Pumpkin pancakes

Ingredients 1/2 can pumpkin puree, 1 egg, 1 1/4 cup self-raising flour, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp allspice, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1 tbsp honey, agave or maple syrup.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 15 minutes

Scotch pancakes (or American style) are a big favourite in this house. On those mornings when I have totally forgotten to put the Overnight Oats in the fridge the day before, it's great to grab an egg and just chuck in some flour, flavour, something wet and a few minutes of whisking later, the griddle is sizzling with perfect little dollops of impending deliciousness. These pumpkin pancakes are so very perfect for this time of year; Autumn is coming and comfort foods are on the horizon. They're also sugar free and low in fat. I quite often use low gluten flours like spelt or buckwheat and add a bit of baking powder instead of self-raising - get experimenting!

1) Crack the egg into a bowl and give it a whisk.

2) Add the spices, pumpkin puree and your choice of sweetness. Whisk again.

3) Add the flour and whisk thoroughly to ensure that the batter is smooth. It should be of a thick, dropping consistency, so add a little extra flour if necessary.

4) Drop a tablespoon at a time of the batter onto a hot griddle or non-stick frying pan. When tiny bubbles begin to work their way through the batter, slide a fish slice under the pancake and flip over. Press lightly to ensure they're evenly cooked, then transfer to a wire cooling rack or stack straight onto the plate. Gorgeous hot or cold.

Mango sorbet

Ingredients 2 mangoes, 1 tsp honey (or agave syrup if you are vegan).

Serves: 6 Preparation: 20 minutes

It has been sorbet central over here in the Lavender Kitchen. At this time of year the fruit in my bowl ripens so fast in the last of the summer heat, so I find myself making smoothies, jams and chutneys and baking puddings and pies and tarts galore so as not to waste any fruit. Mango sorbet is a particular favourite of mine because the buttery, silky texture of mango feels like it MUST be sinfully bad for you - and yet this sorbet contains nothing naughty at all!

1) Peel and slice the mango. There are many methods for doing so, from hedgehogging it to simply hacking away until you find the thick, rough core that stretches the full length of the fruit. Personally, I approach it like an avocado, slicing it towards the middle but not completely in half, then rotating it until it comes apart, revealing the core which can then be sliced away.

2) Transfer the fruit to a food processor (you'll want to save every single drop of the gorgeous juice as you're slicing it - I scrape it from the peel, from the chopping board etc) and puree thoroughly.

3) Add the honey and taste - remembering that freezing something dulls the flavour, so if it isn't sweet enough, it most certainly won't be when it's frozen! Add extra honey if necessary, but a ripe mango should certainly be sweet enough.

4) Transfer to your ice-cream maker and churn until frozen. If you don't have an ice-cream maker, transfer to a suitable container and freeze, removing every 30 minutes to whisk it to ensure that linear ice crystals do not form, solidifying the texture.

Pear & Matcha sorbet

Ingredients 4 over-ripe pears, 1 tsp matcha, 1 tbsp honey (or agave syrup if you are vegan).

Serves: 6 Preparation: 20 minutes

Matcha is a super-concentrated green tea powder, packed with antioxidants and nutrients, available from the mighty Teapigs. When they sent me some for #Foodspiration, I knew that the first thing I wanted to do was make a glorious green tea sorbet, and the beautiful grainy-sweetness of pears is so wonderful with tea. And lo, this super-food sorbet was born!

1) Peel the pears and slice the fruit away from the core.

2) Puree thoroughly in a blender, adding the honey and matcha when a smooth texture has been achieved.

3) Taste before transferring to the ice-cream maker, remembering that freezing something dulls the taste, so if it isn't sweet enough, it most certainly won't be when it's frozen! Add a little extra honey if necessary, then churn until frozen. 
If you do not have an ice-cream maker, pour into a suitable container and freeze, removing to whisk every 30 minutes to ensure that linear ice-crystals do not form, solidifying the texture.

Baby Breakfast Muffins

Ingredients 75g butter/oil, 125ml orange/apple juice, 1 tbsp cinnamon, 2 bananas, 2 eggs, 1 tbsp honey (or agave syrup), 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 250g self-raising flour, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 100g dried cranberries, 100g mixed seeds.

Makes: 16 Preparation: 45 minutes

OK, so this is not a baby recipe. Shaddap, it's not. It's NOT OK. It's a recipe for muffins which are sugar free and if you want them to be, dairy free. Healthy seeded breakfast muffins that are totally delicious and I just happen to feed to my twelve month old son... 

1) Preheat the oven to gas mark 5/190 degrees and add the cranberries to the orange/apple juice.

2) Add the bananas, vanilla essence and honey to a blender and puree thoroughly. Add the eggs and melted butter/oil and pulse again until completely combined

3) Sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and bicarb of soda, then mix in the seeds.

