Banana and Strawberry Frozen Yoghurt

I'm not quite sure how it's happened, but somehow I've left it nearly a whole year again to write another blog post! Actually, that's a lie. I know exactly how it happened. A crazy final year of Speech and Language Therapy training, moving house and goodness knows what else has got a little bit in the way of blogging. Because whilst I've still found the time to bake (obviously...!), uploading pics and a recipe on here takes a little bit more effort. But now I'm all finished with studying (forever I hope - I can't face the thought of revising ever again) and officially a qualified Speech and Language Therapist (!!!), I have a little bit of spare time to blog. I hope, anyway. In between applying for jobs and making the most of the summery weather while it lasts, I intend to share some of the things I've been baking...

Although actually, this recipe I'm sharing isn't baking at all! Because honestly, who wants to be baking in this ridiculously hot weather? Climbing down three flights of stairs every morning when it's 30 degrees outside completely zaps me of my energy, so I want whatever I'm making to require as little effort as possible! This Frozen Yoghurt recipe definitely ticks that box. Take the four ingredients, stir them together, pop it in the freezer and then a couple of hours later you can sit down and enjoy a few icy scoops. Just what I fancy eating on a hot day. And I guess it's a little bit healthier than ice cream too, because you can chuck in any fruit you have to hand and there you go - you've just eaten one of your five a day right there. It might not taste quite as good as the froyo you can buy in the shops, but then again who knows how much sugar they add to each scoop... And obviously, you don't have the satisfaction of knowing that you made it yourself or the ease of not having to leave the house to eat it!!

So be creative...! Experiment with the type of fruit that works best. Enjoy the heatwave we're having whilst eating a bowlful of frozen yoghurt...!

Banana and Strawberry Frozen Yoghurt

Ingredients:

1 frozen banana

1 handful of strawberries

1/3 of a large pot of natural yoghurt

Sugar (to taste - I probably added around 2 tbsp)

Recipe:

1. Take the banana out of the freezer to defrost slightly.

2. Pour the yoghurt into a bowl.

3. Cut the strawberries into small pieces and blend in a processor to a purée. Add to the yoghurt.

4. When the banana is soft enough, peel and cut it into small pieces, careful to remove all the peel. Add to the yoghurt.

5. Sprinkle your desired amount of sugar on top and stir ingredients together.

6. When combined, pour into a tupperware and place in the freezer for a couple of hours until firm.

7. Remove from the freezer just before eating, so it's soft enough to scoop.

8. Add a couple of fresh strawberries and enjoy!  

A breakfast crumble with a secret ingredient...

I can't seem to stay away from breakfast recipes at the moment, but this one has to be my favourite yet! It tastes so good that I'd even go as far to say I'd have it as a dessert. In fact, if I had to live on only this for the rest of my life I'd be quite happy with that. But what is it I hear you ask? Well, I'm going to call it a sweet potato breakfast crumble. And yes I did just say sweet potato. For breakfast. Now this may sound a little strange, but please, give it a chance, because it really does taste incredible! Just look at it...my mouth's watering just thinking about it!

Bascially, I had some leftover sweet potato and I've always wondered what it would be like in a sweet recipe. Usually, I just bung it in a Thai curry or roast it with various other veg for dinner, but I wanted to try something a little different. When I came across this recipe I just had to give it a go! Now I am a massive fan of crumbles (served with copious amounts of custard, of course!), so seeing this recipe made me quite excited! And oh my gosh was I happy with the result! I made it the night before (but didn't put the topping on til the morning), so all I had to do was put it in the oven when I woke up. And what a wonderful start to the morning it was. The filling was deliciously sweet and creamy with a beautiful cinnamon flavour, whilst the topping had the perfect crunchy bite to it. Have it straight from the oven and you will understand what I mean when I say I could eat it forever! Full of fruit (definitely at least one of your five-a-day) and nourishing enough to last you til lunchtime (it kept me going through a good 30 minutes of swimming!), this certainly is a breakfast worth waking up for! 

