Foodie Friday - What I Ate In November

Well it's the last Friday in November so it's time to share with you some of the things that I've eaten over the last 4 weeks. I'm a bit poorly so food to be honest is the last thing on mind but I'm going to struggle through just for you guys ;)

I know this is supposed to be a what I ate in November post but I'm actually going to start with a couple of bit that I ate in October, on the 31st of October to be precise.

Yes, it was Halloween so that means I needed to us up a vat of pumpkin from this years all be it badly carved attempts. So I made one of my favourite ever dishes Delias Pumpkin And Toasted Sweetcorn Soup (click here to see how to make my version) which I served alongside some yummy Spicy Mexican Cornbread.

I stuck with the warm comforting theme for the majority of the month, there is definitely a nip in the air now and I'm sure it won't be long before the snow arrives. Seeing as the festive season is nearly upon us the supermarkets are full of Stilton and my mum seems to be picking a little wedge up every time she goes out at the minute, I've made my Stilton, Walnut and Broccoli pasta a few times this month but for a change I made another of my winter staples - Broccoli and Stilton Soup :)

Sticking with the comfort food theme I made some Cheesy Marmite Pasta,

and a veggie chilli which I pimped up a bit by making it into a sort of chilli lasagna. Instead of pasta though I used some Newburn Bakehouse Gluten Free Wraps which were reduced in Tesco.

I just put them where I would put the pasta in between layers of veggie chilli and gluten free cheese sauce. I was surprised it how well this worked, and it's something that I'll definitely do again.

Sticking with the tomato and gluten free theme, I also tried something that I believe Kate recommended. Tesco Frozen Polenta Balls. I normally make my own set polenta but these are a real time saver and something that us gluten and wheat free peeps can use instead of gnocchi. I just popped them in a pan of boiling salted water, waited till they'd risen to the top, and then I mixed them into some shop bought tomato and basil pasta sauce and sprinkled them with a bit of cheddar, so good and I'm definitely going to get some more and experiment a bit :)

There's nothing like a bit of Mediterranean inspired eating to make you think of warmer climates and happy times, and this month I showed you a couple of recipes that remind me of Greek and Cypriot holidays first up there was my spicy version of Nigella's Red Pepper Hummus (#TeamNigella).

and this month I also fried some gorgeous squeaky, salty Halloumi and served it with a lovely fresh salad.

Lets be honest though it's not summer and I'm not in the Med so I need sugar and warmth at the moment which had in abundance in November - starting with my super quick Microwave Lemon Sponge Pudding,

and a real childhood favourite Mummy Lou's Gluten Free Boiled Fruit Cake x

Now that we're in the festive season all of the top coffee shops have launched their festive drinks and I've already managed to try a few - first up was the Costa White Chocolate Hot Chocolate - I hate cherry or anything cherry flavoured so I had no cherry drizzle and just a sprinkling of edible gold stars :)

It was good but not quite as amazing as I'd hoped it would be, That said I will probably have it again. Next up Starbucks, Toffee Nut Lattes are my real festive love, but I went for the Chocolate Orange Mocha instead! I have a new love this was amazing like Terry's Chocolate Orange with a hint of coffee. I had a shot of the Christmas blend in mine which added to the fruitiness - yum!

I've also been drinking a lot of warming drinks this month including some Whittards White Chocolate Hot Chocolate and some of their Caramel Hot Chocolate. I also tried peanut butter hot chocolate for the first time. I know you can get the powders and mixes but I made my own. I warmed some milk and mixed in some cocoa powder, some vanilla extract, some sugar and some peanut butter. I was so good but it was sooooo rich, I'll definitely make it again but I think I'll make smaller mugs next time.

The final two things that I ate this month are courtesy of a new gluten free brand that's recently appeared in Tesco - Udis. They introduced a whole range of gluten free yums including pop tarts, and bagels! I've tried the plan and the savoury onion ones up to now and they are good - my mum actually prefers them to normal bagels. Here I'm using the onion ones, topped with scrambled eggs with rocket and feta :)

Perhaps though my favourite Udis purchase up to now, has to be their mince pies. I've tried loads of gluten free mince pies over the years some are great, and some well aren't, these are probably the best I have ever tested (bar my mums :). The mince is full of fruit and the pastry is buttery and crumbly. They are fab but at over £2 for a  box of four it's probably cheaper to make my own :(

The last thing I'm going to show you is something that I'm yet to eat but this month me and my mum made our Christmas cake. We make a gluten free version of Delia Smiths Creole Christmas Cake (you can see my recipe here) which smells amazing both before and after it's cooked.

No pictures of the finished cake but I'll post some next month, when it's decorated. My mum is going to make her own marzipan this year which I'm very excited for. I hate almond flavouring so I usually end up cutting the marzipan and the icing off the cake but this year she's going to make her own vanilla flavoured paste :)

It's scary to think but this time next month Christmas will be all over! I don't know about you but I'm really looking forward to Christmas this year and of course I'm looking forward to eating lots of yummy and special food, hopefully in moderation but who knows :) Let me know what you've been eating in November and I'd love to know what your looking forward to eating in December x Leave me a comment and let me know x