Strawberry Yogurt Muffins - Feeling like a sweet tooth...

Sometimes you just want a muffin, am I right?

Or you have a massive tub of really over-sweet yoghurt that your dad bought which no one will eat and you have no idea how to get rid of and you have to get rid of it otherwise there's no room for good yoghurt, right? Well. If you're still following, that was my dilemma.

Yet the dilemma turned into a blessing, of sorts...Yummy, sweet, soft muffins, almost cupcake-y but too healthy to be called cupcakes :-P They hail from an interesting blend of flours, I like to go crazy with my buckwheat, which really adds some kind of depth-y flavour to them, well that's what my brother said...

I just think they're yum.

Oh, by the way. I know it says strawberry...but I used blackberries. The strawberry part was in that yoghurt I mentioned :)

In case you needed more convincing than just their cuteness. These muffin cupcake things are healthy too! Exciting! Don't be afraid though, they're actually good, pretty impressive for something that's actually pretty good for you too. So make a muffin and enjoy it with tea, or just enjoy it with life, muffins are good :)

If you want to change the fruit, go for it! Try strawberry in strawberry muffins. I know, shocking.

(Healthy) Delicious Strawberry Yoghurt Muffins

• 1 cups spelt flour
• ½ cup oat flour
• ½ cup buckwheat flour
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 heaped tbsp honey or maple syrup
• 1 ¼ cups thick greek strawberry yoghurt*
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• ¼ cup olive oil or melted coconut oil
• 1 heaping cup blackberries or strawberries 

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Grease muffin pans, you don’t want these to get stuck because they will hold on with all their might. Use paper cases if you want to for ease.
2. Whisk together the flours, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large mixing bowl.
3. Whisk together the yoghurt and vinegar for a minute. Whisk in the coconut oil. Slowly mix in the dry mixture until everything is combined.
4. Fold in the berries. Spoon mixture into muffin tins and bake for 5 minutes at 200C before turning your oven down to 170C and baking for an extra 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown on top and a poking stick pulls out clean.
5. Let the muffins rest for about 3 minutes. If you have trouble getting them out, turn the tray upside down and rest a cold, wet but not dripping, towel over the tray for a minute or two before carefully pushing the muffins out and loosening the edges as you go. I use a silicone pan so I can squeeze the muffin along the edges and bottom to get it out. Do not be put off by this if they get stuck! Feel free to use muffin cases. These are delicious muffins and they do come out very easily, they just require some love, my mum was slightly impatient, no wonder – they smelled amazing :)

* Yoghurt must be thick! And make sure it’s sweet or you might need more honey. I used danone ultimate greek, strawberry.

Someone great once said to me: Strawberry yoghurt = yum. Muffins = yum. Strawberry yoghurt + muffins = YUM. Right? right.

Is she right?
What's your favourite muffin?

Warming your Bones - Zesty Rosemary and Grape Porridge

Winter annoys me. A lot, or at least it has recently. The only thing to look forward to is my birthday, otherwise it's cold, rainy and the only fruit around is apples and pears and apples and pears get boring!

Currently however, grapes are around and they're pretty great. My favourite grapes are the green-y red seedless ones, they're so crisp! I'm going to pretend I didn't eat almost two whole bags of them in two days all by myself...

Enjoy the fruit while it's around, right? 

                 

So it's been cold and I've been sleeping under three blankets in two to three layers of Pj's. This crisis calls for a delicious, hot and yummy porridge! And I have just the thing.

Rosemary, Lemon Zest and Grape Porridge (for two)

Use as much zest and rosemary to taste, it's delicious regardless. The lemon adds richness and the grapes, just the right amount of sweetness. If you can be bothered (I'm not such an early morning person) cut your grapes in half and their sweetness will blend into the oats too. Leaving their skins unbroken makes for an equally delicious breakfast though, so up to you. Either way, make sure there are grapes a-plenty, you won't regret it :)

2/3 cup rolled oats
1-2 tbsp linseed meal (optional)

½ - 1 tsp lemon zest (I used the zest of a small lemon, it was the size of a lime)

1 generous tsp finely chopped rosemary

1 cup milk (any kind)

¼ cup water

A good amount of grapes

Chuck everything except for the rosemary into a saucepan on medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until the oats thicken to your liking and the liquid has absorbed. You may need more or less water depending on the toughness of your oats. When the porridge is near ready-ness, add the rosemary and grapes stirring in and cooking for about 2 minutes longer until the grapes are hot and dispersed through. If you slice your grapes you may add them earlier to get the flavour through more. Pour into bowl and top with a splash of more milk, a sprinkling more of rosemary or a dollop of yoghurt.

Eat it while it's still hot and delicious and share with someone special.

A few of my favourite things...Roast veg buckwheat crepes for a friend

Feeling like a perfect lunch for a movie marathon of two? I know you are.
Sometimes lunch takes the cake for meals of the day. Sometimes you just need something good, no? Something that takes effort and time. Something that's worth it. Making you hungrier as you go...

Crepes are good, delicious folds encasing an endless range of fillings. These crepes are even better. Buckwheat has a delicious nutty flavour and when paired with grilled zucchini, eggplant and cheeeese, well, you can't get them in your mouth fast enough.

Try to eat them sitting down and enjoy each bite, it's hard, I know, you'll want to eat as you go. But hold out! You can do it :) Trust me, it'll be worth it.

Buckwheat Crepes
Makes 5 to 6
Use freshly ground buckwheat flour if you can, it binds so much better and almost seems slimy, don't worry, it won't be like that in your cooked crepe. I grind it in a smoothie blender thing. If you don't have it you might need to use less liquid.

Ingredients

½ cup fresh ground buckwheat flour

1 tbsp olive oil

1 pinch salt

1 egg

3/4 cup milk of choice

Whisk all ingredients together or use an immersion blender. Try to eliminate any lumps. Let the batter sit while you prepare the filling.

When ready to cook, preheat your nonstick pan, give it a drop of oil too. You may need a splash of water to thin out the batter again, whisk it in.

Pour batter into your pan, swirling the pan so the batter spreads and you have a nice thin crepe. Cook on med-high heat until it's golden-brown underneath, then flip and cook until there are brown spots on the bottom. *At this point add your fillings while it's still in the pan (read below).

Fillings:

You can really fill them with anything you like, make sure there's cheese!

1 fist sweet potato

About 1 eggplant and 1 zucchini (you might have extra)

1 - 2 tomatoes

salt, oil

Cheddar cheese, mozzarella, feta

I roasted a fist of sweet potato chopped into little cubes sprinkled with about 1 tbsp of Moroccan spice and 1 tbsp oil. Then process it into mash with more Moroccan spice and cheddar cheese to taste. 

Slice eggplant and zuchini slices as thick as your pinky. Brush with oil and sprinkle with salt and grill until they have colour. 

Slice your tomato, mozzarella and cheddar.

As soon as you have flipped the first side of your crepe lay down a few slices of cheese on one half followed by dollops of sweet potato, slices of zucchini, eggplant and tomato. Then sprinkle feta cheese and a bit more of meltable cheese before folding your crepe over. You can flip it over again so that all of the cheese melts. You've got to have melty cheeese :)

Repeat with all the crepes. Enjoy!