Sweet Potato Breakfast Crumble    makes 3 servings

Ingredients:

Filling:

1/2 Cup Porridge Oats

1/2 Cup Coconut Milk 

1/2 Cup Milk (plus extra if needed)

1 Small Sweet Potato

1 Large Ripe Banana

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 tsp Cinnamon

2 tsp Runny Honey

4 tbsp Raisins

Topping:

1/3 Cup Chopped Walnuts

2 tbsp Butter

2 tbsp Plain Flour

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

Method: 

1.  Peel and chop the sweet potato and boil for about 5 minutes until tender.
2. Drain and set aside.
3. Put the oats and milk into a pan.
4. Whisk and bring to the boil.
5. Turn down the heat and cook for about 5-7 minutes, stirring regularly. If it gets too dry, you may need to add more milk.
6. Add the sweet potato and banana to the porridge and mash until there are just some larger chunks.
7. Add the vanilla extract, cinnamon and honey and cook for a few more minutes.
8. To make the topping mix all the ingredients together with a fork until they are combined.
9. Put the porridge mixture in a large ovenproof dish and spread out evenly.
10. Sprinkle the raisins on top.
11. Put the topping on and cook for about 20 minutes, until the topping is golden.
12. Remove from the oven and enjoy!

   

Hang onto your stale bread...!

First of all, apolgies for my absence on here the last week or so! Although I do love baking, when the sun is shining and it's 20 degrees outside (yes, that's right - in March!), that's where I'd rather be. This is why I chose to live in the south of France! Gone are the days of snow and wanting to be wrapped up inside with a café au lait to warm me up. Now I want to be sitting in the sunshine with a demi pêche in my hand watching the world go by.  

I just thought I'd share this little breakfast treat with you though, because as you know, I like to spice things up a bit sometimes when it comes to breakfast. It's also perfect if, like me, you hate wasting food! Because although baguettes really are delicious when you buy them fresh from the boulangerie, they literally last a couple of hours before going stale. And I mean, I do like bread, but eating a whole baguette to myself in a day is a bit much really! But wait, I have a solution which means not throwing it away!! And actually, the staler the better. In English we call it French toast, but here they call it pain perdu. I think I've just discovered my perfect breakfast! I wondered why it was called pain perdu at first, because perdu translates as 'lost'. Lost bread? No, that can't be right! Of course, it has another meaning too that makes far more sense which is 'spoiled', so basically keep hold of your stale bread and get cooking!

It's a bit like a sweet eggy bread really, but the cinnamon gives it that extra special flavour. And it tastes even better the longer you leave the bread to soak in the egg mixture. You could serve it with any fruit you like - I just chose raspberries and banana because it was what I had, but I think strawberries would go wonderfully too. Sprinkling some pecan nuts on top might be nice too to give it some extra bite and even a drizzle of maple syrup if you're feeling extravagant. And of course, the nutella that I stuffed in the middle of the bread finished it off beautifully! Once you've had this for breakfast once, you'll want it every day. Have a play around and add whatever extras you fancy. I'm afraid the quantities of ingredients are guess-work, as I didn't follow a recipe exactly, but this is roughly what I used. It's so easy though, that you won't go wrong. I hope you enjoy this breakfast as much as I did!

Nutella stuffed pain perdu with raspberries and banana

Ingredients:

Half a stale baguette (or equivalent in thick sliced bread)

1 Egg

1/4 cup Milk

1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence

1/2/ tsp Cinnamon

2 tbsp Butter

1 tbsp Plain Flour

Nutella

Handful of Raspberries

1 Banana

Method:

1. Whisk the egg and milk together in a shallow bowl.
2. Melt 1 tbsp of butter and add to egg mixture.
3. Add vanilla essence, cinnamon and flour and whisk until combined.
4. Cut bread into thick slices.
5. Make a hole in the crust of each bread slice, big enough to fit a tsp of Nutella in.
6. Put a tsp of Nutella into each hole.
7. Put each bread slice into the egg mixture for about a minute on each side to soak up as much of the mixture as possible. 
8. Melt 1tbsp butter in a frying pan and once melted, add the slices of bread.
9. Cook for about 1-2 minutes on each side, until golden.
10. Remove from the heat and place on plate.
11. Serve with raspberries and bananas or whatever fruit/toppings you fancy and enjoy!

Mums know best.

