Let them eat cake . . .

“Kate needs to eat cake” was a headline on several papers and magazines last week – and upon reading this I thought, “Give the girl a break!”

The look of love is unmistakable and universal!

Show me a Bride that doesn’t want to look her best on her big day and I'll show you a T-Rex wearing a tiara! Shedding a couple of extra pounds and pampering oneself is indeed customary and helps balance the stresses that accompany planning and organising such a personal day, anyone whose walked down the aisle will appreciate this. I think the key to any special occasion is to enjoy the experience, have a sneaky peak at this, it's sure to bring a smile to your face and if we're smiling inside the rest is easy, effortless in fact.

Future Brides hope that as they glide, walk or hobble down the aisle – it will be one of their most memorable and joyous moments - each tentative step marks the beginning of a new lifelong chapter, when "two become one!" (Spice Girls quote;-))

So upon hearing that our future King, Prince William loves banana cake, I thought wouldn’t it be a nice gesture to bake one to mark the occasion – I’ve decided to call it King Kong’s Cake for Kate, for the simple reason it contains silky bananas and is fit for a King AND Queen.

Kate Middleton is sure to be a beautiful Bride and I wish her and her Prince all the very best in their future lives together. With all the pressures they will face, one hopes that they may share many more private moments of bliss than public ones, and be able to feel like any other newly married couple. On top of this world in full bloom!

So with this in mind I wish all newly weds, oldy weds and everyone else on this planet a happy slice of cake and may each day be full of moments of joy and clarity!

I gave a recipe in a bottle to say thank you

to our guests for being part of our  special day! Designed by Lovely Favours

And to all woman AND men I say, try baking! Whether you’re a city slicker, a fashionista, a mum of three, a builder or a nester – there is something truly timeless and rewarding to discover through baking. This recipe is lovingly simple and as satisfying as any cake I’ve baked. 

Mellow yellow banana meets creamy ricotta, binded with yolks and whites, it is sure to be a truly harmonious delight. 

Cook for the one you love with Love,

Happy Holiday Weekend!

Love,

Sinead

King Kong’s Cake for Kate

Pineberries on top make this cake extra-special, it's the little things that make all the difference

For the base


Honey Granola 150g, I love the Dorset Cereal Brand
butter, 50g melted
lemon, 1 zest and juice


For the filling


Ricotta cheese, 1kg
lemons, 2 juiced
eggs, 4 large
banana, 150g
fruit sugar, 75g (lower GI than refined sugar)
cornflour, 40g
vanilla essence 1tsp
Selection of strawberries for decoration and extra goodness!


PRE-HEAT oven to 170'c, gas 3.
BLITZ granola in a blender and transfer to a bowl.
POUR in butter and stir well.
SPRINKLE over lemon zest.
PRESS base mixture onto a lightly greased (20cm cake tin, 7 1/2 cm deep, with removable base)
PLACE all of the filling ingredients in a blender and wizz for a couple of minutes until beautifully smooth.
POUR over the base and place on a baking tray before popping in the oven for 1hr to 1hr and 10 minutes.
REMOVE cake tin from the oven when cooked, the edges will be lightly golden and the middle should have a lovely wobble!
TRANSFER to the top shelf of your fridge (in the cake tin) immediately, this will help prevent the cake from cracking and allow to cool completely before working your artistic magic and decorate as you please.

Banana and Spirulina Ice cream

Warm weather and ice cream? A match made in sweet floral spring and summer dreams!

And when thoughts of cones and wafers wriggle to the fore, a happy and healthy alternative begs an audience.

Deceptive in colour, this gracefully light green frozen yogurt suggests mint, though instead a most welcome soothing and softly banana flavour beguiles our taste buds.

Taste, tastes truly terrific when at its centre is nourishment and love.

Spirulina is the Mermaid of oceanic nurturing; her healing properties echo through this cool delight - deepest green, mellowed by beautiful banana - ooh a complimenting combination ensues;-)

This seemingly decadent delight dives you into a cleansing and fruitful experience, with audacious algae in toe, light, though a truly sweet indulgence is yours for the taking.

However you like to eat your ice cream, be it....

·       In a cone

·       Spooned into a hot chocolate

·       Simply on its own

·       Or drizzled with a lovely sauce

May this one bring a smile to your face. My son gave this recipe top marks, it’s a winner with children and adults alike and much healthier than anything available in the shops - and you don't need an ice cream machine either!

