I feel like I know of A Modern Way To Cook's author Anna Jones. Not in a, she's my mate, kind of way but more like she is on my consciousness for some reason. Rambling aside, I picked up this cookbook at my local library and after a quick flick through I figured this would be a good place to start after my hiatus.
Anna Jones' recipe is similar to one I've made by Deliciously Ella however the idea is to cook the 'crumble' in a pan rather than bake in the oven.
Yay or Nay: Yay
This was definitely easier and quicker than an oven version. It was delicious as you can tell as there is no end picture. Unfortunately, it is a running theme on this blog, if it doesn't have a result picture it either means it was eaten immediately OR took too long to make and I couldn't be bothered to take a picture! Luckily, this was on the yummy side!
Thinking of inexpensive but thoughtful Christmas gifts for co-workers I came across this recipe for Gingerbread Granola. Now, I'm a die-hard fan of Deliciously Ella's Granola but it wasn't very Christmassy! When I think of Christmas I think of Mince Pies, Christmas Pudding and more recently Gingerbread (very American not British!) so hopefully The Healthful Ideas's recipe for Gingerbread Granola would be a mouthful of Christmas first thing in the morning!
Yay or Nay: Nay
This was fairly easy to make, I'd say pretty similar to the Deliciously Ella one. However the ingredients didn't really clump together like you see in the shops. On the plus side, the addition of nut butter gave it a richer taste but I was surprised by the 1tsp of ginger powder. I don't know about you, but gingerbread screams a ton of ginger to me so I ignored the recipe on this front and went for three! I figured the recipe as it currently stands wouldn't have a strong enough gingerbread taste and I didn't want to tell people it was 'gingerbread granola' and for it to taste nothing like that! Even with the change there still isn't a strong ginger taste but there is a little hint of spice. BTW MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
As school has wrapped up and I'm finding more time on my hands, now I have time to spend with friends - hence the Cookie Social. Its great to be off as I can truly look up new recipes, browse cookbooks for inspiration and have random events where food is the focal point!
Back to the making of the Cookie Social, the idea was for each of the group to cook a different cookie and basically drink wine, munch on cookies while catching up. While scrolling through Instagram I saw top YouTuber Tanya Burr promoting her new baking cookbook. One of her sneak peak recipes were for Salted Nutella Cookies. The book wasn't going to be released in time for the Cookie Social, so instead I found this Nutella Stuffed Oatmeal, Hazelnut and Choc Chip Cookies online and I was ready to bake!
Yay or Nay: Yay
SOOOOO good! I even managed to convert a sweet-hater to a cookie lover. I mean what's not to love? Nutella, toasted nuts, chocolate chips, chewy oats and a touch of saltiness to balance out the sweet. What are you doing reading this - go make them!!!
TIP: Mine
were slightly thicker in size as I tried to fit all of them on one baking sheet (made 15 not 16 like the recipe states) so I cooked them a little longer than the recommended 12 mins
and the nutella rolling was tricker than it sounded - prepare to get your
hands dirty. Do each step one by one rather than per cookie to reduce the mess!
This is going to be a quick post as the holiday weekend was pretty full and I'm writing this just before bed. As you know I've been on a sugar cut-back, I would like to say that I am going cold turkey but it's not always realistic!
I picked up some rhubarb at the public market and immediately I thought of stewed rhubarb mixed in with yogurt or crumble. Crumble won out so I immediately grabbed Deliciously Ella's cookbook as I remember seeing a crumble recipe in there. In the past I make my crumble with mainly flour, oats and butter so I was intrigued about Blackberry, Apple and Maple Crumble as it had less dairy/fat but a little more sugar than I was hoping for. It was worth a try however I knew I wouldn't make the same filling as rhubarb is one of my faves!
Yay or Nay: Yay
Deceptively, I managed to fool the Husband into thinking it was a similar recipe to my original. He had no idea there was no flour or butter in it, though I bet if I mentioned it he would say he could taste it! It was so yummy it barely lasted a couple of days! Result!
I stewed my rhubarb and added some honey as it can be really tart and although I was apprehensive about adding honey to the topping, I think it helped bind the ingredients together. I wonder what it would be like using just coconut oil instead as a binding ingredient. Also, I never usually add cinnamon to my topping as I'm not the greatest fan of it but it worked well with the rhubarb so I guess I'm a convert.
Back home I loved Dorset Cereal's Mueslis however now I'm in Upstate New York it is definitely harder to find this brand. Dorset Cereal's were pretty much natural and sugar free so finding an alternative is a bit of a chore especially with all that ingredient list reading. Now I know granola is a completely different bowl entirely but every now and then I need that crunch without all the gunk!
At lunch I'll usually have plain Greek yoghurt with raw seeds, nut and unsweetened coconut flakes but to mix it up I figured sykr yoghurt with homemade granola would be an alternative. Deliciously Ella's recipe for Cinnamon and Pecan Granola looked enticing and most importantly healthy. As a plus I could control the amount of sugar if necessary.
Yay or Nay: 50/50
This one had me torn, I admit that I kind of doctored the recipe as I didn't want to make a ton (mostly because I didn't have the right quantity for some of the ingredients) in case it didn't turn out how I thought it would. In actual fact I think I was pretty close but I halved all the ingredients to try balance it out. I also substituted maple syrup for honey (plus put slightly less in) but I think that's why it didn't clump together that well. I also put less cinnamon in as I don't like a ton of it but the final result is a slight hint of sweetness and cinnamony-ness! However I do think 30 mins in the oven is a bit too long (I only put it in for 25 stirring at the 12 minute mark) as I ended up with slightly burnt pecan pieces which can taste horribly bitter! I would try this again though but I might stick with the recipe to see if there is a difference!
2015 was all about the smoothie bowl or the acai bowl, I'm sure your instagram feed was inundated with pictures of bloggers tucking into their delicious looking breakfasts. I had the chance to try one when I went to visit a friend in NYC as there was a Juice Generation five minutes walk away from our hotel. I think I went for the XO Coco and I have to say it was pretty much a smoothie in a bowl with some yummy toppings, so surely this would be easy enough to replicate.
Yay or Nay: Yay
After coming back from London I needed something healthy to kick start my metabolism as drinking every night definitely took its toll on me. I didn't use a particular recipe but just gleaned ideas from here and there (although I did get inspired by Self magazine). I would say follow the advice to have frozen fruit as it doesn't have the thick texture if it isn't.
