Quinoa, Sweet Potato and Spinach Baked Eggs with Berry Frozen Yogurt

You can't beat a good egg. Poached, fried, scrambled, in an omelette or a frittata, there're so many things you can do with eggs. They are also filled with goodness. Eggs contain a whopping 18 different vitamins and minerals, provide us with the highest nutritional quality protein of all food sources and are a source of omega-3 fats (the healthy fats). So it's fair to say these little-shelled beauties pack quite the nutritional punch. But should you be looking for something slightly more exciting than scrambled on toast, this could well be the dish for you.

Cooked in a tomato-pepper sauce with quinoa, spinach and mashed sweet potato, these baked eggs are a great lunch or dinner dish to share. Served with a mixed leaf, tomato, avocado and pomegranate salad and some quick homemade frozen yogurt, this dish was the main of choice for a summer lunch alfresco at mine with some of my very lovely friends. 

For this dish, you will need:

Egg Bake

200g quinoa (mine is red and white blend - I really like the colour and texture, but normal quinoa would work just fine)

3 sweet potatoes, peeled (add in 1 tbsp grainy mustard, a squidge of tomato ketchup and a generous grind of black pepper for mashing)

Half a big bag of spinach 

2 peppers

1 onion

Can of chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp of tomato pesto
1 tsp of harissa paste
1 tsp oregano

9 eggs

Salad

Big bag of mixed leaves

A couple handful of cherry tomatoes

1 large avocado

Any seeds/nuts you fancy to scatter over

Seeds of half a pomegranate

Maple syrup (or honey) and olive oil for drizzling
Good grinding of salt and pepper

Homemade frozen yogurt

150g frozen raspberries

250g yogurt of your choice 

2 tbsp of honey

Start with the frozen yogurt so it can chill in the freezer while you do the eggs. This really is the very simplest of desserts, and always goes down well. The ingredients are variable, and you can use any frozen fruit or flavour yogurt you fancy. I went for raspberries and used a mix of vanilla and greek yogurt.

Place the frozen fruit and yogurt into a blender, and blend until minimal fruit chunks remain and the yogurt and fruit are completely combined. Pop it into a tupperware like this one here:

And into the freezer it goes. It's good to serve when it's still a bit soft, as if you leave it to really freeze up it gets a bit crystallised. It's just an incentive to eat it all up in one go really!

Now let's get cracking on the eggs. Cook your quinoa for 15 minutes, and while this is happening you can peel and chop your sweet potato into cubes, ready for steaming or boiling. If you can, steam them as this retains more vitamins, and in a steamer like this:

It's dead easy. You want to steam or boil them for the same time the quinoa is cooking, and while they're both cooking away we can get on with the tomato sauce.

This is a simple tomato sauce with a few key add-ins.

The harissa gives it a slightly spicy, tomato-y tang, and the tomato pesto adds a rich creamy flavour. Oregano is to tie it all together making some form of italian-type sauce, but again...as with my energy bars, this recipe is a bit of an improvisation, so work with what you want to make a tasty tomato sauce!

Our sauce is going to have onions, garlic and peppers - I used one red pepper and one yellow. 

Cook the onions for 5 minutes and then add the sliced peppers. Here you want to add in your harissa, pesto and oregano, followed by the chopped tomatoes. If you have a hand blender feel free to whizz this up -I used my food processor, but it could equally be left chunky.

With the pesto, harissa and pepper mix you have a delicious tomato sauce that would trump any shop bought equivalent. With the sauce done, it's time to attend to our quinoa and sweet potato. Take the quinoa off the heat and drain, and mash the potato. Here I threw 1 tbsp grainy mustard, a squidge of tomato ketchup and a generous grind of black pepper. Now mix all together in the pan with spinach until wilted...

And you have the base for your eggs! Spread in a baking tray, and make little circular indentations for eggs to nestle in. Crack in eggs, and don't worry if the whites spill over their allocated mini-holes.

