PEANUT TOFU SALAD

In the last month or so we've managed to get the baby into a predictable nap routine, which means time to actually make and enjoy breakfast and lunch every day. Food styling and getting my big camera out aren't really a possibility/priority, but I'm so happy to have the time to indulge my cravings and not just rely on toast and tea.

BAKE-IN-THE-BOX BANANA CAKE

Dr. Oetker got in touch just before I stopped working to ask if I'd like to try their new range of Bake In Box cakes. A cake mix is something I would always steer clear of, as I just don't think they taste as good as the real thing made with fresh eggs and butter, but who am I to say no to free cake? And, considering I'm going to be quite short of time in the near future, the appeal of a cake mix that requires next to no washing up is riding high at the moment.

MEXICAN SCRAMBLE

I'm a big fan of quick and easy recipes and leftovers often make their way into an off-the-cuff version of eggs for breakfast. A few scraps that aren't much use for anything else suddenly become a whole meal when you look at them in a different light! These Mexican-ish eggs are actually a 'third generation' meal; Darren made spaghetti bolognese at the weekend, I took leftovers for lunch on Monday, on Tuesday we added spices, made a quick tomato salad, shredded lettuce and grated cheese for quick burrito bowls and voila, Thursday morning I made this out of what was left of the burrito bowl accompaniments. Hardly a recipe, but hope it inspires you to add a little something different to your usual breakfast.

3-A-DAY PREGNANCY SMOOTHIES

Thanks to bad organisation on my part and a slightly up-in-the-air living situation, I had a horrible diet during my first trimester. My usual healthy dinners and money-saving leftovers lunches fell by the wayside while I stayed part of the week with my parents - who were looking after our dog while Darren re-decorated our flat to put it on the market - and I lost all interest in food.

CORONATION CAULIFLOWER

Cauliflower is one of my favourite vegetables, but we usually have it smothered in cheese, so it was nice to experiment with it in a lighter, fresher guise for summer. This curried cauliflower recipe is a riff on coronation chicken - it's lightly spiced with curry powder, but for me its the sultanas and coriander that bring this dish to life. I stirred in a little yoghurt, but this vegetarian recipe could easily be made vegan by leaving it out. We hoovered it up with cous cous for a simple supper, but it would also make a tasty barbecue side dish or addition to a mezze platter.

APPLE, LEMONGRASS + MINT MOCKTAILS

There are a lot more of these non-alcoholic babies on the horizon because...I'm pregnant! When this post goes live I'll be about 18 weeks along, so nearly halfway through. The last month we have slowly been telling family and friends, but it's felt weird not mentioning it online; not that I have been wanting to do a big 'reveal' - actually the whole idea of it makes me quite shy! - but there have been a few times on Twitter where I've wanted to be like, 'sorry, what happens when the baby is a week old!!?' etc. and not been able to join in.

SPAGHETTI ALLE VONGOLE

When everyone's out, I like to make something special just for me - especially if it's something Darren doesn't really like. It's never anything complicated, sometimes just a plate of random things I've been craving that don't really go together! Having it feel like a bit of an occasion, making a looked-forward to dinner and catching up on my favourite TV shows (have really enjoyed The Replacement, Line of Duty, Girls and The Crown recently) means I really value those solo nights in!

FENNEL SAUSAGE FLATBREAD PIZZAS

Nearly a year ago (!), my brilliant pal - and super wedding photographer - Jo popped round for a morning of making and baking. I made apple crumble sundaes and flatbread pizzas and Jo took some lovely photos for me to use on my blog; I posted the pesto breakfast pizza version of this recipe last year and after having a hankering for these fennel sausage ones, realised I hadn't posted this recipe and its accompanying batch of photos. 

NEW YORK-STYLE VALENTINE'S COOKIES

I spent four years living in New York when I was very small and ever since, white chocolate chip cookies have remained one of my mum's favourite things. This recipe comes from Molly O'Neill's The New York Cookbook, a hefty tome that has recipes from all over the city which, of course, means there are dishes to cook from all over the world. My mum has annotated recipes with things like YES!! and DOUBLE IT! in the margins, which makes it even more fun to flip through.

A note before I share the recipe, these cookies are slim and crisp - they stay deliciously chewy in the centre but they're definitely not chunky, melty cookies; the book says "these are easy to make and absolutely delicious. They develop a butterscotch flavour as they bake and are extremely fragile." So there you go!

AROUND THE WORLD W/ TEATOURIST

Teatourist is a brand that combines two of my favourite gifting philosophies: consumables and 'gifts that keep on giving'. Lately, I want to receive gifts that don't take up too much space in our already-cluttered home. But I also like receiving gifts that take me by surprise, which is where monthly subscriptions come in. I've already written about how I sent my brother a different book every month for six months and, in turn, he gifted me an art subscription where I receive an original print through my letterbox every month!