What time is is it?

ICE CREAM O'CLOCK!!

Banana and Spirulina Ice cream

Bananas, 4 peeled

Greek yogurt, 500g

Sweet freedom, 100ml

Spirulina, ½ tsp

Vanilla essence 1 tsp

BLEND all of the above ingredients.

POUR into a suitable sized container.

PLACE in the freezer.

STIR every half hour or so to prevent crystallization for a two hour period.

SERVE when the sun shines or the moment takes you.

* I love this with some gorgeous mint choc sauce on top. Recipe coming soon . . . Watch this space;-)

* Note - if you've left this wonder in the fridge over night, take it out at least twenty minutes before serving to revisit creamyliciousness!

Banana Bliss

Ooh these crumbs make legends of bananas!

You may agree that bananas are bliss wrapped in a soft mellow yellow skin. If you do, chances are you’ll love this recipe, as four gorgeously ripe ones are enjoyed.

Buttery sweet when ripe, their texture tempts our bite action into gentle rapture – and their health benefits are numerous and nourishing.

Bananas are the happy snack of many wonderers on the go!

I have a hankering for baking at the moment – and upon experimenting with all things bananas I came up with this delight, a delicious loaf that transforms breakfast into a waking dream.

Spirulina is the ingredient that sets this beauty apart from others. I love this green fine powder and simply open two capsules and pour into the mix, you may also buy it in powdered form too. It really is a magical and powerful ingredient, packed with goodness.

Some of the health benefits of Spirulina include

• Improve healing wounds - including bruises!

• Counteracts toxins in the body

• helps cleanse the liver

• Fine-tunes mental alertness

• Lowers blood cholesterol

• Helps battle viral infections

• Enhances our ability to generate new blood cells

• Improves and balances blood sugar levels

• strengthens the nervous system

• strengthens the immune system

• Remove toxic metals such as lead and mercury from the body

Wowza’s! How can you resist SPIRULINA!!! 

This gorgeous green powder is worth getting familiar with and alongside the wonderful walnut, this recipe packs a punch of serious goodness. These nuts outshine all others as they contain the highest level of anti-oxidants.

Antioxidants are important because they cease chain reactions that

damage cells in our bodies when oxidation occurs.

I hope beautiful baking lifts your spirits sometime this week – it is a truly relaxing grace, ah beautiful baking;-)

Happy Days.

FFX

Spirulina and Banana cake

Butter, 80g melted

Sweet freedom or Rapadura, 130g (Brazilian raw cane juice - dried and crushed)

Buckwheat flour, 125g

Wholemeal flour, 110g

Baking powder, 2 tsp

Eggs, 2 medium

Ripe bananas, 4 mashed

Spirulina, 1 flat tsp

Walnuts, 70g gently crushed to break

PRE-HEAT oven to 180’, gas 4.

MIX together butter, sweet freedom/ rapadura – or preferred sugar, flours, baking powder, eggs, Spirulina and banana until well combined.

STIR in walnuts and pour mixture into a greased 450g-loaf tin.

BAKE for 50 minutes until a cocktail stick comes out clean.

SERVE with Greek yogurt and fruits if you so wish, or simply enjoy on its own – either way a majesty moment is close to hand.

Spring to me…

Perfect for tea time!

Ah, warmer days and Springtime - Spring - is the taste in the air, the blossoms on the trees, the gentle stirring of life, peeping buds and of course sweet scents of baking emanating from the kitchen.

A slice of Lemon, Courgette and Carrot cake with a cup of your favourite tea is a moment to savour. Springtime tempts us outside and with this sweet charm packed away in you knapsack and a flask to boot – ooh loveliness is close to hand.

This cake is light and crumbly in the best possible way, softly refreshing and nourishing. Your nimble fingers will be unable to resist these golden crumbs in a lemon tryst of taste significance!

Special tip – After a lengthy and interesting conversation with  the brilliant nutritionist, Alex Jones - about all things sweet – he mentioned Rapadura as a healthy and balanced alternative to refined sugar. It is available from most health stores and is a delicious and balanced whole food packed with chromium, “Chromium is an essential trace mineral meaning that it is essential for the metabolism of carbohydrates, and it also helps to regulate the metabolism of our blood sugar and thus helps deter diabetes."

