Ice Cream Sunday: Toasted Marshmallow Ice Cream!

So you may have realised already that I love ice cream... and if you hadn't, then let me tell you- I LOVE ice cream! Not the healthiest of obsessions, but oh well...

Now that I have found the easiest, quickest and yummiest way to make a simple ice cream, as I told you about in my Cookie Dough post, we've been having a lot of fun coming up with new flavours to try. Instead of randomly sharing them, we wondered if you guys would enjoy a new feature on the blog... every Sunday, we're making it Ice Cream Sunday! (Did you see what we did there?)

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Carrot and Thyme Soup

Do you remember when I told you about our garden? Didn't it look so neat and tidy in those photos? Well, it doesn't look like that anymore. At all. Our courgette plant has taken on a life of its own (quite literally) and is now sprawling over the raised bed like some sort of monster from the deep... our sunflowers are no longer looking very sunny and are straining against the string we used to support them as if desperate to be free of a straight jacket and our herbs.... our poor little herbs have become spider central! Thank goodness Mr E retrieves them for me (he's well trained like that).

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Fast Fix Fried Rice

Some days I'm just running on empty. Do you ever feel like that? Like you're getting things done, but your sparkle has gone and you're just plodding along? I hope it's not just me.

On those days I tend to want comfort food to cheer me up... but I want it to be exciting comfort food that might help me get some of my sparkle back... and I don't want it to take too long... and because I'm lacking in energy it needs to be easy as pie (oooh, pie! I love pie...)... and I don't want to have to go to the shop to buy anything for it. Not too much to ask, is it?

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Copycat Ben and Jerry's Cookie Dough Ice Cream

Would you judge me if I told you I had ice cream for lunch yesterday? It's OK if you do, I usually would, but I'm pretty sure that by the end of this post you'll be convinced that it was an entirely acceptable thing for me to do...

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Honey and Cashew Nut Chicken

I love it when I hardly have to buy anything to make dinner... and I'm not talking about the kind of "cheese on toast" dinner (although that is a totally acceptable meal in my books... add a splash of Worcestershire sauce and it's positively fine dining!). This is one of those meals.

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Grilled Lamb Kebabs and a 'Greek' Feast

I thought maybe I should tell you more about our "feast" meals. I told you about them in my last post about Homemade Hummus, but since it was date night and I wasn't meant to be blogging (oops) I didn't go into much detail.

It all started when I introduced Mr E to Tapas. We're both the sort of people who would much rather have a starter and a main course at a restaurant than a main course and dessert (I know, dessert lovers everywhere are gasping in horror, but I'm afraid it's true), and sometimes we've even been known to order a few starters between us instead of a main course. So it wasn't a very big leap to realise that Mr E would love Tapas- and let me tell you, that boy now LOVES Tapas! We don't eat out very often though, so we decided to recreate the idea at home. It started out as only Tapas style dishes (which is where the Chorizo dish came from that I mention below), but then we decided that there's no reason why it had to stop there- what's Tapas to the Spanish is Meze to the Greeks, right? So we basically use it as an excuse to eat a feast of food from around the world, and we love it.

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Homemade Hummus

Confession time... It's date night, and I'm not meant to be blogging. I'm not actually meant to be within two feet of technology, but I just really wanted to tell you about this Hummus recipe so I'll make this as brief as I can (possibly not that brief, knowing me!).

One of our favourite meals is a Mediterranean feast... Eh, Greek feast.... Um... Well, it's really just a feast, but the name is tailored depending on what we have in the cupboards! No matter what though, this hummus usually plays a starring role. I love being able to tailor the flavour to exactly our tastes, and it's always nice to have a generous serving in the centre of the table to help yourself to with wedges of fresh flatbread, pitta or even just a crusty loaf. The kind of serving I like to present would be pretty expensive if you went with shop bought hummus!

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Smoky Chipotle Chilli

Apparently it's officially Autumn (or Fall, if you're of a North American persuasion), and this makes me quite happy. Don't get me wrong, I love Summer... but we don't get much of one, and I'm tired of keeping up appearances by wearing Summer appropriate clothing (while secretly freezing) and eating 'light Summer food' when all I really want to do is wear comfy boots and pretty scarves, turn the central heating on and eat cosy food.

Chilli is one such cosy dish that I can't wait to make in Autumn. The turning of the leaves makes me think of bonfires, and I love to capture that smoky smell in the Chilli itself. Perfect to warm you up on a crisp fresh day.