Being home has reminded me that, yes, my Mum does know best when it comes to cooking. The number of times that I just want to ask her for a little bit of advice when I'm cooking up a culinary delight and she's not there makes me wish I'd written all her tips down somewhere. Well, I'd like to share some of her recipes with you. Plus, she's been nagging asking me if she could make a contribution to my blog for some time now, so here's her chance! She makes a pretty amazing banana bread loaf and here it is. Mum, over to you, my first guest blogger!

"I have been so impressed with Rachel’s baking blog and as I was baking this weekend, I wondered if she allowed guest writers?"       I do!!

"One of my standard bakes is Banana Loaf (no French connection – sorry!) and as we were having friends round for coffee followed by a walk I thought it would be a good thing to eat before exercise to give us energy and a bit of a healthy aspect (bananas and nuts, 5 a day?) (Actually our friends couldn’t make it due to snowy conditions so we had to eat the cake ourselves!)"

"The recipe I have is in my ‘old recipe’ file so I guess it’s from the mid-nineties. It’s from my sister-in–law, Lorraine and was given to me along with a Carrot Cake recipe – more healthy options! There is also a tip from my other sister-in-law, Anita, who introduced me to freezing ripe bananas when you have too many, so they can be used in recipes. I think the recipe actually works better with frozen bananas, perhaps because of the moisture content. That may explain why the bananas in the photo look rather black and not too appetising!"

Banana Bread Loaf    serves 10

Ingredients: 

200g Self-Raising Flour

1/4 tsp Mixed Spices

100g Butter or Margarine

400g Ripe Bananas (before peeling)

150g Caster Sugar

80g Chopped Pecans (or whatever nuts of your choice!)

2 Lightly Beaten Eggs 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
2. Line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper.
3. Rub butter and flour together.
4. Mash bananas and add eggs.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the butter and flour mixture and mix. Don't over mix.
6. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix again.
7. Pour into the loaf tin and cook for 1 hour 10 minutes.
8. It should be ready when a skewer comes out cleanly but this is nomrally longer than 1 hour 10 minutes! 

"It's very easy to make and, of course, goes well with a cup of tea!"

I'd definitely recommend making this delicious banana loaf. It's made from the sort of ingredients that you tend to just have in anyway and literally takes about 5 minutes to make! Thanks Mum...you have permission to make another contribution sometime in the future! 

Mardi Gras = PANCAKE TIME!

I could not let Shrove Tuesday go by without acknowledging it - I mean, come on, it's the one day of the year when it's justified to eat as many pancakes as you like! What is there not to love? I know, pancakes may not strictly speaking be classed as baking, but I feel these delicious snacks can be an exception because they're just so damned good! Today things are a little different in France though. For one, it's known as Mardi Gras and number two, it doesn't seem to be especially associated with pancakes. Eating is not the focal point for once and instead, it is celebrated by dressing up and carnivals. 

Just one of the crazy things we saw at the Carneval de Nice! The theme was supposed to be Roi de Sport, but I'm not too sure how this elephant fits in...

No, you're not seeing things! That really is the Queen with some of her beefeaters!! I guess as the Olympics is in London this year that's where the connection is...

Now I can cope with a different name, and I'll even willingly attend a carnival (in fact, I'd reccommend going to the one at Nice!), but no pancakes on Pancake Day? That was when I was starting to get a little worried. Worry not though, because I managed to have my pancake fix! The question is, what will you choose to have on it? Will it be a traditional lemon and sugar one that brings flooding back all those childhood memories? Perhaps banana and Maple syrup for some to adopt the American tradition? Or strawberries and Nutella, my personal favourite. Of course, for those of you who can't make up your mind (or like me, just want everything!) the best option is to sample a bit of each, which is what we did. And I'd definitely reccommend it!

Another dilemma is which type of pancakes to make. Normally I just go for the traditional ones, but we tried making some American pancakes too this time which were rather yummy! Again, we made both, because it was so hard to decide on one. Whatever you do, just make sure you have pancakes and put as much sweet topping on them as possible. After all, the French call it 'Fat Tuesday', which surely gives us all an excuse to have a fat day, right?

Traditional Pancakes makes about 12-14, depending on pan size

Ingredients:

100g Plain Flour

Pinch of Salt

2 Large Eggs

200ml Milk mixed with 75ml Water

50g Butter

Plus whatever toppings of your choice!

