This recipe is more or less faithful to his original recipe for the chicken but simply vegetarian, replacing the cinnamon a little next time if I wanted something closer to the original dish but that is still vegetarian

As mentioned in Day 42 of The Challenge I love chestnuts and always have. They are a marker of the season. I used to only get them at Christmas markets in little paper cones, roasted and so hot that you burn your fingers trying to peel them. And then I discovered that you could buy them and roast them at home, and even cook with them. It isn't quite chestnut season yet, although it was last week in the southern part of the country and it got me hankering for some chestnuts. This is a soup that I first tried out of my Taste of Portugal cookbook by Edite Viera, and then at a friends' place for a St Martin's Day dinner, and I loved it. The recipe from my cookbook I found at once too bland and starchy though, so I have played around since, and was very happy with today's soup! Ingredients: 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 red onion, chopped 1 white onion, chopped 2 carrots, chopped 1 celery stick, chopped Half a head of garlic, chopped 750g chestnuts (as they aren't quite in season yet, I used frozen ones) 1 tsp thyme 1 c chicken stock 2 c milk 1/2 c lemon juice 1 tsp urfa biber per bowl chives for sprinkling Salt and pepper to taste 1) Sauté onions briefly in oil in a soup pot. Add other veg and sauté for a few minutes more, allowing the veg to char a little. 2) Add a small amount of water (approximately 1/2c) and add the chestnuts. I allowed them to cook like this in the water until it had cooked off then, waited a few minutes before adding more liquid. This allowed the chestnuts to roast a little, releasing a delicious flavour reminiscent of cold hands and paper cones in Christmas markets. 3) Add thyme and salt and pepper, stir then add the stock and milk. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes. 4) When the vegetables and chestnuts are tender, blend until smooth and velvety. Add the lemon juice and dish into bowls, garnishing with chives and urfa. This soup is silky smooth and velvety. It had just the right starch and sweetness, balanced by the deeper notes of the garlic and urfa and rounded out by the veg and the lemon juice. It is filling, so if you plan on serving this as a starter, ladle up small portions or people won't be hungry for the next course! Perfect as a lunch though. It pairs well with crispy bacon crumbled over the top or with bread on the side, but works perfectly well without either.

I love Brussel sprouts but only discovered them a few years ago. Since then though I have been playing around with different ways of cooking them and exploring various dishes that could include them. This is the first time I've tried to make them into a soup, and I must say, aside from being a little too acidic (cut the white wine next time), it came out very well and was very tasty. Removing the potatoes would work and replacing the croutons with toasted almonds instead would make this keto friendly. For carnivores, crispy bacon bits over the top could work well too. Skip the bread and the recipe is gluten free. As with most things, there is room for variation within the general idea. Have fun! I know that Brussel sprouts get a bad rap sometimes, but I hope you will look past that and give this soup a chance! Ingredients: 3 tbsp olive oil 2 onions, chopped 1/2 head of garlic, chopped 500 g of Brussel sprouts, halved 3 potatoes, chopped 1 tsp sumac 1 tsp zathar a splash of white cooking wine 1/2 c apple cider vinegar 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 50 g gruyère cheese, grated 1/2 c milk 1 tsp rosemary 1/2 tsp cocoa spice Salt and pepper to taste 3 rolls (I used olive bread and nut bread) 1 sweet potato, cut into fat matches 1 tsp fenugreek seeds orange peel apple, sliced 1) Heat the 2 tbsp of olive oil in a cast iron skillet and sauté the onions and garlic. When these are fragrant, add the Brussel sprouts and cook a little longer over high heat until the leaves char a little on the outside. 2) Add the potatoes, sumac, salt and pepper, zathar, wine and vinegars. Put the whole roasting pan with all in the ingredients and braise gently at 180°C for about 30-40 minutes, until the Brussel sprouts are tender. 3) Meanwhile, cut your bread into cubes and place onto a baking sheet with the sweet potato strips, the fenugreek seeds and orange peel. Pour over 1 tbsp olive oil and toss to coat. Toast in the oven alongside the braising veggies. Remove and set aside when the sweet potato is tender and the croûtons crispy. 4) Remove from the oven and blitz until smooth, adding in the cheese and blitzing it in too. Gradually add the milk, rosemary and cocoa spice, stirring until incorporated. Taste and adjust. It may be a little sharp, but that is fine because: Add croûtons and sweet potato over the top and serve the apples for dipping. This made a very tasty, satisfying and novel winter lunch. After the initial part, it required minimal attention and came together quickly at the end. As I said in the introduction it was a little too acidic, so I would cut the white wine next time, but the acidic side of the soup paired well with the earthy tones of the sprouts and the sweet potatoes, the whole contrasting nicely with the sweet salty crunch of the olive bread croûtons.

