The Food Obsessive

Raspberry Peach Smoothie

Raspberries are one of my favourite fruits and this smoothie captures their sweetness beautifully. I have complimented it with ripe peaches and Lucuma powder. Lucuma powder has a light nutty, caramel sweetness to it – similar to custard. It comes from a fruit which has a texture like that of a hard-boiled egg. The powder…

Chocolate Banana Smoothie

The culprit for our excessive banana consumption can easily be attributed to our smoothies. On average we have one every second day for our breakfast. I wouldn’t say I have this one for breakfast, but it doesn’t mean you couldn’t. This just happens to be the very first smoothie I ever made – many years…

Almond Berry Açai Bowl

(Pronounced ah-sigh-ee)I was curious about Açai bowls for some time before I tried one. It was in New York where I happened upon a small place near our hotel where I finally gave in. I was buying a couple of smoothies for our breakfast and impulsively added the Açai bowl to our order. I was…

Bacon and Egg Pasta / Spaghetti

Growing up this was our favourite pasta dish. I recall my parents making this together and throwing the strings of spaghetti onto the wall behind the stove to check it was cooked Al Dente! We didn’t truly understand what that meant, we were just excited to see food being thrown. And by our parents no…

Espresso Martini

I wish I could say I came up with this lovely tipple on my own. However, I owe it all to a restaurant in Edinburgh’s old town called The Outsider. I have been introduced to the espresso martini only recently, at a friends for dinner. I was an instant convert! It might have something to…

Mango Turmeric Smoothie

I was introduced to this smoothie by a friend and have made it regularly since. I now keep a steady supply of frozen mango for just this purpose and will have it at least once a week for breakfast – even my kids will have one! Turmeric is believed to have many anti-inflammatory, antiviral, anti-bacterial…

Mushroom Risotto

I remember the first time I tried risotto. I was completely amazed at this savoury rice pudding-like dish. I was hooked instantly and couldn’t wait to have more. Once I learned how to make it, it became a regular in my meal planning. It also happens to be one of the few foods my children…

The Way We Eat

I have been consciously changing the way eat during the past year. I was diagnosed with lactose intolerance more than 25 years ago (back then it wasn’t trendy at all!) and my youngest son has suffered quite badly with dairy, which makes me feel terrible for being so relaxed about managing it. It’s one thing…

Chickpea and Spinach Soup

Some of my favourite recipes were acquired over years of watching my father making the same dishes over and over again. He had a phenominal talent for being able to replicate recipes from his childhood in Spain without a recipe – something I still struggle to achieve! I am desperately trying to recall some of…

Banana Bread Pancakes

We eat a LOT of bananas in this household. Usually we can consume about four bunches in a week. Easily! Now, there are five of us so I suppose it isn’t too hard when you consider each of us having one most days. However, every once in a while something seems to change and suddenly…

Butternut Squash and Coconut Soup

We have had a lot of rain this summer, which makes my usual salads unappealing on a wet day. This soup is one of my favourites as I love the Thai influenced flavours and it is so easy to pull together as most ingredients I already have on hand. I also try to keep wrapped…

Chocolate Fudge Brownies

Like chocolate cake, only better. I have stopped ordering chocolate cake for dessert when we go out. It is the utter disappointment of having this delectable slice arrive at your table and your first bite is dry. Brownies however, usually you can be sure you will be happy with it. Even if it doesn’t have…