Imperfectly Paleo

Happy Chinese New Year of the Rooster for tomorrow! Sending out good wishes to all for the lunar year ahead! Miso Aubergine Salad   Yes, I am fully aware that miso is not considered 'paleo' but I'm Chinese and soy has featured fairly prevalently throughout my dietary lifetime - whether I consumed it a lot (while in Asia) or not at all (in my early Paleo days) has made little discernible difference to the way I feel. Some may argue the damage is stealthy and I will rue my indifference but I'll take my chances.

I went through a phase as a teenager when I just LOVED cookie dough. Back then cookie dough was still pretty novel, imported from our friends across the pond - and like my childish longing for an American accent and braces, I embraced all things of that ilk without question. Luckily my parents never bought into it and it was a rare indulged treat. Mint Choc Chip Sweet Potato Cookie Dough

Even though this was a side dish I made for Christmas Day there's no reason it should only be rolled out on an annual basis. Red cabbage is still plentiful and the balance of juicy sweet pomegranate and apple against the tangy sharpness in this dish makes this a thoroughly moreish remake of an oft underrated vegetable. Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage with Pomegranate

Time to put away the industrial-sized tins of festive goodies (mince pies/ chocolates/ alcohol/ cheese - name your preferred poison!) and crack on with 2017 folks! This is a simple yet healthful and still super tasty mid-week meal to ease back into normality. The children love this - though they prefer it with actual rice rather than riced cauliflower so feel free to sub rice if you fancy. I ate way more rice than usual over the holidays as my parents make the best rice, plus they have a snazzy new rice cooker! For vegans adding diced firm tofu instead of chicken works just as well. Hawaiian Fried Cauli-Rice with Pineapple and Chicken

Recently I finally got round to reading Marie Kondo's self-professed life-changing book about tidying, 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying '. It had been waiting patiently on my To-Read list for such a long time and the time had arrived - I was ready and receptive. Subconsciously I had already started; having Kondo -ed many of my clothes drawers with her eponymous 'KonMari' method of folding and vertically stacking my clothes. Tidy House, Tidy Bowl, Tidy Mind

I presume there are enough Christmas turkey recipes out there in cyberspace this week so here is something different. There is only one rule: do not overcook the tuna. Unless, of course, you like it that way! Happy Christmas to all x P.S. Apologies about the photo quality: Real life dinner = Real life lighting! Sesame Crust Tuna Steak with Vegetable Ribbon Salad P.P.S. This is the final recipe from a special three course anniversary dinner I prepared for a special someone. See Scallops and Chorizo for the starter and Anniversary Chocolate Pots for the dessert.

It's the run up to Christmas which means festive foods aplenty. My birthday also coincides with this time of year so double the excuse for dietary indulgence. Unfortunately these past weeks have left me feeling saddened, full of anxiety and seriously lacking in seasonal cheer as we experienced a burglary. Worse still is the knowledge that we will never know the identity of the culprit - who indeed and most likely is someone we know. These cheerful pink balls were made while I was ironically bliss fully unaware of what was in store and I long for that feeling of being worry-free. I've been meaning to incorporate my recently discovered lingonberry powder into a recipe and simultaneously was after a fun way to brighten up my brithday cake. Lingonberries are tart, red berries similar to cranberries and are rich in antioxidants and vitamins A and C.

If you want to stumble across some of this delightful purple 'Buttonhole' kale, you could hunt it down in your local Waitrose store. It has a lovely mild, almost sweet flavour and looks really pretty to boot! Pair it with the zingy and creamy cashew sauce and you have a simple lunch or a beautiful side dish. Roast Purple Kale with Lime Cashew Sauce

In America a 'Pot Luck' is defined as 'a meal or party where each guest contributes a dish '. Here in the UK it is more likely interpreted as ' taking your chance that whatever is available will be good or acceptable '. Funnily, in this situation, both applied! For the Christmas party of the parents in my daughter's class we were all tasked with bringing a dish. This alleviated the worry of identifying at least one safe food choice but at the same time raised a whole new concern about foisting my own dietary inaneness on others and potentially eliciting criticism and ridicule. Raaw Blueberry 'Cheese' Cake

What to do when cake craving strikes but the internal tug of war between the inner clean-eating angel and wayward sugar fiend is in the midst of a civil war without end in sight? Step forward these no-bake cake balls. Raw Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake Balls