ChefBeHere Phase Two!

Hello there,

I started the ChefBeHere blog during my third and final year of university study in 2014/15.

For me, the blog was really good because:

o   I had the time to be creative and post regularly,

o   the project gave me something to do other than ‘work’ i.e. my dissertation and essays and revision for exams,

o   and the project was something fun throughout a really stressful time of my life.

Then uni finished. And I travelled for three months through mainland Europe. Then I moved in with my dad in Sheffield and got an adult job, booking hotels for travelling workers and businessmen. One boy came in and out of my life. In Spring 2016, I got to move out of home again and quit the shitty job. Another boy came and went.

Now, I’m living in a cool area of Sheffield that I’d literally never been to before, called Heeley. I live with a paralegal, who I shall codename CoolyColey, and a PHD student, to be known as KorfKing. We have a cute house on a lovely new road. I work as a Problem Solver at a creative agency, and enjoy my job. I can walk in and out of town. There is no boy drama.

And it seems like a new phase of my life when the blog could be really good! For all the same reasons as last time, I’d really like to have another go at ChefBeHere. And so here I am. I’m going to be revisiting recipes that I posted in the past, during ChefBeHere Phase One, and roll out a whole load of new ones.

To anyone who used to read my blog, thanks for coming back! For Phase Two, I’ll probably carry on throwing out thoughts about life, along with my recipes, and will continue my mission to convert you all to yoga and vegetarianism... you know you want to. And, for anyone new to the blog, I hope there are fun times to come.

Keep checking the blog and we shall see!

Have a great weekend,

Hayley

Ps. To kickstart the ChefBeHere comeback I’ve been baking some classic Oat Crunchies. The house smells so cakey and lush! To bake some Oat Crunchies yourself, check out the recipe here. I promise they taste even better than they look.

Look at these beautiful Oat Crunchies!

What a way to start the weekend...

ROLL ON SPRING BAKING

Apricot & Yoghurt Oatmeal Cookies

Time taken: 40 mins

Ingredients: 175g plain flour, a teaspoon of baking powder, a teaspoon of cinnamon, 150g rolled oats, 75g  light brown sugar, 120g dried apricots, 150g natural yoghurt, a splash of vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of oil.

Hi readers,

In Newcastle… THE SUN HAS BEEN SHINING!

Literally, both outside in the sky and inside in my heart today, there is a great big sun shining. I’m feeling so positive at the moment! The first signs of spring are all around us everywhere we look. In Newcastle, there are flowers in bloom and buds on trees. Clear blue skies and warm gentle winds. Without howling Arctic gales shaking the roof tiles and blowing you off the pavement you can HEAR birds singing in the trees. Real live birds and they’re SINGING because it’s spring.

Other signs of spring? Easter eggs in shops (I want them all right now… Lent is SO tough). My Mother Bear reports that she hung some washing out on the line and it was neither rained on or blown away. Obviously, students have got their flip flops out (very premature). I walk past houses with their windows open letting in a breeze. And the ChefBeHere flat has taken on a near-constant aroma of toasted hot cross buns (which I’m allowed on Lent – thank God).

I’m embracing all these signs of Spring. Even yesterday, just to be a comedian, I put my flip flops on to walk to the post box. And it was fun! I’m so excited for summer to come now so that we can enjoy these things for real. And get out our arms and legs, drink cider outdoors, have a spontaneous BBQ, mow the lawn, throw open every window! AND TAN. So much excitement.

Meanwhile, just for now though, a blue sky in a morning may have to be enough to tide us on. We’ve got Mother’s Day, Easter Sunday, The Grand National, Comic Relief, The Eurovision… a few things to look forward to. And then summer.

Also, in the meanwhile, we can officially launch Spring baking!!! This, I’m so excited for. In my eyes, readers, Spring baking is a big, big deal. It’s all about the fruit! I think that, in winter, we:

a) Pick the heaviest options we can. And gain about a stone. This is vital weight to keep us warm on cold winter nights and fill out our Santa suit.

a) Eat a lot of chocolate. We’re given it for Christmas and it’s advertised all over TV and, generally, everyone needs chocolate to make themselves feel better on a winter night.

b) Eat a lot of pastry. Winter is the season of pies and mash in gravy, and then a festive mince pie for your pudding. A warm cheesy quiche and spiced egg custards. Pastry galore!

c)  Chuck custard on everything. Crumble, jam roly poly, Christmas pudding… the list goes on. Nobody orders those with ice cream between the months of November – February.

But now it’s Spring! And everyone has a change of heart. We might not be nibbling a garden salad on a sun terrace quite yet but I think that people, generally, have reached their limits with stodge. No more! Now it’s time for FRUIT by every means possible.

Cherry scones, strawberry cheesecakes, lemon drizzle sponges, fruit-filled tea breads, blueberry muffins… so many options! And I intend to explore a good number of them. Starting today. In this post, readers, I’m sharing with you a new recipe that I tried out earlier this morning. This recipe I found, basically, by Googling a list of the meagre ingredients I have in. It was my top search result!

This recipe is one that I found on a lovely blog called Halal Home Cooking, which you can take a look at HERE. I may not follow a Halal diet, but this blog has so many recipes that I’m really excited to try! Black seed, honey & date oat bars have definitely caught my eye. And with recipes like carrot cupcakes, or cinnamon sugar apple muffins, I may need to go stock up on muffin cases! If you have the time then definitely check out this recipe-filled blog. Also, follow my lead, and have a try at baking a batch of Apricot & Yoghurt Oatmeal Cookies!

