Izy Hossack

If you’re looking for a quick, cheap lunch and want new ways to fancy-up canned tuna, this recipe is for you! Tuna is tossed with an orange-ginger dressing, creamy avocado and served with rice and vegetables. It’s a simple yet satisfying budget recipe that makes for a great lunch. When I look at a can of tuna, it saddens me that such a convenient and tasty (in my opinion!) food is just so…unattractive, especially when compared to fresh tuna steak.

Chocolate chip cookies are like a hug in food form. It’s not hard to see why they’re one of the most popular types of cookies, with melting pockets of chocolate encased in buttery vanilla dough. Although they come in many forms — thin, crispy, cakey, dense — I have to say my favorite is chewy with a crisp edge and some toasted nuts (in this case, almonds) mixed in for an extra crunch.

What do you do when there are no eggs in the house but you really, really want pancakes? Make these egg-free (and dairy-free) pancakes, of course! With oats providing protein and fiber, and coconut yogurt bringing in some healthy fats and flavor, these pancakes are filling, fluffy, and a breeze to make.

Ditch the pre-made, frozen veggie burgers in favor of these smoky, spicy homemade ones — you won’t regret it. They’re a snap to make (even if you don’t have a food processor) and are absolutely packed with flavor. I’ve never been a meat fiend,so regular burgers just don’t provoke that much excitement from me. But since I started making bean burgers at university,they’ve become a staple.

Asparagus is definitely one of my favorite summer-time vegetables. It has such a fresh, clean flavor and it’s super easy to prepare. Usually I just eat it steamed with some salted butter or lemon juice as a side dish, but cooking it in a simple broth makes for a light and quick summer lunch. Asparagus and eggs are also a killer combo so it’s not surprising that adding cubes of frittata, generously flavored with thyme and black pepper, is a good idea when it comes to this soup.

Once the summer glut of zucchini arrives, it’s easy to get tired of eating them. The good thing is that they have a mild, sweet flavor that works well with a lot of other ingredients and cuisines. Here I’ve given a basic dish of sautéed zucchini a bit of a twist with the addition of smoky chorizo and hits of fresh lime and cilantro. This dish is great for lazy summertime cooking — the only kind of cooking I ever feel like come July.

We love a good muffin for its simplicity. In fact, a good muffin should deliver far more than the effort you put into it, and these oat- and raisin-studded carrot muffins can claim that fame. This batter has applesauce and grated carrots for moisture, spices for flavor, and raisins for pops of sweetness (although if you’re a raisin-hater, chopped dates are a delicious substitute).

If there’s one seasonal food I get excited about in the spring, it’s hot cross buns. I’m not searching the supermarkets for chocolate eggs come April, no no — I’m looking for these carb-y delights. They’re slightly sweet, soft and scented with warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. Exactly what I crave during these sporadically rainy days in the UK.

This week we’re celebrating Kitchn contributor Izy Hossack’s new cookbook Top with Cinnamon! Today, we share a favorite recipe from the book. – Editor Surprisingly it took me a while to find out about cinnamon rolls, I don’t think I knew about them until I was 14. Seriously, that is a shocking amount of time for someone who adores cinnamon as much as I do.

Prepare for this to be devoured immediately.

After trying a pot of super creamy, slightly tangy coconut yogurt from the supermarket, I started to wonder how it was made — and if I could make it myself. A bit of research and experimentation later, I discovered it’s not hard at all! As soon as you’ve gathered a few supplies, you’ll be well on your way to making (and falling in love with) this delicious dairy-free yogurt.

I’ve always been a huge fan of oatmeal raisin cookies. I’m enamored by the chewy texture the oats lend each bite and the fact that they’re a bit more substantial than just eating a regular cookie. In an attempt to make them even more delicious and healthy, I took my regular oatmeal cookie recipe and switched up some of the ingredients — nut butter in place of regular butter, honey instead of sugar, and a natural-style muesli mix for the oats and raisins.

Having a rhubarb plant has its advantages: you get great-quality rhubarb, for free, for the first few months of spring. And you get a lot of it. But it can get a bit boring only using it for tarts or compote. Every year I try to come up with more interesting ways of cooking with rhubarb to save it from its otherwise inevitable freezer fate. This year, these streusel bars have been my recipe of choice.

