Gonna be trying a few new recipes this year and this is definitely on the list!! I’ve changed the recipe up a bit to fit my own tastes. The original was more vegan and had some stuff like crushed corn chips which I’m not a huge fan of

Sweet Potato Soup
serves 1-2

1 cup mashed sweet potato (from a baked sweet potato - all sticky and sweet)
1/2 cup+ Chicken Broth (or substitute vegetable broth) — add more to thin out to desired consistency

1/2 cup soy milk*, original or plain or unsweetened flavors
*ordinary milk will work too

5 strips of lean bacon

Add to taste (you can actually add anything to your preference):
* chilli powder
* salt or chicken salt works nicely (3 pinches)
* paprika powder r (1/2 tsp)
* ground black pepper

Garnish:
1/4 cup diced avocado
2-3 bread crumbs crushed
dash of seasoned chili salt
A generous amount of coriander always adds some nice flavour

lower sodium note: salt is very important for this recipe! It brings out all the flavors of the sweet potato base! If you need to go light on sodium, however, give lime or apple cider vinegar a try to perk things up..

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Bake your sweet potato until tender.
3. Remove potato skin, add to blender along with the broth and non-dairy milk. Blend on low until smooth. Taste a drop to see that it is slightly bland at this point. 4. Head the soup mixture up in a saucepan and when ready add the salt and spices to taste.
5. Serve with garnish or avocado and bread crumbs over top.

Pumpkin or Butternut Squash Version: You can use the same recipe, subbing out the sweet potato. You may need less liquid to thin out this version of soup. You will need more salt since the pumpkin and squash are both very bland on their own. 

Dark Chocolate Nutella

• 7 oz. (1 2/3 c.) hazelnuts, toasted and skinned
• 9 oz. dark chocolate
• 1, 14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
• A pinch of sea salt (Not necessary)
• Evaporated milk - Room temperature

1. Once your hazelnuts have been toasted, skinned, and cooled, toss them in your food processor and process them until they turn into a paste that resembles peanut butter. This will take a while, and may require you to stop and scrape the sides of your bowl a time or two.

2. While that’s all being taken care of, melt your chocolate in the microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until smooth and shiny. Add to that your sweetened condensed milk and sea salt, if desired, and mix thoroughly. Then mix in your hazelnut butter.

3. At this point, the mixture will be quite thick. That’s where the evaporated milk comes in. Stir in milk, a little at a time until you get the consistency you like, then add a bit more, because it will thicken more as it cools. Use about 12 oz. can of evaporated milk.

4. While it’s still warm, pour into airtight containers. Once cool, you should store it in the fridge and remove it a couple of minutes before you want to spread it so it has a chance to soften up.

Found the recipe here

Enjoy guys!

Salami, Olives and Chilli Garlic Cheese

I find that if you don’t like the extremely strong taste olives have, a good way to neutralize it is to eat it with some cheese. Since cheese has more of a creamy taste rather than salty or strong, olives compliment it perfectly.
I usually buy this gourmet cheese that’s Chilli, Garlic and Herbs flavour and it’s absolutely delicious. I don’t actually like plain cheese so this one has a bit more flavour and a bit of a punch with the spice.

Try this snack out sometime =]
Enjoy!

Just-Like-Panda-Express Orange Chicken

I always run out of ways to cook chicken and this seems like a lovely way.

1 1/2 lbs (680 grams) chicken breast
3 well beaten eggs
2 Tbsp milk
1 cup Cornstarch
Salt & Pepper

1. Slice the chicken into bite-sized pieces and dip the chicken pieces in egg mixture, coat in cornstarch, then dip it again in egg mixture. What’s really important here is the order as doing so creates a tempura-like batter.

2. Fry in oil heated over a medium or medium-high stove, until lightly browned on both sides. Remove and allow to cool on a paper towel before transferring to a baking sheet. To bake, make sure chicken pieces are in a single layer on baking sheet, coat with orange sauce and bake according to directions below.

