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Eating, cooking and everything in between

Spicy Satay Asian Salad 

Hands up who feels huge and sluggish after Easter? *raises own hand* I’ve eaten so much chocolate plus a (delicious) roast dinner yesterday and I’ve lost track on the wine. Time to get back to vegetables with this crunchy Asian salad.

I made this for a set of weekday lunches and to make use of my new Veggie Bullet! It’s a shredder, chopper and spiraliser and it’s great for recipes like this where there’s lots of chopping. I used the shredding function for the carrot and then sliced the cabbage, peppers, onions and chilli.

I did the rest by hand because it wouldn’t do spring onions how I wanted them in long strips and the mini sweetcorn probably wouldn’t have really worked out well. It cut the prep time in half though.

Anyway on to the recipe and a word of warning, you can’t make this (either food processor or no) without getting finely chopped food ALL OVER your kitchen. So put down some towels and roll up your sleeves!

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Peanut Butter ‘Cookie Dough’ Protein Bites

I legit can’t stop finding uses for this Moose Maple Butter. It’s cropping up all over my kitchen, whether it’s on a hot cross bun or hidden in these gooey little lovelies.

I’m not going to tell you these are healthy because they do have a fair bit of the butter in. But I bet they’re better for you than buying premade cookie dough – no additives or nasties in this recipe! You could make them with coconut oil or another nut butter to up the healthiness, maybe add chopped fruit instead of chocolate chips.

I’m really excited that these worked out, I’m definitely going to experiment making more things with oat ‘flour’ as it means things like this are instantly edible, no need to bake! I made my oat ‘flour’ in my NutriBullet but any blender will probably do a decent job.



Mmmm! On to the recipe!

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Greek Feta and Spinach Quiche

I’m on a quiche binge at the moment, I’ll admit it. The Salmon and Broccoli Quiche  I made recently for Mother’s Day was so good, and made such easy lunches that I was spurned on to make another!

I had some leftover feta to use up and we always have frozen spinach in the freezer (soooo much more economical than fresh) so a spinach and feta combo seemed like a no brainer. I wish I’d had some dill to add to it as it would have been the perfect Greek flavour, but I had to work with what I had and went for basil and nutmeg instead.

Four eggs and fourty minutes later and I have my lunches sorted for the rest of the week! The feta adds a really delicious creamy texture to it making it feel richer than it actually is. I’ll be eating this with salad for a tasty desk lunch.


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Butternut Squash, Cauliflower and Chorizo Salad with Wild Garlic

Another recipe using wild garlic! Well, when in Rome (or Roundhay Park). I’ve been trying to think outside of the box and look at different ways of using wild garlic instead of in the standard pesto. This recipe uses wild garlic torn into small pieces and it adds a really nice soft flavour to the dish. If it’s not in season or you can’t get any, spinach would work fine or you could omit it completely.

This is one of those elusive delicious desk lunches that don’t need warming up. Make a big batch at home and enjoy at room temperature or from the fridge, no fuss, no muss!

You do need some harissa for this recipe to give it an extra punch – cauliflower roasted by itself tends not to hold much flavour but whack some harissa in there and you’ve got yourself something really delicious! The beans and cheese add some extra protein and you can take out the chorizo if you’re veggie.

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Sukothai, Chapel Allerton Review

I have a confession to make. Here goes: I’m not like, really into Thai food. *gasps*

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t fully dislike it, it’s just if we’re talking Asian cuisines I’d rather go for Vietnamese, Chinese or Japanese. I just think I’ve just had quite bad experiences with Thai restaurants. It’s so touch and go out there. Bad Thai curries, only-ok pad thais… I’ve been burned before, and would usually just choose to go somewhere else. 

Until now *dramatic music*. 

I recently went to Sukothai in Chapel Allerton and it has to be the best Thai meal I’ve had in my life. I’m a convert. Now I can be that person that suggests going out for Thai and have a failsafe restaurant to back it up. Sukothai to the rescue.

I was so curious to try here as it’s reputation really does precede it. It’s won countless awards and I often hear great word of mouth reviews. It’s a fairly big restaurant, but it gets REALLY busy. We booked a table on a Friday night and good job we did. People were queuing out of the door (you know it’s going to be good if people are queuing out of a door). 

The service on drinks was a little bit slow but it was very busy – all the tables were full so they were clearly at capacity. We ordered a mixed satay platter to start with which arrived fairly quickly. 

