Cinnamon Pancakes with Caramelised Apple and Walnut

Today I woke up from the morning light coming through my window, the sun was up and I had weird shadows in my room. I dozed for a few more hours and had the strangest dreams but when I woke I could barely remember them, it was like trying to hold water in your hand but it just trickles out from between your fingers. This actually reminds me of a book I bought last year from the little bookshop under the bridge, it was called IQ84 by Haruki Murakami and it certainly helped me to while away a couple of spare hours between lectures. A particularly apt quote from it is 'time flows in strange ways on Sundays', I find this to be very true and its probably one of the reasons why I don't really like Sundays. Take today for example, its nearing the evening now and all I've done today is sleep, clean, watch the Winter Olympics (with awe and a little bit of jealousy) and brunch. This has included pancakes and copious amounts of tea in my London 2012 mug (does this count as vintage yet?).

Now at the risk of tooting my own horn these pancakes were niceee, fluffy and cinnamon-y with lashings of golden syrup and sweet caramelised apple and walnut. 

The recipe is simple enough with ingredients you most likely have to hand, perfect to make on a slow Sunday morning in your pyjamas. Or even a recipe to try on pancake day, yay for appropriately themed blog posts. Speaking of, I shared another pancake recipe this time last year (double yay for overcoming commitment issues and actually blogging for this long!).

To make these Cinnamon Pancakes begin by whipping up a simple batter:

Start by whisking together 1 cup of plain flour, 4 tblsp of sugar, 2 tsp of baking powder and 1 tsp of cinnamon.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and crack in 1 large egg, followed by 1 and 1/2 cups of milk and a dash of vanilla extract. Whisk together until well incorporated.

Meanwhile dice up one large apple, I opted for a 'Golden Delicious' for a sweet flavour but a tart Granny Smith is also a great option.

Add this to a saucepan along with 2 tblsp of salted butter, 2 tbls of soft brown sugar, and 1 tsp of cinnamon. Place this on a medium high heat and cook for a few minutes until the apples have softened slightly, don't overdo it as we want to retain some crunch and to not reduce the apples to turn to mush. Nearing the end of the cooking time stir in the desired amount of chopped walnuts. 

To cook the pancakes, in a small saucepan melt 1 tsp of butter then add in your pancake batter.

Wait until bubbles appear and the underside of the pancake is cooked, then flip. 

Cook up your stack of pancakes and plate up with a heaped pile of the caramelised apple and walnut.

Drizzle on a generous amount of golden syrup or maple syrup to serve.

😋

Enjoy!

 Q x 

Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

In my psychology class in college we studied sleep, it was mostly a dull yawn-worthy subject but I did learn that our bodies natural circadian rhythm determines if we're a night owl or a morning person. Judging from my moody morning state and hate for all things AM I'm pretty sure I know which category I fall into. Although this isn't from lack of trying I must say, I want nothing more than to wake up happy and refreshed at the crack of dawn, watch the sunrise, have some tea and an instagram-esque breakfast, listen to a relaxing playlist, do some yoga (lol) and be productive af basically, but alas it is not to be. 

This morning was as hectic as any other, but now its nearing midday I'm in my element. I have a hunk of soft banana bread, strong tea in pretty blue china and a decent book, so its all good (even though I do have a very long to-do-list to get through later).  

As for this banana bread, it is quite magnificent. Now I've never been one for bananas or breads I'll be honest but with an alarming amount of darkening bananas on hand I did have an issue. 

So yesterday I whipped up a super quick loaf and now I'm a die-hard fan, a fully fledged banana bread convert. The flavour is subtle and not too sweet with a toasty crust and soft middle, oh and the smell is insanely good, plus its healthy. Win-win-win.  

So to make this Choc Chip Banana Bread, you will need the following ingredients:

- Ripe bananas

- Plain flour / self-raising flour

- Sugar

- Sunflower oil

- Eggs

- Baking powder

- Bicarbonate of soda

- Ground cinnamon

- Vanilla Extract

- Milk

- Rolled oats

- Dark chocolate chips

Begin mashing up two large bananas until smooth and no lumps remain. An additional banana can be added if you want to enhance the banana flavour. 

In a separate large bowl crack in two large eggs, 60 ml of sunflower oil (or other flavourless oil), 75 ml of milk and 1 tsp vanilla extract - beat until until combined, then mix in the banana.

To this add 170g of plain flour, 55g self-raising flour, 1 tblsp cinnamon, 1 tsp salt, 1 and a 1/2 tsp baking powder, 150g caster sugar (or granulated) and 65g rolled oats. 