As mentioned in Day 23 of The Challenge We tend to have a light meal for lunch, like soup or salad, and we live around the corner from a farm stall. This happened because of their phenomenal fresh carrots and kale. It took all of 15 minutes to get on the table, as well as prepping for the cauliflower carbonara for dinner, it was packed full of flavours, textures, and colours while being light and easy. I highly recommend this! Just skip the eggs to make this salad vegan. Ingredients: 2 onions, spiralised 2 normal carrots (or one huge one), spiralised on the ribbon setting Kale 2 tbsp olive oil 3 tsp honey 1 tsp nigella seeds a handful of walnuts a handful of sage leaves 2 eggs 1 red pepper 2 stalks of celery 4 sundried tomatoes 1 tsp balsamic vinegar Salt and pepper to taste 1) Cut kale into thirds and steam for a few minutes, until the leaves just start to change colour - not too long as you want to retain some crunch. Place on plates. 2) thinly slice the red pepper and plate with the kale. 3) Heat half of the olive oil into a pan. When it is shimmering, add the onions and sauté until tender and starting to brown. Add nigela seeds and cook for a few more minutes before adding to the kale. 4) Meanwhile heat the rest of the oil in a second pan and sauté the carrots. Add the balsamic and the honey and the sage leaves. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, and plate up. 5) Poach the eggs for 4 minutes, then carefully extract them and place them on top of the salad. Add walnuts, celery sticks and sun-dried tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste and serve. We had this with grapes and tasty bread and local cheese, as well as a home-made mayonnaise. My husband declares to be one of his favourite things I've made.

Due to Covid quarantining we could not be with all the family for Christmas, so I am waiting on the last 3 days of Christmas cookies until we are all together. And in the mean time, something a little different... It sounds a little strange I know, but give it a chance. The arrival at this dish was a little peripatetic. We had peeled a pomelo for breakfast, excited for Little Bit to try another new food, especially a citrus, and we are both very fond of pomelos. We discovered with disappointment though that it was not very juicy, and was too dry with a bitter aftertaste. Fine then. I'll make it into a smoothie. SO I peeled it and prepped it, then spotted a beet in the fridge and decided that the acidity, mild bitterness and sweetness of the pomelo would play nicely with the earthy sweetness of the beetroot. I therefore peeled the latter and chucked it into the blender with the pomelo. I added some orange peel and some spices for good measure, then had to go do something else and left it there on the counter. The plan for dinner at this stage was spiralised sweet potato in a creamy mushroom sauce. When I came to make dinner though, having spiralised the sweet potato I spotted the almost purple smoothie sitting on the counter, and decided that tonight was a test night. Let's see what happens if we use the almost smoothie as a sauce for the sweet potato spirals, with the mushrooms chucked in. So that is what we did, and with a little tweaking it worked. The bitterness from the unjuicy pomelo still came through, but less so when sopped up with bread, so we decided to have the leftover sauce with cheesy gnocchi a couple of days later and it sang. Ingredients: 1 pomelo 1 beetroot 1 - 1 1/2 tsp dried orange peel 2 tbsp lemon juice 1/4 tsp cloves 1 tsp cinnamon 2 tbsp honey 2 tsp Aloha Spiced Cacao Salt and pepper to taste 1) Blitz the ingredients together ( if you prefer a mellower flavour for your beetroot, steam or roast it first. I used raw beet and it worked well though.) 2) Heat slowly in a saucepan, stirring gradually, 3) Add to spirals of veg or to cheesy gnocchi or pasta. The first night the bitterness from the pomelo was a bit much. The dish had promise but needed some tweaking. We found that the starch helped counter the bitterness though and so cooking it with gnocchi, heavier in starch than the sweet potatoes with a less delicate flavour of their own, With a pomelo that was perfectly ripe though, instead of one we needed to use in something rather than just eating, I don't know if we would have encountered the same problem. This is definitely going to stick around though, it was so tasty! EDIT: After making mozzarella of my own for the first time, I used the sauce in puff pastry pockets with the mozzarella and dates. They were beautiful (and tasty!) The sauce also works well as a pink base for pizza.

