Summery Courgette and Ricotta Pasta

A simple and quick pasta dish! I recommend slicing the courgettes thickly so they retain some bite and don't fall apart when mixing into the pasta dish.

(Bread maker) Red Berry Hot Cross Buns

Happy Easter everyone! I have been slightly obsessed with some red berry hot cross buns sold in my local co-op, and decided to see if I could make them myself, by adapting a normal hot cross bun recipe. They turned out very well! I used a mix of dried cranberries which had some dried strawberries mixed in, but you could just use dried cranberries if you can't find strawberries. I lazily used my bread maker to make these, though I'm sure you could also make these the traditional way.

Sweet potato, beetroot, goats cheese puff pastry plait

One of my own 'throw some things together and hope it turns out OK' recipes which was a success! This pie is best eaten at room temperature or cold.

 

Pecan and Golden Syrup Muffins

First blog post of 2016! I have been a bit lax on the blogging front due to lack of time/energy/good photos, but hope to pick things up a bit this year.

This is a relatively quick, simple recipe that I found in various places online and modified slightly. I actually made these as cupcakes, but they are definitely more muffin in style - much denser than cupcakes. The addition of the layer of golden syrup in the middle of the mix gives a nice swirl of  sweetness. I used golden syrup as that was what I had in the house but actually any syrup would work well - I would imagine maple syrup would be a good combination with the pecans.

Raspberry and Pistachio White Chocolate Fudge

This is a super easy microwave fudge recipe, which takes less than 15 minutes. If you don't have a microwave, you can easily do it on the hob -just be sure to stir frequently. 

Roasted Butternut Squash, Butterbean, and Cumin Soup

Wow, just realised it's been two months since my last blog post. It's been a hectic few months with early pregnancy (and associated sickness), and having a lot of work which needs to get done before I go on leave in February. My recipe backlog is now getting out of hand. Once again I make promises to myself to blog more regularly... we'll see how that goes.

Anyway, this autumnal soup is perfect for the shorter days and colder evenings. I loved it. The butterbeans add a creaminess to the soup and a lovely texture. The coriander is not necessary so if you are one of those unfortunate people for whom coriander tastes like soap (which is potentially down to your genes), then just omit it. I also garnished with fresh chillies; if you also do, I would recommend a swirl of sour cream if you have it on hand (I didn't) as it would be a perfect compliment for their heat.

Sweet Potato, Kale and Wensleydale Quiche

After an awful August - for various reasons - with no chance to blog, I'm hoping to pick things up a bit more from now on. So I'm kicking off the start of September with this lovely quiche. If you can't get hold of Wensleydale cheese, any crumbly white cheese will do.