Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Creamy Tropical Fruit Smoothie





With Spring in full force (although with fairness last week felt like Summer!) I have been enjoying a lot more smoothies, especially since I have recently re-joined the gym. It's a great way to start my day or to give me an energy boost mid afternoon before or after working out. Even better my son loves it and not that I need any help getting him to eat fruit, if you have a fussy fruit eater in your family I am sure they will love this.

Makes 2 glasses (easily doubled)

1 cup of frozen mango cubes
1 full (slightly overflowing!) cup of strawberries, hulled
¼ pineapple, peeled
1 pot of yogurt (100g approx)*
Splash of milk (optional)

Put the mango cubes into a blender and leave to soften slightly while you cup up the other fruit, then add the strawberries and pineapple to the blender along with the yogurt. I tend to half fill my pot of yogurt with the milk and swish it around a bit to get the last of the yogurt before adding it to the blender. Blitz until smooth then serve while thick and creamy and icy cold.

Note:

If you don't have frozen mango cubes add a few ice cubes to the blended when you blitz it to make it nice and frosty cold.

Variation:

If you don't like/ have allergies to Mango or simply can't get any you can replace it with 1 large banana instead, just don't forget the ice!



Monday, May 6, 2013

Coconut & Lime Macaroons




Since I am a huge fan of coconut and especially coconut and lime, it's no surprise that I absolutely love these Macaroons. They are quick and easy to make and utterly irresistible! Sweet and chewy the lime cuts through a little just to add just enough zing to stop them from being too cloyingly sweet.

I've tried lots of different macaroon recipes over the years but this one is my favourite since it is very straightforward, quick and easy and doesn't fail. It's a recipe by Rachel Allen from Home Cooking, I just changed it to use lime instead of the cinnamon that she prefers. This is a great recipe for getting kids cooking in the kitchen as it's as simple as 1-2-3 and is perfect for making if you have any unexpected guests showing up and even better it is also gluten free. If you have a batch of these in the cookie jar you are guaranteed to keep everyone happy.

Makes roughly 12 bite-sized cookies

100g shredded coconut
75g sugar
Zest of 1/2 lime
1 egg white

Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Simply put all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix everything together until well combined. Use a tablespoon to measure out the macaroons and then with damp hands roll them into little balls and pop onto the baking tray.

Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes until light golden brown. Cool on the tray for roughly 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.


Variation:
For an extra indulgent treat dip half of the macaroons into melted dark chocolate. Total decadence!


Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Cooking the Books ~ May


I thought it was about time that I treated myself to a new cookbook so I managed to restrain myself and narrowed down the choices to 3 popular new books that have been recently released in Canada. The choice was between Gordon Ramsay's Home Cooking (originally entitled Ultimate Cookery Course, which I have been watching on TV), Curtis Stone's new book What's For Dinner and finally It's All Good by Gwyneth Paltrow. It was a really tough choice but in the end after looking through all 3 books I picked What's For Dinner by Curtis Stone which is the book I will be putting to the test for this months Cooking the Books

As usual if you have recently bought this book why not cook along with me or leave a comment and let me know what you think of it. Since it's so new I know there has been a lot of publicity on it so if you have perhaps seen a review or article in a magazine why not try those recipes? So what are you waiting for, let's put this book to the test and start Cooking the Books!!

Monday, April 29, 2013

Cookbook Review ~ Mexican Food Made Simple by Thomasina Miers




I received Mexican Food Made Simple just over a year ago after reading my Sister-in-laws copy and loving it! Since I'm not particularly familiar with Mexican cooking this definitely looked like a great book to get me started. I know a lot of Mexican cookbooks can be off-putting due to long lists of hard to find ingredients and complicated, time consuming recipes, but this one really did look straightforward so it was time to put the book to the test.

For those of you unfamiliar with Thomasina Miers she was the winner of Masterchef (UK) in 2005. Her first book 'Cook' was published in 2006 but her true calling definitely pointed towards Mexican food after spending a lot of time living in Mexico and even opening a cocktail bar there. Her time in the country allowed her to explore the regions of Mexico learning about culture and of course food and even the opportunity to cook with some of Mexico's top chefs. Returning to live in the UK she since opened the cantina Wahaca (in various locations) which focuses on Mexican street food and has published Mexican Food Made Simple (2010) followed by Wahaca: Mexican Food at Home, in 2012.

Mexican Food Made Simple is packed full of recipes that are divided up into Chapters including Salsas, sauces & relishes (a favourite of mine!), Soups, Street food, Cheesy things, From the grill and Soul food. The chapter on 'Basics' is a great guide for introducing you to the way Mexican's eat, but more so is incredibly informative on classic Mexican ingredients you will use throughout the book and on ingredients you can substitute if you can't fend the authentic ingredient suggested. In the introduction Miers states that she can show how “easy, healthy and exciting Mexican food really is” using ingredients that are easy to source so baring that in mind it was time to put the book to the test!

Monday, April 22, 2013

Hibiscus Cordial {& Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup}





This recipe is taken from the fantastic book Mexican Food Made Easy by Thomasina Miers. It has the most delicious fruity, berry flavour to it that is sweet but has a tang similar to cranberry juice. Topped up with a little sparkling water, this cordial makes the most refreshing and delicious non-alcoholic drink or for a party it would make a great base to a cocktail, especially when served with a hibiscus flower as a garnish.

Hibiscus Cordial


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