Orange Sauce
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. catsup
1/2 c. honey
1/4 c. orange juice concentrate 
2 T. white vinegar
1 T. dried chives
1 T. red pepper flakes
1 T. sliced almonds

1. In a medium saucepan, combine soy sauce, catsup, honey, orange juice concentrate, chives and red pepper flakes. Stir together over medium heat and bring just to a boil.

2. Drizzle sauce over fried chicken. Bake in an oven preheated to 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, stirring often to coat the chicken with the glaze. Remove from oven when glaze is no longer puddled around the chicken, it should be sticky and fully coating the chicken.

3. Garnish with chives or chopped scallions, red pepper flakes, orange zest, and sliced almonds. Serve immediately over sticky rice.

An alternative to this recipe is instead of using orange concentrate you can use lemon. I personally prefer lemon chicken since I think it as distinctive taste.

Enjoy!

The Nutrition of Peaches

I found this beautiful picture and I thought I might reblog but with some facts about the nutrition of peaches.

Back in the day, peach pits were often used for medication by the Chinese. The Chinese also had a saying “longevity peach”, believing that eating peaches would extend your life.

This delicious fruit is a good source of many vitamins and minerals and potassium. Potassium is where the Chinese were right, Potassium does indeed help extend your life. Peaches are a high source for the mineral and it has been discovered that a shortage of potassium will lead to fatigue, anxiety, muscle weakness, skin problems, poor memory, hypertension, cardiac arrhythmia, congestive heart failure or heart deterioration and vibration in ears.

Another health benefit is the quality o beta-carotene peaches contain. The body changes beta-carotene into Vitamin A, an essential in bodily functions. Recent study shows that people with higher amounts of Vitamin A in their diet had less risk of developing cataracts.

The succulent fruit also contain lycopene and lutein, both carotenes. These two substances can help prevent macular degeneration, cancer and heart disease.

Peaches, just like oranges are also high in vitamin C. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps fight cancer by improving the immune system and preventing cellular change.

So if you’re feeling like a snack next time, instead of reaching for crisps, try munch away on a peach. You’ll feel lifted and won’t crave sugar and best of all you get these boosts without adding any extra calories.

(Source: stronghealthyconfidence, via sanctanimity)

Mint Strawberry Iced Tea

Just something really simple to make for a nice refreshing drink at home. I usually stick to water at home but on days when I don’t feel like water I tend to drink tea or juice. Something I really love is strawberry tea and I love fresh strawberry tea. So this recipe will take no time at all and all you need is:

• Mint leaves
• 1/3 Cup of Sugar
• Fresh punnet of Strawberries
• Ice
• Water

It’s so simple I’m not even going to bother writing steps. All you need to do is fill a pot up with water and pour your sugar into it. Place on the stove at medium heat.

While that’s heating up, slice up your strawberries. Don’t slice them too thick or too thin. After 5 minutes of heating up the water and sugar, place your strawberries into the pot and let it heat up in the water. By now the sugar should have dissolved into the water, yum  yum! Rip up some mint leaves and throw them in as well.

Let the yummy mix come to a boil and quickly remove the pot from the stove. Pour into a jug or whatever container you want to keep the tea in and let it cool before placing in the refrigerator to chill. Keep in mind that if you’re using a plastic container, don’t pour the tea in until it’s cooled or you risk your container melting.

Serve with ice when the tea’s chilled and ready to drink!

Enjoy!

Mango and Watermelon Cocktail

I’m a huge fan of fruity cocktails and I don’t know about most people but I prefer it when I can’t taste the alcohol. I have nothing against alcohol but I just don’t fancy the taste of it very much. Back a few years my mother took a course in cocktail making though I was always more of a bucket cocktail maker, I just used whatever I thought would taste nice together instead of making traditional cocktails.

So this cocktail is my own creation (It probably won’t turn out looking like the picture but it’s the closest I could find). The recipe makes plenty for a big jug.
 

• 1 Carton of Mango juice or cordial - I prefer a strong and nice tasting mango juice
• 1 Mango
• 1/4 of a Watermelon - Or a half if you’re feeling greedy
• 1/4 cup of Sugar
• 1 lime
• 1/4 cup of Water
• 1/4 cup of Vodka

1. Start off by dicing the mango and watermelon into small pieces and either juice it up in a blender or if you’re feeling like more of a chunky thick cocktail you can mash it all up with a fork.

