Banana & walnut loaf

Most of the time this is how cooking works for me - firstly I decide on what to make and then I go an buy the ingredients. However, for the past couple of days I had been eyeing the last three bananas that had been in the fruit bowl for a quite some time. And after having one banana with nearly every lunch this week I just could not bring myself to eating those. And there I was - with three bananas that I did not want to eat. Whenever possible I try to make sure that I waste as little (or if possible none) food as I can. So I headed to my cookbook shelf and saw Mary Berry's Baking Bible. As I was in a bit of a bake off mood I decided to flick through it - and there were two amazing banana loaf recipes. Exactly what I wanted! And when I read that one of them is very freezer friendly I was sold.

Most people probably think I'm slightly insane after what I'm going to tell you next. I'm not a massive fan of the way bananas taste like. I find the taste too dominating - whenever you make a smoothie or any other dish and add some banana, that is the only thing you can actually taste! So instead of sticking to the exact recipe I tweaked it a bit by changing some quantities and adding walnuts. 

I was really surprised at how quick and easy this cake was to make. I probably spent 10 minutes preparing it and waiting for the oven to heat up and that was about it. Very fuss free and only used one bowl, so for the people who are not very keen on having to do lots of washing up this recipe is absolutely perfect. And the result - oh my! The cake came out incredibly moist and I found the banana taste was actually quite subtle and the walnuts really added another dimension of flavours and that extra bit of crunchy texture. So after having already eaten my way through one third of the cake I found that it was perfect time to slice it all up, place in a freezer bag with a baking parchment between two slices and store it away for when I need a quick pick-me-up. This definitely makes for a perfect cure for the afternoon energy slump, speedy breakfast on the go or just something one would enjoy with a nice cup of tea. So, if you're like me and have a couple of bananas that you don't know what to do with, this recipe is definitely one to try out. 

Ingredients

- 100g softened butter

- 175g caster sugar

- 2 medium eggs

- 3 ripe bananas, mashed

- 225g self-raising flour

- 1 level tsp baking powder 

- 3 tbsp milk

- 100g walnut pieces

Directions

Firstly preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan. Grease a loaf tin and then line it with baking parchment to prevent the loaf from sticking to it. Then place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until everything is well blended. If using an electric mixer add the walnuts after mixing everything else together and mix the nuts in afterwards using a wooden spoon or spatula. Then pour the mixture into the loaf tin and level the surface.

Bake for around 1 hour until well risen and golden brown. Leave it to cool in the tin for the first couple of minutes and then place on a wire rack to allow it to completely cool off. Cut into nice thick slices and enjoy! 

Recipe adapted from Mary Berry's Baking Bible.

 

Chilli apple jelly

I know it's been literally forever since I last posted anything here, but I've been so incredibly busy over the last months. For those of who don't know yet, I'm now officially a Mrs and anyone who has had any involvement with planning a wedding knows how much time and effort it all takes. And apart from being buys, cooking for one is not that much fun and I've kind of just resorted to making big batches of soup and having that over the week. Which, to be honest, isn't no were near to being a good blogging material.

But now the autumn is slowly creeping in and you can really feel the change in weather. And around this time I go into full blown preserve making mode - as long as I can get my hands on some berries or fruit all I want to do is stock up for the winter. Nevermind the fact that I still have some jams that I made back in 2011. But this year I've decided to try a couple of new things, especially as I still have plenty of the stuff that I've made in the previous years. So, my first project so to speak was chilli apple jelly. After spending a lovely afternoon with my mother in law she told me all about the gorgeous things she had made (and already eaten), and being a massive fan of cheese this jelly recipe really stood out. So equipped with my apples and chillies (which unfortunately I had to buy) I arrived home with a clear mission - I am going to make that jelly. I have to admit when I read the recipe it seemed like a quite long winded process, but as I made the first steps in the morning and let it drip whilst I was out and about and then finished it off in the evening it didn't feel bad at all.

Whenever I make any preserves I never manage to either fill all the jars or there's a tiny bit left over. And what I usually do in these circumstances is I put the leftovers in a glass ramekin or two and enjoy them over a couple of days. This is actually pretty great as I get to taste the real product without having to open up a massive jar and then having to polish that off. And let's face it, if I'm all by myself and want to maintain a relatively healthy diet, eating a lot of cheese with some crackers smothered in apple jelly is probably not the best way to do it. But it definitely would be a very delicious way of doing it!

