Easy Cinnamon Bun recipe | Baking like a wannabe-pro

Baking has never really been my strong point - I have the lack of intuition that makes the difference between a newbie and a seasoned pro. And without fail there is something in the recipe I missread or I'm oblivious to steps that maybe to the writer who has perfected and made said recipe a million times seem self-explanatory. Long story short, whenever my deserts turn out close to how they should it's a real success, one I cannot not share.

Breakfast for students

Tomato and mozzarella salad - take 2

Avocado cult club

People wait for half terms and holidays to catch up on sleep and the all so vital social life. In my case, add a good dose of cooking! I just love taking the time to make myself healthy meals or snacks and the satisfaction at the end of it is worth the burnt frying pans that I invariably have to scrub afterwards.

Case in point, a spur of the moment superfood salad inspired (but reworked to suit the stuff left over in the fridge) by the Honey Chipotle Chicken Bowls by howsweeteats.com which you can see by clicking HERE.

I adapted the recipe and to a handfull of quinoa cooked with zest from half a lemon and some butter, I  added a chicken breast glazed with a little honey and rosemary. The rest includes an avocado, a chopped pepper, a bunch of roughly chopped parsley, toasted pine nuts and sliced cherry tomatoes with chives.

Lighting was not on my side and so some pictures might not do it justice but damn was it a good lunch! 

Easy summer recipe: Squid stir-fry

Only one week to go before the red and grey knitwear will take the place of flowy tops... so much sadness. That's why I keep clinging on to anything summerish until the time to let go of sunny moments by the beach or early morning jogging trips through vineyards (coming soon!) finally comes.

Cooking is one of the things I love about summer holidays because I have the time to put all creativity to work in the kitchen. One of the tastiest experiments this summer has been the low-fat squid stir-fry, inspired by a Waitrose recipe. 

It's very quick and easy, relatively no fuss and moreover, it has that light, crisp texture you want in fresh summer foods to enjoy al-fresco!

You'll need:

I used about 5 medium-sized squids, which I then washed and cut into 2 cm round strips. Place them somewhere to dry before frying.

I tossed them in a pan to cook until they got golden brown together with some lemongrass for flavour.

In the same pan I cooked the greens until they were more tender but still crunchy.

And over them, added all the ingredients: the beansprouts, the spring onion, the squid, the egg noodles, lime everything.

Put a lid on it, waited for it to brown a little and added some sweet chilli sauce and it was ready!

Bon appetit!