As mentioned in Day 16 of The Challenge I heard about this every year on New Year's Eve for years in The 90th Birthday or Dinner For One (do watch it if you have a minute, it is very entertaining), without ever knowing what it was. Then I tried it a couple of years ago and loved it and it has become a staple. It has a good mix of warm spice notes, and a good solid base. There are masses of different recipes out there for Mulligatawny Soup, which made it to Europe during the Raj and is thus a very tasty vestige of the British Empire and colonialism. I tried a number of different recipes and then tweaked to make one of my own. I hope you enjoy! Do leave comments :) Ingredients: 1/4 c butter 1 onion, chopped 1 carrot, diced 1 hot red pepper, diced half a head of garlic, minced 2 tsp ginger, minced 2 apples diced 3 tomatoes, diced 1/2 tsp of paprika (or tandoori powder - I find it adds a richer flavour note) 1 tsp thyme 1 tsp of curry powder of your choice (I used a strong Moroccan one, but have also used an orange curry powder from a market in Munich) 1 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp cinnamon Black pepper to taste - I like to use a lot, but the choice is yours 1/2 c red lentils 2/3 c coconut milk 3 c of chicken broth Roasted nuts to garnish (cashews are my favourite, but otherwise walnuts are very nice too) Fresh coriander to garnish 1) Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté the onion, carrot, and pepper for a few minutes until the onion is translucent. 2) Add the garlic, ginger apples and tomatoes. Cook a further few minutes and then chuck in the spices and stir. 3) Add lentils and broth. Bring to a boil then simmer for about a half hour, until the lentils are cooked (red lentils cook quickly, so no need to soak them but you can if you want or if in doubt - over night will be super sure, but a few hours works too.) 4) Blend til about 75% of the soup is smooth, but with enough chunks remaining for texture, then add coconut milk. 5) Add toppings and serve. traditionally this would be with naan, but we've done it with tattie scones, flat bread or regular crusty bread. Any of these work. There is a reason this has become a staple for us. I hope you enjoy it too. We had no James to dish it, but I'm glad I actually looked this one up :) *Note: Don't worry about leftovers. It heats up fine, or you can make Miss Sophie's Soufflés! (Recipe coming very soon!)

This could easily be made with vegetable stock, making this vegetarian, and for a fancier look, it could

As mentioned in Day 1 of The Challenge I love oats. I start 90% of my days with porridge and have oats at other times too. When I haven't had it for a few days I actively miss it and I have no qualms about having it multiple time a day. I get told regularly about how porridge sticks to your ribs, but honestly, having it so often for the last decade, it feels no heavier to me than most breakfasts and lighter than most other meals, while still having substance. I stay full longer after porridge than after a bowl or cereal for example without feeling any more full after the one than the other. After a day of driving and a week-end of being feasted on excellent food, what better go-to than porridge for a quick, easy, and healthy yet flavorful and satisfying dinner? With minimal ingredients in the house, this is also versatile, allowing me to match ingredients to the dish more easily than some things. A couple of tweaks and it was perfect baby food too. Ingredients: 1 cup oats 1 cup milk 1 cup water 1/2 head of garlic, peeled and grated 1 knob of ginger, peeled and grated 1 shallot, sliced 1 leek, chopped 4 cabbage leaves, shredded 1 tbsp olive oil 2 tsp soy sauce 2 tsp pomegranate molasses 1 tsp Cape Malay "Mother-in-law" spice 2 tsp of the cumin, salt and other spices mix from an Indian friend. No idea what else is in it so unfortunately this is where reproducibility falls down, but sniff around your spice rack and see what you feel might work. 2 eggs 1) Put oats, water and milk in a saucepan and heat gently, stirring occasionally. 2) Put oil in a frying pan and heat. Add shallot, ginger and garlic. Cook until the vegetables start to turn slightly tan and add the cabbage and leek (we cooked the leek separately as a certain Someone doesn't have leek on his food list yet). I decided to char the cabbage and leeks a bit, you can pull them off sooner if you'd rather. 3)Add spices and soy sauce to oatmeal and stir. Taste test and adjust as necessary. 4) Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Add the eggs and boil for 4-5 minutes. 5) Dish the oatmeal into bowls and add the vegetables. Peel the eggs and put them n the side, then drizzle the pomegranate molasses over everything and enjoy. This came out beautifully and there is nothing I would have changed. The balance of tanginess, and heat an saltiness, then soft porridge with the egg and crispy vegetables. It was perfect. The only issue was that there were a few more dishes than we wanted, but it didn't take long for the clean up either, all told. I apologise for the inability to give an accurate spice ingredient. I am afraid this might be a regular occurrence though, so get used to it. To make this baby friendly, we needed to cut out the salt, and leeks. I took out a baby portion when the oats were cooked, and in a small saucepan I added a cube of a carrot ginger purée that I made and keep in the freezer. It is quite gingery, so I wasn't sure how he would accept the ginger and garlic (ours was a big knob of ginger) on top of the gingery carrot purée already added, but it went over a treat. I should just have cut the cabbage shreds a bit shorter as Someone found them a bit difficult with only 5 teeth.

