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My parents' neighbour gave me a massive basket of freshly picked chanterelles, and sweet potatoes were on sale again, so this naturally came out of it. The flavouring was a little non-traditional but felt appropriate to the encroaching autumn, and it was deliciously warm and filling after a long day out and about with friends. Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil 3 c arborio rice 7 c whey (approx) 1 tsp rosemary 3-4 sweet potatoes, chopped 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp thyme 2 - 2 1/2 tsp Urfa Biber 2 c milk 1-2 c cheese, grated 3 tbsp butter Salt and pepper to taste 3c chanterelles 2-3 tbsp butter 1) Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add rice and rosemary and sauté until the rice is translucent. Add whey 2 c at a time and sweet potato pieces, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring regularly, until the liquid is absorbed. Stir in spices. Reduce heat and cover. 2) Sauté chanterelles in butter, and add them and their liquid to the risotto, stirring to incorporate thoroughly. Stir in cheese and enough milk to achieve desired thickness and consistency. Add butter just before plating. Some of the flavouring was admittedly because I used a little too much whey in my rush to get it cooking before running off to bathe Little One. I then discovered that it was too acidic and a little flat and so added a bit of this and a bit of that to compensate. It also ended up ready long before Little One, overtired after a long day, actually consented to go down, so I added milk to keep it moist. Flavours ended up all over the place, and initially, I wasn't sure about it, especially when the feedback I got about it was "interesting" and "different", but then pulling out leftovers a few days later, I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed the flavour combinations. Some of the leftovers we turned into arancini balls, using them to try out my new airfryer. I made balls of the leftover rice and rolled them in cheese the first night. That got a little messy, so the second time around, I rolled them in breadcrumbs instead, mixing the cheese into the risotto to thicken it a little in the hopes of getting it to hold its shape better. The first batch I stuffed with some of my Fromage blanc too. These were really tasty and I was very pleased with them for a first attempt at arancini, but they were phenomenally messy. I might need to start with a stiffer, less creamy risotto next time.

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.

I've been doing a challenge on Instagram where there is a different ingredient each week around which a dish needs to be built. This week's ingredient is lemongrass. "Easy. I'll do a Thai curry," I thought. "But how about something new, too? How about something sweet with lemongrass. Maybe a lemongrass coconut panna cotta. No, it's Lent and I won't get a chance to try it. How about a savoury lemongrass panna cotta then? Hmmm. That's an idea. With what?" So in the end it turned into still crunchy stir fried veg with the warm spices from a curry, the panna cotta sitting on top of the veg with the cool flavours, and a chilli sauce drizzled over the top with the heat. I was not sure how any of this would work, starting with the panna cotta. Would it gel without a lot of sugar? And then how would it all come together. I wasn't sure until I made it exactly what I was going to put in the hot drizzle. In the end though it came out nicely. Ingredients: For the warm base: 1-2 sweet potatoes, cut into fat matches 3-4 carrots, cut into fat matches 1 -2 red peppers, cut into fat matches (1 onion thinly sliced if you have one, which I did not unfortunately) 4-5 cloves of garlic, sliced 1 tbsp peanut oil 1 tbsp mustard seeds 1 tsp coriander seeds 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds 2 tsp cumin 1 tbsp cooking sake juice of half a lime For the panna cotta: 1 l of coconut milk 2 stalks of lemongrass, chopped 1 small chunk of ginger, finely grated 2 packets or 70 g gelatine 6 drops of fish sauce 1 tbsp cane sugar Juice of 1 lime For the chilli sauce: 1 red chilli, chopped fine 1 tsp rice wine vinegar Juice of half a lime 1 tsp honey Topping: Coriander leaves Sesame oil Crispy millet (I soaked some millet grains in a little whey then put it in a cooling oven) 1) Prep the Panna Cotta in advance. Pour the coconut milk into a saucepan and warm gently. Add ginger and lemongrass and leave to infuse for at least an hour. 2) Bring the panna cotta back up to a gently simmer and add other ingredients except for the gelatine. Taste test then you have a choice. Either strain the bits out of the cream or, as I did, leave them in. I liked crunching on bits of lemongrass later. Add gelatine and simmer gently, stirring for about 5 minutes, then pour into small individual serving containers (eg ramequin pots) and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or overnight. 3) Heat oil in a wok. When the oil is hot, add the mustard, coriander and cumin seeds. When they start to pop, add the garlic. Fry briefly then add the vegetables and other ingredients. Cook at high temperature for a few minutes then reduce the heat. Cook until the sweet potato and carrot are cooked but still crunchy. 4) In a small simmer all ingredients for the chilli drizzle. Partially blitz and set aside. 5) Plate it all. Place the veg on the plate, tip a panna cotta out on top (I placed my ramequins in hot water for a few minutes to loosen the edges. I did it a little too long though and some of them were a little softer than I wanted.) Drizzle chilli sauce over it, then place coriander leaves around and millet crisp over the top of the panna cotta. This was a hit! I would do a few things differently next time though. I had hesitated about whether to do the veg in a wok or the oven. I did it in the wok in the end but I think another time I would do them in the oven to have crispiness to them rather than crunch. Also, I don't know that I would try to loosen the panna cotta in the cups first. Maybe just run a hot knife around the edge instead. As it was, the panna cotta melted a little fast, producing a (re)constructed Thai curry. The panna cotta was good on it's own and I would like to try it again with different pairings. It could also work as a dessert but would need a tangy coulis because it is quite rich.

