PEPPERONI-PAPRIKA POWER

 

Pepperoni-Paprika Couscous

 

Time taken: 20 mins

Ingredients: Half a pack of Quorn pepperoni slices, half a mug of couscous, a vegetable stock cube, 2 cloves of garlic, half a tin of chickpeas, a dozen black olives & a few sundried tomatoes (both from jars), oil, a big dash of paprika, & salt & pepper.

Hi readers,

Good day to you all! How’s the day looking?? How’s your outlook? What’s the prognosis? Here, today’s not looking bad. I’m sad that we haven’t had any snow yet like lots of you have. C’mon snow! But the sun’s out in Newcastle and I’m taking a lazy morning around the house. Admiring the sun out of the window, while I stay warm inside. This is my masterplan.

 

And today’s it’s Woody’s birthday!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WOODY!

 

That’s right readers, the old boy has turned 22! I can’t believe it. The photo above is from 2 years ago and Woody looks a lot like a Baby Woody here. Like, I’m just about 20 ½ and he’s 22 already. That's sooo old. Aged. Wizened. Crumbling. Facing the grave.

 

SLASH, you know… Ripe. Mature. Seasoned. Wise. Sage. Oaky. Refined. Yeahhh, so I googled wine and cheese descriptors there.

 

He’s SO OLD. But Woody’s birthday is the perfect excuse for a knees up! And I’m baking birthday cake! So, look out, I’ll keep you posted on how this goes. Hopefully, he’s going to have a great day.

 

YESTERDAY… was not so great. Literally, did anyone have a good day yesterday?? I don’t think so! Headaches. Bad exams. No progress on essays. Why did we get out of bed??

 

The best parts of my day were:

1) At the start… The morning sun. It was SO dazzling. Like, blinding.

I got this photo...

 

2) In the middle… The food. Recipe to follow.

 

3) And at the end… a bath!!!

In a feat of miracles, I managed to pour a real, warm bubble bath in our student house. I can’t explain how improbable it is that I managed this. I had to clean the tub. I had to have the immersion thing heating for aaaaages. And I had to keep filling the kettle up and chucking boiling water in for added warmth. But it was so worth it.

My gorgeous, healing bubble bath

 

Readers, I lit candles. Turned off the lights. I played some Paolo Nutini. I poured some squash in a wine glass. I used an ENTIRE bottle of bubble bath. And I had a good soak. Words can’t describe.

 

After getting back from the library feeling so unwell, a good plate of food and then my bath definitely fixed me up. I prescribe this for everyone. ALL OF YOU. Now about that plate of food…

 

In ten easy steps, here’s how to throw together super quick Pepperoni-Paprika Couscous:

1. Using a sharp knife, chop up your garlic (into tiny bits), your olives (into halves), your tomatoes (into bite-sized amounts) and your Quorn pepperoni (into halves).

2. Heat a splash of oil in a frying pan.

3. Add your garlic and pepperoni and fry for 5 minutes.

4. Then, add your chickpeas, olives and tomato.

5. While they warm, tip your couscous into a mug and add your stock cube to the mug.

6. Boil the kettle and pour boiling water into your mug, until it’s ¾ full. Stir it up!

7. Then, cover the mug and leave your couscous for a few minutes to absorb all of the hot water.

8. When it’s fully formed, tip your couscous into the frying pan.

9. Sprinkle a good amount of paprika over everything, along with a pinch of pepper and a dash of salt.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: The paprika gives this dish its funky colour, so watch your grub transform now in the pan!

10. Give everything a big stir while you warm a plate in the microwave. Serve half of the pan up for your tea, and save the other half in the fridge for tea tomorrow!

And… voila! Here you have your fabulous plate of food :)

 

Wasn’t that easy? This is such a simple tea. Literally, this takes just one pan and there are no fresh veg ingredients involved. At all. It’s easy peasy! It’s possibly one of the quickest, most faff-free teas you can claw together, without making something really boring like a jacket potato. Or sticking a pizza in. Or piercing holes in the film on a ready meal. Can you think of anything proper to make, that’s much simpler than this??

 

Also, what do you think of this? Do you like it? I think that this dish is colourful and flavoursome, and warm and filling. And something different for a change! How about you? Lemme know!