Anyone who has ever lived with me for any period of time knows that my morning go-to is oatmeal. I love it. It is quick and simple, it keeps me satisfied for the morning, even when on my feet on a busy ward (or nursing a baby every 2 hours) and I love the creamy texture. Not to mention that oats are very healthy for you. 95% of the time I have my porridge the same way (made with milk and raisins, and just a sprinkling of cinnamon over the top). Once in a while though, I like to shake things up a bit and play with other flavourings for my morning go-to, and even sometimes to sweeten the pot a little, as it were. I've posted a few oaty recipes before (Persimmon Porridge, Fenugreek Porridge, Sweet Potato Porridge, Baked Oats) but thought it was maybe time for some more. Recipes: Cook time: 15 mminutes -- Portions: 2 -- Difficulty: Easy Roast Chestnut Oats: Ingredients: 1 c oats 2 c milk 1 c roast chestnuts, crumbled or chopped A handful of raisins 1 tbsp maple or light brown sugar 1 tsp mix spice (Optional: a splash of cream) 1) In a small saucepan, place the oats, milk, most of the chestnuts and raisins and cook over medium heat, stirring regularly to prevent burning. 2) When it has thickened to the desired consistency, stir in the sugar and spice, pour out into two bowls, and top with the remaining chestnuts. Pour over the cream now, if using. Enjoy hot with a good cup of tea (or coffee if that is your thing.) Hot chocolate works too. Candied Orange Oats: Ingredients: 1 c whey 1 c milk 1 c oats 2 tbsp candied orange peel A handful of raisins 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tbsp cacao nibs 1) Place the whey, milk, oats, most of the candied orange peel and the raisins in a saucepan and soak overnight. 2) In the morning, bring the saucepan up to a simmer over medium heat. Stir regularly to prevent sticking and cook until you have achieved the desired consistency. 3) Spoon out into two bowls and top with the remaining orange peel, the cacao nibs and the cinnamon. Both of these work beautifully for a bit of a switch-up of your morning porridge. Either or neither can be soaked overnight, depending on your tastes and what is more convenient. I tend to soak whey porridge overnight as it cuts the acidity a little and comes out sweeter than it would if made fresh in the morning. I like it both ways (pun unintended), but Hubby finds making it fresh in the morning too acidic, so I have bent to his taste here. Conversely, although I do soak milk porridge overnight, I find it quite sweet in the morning, so I often make that in the morning instead. There are no hard and fast rules though! Swaps and substitutions: Both of these recipes would work with other forms of hot cereal. For example, for cream of what, substitute out the cup of oats for 6 tbsp of cream of wheat. For a vegan or dairy-free experience, swap out the whey or the milk for your favourite nut milk. Personally, I would go for almond milk in this instance, but the choice is yours! Instead of the mix spice in the first recipe, swap in pumpkin spice, or some cinnamon and cloves, or skip the spice altogether. Rather than the raisins, replace them with some diced prunes or dates, but be aware that these are almost a little sweeter. They do work beautifully though. Instead of the cocoa nibs, you could be truly decadent and use chocolate chips. For my part, I would go for dark ones, but it is your breakfast! (As a side note, I have been loving cocoa nibs recently and have enjoyed putting them in all sorts of things that would normally have chocolate chips. If given the chance to soak even a little, they soften up wonderfully, while still remaining toothsome, and they have that much less sugar.) Instead of the maple sugar in the first recipe, use light brown sugar. Be aware that although dark brown sugar would work too, this will deepen the flavour notes considerably. Cinnamon sugar or plain white would work too. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

This recipe was great vegetarian but would also work very well with little bits of bacon or sausage stirred