That goes into the oven at 200 degrees celsius for about 10-15 minutes, and now we can make the salad. There's no real art form involved in this, it really is just a combination of all the ingredients in a bowl, and for the dressing I chose a very simple olive oil drizzle with a touch of maple syrup - I use this slight sugary touch to really bring out the sweetness of the tomatoes. If you find the task of deseeding pomegranates slightly daunting, fear not. See this youtube clip for a quick and easy way to do it!

Serve all together, bringing out the frozen yogurt just before serving. 

The muffins served alongside the yogurt were baked by my wonderful friend Lily, and are from an Ottolenghi recipe. They were truly sumptuous - nutty and rich but not overly sweet, they went down a treat. I found the recipe reposted on the website What Rachel Ate, which is also a fantastic blog.

All this delicious food, and the company of some gorgeous girls and sunshine. A perfect afternoon!

All that glimmers is Golders

Golders Green.

Perhaps you know it, perhaps you don't. Situated in Northwest London, it could be described as a relatively unremarkable area of London. But for some of us locals who proudly call it home, it holds a dear place in our heart and is actually filled with culinary treats. It's known mainly for its large Jewish community, but these days can also be seen as the home of many Polish people too, along with a notable Korean presence as well. This rich ethnic mix results in some great food options.

The Jewish population gives the area many great bakeries, but by far my favourite is Carmelli. 

Their bagels cannot be beaten, and they also make some absolutely delicious sweet cheese pastries. Alongside these you will find some entertaining marzipan animals and faces, which while may perhaps look more fun than they actually taste, they feature as just some of the many baked delights to be found in this neighbourhood bakery.

The Korean community can get a taste of home at Seoul Plaza. 

Filled with goods not just from Korea, but Japan and China too, they have a great selection of goods along with the absolute crème de la crème of asian sweets, the white rabbit.

Like milk chews, but better. Mmmmm.

Another excellent international supermarket is Buy 2 Save. My go to store for any middle eastern flavours, it stocks a whole host of goodies from date syrup to rose water, with delicious baklava to top it off. And if it's polish pickles your looking for, here you can pick them straight out a bucket.

What a treat!

But if it's not bagels you're after and you've been untickled by the pickles, don't rule this glorious area out, as Golders also provides some absolute gems in the restaurant department. Home to two fine Turkish Ocakbasi grill restaurants, you are never far from the enticing smell of grilled meats. Likya was the first, and provides a great atmosphere, friendly service and some fantastic dishes, including sweetbreads and kidneys - and they are offally good. 

The newer addition to the Turkish contingent in Golders is Durum, and dare I say it, my preference. Now this is when we really start talking about value! Opt for one of their set menus, and you are able to taste a wide range of their starters, such as these dips.

A great way to sample what the place has to offer, this spread includes hummus, babaganoush and taramasalata, as well as tzatziki, aubergine stew and a tabbouleh salad. But whatever you do, save room for the main. Because the mixed meat platter that follows is the stuff of carnivore heaven.

As you can see...I was a fan.

Featuring donner, shish and kofte kebabs of both lamb and chicken, along with lamb ribs and chicken wings, all on a bed of rice with a delicious side salad, it really is a no brainer when it comes to ordering here. This platter, with the dips included, is recommended for 2-3 people. Having tackled it twice now, initially as a duo and then a 3-man team, I must confess it has championed me on both occasions, with rather large doggy bags coming home. No complaints really though, it's like the dinner that just keeps on giving. And the price for such an enormous amount of food? £30. So between 4 people (and even then I think you'd have spare), that works out at about 8 quid each. Amazing!

