Puff Pastry Wrapped Pears

A few years ago, I watched an episode of the Great British Bake Off in which the technical challenge was pastry wrapped pears (mini pear pies) and I remember how delicious they looked. I also remember watching one of the contestants completely mess up the challenge. His pears collapsed which almost got him kicked out of the competition and I thought to myself "they don't look so hard to make, how did he mess up so bad?". Like I said, this was a few years ago so I wasn't too sure how they were made but I thought I'd give it a go. I am most definitely not a great pastry chef, I actually don't like spending that much time in the kitchen. However since living alone and finally figuring out how my oven works, I have dedicated some time to baking. These puff pastry covered pears were extremely fun to make and so simple (well my way is!). This was the first time and I am pretty happy with how they turned out. I will try again in the future and hopefully they'll look even better. If you have friends over and want to show off your cooking skills with a delicious dessert, I think this recipe is great!

What You'll Need:

- 3 small pears

- 2 cups of sugar (I used cane sugar)

- 1 cup of honey

- puff pastry 

- cinnamon (optional)

How to do it:

1. Start off by peeling your pears. Core them from the bottom. You may cut off a bit of the pear at the bottom in order to level it.

2. In a casserole, add 4 cups of water or enough to cover your pears and boil. Then add the sugar and the honey (and cinnamon) and stir until they have melted. Reduce heat and add in your pears to poach. This should take between 15 and 20 mins depending on your pear. Let it simmer until the pears are soft.

3. Remove pears from the casserole and put the honey and sugar liquid aside. The pears should be very sticky and hot. Let them cool down.

4. Preheat your oven to 200C. Meanwhile cut your puff pastry into long strips (about 8mm wide) using a sharp knife. You will need quite a few strips. I used 3 strips per pear. Wrap the strips around the pears starting from the bottom and continue towards the top. This is the part that I liked the least. I am not the most patient person in the world and wrapping these pears just got on my nerves. 

4. Place in the oven on a baking sheet and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm and drizzle with the honey sugar syrup that you put aside earlier on. 

Enjoy!

Green Smoothie Bowl

As you might know, I am a big smoothie fan and there's nothing I like more than enjoying my smoothie with a spoon. This Green smoothie bowl is perfect for breakfast, lunch or even as a post workout snack. So grab your blender and enjoy this very simple and healthy recipe.

 What You'll Need:

For the Green Smoothie:

- 1 large banana

- 1 green apple

- 1 kiwi

- a handful of baby spinach

- vanilla yogurt

- half an avocado

For the Toppings:

- raspberries

- blueberries

- kiwi

- green apple

- pomegranate seed

- granola

- edible cornflower petals

How To Do It:

In a blender, add all your ingredients and blend until thick and creamy. Transfer your smoothie to a bowl and top with your fruits, granola and cornflower petals. Enjoy immediately!

 Enjoy!

Honey Soy Chicken

I've been quite obsessed with quick and easy meals lately so today I will be sharing with you a savoury recipe: my yummy honey soy chicken on rice with a side of garlic green beans. This meal is perfect for a quick lunch with only a few ingredients.

What You'll Need:

- boneless and skinless chicken fillets

- rice

- green beans

- garlic

- salt & pepper

- oyster sauce

- dark soy sauce

- honey

- olive oil or vegetable oil

How to do it:

1. Start by cooking your rice. This shouldn't take very long so you can start prepping your green beans if they are not trimmed yet.

2. Once the rice is cooked you can go ahead and place your green beans in a pan covered with water. Bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and let the water simmer for about 5 mins until the beans start to soften.

3. Meanwhile, you're going to prepare your chicken. Start by cutting your fillets in small dices and season with salt and pepper. Add a tablespoon of oyster sauce, a tablespoon of dark soy sauce and 2 tablespoons of honey. If you do not have any honey, you can add a spoon full of sugar. Mix together until every piece of chicken is covered.

4. Drain the water from the green beans and leave it aside. Meanwhile add olive oil to a skillet. Throw your chicken in and fry for about 5 mins. Make sure to keep stirring the chicken until caramelised.

5. Fry your green beans with garlic and butter for about 3 mins and season with salt. Finally, place the chicken and the green beans on your bed of rice. You can top your chicken with sesame seeds.

Enjoy!

Berry Granola Yogurt Bowl

Hello and Happy April! I know i'm a few days late but I hope you all had a lovely Easter.

Today I bring to you another easy recipe which involves yet again mixed berries. I love berries. This is really super simple, I don't really need to tell you how to make it but i'm going to anyway. This yogurt bowl is perfect for breakfast, a great alternative to the smoothie or açai bowl and is also a great and healthy idea for when you don't have much time. I must say that I have never been a huge yogurt fan but this, this is something else.

What You'll Need:

- yogurt (I chose a Greek style vanilla bio live yogurt)

- a handful of blackberries

- a handful of raspberries

- a handful of frozen mixed berries

- half a banana

- 1/2 cup of granola (I used Jordans super fruity granola)

How To Do It:

 In a bowl, pour in your yogurt and top it with the granola and your mixed berries and bananas. You could also drizzle some honey over the yogurt although I preferred not to as the yogurt and fruits were already sweet. And that's all there is to it!

Enjoy!

Classic Buttermilk Waffles with Mixed Berries

Waffles... So much easier than pancakes and just as lovely. I have been craving waffles for a while now so I decided to make the classic buttermilk ones, crisp on the outside yet soft and fluffy in the centre. I love pancakes and waffles equally however after eating pancakes, it always feels like I am carrying a food baby... Waffles taste great and are just so much lighter which is a bonus. Anyway, without further ado, here is my classic buttermilk waffle with mixed berries.

