These past few months...

Life seems to being spinning around quite quickly these days...
I was just looking through some photo's and already what happened a couple of months ago feels like a different world.

In Autumn there was wandering around multi-coloured trees, a cold day of much needed fresh air after a weekend of board games and drinking with good friends.

There was good coffee with T as the days grew colder still.

My little brother graduated University! We all went to the cathedral and then ate celebratory chips in an old, tiny cafe.

With T, taking a break from the Christmas shopping.

Baking the Christmas pudding.

Christmas parties.

My lovely mums birthday, on the winter solstice. I baked her a chocolate and roasted hazelnut cake with chocolate truffles.

A mini Christmas dinner with T.

Hot chocolate on wintry evenings, curled up on the sofa with T and the newspaper.

Gifts from T.

Christmas dinner with my family.

Billy and Bitsy's new crocheted jumpers to keep them warm until summer arrives.

New clothes from the sales!

Coffee on a sunny Saturday spent wandering around town with T, breathing in the new year.

My new year's resolutions are more simple this year - 

Enjoy everyday things more (like try to actually enjoy my morning run!)

Stop worrying about spending money so much and do more (is one more night out really going to break the bank?!)

Don't feel guilty about going here there and everywhere (I want to explore)

Finish writing my book (most important, if I don't do it this year, I doubt I ever will)

Stop eating crisps and stop drinking fizzy drinks (I don't even like them, I just eat them because they're there. Doh!)

Cut out palm oil from my diet (Being vegan is something that I stand, over everything else, recently I have learned more about palm oil and where it comes from. So now I say NO to palm oil.)

Keep smiling

Keep laughing

Keep loving

x

You're So Yummy

So you want something healthy (since it's still January) but you also want to sit on the sofa in front of the TV and not move. This can be a common problem...and because the sofa and TV option usually wins...this CAN lead to over use of your local takeaway/chip shop/fast food shop/bag of frozen chips in your freezer.....
So here we go, no fuss food that is damn fine on your plate and keeps your body looking damn fine too :)

Roasted Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Couscous with Salted Asparagus and Spinach

This is such an easy meal I make it far too much, and you can vary the ingredients to suit what you have in your fridge, winner winner!

In here I've used...(made enough for about four people, or two very hungry people!)

Half a butternut squash

One sweet potato

Can of mixed beans 

One large white onion (red onion is a win too!)

Two cloves garlic

Bunch of asparagus 

Salt 

Pepper

Chopped chilies

Cayenne Pepper

Juice of half a lemon

Few table spoons of olive oil

About four handfuls of couscous

The great thing about this dish is you don't have to be too precise, the more rustic the better!

So, all you need to do, is peel the butternut squash and sweet potato and cut into chunks.

Peel and chop the onion into rough chunks

Pop it all into a baking dish, along with a couple of good pinches of salt, a good grinding of pepper and about a teaspoon of cayenne pepper.

Chop up a chili (or use a teaspoon of ready chopped chilies) and add that to the dish

Take your garlic cloves and lightly crush them, leave the skin on and pop them into the dish too.

Add your can of mixed beans and a good glug of olive oil to the dish and mix it all up. Get your hands involved so everything is coated in the oil and spices.

Now simply cover with some tin foil and bang it in the oven at 200c. 

Now go sit on the sofa and watch TV :)

Check it after about half and hour, give it a stir and poke it with a fork to see how tender the squash and potato is. When it's soft you can turn the oven down to around 180c.

For the asparagus...

Simple trim the ends or snap (A good tip! hold the asparagus at both ends, gently bend it and it should naturally snap in the place where it starts to get 'woody' at the end)

Now lay them in a baking tray, cover with good pinch of salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Now lightly coat your hands in olive oil and rub the asparagus so that they're completely coated in the oil, salt, pepper and lemon.

Pop them in the oven for about 5-10mins until soft.

Whilst they're roasting pour boiling water over your couscous and then once fluffy add it to the potato and squash dish.

Serve with spinach and hummous!

Enjoy! :)

Cooked The Boy A Veggie Roast Dinner!

So last night I thought i'd be all good wifey and cook T a proper cooked dinner, vegan style.

