Spicy Butternut Squash Soup with Paprika Halloumi Croutons

I love butternut squash, and I love halloumi.. so when I found both in my fridge I decided to make something using both. This soup is lovely- the smoked paprika and chilli complement the rich flavour of the roasted butternut squash and the grilled halloumi works surprisingly well!

I love autumn, how the seasonal vegetables are vibrant and orange, and how the leaves all follow suit- its lovely. This soup has a nice kick from the chilli to warm you up on a cold autumnal day, and is heart enough to fill you up, too.

The only thing is, the croutons are so moreish that they probably won't last as long as the soup!

10 Minute Tasty Superfood Dinner

I'm not sure how healthy this actually is, but based on how much I love it, how quick it is, and that a few of the ingredients are healthy- i've talked myself into believing that its the healthiest thing that has ever existed!

The bacon (i know, not healthy) adds saltiness, whilst the lemon cuts through it with a sharp addition and the tomatoes bring sweetness. The kale reduces a lot so you eat more good stuff without realising and.. cheese is just awesome. It's a balanced meal that includes two of your 5-a-day, protein, fibre and calcium. You should definitely try this whether you agree that its healthy or not. You can choose which cheese to use, I've tried this with mozzarella, brie and camembert. Camembert is my favourite, but always with parmesan sprinkled on top!

Risotto alla Milanese

The first time I had this wonderful saffron and parmesan risotto was earlier this year when we took my mum on a surprise birthday treat to Milan. Milan is a beautiful city, however, in order to visit this stylish city, you must pack only your best clothes. We spent far too long getting ready and dressed up each day- even if we were just going shopping or sight seeing. Everyone, everywhere, is immaculate. It really puts London to shame!

We saw an opera at the world famous Tetro alla Scala, went to countless art galleries including seeing Da Vinci's Last Supper, saw the incredible Duomo and, of course, we window shopped at all the fancy designer shops. One of the best parts of Milan, however, is the food (no surprises there!) with Gelato cafes on each corner, we ate Italian ice cream for breakfast lunch and dinner, as well as the amazing fresh pasta and breads, then gorged on aperitifs and cocktails in swanky bars in the evenings.

One of the aperitifs we had was Risotto Milanese. It's so simple- with only two main flavours- yet so tasty! It's normally a wonderful bright yellow colour, however my saffron wasn't the most expensive, hence the paler colouring. I recommend using a high quality extra strong parmesan and good quality saffron- powdered if possible in this recipe to get the true Italian flavours.

Proper Cheese Straws

So.. I've decided to give food blogging another go after obsessing over The Great British Bake Off for weeks on end (and being completely gutted when the beautiful James didn't win!) and what better way to revamp a food blog than with the best food item ever? CHEESE!

Before last week it had never occurred to me to bake my own cheese straws because the ones from m&s are just so tasty! But I was feeling lazy, craving cheese and had the ingredients so I thought I would give them a go- and they turned out good!

 I made these whilst sitting in front of the TV which really proves how simple they are! They're a great way to use up eggs and the last bits of whatever cheese you have lying around! I used parmesan and extra strong cheddar in mine with some cayenne pepper, paprika and black pepper for a kick :)


 Ingredients 
200g self raising flour 
125g cold butter (diced) 
2 eggs (one of them separated) 
50g grated parmesan cheese 
75g finely grated cheddar (plus extra for sprinkling) 
pinch of cayenne pepper 
pinch of paprika 
sesame seeds 
salt and pepper 

Method
 1. In a bowl, rub the flour, butter and spices together until they resemble breadcrumbs. Mix in both cheeses
2. Add one whole egg and the second egg yolk, keeping the spare white to one side. Mix until everything is incorporated
3. Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes, then turn on the oven (180 degrees) and tip mixture onto a floured surface
4. Roll dough out until roughly 9x12" then cut into 24 straws. They may shrink slightly when cut so you can roll them again, separately if needed. Twist each straw once at each end, brush with the left over egg white and sprinkle with sesame seeds and left over cheese, then arrange them on greased baking sheets
5. Bake! I only cooked mine for 15 minutes but if they look pale you can leave them for an extra few minutes! These are a must have straight from the oven when they're still warm, possibly dipped in more cheese (unless that's going too far?) and definitely with a glass of white wine. Enjoy :) x