Chili-lime hot chocolate

Breakfast: Apple, pear, blackberry, almond milk and cinnamon smoothie

Lunch: Miso noodle soup with mushrooms (and some carrot cake from the delicious Dufflet)

Dinner: A very much uninspired vegetable strifry followed by home-made chili-lime hot chocolate

Sometimes, it's the simple things you make that impress people the most. I've spent days searching for obscure* ingredients followed by hours cooking to put together a fantastic set of Thai meals to have them rated as "okay" (Dad), only to have people gush for weeks about a set of cupcakes that took me about an hour to make. This was definitely the case when I asked my ridiculous friend David, sat in the kitchen of our Sydney Green House, whether he wanted some home-made hot chocolate. His eyes lit up and he almost pooped his otherwise incredibly healthy pants at the thought of molten chocolate whisked into a frenzy. He was equally stoked with the results, although we're talking about a man who once drank 3 banana milkshakes at brunch, so don't take his word for it.

Hot chocolate will always get you in someone's good books, and it really is shockingly easy to make. The main issue is not burning the milk, as anyone who's ever made Bird's custard the proper way will tell you. As long as you have a heavy-bottomed pan and keep it over a low heat, stirring often, you won't have a problem.

Thanks for this recipe also have to go to the fittest-mom-with-a-child-under-1 in the GTA, Liz McBeth, for first gushing about chocolate tasting with me and then suggesting the lime addition when I said "oooh, chili hot chocolate would be good....". She was not wrong!

You'll need:
(Serves 2)

2 mugs of milk - I recommend cow's milk, but I'm sure almond or soy would also work fine. Rice milk is probably a bit thin (and crap)
50g milk / dark chocolate, grated
1 small red chili
The grated zest (outside) of 2 limes
1-2 tsp honey

Method:

Put the milk in a heavy-bottomed pan.
Slice the chili down each side with a thin knife, but don't separate the 2 sides at the bottom
Put the chili and lime zest into the milk and warm it gently for 10 minutes, stirring often
Sieve the milk to get the chili and the lime bits out
Put the milk back into the pan and stir in the grate chocolate
Increase the heat and add the honey
After 5 more minutes, if all the chocolate is melted and the mixture has thickened, take it off the heat and whisk it like a madman
Pour into the 2 separate mugs, keeping the foam from falling in with a spoon
Top with the foam and a sprinkling of cinnamon if you're feeling generous

I made this last week, on a fairly warm weekend, but in the middle of winter this will be amazing, especially if you've just come in from the cold and your jeans are wet and your face is freezing. Throw on some warm jammies, dry your hair and make this. I recommend watching Spaced while you're drinking it too, but that's neither here nor there.

I would comment on the nutritional value of this drink, but there is none. I kid - but honestly, some things are there to be treats, and this is one of them.

*Well, obscure in Yorkshire, but then again last time I went home I asked a bloke in Tesco whether they sold tofu and he asked me if it was a vegetable.

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Sushi: That awesome salad dressing

Breakfast: Berry smoothie with almond milk and oats

Lunch: Leftover Totoro rolls with awesome sushi-house-style salad

Dinner: Soba noodle stir-fry with tahini sauce

If you feel that smoothies don't fill you up in a morning, or that they're just not sufficient to get you through til lunchtime after that bike ride to work, try putting a tbsp of oats in the mix too. Instant energy influx!

It's a bit strange, you might think, to devote an entire post to the salad dressing that you get in sushi restaurants. Well, not if you live with a person for whom that little salad is the highlight of the whole meal. Putin's (not so) little face lit up when I said I'd try to figure out what that dressing was made of, and the fact that he ate the whole thing when I'd made it makes me think that I got it spot on.

The salad itself is ridiculously simple, but it's the dressing that makes it - and the good news is that that's super simple too!

You'll need:
(Feeds 2)

1/2 an iceberg lettuce
1 large tomato
1/2 a carrot
1/2 tbsp light miso
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 tbsp sugar
1/4 tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 cup water

Method:

Chop up the lettuce, tomato and grate the carrot into a bowl
Blend all the dressing ingredients together, adding the water in a bit at a time
Add more water if necessary to reach your desired consistency

And voila - that dressing you've always loved but never made at home! It's actually way easier to double the amounts and make twice as much, but only if you know you're going to eat it twice in a row - which is quite likely.

As it's just getting nice and sunny, remember that sushi and this salad make a fantastic little picnic treat, not just because it impresses your friends and makes them think you're all fancy like.

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Sushi: Totoro Rolls

Breakfast: Coconut and ginger granola with almond milk

Lunch: Egg fried rice and veggies stir fried in char sui sauce

Dinner: Home-made sushi: Yam and Avocado Rolls, Totoro Rolls and that dope salad that everyones loves

Now, I know some of you will be looking at this post thinking "Sushi sounds like a lot of effort. Why would I make my own when it's so cheap and good from the sushi place?" Well, mainly because it's fun, but also because you get to invent new rolls!

It was my good friend Phil who first taught me how to make sushi rolls when I was living with him and the effervescent Elly in our inexplicably nice apartment in Manchester. Phil made it look easy, and though I was dubious at first I soon realised that once you've got your technique down, it is!

