Peanut Butter Breakfast Muffins

My name is Issy Hamilton and I'm a peanut butter addict. Ask any of my housemates from last year and they would inform you that every night at about 10pm feet would patter down the stairs, the cutlery drawer would be pulled open, the lid would pop off a large jar...and in I'd dive with my giant spoon for my bedtime snack! I justified it because my housemate told me she had read an article saying peanut butter before bed speeds up your metabolism. That's all the proof I need for an excuse to eat more of it.
These little muffins have a kind of spongy, scone-type feel and are a nice little sweet treat in the mornings. Be warned, there is a fine line when it comes to under cooking these as they are supposed to be quite moist.

Peanut Butter Breakfast Muffins

Ingredients: (makes 5-6) 

• 8 flat tbsp self-raising flour 
• 4 heaped tsp olive spread
• 4 tsp demerara sugar 
• 4 small tbsp maple syrup 
• 3 tsp of peanut butter
• Splash of milk, for the finish 
• Sprinkling of chopped peanuts for the top 

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Put the flour, olive spread, sugar and maple syrup into a mixing bowl. Use your hands to mix everything together into a dough. 
• Add in the peanut butter and knead it through. If the mixture feels very wet at this point then add in a little extra flour. 
• Break up into even sized balls of dough and place into muffin cases. Dust the top of each muffin with a bit of milk using a pastry brush then sprinkle some nuts over the top. 
• Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. The top will go golden brown quite quickly- this does not mean it is cooked, it is just the result of the egg wash. 

Home-made Beef Burgers

Burgers are one of my favourite foods, but every time I ever go to a burger place with anyone there is always one gripe I have: that they insist on cutting up their burger. What?! Who cuts a burger? Inevitably they attempt to saw through the enormous pile of meat and sauce which promptly collapses into a messy burger heap at the bottom of the plate. Then they whinge. It may not be glamorous and I wouldn't advocate this on a date, but people, please, just get your gob around the goddam burger. All in. You may get sauce dripping down your chin and a bit of lettuce hanging off the side but wow does it taste good eaten as nature intended.

Home-made Beef Burgers 

Ingredients (makes 4-5 burgers) 

• 400g lean mince
• 1/2 leek 
• Fresh coriander (to flavour)
• Fresh basil (to flavour) 
• Dried oregano (to flavour)

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Place the mince into a mixing bowl then finely chop up the leek and add in. 
• Finely chop as much coriander and basil as you desire to flavour, then sprinkle in some dried oregano.
• Use your fingers to break up the mince and mix everything together. When everything is mixed in, separate the mince into 4-5 even sized chunks and shape into circular burgers. 
• Place on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the burgers are cooked through. 

Low Histamine Burger Bun Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 1/2 heaped tbsp plain flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 65ml milk

Method:

• Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Mix all the ingredients together to form a dough. Shape into a ball then bake in the oven for 20 minutes until a golden brown colour. 

Cauliflower Pizza

The best thing about pizza is how versatile it is. You can literally put any topping on it and it will taste incredible. You've got the classic margherita, sausage and fennel, goats cheese and caramelised onion, rabbit and broccoli (sounds weird but I can confirm it's a thing in posh london pizzerias) and even chocolate...you get the gist. Basically, I couldn't live without it. And neither can The Twin. So to get around the minor issue of her being allergic to every other western foodstuff we've created a low histamine cauliflower pizza recipe that also works for all the gluten free people out there.

For those who aren't low histamine, there will be a number of other toppings ideas and recipes coming soon. You may seem sceptical, but if you're on a diet and want to still eat pizza, this is the best substitute out there.

