The Hunny Bunny batch

Carrot Cake: It’s my go-to cake of choice when asked for my favourite and what I’ll generally opt for to test out the quality of a new coffee shop or bakery. Don’t worry though, I’ve never reacted in the Pulp Fiction ‘Honey Bunny’ way if I end up with a drier-than-dry slice! Yet…

However, I’ve not actually made one myself since I was about fifteen. So when my shopping was delivered with a free, large bag of carrots I thought I had better redress the balance for Monday Munchies – I have been slacking in the baking department after all!

As soon as I began though, I remembered why I hadn’t bothered after the first time! Grating carrots (the old-school, ‘let’s try to avoid adding blood and knuckles to the mixture’ way) is soooo annoying. And wet. And grotty – I mean, those little ‘goldfish’ slivers stick everywhere!

Monday MONKEY Munchies!

Today marks the start of the Chinese New Year celebrations and with it, the Dawning of the Planet of the Apes.

Okay, I know that’s not strictly true – I’m clubbing all non-human primates together here but it sounded better!

It’s actually the Year of the Monkey: The ninth sign of the Chinese Zodiac.

If you were born in 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004 or within the last month (you’re a VERY advanced reader if you fall into the latter…) then you may display the characteristics of the monkey: Quick-witted, intelligent, curious and innovative.

Personally, I’m a dragon. More specifically, a fire dragon. No wonder I’m Team Targaryen!

Anywho, for today’s Monday Munchies, I thought I’d share some healthy recipes that monkeys  would want to nibble on. Because everybody knows, monkeys love bananas!

Snap to it Ginge!

Gingers get a bad press. Mercilessly teased for their flaming tresses or expected to unleash fury at every opportunity, they have been subjected to negativity for eons!

I’m not sure she helped their cause either…

But like Hermione, I love a good ginger and that goes for the real ‘ginger spice’ too. In both savoury and sweet dishes, I adore its warming, tangy flavour, that is full of health benefits – I have often nibbled on stem ginger to calm a queasy stomach or prevent hunger pangs.

However, the smell (and taste) of ginger sweet treats is synonymous with Christmas for me – you can’t have Christmas without a ginger bread house! So whilst my culinary skills may not extend to creating Kings Landing or this full-sized Hansel and Gretel style house in San Francisco, I do have some delicious ginger imbued muffins for this week’s Monday Munchies.

Orange is the new SOUP!

Or should it be, ‘Soup is the new black‘?

S deliberated over this title when I told him, arguing that it implies that orange is the ‘must have’ item or colour, rather than the soup.

Oh. I’d certainly not thought about it so deeply. In fact, I kind of thought I was being pretty clever with the pun. Now though, I feel a little…thick. Hmph!

However, not as thick as this week’s hearty and healthy addition to Monday Munchies! That’s right, we have a warming autumnal soup, sporting the season’s favourite hue: Orange. Made from roasted sweet potatoes, carrots and red lentils, it’s full of fibre, protein and vitamins A, B and C. Just what you need to stave off those seasonal colds that may be lurking about!

It reminded me of a vinyl record!

I first started making soups last year when we ‘inherited’ a blender and felt very accomplished after my first batch. Although I was congratulating myself over cooking prowess, I’d never realised just how simple soups were to create. Like, ‘souper’ easy… 😉 I love how you can basically throw anything in and it tastes great! Seriously, if you’ve never made a soup before, do it – you’ll not regret it!

A Sticky Encounter with a Quadrilateral

Happy Monday Munchies everyone – I hope you’ve had a lovely weekend!

It’s been a little foggy in our neck of the woods and turning typically autumnal, so for this week’s treats, I again wanted something warming, cosy and ‘homely’. The result? These delicious little squares, packed full of sticky, fibre-filled dates!

Ok, so these aren’t squares. But rectangles are still quadrilaterals!

Although, I was slow to embrace dates as a snacking opportunity, I’ve always loved date squares (anything wrapped in pastry!) I’ve come to my senses now and always have a bag (often too close!) to hand – they’re just like giant raisins after all, right? But I wanted to try making these snacks that take me back to my childhood.