 

And, once again... HAPPY BIRTHDAY WOODY!!!

Season safely everyone,

Hayley

SUPER SUNDAY SMOOTHIE

Kiwi-Apple Smoothie

 

Time taken: 15 mins

Ingredients: 4 kiwis, a good glug of apple juice, 2 tablespoons of natural yoghurt & 4 ice cubes.

Morning readers,

This post is a bit of a fly-by-hi from me! HI READERS. Basically, I’m back at work this weekend earning a living, having somehow blagged a 6-week Christmas break from work (?!). It’s such a shock to the system to be back again! So, this weekend I’m off feeding the people of Newcastle International Airport, once more. Or I will be when I remember how everything works! And I don’t have much time for recipe excitement, unfortunately.

 

HOWEVER, I do have a top idea for how to throw together a healthy, energy-packed, really tasty snack for when you’re on-the-go like me!

 

So, my idea is a green smoothie and I know these are really popular now among dieters and healthnuts, alike. There’s something about a smoothie being green that seems to give it ‘cool’ status. BUT I don’t want vegetables or leaves in my smoothies. Just no. Noooooooo. It’s like… ick! No.

 

So here’s how to whip up an ace green smoothie, with no weird things inside it…

1. Chop up your kiwis and throw away the skins.

2. Pop the kiwi pieces in your blender.

3. Add 2 decent tablespoons of natural yoghurt.

4. Then, add around 4 ice cubes.

5. Pour apple juice over this all.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: I poured until it looked like there was a glassful of stuff in my blender. This isn’t very precise sorry but y’know.

6. Whizz it all up!

7. Serve in a tall glass with a straw.

Like this!

 

And you just hashed together a bountiful boost of a snack. Slurp away on your smoothie while you rush about doing things and you won’t be drooping before the next meal time!

 

How do you like your Kiwi-Apple Smoothie?? Tasty, huh? At very least, I think it has to beat any kind of drink involving spinach or kale! It’s just so odd to me putting leaves into your smoothie! So, join me, and make yourself one of these bad boy smoothies, because they’re super cool and green, and they taste like the bomb! But there isn’t any weird stuff lurking within. I guarantee it.

 

Smoothie safely this weekend,

Hayley

EAT CLEAN MINUS THE COST

Coconana Bran Muffins 

Time taken: 45 mins

Ingredients: 100g self-raising flour, 100g wheat bran, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, a big shake of cinnamon, 2 eggs, 3 bananas, 2 tablespoons of coconut oil (!!!), a little flaked coconut and 4 tablespoons of honey.

Hi readers,

Sooo… it’s the end of the week! The end of the first week back to work / uni for a lot of us. We’ve made it! And ahead of us lies…. The weekend!!! Suddenly, we can appreciate this again. It’s back to being different to weekdays. Notice, all the days just blended before? Well, now, Saturday and Sunday have regained their special statuses as the saviours of our weeks. POWER TO THE WEEKEND.

So, last night in our house spirit levels were low. One of my flatmates has a really bad cough. One has been struggling with her revision schedule. One has to write an essay about teaching when she’s already decided she doesn’t want to teach. My final flatmate tried her first past paper yesterday and couldn’t answer any of the questions. I myself have eaten so many healthy foods that my face is an explosion. Not good.

Get off my face you evil

 

Obviously, with so much woe, baking was called for. Obviously, calories are a sensitive topic right now. Obviously, healthy baking was the way to go.

 

So, yesterday, I handed in my big piece of work I’ve been battling with. Whoo! Then me and Woody grabbed a Costa to celebrate (!!!) and I decided to mosey around town and window shop for a while. Work was off the agenda. Aaaand, before long, I ended up in Holland & Barrett. This always happens. And I was picking up some bargain dried fruit when I saw they’ve made a whole section now for natural baking ingredients! For real!

 

This section has things like malt extract (to make malt loaf), vegan flours and coconut stuff. And I always see coconut oil and butter listed as exotic ingredients on Instagram when people are making smoothies and high-energy baked goods. Along with things like cacao nibs, maca powder and hemp seeds. Ingredients where you’re like… what?

 

But my attention was caught and I was noseying. And saw that coconut oil costs over £15 at Holland & Barrett!! I was like WHAT. No way! This was an ingredient I was definitely outpriced for! I shuffled away quickly. Dejected.