What You'll Need:

Waffles:

- waffle iron
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
- 1 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup canola oil or vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Toppings:

- raspberries
- blackberries
- bananas
- strawberries
- honey
- dark chocolate
- whipped cream

How to do it:

1. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the centre of the mixture and set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla extract together. Pour into the well of the first bowl. Stir until the batter becomes slightly lumpy.

3. Preheat your waffle iron and spray with nonstick spray. Pour the batter into the waffle iron grid and close the lid. Cook until waffles are completely done. Use a fork to remove the waffles once cooked. Keep the waffles warm until they are ready to serve.

4. Now for the toppings. 

My first waffle is a strawberry & banana waffle with a chocolate base, drizzled with honey. I melted some dark chocolate in a casserole with milk and butter. I however didn't want it completely melted as I preferred a paste-like consistency for my waffle. 

My second waffle is whipped cream, blackberries and raspberries and my final waffle is raspberry, whipped cream and chocolate. 

Note: If you would like to achieve the frozen berries look simply freeze your berries ahead. Make sure they are fresh. Do not wash them before freezing them. Once they are frozen, remove them from the freezer. Do not touch them with your fingers as this will ruin the look immediately. Wait a few minutes for the berries to defrost and place them on your waffles using a tweezer. And voila!

Frozen berries look beautiful on camera!

Enjoy!

Egg-In-A-Hole

Today I will be sharing with you a very simple recipe for eggs-in-a-hole. Perfect for breakfast or snack time, it can be eaten on its own or as a sandwich.

Note: This is also a perfect recipe for Valentine's day 💕. Opt for a heart-shaped pastry cutter instead of a round one and surprise your loved one with a beautiful and tasty breakfast in bed!

What you'll need: (serves 2)

- 2 slices of bread (4 for sandwich)

- 2 eggs

- salt

- butter

- non-stick pan

- round pastry cutter or a glass

How to do it:

1. Start by cutting the holes out of your bread. I used a glass as I did not have a circle cutter. Meanwhile heat up your pan.

2. Your bread should look like this. For the sandwich, do not cut any holes into your two other slices.

3. Once your pan is hot, add some butter. Wait till the butter is melted then place your bread in the pan.

4. Wait till your bread becomes a golden colour before flipping it over.

5. Now that you've flipped your bread over, add a bit more butter in the hole where your egg will be cooked.

6. Crack your egg like so and add salt for flavour. Cover your pan and wait approx. 2 minutes till your egg is cooked and the bottom of the bread is golden. Repeat with your second slice of bread. For the sandwich, simply place your bread in the pan and cook till both sides are golden. This will be the base of your sandwich. Simply prepare your sandwich as you normally would, placing the slice with the egg at the top. I used German Salami for mine but bacon is another great option.

And there you have it, a delicious Egg-in-a-Hole! Don't hesitate to share photos of your egg-in-a-hole in the comments.

Enjoy!

EASY SUPER GREEN SMOOTHIE

Green smoothies are super popular and let's not forget, they are super healthy so today I will be sharing with you my super easy, delicious and healthy green smoothie recipe, perfect for breakfast and to take with you on the go.

Ingredients:

- green apples
- baby spinach
- kiwi
- banana
- low-fat yogurt
- almond milk

How to do it:

In your blender, add in 1 whole banana, half a green apple, a handful of baby spinach and a whole kiwi. Now add in two spoonful of yogurt and 1/4 cup of milk. Blend it all in and serve.

Enjoy!

TWO COLOUR MIXED BERRY SMOOTHIE

Today I will be sharing with you my Mixed Berry Smoothie recipe.

Ingredients:

- handful of raspberries
- handful of strawberries
- handful of blueberry
- 1 kiwi
- 3 banana
- plain yogurt
- almond milk

How to do it:

1. First we will be preparing the bottom part of the smoothie which will be the main part to your smoothie. For this, throw in your raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, kiwi and one chopped banana.

2. Add in a big spoonful of yogurt and a bit of almond milk. The more milk you add in, the more liquid it will be. 

3. Blend. The base of your smoothies is done. Pour it into a glass.

4. Now to prepare the second part. For the top part of my smoothie, I just made a simple banana smoothie. Blend your two remaining bananas with half a spoon of yogurt and again a bit of milk.

5. Pour it over the the base smoothie and you are done!

Enjoy!

DRAGON FRUIT SMOOTHIE BOWL

Smoothie bowls are the perfect breakfast, dessert or snack. They taste delicious and make you feel amazing. Smoothie bowls are very trendy and we can see why.
Here is my recipe for a dragon fruit smoothie bowl:

Ingredients:

- Dragon Fruit (Red & White)

- Mango

- Kiwi

- 1 Banana

- Flax Seeds

- Granola Bites

- Almond Milk (Coconut flavour)

How to make it:

1. In your blender, add in all your chopped fruits and blend. 

2. Add in the almond milk and blend again until very smooth.

3. Pour your smoothie into a bowl and top with fruits, seeds and granola.

4. I started with the flax seeds and the granola. For my bowl, I used about 4 small granola bites, 2 of which I cut into little pieces. I continued with the kiwi, mango pieces, dragon fruit and sprinkled some more flax seed over them. 

For this recipe, I used fresh fruit because I prefer the smoother texture but you may also use frozen fruits if you want it thicker. 

And that is all! Dig in and don't forget to take photos!

Enjoy!