Don’t we all crave a filling, warm breakfast on a brisk morning? I know I do. A bowl of plain oatmeal doesn’t always quite satisfy — for the mornings when you need something heartier, you have to try baked oatmeal. Halfway between a cakey treat and a filling porridge, it’s perfect. By far, I prefer this recipe for baked oatmeal over a bowl of regular oatmeal.

If you’re the type of person who likes baking (*cough* … me), you’ll probably agree that winter is the most ideal time to practice your cookie skills. There’s nothing I don’t love about it: standing by a warm oven, cutting out fun shapes, and eating fresh cookies. Plus, if I’m making sandwich cookies, then I frequently get to “taste test” the frosting. It’s also the time when all of those classic holiday flavor pairings are just right to use.

As someone who consumes far too much muesli with yogurt, it’s not surprising that bircher muesli (or “overnight oats,” as it has popularly become known) is also a favorite of mine. Overnight oats are incredibly easy to make ahead of time, and they’re perfect for on-the-go breakfasts. This particular recipe is a fun variation on my usual overnight oats. It takes a bit of extra time to make the crumbly streusel topping but it’s definitely worth it.

The first time I tried out my ice cream maker, it wasn’t to make ice cream — it was to make frozen yogurt. I made the mistake of using a lower-fat variety, so the yogurt was lovely when freshly churned, but turned icy and crystallized once frozen. High-fat yogurt works much better, and I’ve recently discovered that my homemade coconut yogurt is particularly fantastic.

Stovetop granola is one of those things I discovered accidentally while toasting oats with honey on a food-styling assistant job, and I haven’t stopped making it since. I’ve played with the basic recipe to make it a bit more granola-y — adding oil, chopped nuts and seeds, and splash of vanilla. It only takes about 10 minutes to make and is infinitely customizable!

Garlic bread, to me, is the ultimate comfort food; it’s buttery, warm, and chewy. Plus — like most baked goods — homemade is best. Better yet, I use no-knead dough, so this golden, yeasty treat is an easy one to make. Like most people, I ate those super-commercial, store-bought “bake-it-at-home” garlic baguettes when I was younger. I bought one again recently, mostly out of nostalgia, and realized how doughy and sticky it really was.

Grab-and-go breakfasts are pretty much essential if you’re the type of person who likes to spend a few more minutes in bed in the morning. I happen to be one of those people, so simple, filling things like these oatmeal cups are perfect to have around. I love being able to customize what’s in each cup. You can make a plain batter, divvy it up between the muffin cups and then sprinkle on different toppings.

With a luscious ale gravy and a hearty filling of beef and vegetables, it’s no wonder this pie is well-loved by my friends and me. This is comfort food at its finest — a dish that’s easy to assemble and can feed one for days, or a whole crowd for the evening. While eating meat on a student budget can be difficult, pies work wonders at stretching that package of beef into a satisfying meal for six.

When a snack attack hits, reach for these chewy, buttery granola bars. They’re packed with grated apples, warming spices, and toothsome oats – perfect as a lunch-box treat or an on-the-go breakfast. One of the universally appealing things about granola bar recipes is that they’re very simple to make, and these are no exception.

We already know the mighty chickpea to be a versatile legume, transforming itself into everything from creamy hummus to crunchy orbs inspired by Cheetos, but it manages to surprise us with another trick up its sleeve. In this case, it’s a slightly sweet and toasty spread, packed with protein and fiber. While it may sound strange to be spreading a sweet chickpea-based butter onto bread, you’ll be pleased once you try it.

Now here’s a wholesome cake you can feel equally happy about for dessert as you can for breakfast. A fluffy sheet of banana cake is the perfect partner to a mix of crunchy, earthy nuts and seeds. To make this wholesome cake a bit more sweet, we’re finishing it off with a drizzle of bittersweet chocolate. I love the ease of making this cake. Like banana bread, it’s a one-bowl wonder, thanks to the use of oil instead of creamed butter and sugar.