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 

Brown Butter Fruit Bars

Here's a fun fact that you didn't know about me, I'm actually a recipe hoarder. 

In truth, I only came to this realisation quite recently after it was pointed out to me that I have one too many notebooks with a bizarre amalgamation of 'recipes' i.e. scribbled ingredients with notes in the margins that make little to no sense even to me. But what the lovely aforementioned individual did not know is that I also have a collection of magazine/paper clippings of recipes that I know I'm never going to make like 'Golden Snitch Cake Pops' (I hate cake pops, why would I make a cake only to crush it to smithereens and mix with icing/coat with chocolate/put it on a stick?!). My camera roll also has a worrying number of screenshots of random recipes I've found online and my computer is similarly plagued (a whole dedicated folder). 

My point being that I try a lot of recipes, some turn out not so great, some are decent, some are one hit wonders (great but too much effort/not enjoyable to make) and very few make it into my cooking repertoire. Those that do I notice have a few things in common, they're relatively easy to make, use no fuss ingredients and they're delicious. These 'brown butter fruit bars' tick all the boxes and no lie, I make these very often!

These bars are a combination of wonderful flavours and are somewhat adaptable! Let me explain.. the base is golden buttery shortbread topped with a generous scattering of chopped fruit encased in a brown butter cake batter. 
All of which sounds incredible right? as for the resilience to adaptability, the fruit you use depends on what you like, you could also experiment with the biscuit base and tinkle with the batter topping. However I should tell you that this combination is gold and I would highly recommend that you give it a go!

To make these brown butter fruit bars you will need a few ingredients:

1. Butter/margarine
2. Caster sugar
3. Vanilla essence
4. Plain flour
5. Fleshy fruit
6. Eggs

To start with preheat your oven to Gas Mark 5, then we can make the base by mixing together 115g of melted butter/margarine, 85g sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla (or more!)

To this add 190g of plain flour and stir together until well combined, the 'dough' will stick together and should leave a clean bowl when inverted.

Press the resulting mixture into a greaseproof paper lined tray, you can use the back of a spoon to ensure that it is all smooth. Also if you want a thicker base, double up the mixture or just use a smaller tray (but you will get less bars, compromise). Pop this into the oven and bake for around 15 minutes.

Meanwhile chop up your fleshy fruit, I've used a variety of fruits in the past including cherries, plums, nectarines. You could experiment with other berries, citrus fruit or even mango, whatever you have to hand.  

For the brown butter batter (say that five times really quickly!), on medium heat slowly melt 115g butter in a pan, keep heating/stirring until it starts to get frothy and takes on a golden brown colour, you'll also notice a warm nutty smell. Leave this to cool before you use it.

For the remainder of the batter you need to whisk together 115g caster sugar and 2 large eggs.

To this add 55g plain flour, 1 tsp vanilla and then slowly stir in the browned butter.

Now to combine everything together - onto the shortbread base, scatter on the fruit, then pour on the brown butter batter.

Bake this for 40 minutes in a Gas Mark 5 oven until everything is golden brown.

Slice into bars or squares and serve. Hope you give this recipe a go, its one my all time favourites.

😋

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

Grilled Bell Peppers stuffed with Couscous

Hello!

☺

It's currently early Sunday afternoon and I have already cooked breakfast, showered, cleaned, been grocery shopping, checked my instagram & twitter, read stuff, did some washing, made a few calls, started on dinner etc. Phew. I think I may just need a nap (jk, I'm not one of those people who are able to sleep during the day!), but my point being that I have been pretty busy. 

So when it comes to lunch on busy days (aka every weekday and some weekends), I want something filling, delicious but more so, easy and quick to prepare. Nothing worse that labouring over the stove when you're exhausted, also I don't even feel like eating food that I haven't enjoyed preparing!

That's why I'm trying to expand my repertoire of quick & easy meals - been watching Jamie Oliver's five minute meals for inspo and research purposes (is it only me that feels full after cooking shows?!).

However I already have a few go to meals that I've been making for ages that fulfil the criteria, 'couscous stuffed bell peppers' being one such example! I actually love couscous, its an easy substitute for rice and when flavoured well, tastes amazing. 

I remember looking up some recipes for a pepper/couscous meal but quite a few required oven cooking and I wasn't a fan so instead I thought to grill and have done so ever since.

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

1. Red bell peppers
2. Cherry tomatoes
3. Olive oil
4. Mature cheddar cheese
5. Couscous
6. Basil leaves, paprika, vegetable stock cube

To start with grab your red bell peppers (red because this is the sweetest/juiciest type of pepper and they contain the most nutrients!) and slice them in half length ways, if you have the option then select the most shapely (lol) or rounded peppers, I had to make do with what I had.

Place the pepper halves face down on to a lined baking sheet and brush with some extra virgin olive oil, then pop the tray into a heated grill for about five minutes.

Meanwhile we can start on the filling; in a box add two scoops (1 cup) of couscous, half a tsp of paprika, a quarter of a vegetable stock cube, a generous squeeze of lemon juice, mixed herbs, garlic powder and if your couscous doesn't already contain it also add in some sun-dried tomato and onion.

Then top this with boiling water so that the water line lies half an inch above the couscous - give this a quick mix with a fork and pop the lid onto the box. Leave it shut until it is required.

After a few minutes remove the lid, fluff up the couscous and have a quick taste to adjust spices/flavouring (resist the urge to eat it all!)

At this point chop up some cherry tomatoes and grate some mature cheddar - you could also use mozzarella. I also prepped my super simple side salad of lettuce, cucumbers and roasted tomatoes with a lemon vinaigrette.

At this point remove your peppers from the grill, they should be slightly charred but still stiff enough to maintain their structure (also at the last minute I threw in a few tomatoes to grill!)

Turn the peppers the right way round, fill with the couscous mixture, add the cherry toms on top followed with the grated cheese and a sprinkle of shredded basil. 

These then go back into the grill for five minutes until everything is well roasted and the cheese has melted.

Serve straight away with the accompanying sides, for me it was the salad and some peri-peri seasoned fries.

I'm getting hungry looking at these pictures, I hope you give this recipe a go because it was yum!

😋

Enjoy!

Q x