This was truly decadent, and while I don’t usually go to the trouble of finding a recipe that omits all of these things, a special dinner party led me to try this. High risk, but it was creamy, held together, and the chocolate and Baileys gave it that extra lush flavour. We teamed it with whipped cream and poached plums. Lucky no one was dairy-free.

Ingredients:

Base - 300 grams of ginger biscuits [mine were GF and egg-free] - blend and then pour in 80 mls of The Avo Keeper avocado oil. Depending on your tin, you may not need all of the base, so use your own discretion. Pack it down hard, though. It also seems like it will not hold together, but once baked for 10 mins and cooled it does.

Filling:

250 grams of cream cheese - best at room temperature and whipped using a mixer with 120 grams of sugar

500 grams of Ricotta

100 grams greek yogurt

125 ml Baileys

120 grams of good-quality chocolate, melted over a double boiler, add only when cooled slightly.

Once this is mixed together, fold in 3 Tbsp cornflour

Pour into a lined round cake tin [about 20-25 cm], and over the cooked / cooled base. Heat the oven initially to 200 degrees Celsius then reduce to 110. Bake for 45 mins. My one did not seem cooked enough, but once cooled and chilled in the fridge, it was perfect.

The banana replaces much of the sugar and you really can’t taste it - the cocoa is lovely with the walnuts and it is light and moist. A beautiful loaf to serve with a cup of coffee.

2 mashed bananas

2 eggs [blend well with bananas and add the sugar]

110 grams of The Avo Keeper oil

½ cup of sugar

2 Tbsp honey

1 cup of bran

1 cup flour

1 Tbsp milk heated and add 1 Tsp of baking soda, stir well

1 tsp of baking powder

Pour into a lined loaf tin and bake for 35-45 mins, until the scewer comes out clean. [by my photos, you can see it was taken out just a tad too quickly - oh dear]

This is a combo of two Ottolenghi-inspired recipes, but in true fashion, I altered it and it worked!
One was a red pepper infused with ginger recipe and the other aubergines infused with szechuan - but because I didn’t have enough of one ingredient to fit the size of the group I was feeding, I combind them both - and they went so well with the venison.

Credit the concepts to @Ottolenghi

This can work for desert or breakfast - it’s got a good amount of fibre and the delicous spices can be altered to your liking, as can the fruit - basically whatever is in season or frozen from the season when you couldn’t get through them all, if you are anything like us

There is a mixed reaction with broccoli, some love it some try to love it for its health benefits.

Did you know Broccoli contains cancer prevention and detox support, thanks to sulforaphane

1 x broccoli head, lightly steamed
50 grams of parmesan
1/4 cup of The Avo Keeper cold-pressed avocado oil
1/2 bulb garlic
1/2 cup basil
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
salt
Blend and serve or store in a jar for up to 2 weeks. Top with more oil to keep the air out.

There’s something deeply special about creating something from scratch for someone you love — especially your mum. This Mother’s Day, instead of defaulting to flowers or chocolates, why not gift a jar of beautiful, homemade muesli? It’s delicious, nourishing, and a true act of care — something she can enjoy over several slow breakfasts or even as a crunchy snack with tea.

Barulho cafe, divine [dairy-free] chocolate mousse… using The Avo Keeper avocado oil

This chocolate mousse provided by Barulho and the amazing Sarah Ginella is a delightful and nutrient-dense treat. Its primary ingredients include avocado oil, eggs, and 70% dark chocolate. What's even more impressive is that it tastes amazing. Let's take a closer look at these ingredients:

Dairy isn't bad, but it's getting expensive. This recipe offers an alternative option that's rich in monounsaturated fats - the good fats.

They are chewy and delicious, just like any of the best chocolate chips you might have tried - I can contest that, as we have a bit of a competition going on with my daughter. She’s not willing to admit they were that good, but they all went quickly;

A kind of salsa, a kind of chilli sauce for spooning onto everything. But definitely not your everyday salsa