Creamy Vanilla Porridge with Spiced Pear Compote

The chilly weather of Autumn isn't my favourite but there are many things about this season that I absolutely love! The layered fashion, the cosy nights in and most of all the warming comfort food and drinks that come with the colder months.

I am currently trying to make healthier decision with what I eat as I haven't been feeling 100% lately and I wanted to see if it was anything to do with the food I am eating. Some of my favourite foods at the moment are pears, anything lightly spiced and avocados (even though they aren't Autumnal). For breakfast this weekend I decided to try and make my own porridge with a pear compote and it turned out so well I wanted to share the recipe with you.

INGREDIENTS
Porridge
2 cups Scottish Oats / 150ml of Whole Milk (or dairy free alternative) / 3 drops of Vanilla Extract

Pear Compote
3 Ripe Pears / Handful of Raisins / Handful of Walnuts / 2 Teaspoons of Cinnamon & Nutmeg
/ Tablespoon Coconut Oil / 2 Tablespoons of Maple Syrup

METHOD
Peel, core and chop your pears and add them to a non-stick pan. Turn up the heat and add in all the rest of
your ingredients. Cook this mixture for about 10 minutes or until your pears are soft, stirring occasionally.

While your compote cooks, add your oats to a small pan and add in your choice of milk. Stir
continuously until the porridge is at the consistency you like it. Add in your vanilla
half way through cooking and stir for a few more minutes and then your ready to serve!

Add in your porridge to the bowl and top with the chunky compote. There will be enough
for another serving so put it in tupperware for your next breakfast.

Enjoy
Love Khrissie

British Baking - Chockie Tea

So its the weekend and whats better than chilling out and doing a spot of baking? The good thing about having three housemates is that they can test all my creations for me so I know your getting the best recipes, I am sure they will agree.

Today I have a recipe for you that is quintessentially British! Its important to be proud of where you come from, because it makes you who you are, from the accent to the humour and quirky ways of doing things. There are lots of things about Britain that I love, one of the main things being tea! On my trip to Asia I don't think I had a cup of the good stuff the whole time I was away, mainly because they just don't make it the same over there. Green tea on the other hand is pretty nice but I love the proper builders tea with a dash of milk and one sugar. (I'm not particular at all!)

This is a really tasty cookie recipe and tastes like your drinking a cup of tea without actually drinking it. Its a weird concept but it really works. I dipped the cookie in tea coloured chocolate to add an indulgent feel to the cookie and to make it feel as if its been dipped in the tea. Everyone loves chocolate so you can't go wrong, but if you have not got much of a sweet tooth you can leave it off.

Ingredients: (Makes 12)
125g butter
3 black tea bags
100g light brown soft sugar
125g caster sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
225g self-raising flour
pinch of salt
100g white chocolate
100g milk chocolate

To make:
1/ Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
2/ Melt the butter in a pan or microwave (dont boil). Once all melted add in tea leaves
from the tea bags and mixed until combined. Wait a few minutes for the butter to cool.
3/ Add the sugars to the bowl and mix in the butter and tea mixture until blended.
4/ Combine the egg and vanilla into the mix and stir well.
5/ Sift in the flour and stir in slowly until combined into a dough.
6/ Either roll out the dough into a sausage shape and cut into even cookies or roll into little balls and squash slightly.
7/ Place the cookies on a baking tray, giving enough room between the cookies as they will spread.
8/ Cook for 7-10 minutes depending how soft or crunchy you want them.
9/ While the cooking are baking heat up a pan of water and melt the chocolate in a bowl above the water, making sure the water doesn't touch the bowl otherwise the chocolate will burn. Melt the white chocolate first, adding in the milk chocolate to achieve your perfect tea colour.
10/ Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes before dunking them in the chocolate and allowing them to cool (if you can)
There you have it! Your very own British biscuit!

 

These really are tasty! and if you want more of a biscuit just give them a little longer in the oven. 

Now I am looking at these again I'm going to have to bake some as I have some spare dough left over from making this batch. If you want to refrigerate the dough like I do and make them fresh each time you fancy one then you can. Your friends will love you for it to!

I hope you enjoyed this British recipe and like the taste of them as much as me and my friends do. 

So what do you think of using usual flavours in cookies and biscuits? Do let me know if you make them, I'd love to see some pictures.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend

Love Khrissie x

Healthy Snacks: Coconut Bites

Today I am going to share with you a recipe that I tried and tested from a wonderful blog called 'My Whole Food Life'. I've been reading a lot of food blogs lately as I have been on the hunt for a healthier version of some of my favourite foods like pizza. I am definitely not one for starving myself on these fad diets, which in all fairness are never really good for you as your weight ends up yo-yoing when you do decide you want to indulge on a pizza.

This year is all about being happy and I am not 100% happy with my body. Its not completely terrible but its not all that good either and rather make myself unhappy by sweating all my spare time at the gym and starving myself of the foods I love, why not just make some small changes that can in turn can make a much bigger difference.

I came across this post and once I tried it I just had to share it with you, specifically from an amateurs perspective. We all known that you see these amazing pictures of these wonderful food, try them and they end up looking like something the cat dragged in! This a gluten free recipe is surprisingly easy, its gluten free and can also be vegan if you find alternatives.

Prep Time: 5 minutes 
Cook Times: 20 minutes

To start of with you are going to need:
1 1/2 (173g) cups raw pecans 
12 medjool dates (remove pits)
1 cup (230ml) sweetened condensed milk (vegan)
1/2tsp sea salt
1 cup (100g) unsweetened shredded coconut
3/4 cup (110g) dark chocolate chunks

You can either buy a set of weighing cups here or use the conversion.

Instructions: 
Preheat oven to 350 
Measure out your raw pecans and add them to your food processor with your pitted dates. Add in the salt and whiz up until the mixture starts to stick together.

Line a glass dish, around 8inches wide with parchment or greaseproof paper leaving some extra at the edges. Add the mixture to the dish, making sure all the base it covered and press down with a fork.

Next pour a cup of the condensed milk over the mixture, making sure it is evenly covered. You then need to weigh the coconut and chocolate chunks and sprinkle them on top of the condensed milk. Lightly press into the condensed milk with your fork.

Then just pop in the oven for 20-25 minutes. This is where you need to catch up on some YouTube or blogs, as time seems so stop as soon as the smell of warm chocolate fills the air.

Get out of the oven and place on a cooling rack until completely cool and slice into whatever shape you like. Now this is even harder but let me tell you, its the best wait you will have. To me it tastes like a bounty with the coconut in, (so of course you can substitute it with whatever you like) but knowing its pretty healthy for you there is no guilt of shame after you have devoured a few slices.

As you can see its a gooey and chocolatey piece of heaven! Get it in the fridge quickly to make it less messy and enjoy it all to yourself, knowing you could be getting 1 of your 5 a day! 

I hope you have enjoyed todays recipe, please let me know if you make it.

I'm going to be doing more in the near future and even going to try my hand at making my own.

Have a lovely rest of the week guys!

Love Khrissie xx

Week 3: The Great Blogger Bake Off

Khrissie x

*This is Paul Hollywoods recipe which I only thought was fitting. I've never baked bread before so I used a bread maker and added the ingredients in the order as stated in the recipe. This is the proper way to do it.