I roasted potatoes and parsnips with rosemary and garlic and cut the carrots into little heart shapes.

I sauteed onions and mushrooms in balsamic vinegar to make gravy.

I even made up my own 'nut roast'...although I didn't have any chopped nuts...so it wasn't really a nut roast, more a sort of lentil and bean loafy thing. Basically I threw a load of lentils, red kidney beans, chickpeas, baked beans, onion, garlic, flour and spices together and baked it. It came out quite tastey if I do say so myself, so I might pop the recipe up soooonly if anyone's interested? :)

x

Chocolate And Cardamom

Ok I'll admit it; I am a cardamom lover. Especially at this time of year, it will spice up any biscuit, cookie or cake and make it a Christmasy delight. 
Here's my vegan cardamom spiced chocolate muffin recipe I think you'll love...

Ingredients

2½oz (70g) Vegan butter

2¼oz (60g)Sugar

1 Tbs Syrup

4½oz (120g)Plain flour

½oz (5g)Cocoa powder

1oz (10g) Cornflour

3 Tsp Baking powder

¼ Pint (150ml) Soya milk (Rice milk works well too)

2 Tsp Cardamom pods    

Little splash of vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

This recipe makes 4 large muffins, but if you’re feeling extra naughty it can be doubled, or you can use standard size cake cases to make the mixture stretch further.

 Get your bake on…

First things first, grab your pestle and mortar and bash the cardamom pods so they break. Now take out the shells of the pods and grind the little seeds. Try to get them as finely ground as possible.

 To the mixing bowl!

Cream the vegan butter and sugar together and then add the vanilla extract, syrup and cardamom seeds.

Give it a good mix so it’s all combined.

In another bowl, combine both flours, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt.

Now pour a little soya milk into the butter and sugar mixture and then mix in a little of the flour mixture.

Keep alternating bit by bit until it’s all combined and wonderfully glossy.

Spoon it into some pretty cases and fill them ¾ full. Trust me the mixture smells so chocolatey and spiced up you may struggle not to eat it all from the bowl!

Bake them at 180c for 30 minutes and enjoy!

x

Christmas Cards!

Anybody out there still in need of Christmas cards? If you like handmade cards with cute drawings of mice and rabbits wearing red and white stripy onesies, then I know just the place to grab some :)
Hop along to my Etsy shop HERE and have a looksee.

Here's a few things you'll see...

 The Christmas Angel - a tree decoration

 The Christmas King - a tree decoration

 A little matchbox owl on a candy cane - tree decoration

Dylan The Mouse - a matchbox mouse tree decoration

Hope you're all having a jolly good December, can't believe it's like 2 weeks until Christmas! Aaaaahhh it's come around sooo soon. Bristol at Christmas time is wonderful, the Christmas market is here and the smell of roasted chestnuts and doughnuts is just too tempting :)

x

Who Likes Smoked Paprika?!

SMOKED PAPRIKA!

I don't know about you, but in my opinion this stuff is just amazing. It seems to make everything better, but I warn you, once you go smoked...you won't go back....

Make your own fajita sauce with tomatoes, peppers, chillies and smoked paprika

Before you put potato wedges in the oven, bash them up a bit, add oil, salt, tomato puree and smoked paprika...mmmmmm!

If all you fancy is beans on toast...pop a spoonful of smoked paprika in with the baked beans, it will rock your world!

Love and all that jazz x

What Have I Been Eating?

Wintery days need warming food, food that feeds your mind and soul as well as your body.

Spicy Lentil and Tomato Soup

Pasta in a Creamy Garlic Sauce with Spinach and Tomatoes

Spicy Vegetable Curry With Roasted Peppers and Caramelized Onion Naan Bread

Warming Chilli with Rustic Potato Wedges

And of course I wouldn't be Millie if I hadn't been baking too...

Spiced Up Apple Tumble

Be My Lover Apple Tart

And the first batch of Christmas Time Mince Pies

As always, all my food is vegan and recipes will follow, so if you've seen something you like never fear! Strawberries and Squiggles recipes will soon be here!

Love and all that jazz x