Here’s how to lovingly craft these cookies, in just ten easy steps…

1. Heat your oven to 180˚C.

2. Chop your apricots into small chunks.

3. Lightly grease a couple of baking trays.

4. In a mixing bowl, add your flour, baking powder, cinnamon, oats, sugar and dried apricots. Stir it all up!

5. In another bowl, beat together your yogurt, vanilla extract and oil.

6. Fold evenly into your dry mixture to make a firm dough.

7. Use your hands to shape the mixture into about fifteen balls.

8. Space these out evenly on your trays and flatten a little, into cookie shapes.

9. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until firm and golden brown.

10. Use a spatula to move each cookie over onto a wire cooling rack, where you should leave them to cool for a little while before you tuck in.

Such a simple recipe! Here are my cookies…

And these cookies taste delicious! It’s hard to describe but they taste kind of cakey and sweet. But they aren’t heavy or too sweet. They’re just incredibly delicious. And very more-ish! Like I just tried one and already I want more. And more and more and more. Which is good!

And this recipe is HEALTHY. First off, these cookies have got fruit in them and, secondly, they replace eggs and butter with yoghurt and oil – these are both far healthier options. Plus, the amount of sugar going into these cookies is quite low. So they get a health thumbs up!

Simple recipe. Cheap ingredients. Easy to make. Quick to bake. Can you fault these cookies at all?? Let me know! Because I certainly can’t. Are you in love with these cookies like me, readers? Or not feeling the apricot-yoghurt vibe? Share your thoughts.

And spring safely,

Hayley

BLEND YOUR WAY TO BLISS

Raw, vegan, eat clean, energy-packed, superfood titans...
Bliss Balls

 

Time taken: Half an hour

Ingredients: 1 cup of dates, ½ a cup of almonds, ½ a cup of hazelnuts, & 2 tablespoons each of chia seeds, ground flax seed, cacao powder & coconut oil. (Optional extras... desiccated coconut & goji berries).

 

Hi readers,

Life. How IS life today? How are things going for you?? It’s mid-week right now, so take a minute to think… How is this week going? Where is it heading? Evaluate your week. I hope things are looking tip top!

 

Today in Newcastle… January is ploughing on and we’ve had a day of wild, wild weather! Really, it thundered with rain, then there were raging winds, a brief snow storm, some beautiful clear skies, more flurries of snow… it’s madness!

As a result, I think everyone has made the decision to stay inside today, as much as is possible. I certainly have. Plus, everyone in North America is holed up still to hide away from the Juno Blizzard. And if all they’re doing across the pond is tweeting and berating weather forecasters… then I’m not stepping outside to jog.

So, instead, today I channelled my energies into some serious KITCHEN CREATIVITY. I got excited online the other day after I happened upon a blog called Deliciously Ella. This was recommended to me by my Mother Bear’s hubbie, Mr Mash. He said this blog was full of very ‘me’ (read, healthy) recipes, so I rushed to check it out… and it is! I love this blog! So many colourful photos and interesting ideas for things to try out in the kitchen. Check out Deliciously Ella HERE.

I was struck by one recipe that Ella makes for superfood snacks, to munch on during the day when you’re busy. This is exactly what I need right now for energy when I’m working in the library. I’ve drunk so much coffee that it’s increasingly just leaving me feeling dazed.

Instead of being caffeinated, this snacks are full of all-natural goodness. For a boost the right way! They're vegan, gluten-free and raw. Totally clean. Ella calls her creations ‘Ultimate Energy Bites’ but I’ve seen similar ideas online with the lovely name of… Bliss Balls. How cute??
 

I had to give them a go! So, I sacked the budget and invested in some exciting ‘cacao powder’. This is a  raw version of cocoa, I believe, which can be bought from health food shops like Holland & Barrett. It cost me a fiver. And, I’m such a squirrel, I realised that was the only ingredient I needed to buy for these! So, today, I had a cosy morning hiding from the weather, and set about making my first ever batch of Bliss Balls.

You should too! Here’s how to blend your way to bliss in five easy steps:

1. Scoop your tablespoons of coconut oil out of the tub, and melt in the microwave for a minute so that your oil turns from solid to liquid.

2. Chuck your almonds, hazelnuts, flax seed and chia seeds into a blender. Blend until a flour forms and the nuts have crumbled.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: I had to stop the blender to shake things up a few times, in order to make sure that all the nuts had been blended.

3. Add all your remaining ingredients and BLEND AGAIN. Within a minute, sticky dough should have formed.

4. Use your hands to rolls the sticky mixture into truffle-sized balls.

5. If you like, roll your bliss balls around in some desiccated coconut or goji berries, or both! These stick to your balls and give them a tasty coating.

And you should have yourself a delicious batch of bliss balls, like mine. :)

You store them in the fridge and eat them whenever. Probably at a rapid pace. What do you think? Don’t these look so impressive?! I think they’re wonderful! Once you have the crazy ingredients, these aren’t hard to make at all. In fact, they’re quite fun! You get messy fingers and it’s an explosion in the kitchen. An explosion OF FUN.

And these taste… unbelievable. I don’t use protein powder, so I switched that out of Ella’s recipe in favour of extra cacao – this was a superb decision. These Bliss Balls are stodgy, sweet, chocolatey, yummy, indulgent, lovely little snacks. Guilt-free chocolate truffles. They taste SO GOOD. Like heaven! They’re the best. The BOMB.

I can't decide if I like the Bliss Balls with the coconut or with the berries more. I will have to eat more before I decide.

And I've been saving up cute fro-yo pots when I finish with them. So I'm going to use these to store my Bliss Balls in, to take to the library with me. :)

 

I am a convert. I love Bliss Balls! I feel… blissful. Readers, if you have the will and the budget to go buy the ingredients for these, then you definitely should. No regrets, I promise. Do this for your health and your happiness. Go.

Feel bliss safely,

Hayley