I’ll soon be writing a blog on all things sweet, until then,

Hugs and Love,

FFX

Lemon Courgette and Carrot Cake

Floating Clouds –

A delicious and healthy alternative to frosting

Greek yogurt 3tbsp

Rapadura  3 tsp

Lemon juice 3 tsp

Cake Ingredients

Grated courgette, 100g

Grated carrot, 100g

Rapadura, 150g (Brazilian raw cane juice - dried and crushed)

Egg, 1 medium

Groundnut oil 100ml

Wholemeal flour, 100g

Buckwheat flour, 100g

Bicarbonate of soda, ½ tsp

Baking powder, ¼ tsp

Ground ginger ¼ tsp

Salt, ½ tsp

Lemon zest, 3 tsp

PRE-HEAT oven to gas 3, 160’c.

GREASE a loaf tin.

MIX in a large bowl – grated carrot, grated courgette, rapadura , egg and groundnut oil.

SIFT in a separate bowl remaining dry ingredients and stir in zest.

POUR flour mix into the large bowl and stir until just mixed, go light and easy with your strokes.

POUR cake mixture into prepared tin and bake for 45minutes.

LEAVE to cool in tin.

BLEND together “Floating Clouds” ingredients and chill until ready to serve cake.

SPREAD on top and sprinkle over some extra zest!

SCINTILATING!

Simple Spiced Soup

Pink on blue

Clear soup is like good company and blue skies – nourishing - uplifting and pretty simple - in that there aren’t any hidden agenda’s, clouds or confusing flavours!

I love soup at all times of the year – not only is it very straightforward to make – it also feels good on the inside. The first time I tasted a mussel Chowder in New England was a moment of sea sensual triumph! The sweet mellow mussel, along with the creamy soup and lovely chunks of soft potato melted like a happy dream in my mouth - A Winter's Tale for sure;-)

Just enough kick to bring a smile of contentment

This recipe, however, is a Spring awakening - more of a Mid-spring nights dream;-) and with it’s gorgeous hit of chilli and spice, your mouth may not only water it will also retreat to the hills of the Himalayas or some such distant land, for this soup is from the tropics. Last year while in Borneo I ate this a few times, when I eat it I feel full of the wonders and joys of freshness – it is for me a soothing wake up call soup, I wonder what it will be for you?

Add colour to your appetite for bliss

PS- Thank you for reading my blog, and I hope you enjoy this recipe. I love hearing your thoughts, either through the comments space below, on twitter or through the Feeling Food Facebook page.

Love and Soup,

Sinead xxx


Prawn Laksa

Delicous - simple as that;-)

SERVES 4
Olive oil, 1 tbsp

Yellow Thai Paste, 1 tbsp

Garlic cloves, 3 crushed

Fresh ginger root, 1 tsp thinly sliced

Half-fat coconut milk, 400ml 1 tin

Chicken stock, 500ml

King prawns, 300g

Bean sprouts, 50g

Ridge cucumber, 1 sliced into sticks

Bunch of coriander

Red chilli, 1 finely sliced

Cooked Rice noodles, 100g

HEAT oil in a large pan.

ADD paste and garlic, stirring briskly.

POUR in coconut milk and stock.

WHISK gently to make sure everything is combined.

SIMMER for five minutes.

DIVIDE evenly cooked noodles into four deep bowls – you can buy pre-cooked noodles, or simply follow pack instructions.

STIR in prawn and bean sprouts to heat through.

SPOON soup into bowls.

TOP with cucumber sticks and red chilli.

SCATTER over some fresh coriander.

SMILE and savour.

Unconditional Cooking

Today's chicory recipe!

Unconditional Cooking is a term I’ve come up with to describe a way of nourishing that is as life changing as it is freeing - Feeling Food cooking if you like? The term unconditional love is my inspiration – this wonderful and all embracing energy is a feeling that starts deep within, and through accepting ourselves we free it so that we can share it with everyone we meet!

In flow, unconditional love is a life force stronger than any other. If you’re thinking “Sinead, you’ve been walking through the poppy fields today” remember - how we treat our bodies is the clearest insight into how we see others and ourselves. Through Unconditional cooking we set ourselves free, we nourish and nurture ourselves daily, not in a gluttonous obsessive way, instead like a gentle guiding hand our appetites when respected take us on an awe inspiring daily journey.