Sadly though we ordered it for three people and there was only two kebabs of each meat. We pointed it out and at the end they only charged us for two people, but hey we would have liked more meat. Anyway after awkwardly cutting the kebabs into thirds, they were absolutely delicious.


There was chicken, beef and pork and a choice of dipping sauces – spicy peanut or sticky soy. The chicken and peanut went together beautifully and the soy was excellent with the other two. The star of the show was the pork – it had a soft melting texture and was so juicy and full of flavour. 


Next up I ordered the Chicken Pad Khing – chicken stir fried with ginger, spring onion and mushrooms. The chicken was soft and tender, in a sweet and salty sauce that just tasted beautifully oriental. The veg was perfectly cooked, not overly done, with a nice crisp to it still. It all had a very clean taste to it too, not greasy at all. My only niggle was the ginger was in huge chunks which wasn’t that pleasant to eat, but that’s more just personal taste. 

My friends ordered the Phed Mamuang Himmaparn (duck with cashew nuts) and the Khao Pad (fried rice) with beef. Both were generous portions and the duck was incredibly tender.


The food was really reasonably priced too, including wine it was less than £30 each. The menu is incredibly big, I feel like I definitely need to go back to try all the different things! All in all I’d really recommend Sukothai, I’m sad I didn’t discover it when I actually lived in Chapel Allerton. If you’re looking for something a bit different, it’s really worth a try.

The Toastest with the Mostest

Butter, jam, marmite (if you’re that sort). Isn’t toast one of the best things you can make? It’s so versatile, from breakfast to a snack. From a hangover to pre-workout fuel. Toast is a winner.

Fuelled by my love of our crunchy bready friend, I recently did a Twitter poll to find out what the toast topping du jour was.


Butter came out tops, which I was actually surprised at given I’d thrown avocado in there. Granted, it’s not a spread, but it’s damn good. Nobody else agreed (what’s wrong with you people?).

Anyway, the people at Moose Maple Butter were listening (with really big moose ears, I like to think). They challenged me to try their butter, assuring it was all natural and all delicious. How could I refuse.

A week later this bad boy shows up. 


Guys it’s MAPLE SYRUP BUTTER. They get butter, and put maple syrup in it. Oh god, it’s good. It’s definitely not healthy but hey if you’re already slathering your toast in 2 tablespoons of butter then why not go the whole hog (or moose). 


Mmmm. Butter.


Heavily saturated toast. We only had wholemeal in the house. I originally wanted to wait and try it on a crumpet (as advertised – ‘great on crumpets’) but I just couldn’t. 

It’s soooo good. It tastes exactly how you’d expect it would. Buttery. Mapley. Sweet AF. It was excellent on toast but I’ve also been eating it straight out of the tub, because y’know, it’s nice. 

For me, butter definitely wins when it comes to toast toppings, and especially if it’s maple butter! If you haven’t tried this stuff it’s definitely worth a go, especially if you have a sweet tooth. 

Salmon, Broccoli and Leek Quiche

I don’t usually make quiches, I’m not sure why because they’re delicious! I think I’ve always thought they were a faff but if you pre-buy the pastry case they’re really a doddle.

I made this bad boy for Mother’s Day lunch with some salad and roasted tomatoes. It went down a treat and I’ll definitely be making a few more quiches in the future – so moreish and the leftovers make great lunches.

You could buy preflaked salmon I suppose to make this even easier but it’s often honey roasted or seasoned which might overwhelm in a quiche. I bought two fillets and just grilled them with a little butter, lemon and salt and pepper.

Find the pre-made pastry cases in the baking aisle of your supermarket – they really help to make this a lot easier! Especially if you have no patience for baking like me. Anyway, onto the recipe!

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Wild Garlic and Fresh Basil Bruschetta

Wild garlic is back! I LOVE wild garlic. It tastes like spring (and garlic). I got up early yesterday and picked a load from Roundhay park, took it home and rustled up this gorgeous bruschetta. 


There’s not much better than foraging for your own ingredients, and it’s impossible to do without feeling a bit TV cheffy and smug. Wild garlic is everywhere at the moment – you’ll know it by its smell – so go out and get some and you too can feel intense smugness.


It’s best to keep it in the fridge in an airtight container until you need to use it. I’d reckon it only has a shelf life of a couple of days, ideally pick it on the day you want to eat it.