2. Mix together the mango and watermelon juice along with the whole carton of mango juice, water and add in 2 tablespoons of sugar. Pour the mix into a pot and add in plenty of lime slices. Bring to a boil and let it simmer on medium heat for around 10 minutes. This will help the lime flavor really set into the drink.

3. Now remove the mix from the stove and pour into a big glass jug. Remember to remove the lime slices. If you want a smooth drink, sift it through a sieve while pouring into the jug. Leave it to cool before placing it into the refrigerator to chill. Before placing it into the fridge however, add in some fresh lime slices.

4. Once the concoction is chilled, pour the amount you want into a cocktail shaker along with the vodka and shake until well mixed.

5. Crush some ice up (make sure it’s crushed very well) and scoop a generous amount into a glass. Finally, pour the shaken cocktail into the glass, over the ice and serve.

You can also rim the glass with sugar if desired. Or if you’re feeling fancy, cut some watermelon slices and place them on the rim of the glasses.

Enjoy!!

Strawberry Macarons

I did some digging and found a recipe for some delicious Strawberry Macarons. I’m actually not a huge fan of Macarons, I more like looking at them… but I am a huge fan of strawberry.

Anyhow you’ll want:

• 1 Cup Almond Flour
• 1 Cup confectioner’s sugar - Normal sugar is fine in my opinion
• 2 egg whites - leave them in an open container overnight in the fridge or 2-3 hours at room temperature before using
• 1/2 Cup granulated sugar
• 1-2 Tbsp of strawberry essence
• 1-2 drops pink food coloring - Natural would be best

1. So you can use a food processor, blender or just your mighty strong arms to mix together the almond flour, confectioner’s sugar. Do note that if you’re using a food processor or blender it will come out finely ground and much smoother than if you’re using your strength. A way you could make it more finely ground if not using any electronic equipment is to crush the ingredients up very well first before mixing.
Now sift the mixture around 4 times.

2. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they foam. Again something electronic would make it considerably easier.

Gradually add the granulated sugar little by little until all the sugar is dissolved. Keep beating the egg whites until it’s thick and glossy. Then stir in the strawberry essence and food coloring. 

3. Add in about half of the almond mixture to the egg white mixture. Start stirring as you add in more of the almond mixture until you get a thick, glossy, grainy mixture.

When you tilt the bowl, the mixture should slowly slide down the sides or when scooped up, the mixture It should fall in a thick ribbon that holds its shape on the surface of the mixture for a second or two, and then slowly “melts” back into the bowl.

4. Grab a pasty bag fitted with a round tip and fill with the mixture, and pipe 1 inch circles, 2 centimeters apart on lined baking trays.

Allow the macarons to set a bit at room temperature for 2-3 hours. This is the most important part in order to achieve a smooth top and ruffled bottom.

5. Set your oven to 250°C and bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. Keep checking because you don’t want them to turn brown.

6. When they’re done, let them cool completely on the baking sheets. Gently twist each cookie half to release it from the baking sheet. Fill cookies with strawberry cream or anything else to your preference.

Strawberry and Cream Pancakes

Another good way to eat your pancakes, with cream, strawberries and mint leaves on top!

(via so-divine)

Raspberry Nutrition Facts

Raspberries are a great fruit that’s delicious and healthy to consume on a regular basis. This pretty wee berry is rich in Vitamin C and are a good source of Vitamin B12, Vitamin B3, Folate, Magnesium and dietary fibre. So here’s some facts about raspberries and why we should be eating them:

High in Antioxidants

Raspberries are in the top 10 high-antioxidant fruits and veges and possess almost 50% higher antioxidant activity than strawberries. So what are the pros of this? Well antioxidants can help prevent and repair oxidative stress, which is a process that damages body cells and has been linked to the development of cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

Anti-Inflammatories

The berries provide important anti-inflmmatories including anthocyanins (pigments) that help reduce cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. It also helps improve eyesight and memory functions.

