I cannot believe I am already sharing summer recipes here. Wasn't it winter time not that long ago? Did the lockdown also make us skip Spring altogether?
As much as the first month of lockdown went really slow, the rest happened in a flash. 
We had completed on our very first house right before the lockdown and had not been able to get some much needed work done or even move there (because damp proofing would have required us to stay away for a while). And suddenly, work is being done and we are already packing our boxes for the big move (which we will do by ourselves because of social distancing).

I have been eating a lot more homemade baked goods lately. I think I can call this the lockdown effect.
There were the chocolate chip and sea salt cookies, the banana bread (just like everybody else), more cookies, amazing cinnamon rolls with mascarpone cheese icing (E. baked them and I created the icing), financiers made with buckwheat, almond, ginger and honey, buckwheat chocolate mini muffins (both financiers and mini muffins made by E. too), New York bagels, a marvellous lemon cake from a french radio program (thanks to my lovely cousin C. for sharing it) and then, there was the delicious baked ricotta cheesecake. So good that I am sharing the recipe here today (if you don't mind a small story before scrolling down to the recipe). 

Welcome to a very original blog post where I am going to share with you a very unique and original recipe: banana bread.
Ha! Yes, yes, this is a joke, obviously. But I am not joking about the part where I am sharing a recipe for it. This banana bread is also made with delicious dates and roasted hazelnuts. 
I made this recipe before going on holidays (staycation) and since then, a flurry of more banana bread recipes have shown up on the internet.
​There are plenty of other delicious recipes on this blog. If you like one but don't have all the ingredients at home right now, reach out in the comments and I can try and help you with ideas for swapping to something else.

I recently posted a photo of my delicious chocolate chip and sea salt cookies on instagram and almost immediately got quite a few comments asking me for the recipe. So, here it is!

For our first weekend away this year, we decided to explore a bit more of Northern Ireland. 
We moved to Belfast less than a year ago but apart from discovering this beautiful city, we have not taken many trips around Northern Ireland yet (we did visit the Causeway coast nearly 5 years ago but that’s about it).

We had both our birthdays to celebrate and since we aim for non material gifts, we decided to go and visit Derry/Londonderry over a short weekend for the occasion.

​How have I been sharing recipes here for more than seven years and never once made one with celeriac?
Well, this delicious celeriac and hazelnut soup should be the first to make it here anyway.

I truly enjoy this wonderful root vegetable packed with nutty flavours. If it is anywhere on the menu when I eat at restaurants or cafés, I am almost certain to order it. I know that if you look at it in its raw and unpeeled form, it does not look especially appealing but it is worth trying a few recipes with it, including this soup.