So, a little bit about the jelly itself. The first thing that I absolutely love is the way it looks - transparent golden jelly with red chilli specks inside. It's quite magnificent. And the taste is just incredible - sweet with a nice kick to it. And to have it with some cheese, I had it with mature cheddar, is just divine - it really adds the final touch to the whole combination. So having finished off my tiny ramekin I can't wait to have an excuse to pop open a jar and have some more of this golden deliciousness.

Ingredients
(Makes about 1.5l of jelly)
- 2kg cooking apples
- cold water
- 1.5kg sugar
- 3 birds eye chillies, chopped

Directions
Roughly chop the apples and place into a large saucepan. There's no need to peel or core the apples, so it makes the whole preparation process a lot easier and faster. Then cover with cold water and bring to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until the fruit is all soft and squishy.

Then drain the fruit and liquid through a sterilised muslin - leave it for a good 3-4 hours at least.

Measure the clear juice and allow 450g sugar and 1 chopped chilli for every 500ml of juice. Pour the juice, sugar and chilli into a clean saucepan and bring to boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Reduce the heat and skim off the foam from the surface. Bring back to boil and boil vigorously for 15-20 minutes until the setting point is reached (105C on the sugar thermometer).

Remove the pan from heat and pour the jelly into sterilised jars. Let them cool down and store them away. These will keep for 2 years, unopened.

Recipe adapted from BBC Food recipe "Chilli apple jelly"

Apple juice

For as long as I can remember autumn has pretty much been synonymous with apples. Every year we went down to the countryside to pick the apples and then spend a good evening or two making apple juice. And I'm not talking about a couple of kilos of apples and a couple of bottles of juice. I'm talking about a massive cartload of apples and litres and litres of juice - it was enough to last us the whole year. And bearing in mind that we drank apple juice all the time and it was 5 of us, we made a lot of juice. I went to the countryside yesterday and had the chance to pick some apples, nothing compared to the amounts we do back in Estonia, but still a decent quantity to help to fill out the pantry.

Making juice today at home was miles apart from doing that in Estonia - instead of the crushing machine and the juice press I used my small juicer. And I have to admit that when I was finally done with the juice my kitchen looked like a battlefield - splashes of apple juice on the counter and cupboards and incredibly sticky everywhere else. But the smell of fresh apple juice made it so worth the mess. 

I can honestly say that making apple juice is a bit of a hassle, but it is so worth it. Store bought juices have never even come close to the real home made ones and I am so glad that I got myself together and made some. In all honesty, in a couple of days time I might go through the hassle once more, so I'd have a nice supply for when my friends and family come to visit or when I just feel like treating myself to something that reminds me of Estonia. 

Ingredients

- 4.5 l freshly pressed apple juice

- 100 g sugar

- Sterilised glass bottles / jars

Directions

First put the apples through the juicer until you have a good 4.5 litres of apple juice. Then strain the juice through a muslin cloth to remove all the tiny bits. 

Place everything into a large pot and bring up to 85C. Skim the foam and let it simmer for 15 minutes or so. Then add the sugar. If you want yours sweeter add more than that, but I prefer mine quite sour (and to quote my mum - you can always buy the sugary syrup "apple juice" from the shops). Stir until the sugar has dissolved completely. 

Then pour the juice into the bottles / jars and close the caps whilst the juice is still hot. Let it cool down and label it. Enjoy immediately or put away for the cold winter months to come. To serve, dilute it with water and for added twist serve with lemon and orange slices. 

Chicken & nectarine salad

As I've told you before I'm not a huge fan of our university food and so whenever I have to spend long days there I tend to make myself a boxed lunch (or dinner). I've been trying out quite a few recipes lately (some of which have made to this blog) and this one really stood out - even my fiancé really liked it. It's very easy and quick to make and I absolutely love the lime and olive oil dressing as it adds a nice zing to the whole salad. I generally tend to eat my salads without any dressing or olive oil, but this is just divine.

Whenever people think of salads they tend to imagine a bowl of tasteless green stuff that no-one really likes, but everyone eats because it's considered good for you. Trust me, this is not one of the boring salads.It is very fresh and fruity and makes a perfect meal for those hot days when you want something light yet filling. The combination of chicken, nectarines and sour lime juice is unbelievably nice - they balance each other out and end up creating a mixture of tastes that just goes perfectly together.

It is great as a starter or a light meal or as said before - it makes a perfect boxed lunch. It stays nicely in the fridge for two days and is a perfect addition to your lunch recipes. Feel free to use normal cabbage or ice berg lettuce instead of womboks (or any other green leafy salad as long as they have a mild taste).

Ingredients
(Serves 4)
- 2 chicken breasts, cooked
- 3 womboks
- 4 nectarines
- Juice of 4 limes
- 1 tsp olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper

Directions
Firstly prepare the chicken. I seasoned my chicken breasts with salt and pepper, wrapped them into foil and roasted them in the oven for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, wash and dry wombok and apricots and cut them into small strips.

