Gözleme with cheese and sausage

Gözleme is a traditional savoury Turkish pastry with various fillings, mostly including cheese. The name is given by the brown spots that form during cooking and resemble eyes (göz = eye). Authentic gözleme is made from handmade unleavened dough that is rolled out into a thin sheet, filled and folded either in half or as an envelope and grilled until golden and spotted.

Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and Cheese used to be one of my favourite comfort foods a few years ago. One small box with all the ingredients inside and just a few minutes to prepare saved me many times. But I never got myself to make it from scratch, until yesterday. A couple of days ago I accidentally came across Kait's recipe for Baked Vegan Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese. It would never have crossed my mind to use butternut squash as the base for this dish and the thought of it was very intriguing. I had this squash in the pantry for a couple of weeks and didn't know what to make with it. The whole idea sounded perfect for a New Year's Eve dinner.

Fettuccine Diablo

Tyler Florence has been one of my favourite chefs for many years. His energy and passion for cooking are contagious and inspiring. I love that he keeps things simple and shares great tips that can really make the difference between "good" and "fabulous". This recipe for fettuccine with spicy tomato sauce is the ultimate comfort food. Tyler takes a basic tomato sauce and gives it a delicious Mediterranean twist by adding olives and chilis. Olives infuse this garlic-basil sauce with their rich, deep, salty aroma and chilis add some heat to it (hence the name "diablo" = devil). I became so fond of Kalamata olives after making this recipe. These large, deep purple, fleshy olives impart their tangy, fruity flavour to this dish and the vibrant purple colour makes it all the more appetizing. Watch first-hand how Tyler Florence prepares this mouthwatering Italian recipe and pay attention to his tips.

Black Bean Quesadillas

Quesadillas are famous Mexican appetizers or snacks (the name comes from the Spanish queso, which means cheese). A flour or corn tortilla is stuffed with a cheese filling, folded in half and grilled or fried until the cheese has melted. To save time, I prefer to use two tortillas to make a large quesadilla and then cut it in six pieces.

Quesadillas are usually served with guacamole and sour cream (Elaina Love has a fabulous recipe for raw vegan sour cream). They are very easy to make and you can add anything you like, vegetables, beans, vegan sausages, tomato salsa, herbs, spices etc. It is also a great way to use up leftovers. As long as you add cheese, any combination you make will turn out delicious :)

Banana Walnut Muffins

Certain foods I like turn into temporary obsessions; I crave and eat them often until I just can't have any more, then I go for long periods of time without them. The same thing happened with these banana muffins. They are delightfully aromatic and fluffy when warm and I couldn't possibly have them without walnuts. The muffins are equally delicious eaten cold, they're even crunchier this way, and keep well for a couple of days in an airtight container.