It's a common misconception that "sushi" means raw fish, so I often get the question "...but how can you eat sushi?". The raw fish is actually called "sashimi" and "sushi" refers to the rice which has the flavourings in it - just so you have a good rebuttal next time that question is asked.

We messed around a bit and started making our own rolls, and it's the recipe for our new roll that I'm posting here - I'll post the recipe for the awesome salad dressing soon. These aren't vegan because I went mad and put cream cheese in them, but if you are vegan, feel free to substitute the cream cheese with a thin line of wasabi or chili sauce, then you've got Suicide Totoro Rolls!

I'm not convinced that my advice on how to roll is comprehensive, so read this first and it should all become crystal clear.

You'll need
(Feeds 2)

1 bamboo rolling mat - about 2 dollars from any Asian store / No Frills / Asda
1 1/2 cups sushi rice
3 cups water
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp white sugar
2 tsp salt
3-4 sheets of nori
1/2 yam (a sweet potato to us Brits)
1 avocado
75 grams tofu
cream cheese

Method:

Put the rice and water in a pan and bring to the boil
Put the lid on, turn down to simmer, and don't take the lid off until the rice is done - about 20 minutes
Mix the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a bowl, then drizzle it into the cooked rice and mix to ensure thorough coverage
Leave the lid off and leave the rice to cool
Cut the yam into batons of about 2 cms square and either bake or fry these until they are soft all the way through
Cut the tofu into the same shape and size, and fry them til crispy on the outside
Cut the avocado to the same shape and size and set aside
When the rice is cooled, lay 1 sheet of nori on the rolling mat and cover it in rice, leaving a couple of cms at the top and bottom clear
Create a thin line across the middle in cream cheese
On this line, place pieces of yam, avocado and tofu
Grab the edge of the nori closest to you and the rolling mat too, and start to roll the whole shebang
Keep the roll as tight as you can without spilling all the rice out of the sides
When the roll is fully done, and the two edges of the nori meet, squeeze your hands around the rolling mat to tighten the roll
Unroll the mat and cut the roll into slices, starting by cutting it in half down the middle
Your knife should be as sharp as you can get it, and you should wipe it clean with a wet paper towel between every slice
Don't worry if it goes badly the first time - you'll get it before too long!

This roll has most definitely been made somewhere before, but I've never come across this awesome combination, so I got the name it - and, of course, I had to go with my favourite Japanese thing in the world: Totoro!

Don't be disheartened if you get a sticky mess of crap the first time you make these: it is definitely an acquired skill. Just keep trying and when you get your first awesome looking plate of sushi you'll feel it was worth it! Of course, you can always go the Australian road and just eat the whole thing as a handroll; it's easier.

Just a note: you shouldn't actually keep sushi in the fridge. The temperature dries out the sushi and affects the flavour too. However, in dire circumstances it will stay edible overnight, it will just be nowhere near as good as it could be.

P.S. The little man who appeared at the end of my tofu appeared to be bemused by my efforts...

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Serabi - vegan Indonesian pancakes

Breakfast: Serabi, having totally effed up a batch of Kaya

Lunch: Mint-bean salad with potatoes

Dinner: Suicide roll and yam and avocado roll with miso soup and that amazing yet simple salad at Simon Sushi, best sushi in Toronto!

I have never been to Indonesia, and in fact have never eaten these before now, but I thought I'd give them a go seeing as my fantastic vegan friend Charley requested some more breakfast recipes that she could actually eat. I often think of Charley as The Original Vegan as she was the first vegan friend of mine, and the first person for whom I tried to cook a vegan birthday cake. That first attempt may have ended up as a ball of dough that just refused to rise, but we still ate it, and a delicious ball of stubborn dough it was too.

These are super sweet, so I recommend serving with something a little bit tart; the blackberries we had went really well with them, especially when everything was drizzled with a coconut milk sauce.

I don't have the proper Indonesian-style pot thing they use to cook these in, and attempting to cook one in my wok just resulted in a massive sticky pile of crap. What worked perfectly was a non-stick muffin tin (or a cupcake pan, however you want to say it) on top of the stove. You can only heat 6 of the cups at a time unless your stove is huge, but you get nicely-sized mini Serabi that are cooked through. Yes, it's somewhat unconventional, but it works!

You'll need:
(Feeds 2)

100g rice flour
60g unsweetened shredded coconut
250ml light coconut milk
a pinch of salt

Method:

Mix together rice flour, coconut and salt
Add the coconut milk in a bit at a time, and beat until the mixture is light
Place your muffin tin on top of the stove and let it heat up
When it's hot, spoon about 1 tbsp of the batter into 6 of the cups
When bubbles start to come to the surface of the pancakes, over them with a pan lid or something of that sort
When all the pancakes are cooked, slide them out of the cups and start with your next batch of 6
Serve with something tart!

If you use glutinous rice flour instead of normal rice flour for these, they have a consistency much like coconut sticky rice pudding or super thick congee, which I have to admit, is not my first choice for a pancake consistency. Probably stick with the normal rice flour.