I love my morning porridge, and the Baked Porridge we've been having recently has been very tasty, but once in a while it's nice to switch it up. I don't tend to buy breakfast cereals because the sugar content is through the roof, and instead decided to make my own granola. It's been ages since I last did it, but I am rather pleased with how this came out. Little Bit and I were snacking on it dry when it came out of the oven, and it's been a hit for breakfast in yogurt. The clumps are quite small, but if you want them bigger, just add more of the molasses. Ingredients: 2 c oats 1/2 c almonds, finely chopped 1/3 c walnuts, finely chopped 3 tbsp chia seeds 1/2 c hazelnuts, finely chopped 1/4 c pine nuts, chopped 3/4 - 1 c tahini 1/4 c raisin molasses 1) Mix all ingredients together on a baking tray. Bake at 170°C for 30-45 minutes until toasted and golden brown. Allow to cool and then serve with milk, yogurt or plain. The raisin molasses hadn't been the plan, but I picked it up in the Turkish grocery story strapped to the tahini as though they belong together, so when I put the tahini in, I figured that the raisin molasses might as well follow. It is not too sweet and has a relatively light flavour. I quite enjoy the combo and think it came out well in this, but the granola could work well with honey instead. I plan on playing around a little with different combinations over the next few months for different granolas, so stay tuned!

Späztle is another traditional Swiss and German food that I grew up with. They are a cross between mini dumplings and a form of pasta. To make them, an eggy batter is dropped through the holes of a colander or a specialised grater into boiling water. They can then be served as is, sautéed in butter, or baked with something else. I often sauté them in butter until brown and slightly crispy on the outside while still soft on the inside and serve them up with Rotkohl and sausages or roast chicken and veg, for example. Left over spätzle goes very nicely fried up with eggs for breakfast. In this case though, I cooked them in another traditional dish, Käsespätzle, where they are mixed with grated cheese and baked, preferably until crispy. I also added a couple of simple twists to the recipe. While travelling to Ticino in the autumn, we had lighter, fluffier spätzle than I had ever had. To try to emulate this, I added some baking powder to my regular recipe. The results were spot on and very tasty with a satisfying mouth-feel. I also sliced some apple over the top which then roasted with the Käsespàtzle. It would work well with bacon too. Ingredients: 3 c flour 3 eggs 1/2 tsp (at least) freshly grated nutmeg 1 1/2 c milk 1 tsp (generous) baking powder 2 c spinach (or 2 large cubes of frozen spinach) 1 apple, sliced 150g cheese - I used left over raclette, but really the choice is yours 1 tbsp butter Salt and pepper to taste Optional: sliced tomato and onion as toppings, bacon bits to be mixed in. 1) Mix the dry ingredients together. Add the eggs and whisk. Add the milk and mix. 2) Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Place the spätzle grater* over it and spoon in a couple of dollops of batter. If it is too runny, whisk in a little more flour before proceeding. If too stiff, a little more milk. 3) As soon as the drops puff up and float to the surface, fish them out with a slotted spoon and drain them well. At this point, you can either sauté the spätzle in butter and serve them up, or you can carry on to make the Käsespätzle. 4) Melt butter in the bottom of an oven proof dish (I like to use a shallow one so that more of the spätzle get a little browned. Toss the spätzle in the melted butter briefly to coat, allowing a few to begin to brown, then add the other ingredients and mix well. 5) Place in the oven at 180°C and bake 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is melted and there is some crisping on the top and sides of the dish. Serve on its own or as a side, with mustard, hot sauce, mayo... So tasty and satisfying! An excellent comfort food dish for a winter evening. I haven't made this variant of a spätzle dish in ages, despite making spätzle at least once a month and am so glad I pulled this one back out! It was a hit with everyone, including Little Bit and I think I might have to make this more regularly. * This is an affiliate link to help you find what you need to make the recipe. You will not be charged any more by using this link but you will be helping support more delicious recipes! .