 

Later, shopping in Tesco for regular things, I was back noseying at new shelves of things. They’ve got loads of cool, international foods in now. AND THEY HAVE COCONUT OIL FOR £2!!!

 

It’s like WHAT. How can an ingredient possibly cost £16.55 in one shop and £2.25 in another?? Madness!! But Tesco’s coconut oil was in my basket quicker than you can say ‘Fuck Holland & Barrett’. Read on to hear how I (excitedly) baked up a storm last night using coconut oil!

My new baby <3

 

Readers, here’s how you go about making Coconana Bran Muffins, in ten easy steps:

1. Turn on the radio and heat your oven to 180˚C.

2. Take out a muffin tray and line with 12 jazzy muffin cases.

 

3. Measure your flour, bran, baking powder and cinnamon into a mixing bowl. Stirrrrr!

 

4. Use a fork to mash together 3 bananas in a separate bowl.

 

5. Use your muscles to scoop a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil into a mug, and melt in the microwave for a minute.

 

6. Crack your eggs into another mug and spoon 4 tablespoons of honey in with them. Stirrrrr!

 

7. Add all of your wet ingredients to your dry ingredients. Stirrrrr!

 

8. Then, spoon big dollops of your brantastic mix into each muffin case, so that they’re all almost full.

 

9. Sprinkle a few flakes of coconut over the top of each one for decoration.

 

ChefBeHere Top Tip: You could use desiccated coconut instead or pieces of dried banana. Whatever floats your boat!

10. Safely transport your muffins into the oven to bake for 20 minutes, until they’re golden on top, and when you skewer one a knife comes out clean.

And there you have it! A batch of muffins brimming with goodness.

 

Leave them to cool for at least 20 minutes, then feed em to your hungry flatmates. Stick the remaining muffins in a Tupperware, and these babies can be munched on for days to come! Try heating them up in the microwave for a warming treat if your house gets chilly. :)

 

 

So, these muffins have been a big hit in the house! I really like them. They taste very fruity and they’re a substantial eat. And they feel really natural and diet-approved. Just all-round super. I wasn’t sure what my flatmates would think of the muffins. They’re not as squirrel-minded as I am, so I was worried. But I got positive reviews from everyone!! “Not too sweet” was a regular comment. But in a good way, I think. There were smiles . Some “mmm”-ing. Empty muffin cases.

 

 

Give these a go? Now you know you can get the ingredients for so cheap, you’re almost compelled to. Really. And there’s no butter or sugar in these muffins, so your belly NEEDS EM. And life is better with these muffins! Fill me in on what you think.

And have a peaceful weekend.

 

Bake safely,

Hayley

 

 

BAA-RILLIANT RICE

Recipe: Lambless Rice

Time Taken: Twenty minutes

Ingredients: Quorn lamb-style grills, microwaveable wholegrain rice, oil, veg & a sauce!

Hello readers,

Happy one week anniversary of 2015!! We’re one week into the New Year!

 

How’s tricks today? I hope you’re pausing to read this post, at the end of a very successful and fulfilling day. Today, it’s been a really blustery day up in Newcastle. The wind has been HOWLING. I kept contemplating going on a jog but it never did happen. My reasoning: I’m not being blown away before I make it to summer!

 

So, before the weather takes off throughout the day in wild Northumbrian style, we keep getting these beautiful, freezing mornings here with really clear skies. It’s really impressive to duck out of the door first thing and be greeted with so many colours up above!

Here’s the sky yesterday morning…

 

… and here it is today.

But, for today, with the gale blowing outside, I decided that today was not the day for ducking out of the door. That was not on the agenda. So I’ve been working from home instead! And it’s actually been productive! I’ve spent my day toiling away cropping a chapter of my dissertation that I need to hand in tomorrow.

 

When I hashed together a first draft of this yesterday, it was 7,175 words long. Yikes! Our chapters are only meant to be 2,000-2,500 words long, so this was not good news. But when I closed the laptop today, after some skilful editing, it was down to 2,900 words. It’s still over, but that’s ok for now, so I’m feeling pretty good about life.

