Buttery Palmiers with Cinnamon Sugar

I had a batch of puff pastry I made a while back, and it was time I needed to use it up. I decided to make delicious buttery palmiers with cinnamon sugar. They are quick and easy to make and everyone will love them.

Use store-bought, ready-rolled, butter puff pastry for a quick cheat. They are perfect for general snacking or afternoon tea.

Honey Peanut Clusters

When we lived in London, there was this place we’d pick up honey peanuts in the weekend whilst walking through town. Those honey peanuts were darn tasty. No matter how much we’d buy, they’d always be gone by the end of the weekend! They were just so deliciously moreish!

Since I live 5,000 miles away from London, I thought I’d try and make my own version. They only contain 1 tablespoon of honey, so calling them honey peanut clusters seems a little wrong, but what the hell? Although they are nothing like the ones we used to scoff, these are pretty damn good. I ate a lot quite a few, whilst they were cooling. When they had fully set, we scoffed the remainder!

Dark Chocolate & Banana Ice-Lollies

These babies are gluten-free, vegan-friendly and super-delicious! Frozen bananas are enrobed in a high-quality dark chocolate and then rolled in roasted hazelnuts.

When you bite into these frozen treats, there’s a wonderful crack from the chocolate, which reveals the sweet, semi-frozen flesh of the banana. It’s a beautiful combination of flavors and textures, one that needs to be celebrated!

Vegetable Curry Patties

I’ve been craving those yellow tinged Jamaican curry patties for so long! The last time I had one, was probably in 2004, when I was still living in London. The turmeric spiced, soft, yet short pastry, encased a delicious, curried minced (ground) lamb filling. I can taste them now.

The thought of curry patties had subsided until this February. This was when J had some vegetable curry patties whilst up in Vancouver B.C. They’ve been playing on my mind ever since!!!!

Vegan Gluten-Free Oat & Berry Bars

This weekend I didn’t have to work or be someplace else, which meant it was playtime in my kitchen!

On Saturday, I whipped up two loaves of Roquefort bread, granola and these vegan gluten-free oat & berry bars. I still had enough time to prep loads of veggie skewers for our barbecue dinner.

These bars are oaty, chewy and chock-full of berries. They contain no refined sugar and won’t give those annoying pangs afterwards. They are satisfying and taste really wholesome. The bars aren’t overly sweet and the berries have just the right amount of tartness, to make the bar really good.

Raw Chocolate Cheesecake

Raw-food purists would never call this raw, as it has cashews in it. So to call this raw, isn’t entirely true – alas…

Although raw, by definition is also vegan – I would like to point this out to people who aren’t huge raw-food fans, like myself. So, not only is this cheesecake raw, it’s also vegan and has no processed sugars in it. You can of course sweeten it with agave nectar or maple syrup, but this will no longer make this cheesecake “raw”.

British Cheese Scones

In this entry, I’m going to open a can of worms labeled “scones”. British scones are significantly different from American scones. British scones are light, fluffy, quite dainty and round; American scones are denser, heartier, bigger and usually wedge/triangular-shaped. The British scone is closer to an American biscuit, than it is to an American scone. And British biscuits are what Americans know as cookies… ok, now the language issue has been dealt with, I can now discuss British scones.

Sweet and Spicy Almonds

I had a bag of raw almonds sitting in the freezer for a little while, and whilst searching for food porn one evening, spotted this recipe for sweet and spicy almonds. I just HAD to make them!

I’ve slightly adjusted the amounts of ingredients in the original recipe. The result are almonds that are crunchy, sweet, salty, spicy and ever-so-slightly medicinal tasting – I guess that’s due to the fennel seed. And remember, almonds are good for you!

Vegan Chocolate Brownie Bites

These do NOT last long in my house – I just can’t help myself!

Their fudgy brownie center is simply made of dates, walnuts*, vanilla and cocoa, which is then drenched in molten chocolate^. The taste and texture sensation is incredible – you initially get the crack of the chocolate when you bite into one, which then allows your tongue to be tantalized by the dark, chocolately, goodness inside… reminiscent of a fudgy brownie. They taste so decadently sinful, yet they aren’t.

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...

Kale Chips

Kale is one of those leafy greens that we should all eat more of.

It belongs to the Brassica family, which is a group of vegetables that include cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts and collard greens. It is this group of vegetables that are now known for their health-promoting benefits, due to their sulfur-containing phytonutrients.

Kale is an excellent source of vitamins K, A and C, manganese as well as containing decent amounts of dietary fiber, copper, tryptophan, calcium, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), potassium, iron, magnesium, vitamin E, omega-3 fatty-acids, vitamin B2 (riboflavin), protein, vitamin B1 (thiamin), folate, phosphorus and vitamin B3 (niacin) [1].

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

This is probably one of the easiest recipes that produce the most wonderful peanut butter cookies, that you’ll ever encounter.

They’re also gluten-free and simply full of peanut-ty goodness.

Chocolate Layer Cookies

Another one of my recipes I dig up for when we need a hostess gift. These are a little more tedious than the Viennese Fingers, but the resulting biscuits (cookies) are not only beautiful, but also delicious.

These bite-sized biscuits (cookies) are layered vanilla and chocolate shortbread that are crisp, buttery and coated on one-side with dark (semi-sweet) chocolate.

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.

Cheese Sables

I made these cheese sables on Valentine’s Day and received the best compliment from J. He said “these taste just like my Uncle’s….” Now, this may not mean much to most people, but J’s uncle used to own a patisserie in the Netherlands for many many years.

These cheese sables are buttery, cheesy, crispy and delicate, suitable for general snacking, nibbles before dinner, or with an aperitif.

Oil-Free Plantain Chips

I was first introduced to the plantain in the mid-90s, when I lived with a good friend, and fellow chemist from Saint Lucia. Not being typical students, we cooked every night, alternating between us. She used to always make something really special when it was her turn, but then later realized I enjoyed the more rustic, everyday traditional Caribbean food. Man, I miss her rustic food!

When I first made these chips, I had an obsession with Trader Joe’s roasted plantain chips. I often scoffed a bag when I got home from work – I was tired and needed some energy, but with 900 calories per bag, that’s almost 2/3 of my daily calorie intake! They were damn addictive! Once the bag was open, I had to finish them all - they were slightly salty, very crunchy and they have this indescribable floury/starchy texture.

Oil-Free Granola

Granola is certainly not a low-calorie food, but it is a powerhouse of energy and is ideal for breakfast or snacking. Here in the US, granola comes in almost every flavor you can imagine. However, in the UK it’s not widely available - the closest thing I can describe it as, is bits of crunchy flapjacks. That is, British flapjacks, not American…that’s a different kettle of fish altogether.

It’s similar to crunchy British flapjacks because the base for granola is oats, brown sugar/honey/liquid sweetener, fat and optional add-ins. With the addition of dried fruit, nutritious seeds and nuts, the granola mix can be a densely-nutritious food.