Method:

1. Mix the flour and salt in a bowl.
2. Make a well in the centre of the flour and break the eggs into it.
3. Whisk the eggs into the flour.
4. Gradually add the milk and water mixture, whisking constantly, until it has formed a smooth batter, the consistency of thin cream.
5. Melt the butter in the pan.
6. Pour 2 tablespoons of it into the batter and put the rest into a bowl to use for greasing the pan when making the pancakes.
7. Get the pan really hot and turn down to a medium heat and then you're ready to start cooking them!
8. Pour about 2-3 tablespoons of the batter into the pan and tip it so it's evenly coated in the batter. 
9. It should take only about half a minute to cook and then, if you're brave, flip it over, or if not, use a palette knife.
10. Once the other side's cooked, it's ready!
11. Serve with the toppings of your choice and enjoy!  

American Pancakes

Ingredients: 
200g Self Raising Flour
1tsp Baking Powder
300ml Milk
Knob of Butter
Whatever toppings of your choice!

Method:

1. Mix the flour and baking powder in a bowl.
2. Beat the egg into the milk.
3. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the egg mixture.
4. Whisk until a smooth batter is made.
5. Melt the butter and beat into the batter.
6. Grease the pan by heating butter or oil.
7. Add a large tablespoon of the batter into the pan. You should be able to fit about 3-4 pancakes in the pan at a time.
8. Cook for about 3-4 minutes until bubbles appear on the surface of the pancake.
9. Turn and cook for another 2-3 minutes until golden.
10. Remove from the heat, serve with the topping of your choice and enjoy! 

On a side note...I am going back to England tomorrow and do you know what I'm looking forward to the most (aside from seeing my lovely friends and family who are still at home)? Being able to use our fan oven. Yes, really. I shall never take it for granted again!

A sweet burst of energy to start your morning...try these Banana and Honey Muffins

There are two reasons why I decided to make these yummy muffins:

i) I've just bought these cute little silicone cake cases on a recent excursion to Ikea and I couldn't wait to try them out. Just look at them, how could anyone resist?

ii) I LOVE breakfast! But cereal everyday gets a bit boring after a while and I wanted to experiment with something different. If you make these muffins in advance, you can just heat them up in the microwave in seconds..and voilà, a quick (fairly) nutritious breakfast that fills you up. A perfect start to the day in my opinion!

Another great thing about these is that they're not dry at all. Perhaps it was the honey addition which made them more gooey than usual, but whatever it was, they have just the right texture you want from a muffin. I also added a drizzle of extra honey on them just before serving. Pop it in the microwave for about 30 seconds and then the honey will soak into the muffin, giving you that extra burst of sweetness you need in the morning. They're only small (and I tend to be quite a hungry person when I first wake up!), so have two. You can make yourself feel less guilty by telling yourself that they're healthy - I mean, they have banana in them! Of course, I had the usual problem with the oven (I'm sorry, this is getting boring now, but it's just SO frustrating). Normally, muffins take about 20 minutes to cook, but realistically, with my extremely outdated oven, they had to be in for about 45 minutes. What I thought was going to be a quick bake stretched out into the night - who needs to go out partying when you can stay in and bake all night?! Their smell and beautiful taste afterwards made it all worth it though...who says that these breakfast muffins have to be eaten for breakfast? They taste just as good (if not better) straight from the oven at 11.30pm at night. Just keep reminding yourself they're healthy and you won't feel so bad when they're gone in days!

Banana and Honey Breakfast Muffins makes 12

Ingredients:

225g Self Raising Flour
125g Butter
100g Caster Sugar 
1 Egg, beaten
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
300ml Milk
1 Banana (mashed)
1 1/2 tbsp Runny Honey (plus extra for drizzling when serving)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Line cake tray with cases or grease individual silicone ones.
2. Cream together butter and sugar.
3. Beat in the egg.
4. Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, milk and honey. Stir gently until all ingredients are combined.
5. Stir in mashed banana, but be careful to not over stir.
6. Spoon into cases, so they're about 2/3 full.
7. Bake in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes. A knife should come out clean when inserted into one of the muffins. 
8. Enjoy...straight out of the oven as a late night snack or a burst of energy in the morning!