Pumpkin Waste & Recipe Ideas

Pumpkin Feta Muffins

It’s October, the leaves are starting to fall, changing to various shades of rust before drifting to the floor, you’ve got your cosy  clothes out of the loft, meals are starting to shift from light summery flavours to more hearty stews and pies, it’s getting darker in the mornings and everyone is starting to talk about Halloween. It’s also the time that all the shops and market stalls start stocking pumpkins rather than just a butternut squash. Pumpkins are wonderful, and I’m going to spend some time telling you about just how wonderful they are, in the hopes that it’ll stop you wasting them.
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Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies (Vegan)

Vegan chocolate chip cookies

My blog has faded into the background of late, I mentioned it briefly in other recent posts so I’m not going to say any more about it here. Instead I’m just going to rave about cookies and how wonderful they are. I used to have a different go to cookie recipe, it’s on the blog and I’d still recommend it as a great one, but this one has taken its place. It’s an incredibly simple recipe that does require you to have some waiting time, and also has the added bonus of being completely vegan. It’s not asking you to make any awkward substitutes, and if you aren’t then you can stress less about the chocolate you’re putting in it. It just happens to be a very simple oil based cookie dough that doesn’t use butter or eggs. Chilling the dough is absolutely essential for the success of these cookies. A sprinkle of sea salt over each just before you bake them adds a pleasant salty burst, but if you don’t want it, it’s not needed. Read more

Rhubarb Meringue Pie

Rhubarb Meringue Pie

I wouldn’t be a Yorkshireman if I didn’t like rhubarb. You can’t talk about the stuff in the UK without someone bringing up the Rhubarb Triangle (between Wakefield, Morley and Rothwell). It’s April and we’re in prime season now for forced rhubarb, just before the main season for normal rhubarb kicks in. Forced rhubarb is actually pinker, so if you want to bake something with a slightly more striking look, now’s the time to do it. You’ll still have something that tastes great at other times, but if you want the colour you’d have to create it artificially. Read more

Orange & Lemon Polenta Bundt Cake

Orange & Lemon Polenta Bundt

I turned 30 last week. I don’t really know how that happened, but I’m going to play along and claim that I’m OK with it, and that I’m not remotely having a miniature crisis of self. I celebrated with good friends, eating pizza at my favourite place in Walthamstow (long term readers and anyone that follows me on my instagram will know that that’s SoDo Pizza Cafe), before flying off for a week in Iceland with my girlfriend, Maddie. Iceland was an absolutely incredible trip, including the best cinnamon bun of my life, numerous mountains, black sand beaches, infinite waterfalls and the most metal church I’ve ever seen. I’ll probably get around to that trip properly at a later date, but it was something from that adventure which prompted me to crack out my new bundt tin; Skyr. It’s everywhere in Iceland and you can use it in the same way as yogurt for most things, but it’s a bit thicker with a slightly different flavour.
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Crumpets (Vegan)

Vegan Crumpets

I’m here with my second post in a week, and I feel like I’m ready to get back into a proper groove. After only baking a couple of times in January, in the last week alone I’ve baked 3-4 times. So lets get straight back into it. This week I’ve finally made something that’s been on my list for ages; crumpets. I got the poaching rings several months ago and just didn’t get round to it. I love crumpets though, I love the way you can coat them with huge amounts of butter and it both soaks into the holes and pools on the top. The way it dribbles down your arm while you’re eating it. I love covering them with marmite, for a strong tang, or some sweet jam or marmalade.
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