Carrot Cake Muffins

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 140g Greek yoghurt
• 110g maple syrup
• 60ml milk
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 2 carrots, grated
• 170g whole wheat flour
• 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
• 225g light cream cheese*
• 55g maple syrup*
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract*

*For the frosting

 

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 6.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs until light and fluffy, then add the Greek yoghurt and whisk until smooth.
3. Add the maple syrup, milk and vanilla extract, beat until smooth. Next, add the carrots, flour, baking powder and cinnamon and fold together
4. Portion out the mixture into 12 muffins cups and bake for 20 minutes until they are set.
5. Meanwhile, prepare the frosting by beating the cream cheese in a small bowl until smooth. Then add the maple syrup and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
6. Allow the cakes to cool, then top them evenly with the frosting.

Pizza Dough

Ingredients:

• 500g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried yeast
• 400ml warm water

 

Instructions:

1. Mix the flour, salt and yeast in a bowl, then add the water in and knead for about 10 minutes.
2. Place the dough in a slightly oiled bowl, cover it tightly with cling film and a tea towel, then leave it in a warm area to rise for an hour.
3. Divide the dough into portions, dust with flour and roll out into shape.
4. Cook on gas mark 6 for about 10-15 minutes.

My pizza dough

Long days!

UI’ve not had much sleep this past week. I wake up for work at 4:30am (at least) Monday to Thursday, and this weekend I’ve been up at 6:30am and 5:30am (because I have to watch the Formula 1 live). So I didn’t actually feel like cooking. Luckily I had something in the freezer for days such as these. 

A Marks & Spencer’s vegetable moussaka. I like moussaka, although, it can be made poorly. And this was poor, even for a ready meal! It tasted very bland yet had a strong herby smell. Really odd. The lentils that were in it (you can see on the pack) was only right at the bottom in the middle of the dish. Won’t be buying this again! Would have been better off with my usual Sunday jacket potato. 

Intro.

I’ve had to alter my cooking habits a bit lately, due to extra commitments I’ve taken on. So the last few weeks I’ve been basically cooking about 3 different dishes for the week ahead on a Monday afternoon/evening.

Sunday’s I plan my meals for the week. I have notebooks where I write down recipes I like the look of; and then hopefully I will eventually cook them! So the process starts with me looking at our cupboards, fridge and so on to see if we have anything in excess. This week, I have a lot of onions – and when I say a lot, I mean a lot – my uncle brought them up from our family allotments. Which means, I will look for recipes featuring onions. Last week it was parsnips. Once I have my meal plan, I write a shopping list. One side with a “?” one side with an “X”, this is to ensure that I only buy the stuff that I actually need. I double check over the “?” listed items, then either cross them out, or move them to the “X” section. Next, I split these items. Which ones can I pick up in my family store, which ones will I have to go to the supermarket for?

Monday’s after work we go shopping. Then I start cooking, lately this means spending 3-4 hours in the kitchen, usually with the dog looking at me wanting some vegetables. The food I make I will split up into containers, some for lunch, some for dinners and some for the freezer.

I try to eat healthfully, but honestly, it doesn’t always happen, so I at least like to try and cook food as healthily as possible.