Pecan, Walnut & Almond Granola with Coconut

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I have been planning on making my own granola for a long time and I don't quite know what was stopping me. I finally succumbed on monday on an impromptu day off and got making. Now I wake up every morning excited about breakfast rather than feeling like I can't be bothered. Normally on a work day I grab a cereal bar or a pot of yogurt and eat it once I get to work but now I am happy to get up that 5 minutes earlier and get stuck in. Not only is this super convenient but oh so delicious. I'm looking forward to experimenting with some other concoctions when I start to get a little sick of it but right now this is being made on the regular. I enjoy mine sprinkled on top of some fat free greek yogurt but would love to hear some other suggestions. It is also great for a little late night nibble on its own, straight from the jar!

You will need-

• 3 cups of rolled oats- I used up the last of my Rude Health oats that I won in their breakfast competition
• Around a cup (if not a little more) worth of a mixture of almonds, pecans & walnuts, I kept them whole
• 1/2 cup of your favourite dried fruits
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1/3 cup coconut oil, if you don't have use olive oil but I thoroughly recommend getting some coconut oil
• 1/4 cup agave, or maple syrup
• 1/8 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt

To begin preheat your oven to 170C then in a large bowl mix together the oats, nuts, coconut, oil & agave and mix till everything is thoroughly combined and the oats have soaked up the oil and agave. Next add the sugar & salt and mix.

Lay the mixture in a baking tray with a large rim- I used a few smaller baking trays and flatten it down into a thin layer. 

Bake in the oven for around 30 minutes or until its golden. Mix and turn the granola every 10 minutes or so to ensure its evenly cooked. 

Cool completely and then add the dried fruit, mix well and store in an airtight container.

For a quick breakfast, add 2-3 tablespoons of yogurt in a bowl and then add a handful of granola before tucking in.

Enjoy x

Chilli Jam

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I love making food related presents for people for Christmas, its great if you're on a bit of a tight budget but also means that you can make it really personalised. This chilli jam is so delicious, I could almost eat it on its own. It has a little kick but isn't overly hot. I love spreading some in cheese sandwiches, grilled cheese, cheese on toast.. you get my drift. It would also be a great accompaniment to a cold buffet on Boxing day or on a cheese board. If you do prefer a really hot chilli jam than just take out some of the peppers and replace them with more chilli.

Recipe adapted from Nigella Lawson

Makes around 1.5 litres

You will need-

• 150g fresh red chillies deseeded and cut into 4. (I used a mix of red & green as thats what I had to hand)
• 150g red bell peppers cored and deseeded and cut into a similar size as the chilli
• 1kg jam sugar - can be found in the supermarket
• 600ml cider vinegar
• 6 x 250ml jam jars with vinegar proof lids - you could always top the jam with greaseproof paper before putting the lid on if you don't have vinegar proof lids.

Begin by sterilizing your jars. I do this by washing them and them placing them upside down on a baking tray and place in a preheated oven on 180C for 20minutes.

Whilst the jars are sterilising place your chillies in a food processor and run it until they are finely chopped. Now add the pepper and run it again until they are finely chopped too.

Use a wide, medium sized pan and dissolve the sugar into the vinegar over a low heat. Be sure not to stir the mixture.


Once the sugar has dissolved add your chopped chilli and pepper and bring to the boil and leave it in a rolling boil for 10 minutes.


Now take the pan off the heat and leave it to cool. As it cools it will go from a syrupy mixture to a jelly.

Once the chilli and pepper flecks are evenly dispersed and suspended in the mixture rather than floating on top of it poor the jelly into the jars and seal tightly.

Place labels on them and share with your friends and family. Once opened keep in the fridge.


Enjoy x

Whiskey Mincemeat

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For those who may not be familiar with it mincemeat is a mixture of dried fruit, spices & distilled spirits which is traditionally used in English mince pies that are served for Christmas. Mincemeat used to be made with meat but it now made with beef or vegetable suet. This recipe uses vegetable suet as its lower in fat than the meat equivalent but if you only have meat suet on hand then use that. 


This mixture needs to be made at least 2 weeks before you need it to give the whiskey a chance to soak into everything and for the flavours to develop. You could always use other spirits if you prefer, brandy is the most common used.


This recipe only takes about 10 minutes (if that) to make and makes a great Christmas present for friends & family. Be sure to sterilise your jars & it will keep for up to 6 months.


Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food
Makes approx. 4 500ml jars
You will need-

• 1 Bramley Apple
• 300g raisins
• 300g currants
• 300g shredded vegetarian suet
• 250g dark muscovado sugar
• 50g coarsely chopped almonds- I broke mine up in a pestle & mortar
• 85g mixed chopped peel
• A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• A pinch of mixed spice
• Grated zest & juice of 1 lemon
• 100ml whisky
• 4 Bay leaves

Begin by peeling and grating your apple and then put it to one side. Next, in a large bowl mix together the raisins, currants, suet, sugar, nuts, peel, spices, lemon zest & juice and then stir through the grated apple. Now pour over the whiskey & give everything a good mix to insure it is all coated in the spirit.

Spoon the mixture into your sterilised jars (make sure they're cool otherwise the suet will melt) Finally tuck a bay leaf into each jar and seal.

In 2 weeks time I will be sharing a recipe for mince pies and also fancy having a go at some eccles cakes using the mincemeat as a filling.

Hazelnut & Chocolate Butter

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I only recently discovered that you could make butter from nuts very easily and quickly and although I am probably really late jumping on the bandwagon I thought it would be worth sharing it anyway. The first time around I made peanut butter using just a mixture of salted and dry roasted peanuts and the result was delicious. Because you don't need to add anything else to the mixture it ends up being a lot better for you than the shop bought equivalent. All you need to make a nut butter is a small food processor with a blade and your chosen nuts.


You will need-

• Whole hazelnuts
• Mix of dark and milk chocolate chips- the amount depends on how many nuts you are using so do it to your taste

Pre-heat your oven to around 120C then place your hazelnuts on a baking tray and bake for around 20 minutes. Keep a close eye on them as you don't want them to burn. Once they are baked remove them from the oven and wrap them in a tea towel straight away. Leave for a few minutes so they steam as this should help you to remove the skins. Grab the bundle of nuts and rub them vigorously together to remove the skins. They will not all come off so you may need to keep going for a while. Don't worry about getting them 100% clean but its good to not have too much skin left as it will effect the flavour.

Pour the nuts into your food processor and get grinding.

Keep going, make sure you scrape the sides down regularly

Thats about it.

Add your chocolate chips and mix for another 30seconds or so till incorporated.

Move to a sterilized jar and keep in the fridge. I love to eat it spread on apple slices but it would be great used in cakes, mixed into ice-cream or just eaten on toast.


Enjoy x