Recipe for the base: (makes 1 large pizza)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of grated cauliflower (approx 1/2 a cauliflower) 
• 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese (if you're not low histamine then feel free to substitute a 1/4 cup of parmesan for a bit more flavour) 
• 1 cup crushed cornflakes (for gluten free you can buy gluten free cornflakes in most supermarkets)
• 1 egg 

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. 
• Grate the cauliflower using a normal cheese grater. Cook in the microwave on high for 6-8 minutes until the cauliflower is soft.
• Pour out onto some kitchen roll and squeeze out excess water. Be meticulous- this is an essential step. 
• Place into a mixing bowl and add the cornflakes, egg and cheese and mix. It's probably easiest to use a food processor. 
• Place the dough on a baking tray covered in baking paper and roll out into a pizza shape to your desired thickness. 
• Cook for 10 minutes until golden brown. Take out of the oven, add your topping and cook for a further few minutes until the topping is heated through and any cheese on the top is fully browned and melted. 

Low Histamine topping:

• Red pepper sauce (click here for recipe)  
• sweetcorn 
• mozzarella
• fresh basil leaves 

Toppings Ideas

Tomato sauce with ham, sweetcorn, cheddar cheese and bbq sauce:

Low Histamine Breakfast Muffins

These might not be your sausage and egg Mcmuffin but at least with this recipe you won't feel like you're missing out too much. And you can sit there being the smug one knowing that you're getting a fraction of the calories, which means more room for yummy treats later! There's two versions of these muffins, both of which are essentially savoury but one version is slightly sweeter than the other for all the sugar fiends out there- me included.

Low Histamine Breakfast Muffins 

Ingredients: (makes 1 muffin)

Non-sweet:

• 15g uncooked weight of finely chopped pepper and courgette 
• 1 1/2 tbsp strong white flour 
• 1/4 tsp baking powder 
• 15 ml milk, plus extra to brush 

Sweeter:

• 15g uncooked weight of finely chopped pepper and courgette 
• 1 1/2 tbsp strong white flour 
• 7.5 ml water 
• 3/4 tsp caster sugar 
• 1 heaped tsp olive spread 
• 1/4 tsp baking powder 
• Small bit of milk, to brush over the top 

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. 
• Finely chop the vegetables. Fry on a medium heat on a saucepan with olive oil spray for a few minutes until soft. 
• In a mixing bowl mix together all the other ingredients. Then add in 3/4 of the cooked vegetables and mix throughout the dough. 
• Spoon into a cupcake case and brush the top of the dough with a little bit of milk using a pastry brush. Sprinkle the remaining cooked vegetables over the top. 
• Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. 

Salmon Salad

The combination of having over indulged on ice cream whilst on holiday along with my making the most of mum and dad footing the food bill while I'm staying at home led to this little health concoction. I absolutely love salmon but find I never feel full if I just have salmon and a few roasted veggies. However, add in some soy sauce rice and chunky broccoli and I can assure you that you will not be lying on the sofa  in front of reality shows at 10pm nursing your hunger pangs.

Salmon Salad 

Ingredients: (Serves 1)

• 1 salmon fillet 
• 100g broccoli 
• 1/4 bag of rocket 
• 45g basmati rice 
• 1/2 tbsp soy sauce plus extra for drizzling 

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Wrap the salmon in foil and place on a baking tray. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
• Whilst the salmon is baking in the oven weigh out the rice and chop up the broccoli. Place the rice in a pan of boiling water and cook for 10-12 minutes, or according to packet instructions. After a few minutes place a steamer and lid on top of the pan of boiling rice with the broccoli on it, and steam for 8 minutes. Check the broccoli is cooked by piercing the stalk with a knife- the knife should slip into the soft stalk very easily. Whilst the rice and broccoli are cooking arrange the rocket on a plate in a circle with a hole in the middle.
• Once the rice and broccoli are cooked, remove from the heat. Take the broccoli out from the steamer and place on the plate. Drain the rice in a colander and pour boiling water over the top of the rice, to get rid of all the starch. Place back in the pan (off the heat) and quickly mix in the soy sauce, then spoon the rice into the hole in the middle.
• Serve up the salmon on top of the rice. Drizzle the meal in extra soy sauce to your taste. 