Using a spoon, mix until combined taking care not to overbeat as this can affect the texture of the bread.

Gently stir in the desired amount of dark chocolate chips, then pour the mixture into a lined loaf tin.  

Bake in preheated Gas Mark 4 oven for roughly 35-40 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. the exterior may look slightly dark but take care to check the skewer as there is a lot of moisture in the cake. 

Slice up and eat while warm or save for a delicious breakfast, this can be spread with soft butter or eaten as is.

😋

Enjoy!

 Q x

*recipe adapted from Bigger, Bolder, Baking

Pomegranate Oat Cookies

I have the tendency of basing my recipes & what I’m going to bake on the ingredients I have to hand. Reminiscent of the challenge portion on the early 2000s show ‘Ready Steady Cook’ where the contestants had to cook a meal from a bag of ingredients (anyone else remember that?), although if I’m honest I’d be completely terrible at that and that’s mostly due to my inability to function too well under pressure.

Anyway, today a rummage through the freezer unearthed a bag of arils from a long finished batch of pomegranates and I really wanted to use them. I’ve previously snacked on them, put them in muesli, ice cream and they’re particularly yum in sweet yellow rice; however this time around I wanted to add them to a bake. Enter the humble oat biscuit, I’ve had this particular recipe in my repertoire for the longest time, in fact it’s the very first recipe in my notebook – my mum’s friend gave it to her years and years ago and I adopted it. Since the early days I’ve made it a great deal of times and I love altering it a little bit every now and then.

This time I added in the pomegranate arils along with some chopped up walnuts and almonds, the combination of crunch from the nuts and tangy bursts from the pomegranate compliment the soft oat cookies quite well. 

In terms of the recipe I've always used cup measurements - it makes it really easy and you can increase or decrease the amount accordingly. 

So to make these oat cookies you will need a few ingredients:

1.   Margarine

2.   Granulated sugar

3.   Oats

4.   Plain flour

5.   Bicarbonate of Soda

6.   Cinnamon

7.   Honey

8.   Pomegranate arils & chopped nuts 

To begin with, combine 2 1/2 cups of regular oats, 1 1/2 cups of plain flour, a pinch of cinnamon and 1 cup of granulated sugar in a bowl - mix it all together and put the dry ingredients aside.

To prepare the raising agent, dissolve 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda or baking soda in 2 tablespoons of water (or milk). 

Stir the soda water into melted margarine (1 cup) and to this add 3 tablespoons of honey - golden syrup is also an option but honey adds the right amount of stickiness and sweetness without being unhealthy; this concludes the required wet ingredients.

The final step is to add the liquid to the dry ingredients and mix well to combine, its good to press the ingredients together with your hands to form a dough (add a splash more water or margarine if required).

Then mix in your chopped nuts and pomegranate arils, mine were still quite frozen at this point but that's completely fine.

Make small sized biscuits and flatten in the palm of your hand - place then evenly spread apart on a lined baking tray.

Cook in a Gas Mark 7 oven for around 8-10 minutes, do not over bake if you want a soft chewy biscuit, as these cookies do have a tendency to harden upon cooling. 

Enjoy with a hot drink at tea-time or as a quick but filling breakfast. Either way I hope you give this recipe a try, its highly adaptable i.e substitute the nuts for chocolate chunks or the pomegranate for dried cranberries?

😋

Enjoy!

 Q x 

Fluffy Banana Pancakes

This has been the most hectic of months; a lot of preparation, planning, excitement, disappointment, acceptance, happiness. It's been a bit of rollercoaster, but I suppose that's adult life (in truth I'm only just getting to grips with it, but I'm remaining hopeful). Well, mama always said life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get. 

Just kidding, my mama never said that, it was Forrest Gump's and in truth I don't know if I agree with the analogy, I only get the chocolate selections that I like and so I know exactly what I'm going to get/enjoy.

However if we look at the complete other end of the health spectrum.. fruit, I am far more indecisive. For example, I sometimes like melon and other times I hate the taste of it, I prefer oranges in the evenings (crazy, I know), I don't eat fresh blueberries but love them in food and when it comes to bananas, I'm very conflicted. Its the texture of raw banana that's a no-go but I do have a few banana recipes that I adore.

This being one of them - fluffy banana pancakes, one of my favourite and most requested breakfast items. And so apt considering its actually pancake day!