RECIPES FOR ENTERTAINING

I'm a bit gutted that I haven't managed to blog anything Christmas-y this year - these Christmas posts from blog years past are some of my favourite! I've worked with an interiors brand called Fishpools before on an inspiration post, and this season they're all about entertaining - having a big table and enough chairs to feed even a handful of friends can be a challenge; that's why I thought I would round up a few recipes for having friends over - recipes for finger food, when you can't get everyone squashed around the table and recipes for warming winter meals, when you're crammed elbow-to-elbow and bowl food is your best bet! p.s. here's hoping for this big dining table and a kitchen to fit it in from Father Christmas this year!

SUSHI MAKING IN TOKYO

Posting a little out of order here, but I wanted to squeeze in a little food post as it's been a while! Hands down the best thing we did on our 'second honeymoon' in Tokyo was go to a sushi making class. My friend's boyfriend booked the four of us into a class at the Tokyo Sushi Academy in Tsukiji and the school's close proximity to Tokyo's fish market (seeing this was the second best thing to happen that day) meant we had our pick of some of the world's freshest fish!

CHICKEN SATAY BURGERS

WEEKEND IN RYE

Call me selfish, but when Darren's birthday arrives in the middle of summer, I usually book us a night away somewhere as it's something we can both enjoy. With the dog in tow, I booked a night in Rye, a tiny market on the south coast of England. We totally lucked out on the weather, which was perfect as we'd planned to take Baki to Camber Sands, a 10 minute drive away.

Rye is tiny and absolutely charming. We stayed at The Standard Inn in the middle of the Old Town and, although I gave it a slightly unfavourable TripAdvisor review (due to it being too hot, too noisy and absolutely tiny - not great value for money), it was a lovely place to spend a night. We'll just bring a fan next time!

We spent an hour or so walking around the town - in the centre there is a small strip of antique shops which are mostly overpriced, but we couldn't resist a pair of large pink and yellow teapots at £10 a pop. We spent the evening dipping in and out of different pubs and had our dinner at The Standard, who offer a bit more than your standard pub grub; I had delicious scallops with a gratinated garlic and herb crumb and Darren had the most amazing chicken pie I've ever tasted, packed full of fresh chicken. A mini break breakfast is always something I look forward to and The Standard didn't disappoint with a really great full English, yoghurt and Dorset Cereals - just a shame we had to take breakfast in shifts as the dog was a bit restless and irked at having to watch us eat. Note to self: hotel may be dog-friendly, but bringing a dog isn't always hotel-friendly! I think we will wait until he is a bit older before trying that again.

GARLIC BUTTER PASTA

While not groundbreaking, I have sincerely been eating this on regular rotation in recent weeks and in the spirit of sharing the (carb)load, I thought this easy recipe was worth a bit of time in the blog limelight. When I was in kindergarten I had a Swedish Vietnamese friend who's mum made spaghetti with butter and yes, it is as delicious as it sounds. This version is slightly more sophisticated, but it's the addition of a splash of pasta water that gives it silky smooth, restaurant-quality appeal. Plus, cooking time is just however long you like to cook your pasta!

Originally we were making this a few nights a ewek as we couldn't let Baki out of our sight for more than a few seconds for fear of a wee on the carpet or a dalliance on the sofa, and it was the easiest thing to whip up in a squeeze - plus, when your dog wakes you up at 5am, it's pretty hard to think of an exciting meal to make come 7pm. However, now we've found that he loves to watch us cook and will sit nicely for up to 40 minutes, willing any scraps to fall from the chopping board, so hopefully that means more recipes in Sprunting!'s future.

Serves one
At least 75g spaghetti
1tbsp butter
1tbsp olive oil
1 - 2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced or minced
Coarse sea salt
Freshly ground pepper

Bring a pot of water to the boil with a big pinch of salt and add the spaghetti. Cook until al dente or to your liking - usually less than 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a frying pan on a very low heat and add the garlic. Stir occasionally and don't allow the garlic to burn, or it will get bitter. Just before draining the pasta, remove a small amount of the cooking water using a mug - about 50ml is enough for one person - and add this to the pan with the garlic. Drain the pasta, stir through the butter and add to the frying pan. The water should have mostly evaporated/soaked into the pasta. Serve immediately with a generous helping of sea salt and ground pepper - parmesan cheese is a nice addition, but I prefer mine without.

APPLE CRUMBLE SUNDAES

These apple crumble sundaes are the second recipe that I shot with Jo (the first was these pesto breakfast pizzas!) and I love the way the photos turned out.

This recipe is inspired by an apple pie sundae I had at Soho House and I knew these pretty glasses from H&M Home would be perfect for the decadent layers of vanilla ice cream, spiced apples and crumbly, crunchy topping - which is taken from this recipe.