This bruschetta recipe is so simple (as all bruschetta should be!) and relies on the freshness of the ingredients to be the best it can be. Get the ripest plum or cherry tomatoes you can find and roast them for 12-15 minutes in a hot oven (around 200c) with a little olive oil and some salt and pepper. 


Take two slices of the best crusty white bread you can find – I used a mini ciabatta loaf cut lengthways, and then toast lightly just on the cut side. While it’s toasting shred the wild garlic into ribbons and tear the basil roughly. 

Once the bread is golden brown, drizzle with some olive oil and then pile on the tomatoes, the herbs and some crumbled feta. Season with a bit more black pepper and enjoy straight away.

The Lamplighter Dining Rooms, Windermere Review

What a couple of weeks it’s been! I’ve had such a busy run, with changing jobs, having a horrible cold. I start my new role tomorrow and I couldn’t be more excited! Anyway, this trip we had to The Lakes this weekend couldn’t have come at a better time. 

Gary had booked us the trip for my Christmas present, and I bloody love a surprise so I was really excited to see what he had in store. We stayed at the Howbeck in Windermere, just a 20 minute walk from the lake itself and from Bowness-in-Windermere. This had acccess to a little spa up the road which we were unsure about at first as it looked well, a lot more like a gym in a sports centre circa 1982, but actually on the inside it turned out to be really pleasant. 

Anyway on to the eating. We ate at the Lamplighter Dining rooms after Gary had spied it on both TripAdvisor and The Guardian. It’s been going for over 20 years, and is attached to a B&B (as are most things in Windermere). 

It was a Friday night and most of the tables were busy. We had a very friendly, local waiter who welcomed us and read out the specials. Gary immediately went for the lamb ballotine – a slow roasted shoulder of lamb, shredded and served with the richest red wine gravy. I wanted the sea bass but they had run out, so I went for the plaice instead.

For starters Gary ordered the scotch quail eggs with black pudding and chorizo, I just had some olives because I wasn’t super hungry for a full dish.

The scotch quail eggs were wonderful with a lovely soft yolk inside, surrounded by the crumbly black pudding and chorizo sausage mix.


 The mixed olives were really good quality, a satisfying combination of Nocellara and Kalamata. Very moreish and great with my house white wine.

Next up came the mains. Gary’s lamb was the real winner here, it tasted incredible with rich flavours of blackberry, red wine and rosemary. The meat was shredded, and very tender. It came with a wonderfully rich gravy and mash potato. 


My plaice was excellent too, really delicately fried with a little dusting of flour. The chills were spot on. Our one gripe was the roasted vegetables that came with both dishes, there was nothing green, just a trio of parsnip, swede and what appeared to be more potato. A little bit of cabbage or broccoli wouldn’t have gone amiss.


We finished up with the sticky toffee pudding to share, this was absolutely great. Really intense toffee flavour and served in a salty caramel sauce with ice cream. It was spot on, and felt reminiscent of something your gran would make (I’m just guessing here, neither of my grans ever produced a sticky toffee pudding). 

Overall the Lamplighter was a great choice, serving no-fuss, simple and well made food in a really friendly and welcoming environment. The staff really made the meal, the service was impeccable from start to finish and we felt at home the minute we walked in. Definitely give it a try if you want something hearty and home cooked in The Lakes! 

Colcannon with Smoked Haddock and Pancetta

Happy St. Patrick’s day! I have to be honest, I don’t think I’d actually eaten colcannon until I made this recipe, but now I’m HOOKED. It’s not really healthy, what with all the cream and butter, but if you’re in the mood for treating yourself once in a while this is a really great way to indulge.

It was my first time using Albert Bartlett Elfe potatoes too, which I found in Lidl the other week. I’m a keen fan of their Rooster potatoes, they’re so consistent. These took a while to cook, maybe a little longer than a rooster, but mashed beautifully.

I was wondering what to eat this with and then found some smoked haddock fillets in my freezer. I usually keep these for risottos, soups or fish pies rather than eat as fillets, but I thought, what the heck. Let’s eat it as a fillet.

At first I was going to add a sauce but I was in two minds about what it would be. With no white wine in the house (sadly) the only other option would have been a creamy sauce which would have been a bit overkill with the mash. If I made it again, I’d maybe include a buttery white wine sauce just poured over the fish but honestly this was delicious just as it was.


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