A good source of Ellagic Acid

This acid can slow down the growth of some cancer cells. Raspberries and even the raspberry seeds contain Ellagic Acid not to mention research shows that the acid from raspberries is easily absorbed by the human body, making the berry the leading source of the acid. The seeds also act as a beneficial “roughage” in the digestive tract.

Cosmetics

Raspberry and their seeds are becoming more popular in the cosmeceuticals market as the oil in the seeds is rich in Vitamin E, Omega 3 and has a natural SPF of 25-50. All of these benefits the skin and rejuvenates it to keep it looking fresh and younger.

Beneficial for Women’s Health

Raspberry leaves have been used to many tea for centuries and praised by herbalists and midwives for medical benefits in woman’s reproductive health. The tea helps with pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, irregular menstruation, infertility and other more minor conditions in connection with the health of women.

Hope you guys enjoyed the facts and start or continue eating raspberries =]

(Source: mochacafe.info, via leilockheart)

Strawberry Margaritas

Found an awesome recipe for Strawberry Margaritas. Simple and it looks amazing. I decided to change it up a bit for how I would make it because I’m not a huge fan of tequila because of the strong taste. You can find the original recipe here: Strawberry Margaritas 

You’ll need:

• 2 Cups of Frozen Strawberries
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1/4 Cup of Water
• 2 Tbsp Vodka
• 2 juiced limes
• Ice
• Fresh punnet of Strawberries

1. Combine the frozen strawberries, sugar and water in a small pot and place it on medium heat. Bring the concoction to a simmer and continue cooking on low heat for approx. 30 minutes until the strawberries break down and the mixture is left thick. Remove the mixture from the stove and pour it into a container to refrigerate until nicely chilled.

2. Once the mix is chilled, add about 1/3 cup of the strawberry syrup into a cocktail shaker (however much you want according to your own tastes). Chuck in the vodka now too along with the lime juice and ice.

3. Shake the mix well and pour into glasses and rim them with sugar and serve with fresh strawberries.

Enjoy guys!

Salami and Olives on Crackers

Since I love salami I always try and find new ways I can eat it as a snack and this is one way I always love. So simple and do delicious. Just get your favorite crackers, add a very fine slice of salami on it and top it off with juicy green olives.

This snack is tasty and healthy too!

Watermelon and Kiwi Sparkling Wine Sorbet

Here are two different types of sorbet I found. My Mum’s visiting Auckland soon so I thought I’d gather a few sorbet recipes/dessert recipes seeing as she loves that kind of stuff. No doubt you guys will too!

For the Watermelon Sorbet, you’ll need:

• 1 1/2 cups Sparkling Wine (also known as Proseco)
• A tiny bit more than 1/4 cup of Agave Nectar
• 2 cups of fresh Watermelon juice - you can drain it through a sieve if wanted
• 3 Basil leaves - cut or whole

1. Mix the sparkling wine and agave nectar in a saucepan and heat on medium heat until it comes to a boil and stir for 2-3 minutes. Leave it to cool for a few minutes.

2. Once the mix is cooled, add the watermelon juice and basil leaves and give it a good stir. Now either place it in the freezer for a few hours (2-3) and pour the mix into an ice cream maker or place it in the freezer and stir every 30 minutes. Similar to my Vanilla Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe

For the Kiwifruit Sorbet you’ll need:

• 2 cups sparkling wine
• A bit more than a 1/4 cup agave nectar
• 2 cups of fresh Kiwifruit juice - again it’s optional to run it through a sieve

Combine the sparkling wine and agave nectar in a saucepan once again and heat it over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Again stir for 2-3 minutes and then let cool.

Now add the kiwifruit juice and the remaining steps are the same as the watermelon sorbet instructions.

(via gastrogirl)

Spicy Pepperoni Pizza Dip

I’m aware the presentation is a bit weak so next time I’ll try make it better but it still tasted amazing!

Recipe is in my previous post about this dish: Pizza Dip

Snow White dessert at Sushi Room

- Small vanilla ice cream scoops wrapped in Mochi, served covered in Strawberry and Chocolate Coffee Sauce and Macha powder