For the crumble
110g plain flour
A pinch of fine sea salt
100g cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes
75g granulated or demerara sugar
50g medium oatmeal, ground almonds or porridge oats

For the apples
5 - 6 medium-sized apples - I used Braeburn
1tsp ground cinnamon
1tsp ground nutmeg
50g butter
Half a lemon
1tbsp honey
1tbsp demerara sugar

Vanilla ice cream to serve

For the crumble, which you can make ahead, preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Put all the ingredients in a large bowl and rub together with your fingertips until you have a crumbly dough. Squeeze the mixture to form clumps, then crumble on to a large baking tray and spread evenly. Bake for 25 minutes, stirring halfway, until golden and crisp. Cool and keep in an airtight container until ready to use.

Meanwhile, peel and core the apples and cut them into quarters or sixths. Arrange in a baking tray and sprinkle over the ingredients so that the apples are evenly coated. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, or until apples are soft to your liking.

To serve, simply layer the ice cream, apples and crumble topping and enjoy straight away. The topping will keep in an airtight container for a week or so and is delicious sprinkled over yoghurt and fruit. 

PESTO BREAKFAST PIZZAS

My lovely friend Jo (who's shooting our wedding!) came over a few weeks ago for a cooking and photographing day; I can't tell you how nice it was to have someone snapping along while I cooked, so I didn't have to stop to take pictures. And of course the photos are gorgeous! Scroll to the bottom - it's hard to choose between pictures when they're all awesome - for the recipe and some tips on how to get the perfect runny yolk.

Ingredients for 2
2 flatbread pizza bases (recipe here)
A few tablespoons pesto (the homemade stuff is best - recipe here)
100g smoked lardons
2 eggs

Pre-heat the grill.

Make the bases using my flatbread recipe linked above. Make the pesto - also linked above. Fry the lardons until crisp. Separate the yolk and white of each egg - it's easiest to do this using a small bowl or ramekin to put the white into, and leave the yolk in one half of the shell, keeping it upright in an egg cup. Spread a tablespoon of pesto over the base and sprinkle half of the lardons over it. Pour the egg white onto the pizza and pop under the grill for a few minutes, until the white is nearly set. Take the pizzas out of the oven and pour the yolk into the centre of the whites - return to the grill for a few more minutes until the yolk is set to your liking.

This may seem like a bit of a faff, but after a little experimentation, I found that this is the best way to make sure the yolk stays runny, which is VITAL (in my humble opinion). One recipe I'd seen suggested baking the pizza (with both white and yolk added at the same time) - but the result was a strangely marbled, hardened yolk and a barely-cooked white, which you can see in my instagram snap here; still tasty though!

Thanks for the photos, Jo! Please can you come be my live-in photographer?

FINDING CONFIDENCE IN YOUR COOKING

Cooking for other people can be a daunting prospect. For many people, food is their love language and cooking for friends and family is such an intrinsic part of who they are. For me, that natural confidence is often missing; having people over for dinner makes me anxious. What should I cook? Will they like it? What if they don't!? I love to cook and I'm sure the fact that I've cooked on telly for one of Britain's most famous chefs should point to the fact that I'm confident about my cooking, but the truth of the matter is - far from it! 

Of course, there are compliments from friends, but most dinner guests (at least, the ones I like to have around my table!) are mostly likely to tell you it's delicious, even if it's only moderately so. Sometimes I have quite weird tastes...I love certain things together that shouldn't go together and I'm indiscriminate in my love of hotdog frankfurters and cheap greasy spoon sausages. Sorry, not sorry! So for that reason, it can be hard to tell if something I've made is good...or I just think it is! Having an honest boyfriend (whom I cook for most nights) definitely solves some of the mystery, but he can be brutally honest - for example, he didn't like the Vietnamese salad dish I made on Humble Pie!

I'm currently re-reading Cooking For Mr Latte, in which she makes the case for a signature menu. Like me, the author loves cooking; so much so, that she rarely cooks the same dish more than a few times, choosing to flit between newly-discovered techniques and ingredients. But, she notes, hosting a dinner party sends her into a spiral of panic, whereas having a tried-and-tested set of dishes ready to go takes the anxiety out of preparing food for others and leaves you open for being a relaxed, attentive host. I think that will have to be my next project – starting with making the perfect meatballs: I always come back to this article, about how having people over doesn’t need to be a ‘special occasion’ where you put on your best show. Really, it’s just about bringing people together. Amen!

So I'm curious; what gives you confidence in your cooking? Does cooking come naturally to you? Do you have a signature dish that does the job for dinner parties, leaving you free to be the perfect host? Any kitchen disasters that knocked your confidence? 

Recipes from top to bottom: Mini lemon and blackberry cakes, Breakfast burritos w/ homemade tortillas, Double-wrapped spring rolls (as part of this dish), Bombay omelette inspired by Dishoom, Chipotle macaroni cheese, Homemade furikake rice bowls, Courgetti and halloumi.