Millionaire's Shortbread

This recipe is taken from "1001 Cupcakes, Cookies & other tempting treats" by Susanna Tee. We've been baking it for years now and every time the Twin visits me at Uni my house-mates put in an order for several boxes of these decadent treats. It's got to the point now that my house-mate's boyfriend magically appears at the house a few minutes after the Twin ever arrives, and a few minutes later he's already devoured about 3!
Note: although in the book it says makes 12 we've found it makes more like 20, depending on how big you want your shortbread.  We have also doubled the amounts for the shortbread base, otherwise the caramel can feel very thick in comparison.

Millionaire's Shortbread

Ingredients (Makes 12)

Shortbread:

• 230g butter
• 350g plain flour 
• 110g caster sugar 

Filling and topping:

• 175g butter
• 115g caster sugar 
• 3 tbsp golden syrup 
• 400g condensed milk 
• 200g plain chocolate/ dark cooking chocolate - the darker you can find the better! 

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line a square 9-inch baking tin with baking paper, using butter to stick it if necessary. 
• Sieve the flour then place along with the butter and sugar into a food processor and mix until everything is bound together and you have a smooth dough. Press the dough mixture into the tin and smooth the top. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
• Remove and leave to cool. 
• Whilst the shortbread is cooling you can get started on the caramel filling. Place the butter, sugar, golden syrup and condensed milk into a saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Once the sugar is dissolved bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring the whole time. The mixture should become thick and a deep golden brown colour which indicates it is ready. If the mixture is still quite thin after 10 minutes of simmering keep stirring and simmering for another 5 minutes or so. 
• Pour over the shortbread base and chill in the fridge overnight. 
• To make the chocolate topping, break up the chocolate into chunks and place in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Make sure the water in the pan is not too high- it should not touch the bowl at all. 2cm of water in the bottom of the pan will be sufficient. Stir the chocolate as it melts, taking the bowl off the pan and away from the heat when the chocolate is about 75% melted. Keep stirring and allow the heat of the chocolate to melt the remaining chunks. This technique should prevent the chocolate from burning.
• Allow to cool for a couple of minutes then spread over the caramel, then chill for a few hours. 
• Remove the millionaire's shortbread from the tin and cut into chunks. 

Courgette Rolls

This recipe came about when the Twin was trying to come up with low histamine starter ideas. Turns out that when you can't really eat bread, most cheese and basically every spice in the cupboard its pretty damn hard. Garlic bread: out. Deep fried Camembert: out. Prawn cocktail: out. Courgette rolls: in! Even better they're super cheap and easy to make but look quite quirky.

Courgette Rolls

Ingredients:

• 1 large courgette 
• 1/2 ball of mozzarella 
• Sprig of fresh basil leaves 

Method:

• Top and tail the courgette then slice into very thin strips about 2cm wide, as in the photo above. 
• Grill the courgettes on high for about 10-15 minutes until the tips of the courgette strips are starting to tinge slightly. Turn the courgette strips over halfway through. Meanwhile slice thin strips of mozzarella.
• Take the courgette strips out from the grill then add the mozzarella onto the courgette strips as per the photo above. Don't go too overboard with the cheese as the strip needs to be able to roll up so you are looking to achieve a thin layer of melted cheese across about 3/4 of the courgette strip. 
• Grill for approximately a further 5 minutes, until the cheese is sufficiently melted and has browned slightly. 
• Sprinkle the basil leaves on top. Roll up and use cocktail sticks to secure. 

