English School London

I have become entirely obsessed with this collection by English School London, by make-up artist Isamaya Ffrench and Creative Director Josh Wilks. The clothes are pretty unique with the designs being handprinted and referencing old pharmaceutical products. I took all three pieces away with me to New York recently and literally it's all I wore for a whole week. 

Matcha, Coconut and Avocado Bowl

I had this for breakfast yesterday and felt full and energised all morning. Become obsessed with matcha recently- realising how versatile it really is. And it really is true- the more matcha you eat, the more obsessed you become!

This is a very simple recipe and you can chuck on whichever toppings you fancy. This makes a big smoothie bowl so could also possibly do two small ones, depending on how hungry you feel!

Ingredients

Half of an avocado
Tsp of matcha (the more pure, the better) (Also don't overdo, measure slowly, matcha is strong!)
3 tbsp of dessicated coconut
1 tsp of coconut oil
1 banana
1 tsp lucuma powder
Toppings! I used granola and blueberries- goji berries would be lovely too!

Method

Blend all together and make sure there is a thick smoothie consistently. If there isn't- add another half banana. Pour into a bowl, add toppings and enjoy!

Zesty Orange and Hazelnut Truffles

I mentioned in my first post that my boyfriend is a huge source of inspiration in my cooking. This is actually his recipe, and it's one of my absolute favourites. The truffles are everything a truffle should be- decadent, rich and a definite treat. And delicious of course. 

Ingredients

This recipe makes about 20-30 truffles- a good batch!

300ml coconut cream (milk will not work- they are completely different consistencies)

20g light muscovado sugar

EITHER 500g dark chocolate (70% or above) or make your own as I did with 300g of cacao butter, 18tbsp of raw cacao and 8tsp of agave nectar. I added a little lucuma powder too. I used Choc Chick ingredients and a simple raw chocolate recipe is here- I just edited the amounts already so follow my amounts rather than this recipe: http://www.chocchick.com/chocchat/choccreative-recipes/recipes/simple-raw-chocolate-recipe/Teaspoon of coconut oil

Flavour with-

One half- a zest of one orange

Second half- two handfuls of hazelnuts

Method

1. Put the coconut cream and sugar in a pan on the hob on a low heat and let it simmer for a minute. Take it off the heat and let it cool for 5 minutes. 

2. Whilst this is cooking, either melt your shop bought chocolate on a makeshift bain-marie or take your home made chocolate liquid mixture and melt this with the coconut oil. When there is a few very small unmelted chunks in the bowl (if using shop bought chocolate) take off the heat and let the residual heat melt the rest. If using homemade chocolate liquid mixture this will be very quick- just allow the coconut oil to absorb. 

3. When melted, gradually stir in the cooled coconut cream mixture until both are completely mixed. 

4. Separate the mixture into two halves. In one half, add a zest of one orange and mix through for a delicious orange chocolate flavour. These are my favourite, as I always miss Terry's Chocolate Orange now being vegan! Secondly, finely chop your hazelnuts. Mix these in the second half. 

5. Leave the two mixtures to cool in the fridge for 3 hours. 

6. Once completely chilled and the mixture have a dough like consistency, scoop the truffles out by hand and mould into balls. 

7. Decorate however you like! Cacao powder is great to dust the truffles with. They are best kept in the fridge as they are so natural. 

Enjoy and stay sassy! x

Matcha Pistachio Rosewater Balls

Hello! Sorry it's taken me a few days to get the recipe for these up- I've just started a new internship at a food agency and it's been very busy (but super fun and I'm loving it there). For those of you who haven't tried matcha before, it's an acquired taste, but absolutely addictive. I put a big tablespoon in mine, but adjust as you feel best suits your matcha tolerance- as you can see, mine are a dark green colour. These are full of goodness and perfect for the 4pm slump, giving you plenty of antioxidants and nutrients from the wholesome ingredients.

All of the food items in this are from my staples. I appreciate not everyone trying these will have all the items in their food cupboard, but they are foods you will find you can use again and again in a million different ways. Dates, for example, are great for smoothies, cakes, granola and just about anything you want to aid forming a gooey, caramel type texture. They are so incredibly versatile. Medjool dates are the most gooey and full of flavour, so are worth the extra, but any type of dates will work in this recipe. Matcha can be used in frappes, shakes, juices, on top of just about any breakfast food and in cakes. Its fairly expensive but you only need a tiny amount each time! Coconut oil has replaced any other oil in my cupboard, it has a million uses and benefits and I even use it once a week in my hair! I would highly recommend it as a lifestyle change. Pistachios and cashews are my two favourite nuts and are much cheaper to purchase in bulk.

This recipe is super, super easy and is great to make a batch at the weekend to nibble at through the work week!

Ingredients

This recipe makes around 10 medium size matcha balls

1 tablespoon of matcha
12 medjool dates (pitted)
4 tablespoons of desiccated coconut
2 tablespoons of coconut oil
25g of pistachios
75g of cashews
1 tsp of rosewater (rosewater is strong- be careful!)
A separate 25g of pistachios for rolling afterwards

Method

1. Place all the ingredients (except for the separate 25g of pistachios and the rosewater) into a food processor or a blender if you don't have one. I used a blender and it worked fabulously. Blend for thirty seconds or until finely chopped and blended.
2. I tentatively added in the rosewater to the mixture after it had been blended in small amounts to prevent it from becoming the overriding flavour. Mix the rosewater in and then blend again for another thirty seconds.
3. Using a ice cream scoop, and individually scoop out balls of mixture. Roll between your hands to create evenly sized balls.
4. When all balls have been rolled, roll them again through the chopped pistachios and press firmly into the balls.
5. Put the balls in the fridge for 15 minutes then enjoy.

Stay sassy! x

Buckwheat Pancakes with Chocolate Sauce

This is the most sassy way to start the day, with a huge pile of buckwheat pancakes with a load of chocolate sauce and some delicious healthy toppings. There is lots of goodness and the chocolate sauce is so decadent and rich. Perfect for the weekend!

This recipe makes about 6 pancakes.

Ingredients:

For the pancakes:
125g buckwheat flour
2 tbsp plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
360ml almond milk
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp coconut oil
your frying oil of choice (I used Fry's 1 calorie spray oil and it worked perfectly)

Raw chocolate sauce:
120 ml coconut oil (liquid)
82g cacao powder
60ml maple syrup/agave nectar
a dash of vanilla essence/paste
2 tbsp tahini
your choice of toppings! (I went for goji berries, pumpkin seeds, blueberries, frozen raspberries and chia seeds)

Method:

1. Combine the buckwheat flour, plain flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Then add the almond milk, coconut oil and water and whisk well.
2. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat with your choice of oil.
3. The trick is to not make the pancakes too large, about 15cm in length. Make them quite thick too when pouring in the mixture, about a quarter cup per pancake. Cook on both sides for around 2-3 minutes, or until they start to bubble.
4. Transfer to a plate and continue with the remaining mixture.

Raw chocolate sauce:
1. Mix coconut oil, maple syrup and cacao in a bowl and then add the vanilla and tahini and whisk.
2. Serve your pancakes with the chocolate sauce and your choice of toppings and serve immediately!

Enjoy and stay sassy! x

Fashion and Food