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Alternative Gifts for (M)other’s Day

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Blueberry Banana Pancakes👇🏽 Frozen blueberri

Blueberry Banana Pancakes👇🏽 Frozen blueberries & sweetness from the ripe bananas. And in less than 30 minutes too. Chilled Sundays, no rushing please (I say to myself) 💜

Recipe - Lemon Blueberry Pancakes
Feeds 2-3, takes 20 minutes ☕

2 very ripe bananas (around 200g)
juice of 1/4 lemon
100g oats or quinoa flakes/ buckwheat flakes - or a mix
180ml any milk
1 medium egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1½ teaspoons baking powder
A tiny pinch sea salt

To fry
1½–2 tbsp butter or coconut oil
Zest of 1/2 a lemon (adding half to the pancake mix & leaving half for on top)

For blueberries:
2 tsp maple syrup or raw honey
3 big handfuls (frozen) berries
+ Yoghurt

Place ingredients for pancakes (except the butter/ oil) in a blender or food processor & whizz for about 30 secs. Alternatively, mash bananas with a fork & mix in a jug with theremaining ingredients.

Melt a little of butter/ coconut oil in a large frying pan on a high heat.

Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the batter into the pan & use the back of the spoon to swirl into a rough circle about 1cm thick and 8cm wide. Repeat to make another two to three pancakes, depending on the size of your pan. Reduce the heat to medium & leave the pancakes to set for 1½ minutes. When they start to bubble, flip them over & cook for 1 minute on the other side.

Remove from the pan and repeat with the rest of the batter, using a little more of the oil each time, until you have made eight pancakes. (Place the pancakes on a plate in a low oven to keep warm while you make the rest).

Once pancakes are made & keeping warm, whip up coconut yog or full fat natural yog. Gently heat up berries with 1 tbsp water & a little maple syrup, in your pancake pan until hot through & softening. If using raw honey drizzle over at the end

Top pancakes w yoghurt swirled w berries & lemon--

10 Minute Green Eggs & Spiced Yoghurt👇🏽 Quic

10 Minute Green Eggs & Spiced Yoghurt👇🏽 Quick & v delicious & packed with greens 🌿

I always think of my 30th bday in Istanbul when I make creamy spiced eggs like these, am longing to feast again on far flung travels (but also happy to be home).

Hope you enjoy this as much as me & it’s a fab choice for a weekend breakfast but I like this for anytime of day 👌🏽

Recipe: 10 minute Green Eggs w Spiced Creamy Topping. Feeds 2 in 10 mins

For the base:
4 eggs
300g baby spinach
handful fresh coriander or parsley (or a mix)

For Spiced butter:
3 tbsp butter
1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tsp smoked paprika or your fave spice mix like Harissa or Ras El Hanout
Pinch chilli flakes or 1 tsp aleppo pepper
200g thick kefir or natural yoghurt
½ lemon, sliced in wedges
Sea salt & pepper, to taste

If using oven method, preheat oven to 200C high (or you can skip the oven)

In a medium frying pan (ovenproof if using oven), melt the butter until foaming & then add spices, garlic & a pinch of salt &pepper, stir & let fry gently for less than a minute until fragrant & pour into a little bowl, transferring the garlic too.

Put pan back on the heat with the remnants of the lovely spiced butter in the pan & add the spinach (which if you’ve just washed it will have a little water still clinging to the leaves which will help it steam) & cook until just wilted. Sitr and pop a lid on, will only take about 1 min or so for the spinach to wilt down & then take the lid off, let any excess water cook off. Season with a little salt & pepper.

Make 4 gaps in the wilted spinach mix in the pan & crack the eggs into each gap, turn the heat down to medium-low, season eggs.

At this point, pop the pan into the oven & let eggs bake for about 5 mins OR skip oven step & put a lid back on the pan & let the eggs continue to cook on the hob for 4 – 5 mins, checking after 3 mins for the whites to set & the yolk to stay nice & yolky.

While eggs are cooking, spread kefir/yog onto a side plate or spoon into a bowl & use a spoon to create a swirl or valley & then pour the spiced garlic butter through it OR alternatively once pan is out the oven, dollop straight on 🌿

*Carrot Cake Style* Baked Oats 🥕 Warming spice

*Carrot Cake Style* Baked Oats 🥕

Warming spices, pistachios & raisins make this extra special but it’s a total delicious doddle to make. If you don’t have a carrot, grate in ½ an apple instead. I always seem to have a carrot waiting for inspiration.

