano Marittima near Rimini, close to where my sister lives. In her region of Italy, my sister tells me the Aperol Spritz is considered an aperitif and a ritual. It is also often taken as an aperitivi usually with complimentary nibbles, or stuzzichini. During one sunny afternoon, we had a huge Italian pasta feast, with plenty of fresh sea food and lots of Aperol cocktails!

Given it’s simplicity as a cocktail, the Aperol Spritz makes the perfect summer cooler and it’s a great welcome drink to serve when entertaining. All you have to do is remember the 3,2,1 formula – 3 parts prosecco, 2 parts Aperol, 1 part soda – mixed with plenty of ice and a few slices of fresh orange.

Aperol Spritz

Start with a big glass, with plenty of ice and some orange slices

Tasting Notes

I’m a big fan of Aperol (11% ABV) and Campari (23% ABV), both of which are described as ‘bitters,’ with Campari being slight more bitter in flavour than Aperol.  Aperol is made from a secret infusion of citrus orange, rhubarb, herbs and roots and has a bright orange/red colour.

Click here for more Aperol cocktails.

You can also watch the official Aperol Spritz ‘perfect serve’ video which shows you how to make one, too.

If you are feeling particularly brave – add a shot of vodka for my ‘extra kick’ version!

Aperol Spritz Cocktail

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How to Make an Aperol Spritz

Prep

Total

Yield 1 Spritz

An Aperol Spritz is a typical early evening drink in Italy made with Aperol, Italian Prosecco and a dash of soda water. All you have to do is remember the 3,2,1 formula – 3 parts Prosecco, 2 parts Aperol, 1 part soda – mixed with plenty of ice and a few slices of fresh orange.

Ingredients

  • 75ml Prosecco
  • 50ml Aperol
  • 25ml soda
  • Plenty of ice
  • 2 slices of fresh orange

Instructions

  1. Fill a large wine glass with ice. Add the prosecco, aperol and a dash of soda.
  2. Stir and add the orange. Serve immediately. 

Courses Drink

Cuisine Italian

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 glass

Amount Per Serving

Calories 120

% Daily Value

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Holiday snap!

Our Aperol Spritz by the beach in Rimini

Aperol Spritz

Disclosure: I’m joining in with the official 3-2-1 Aperol Spritz challenge and received the ingredients and glasses at home to make my own cocktails.

Share your Aperol Spritz cocktail on social media @aperolspritzuk (Instagram) or on the AperolSpritz Facebook page #ItStartsNow

Fresh Cherry Crumble Cake

We were lured by the huge crates of English cherries at St Albans Market over the weekend. By the time we arrived home, the children had eaten a whole bag of cherries between themselves – in the back of the car – and yes, there were cherry juice stains everywhere. The second bag I had earmarked for a cherry crumble cake, made to a recipe my mum had given me over the phone a few days earlier. This is an easy cake that you can either make in a rectangular tin – I’d go for a 12″ x 9″ traybake tin, or as we did, a deep round tin. It depends whether you are in the mood for a rectangular cake or a round cake. We were in the mood for a round cake. Get the kids to crack the eggs into a bowl, measure out the ingredients or make the crumble mix while you get on with stoning the cherries – mine (8 & 5) can manage the crumble mix on their own. It’s a bit messy, but messy baking is fun. If you can’t find cherries, lots of other stone fruits work in this recipe – plums or apricots chopped in half with the stones removed. You can also make this with blueberries. I love the mess that cherries make. Almost as much as the mess the children make.

Fresh cherries

I used some cardamom Spice Drops to flavour my cake in addition to a little vanilla but this flavour is entirely optional. My friend, Gouri, gave me a couple of bottles of Spice Drops to try – you can buy them on Ocado in the UK. Spice Drops are an interesting little invention – they are concentrated extracts of the natural spice and they come in lots of flavours – including cardamom, cinnamon, lemongrass, peppermint, rose and many more – you can see the full range here.

fresh cherry crumble cake

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Fresh Cherry Crumble Cake

Prep

Cook

Total

Yield 8

An easy cake made with fresh English cherries and a crumble topping. I used some cardamom spice drops do give an extra dimension of flavour. You can also crush some fresh cardamom pods instead or leave the cardamom out and just use vanilla extract.