4) Pour the puree in with the dry ingredients, add the juice and cranberries and mix roughly.

5) Spoon into muffin cases and add to a muffin tin, sprinkling some extra seeds onto the top. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the tops begin to colour and a skewer inserted to the middle cupcake comes out clean.

Panzanella

Ingredients 1 tbs Passata, 2 tbs basil oil, 1 tsp red wine vinegar, 1 tsp honey (or agave syrup if vegan). Cherry tomatoes, cucumber, basil, old bread, kamalata olives.

Preparation: 5 minutes

Panzanella goes back to the 16th century, but it wasn't until the 20th century that this Florentine version emerged: stale bread soaked in oil, vinegar and tomato with herbs and mixed with salad. Back in the day - only onions were used, not tomato. And given that I loathe uncooked onions with a fiery passion, I am very glad indeed that it's no longer the 16th Century! You know, that and smallpox. I serve mine with cucumber, olives and cherry tomatoes but you can of course use salad leaves or other fruits and vegetables if you wish. I save my heels of bread and make this for a quick supper or a scrummy lunch.

1) To make the dressing, combine the oil, vinegar and passata and season to taste. I like to add a little honey to cut the acidity of the vinegar but this depends on what you are mixing into your salad of course! If you're vegan, you can use an alternative.

2) Tear the bread into bitesize chunks. I have done this with the leftover heel of ciabatta, spelt bread, you name it - any crusty loaf will do. If all you have is sliced bread or you don't bake your own, then I would recommend toasting the bread first.

3) Stir the bread into the dressing and stir in the other ingredients. Serve immediately. If you'd like this as a packed lunch, make up a little jar of dressing, a foil wrap your chunks of bread and keep them in your box of salad to prepare just before eating.

Peanut butter & banana porridge

Ingredients Porridge oats, milk (I like almond milk), peanut butter (I like Whole Earth Foods), honey (or agave syrup), banana

Preparation: 10 minutes

This hardly seems worth writing as a recipe as there really isn't much cooking involved, but as a combination that everyone should try... my god yes!
The salty, heady flavour of peanut butter, the gooey banana which melts into the porridge and that extra sweet contrast of the honey makes this the ultimate breakfast for me. Especially on a snowy day like today.

1) Add the milk and oats to a pan and stir on a low heat for 5 minutes, allowing the oats to swell with milk and form porridge.

2) Slice 1 banana per person and add to the porridge along with a tablespoon of peanut butter per person. Stir through and serve drizzled with honey.

Peanut butter & banana flapjacks

Ingredients 1 banana, 2 tbsp peanut butter (I like Whole Earth Foods), 1/4 cup oats, 1/4 cup peanuts, 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips, tsp honey (or agave syrup).

Serves: 8 Preparation: 20 minutes

These are without a doubt the world's best banana and peanut butter flapjacks. Chewy and crunchy and sweet and savoury... and surprisingly healthy as baked goods go!

1) Mash the banana and peanut butter with a fork and add in the other ingredients

2) Using a tablespoon, portion out the flapjacks and drop onto baking parchment. I think these work best as rough cookie shapes because they crisp up better, but you could spoon onto a tray and cut out flapjack bars.

3) Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 200 degrees

Lavender vinaigrette

Ingredients 1 tsp grainy mustard, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 lemon, 1 tsp lavender, 1 tsp honey (or agave syrup)

Serves: 4 Preparation: 5 minutes

It's no secret that I love lavender, or that this Provençal glory features heavily in my cooking. The vinaigrette is one of the best loved French influences and adding lavender and lemon in place of herbs and vinegar gives this a really wonderful twist. Perfect with peppery salad leaves like rocket and watercress.

1) Add the honey into the lemon juice and whisk together - the fruit acid should help even crystallised honey break down and integrate well.

2) Grind the dried lavender in a mortar and pestle and add to the honey and lemon along with the olive oil and whisk thoroughly.

3) Toss your salad leaves in the dressing and serve.

Peanut buttered sweet potatoes

Ingredients 2 Sweet potatoes, peanut butter (I like Whole Earth Foods), honey (or agave syrup), olive oil

Serves: 2 preparation: 20 minutes

Peanuts with their salty, slightly bittersweetness bring out the natural sweetness of the potatoes and give them an almost powdery, velvet crust. These make a great topping for Mexican mole.

1) Slice the sweet potato thinly with a mandoline, or carefully with a knife.

2) Smooth the peanut butter over each slice with your fingers and arrange in a roasting tray. Drizzle with a little honey and olive oil.

3 Roast in the oven for 15 minutes until the edges crisp.

These go wonderfully as a topping for Mexican Mole with a little soured cream.