I find blood oranges beautiful with their crimson peel and ruby centers, as soon as they are in season I use them where ever I can. They make lovely marmalade and brighten up winter salads, fresh blood orange and raspberry juice is amazing but they truly shine in this recipe. Continue reading
These cupcakes are a wonderful surprise for kids and adults alike. They are perfect for a birthday party or you could fill them with candy hearts and they would be lovely for valentines, same for Halloween if you filled them with jelly worms or mini eyes they are just really fun and very easy.
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Happy New Year! I hope 2016 is a great one for you all. In keeping with the ever popular New Years resolution of being healthier and losing a few Christmas/baby pounds in my case, I thought I would share this little gem of a recipe! Continue reading
My lovely husband recently did the Ironman Canada, I can’t begin to describe how proud I am off him. He spent 6 months training for the big day which started with a 3.8k open water swim then a 180k bike ride and then to top it off a 42k marathon. Continue reading
On Wednesdays I like to cook up something quick and easy but really tasty! It is that part of the week when you just want to either put your feet up and relax or get out and do something fun. So the mid-week meal series I will bring you, Continue reading
Hello!
I Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and New Year! I was back in the UK for a month which is why I haven’t been on my blog! I was off getting married! It was the most wonderful day and I can honestly say I wouldn’t change a thing! I have the most amazing Husband and being able to spend time with our friends and family at home was great! When I get the pics back I will pop a few up and also blog some wedding planning tips, with my new-found knowledge ;)!
A few other things I loved whilst being home was the Gluten Free Food! Warburtons does a really nice range including full-sized GF loaf. I also had GF wedding cupcakes, GF Christmas Cake and they even have GF Fish and Chips in my Favourite town Whitby! It’s amazing how many options they have, far more than we currently have in Canada! I was able to get GF crumpets and pita breads, it was nice to be able to stick to my eating plan easily, especially when I didn’t have any time to bake any GF foods. They still aren’t as up to date with dairy free products but I did try a really tasty hazelnut milk!
Now onto the Fashion!!! I can’t tell you how much fun boxing day shopping was! here are a few bits I picked up at home!
I fell in love with this paper planes wallet at House Of Fraser!
Chris got me this beautiful Karen Millen Dress! He has surprisingly great taste for a man!
And I wore this lipsy playsuit for NYE luckily I’m short so it wasn’t quite so high!
I feel really blessed going into the New Year and I am hoping this one will but just as great as the last one! I am starting a wedding stationary line and looking into selling my Gluten and Dairy Free baked products this year! I will keep you posted! xo
Living away from home has made me love the UK even more, I thought the Jubilee was wonderful and the Olympics were amazing! So I have decided to do a post on some of my favorite Union Jack pieces. I can’t wait to go home this Christmas, I will be going to my favourite shops and bringing back something pretty and patriotic! If I could get all of the things below in some kind of Mary Poppins bag it would all be coming back to Canada with me.
I love all of the cushions below and how cute is that sleepy dog!
This wall and chandelier would look great in a restaurant.
This set of draws would be a nice focus piece in a guest bedroom, I like how everything else is pretty neutral that way it doesn’t seem to loud.
All of these would be adorable in the kitchen!
Chris’s mum sent over these oven gloves which I love!
I would like to attempt making this cake.
This jubilee cake is amazing!
And of course some Fashion! I think that dress is gorgeous! it makes me miss the summer.
The Jacket and welly’s would be very stylish for a countryside stroll! 
Then you could match it with these heels and a purse for the pub! In my head I am imagining wearing all of these! 
I saw in the news a while ago that people were complaining about a town mayor wearing these shoes and they demanded that she resign, complaining that she was ‘wiping her feet‘ with the flag which I think is ridiculous! They are very patriotic and just like all of the other items, we buy and wear them because we are proud to be British! You just can’t please some people I guess. 
And lastly, how lovely is this, a little village turned their phone box into a community book exchange! Much nicer than the phone box at the end of my road which some people used as a urinal!!
Ahhh well! that’s my window shopping done for the day!
This lasagna is perfect to cook up on the weekend! it’s full of flavor, layered with robust tomato sauce and creamy white sauce, it’s also packed full of healthy vegetables. Me and Chris are trying to make one night a week meat and fish free which I’m enjoying, it really gets you trying new dishes and changing up old ones. My parents are vegetarian and I was growing up and I think now that I eat meat I tend to make it the main ingredient in most dishes which I would like to change as I used to be more creative with vegetarian food.
I think veggies are even better in this dish than beef, because you get so much flavour and it’s isn’t overly heavy like meat lasagna can be! I chose egg-plant, mushroom, courgettes, pepper and onions for my red sauce and in the white sauce I used garlic, broccoli and spinach. All of those vegetables unlike beef are low in calories, fat and cholesterol free, they are also full of vitamins, they help prevent heart disease and they all have major cancer fighting benefits!
The white sauce is rich, creamy and the broccoli and spinach are amazing in it, I was tempted to just eat it straight from the pan. You could also use either sauce recipe over spaghetti if you wanted to try them separately.
