Pepitas:

Tahini:

Prunes:

Barley:

Turmeric:

Do you use any of these ingredients?

• Another lovely fish recipe from Martha Rose Shulman over at the New York Times. White fleshed fish is cooked with a spicy and zesty North African sauce called Chermoula. Serve this with lemon wedges, a big green salad and a small baked potato.
   
• I love this idea for Porridge Pancakes from Appl es Under My Bed. The pancake batter is made from rye flour, oats and chia seeds, flavoured with ground cinnamon. These pancakes are cooked and served with grilled figs and yoghurt. A delicious sounding weekend breakfast.
   
• Interesting and thoughtful piece on paleo eating, food paranoia and fringe diets from Hunt, Gather, Love. It's quite long and one person's experience, but still worth a read.
   
• Gorgeous post from Fuschia Dunlop on food and simplicity: "The picture...is of my lunch yesterday, at home: pao fan (‘soaked’ or soupy rice) made from leftovers of brown rice with broccoli, with added green pak choy, and some spicy fermented tofu... It was just what I felt like after a few days of rather gluttonous eating over Easter: plain, cheap, healthy and nutritious but also rather nice."
   
• Green Kitchen Stories have made Braised Fennel with Saffron and Tomato and it looks delicious. They've added some zucchini and served it with brown rice. A lovely way to cook fennel.
   
• These Ricotta Stuffed Figs with Orange Syrup from Where's the Beef caught my eye. Figs are in season at the moment and this is an absolutely delicious sounding dessert.

What have you spotted on the Internet this week?

Smoothies can be a healthy meal, that works as a nutritious breakfast, snack or post-exercise boost. However they can also be a nutritional disaster. One of my local juice bars sells smoothies which sound healthy but on closer inspection are super-sized cups chockablock full of kilojoules, sugar and even sodium - not such a healthy breakfast.

Making smoothies at home is the best way to ensure your smoothie is a healthy meal, as you'll know exactly how it's made. While it takes a little more effort, I'd suggest the effort is worth it.

I use a stick blender for making a smoothie, simply because it's less hassle than getting the full food processor and blender out the cupboard. Plus it's easier to wash up afterwards, especially as I make my smoothies in the same cup I drink from.

• Use a low fat milk or yoghurt as the base
   
• Use real fruit, instead of fruit juice
   
• Try to be restrained with sweeteners like honey, use 1 – 2 teaspoons rather than tablespoons
   
• Add a healthy boost by including some flax or chia seeds
   
• If you want to make your smoothie more filling try blending in some rolled oats or walnuts

• I saw this pie from Martha Rose Shulman today and can't get it out of my head. It's a Middle Eastern-ish galette style pie, filled with chickpeas, onions and spinach. Delicious.
   
• I can never resist a beetroot recipe, particularly not one which looks this good - Beetroot, Orange and Black Olive Salad. The original recipe is by UK chef Yotam Ottolenghi and it contains a wonderful sounding combination of ingredients.
   
• With the first new season pears about to arrive in my local shops, I have my eye on this delicious sounding Pear and Vanilla Sorbet. If only I had an ice cream maker!
   
• I also love the look of these Spiced Chickpea Balls from Nigel Slater. They are kind of like falafels, but with more texture and a different spice combination.
   

What recipes have you noticed recently?