Ingredients

  • 400g fresh cherries, pitted (or other stone fruit)
  • For the crumble topping
  • 50g/ 1/3 cup plain/all-purpose flour
  • 50g/ ½ stick unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 30g/ ¼ cup icing/confectioners’ sugar
  • For the cake batter
  • 180g/1.5 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 130g/1 cup caster sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 drops cardamom Spice Drops (see notes) or the seeds of 6 green cardamom pods, crushed
  • 200g/1.5 cups self-raising or all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to fan 160C/180C/gas 4. Using a little butter, grease and line a 20cm round cake tin, about 5cm deep or a rectangular traybake tin 12" by 9"
  2. Remove the stalks from the cherries, carefully slice each cherry in half and remove the stone. Keep the cherries to one side.
  3. Make the crumble topping by sifting the flour into a large bowl. Add the butter and icing sugar or confectioners’ sugar. Using your fingers, rub the butter into the flour and sugar to make a crumb-like mixture, then set it to one side while you make the cake batter.
  4. Whisk the butter and sugar together until pale and creamy (around five minutes using a stand mixer or a whisk), add the eggs in, one by one, and continue to mix well. Add the vanilla extract and cardamom drops or crushed cardamom pods, if using. Mix together well again.
  5. Sift in the flour and baking power and using a spoon, carefully stir the mixture until all the flour is incorporated.
  6. Pour the cake batter into your lined baking tin and flatten with the back of a spoon.
  7. Scatter the halved cherries onto the batter and press down gently.
  8. Scatter the prepared crumble mixture over the top of the cherries.
  9. Bake for 55-60 minutes until a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean.
  10. Leave the crumble cake in the tin to cool and then remove and place onto a wire rack until you are ready to serve.
  11. Before serving, dust with a little extra icing/confectioners’ sugar.
  12. The cake will keep well in a tin for up to two days.

Courses Dessert

All you need once the cake is baked is a nice cup of tea and you’re all set for the afternoon.

Crumble Cake

If you have a go at baking this cake (and I hope you do) don’t forget to let me know.

Tag me on instagram @renbehan or on Twitter @RenBehan or on Facebook Ren BehanFood so I can see how it turned out.

I’m linking my bake up to Simple and in Season July and August.

Other fruity bakes that you may like to try:

Crumble Cake

Happy Baking!

Crumble Cake

What’s your favourite fruit-inspired bake?

Wholewheat Fettuccine with Kale by Amy Chaplin

Yesterday I shared a book review of At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen, a new recipe book by New York-based chef Amy Chaplin, who creates vegetarian and vegan recipes. Today (with the publisher’s permission) I’m sharing my favourite recipe from the book, which you can find on page 98 of the UK edition – Wholewheat Fettuccine with Kale, Caramelized Onions and Marinated Goat’s Cheese. I didn’t have the marinated goat’s cheese to hand (there’s a recipe for that, too, in Amy’s book on page 116) so I used a mild and creamy locally produced goat’s cheese called Childwickbury goat’s cheese. The recipe calls for kale (cavolo nero) but you can use spinach in it’s place in this beautifully simple pasta dish.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do – it’s become my go-to supper!

Wholewheat Fettuccine

Wholewheat Fettuccine recipe by Amy Chaplin on renbehan.com

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Wholewheat Fettuccine with Kale by Amy Chaplin

Yield 4

In this recipe, the author, Amy, uses her own Marinated Goat’s Cheese, inspired by Meredith Dairy, in Australia. However, it also works well with a soft goat’s cheese and so I've used a mild British goat’s cheese many times to make this recipe.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 medium to large red onions, thinly sliced
  • Sea salt
  • 340g (12oz) wholewheat fettuccine
  • 1 ½ bunches 700g (1 lb 9 oz/10 cups) sliced kale or cavolo nero (or fresh spinach)
  • 225g (8oz) marinated goat’s cheese (oil marinade reserved) at room temperature (I used a British goat's cheese)
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Warm the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and add the onions. Sauté for 10 minutes or until beginning to brown. Add a pinch of sea salt, lower the heat slightly and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until onions are soft and caramelised.
  2. In the meantime, bring a large pan of water to the boil and add a large pinch of salt. Add the wholewheat fettuccine to the boiling water and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, or following the packet instructions, until al dente. Drain pasta and return to pan.
  3. While pasta cooks, stir the kale (or spinach) into the cooked onions, cover the frying pan and cook for 6 to 8 minutes or until tender, stirring once or twice. Add onion and kale mixture, three quarters of the goat’s cheese and lots of black pepper to the pasta; mix well.
  4. Drizzle in a tablespoon or more of oil marinade from the cheese (or add a drizzle of good quality olive oil) and season to taste.
  5. Divide among bowls and top with a crumble of remaining goat’s cheese; serve immediately.

Courses Vegetarian

Like this recipe?

You can find more of Amy Chaplin’s recipe here on her webpage. 

For a simple, gluten-free supper, try my Brown Rice Noodles with Spinach and Tomato (GF, V, VG)

If you eat prawns or shrimp try my Wholewheat Penne with Prawns

A UK blog that I love which is full of whole food and healthy recipes is Food To Glow by Kellie Anderson- try any of her delicious dishes!

 

With thanks to Jacqui Small Publishing for their permission for me to share this recipe. Photo Credit Johnny Miller. Recipe Credit Amy Chaplin. 

Review: At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen by Amy Chaplin

At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen

At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen: Celebrating the Art of Eating Well
By Amy Chaplin
UK Edition: Jacqui Small LLP, June 2015, Currently £17.00 on Amazon
US Edition: Roost Books October 2014

Genre – Healthy Eating (Vegan/Vegetarian)

You might have noticed that there is a health food trend happening at the moment and as a result, there’s a plethora of healthy eating and ‘whole food’ books to choose from. At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen is an award-winning vegan and vegetarian book, written by Amy Chaplin and it’s certainly a book that stands out to me.