For the red I cubed the vegetables, that way they don’t go mushy and are easier to eat than big slices of vegetables. My cousin is a very picky eater, she always takes the onions and peppers out of her food, but she ate every bit which was a triumph.
Although it isn’t the prettiest looking dish it is the best lasagna I have had so do give it a go, It comes out bubbling and the smell is gorgeous! I made 2 medium-sized lasagna’s with this recipe but it will make one large one it just depends on the size of dish that you have. This is a great one to make on a sunday because although it takes a bit of time you will have plenty for during the week or you can freeze some for a quick dinner one night.
Ingredients:
White Sauce Ingredients:
Directions:
Pre heat the oven to 350° and bring a large pot of water to the boil, while you are waiting for that, cube all of your Veggies except the broccoli and spinach. Add your sheets of lasagna to the boiling water and cook for 15 minutes. Fry all of the cubed veggies over a medium heat with some olive oil for about 8 minutes or until tender, you may need to use two pans. In a separate smaller pan boil the broccoli head and cook for about 3 minutes, in a microwave safe bowl cook the spinach in a little water for 1 – 2 minutes.
In a small sauce pan add 1 1/2 cups of almond milk and bring to a simmer, with the remaining 1/2 cup mix together with the cornstarch until fully combined. Add the rice flour, garlic and butter and stir untill smooth then add in the cornstarch mixture and bring to the boil. When thickened sprinkle in some pepper. Drain and chop the spinach and broccoli then add to the white sauce, give it all a good stir and remove from the heat.
Drain the pasta and lay out flat, add the sauce to the fried veggies and mix untill fully covered. save a little to put on the base of the pasta dish about 1/4 cup.
Add the saved tomato sauce to the bottom of your dish and spread out cover with a layer of lasagna sheets, you may need to slice some to get them to fit, then add a layer off the tomato vegetable sauce and then a layer of the white sauce and then a thin layer of the mozza shreds and repeat until finished. Place in the oven and bake for approx 45 minutes or until bubbling and hot.
We are now officially in fall and I can tell, its chilly in a morning so I’ve had to dig out my warm coat, the leaves have turned lovely shades of red and orange in the village and pumpkin spice lattes are being advertised at every starbucks! I do love autumn, we are still having nice bright blue skies and now that it’s getting chilly I am cooking up lots of hearty soups and stews!
I decided to make a butternut squash soup because they are now in abundance, it’s also rich and delicious! The ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon really add warmth and flavor to the soup and the apple compliments the squash nicely
Making your own soup is so much tastier than the stuff sitting on shelves for months, its also very cheap and you can make the most of the vegetables that are in season. It’s always quite surprising to me how much goes into blended soups, it’s a great way to get your daily fruit and veg intake (butternut squash is technically a fruit!).
Butternut squash is packed full of health benefits, it is high in fiber, antioxidants, vitamin C, B6, it also helps fight against breast cancer with its high amount of beta-carotene and against heart disease with its folate levels and carotenoids.
I love the variety with soup, you can have them chunky or blended, creamy or broth based and the ingredients are endless, I think next time I make this type of soup I am going to make gf bacon croutons, they would be really tasty with it.
I stirred in a little Dairy Free sour cream and served with toast! Hope you enjoy.
Ingredients:
Directions
Melt your dairy free butter over a medium heat then add your onion, garlic, celery and cook down untill soft (about 5 mins) then add in your squash and apple pieces and cook for a further 3 minutes. Pour in your chicken stock, bring to the boil then reduce heat to medium and allow to simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Put the soup into a blender and puree until smooth then add back to your rinsed pan and add in the coconut milk, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and season. Give it a good stir and then serve with gluten-free toast and if you like a little dairy free sour cream.
On Wednesdays I like to cook up something quick and easy but really tasty! It is that part of the week when you just want to either put your feet up and relax or get out and do something fun. So the mid-week meal series I will bring you will have you enjoying your evenings without spending too much time cooking or cleaning!
This one isn’t fancy but it is healthy, tasty and very easy, I am a big fan of breakfast food for dinner or any time of the day for that matter! I also love Jalapeno’s with my eggs, something that Chris finds quite funny but the two go so well together plus I can justify the spice by making these for dinner, although I will still eat them at 8am as well!
These are delicious when you dip in a big slice of crusty gluten-free bread, the subtle heat and tomato is gorgeous with the creamy egg! lovely for a light summer super. You could also add in some cooked drained spinach if you liked or top with some daiya and if you don’t fancy the spice herbs work well also. I had these 2 nights in a row I loved them that much.
Ingredients:
Directions
Pre heat your oven to 400°, mix together the chopped tomatoes, jalapeno, spices, herbs, salt and pepper then put into a large oven proof dish or split between 2 or 4 smaller ones. Carefully crack the eggs into your sauce being careful not to break the yolks. Place in the oven for 15 minutes, give it a few extra if you like your yolk solid, serve and enjoy!
The Little Spoon Kitchen 