When we take time to LISTEN and RESPECT our appetites we are in a good place.

The ever-changing seasons mirror our own ever-changing emotions – in season right now is chicory. Both cleansing and purifying - our blood and livers will swoon amorously and happily our skin and skeletal tissue get a loving lift too.

Lush leaves loving you!

I love braised chicory – the sourness is softened, however it is also delicious raw in salads with a honey and mustard dressing.

Whatever way you choose to eat it will be the best one for you, your instincts will make sure of that. This makes a lovely accompaniment to a golden pork chop or for a vegetarian option pan-fried Halloumi is a real winner too.

Braised Chicory

SERVES 4-6 

Chicory, 4 heads tailed

Little gem lettuce, two tailed

Olive oil, 1 tbsp

Onion 1 thinly sliced

Stock - veg or chicken 1/2 pint

Flageolet beans, 1 tin 400g

Thyme, 5 sprigs

Nutmeg, freshly grated

Half-fat Crème fraiche 2 tbsp

Honey 1 tsp

Butter 3 small knobs

PRE-HEAT oven to 190’ gas 5.

RINSE chicory and little gem leaves making sure they are separated.

HEAT a frying pan with oil and fry onions for a few minutes.

ADD thyme flageolet beans, stock, crème fraiche and honey.

SIMMER for a five minutes on a low heat, stirring occasionally.

ARRANGE leaves artistically in a suitable sized ovenproof dish.

POUR over onion stock mix and finish with a happy grating of nutmeg - season generously.

DOT a few knobs of butter and thyme sprigs - cover with foil.

BAKE in the oven for 40 minutes.

SWOON swoon swoon!

St Patrick's Day Splash

Feeling good and looking good are one in the same thing – so on this St Patrick's Day I’m sharing with you a recipe that is as pure as it is nourishing and an ode to all things Irish! Ireland sings beauty to me - this is one of my favourite songs, sung by Christy Moore "Black is the colour of my true loves hair." Her land is as lush as her culture. So I thought what  would be a good way to symbolise this allure?

Lush fields and greener pastures await after this FF special!

I came up with a real Emerald!
Here’s a clue, green in colour, of course;-)

Soft and fresh.

Revitalising and healing?

A true treat for the senses . . .

Hmmmm??? What can it be?

One wondrous face mask!

Goodness gets going on your skin - Lovely!

Smooth this gorgeous gloop over your face and you’ll be treating your skin to a true St Patricks Day feast - and you'll feel great after.... the combination of yogurt, honey and avocado is deeply nourishing and anti-inflammatory - your skin will be feasting on minerals and vitamins galore - say goodbye to dry winter skin, it's time for Spring skin to buzz into today!

“St. Patrick's Day is an enchanted time - a day to begin transforming winter's dreams into summer's magic.” ~Adrienne Cook

I began writing this blog last year and the goal has always been to promote self-love and self-care, with a view to gradual growth as opposed to overnight perfection. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, perfection has no place here. Instead if you truly care about your body – eat well and make healthy choices - our bodies and minds are quick to say Thanks! We need to treat ourselves as a whole, choosing organic where possible and natural based skin products, nurturing that lovely glow from within is the way forward. Feel food and you'll feel good! 

On this lucky day I hope you get some pampering time – one of my favourite things about a face-mask is the ten minutes of tranquillity it almost guarantees, switch off your phones, play your favourite relaxing music and go wherever the moment takes you.

May you always have walls for the winds,

A roof for the rains,

Tea beside the fire,

Laughter to cheer you,

Those you love near you,

And all your heart might desire.

Wishing you a happy day today and always,

Love,

Sinead xxx

St Patricks Day Splash

Not a strange green Leprechaun! Me;-))

Avocado, one half with flesh scooped out

Yogurt, 1tbsp

Honey, 1 tsp

Sesame oil 7 drops for luck

PREPARE your surroundings – switch off mobile and play relaxing music.

BLEND all ingredients in a blender or by hand, whichever you prefer.

SMOOTH over your face and leave for ten minutes.

WASH off gently and moisturise as usual.

ENJOY your glowing skin and the feeling of taking care of yourself, the best way to uplift any mood.

Any extra mask can be applied to neck and arms!

Happy St Patrick's Day to you!