Mango, Chilli & Lime Vegan Quinoa Salad

I spend entirely too much time thinking up ideas for sweet recipes so in a bid to force myself to come up with savoury recipes I’m embarking on a great adventure...if you call eating salads a great adventure.

Ginger & Pomegranate White Wine Spritzer - Bakemas Day 10

I guess some people would say I’m pretty boring when it comes to drinks because I pretty much only drink water, coffee and sometimes hot chocolate. It’s not that I don’t like other drinks I just don’t ever really want them, although every summer I do go through a ginger beer phase, usually when it’s actually hot over here.

If I’m going to venture into the "not coffee and water" drinking territory it’s probably a good idea to just pick things I’m obsessed with then go from there and I’m definitively loving pomegranates right now but I do have my mum to thank for the wine being added to this.

Grilled Pineapple, Lime and Chilli Quinoa Salad

I’ve had a pineapple sitting in the kitchen for a while now, don’t worry not too long it’s only just ripe. The pineapple originally was for a recipe that I just cannot for the life of me get right, it tastes amazing like addictively amazing but it always looks completely horrible so I figured I should take a step back for a few weeks and tackle it again some other time, it will be revisited though and it’ll definitely be worth the wait.

I was looking through last year’s diary writing down all the ideas I ended up skipping because they weren’t fully formed or I wasn’t in the mood to make so I could have them all in one place and came across spiced pineapple salad, yep, not fully formed, I get easily distracted. Anyway, I’ve been on a bit of a chilli kick recently, got a lot of those in the fridge too also involving another recipe I won’t be posting yet because I might look a little bit obsessed with chocolate cookies which side note: I kind of am.

Anyway back to chillies; I don’t dislike spicy food, I just sometimes don’t see the point in it but ever since I went to Devon and pretty much everything vegetarian I picked up involved chillies, especially this chickpea roll from some nice lady in a little market in Dartmouth, this market basically sold honey, meat, rugs, pastries and fish, I have had dreams about it ever since and definitely need to try and re-create it, but I’ve kind of been converted to adding a little spice to my food so there is no better time to make a “spiced pineapple salad”.

With the time change, lighter evenings and the random bouts of sun in England my brain has definitely been tricked into thinking it feels like spring outside so I’ve already started craving green leaves and all things salad related. I seriously love a good quinoa salad, I feel like I make more quinoa salads than I do other mains but that’s probably not true, I probably just think about quinoa salads more than anything else.

This quinoa salad is sweet and spicy and tangy and I’m not sure what more you could ask for. The pineapple was the perfect ripeness it almost didn’t make it in the salad because I was picking at it while I was shooting, although that would have been a pretty sad pineapple salad minus the pineapple. I refrained and finally grilled it which just made it even more delicious and add the tangy lime and spicy chilli dressing on top while still hot and I could probably just eat a bowl of the pineapple on it's own as dessert. Dessert-like elements in salad can't really be a negative.

Lime, Avocado & Grape Vegan Quinoa Salad

Do you have those meals you always make when you don’t know what to eat? My mum’s is egg and chips; it’s sort of become a running joke. When I don’t know what to eat and I feel like I should be eating something healthy my go to salad is my Vegan Quinoa Salad with Apple, Sultanas and Sunflower Seeds, it’s probably one of my favourite salads and is ridiculously easy to whip up, although now this blog post sounds a little bit like an advert for that salad (p.s. You should check out that salad if you like quinoa salads; it’s delicious).
I’ve been eating a lot less meat recently, not as a rule just more of a ‘it happened and now I’m slightly avoiding it where I can’ because I sometimes find that meat free life agrees with me more so I figured another “go to” vegan quinoa salad under my belt would be useful so I’m not absentmindedly eating the same thing all the time.

I’m definitely torn between which salad is better which surprised me because avocados aren’t my favourite; I usually need to eat them with something to cut the creaminess because I’m not much of a fan of creamy foods. I always think it’s good to try things you’re not too sure about again or with other foods to find a way to make them enjoyable and even though I wanted a salad to go along side the other one as a regular I wasn’t expecting to love it this much. Grapes and avocados together? I’m sold! This is probably the most I’ve enjoyed an avocado and I think I might be putting them in the shopping basket from now on.

Lemon, Lime & Almond Loaf Cake and The Great British Bake Off

I took a mini mental health day yesterday, although it turned into me making lists, trying to sort out birthday presents and going shopping to try find some things I needed which was extremely unsuccessful. Actually I'm not sure you could really call that a mental health day, but the thought was there.

Yesterday was week 1 of The Great British Bake Off, it just snuck up on me this year. I saw an advert for it a few weeks ago and completely forgot about it until 2 minutes before the program, I saw a tweet and pretty much legged it down the stairs with a blanket and bottle of water in hand screaming mum! I was entirely unprepared with no cake and no time to make coffee and in the first episode they don't do the whole "history of baking" which is usually when I sneak out if need be. But the first week is usually always cake so I did a little post bake off baking because watching the bake off pretty much just means I'll be craving baked goods for an hour + every Wednesday night, although I'm not sure if that's any different than usual.

Lime and Avocado Ice Cream with Chocolate Covered Pistachio Pieces

I actually managed to slit my finger open while making this, I know, ice cream of all things. I was obviously not paying any attention to cutting open avocados and probably more attention to the music I was listening to or the commonwealth games that were on in the background or the humongous mess I had previously made in the kitchen which was slowly getting bigger and messier by itself. The mess in the kitchen grows right? have you noticed? it's like the opposite of having elves come and tidy your workshop and finish your jobs at night; I guarantee you dirty crockery multiplies in daylight when your back is turned.

It was one of those days where I was really excited to get in the kitchen but I kept losing things, and knocking things over and being ridiculously clumsy; it's almost like my eyes have stopped working, over the past few days things are literally sitting in front of my face and I can't seem to find them. And can I just mention it was boiling in the kitchen, I got the chocolate covered pistachios out of the fridge to cut up and add to the mixture and in about 20 seconds the chocolate was melting.

If you're even slightly apprehensive about making this because there's avocado in it just throw those apprehensions out the window and do it anyway you will not regret it. This actually reminds me of a lime cheesecake I make all the time and if your ice cream tastes a bit like cheesecake and it's healthier because it has avocado in, you're doing it right.

Watermelon & Lime Slushie (all natural & no added sugar)

In between the bouts of rain and high humidity it's been rather hot recently in jolly old england and all I want is fruit, salad , and anything iced; everything iced. I sliced my first watermelon of the year last sunday and just in time too it was rather hot, I mean I'm not talking Africa hot, let's be realistic it is only England.

I am not someone who enjoys laying in the sun all day and feeling the sun burn away at my skin, I don't think I'll ever understand people who do that, enjoying the sun is one thing, but burning your brains out is another.
Also, might I add, unless you're with people it sounds boring too, and if you fall asleep waking up all hot and sweaty; sounds like an awful way to spend a day. Moving on from this picture I'm painting for you of hot sweaty lobster people!

I was very surprised as to how my rubbish old blended coped with this so do not fret if you don't have a high powered fancy blender, although it would be nice if we all had one of those! This is so simple to make and really refreshing on a nice summers day - even if you do want to sunbathe all day I guarantee this will the the perfect accompaniment.