Raw Pumpkin Seed Butter

I’m pretty new to nut and seed butters available in the US. Until a couple of years ago, I’d only tried peanut butter – the others simply weren’t available in the UK.

I’ve now made my own peanut, cashew, almond and coconut butter. I wanted to sample sunbutter (from sunflower seeds) and cheated, by buying it from PCC at $6.99 for an organic jar. It just reminds me not to go grocery shopping on an empty stomach! When I do, I can easily add $40 onto my bill! Anyhow, when I got home, I ripped the jar open and stuck a spoon in it, to try it. I didn’t know what to expect, I mean we both love sunflower seeds, how can grinding them into a paste make them taste any different? Well, the grinding does make them taste different. The stuff is truly addictive, I couldn’t stop spooning the deliciousness out of the jar and into my mouth (with a clean spoon each time, of course!)

Bean-Free Sun-Dried Tomato "Hummus"

A hummus with no beans I hear you cry. Am I mad? Probably – but I’m not mad for making this no-bean hummus. If you try it, I promise I won’t call you mad – just let me know how much you enjoyed it.

It’s smooth, slightly sweet and garlicky, yet being light and fresh at the same time. I had to stop myself eating the whole batch with carrot sticks when I whipped up this batch! Hmm... I wonder what's going to feature in J's packed lunch tomorrow...

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Something wonderful happens when you add roasted red peppers to a plain hummus recipe. It’s slightly sweeter and has a different dimension to it altogether – truly delectable. Although I'm pretty sure I've never seen a roasted red pepper hummus in the Mediterranean.

It goes well in sandwiches as a spread, as a dip with pita chips, crudités or anything you fancy.

Dark Chocolate & Roasted Hazelnut Spread

We used to love Nutella. So much so, that one Christmas, my brother-in-law bought us a humungous jar (3 kg, 6.6 lb) from Luxembourg. Let’s say that jar didn’t last very long!

When we relocated, we ceased to consume it. The Nutella available in the Americas contain modified palm oil, whereas the European variant contains vegetable oil. I would have liked to say that the European stuff is better, but sadly, it’s not. I was blissfully ignorant of the ingredients at the time. All variants of Nutella, regardless of which country it’s sold in, contains soy lecithin and artificial vanillin - two ingredients that I choose not to eat. Read about soy lecithin and vanillin in my nitty gritty pages.

Coconut Butter

Coconuts and coconut oil have had its fair share of bad press in the last few decades. It’s still a common misconception that the saturated fat in coconut oil raises cholesterol.

There are no scientific studies which have been published, that indicate the consumption of coconut oil increases blood cholesterol or leads to heart disease. There have however, been numerous reports [1-6] that have shown that coconut oil cannot be held responsible for the development of coronary heart disease. Other studies have pin-pointed populations that regularly consume coconuts, such as Polynesia and Sri Lanka and show that “dietary coconut oil does not lead to high serum cholesterol nor to high coronary heart disease mortality or morbidity" [7-9].

Tuna Paste

Tuna paste really doesn’t have a romantic ring to it, does it? I guess I could call it tuna spread, but it’ll always be tuna paste to me.

I have fond memories of when this tuna spread and I were first introduced. J and I were enjoying a wonderful vacation in Southern Portugal, when we decided to pop into a Brazilian restaurant for dinner. Don’t ask me why we wanted to eat at a Brazilian restaurant when we’re in the Algarve, but I blame it to the fact we had been there 2+ weeks and had gotten a little bored of the local fare.

Olive Tapenade

Olives are like Marmite - you either love ‘em or you hate ‘em. In my earlier years, I was a little tentative in trying new foods. Growing up in a family that had sit-down traditional Chinese meals every dinner, olives were one of those “new” foods. It was only when I met J, did I start being more adventurous.

I absolutely adore the well-ripened black olives, but don’t really care for the unripe green ones. I particularly like the ones that aren’t salted. It’s something about their delicious richness when you bite into their flesh, releasing all their oily goodness.