This started out as a trialled tweak of the Orange Date Cookies back in the autumn. In a taste test of the two, we liked the Orange Date Cookies better on certain characteristics. The rest of the Grapefruit Prune Cookie dough was put in the freezer and forgotten about. About a month ago though, craving some cookies, we pulled it out and had a few cookies, and it turns out that although very different to the Orange Date Cookies in taste and texture, they are nevertheless very good in their own right. I therefore set out to try to recreate the recipe and the tweaks I had made at the time. I ran out of molasses though, so this batch was half honey and half molasses. I have put a few away in the freezer again and will try a fully molasses batch soon to compare them. In the mean time though, friends we visited for the weekend were willing to be guinea pigs for us and approved the cookies, as did both their little one and Little Bit. Ingredients: 1 c butter, softened 1/2 c white sugar 1/2 c dark brown sugar 1/2 c oat flour ( I blitzed oats in our coffee grinder for these) 1/3 c molasses OR 2 1/2 tbsp molasses and 2 1/2 tbsp honey 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 2 eggs 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp cloves 1 tsp ginger 2 c flour 1/4 c dried grapefruit peel 3/4 c prunes, chopped 1) Cream butter and sugar in a bowl. Add oat flour and molasses (and honey if using) and mix well. Soak grapefruit peel in a cup of hot water. 2) Stir vanilla and eggs into butter mixture, then gradually add dry ingredients. 3) Drain grapefruit peel, and add with prunes to the dough. Mix well. Drop onto greased cookie sheet by teaspoonfuls. 4) Bake at 180°C for 8-10 minutes until golden on top. Cool for a few minutes then enjoy warm! These turned out very well. They are softer and spread more than the orange date cookies. I find them closer in texture, and sort of in taste, to ginger snaps than tollhouse cookies, Hubby finds them to more closely resemble oatmeal cookies. It's like trying to decide which facial features a child got from each parent though, and in reality the cookies are their own thing, not bastard versions of anything else. To make them a little firmer and have them spread less, I might try adding an extra 1/4 c of flour next time. They also came out darker than I had anticipated. Initially I though I had let them go too long, but let the next batch go less time and they were actually less good. Tanner it is then! I was then worried that they would be too hard and crisp, but not at all. They stayed moist over the next couple of days and were lovely and soft without being sticky. Overall though, I am delighted with these. Let me know what you think! Book Pairing: While baking these I was listening to Dante's Inferno. I read it before, years ago, but find that it stands up very well to a second reading.... well, listening. Dante and Virgil found themselves dealing for passage from circle to circle with the demons who guard Hell, as they pass souls in a a flaming pit. Dante's imagery is very evocative and he is an enjoyable narrator, I only wish I knew more about some of the historical figures he encounters as it would be easier to follow some bits. The verse nature of the book does well in audio version but the downfall of the medium is that I don't have access to text notes. Oh well.

Or is it Lemony Cream Pasta? Working with what we had in the fridge, this is what came out. We have a teething baby (why already at 10 weeks old? I thought we had another couple of months!) and a toddler who refused to nap today and was overtired, so it had to be quick and easy. We've all been sick so the more places I can include vitamin C, the better. This was the result this evening, and it seemed good enough to share, so here it is. Ingredients: 500g tagliatelle 1 1/2 - 2 c slab bacon, cubed 2 onions, chopped 1 c mascarpone 1 c cream 1 lemon, peel strips and juice 1 tsp sumac 6(ish) c spinach, or 6 large frozen cubes 1 tbsp vinegar - I used homemade lemon vinegar, white wine vinegar would work too. Salt and pepper Optional: Cured egg yolk grated over the top 1) Boil the pasta until al dente, as per packet instructions. Drain setting aside 2c of pasta water. Stir in mascarpone, cream, vinegar and lemon juice. Add sumac, salt and pepper. Add necessary pasta water to achieve enough sauce to coat the pasta but not have it swimming. 2) Meanwhile, brown the bacon bits in a pan over medium heat. Add onions and fry for a few minutes until translucent. Add spinach and strips of lemon peel, cooking until spinach is wilted or defrosted, depending on what you're using. 3) Stir the bacon and spinach mix into the pasta. Grate cured egg yolk over the top if using. Taste test and serve warm (optionally with a nice rosé.) We really enjoyed this. It came together quickly (the longest part was defrosting the spinach), it felt light but was flavourful. Little Bit objected to anything touching his pasta until he realised he was missing out on bacon. Definitely going to hold onto this one. Despite the cream, bacon and mascarpone, it was not overly rich or heavy. It would also have worked without the bacon (surprisingly, as I usually seem to think most things could be improved with bacon!), although it was certainly tasty with it!