But if eating the equivalent of a whole animal in one sitting isn't your thing,  you have other dining options. Another favourite of mine is Eat Toyko. A tiny, really authentic Japanese restaurant, you will often have to queue for a table, and even booking doesn't guarantee you your table straight away. Slightly odd but almost just as well, as this allows you the necessary time to read the extensive menu. Reading as an A-Z of truly delicious japanese food, you can find offally goodness (can you tell I like my offal?) in the way of teriyaki chicken livers, but also vegan-friendly fare in the shape of tofu dishes and delicious veg. It's the bento box selection which really steals the show though, allowing you to try a variety of dishes all in one compact box. The sushi-tem is fantastic, and for £16 it may seem like a slightly more expensive main option, but with all this food:

There's plenty to share! This includes sushi, sashmi,tempura and a side salad. If your not such a fan of our fishy friends, don't fret - there are also some great beef and chicken options too. Another Japanese and highly recommended option is Cafe Japan, also a really small restaurant so if you fancy checking it out, probably best to ring ahead and book.

I could not say I hail from Golders Green and not write about L'artista in a restaurant related blog post. This friendly Italian restaurant is situated under the bridge the tube runs over, and the rumbling noise heard every time a train passes only adds to the restaurant's charm.The pizza's are big, crispy based circles of joy, and the pasta dishes are also great, coming in huge portions too. Another wallet-friendly option, a margarita will see you back £6 and most dishes are around the £8 mark. Go on your birthday and you'll get a parade of italian waiters with cymbals wishing you happy birthday whilst throwing pizza dough on your head. It's like the present you've always dreamed of, but just forgot to ask for.

There is also Pho, a Vietnamese restaurant with a great selection of tasty dishes, including some brilliant pho soups, alongside exciting salad such as papaya and prawn. I've only ever eaten take away from here but the restaurant itself seems very nice, and is most definitely on my list.

The last one on the list today, but by no means the end of the options Golders has to offer, is Pita. More of a takeaway (although there is some space inside to dine in), I quote the wise words of my own sister when I say Pita serves 'the best falafel in the world'. And she's a veggie. Better take her word for it then! You can get all mains such as falafel, shwarma, schnitzel or hummus in a pitta, in a wrap or as a meal. The pitta's are huge, and the meals include an israeli style tabbouleh salad, chips or rice,plus a pitta - more than enough to feed hungry bellies on the move. And with a falafel pitta costing just £4.20, I'd say it's not bad for the best in the world -and luckily for me it's just on my doorstep!

So, why not head down to NW11 and give all these places a go? If you do, let me know what you think! And if you have any other foodie gems around the area please feel free to share as well.

A berry, berry good loaf

I always think you can't go wrong with a loaf cake. Some of the best and most classic of cakes lend themselves very well to this bread-like shaped bar of deliciousness - lemon drizzle loaf anyone? Banana bread slice? Perhaps a carrot cake loaf? I'll take all three.

The great Nigel Slater was not wrong when he said 'There is something elegant and timeless about a slice of plain cake', but sometimes you want to mix things up. So taking our classic lemon drizzle, I wanted something equally as moist and lemony, but perhaps with more fruit, and why not throw in some chocolate while we're at it...

Low and behold the Lemon Yogurt Poppyseed loaf, with summer berries and a white chocolate drizzle.

It is a real beauty, and pretty darn simple to make too. What are you waiting for?!

For this loaf of loveliness, you will need:

150g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
90 ground almonds
175g caster sugar
200ml natural yogurt
50ml sunflower oil
3 medium eggs
Zest and juice of 2 lemons
25g poppy seeds
75g white chocolate
150g berries

I've adapted the recipe from Red Magazine's website and you can see the original here. My version favours more ground almonds and less flour, and more yogurt instead of oil - this is the trick for a really sumptuous moist bake in my opinion. You don't have to buy expensive fresh berries, and I was very pleased to find some of these hiding in my freezer

For £2 you get about twice as many berries frozen as you do fresh, and after 20 seconds at full whack in the microwave they're about the same (careful though, too long and you end up with berry sauce - a mistake I've previously made).

