Yesterday I had the local natives round for supper.  It was all very casual, partly because I am, partly because they are and partly because it was a Friday and I was working all day.  So supper was simple to prepare in advance, hopefully tasty and relatively healthy.

Very early in the day I made a recipe from an Instagram account I follow @livinglovinginspiring.  The recipe was for caramel slice.  It was really easy to make but you have to start a long time before you want them due to the amount of refrigeration time required.  I should have used a smaller baking dish so each slice was thicker but this one turned out fine anyway.

Caramel Slice

Base Ingredients and Method

• 1 cup + 2 tbsp ground almonds
• ½ cup walnuts
• ½ cup desiccated coconut
• 1 tbsp raw cacao powder
• 2 tbsp coconut palm sugar
• 3 tbsp of rice malt syrup (I didn’t have any so used Agave syrup)
• 1 tbsp Coconut Oil (melted)
• Pinch of Himalayan salt

• 1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
• 2. Put all ingredients into a processor and mix.
• 3. Mould dough in to a baking tin.  I lined mine with foil to make it easier to take out.
• 4. Drop oven temperature to 150 degrees and leave base in the oven for 10 minutes.  Take out and cool down.

Filling Ingredients and Method

• 10 Medjool dates (pitted)
•  ½ cup Coconut cream
• ½ cup boiling water
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• pinch of Himalayan salt

• 1. Put all ingredients in a processor until smooth.  I used the Vita Mix.
• 2. Pour over cooked and cooled base.
• Set in fridge/freezer

Chocolate Drizzle Ingredients and Method

• 1 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
• 1/3 tsp raw cacao powder
• 1 tsp rice malt syrup / Agave syrup
• 1 tsp crushed peanuts

• Lightly whisk melt coconut oil, raw cacao powder and rice malt syrup until smooth and silky.
• Pour over tart.
• Sprinkle crushed peanuts on top.
• Keep in the freezer/fridge

My drizzle did not come together.  The oil and cacao powder seemed imissible.  It tasted good though.I only had one meal during the day but it was a good one.   Banana ice-cream made with 2 bananas, about 1/3 of an avocado, 1 heaped tbsp cacao nibs, 1 nectarine and some pistachios.

This one was particularly creamy and I loved it.I was excited to finish work and get cooking.
I made another recipe from Mary Berry Cooks The Perfect; Spanish-style Chicken Paprika.  This dish has chicken cooked in paprika, covered in a mushroom sauce and topped with chorizo and olives. I really enjoyed it and there were no leftovers so I think it went down well.  I will make it again and share the recipe then. I served it with rice and salad.  I added these colourful tomatoes to the salad. I bought them in Wholefoods earlier in the week.

I didn’t manage to have everything ready but I was close enough when my lovely local friends arrived.  Instead of a starters we had crisps and crudités with 2 sorts of humous.  I stuck to the carrots and sugar snaps with a little humous.

The natives are a delightful lot to have over for supper and I had a wonderful evening.The food was alright too.  Spanish-style chicken paprika with brown basmati rice and salad. Caramel slice with fruit salad; pineapple, papaya, dragon fruit and grapes.  i did also serve 2 types of caramel ice-cream but apart from one spoonful as I put the leftovers away, I resisted. Cheese and biscuits.  I had 2 crispbreads with Brie and Danish Blue.  I was sensible with my drinking and enjoyed 3 half glasses of wine which I mixed with sparkling water.  So I did quite well relatively and didn’t massively over eat.

I started today with another banana ice-cream.  I was asked how big my glass is that I tend to use.  It can hold 400ml of liquid or this lot which is 2 bananas, about 2/3 of a small peach, a handful of amazing raspberries from the garden and some pecans. Peach melba!  Really yummy.These are the crisp breads I served last night.  I really like them and they were very popular but there were some left.

I had one crispbread with 5g of butter and 35g of Brie de Meauxand a bowl of the pea and ham soup Harvey made last weekend but which I couldn’t try then as I was juice fasting.   It was delicious and I loved every mouthful.

Soup, crispbread and cheese, the Saturday paper and some time, peace and quiet to enjoy them all.  Bliss.
A bit later I did have to try another bit of the caramel slice.  At room temperature it becomes a bit mushy but from the fridge it is chewy and fudgey and really very moreish.  Just one wafer thin slice.

It’s just the three of us at home this weekend and we went out for supper and then on to the cinema.  We had supper in Wagamama’s.  We shared edamame and duck gyoza’s and I had ginger chicken udon noodles with a green juice

Top company 🙂 I was given a chocolate sample by my supermarket delivery this week.  I was going to resist but failed.  I did however share it with Lara and Harvey so I only had 2 squares.  It wasn’t bad either.So far I have had a wonderful weekend and there is still Sunday to look forward to.