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.

For the next challenge with my sister and my friend, Hibiscus Kook, to make a dish three different ways, and each of us trying something new, we decided on pancakes for pancake day today. Pancake Day, Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, whatever you want to call it, is the last day before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent. Lent, being a period of fasting, prayer and penance leading to Easter in the Catholic faith, is traditionally a leaner period culinarily. Many know it now as being the period during which people tend to try to give up chocolate, but for many centuries it was, and for many it still is, a period when richer foods are given up until Easter. Shrove Tuesday was therefore a good time to use up eggs and fats which remained, and so pancakes became traditional in the UK. I had grown up celebrating the feat of Mardi Gras, but had never heard it called Pancake Day until I moved to Scotland for University. I was completely mystified, especially as no one could explain the significance of the pancakes, they were eaten for supper rather than breakfast, and most of my friends who celebrated pancake day were in no way religious and weren't going to be observing Lent or Easter. I still don't necessarily eat Pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, and certainly eat them at other times of the year, but once in a while, it is a fun tradition to embrace. My sister's suggestion, therefore, of making Pancakes our next recipe to coincide with Pancake Day suited me to a T. Here are our three different Pancake Experiments, and a bonus Whipped Cinnamon Honey Butter recipe. For my friend, HibiscucKook's recipe for vegan pancakes on her blog, click here. Sahlep Pancakes by me Piggy Pancakes (AKA Hamcakes) and Whipped Cinnamon Honey Butter by my Sister

After going up to my parents' chalet for Easter, we discovered on our return that there was a forgotten loaf of bread in the bread box which had gone very stale. I had been planning on making either French toast or bread pudding with it, and then I got a request for a sweet bread pudding recipe after my Eiderdown of a week or so ago. So it was decided, sweet bread pudding it was. There are many different ways of making this, and I don't think I make it quite the same way any two times I make it. I've made it with all sorts of different breads, including croissants, tresse and panettone which have gone stale. Sometimes I butter the slices, sometimes not. Often I add a layer of jam. Sometimes I sweeten the egg and milk mix, but not always. Occasionally I spice it, sometimes it has fruit or dried fruit. It all depends on my pantry and on my whims at the time of making it. The key is to give the bread enough liquid to soak up and enough time to absorb it in. And then have fun with it! Here's the one I made this time. Ingredients: 1 tbsp butter 1 loaf stale bread, sliced (mine was so stale that it shattered rather than slicing) 2-3 cups of milk or whey (I used a mix of each. Exactly how much liquid you need will depend on exactly how dry your bread is and exactly how much there is of it. Play it by ear.) 3 eggs, beaten 2-3 tbsp jam (in this case I used the last of a jar of mango syrup) Dried fruit - I added raisins (1/4c approx), a handful of chopped apricots and some dried ginger 1 banana, sliced 2 tbsp cinnamon sugar 1 c yogurt or sour cream Maple syrup to serve 1) Butter a shallow baking dish. Lay a first layer of bread slices. Spread the jam evenly over the layer (or drizzle the syrup as the case may be). Scatter some of the dried fruit over this first layer and tuck between pieces of bread. Layer the rest of the bread on top, and tuck the rest of the dried fruit between the pieces. 2) Beat together the eggs and about 2 cups of the milk or the whey. Pour evenly over the bread. Leave to soak over night. 3) Place the sliced banana over the top and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake uncovered at 180°C for about 45 minutes, until firm but moist with a golden crust on top. 4) Serve hot with a dollop of yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup. I am so grateful to have gotten a request for this as it is a while since I've made it. It made a very tasty breakfast, and cold later in the day was not bad for picking at! Don't be fooled by the way the bananas look when they come out of the oven either. They are pure caramel goodness! Enjoy it, and don't forget to have fun with it and play around with flavours a little!