Incidentally, glutinous rice flour does not contain any gluten, so it's still fine for anyone with coeliac disease. Confusing, I know.

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Quinoa breakfast pilaf

Breakfast: Quinoa breakfast pilaf

Lunch: Couscous salad with balsamic vinegar and banana bread at work, woo!

Dinner: Egg fried rice with veggies stir fried in chili black bean sauce

Yes, I have successfully integrated the amazing quinoa (that's quite a good name for a magician, eh?) into all three of my meals now, and this one might just be my favourite.

Quinoa is actually a pseudocereal, and is actually closer to spinach than to grains. Like spinach, it has a high iron content (great for us veggies) and has a very balanced amino acid content, making it a complete protein. You've probably heard the odd militant carnivore tell you that as a vegetarian, you cannot get enough protein in your diet. This is wrong on many levels; the average human actually exceeds their necessary protein intake by about 100%, and the focus should be on getting a whole protein rather than buckets full of whey protein or stacks of beef.

Quinoa contains a portion of each of the 9 essential amino acids, making it a whole protein, so this breakfast is not only light, delicious and easy to make, it's seriously good for you too.

You'll need
(Feeds 2)

1 cup quinoa
1 1/4 cups vanilla soy milk / almond milk
blueberries
1 banana
cinnamon
honey

Method:

Soak quinoa for 15 minutes in water
Drain and rinse thoroughly
Simmer in your chosen milk for 30 minutes
Stir in the blueberries
Stir in the banana and fluff with a fork
Serve with a drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon

This is much different to the textures of many cereals so it might take you a few bites to get into it, but after that, you'll be hooked. I definitely am!

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"Interesting" egg salad

Breakfast: Killer smoothie with soy milk, banana, oats, honey, blueberries, blackberries and cinnamon

Lunch: Beetroot soup with feta

Dinner: Carrot salad, burgers, couscous and "interesting" egg salad

Today, I had to learn how to boil an egg. Pathetic, but true.

When I was a kid I was a ridiculously fussy eater, and so was my brother. Though we've both since branched into eating almost anything, there are some things that neither of us can stomach, even now. One of them is eggs in egg form.

Don't get me wrong, I love scrambled eggs, and I am even working on poached eggs, but even now the idea of eating a boiled egg holds about as much appeal for me as spending an evening with David Cameron talking about class and economics. I had to constant fight off efforts to make me try this salad while I was making it - so the above food list is sort of a lie, but I'm sure you won't mind.

Why the egg salad, then? Well, this recipe was invented after my good friend Amy requested an "interesting" egg salad post. I took "interesting" to mean "healthy and different". The removal of mayonnaise for sour cream I think hits both this goals - believe it or not, sour cream has about half the fat content of mayonnaise - and avocado and nuts are everyone's best friend, so you can eat this with minimum guilt. I think I'll just watch.

You'll need

(Feeds 2 or 1 hungry person)

3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

1/2 cup sour cream

1 avocado, cut into chunks

1/2 cup cashews, roughly chopped

juice of 1/2 a lemon

1 tsp Dijon mustard

black pepper

Method:

Mix everything together in a bowl

My surrogate mouth for this one (please ignore how horribly disgusting that sounds) was Putin, who was instrumental in taking this recipe from "it tastes like this weird shit I used to eat when I was a kid....green borscht, that was it" to "yeah I'm taking all of it for lunch, is that ok?". Thanks for your help Putin, and yes I'll make it again.

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Beetroot Soup with feta

Breakfast: Coconut-avocado smoothie

Lunch: Couscous salad with one leftover spicy beanburger

Dinner: Beetroot soup with feta and bread

I know what you're thinking; it sounds awful. This is true, it does. However, I am not even a huge fan of beetroot on its own, but this soup is absolutely delicious; warming, healthy, and with the feta cheese crumbled on top, gorgeously creamy.

The key to this recipe is the tomatoes roasted with garlic and olive oil. The taste of the tomatoes offsets the potential bitterness of the beets. I also tend to add a little oregano, but only a little - I have added too much before and it becomes this mess of annoying flavours which you cannot distinguish from each other, sort of like when too many teenagers get on the bus.

You'll need
(Feeds 2)

2 medium beets, grated
1 large ripe tomato, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup veg stock
50g feta

Method:

Preheat oven to 190 degrees
Add the garlic to half the oil and drizzle it over the tomatoes on a baking tray
Roast the lot for 15 minutes
Heat the remaining oil and fry onions til soft
Add the grated beetroot and stock and bring to the boil
Simmer for 10 minutes then take off the heat
Add the tomatoes and blend
Crumble the feta on top and serve with bread

Beets are fantastic for you as they contain potassium, magnesium, vitamin C and betaine which keeps your cardio system healthy. They are also great as a hangover remedy; I used to work at a smoothie store and when anyone came in looking particularly haggard we gave them beet juice blended with apple juice (which takes the taste away - because let's face it, beet juice isn't going to be the most pleasant thing when you're hanging), honey, ginger, spirulina, banana and something else which may have been strawberries. An hour and a half later they would come back feeling nothing short of sprightly.

Beets are magical.

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