These pancakes are so easy to make, but have a beautifully delicate flavour and they're actually quite filling; so great for a long work day or lazy weekend brunch or pancake day (or any day in-between).

To make these pancakes you will need a few ingredients: 

1. Plain flour
2. Banana
3. Vanilla essence
4. Eggs
5. Baking powder
6. Brown sugar
7. Cinnamon
8. Milk

To start with grab your selected banana, mine is less ripe than I would have liked but I was a bit impatient. Then you just want to mash it with a fork until it is a smooth creamy consistency with minimal lumps.

To this, add in two whisked eggs and give everything a good mix.

Whisk in a generous dash of vanilla flavouring and half a teaspoon of cinnamon.

Follow up with a three tablespoons of brown sugar, I prefer this as it lends a subtle almost caramel tasting sweetness to the pancakes.

Now to thin down the batter to create the right consistency, whisk in one cup of milk - use whatever type you prefer.

And finally, whisk in one and a half cups of plain flour and one tsp of baking powder.

Give the batter and good mix, although it is likely that some lumps may remain. 

To a heated non-stick pan drop on a ladleful of the mixture and let it cook until you see little bubbles and the bottom is golden brown.

Then flip (no acrobat skills required) and cook for a few more minutes til the other side is also well cooked.

Repeat the process for the remaining batter and serve your pancakes warm with a selection of toppings - banana slices, golden syrup, cinnamon, powdered sugar, or nutella.

😋

Enjoy!

 Q x 

The Ultimate Porridge

It's nearing the end of the working week and I am ridiculously exhausted - 'throw a mini pizza into the oven because you can't cook' kinda tired, and if there's one thing you know about me is that I love to cook, so obviously this is a catastrophe. But if I have to name one redeeming thing about this week (in terms of food of course) then it has to be that I made a big batch of my Ultimate Porridge one morning and so far breakfasts have been amazing.
Now I'll be honest, I've only quite recently gotten into eating porridge and this is because I finally figured out a method to making my ideal porridge as opposed to a gloopy mess. 
By gloopy mess I'm referring to all the ghost's of bad porridges past, this goes as far back as childhood - I remember not liking it despite the whole Goldilocks and the three Bears aspect and now in recent years where my tastes have evolved from food in boxes with cartoon characters on the front (I still like Coco Pops though) I found myself really wanting to venture into porridge territory.  
I tried all sorts of recipes mostly resulting in an austere gruel, not even Oliver Twist would have said 'please sir, can I have some more', I also tried some shop-bought mixtures and the over-night oats that everyone raves about but it just wasn't to my liking. 
Then during attempt number a hundred and something (I exaggerate) I ended up added 'too much' milk and leaving it to cook a bit too long but the end result was great!
A fine, smooth porridge which just the right amount of texture.
Now everyone might have different preferences but give this recipe a go and you may be pleasantly surprised! When I say recipe, its actually more of a method i.e. cooking times/what to look for at different stages throughout the process etc, rather than exacting quantities - this means you can adjust to make one bowl just for you or an entire pot full (just for you).

So to make this, you will need a few very basic ingredients:

Porridge oats, water, milk, your choice of sugar, cinnamon, cardamon & toppings! but we'll get to that later  

To start with put a saucepan onto the hob and add in your water. Let this simmer on medium heat whilst you pop in some cardamom and allow the water to infuse with the flavour - I love adding this spice to a lot of dishes because its aromatic and adds a subtle warmth (try it your chai next time!)

Once the water it suitably bubbling simply pour in your oats.

Then whisk, whisk, whisk! Make sure that the heat isn't on too high and as you whisk your notice everything getting thicker. 

The trick here is to cook it for a few minutes, if you don't I end result is a slightly stodgier porridge.

Now just pour in your desired quantity of milk and of course remember to keep whisking, this ensures that there are no clumpy bits.

Don't forget the cinnamon, my favourite winter spice alongside cardamom of course & a tablespoon of brown sugar.

Once everything is in there you need to let it simmer further, that's the key to the ultimate porridge, letting it all cook slowly and steadily because this creates a creamy, silky base. 

Once the milk starts to rise give it a last quick stir, turn of the heat, pop on the lid and you are done!

As for the toppings, you can go with what ever your heart desires but this is one of my favourite combinations. 

Sliced banana for a creamy sweetness, cranberries add a sharp flavour, a scattering of almonds for crunch, a drizzle of raw honey for more syrupy sweetness and finally a sprinkle of cinnamon. 

The perfect breakfast for a bright frosty morning!

😋

Enjoy!

Q x