Find the *Bakewell Berry* & *Chocolate Peanut Butter* Versions up in my bio finger👆🏽Lots of you say you’re enjoying prepping several days of these and reheating them to order changing up the toppings to keep things interesting 👌🏽💪🏽

Makes 1
40g oats* or alternatives
1/2 small ripe banana, mashed
1 small carrot, roughly grated
¾ tsp baking powder
1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
120ml your fave milk or mylk
2 tbsps chopped walnuts/pistachios
1 tbsp raisins / dried fruit /dates

Carrot cake spices – or do 1.5 tsp chai spices:
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground ginger / nutmeg / mixed spice
½ tsp vanilla extract
Tiny pinch salt

To top:
Thick yoghurt – I used Greek style or your fave dairy free alt
Extra chopped and dried fruit

Preheat oven 180C fan and grease a small ovenproof dish or large ramekin with butter or coconut oil

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl then transfer into the dish and bake for 25 minutes or so until golden at the edges.

Once out the oven, wait for 10 minutes or so to cool then dollop with yoghurt and a little extra honey or maple syrup if you like, enjoy straight from the dish.

Variations

You can adapt this to be plant based & if your oats are gluten free then it’s naturally gluten free so a welcoming recipe for everyone.

Also feel free to swap oats* for quinoa flakes or buckwheat flakes, delicious in this too & nice to have some variety

Blitz the oats if you like for a smoother finish but I’m to lazy to wash up the blender 🥴

💌📮👩🏻‍💻 Choc chip cookies from my

💌📮👩🏻‍💻 Choc chip cookies from my *Eat Happy* cookbook, they are made from chestnut flour which I often forget to bake with but I really love & always forget how much I do, don’t miss out on the sea salt sprinkle👌🏽🍪 Also, I’ve completely broken this lovely mug now. Anyone else get really clumsy at certain times of the month 🥴

My latest newsletter of recipes is going out tonight! So if you’re keen to take a look at it, please sign up 👆🏽

To sign up, go to the link in my bio or head to melissahemsley.com and pop your email into the yellow box on the top right side and I look forward to sending it your way 💌

Perky Pea soup with celery leaves & chives, scroll

Perky Pea soup with celery leaves & chives, scroll down for the recipe👇🏽 This is delicious and hearty from the tin of white beans that add creaminess and keep things satisfying. I recommend a little sprinkle of za’atar too, it’s my fave finisher.

Plant based friends: swap eggs for your fave yoghurt and top with a few asparagus tips too 🌿

Feeds 4 in 20 minutes

2 tbsp butter/ghee/coconut oil
Bunch spring onions /onion, chopped
500g frozen peas
240g cooked white beans
1 litre or more veg stock or broth
200ml milk of your choice
2 celery sticks and their leaves
About 20 mint leaves (about 4 sprigs worth), or more – or use basil
Juice and zest of 1/4 lemon
Sea salt & pepper

To serve - any of these
7 min soft boiled eggs
or a big dollop of yoghurt on each bowl
Or a swirl of extra virgin olive oil
Or extra chives
And v much recommend @zaytoun_cic za’atar sprinkled on top

Gently fry the onions and chopped celery in butter for 5 minutes until softened, save the celery leaves for garnishing.

Add the stock/broth, cooked beans, salt & pepper and pop a lid on and let come to a medium simmer.

Meanwhile start boiling your eggs and cook them for 7 mins for a soft boiled then pop straight into a bowl of cold water (save that water for watering your plants!) and peel once cool enough to handle.

Add the peas and milk to the soup and cook for another few minutes then turn off the heat and transfer to a blender along with the fresh mint leaves, lemon juice and zest and blitz until smooth, seasoning as you go.

Pour into bowls, drizzle with olive oil, garish with celery leaves or more mint leaves and top with the eggs or yoghurt and chives and a sprinkle of za’atar to finish 🌿

The inspirational charity @soilassociation have th

The inspirational charity @soilassociation have their annual awards coming up and they tell me I’ve made the finals for one of the categories 🎉

I’m a finalist alongside a few amazing people including 2 of my food and farming heroes, Geetie Singh-Watson of @bullinn_totnes and Guy Singh-Watson of @riverford who wrote the forward to my last book *Eat Green* on waste free planet friendly cooking.

If you’d like to read more about the awards & all the interesting people to follow who have been nominated, go to my Stories or head to the link in my bio.

And if you can spare a minute and if you want to, please vote for me! Or Guy or Geetie! They get my vote! 💚🌿🌎

Pic taken on my street a few Springtimes ago with friends and flowers @evieramirez @kittycoles 💐

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