The joy of this cake is that it really is so simple to make. You just mix the flour, almonds, baking powder, caster sugar, poppy seeds and lemon zest in a bowl, then in a large jug (or blender if your lazy like me) combine the yogurt, eggs, oil and lemon juice. When that's done mix the dry ingredients well into the wet mixture and pour into your loaf tin (which you will have greased already, naturally).

It goes into the oven for 40 minutes at 180 degrees celsius. 

Leave out to cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes, then take out of the tin and leave for a further 10 minutes. Now comes the fun bit - berry placing and white chocolate drizzling!

Melt your white chocolate in the microwave and then...drizzle away. I like using a small dessert fork as you instantly get three little drizzles going on at once, but a knife does pretty much the same job. After one layer of drizzle, pop on your berries- the melted white chocolate should help them stick. Then, just because it's so much fun, drizzle again! And there you have it.

Just make sure you get to it before your greedy family members!

Goodness gracious great balls of...energy?!

I love a good snack. Who doesn't? Sweet or savory, we all know snacking is the healthy way to get us through the day, keeping energy levels balanced and making sure we keep our bodies fuelled for whatever the day might throw at us.

I love exercise and all things active, and since having discovered CrossFit 2 years ago (if you've no idea what this is and want to read up, check it out here), I am always eager to get into the gym and tackle a new workout. A lot of energy spent on exercise = more energy needed in! And while crisps and chocolate are great every now and then, I really enjoy finding healthy, wholesome ways to fuel my body, and what better way than some delicious energy bars from your very own kitchen?

I'm a massive fan of Nakd bars, which come in an array of flavours, but at about 70p for a small bar it isn't the cheapest of snacks. So I thought...why not make my own? After reading up on a few energy bar/ball/nakd-type bar recipes on the internet, I gathered my things and got set.

The ingredients are very much what you can see above -I added in a scoop of protein powder (mint chocolate flavour) but if you don't have this to hand don't worry. The nuts themselves contain a fair bit of protein and are a far better natural source, but if you are someone who's interested in ways to get more protein into their diet, protein powder is an easy way to do so. It also happens to taste delicious, but steer clear of any rocky road flavour!

To make these balls of yum you quite simply need:

200g dates (chopped or unchopped it doesn't matter, but they do need to be pitted)

200g nuts (use whatever nuts you fancy! I went for majority brazil nut with some almonds thrown  in for good measure)

50g grape nuts (or use oats, or any crunchy cereal)

2 tbsp cocoa powder

50ml milk (or dairy alternative)

As you can see from all my extra annotations, the ingredients in this are very much interchangeable. Add in what you want and sub-out what you don't. I'm not wild on dates, despite them making a great base for bars like these, and next time might swap half dates for sultanas. If you wanted, at the end you could add in some dried cranberries or chocolate chips - all ideas to be playing around with.

The next step is to pop all these ingredients in a blender/food processor, and whizz (technical term) constantly until you have a sticky, gooey dough.

 Then all you do is squidge the mixture down into a tray lined with baking paper, and pop in the freezer for about half an hour. After the mixture has really set you can lift out your baking paper and cut into bars. Even easier than this, I choose to mould my dough into silicone cupcake cases in a muffin tray. This recipe gave me seven generous portions, which look like this:

All ready to be wrapped in cling film or foil and taken for picnics/post-gym snacks/be eaten as cakes to have with tea! Although do bear in mind that in this tropical heatwave we seem to be experiencing at the minute these are likely to melt, so the cooler you can keep them the better.

Welcome

Hello There!

Welcome to my blog. This is something I have been wanting to do for a while, and will be the place where I post all my kitchen delights/disasters/general culinary conquests. I have always loved my food, but in the past year or so have discovered a real love for cooking and baking. I am perhaps the least fussy eater you will come across, and am always up for trying try new things. So please join me as I further explore the wonderful world of food, from all things offal to healthy vegan fare, with many cakes thrown in on the way.

xxx