Taste of Korea

Being the master of persuasion that I am, when I found out that my Dad was able to get his mitts on VIP tickets to the Taste of London event back in June, I began a small-scale campaign to get him to take me. After a bit of email harassment the operation was accomplished. For the uninitiated, Taste of London is a pure foodie festival. It consists of row after row of street-market style stalls, well known food brands, and pop-up 'restaurant' stalls serving up a miniature tasting portion of their signature dishes. Not to mention the champagne tasting bars and cider stalls which rather took my fancy..
Anyway, the best part of the event is the fact that there are tasters on offer about every 5 paces- go with a VERY empty stomach! One of the dishes I sampled consisted of several meats marinaded in a delicious Korean sauce, pictured below. It's a soy sauce based marinade packing extra Asian punch and the added spiciness of chili seeds. Unfortunately I have no idea what the name of the stall selling it was, so it seems I will only ever be left to enjoy the sole bottle I purchased. The marinade can be used on a whole range of meats, but I served it up with pork loin steaks, butternut squash chips and long-stem broccoli. Ideally the meat should be left to marinade for a good 24 hours but if you're lacking time 5-6 hours is sufficient for the meat to absorb the flavours.

Low Fat Creamy Mushroom Pasta

I had to wear a fur gilet inside today in August because it was that cold- lovely British summer as per usual. This called for the kind of food that would suit my wintry attire so I came up with a comfort food recipe that goes easy on the fat. It's going to see me through the winter in my ice cube of a student house and also ticks all the other student-friendly boxes: takes 10 minutes to cook, uses cheap ingredients and even better, saves a few calories for alcohol. Win win.

Low Fat Creamy Mushroom Pasta

Ingredients: (Serves 1)

• 7-8 chestnut mushrooms
• 1/2 courgette 
• 10g olive spread
• 75g pasta (go for wholewheat if you're feeling extra virtuous- I wasn't) 
• 1 1/2 tbsp low fat crème fraîche
• 35g Philadelphia light 
• 5 tsp grated parmesan 
• squeeze of lemon
• Salt and pepper, to season 

Method:

• Cut the courgette into small 1.5cm chunks. Pull the stalks out of the mushrooms and cut into thin strips. 
• Put the pasta onto boil according to the packet instructions. Usually it takes about 10 minutes. 
• Once the pasta is on place the courgette, mushrooms and butter into a frying pan and fry on a medium heat for about 6-7 minutes, until fully cooked. The courgette and mushrooms should be soft and squidgy to touch. Once cooked take off the heat, drain any excess liquid that may have been released, and put to the side.
• Once the pasta is cooked, drain then put back into the saucepan. Add the cooked vegetables to the pan then put back on a low heat. Stir in all the remaining ingredients, constantly stirring as you cook. Cook until the sauce has fully melted and combined. Note, the lemon can be overpowering so you literally only need a tiny little squeeze. 
• Serve with a rocket side salad. 

Green Eggs and Ham

When my sister and I were little some of our favourite bed time story books were the Dr Seuss books, and the best one was always green eggs and ham. Although I was disheartened to learn upon growing into an adult that no, green eggs do not in fact exist, I feel this recipe comes close enough. It's also looks a tad more appetizing than the illustrations in the book...

Green Eggs and Ham

Ingredients: (serves 2)

• 160g tender-stem broccoli 
• 100g finely chopped leek
• 100g diced courgette 
• 1/2 pack of spinach
• 30g honey roast ham 
• 4 eggs
• 2 tbsp crème fraîche
• 1 1/2 tbsp grated parmesan
• Salt and pepper, to season 

Method:

• Pre-heat the grill so it is on a high heat. Finely chop the leek and dice the courgette. 
• Boil some water and in the meantime place a large frying pan on a medium heat with a few sprays of cooking oil. Once the water is boiled add to a separate saucepan with a steamer on top and steam the broccoli for 6-7 minutes. At the same time gently fry the leek and courgette for 5 minutes. 
• Once the courgette has begun to soften add in the spinach and cook until wilted. The spinach really breaks down a lot so its usually a question of throwing in a load of spinach, seeing how much volume there is left once its been wilted, and throw in more if necessary. 
• Add the cooked broccoli and the ham to the frying pan followed by the crème fraîche and parmesan. Stir everything until covered with what should be by now a melting creamy sauce and season with salt and pepper. 
• Crack in the eggs - try and make a slightly flat space to crack them into. Cook the eggs until they are 3/4 cooked then finish off for a few minutes by placing the frying pan under the grill until the eggs are completely cooked.