 

And how did I celebrate my fantastical achievement? Well, as I was wearing three layers of warm fleecy clothes and it was sub-zero and dark outside, and as I’m attempting Dry January, I decided to stay in and cook a cracking tea. This is the youth of today, people.

 

But, then again, you’re the person about to sit and read about my tea, so I think we need uncool high fives all around, everyone!

Basically, I made an awesome rice dish. This was based upon a similar one I made a few days ago. And I’m starting to think I’ve hit upon a formula for a really cool new recipe, so you get the gossip!

This recipe came about because I decided to buy Quorn lamb-style grills to try. I hadn’t tried these before but there was a big sale on Quorn for all the January dieters, so you know.

 

I also decided to by wholegrain rice as part of my own health kick. The only one they had was microwaveable rice. This is something new to me, but I can report that it works!

 

Here’s how to make your very own Lambless Rice…

1. Source the two special ingredients I just mentioned. These are key. Turn on your grill.

2. Take one of your Quorn lamb-style grills and brush either side of it with a little oil, then place it under the grill.

3. Chop up some stir fry-type veg.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: I suggest any of the following… Carrot, onion, pepper, mushrooms, baby corn, sugar snap peas, regular peas, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, spinach, tomatoes… or anything else you like really!

4. Heat some oil in a frying pan.

5. Fry your veg for 5-10 minutes until they’re beginning to soften and turn golden.

6. Split the rice in your packet into halves, and place half in the microwave to warm for 2 minutes.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: Keep the other half in the fridge to use another day!

7. While the rice cooks, flip your lamb-style steak over under the grill, so that the other half can grill for a while.

8. When your rice is ready, tip this into the frying pan along with a cooking sauce of your choice.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: I’ve tried this once with pesto and once with a Chinese sauce and both worked fine. I imagine you could use a tomato sauce or a curry sauce, or even just soy sauce maybe, and all of those hopefully turn out well. Just whatever’s in your cupboard and whatever you fancy tonight!

9. Mix everything together and heat through for a couple of minutes, while you warm a dinner plate in the microwave.

10. Finally, tip your rice creation out of the pan onto your plate. Carefully remove your lab-style grill from inside the grill, to chop up and arrange over your rice. Then tuck in to your tea!

Here’s how mine worked out the other day…

Lambless rice with mushroom and spinach, served in a pesto sauce.

 

… and here’s how it came together today!

Lambless rice with mushroom, baby corn and tomato, served in a black bean sauce.

 

I think these look like terrific platefuls of food! And they certainly tasted terrific, too. For the first time in a while, I’ve been impressed with Quorn. Like, I’m not the most astute of tasters (Diet Coke and Coke – different or the same?), but I can definitely taste that they’ve tried to do something different with the flavour here. It’s not Quorn chicken dyed a different colour.

 

And I like the taste! Seven years a veggie and this is the first time I’ve tried fake lamb. And I don’t half mind it! To be honest, I can’t really imagine what lamb tastes like. I know I’ve eaten it long ago, but it’s not a taste I can bring to mind. So, really, Quorn could have produced anything here, but I intend to keep buying it! And serving it with rice, because this recipe makes for a delightful tea. Whatever it is, it has to be better than eating one of these guys, right?

 

On my orders, you have to go give Quorn’s fake lamb a try and also go try wholegrain microwaveable rice, and try putting them together for a taste sensation. Then send some words my way about what you think of this! Love or hate? Any changes to make? Any FIERCE opinions regarding this recipe? Don’t hold back, readers.

 

 

Stir fry safely,

Hayley

 

PS. This is some insider information just for those of you out there who, like me, have moved mountains with a piece of work today. We are the chosen few who deserve this knowledge…

Basically, I had my tea and I was shattered from uni work, yada yada, and I felt I deserved something wicked sweet and non-diet-approved. Yes, it was a moment of weakness. So I fell off the wagon and made a chocolate mug cake. As I made it, I couldn’t find the vanilla extract. But I did find in the cupboard some orange extract.

So I splashed some in my mug instead, stuck it all in the microwave… and made a Terry’s Mug Cake!

 

 

No regrets. This was glorious. The best invention I have EVER accidentally stumbled upon. In my life. It’s astoundingly good. But you didn’t hear this from me. Go quickly.