Cheese and Sweetcorn Scones

Adapted from this BBC recipe, these scones have become a staple in our house and I always have a stash in my freezer for my daughter. You can omit the sweetcorn if you are a purist and just want straightforward cheese scones. 

These scones are so good and are incredibly addictive; so much so that I usually double up the quantity when making these to ensure I don't run out immediately. This would probably make around 8 large scones, though I usually make mini scones so that they are toddler sized, in which case it makes around 16.

Roast Butternut Squash, Brussel Sprouts, and Goats Cheese Gallete

This was the first free-form pie I ever made and I have to say I am totally sold. They are easy to make, very tasty, and best of all, adaptable i.e. a good use of whatever  veg and cheese you have leftover. This can take a while to make, but you can always cut down time by making the pastry beforehand and storing in the fridge until needed, or using ready made pastry.

Cheddar and Spinach Puff Pastry Twists

These are extremely easy to make and very tasty. They will also freeze well, though I doubt they will last that long! This recipe makes 10 quite large twists; you could easily halve the size and make 20 medium sized twists.

Olive and Pistachio Pesto

A rather unusual alternative to basil pesto, this uses more specialist ingredients than I usually go in for but looked so interesting I couldn't resist trying it out. It was delicious. If you can't get hold of green peppercorns, I'm sure black would be fine. Be careful to use unsalted pistachios or this would be far too salty. The recipe I used called for parmesan but since I am a strict vegetarian, I substituted for strong cheddar. However, feel free to use parmesan (or a vegetarian equivalent if you can find it) instead. The recipe I used actually called for double the quantities here and it made a lot of pesto so I've halved it to a more manageable amount. I kept mine in the fridge for a couple of weeks and it was fine. 

Sweet Potato Peanut Stew

This warm and comforting stew is perfect for dark, cold autumn evenings. Adding peanut (or any other nut) butter to stew really enriches it and gives it a lovely thick consistency. You can vary the vegetables according to what you prefer or what's in season and you can eat this as it is or serve with bread if you like.

Spinach and Feta Muffins

I have been experimenting with savoury snacks recently in quest to find home made food which is easy to feed my daughter on the go. I experimented with a few different muffin recipes to little success before making these, which are a lovely consistency and very tasty. I lowered the salt content for my daughter so you might want to up it slightly, though the feta will add some saltiness to them. 

 

Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup

Autumn is here and that means one thing in my house: soup is back on the menu! We've had a cold snap here in the UK this week and this soup was perfect over the weekend to add a bit of warmth into the house. For extra heat, you could add fresh or dried chilli peppers, though I omitted them because I was giving this to my 11 month old daughter, who absolutely loved it.