When the chicken is done, let it cool for few minutes and then shred the breasts into small stripes.

Place all the ingredients in a big bowl and mix well.

Mix together the olive oil and lime juice, pour over salad, mix well and serve immediately.

PS! If making this for your lunchbox, divide the salad up between 4 boxes. Then prepare the dressing, but divide it up between 4 small boxes and pour over the salad just before serving. This way you'll avoid making the salad soggy.

Adapted from AWW "Low Fat Kitchen"

Parma ham & melon

Every now and then I feel like eating something simple and tasty. Something that does not take hours to prepare and does not need a long list of ingredients. Sure, sophisticated or a bit more special food is great - I am a big fan of trying new things and experimenting with ingredients which I have to google to find out what they are and how do they look like. However, sometimes simplicity is the key to food. And this brings me to todays recipe. I even don't know whether it is correct to call it a recipe as it basically involves eating two ingredients together... Nevertheless it is undoubtedly one of my all time favourites. It is one of those universal recipes that you can have any time of the day just by yourself or serve it as canapés or a starter at a dinner party - just organise the melon and ham in a fancy way and voila! It has always been a big crowd pleaser so you can't go wrong with serving this. Also, there are endless ways of serving this dish - melon wedges, cubes, slices and the bit lazy ones amongst us (or ones under time constraints) can even buy ready-to-eat melon pieces and serve it up with the ham.

I am still amazed how good this combination of sweet melon and salty Parma tastes like. It's perfect combination for a refreshing summer dish and adds a nice dose of sun into my day whenever I have it. For a more sophisticated take on the recipe, drizzle with some good quality balsamic vinegar and for a more filling dish, serve rocket on the side and increase the quantities.

Ingredients
(Serves 1)
- 200g melon, sliced
- 90g Parma ham
- Fresh black pepper to serve
- Balsamic vinegar, to serve (optional)
- Olive oil, to serve (optional)

Directions
Peel the melon and slice into pieces. Place the melon slices onto a plate and top them off with Parma ham. Drizzle some balsamic vinegar and olive oil on top if you wish and serve with freshly ground pepper.

Smoothies

I decided that instead of making a single post every smoothie, it would make a lot more sense just to put all the smoothies in one single post. I absolutely love smoothies - the real reason why I bought a blender in the first place. It is so easy to make up a smoothie from berries, juices and yogurts that you have at home or to use up some leftovers. To save you the headache, here are some great smoothies to enjoy as snacks, breakfasts or refreshing drinks. I promise, that every time I try out a new one, I will update this post, so if you're into smoothies, keep an eye on it.

Pineapple-watermelon smoothie 
(Serves 1)
- 150g pineapple
- 200g watermelon

Put everything in the blender and blend until smooth. You could also add ice if you prefer, however, I keep my ingredients in the fridge for few hours before making the smoothie, so it is already nice and cool and as I don't need to add ice I avoid getting the 'brain freeze' feeling when drinking my smoothie.

This is a really refreshing drink, which also fills you up (for a limited time of course). Perfect for hot summer days or as quick snack. Sweet watermelon and a bit sour pineapple create the perfect balance and neither of the ingredients dominate over the other.

Blueberry muesli smoothie

(Serves 1)

- 125g blueberries (fresh or frozen)

- 125ml 0% natural yogurt

- 125ml skimmed milk

- 25g muesli

Put all in the blender and enjoy as a delicious start for the day.

This is one of my absolute and long time favourites. I find this smoothie a great way to kick-start my day. It is filling enough to keep me going for hours and on top of that it is filled with all the goodness one can possible thing of:- antioxidants from blueberries, calcium and protein from milk and yogurt and fibre from muesli. Honestly, what else could one want from a smoothie? 

Raspberry & peach smoothie

(Serves 1)
- 100g raspberries, plus few for decoration
- 1 ripe peach, chopped
- 100 ml cold water

Blend everything until smooth. Serve over ice if wish and decorate with few raspberries.

This smoothie is light and refreshing, but depending on the sweetness of the peach it can also be quite sour, rather than sweet. This would be perfect when served with some crushed ice on a hot summer day to refresh and rehydrate yourself. 

Green smoothie
(Serves 1)
- 1/4 melon, peeled and chopped
- 1 kiwi, peeled and chopped
- 50g green seedless grapes

Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve with some mint and ice, or just enjoy by itself. Decorate with a kiwi slice or a grape.

This is light and refreshing smoothie, which is slightly sour. Great for breakfasts or to sip during a hot summer day.

