One of the things I miss most about living in London is all the different food and cuisines that are readily available all around you! My favourite by far was all the middle eastern goodness like falafel, hummus, fatoush, the list goes on and on. And high up on that list is definitely baba ganoush. Baba ganoush is a healthy, creamy, garlicky dip made primarily of roasted aubergines (or eggplants depending on where in the world you are :) ). You can whisk this up in no time and keep it in a closed container in the fridge for about a week.

Here's what you'll need:

Preheat your oven to 225°C.

Cut your aubergines in half lengthwise and score them in a crisscross pattern. Brush the scored side with olive oil and sprinkle some sea salt on top. Place them on a lined baking tray with the cut side facing down. Bake in the oven for about 25 - 30 minutes. The inside of your aubergines should be really soft and the cut sides should have browned a bit.

Leave the aubergines to cool before scraping out the "flesh", then add it into a sieve to get rid of any excess water. In a big bowl add the drained aubergines as well as the finely minced garlic (you can also use a garlic press but mine hates me so I avoid it.. :) ). Mix together with the lemon juice, tahini, salt and cumin and blend it roughly. Add to your serving bowl before sprinkling with chopped parsley as well as some smoked paprika powder and a drizzle of olive oil. And there you go! Your baba ganoush is ready to be devoured!

I'm currently obsessed with these little Vinschgauer beads - they're basically little rye and wheat sourdough flatbreads and I loooove them. So I enjoy dipping these, but baba ganoush is also delicious with veggies, falafels, pita bread or even (vegan) meats at a barbeque (I really keep going on about barbeques don't I? Oh well, it's summer so everything has to be bbq appropriate :) ). 

Making this ALMOST makes me feel like I'm back at my favourite Lebanese restaurant Meza in Tooting Bec who you should definitely check out if you're in the area! I urge you to give this recipe a go, you'll thank me later :) If you recreate this, let me know in the comments below and tag me in your pictures :)

So over here in Germany the temperatures have finally hit the 30°C mark and summer has well and truly arrived! So we need all the hydration and refreshments we can get. This recipe is perfect for this! Made with butterfly pea tea which is made from blue flowers commonly found in South East Asia and a staple in Ayurvedic medicine for stress relief as well as boosting the immune system. The plant contains antioxidants that are said to help with skin issues as well as anti ageing. I'm obviously no nutritionist so please do your research if you wanna find out more about this :)

Butterfly pea tea has a very subtle, earthy taste and a vibrant deep blue colour. It reacts with different ph-levels and changes colour accordingly. Add in acids and it turns a bright purple, mix it with hibiscus tea and it turns a glowing pink. You can easily make different looking versions of this simply by reducing or increasing the amount of acids etc. you add. Definitely an eyecatcher at your summer parties :)

Heat up your water but be careful not to boil it. You want it to be hot but not boiling. Try heating it up to 80°C. Pour over your flowers and leave your tea to infuse for about 5 - 8 minutes. After that, strain your tea making sure you press out all the colour from the flowers with the back of a spoon. You should have a very blue mug of tea now :) Sweeten the tea with the sugar. Remember we are trying to make lemonade here so some sugar is needed but we're keeping it pretty light still. If you want, you can use honey or agave syrup to replace the sugar.

Leave your tea to cool down.

Once your tea has cooled. Mix it with the juice of one lemon and watch it gradually change its colour from blue to purple. 

Add ice to your serving glasses. Pour your tea and lemon mixture into your serving glasses and top both with mineral water. Add more ice and decorate with lemon slices, berries and rosemary.

And there we go! Two beautiful big glasses of purple lemonade full of natural ingredients, super refreshing and not as sweet as store bought lemonades! I hope you give this a go this summer. Let me know in the comments what you think and tag me in your creations on instagram @jessinretrospect :)

Today, I'm sharing with you a quick and easy recipe for focaccia. This Italian bread is perfect for your next BBQ, picnic or as a little snack enjoyed with some olive oil. You can really go wild with the toppings here but I thought I'd show you two of my favourites today. If you want to keep it more simple, just sprinkle your breads with rosemary and sea salt et voilà. Let's get baking :)

You'll need:

In a glas or small bowl, crumble the yeast cube into about 4 - 5 tbsp of water, add the sugar and combine well. Set aside for it to do its thing for about 10 minutes.

In a big mixing bowl, mix together the flour, salt, olive oil and the rest of the water. Then add your yeast mixture and knead the ingredients to a ball of dough. Cover your dough with a towel and leave to rise in a warm location for at least an hour.

Preheat your oven to 225°C.

Your dough should now have risen to about twice its original size. Divide it into four parts and gently stretch the dough into little flatbreads, using your hands. Add your breads to a lined baking tray and cover them with the towel once more, to let them rise for another 20 minutes. After the second rise. using the back of a cooking spoon, make little wells in your focaccia breads, before brushing them with olive oil.

For the garlic & rosemary version, peel some garlic cloves and chop them in half lengthwise. Pick some leaves off your rosemary sprigs, then decorate your breads with both, gently pressing the cloves and leaves into the dough.

For the tomato and pine nut version, chop some cherry tomatoes an press them into your focaccias. Sprinkle some pince nuts on top.

Sprinkle some coarse sea salt on top of all the breads before baking them in the oven for about 20 - 25 minutes. Once they come out of the oven, give them another little brush of olive oil and leave them to cool before serving.

Don't they look soooo delicious?! And they taste it too if I do say so myself :) They definitely turned out super fluffy and were a big hit with everyone! I hope you give this recipe a go. Let me know if you do and tag me on instagram if you share you creations there :)

Lots of Love,
Jess xx

If you're looking for a sweet treat for your next picnic with friends or family, look no further! These tiny little apple pies are perfect to enjoy as a picnic treat or a sweet dessert served with some vanilla ice cream. They are easy to make and this recipe uses only plant based ingredients so everyone can enjoy them :)

Here's what you'll need:

In a big mixing bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Using your hands, add in the margarine as well as the cold water bit by bit until your ingredients start to form a dough.

Form a ball out of the dough and wrap it in clingfilm. It will need to rest in the fridge for about an hour.

Meanwhile, peel and chop the apples into small chunks. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, corn starch and lemon juice to them and mix thoroughly. Put aside.

Preheat your oven to 200°C.

Roll out 2/3 of the dough on a floured surface and cut circes out of it. They should be big enough to form a sort of cup when put into a muffin tray. You need 12 of those. Once your dough circles have been added to the muffin tray, spoon the apple & cinnamon filling into it, filling it about two thirds of the way up.

Roll out the rest of the dough and cut it into strips to form a grid on top of your pies. This is optional of course and if you fancy making other shapes to top them you're more than welcome! 

Your pies will need to bake in the oven for about 20 -30 minutes. Keep an eye on them while they're in there :) Leave them to cool in the tray before removing and serving. 

There you go. Mini apple pies that look, smell AND taste amazing. :)

What's your favourite picnic food? Which recipes can you not live without when it comes to having friends over for a summer dinner outdoors? Leave me a comment and let me know :)