The Christmas tree and decorations are up and it is beginning to feel very festive around here just now. I’ve completed my present shopping but still need to wrap the gifts. Every year I think I enjoy wrapping lots of presents in one go but then once I start, I actually begin to remember how much I don’t enjoy it! Especially when you have gifts which are oddly shaped, maybe I am just not patient enough but I can declare I am not a fan of wrapping presents.
Hello! I hope everyone has had a wonderful Summer. I’m back from an excellent vacation. First up was my beautiful cousin’s wedding and then I went to visit my gorgeous sister as she was renewing her wedding vows with her husband, lots of happy tears were shed this Summer.
I have also been busy practising and conjuring up lots of new recipes for the blog which I can’t wait to share with you.
I am really busy at the moment with college work, starting a new business and blogging and although there doesn’t seem enough hours in the day for everything I wouldn’t have it any other way – I think that’s the difference when you enjoy something in life, it’s not a chore!
I love a good bowl of soup as it’s super easy to prepare and you can pretty much throw anything in a pan! This soup works well for Summer as it’s lovely and light in flavour.
My Dad got me a fab gadget when he was over visiting last year that makes slicing up a pineapple so easy! The best bit too is you’re left with the shell of the pineapple and some of the delicious juice to drink.
As pineapples always remind me of hot Summer days I was waiting for a hot spell before I stocked up on them and created some recipes. However, I think the two days of sunshine we had here in Scotland was Summer this year, eager as I was to use my new gadget I’ve stocked up on pineapples – sliced them up with said gadget and filled the fridge and freezer!
I made this smoothie the other morning after my workout and it is delicious with the heat of the ginger coming through. It is a thick smoothie so if you prefer a thinner consistency add more milk.
Serves 1
Ingredients
-2 large handfuls of kale, cleaned and tough stalks removed
-1 heaped cup chopped pineapple
-1″ piece of ginger, peeled
-1 stick of celery
-1 Tbsp. ground flaxseed
-3/4 cup brown rice milk, or your preferred milk
How To Make
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Pour into a glass and serve.
Enjoy 🙂
Some people are a little taken aback when I say I’m eating or cooking with buckwheat as they think it is related to wheat, but fear not, it isn’t, as it’s not a grass and is actually related to rhubarb…who knew?! The person who called it buckwheat probably had no idea the confusion it would cause nowadays!
Buckwheat is my gluten free alternative to couscous. Whilst some people aren’t big couscous fans when they can eat gluten, it is one of the things I miss most. Quinoa is lovely but just doesn’t come close enough in texture to giant couscous (Israeli couscous) for me so I was loving life the day I discovered buckwheat.
I cook buckwheat the way I do rice – one part buckwheat to 2 parts water. Place in a pan and once it is up to the boil, cover with a lid and reduce to simmer for about 12 minutes until the water has been absorbed.
I think this salad will be featuring a lot over my Summer as it is so adaptable with what veggies and dressings you could use. Roast veggies with it would be lovely.
This can be served as a main or a side.
Serves 2-4
Ingredients
-150g-200g raw kale, cleaned, roughly shredded & tough stems removed
-juice of 1/2 a lemon
-1 & 1/2 cups cooked buckwheat
-handful cherry tomatoes, halved
-1/4 large cucumber, seeds removed & diced
-handful of fresh mixed herbs (I used mint & flat leaf parsley) roughly chopped
-1/4 of a small red onion, finely diced
-1 avocado, skin & stone removed, diced
-salt & pepper
Dressing
-juice of 1/2 lemon
-2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
-1/4 tsp. Dijon mustard
-salt & pepper
How To Make
Place the shredded kale in a large bowl with the juice of half a lemon. Massage the kale with the lemon juice until it starts breaking down, this takes about 6-8 minutes so put your favourite tunes on and have a wee boogie whilst massaging the kale!
The photos below show the kale before and after massage.
Once you’ve massaged the kale, set aside as you will need to strain it through a sieve to remove the excess water it will produce.
In a separate bowl combine the tomatoes, buckwheat, cucumber, herbs and give a good stir.
Place the kale in a fine mesh sieve and strain the kale by squeezing it with your hand. Place the strained kale in the bowl with the other ingredients and give everything a good stir to combine. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.
Place all the dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk together. Drizzle over some of the dressing onto the salad and stir.
Place the avocado on top of the salad just before serving.
The salad and dressing both store well in airtight containers in the refrigerator.
Enjoy 🙂
I have only recently discovered matcha tea and at first I wasn’t too sure but now I love it. I do enjoy a good cup of tea any time of the day whether it be breakfast tea, fruit, green or herbal, I cannot start my day without a good cup of tea.
I normally have a matcha latte with almond milk and some ground cinnamon but the other day I was making a smoothie and decided to add some matcha powder to see what it was like and I liked it! I now want to try and incorporate it with baking but that’s only because I love the intense green colour of the powder and think it would look great in a cake or biscuits.
I’ve given the option of using honey in this recipe, I personally don’t use it but I know some people prefer their smoothies to be sweet. Also, if you don’t have any mangoes this smoothie works well with bananas too.
Serves 1
Ingredients
-handful of ice
-2 mangoes, peeled and stone removed
-2 handfuls of raw kale, tough stems removed
-1 tsp. matcha powder
-1 cup non-dairy milk (I use almond milk)
-1 tsp. honey (optional)
How To Make
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Serve immediately.
Enjoy 🙂
Whoever invented the slow cooker deserves a medal in my opinion! I love that you can just throw all your ingredients into the pot, switch it on, let the magic happen and a few hours later you get a tasty dish. It also helps that there is minimal washing up…always a winner in my book!
I love sweet potatoes. I love kale. So it will come as no surprise when I say I love this dish! This ‘hash’ was born one evening when I didn’t know what I wanted to eat, so as per my method of cooking, I threw a few things together and hey presto this dish was created.
Four Candles Kitchen 