Antioxidant smoothie
(Serves 1)
- 1 Pom Pomegranate juice (240ml)
- 150g mixed frozen berries (or other frozen fruit)

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Enjoy immediately.

This is a perfect pick-me-up smoothie to have for breakfast that is sweet and sour at the same time. I love the fact that using frozen berries immediately results in a creamy and refreshing drink without having to add any ice and ending up diluting the taste of the smoothie itself.

Nectarine & Serrano ham salad

As promised - a summery and light, but at the same time very flavourful, recipe. I am a huge fan of cold meats - especially dried ham - and it is no problem for me to finish off a big pack of Parma ham by myself as a snack. The salad I initially wanted to make required Parma ham, but unfortunately I was a bit too lazy to drive to the city and they only had Serrano ham, which is like the Spanish alternative, so I gave the ham a go ... And the result was gorgeous (I would not post something that doesn't taste good). Filling but light, fresh and fruity - exactly what one wants from a summer salad.

Ingredients
(Serves 1)
- 25g rocket
- 1 ripe nectarines
- 3 slices Serrano ham
- Balsamic vinegar, to serve
- Freshly ground pepper, to serve

Directions
Place the rocket on a plate. Chop up the nectarines and tear the Serrano ham into small slices. Place the ham on top of the rocket and sprinkle with the nectarine slices. Drizzle over with some balsamic vinegar and freshly ground pepper and serve immediately.

Mango & passionfruit roulade

This is one of my all-time favourite desserts. I never though that there could be something which tasted divine and at the same time wasn't a calorie bomb. This recipe proved me wrong - it is light and absolutely delicious. This is the very recipe that got me hooked on the combination of mango and passionfruit and introduced me to the goodness of greek yogurt. In addition to all that, it is very easy to make - so it's perfect for those summer evenings when you don't feel like slaving in the kitchen for hours and want to have something simple and light that everyone will like.

Ingredients:
(Serves 10 slices - 155 cal per slice)
Base:
- 3 eggs
- 85g golden caster sugar
- 85g plain flour, sifted
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract

Filling:
- 1 tsp golden caster sugar
- flesh from 2 large, ripe passion fruits
- 2 mangoes, peeled and diced
- 250g raspberries
- 200g 0% Greet yogurt

Directions
Heat the oven to 200C / fan 180C. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Place sugar and eggs into a large bowl and whisk with an electric mixer until thick and light (around 5 minutes). Fold in the sifted flour and baking power and then add the vanilla extract. Spread evenly on the baking tray and bake for around 12-15 minutes until golden. Take out from the oven and roll the sponge up immediately with the baking paper inside.

For the filling, mix sugar, passion fruit flesh and 1/3 of the mango and raspberries into the yogurt. Unroll the sponge and spread the filling on it evenly and then roll it up. Place the remaining mango and raspberries on top of the roulade and sprinkle with some icing sugar before serving.

Roulade can be filled and rolled up to 2 hours before serving and kept in the fridge.

Recipe from BBC Good Food

Mango & passionfruit fool

As the summer approaches I've realised that my taste in food changes - instead of the heavier warming meals I want to have something fresher and fruitier. Today was one of those days when I had such a craving and decided to make myself a mango and passionfruit fool for lunch. I used Greek style yogurt instead of cream and thus the result was a lot healthier and lighter. Mango and passionfruit are amazing together, creating the perfect combination of sweet and sour. I had it for lunch, but also it would be perfect for breakfast, as a snack or even as a dessert - I can so imagine myself having it on a warm summer evening after a BBQ with friends!

Ingredients
(Serves 2 - 160 cal per serving)
- 1 ripe mango; peeled and diced
- 1/4 lime, juiced
- 225g 0% (or low fat) Greek yogurt
- 1 passion fruit


Directions
Peel and dice the mango. Divide the mango into half and put one half into a medium bowl and divide the other half between two serving bowls (leaving aside few cubes for the topping).

In the medium bowl puree the mango with a handheld mixer (or use a food processor) and add the lime juice to the puree. Stir in the Greek yogurt and mix until all ingredients are well combined and the mixture is smooth and creamy.

Divide the mixture between two serving bowls (or glasses), top the mixture with remaining mango and scoop the seeds of half a passion fruit on each one. Cover and put in the fridge to chill and thicken for at least an hour.

Also, if you prefer your fool a bit sweeter then add a tiny bit of sugar to the mixture before putting it in the bowls. However, it is amazing without any added sugar (mango is sweet enough) and I love the sour taste of passionfruit and therefore did not add any.

Recipe from BBC Good Food