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Puy Lentil, Pomegranate and Feta Salad

This is another one of my "salads". The kind of salad with a distinct lack of anything leafy... the kind of salad that I will eat out of choice rather than an attempt to be a 'grown up'. The kind of salad that Mr E will actually request!

I can't decide if my favourite thing about this salad is the jewel-like pomegranate seeds that burst in your mouth, the flavourful lentils, the crumbly, salty feta, the zingy dressing... or just the lack of leaves. Whatever it is, this is one of my favourite salads and I'm hoping that soon it will be one of yours too!

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Turkey Burgers with Red Onion Marmalade, Radishes and Emmental

I think I might be a little obsessed with turkey. First it was the Trinidad Turkey and Coconut Curry. Then it was Turkey Tacos. Now it's Turkey Burgers. Actually, the turkey burgers came first as we've been making these for ages, but I just haven't gotten around to posting about it until now.

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Walnut and Cranberry Chicken Salad Croissants

A few weekends ago, Mr E and I got a whole Saturday together. A whole Saturday! It was bliss, and made all the better by Mr Blue Sky deciding to join us. To make the most of this perfect day we decided pack up a perfect picnic and head to a perfect setting.

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Speedy Five-Spice Lamb Noodles

I don't know about yours, but dinner time can be a little rushed in our house! To try to help with this, I love trying out new recipes that I can have ready in half an hour.

This, for the girl who was always last in cooking class and had to do her washing up in her lunch break, can be quite a challenge!

Thank goodness for Asian cooking! Is it just me, or do they have the speedy dinner down to a fine art? I love that, with a wok in hand, even I can have a yummy meal packed with bright, bold flavours on the table in 30 minutes! It doesn't hurt that it also minimises the washing up...

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Baked Tilapia with Pesto Crust and Prosciutto Green Bean Bundles

You know that big sister of mine that I am oh so crazy about? The one we are going on holiday with (her husband too) very very soon?! OK, you didn't need to know that part, but I am so excited I just had to mention it! Anyway, I'm pretty sure she's my most faithful reader, and so in honour of that fact I decided to post a recipe that she would just love.

Oh, and another small reason for posting this recipe for her today.... it's her birthday! Happy birthday, little big sis, I love you so very much!

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Turkey Tacos

It's Fiesta time!!

This recipe is so fresh, vibrant (look at those colours!), fun, healthy, easily tailored to any taste (especially as everyone basically makes their own) and everything else associated with Mexican food that I just want to don a Sombrero and do a little jig.

Hmm... I don't think Mexicans jig. But I'm sure they have their own version of a happy dance- whatever it is, I'll do that instead. But I love this recipe so much, it deserves a happy dance!

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Super Salsa

OK, a quick one for you today. I promise! Don't believe me? Fair enough, I wouldn't either, I'm renowned for being long winded, and this blog is doing nothing to help with that reputation. I'll do my best though...

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Zingy Lemon Rolls

I like to keep my promises. In my last post, the one about Quesadilla Pie and our £5 date night challenge, I told you about zingy lemon rolls and promised you the recipe- so here we go.

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Quesadilla Pie

So, I'm not going to pretend this is the prettiest thing I've ever made. Or the healthiest.  But it truly was right up there with one of the yummiest and definitely one of the cheapest... and it made for one of the most fun date nights we've had in a while. 

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Beef Stroganoff

OK, another 'fallback' recipe for you. I've already told you about my fallback dessert (Nutella Mousse Shots), but I thought I should share another with you. What's your fallback 'entertaining' dish? The one that you know you can rely on when you have people coming for dinner, not a lot of time to prepare, and your mind is empty of inspiration (never mind the countless cookbooks you might have on your shelves that you could turn to)?

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Lemon Mousse Cheesecake

Mr Ellwood claims not to be a dessert person. If ever I say I have a craving, he gives me this look that conveys a sense of disappointment in my weakness, and I usually change my mind (it's not fun eating dessert on your own, is it?!).

Mr Ellwood has been revealed for the fraud that he is, and never again will I let his look of disappointment have any bearing on my dessert related decision making... for if he dares to so much as hesitate, I will simply say;

"Lemon Mousse Cheesecake "

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Gong Bao Chicken

The first time I had Kung Po Chicken was actually in China during my gap year... and I confess it was because it was one of the few things I recognised on the menu and I thought it would be safe! Before you judge me for being a wimp, let me point out that it was one of my first few days there and I was yet to get used to real Chinese food... I promise I became a lot more adventurous and fast learnt to prefer the real thing to our western interpretation! (I'll save the stories of the more adventurous meals for another post- perhaps with a warning only to read if you're of a strong disposition!)

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