Flossie

Candyflosslife - Down to Earth Food for Flexitarians - Last of the Plums Victoria plums are still around for a little while longer, and this is one of my favorite ways to use them before the season's over. Sticky, caramelized, a bit messy, and worth every napkin. I'm always looking to layer in more veg, more fibre, more color where I can, and this one leans on the plums themselves, high in polyphenols, plus ginger, garlic, shallots, and tenderstem broccoli counting towards that 30 plants a...

Candyflosslife - Down to Earth Food for Flexitarians - Back to Real Life We got back from Portugal and thanks to a very delayed flight, I had plenty of time to notice there wasn't a vegetable in sight anywhere in the terminal. Unless you count the wilted lettuce leaves in the unending rows of dry overpriced sandwiches. Now we're home, and summer's clearly winding down whether I'm ready or not. Highlights of our holiday in Portugal And I'm looking to layer in more veg, more fibre, more color,...

Candyflosslife - Down to Earth Food for Flexitarians - Fed the whole crowd, sat down for once We had family and friends over for a BBQ this weekend, and most of my week wasn't spent cooking anything new. It was spent making things ahead so I could actually sit down at my own party. Ok, minimal hovering by the grill still happened. Herbs, spices, and a generous hand with the olive oil turned it into more than just safe crowd food. That's my butter bean hummus in the photo. I sautéed the garlic...

Candyflosslife - Down to Earth Food for Flexitarians - I have tomato envy We're two weeks out from a trip to Portugal, and I will not stop thinking about it. Grilled peri peri, proper olive oil, and tomatoes that taste like they mean it. Portugal takes its tomatoes seriously, and so do my parents. They're growing around 400 tomato plants on the farm this year. Look at the size of these beefy ones, skins nearly splitting, packed full of sunshine and ready to burst. I'm growing six plants in my...

Candyflosslife - Down to Earth Food for Flexitarians - Pineapple takeover If you know me, the grill is more of a habit than ambition. On a Wednesday, there are courgettes and pepper planks, pineapple spears, whatever's in the fridge that'll take some char. But I'm properly gearing up for it now: we're hosting a family and friends BBQ soon, and I keep coming back to this Al Pastor slow cooker recipe as the answer to the bit I always dread, standing over the grill while everyone else is on...

Candyflosslife - Down to Earth Food for Flexitarians - New recipe to try I've been leaning on barley a lot lately, mostly because I got bored of defaulting to pasta and rice every single week. I cook a big batch at the weekend, then turn it into things like this: barley stuffed peppers, packed with mushrooms, chickpeas, and feta, baked with more cheese that goes golden on top. I've made it a few times now, and Dave and Iggi both clear their plates happily, which is its own kind of endorsement...

Candyflosslife - Down to Earth Food for Flexitarians - Welcome to Courgette Town (I Live Here Now) July hasn't let up much here, still full diary, still hot, still somehow more to do than there are evenings to do it in. Courgettes (zucchini, if you're reading this from the US) have properly taken over my kitchen this week. So this week is basically a survival guide to help you with ideas for tackling the glut. Courgette Feta Fusilli Pasta with Whipped Feta Sauce This week's cooking had to be...

Candyflosslife - Down to Earth Food for Flexitarians - No meal prep, no problem 🔥 It's been one of those weeks where the diary just wins. Work was full-on, the days ran together, and by the time evening rolled around some nights the only plan was "there's stuff in the fridge, let's grill it." One evening I charred aubergines and turned them into baba ganoush, thrown some peppers on the grill too then tossed with good olive oil and a splash of balsamic. Courgettes got caramelized on the grill...

Candyflosslife - Down to Earth Food for Flexitarians - Hot Weather Eating, the World Over Last week I was in Spain for work - and even on a work trip, the food gets my full attention. They always have pan con tomate for breakfast, which sounds almost too simple to mention but is one of the best things you can eat when the tomatoes are good (and they're excellent in Spain). Grilled swordfish with padron peppers for dinner. Because it's light and not overcomplicated - just really good produce,...

Candyflosslife - Down to Earth Food for Flexitarians - New recipe to try Growing up in Romania, my parents had watermelon fields near the Danube Delta. I became a real expert at guessing the ripest, juiciest ones ones - those little sugar crystals in the flesh that tell you it's exactly ready. Back then my favorite lunch was simply watermelon with a hunk of bread. The summers were so hot you didn't want or need anything else. Watermelon & Halloumi Salad This salad is a grown-up version of...