Amy was former executive chef of Angelia Kitchen, a renowned vegan restaurant in New York, and now works as a private chef, teacher and recipe developer. Through her book, she offers readers a very well-considered, sensible and achievable approach to eating well without compromising on flavour or satisfaction.

Structure

The structure  of the book differs slightly from the standard order, in that it doesn’t jump straight into the recipes. Instead, it has a lengthy opening section (Part 1) devoted to ‘the pantry’ – with advice on how to stock your pantry. I restocked mine within a day of owning this book and had a big de-clutter, to include more of what Amy suggests which are whole grains (buckwheat, millet, rolled oats, brown rice, wholegrain noodles and pastas etc.), beans and pulses (legumes), nuts and seeds, superfoods (flax seeds, goji berries etc.), oils, vinegars, seasonings, condiments and spices.

Amy also sets out her go-to ‘fresh’ pantry vegetables (she sees her fridge as an extension of her pantry) as well as other staples in her fridge, such as fermented vegetables, goat’s cheese and nut butters. There are also some great suggestions for whole foods to store in the freezer, such as berries, sprouted bread and sweetcorn.

To follow, there are notes on baking ingredients, including almond flour and wholegrain spelt flour and some ideas for natural sweeteners.

All in all, I love how part one of Amy’s book is set out; the sections are succinct and uncomplicated and you can really start to define (and take control!) of your pantry and the different ‘whole food’ ingredients within it.

Amy moves onto a section on ‘cooking from the pantry’ and again, this is broken down into grains, beans, nuts and seeds, and roasting vegetables with ideas for a week of meals.

From page 85 onward, she moves onto ‘pantry recipes’ – you could try a simple red lentil soup, wholewheat fettuccine with kale, caramelized onions and marinated goat’s cheese (my favourite recipe of the whole book and featured here tomorrow), vanilla chai pudding or pink kraut (a mixture of green cabbage and red cabbage that turns pink!)

At Home in the Whole Food KItchen

Part Two then expands on the basic concepts already introduced and Amy sets out her recipes, including the more traditional chapters:

  • Breakfast
  • Soups
  • Salads
  • Snacks, nibbles and drinks
  • Whole meals
  • Desserts (tarts & sweet treats for every occasion)

Blackberry cornmeal muffins are the perfect make-ahead treat for breakfast or brunch guests, the Peach chia breakfast shake is simple and can also be transformed into a peach-flavoured chia pudding. The soups are both nourishing and cleansing, whilst the salads take inspiration from a whole array of seasonal vegetables, from shaved courgette (zucchini) with purslane and a pine nut lemon dressing, to roasted winter vegetables or a shaved beetroot salad with blood orange and crushed hazelnuts.

The herbed spelt berry salad with peas and feta is both unusual and inspiring and would work equally well as a delicious ‘al fresco’ supper with friends as it would a lunch box for work or packed away for a picnic.

More substantial dishes include a coconut curry, a butternut squash lasagne (with wholewheat lasagne) and a spicy chickpea stew. By this point in the book we’re really eating well!

Following this, there’s a three-part recipe for coconut vanilla pod ice cream with roasted plums and maple coconut crunch which captured my attention (I made the roasted plums part and used peaches instead) and there’s a divine chocolate hazelnut layer cake for special occasions, too, which I can’t wait to make.

Why I like it

This book is really about feeding yourself with good food. It’s not about dieting or deprivation, and so for me, the recipes for desserts and puddings come as a welcome treat. There’s a big section devoted to making tarts, where you can mix and match the pastry and fillings, which is fun.

Amy is clearly an accomplished chef, and, as the title promises, I am left with the impression that this is the way Amy cooks at home. I don’t think that there are any recipes in this book that a home cook couldn’t tackle or try out for themselves.

This is a beautiful book, with bright and breezy photography by Johnny Miller, that offers a simple and straightforward, organised approach to a healthier lifestyle, without taking the ‘healthy eating’ approach to any extremes.

Click here for a handpicked recipe from the book…

Wholewheat Fettuccine with kale, caramelized onions and marinated goat’s cheese

Wholewheat Fettuccine

Photo Credit: Johnny Miller, reproduced with permission from UK publisher, Jacqi Small. 

At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen: Celebrating the Art of Eating Well
By Amy Chaplin
UK Edition: Jacqui Small LLP, June 2015, Currently £17.00 on Amazon (non-affiliate link)
US Edition: Roost Books October 2014

Disclosure:

I received a copy of this book from Jacqui Small for review, which I offered as a giveaway prize in June’s Simple and in Season (won by C. Ammar). However, I found it to be such a beautiful and practical book, that I promptly jumped on Amazon to buy my own copy. Therefore this review is based on my own purchase.

Other posts and books you might like:

Amy’s blog, you can follow her on Instagram @AmyChaplin and Twitter too @_AmyChaplin

Amy’s Whole Food Cooking Column for the Food Network

Review: A Change of Appetite by Diana Henry [Read more here]

Recipe: Orange and Pomegranate Cake by Diana Henry [Find the recipe here]