Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Lamb Feta Mint Patties

These lamb feta mint patties are fabulous on their own, in a toasted bun or stacked with grilled eggplant, lettuce and tomato for a sandwich with a twist. 

Food Lust People Love: These lamb feta and mint patties are fabulous on their own, in a toasted bun or stacked with grilled eggplant for a sandwich with a twist.

Half of the year we live in the Channel Islands where ground lamb is readily available. It’s still not cheap but then again neither is beef so sometimes we like a change. Depending on your source, lamb is usually very flavorful and juicy with a higher fat content than beef. 

Although I do make a shepherd’s pie on occasion, I tend to make patties out of lamb mince, as it’s called in the UK, because then you do really get to taste the lamb. In a shepherd’s pie, there’s so much else going on as well. In this case, the addition of feta adds moisture and salt but the lamb still shines through. 

Lamb Feta Mint Patties

This recipe is adapted from one on the delicious. magazine Australia website. They made meatballs to add to a tomato salad but I couldn't stop thinking about patties. It was a good decision!

Ingredients
2 lbs or 900g minced lamb
7oz or 200g Greek feta, crumbled
1/2 cup or 35g fresh breadcrumbs
several sprigs fresh mint
2 garlic cloves, crushed then minced
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon allspice
Freshly ground black pepper
Drizzle olive oil for frying in a non-stick pan

Method
Pick the leaves off of the mint stems and mince them. Discard the stems.

Combine the lamb, feta, bread crumbs, mint leaves, garlic, salt and allspice with a few generous grinds of black pepper in a bowl. 


Divide into 6 portions and form patties. Place on a tray, cover and chill for 20-30 minutes to firm up. (Looks like five but there are indeed six! The front one is a double.)


Heat a drizzle of oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the patties and fry, turning often, for 7-8 minutes or until browned and cooked through.


As you can see, I served these with some pan-fried slices of eggplant, sliced tomato and lettuce in a stack but you could easily tuck a patty in pita bread or a bun. Condiment of your choice but I can highly recommend a little mayo with chives. 

Food Lust People Love: These lamb feta and mint patties are fabulous on their own, in a toasted bun or stacked with grilled eggplant for a sandwich with a twist.

Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 6th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2026, brought to you by the letter F. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the F recipes below.
 


To check out the Alphabet Challenges for 2024 and 2025, click here.


Pin these Lamb Feta Mint Patties!

Food Lust People Love: These lamb feta and mint patties are fabulous on their own, in a toasted bun or stacked with grilled eggplant for a sandwich with a twist.

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Sunday, March 15, 2026

Maple Thyme Hasselback Yams

Slightly sweet yet delightfully savory, these tender maple thyme hasselback yams are a wonderful (and pretty!) side dish for your holiday table.

Food Lust People Love: Slightly sweet yet delightfully savory, these tender maple thyme hasselback yams are a wonderful (and pretty!) side dish for your holiday table.

Everybody makes a big deal of Girl Scout cookie season, and rightfully so, of course. They are delicious and iconic, especially the Thin Mints. But I daresay fewer people are aware of a Scouting America (formerly Boy Scouts) fundraiser that takes place in many councils across the United States. 

I discovered the program a couple of years ago at a neighborhood holiday event where among the vendor booths there was a troop of scouts selling their branded Scout’s Own maple syrup. Apparently, if they live close to maple syrup country, scouts can attend “Sap Camp” to learn about and help with the production of the syrup.

Since I cannot say no to a young person selling something delicious, you know I had to buy a bottle. Scout’s Own maple syrup is lovely, dark, rich and just the perfect amount of sweet. I used it to make these maple thyme hasselback yams. 

Maple Thyme Hasselback Yams

Growing up in the southern United States, we called these orange flesh tubers yams or occasionally, sweet potatoes. You can substitute your favorite sweet potato here. 

Ingredients
3 yams
2 tablespoons olive oil
Fine sea salt
¼ cup or 56g butter
¼ cup or 60ml maple syrup
2 sprigs fresh thyme plus extra for garnish

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Scrub the yams and trim the hard ends and discard. Place a yam in a deep serving spoon and use a sharp knife to cut thin slices in it, just down to the spoon edges. Repeat with the other two yams.


Place the yams in a tight-fitting baking pan and drizzle them with the olive oil, opening the slices to get a little oil inside the yams. Sprinkle with fine sea salt, trying to get some inside the yams as well. 


Bake the yams for 30 minutes in your preheated oven. 

Melt the butter and mix it with the maple syrup, ¼ teaspoon salt and the leaves from the fresh thyme sprigs. 


Spoon the maple butter thyme mixture over the yams, making sure to get it in between the slices, inside the yams. 


Bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the yams are tender and cooked through. Turn off the oven when you take the yams out.


Drain the syrupy butter into a small pot and put the yams back into the turned off oven to stay warm. 


Bring the syrup to a boil over a medium high heat. 


Cook for about five minutes until reduced and thickened. 


Leave to cool for just a couple of minutes then spoon over the yams and garnish with tender sprigs of thyme. Serve immediately. 

Food Lust People Love: Slightly sweet yet delightfully savory, these tender maple thyme hasselback yams are a wonderful (and pretty!) side dish for your holiday table.

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes with maple syrup ahead of Maple Syrup Saturday on March 21st. Many thanks to our host, Camilla from Culinary Cam. Check out the links below!

 
We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.



Pin these Maple Thyme Hasselback Yams!

 Food Lust People Love: Slightly sweet yet delightfully savory, these tender maple thyme hasselback yams are a wonderful (and pretty!) side dish for your holiday table.


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Tuesday, March 10, 2026

Pecan Banana Bread Mini Loaves

These pecan banana bread mini loaves are wonderfully tender, sweet and nutty, perfect for breakfast or snack time. Eat all four or give some away as gifts!

Food Lust People Love: These pecan banana bread mini loaves are wonderfully tender, sweet and nutty, perfect for breakfast or snack time. Eat all four or give some away as gifts!

Sometimes I like to bake precisely to give the baked goods away. It’s a great way to show friends and family that they matter to me and because I love to bake, making gifts allows me to do that without stockpiling. 

That said, these mini loaves freeze beautifully so if you don’t eat them all or give them away, wrap them well in some cling film and pop them in the freezer for another time. 

Pecan Banana Bread Mini Loaves

The foil mini pans I use for these 5 3/4 in x 3 1/4 in x 2 in or 146mm x 82mm x 50mm. They are technically disposable or recyclable but I do wash them well and reuse them. If you don’t have cooking oil spray, you can grease them with oil, using a pastry brush. 

Ingredients
6 tablespoons or 85g butter
1 cup or 200g sugar
2 eggs
2 large ripe bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups or 190g flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup or 60ml sour cream
1 cup or 120g chopped pecans

For decoration: 12 pecan halves

For greasing the pans: canola oil spray 
 
Method
Grease four mini loaf pans (see note above ingredients list) and preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.
 

Beat together the butter and sugar until they are fluffy and light yellow. Add the eggs, bananas, vanilla and salt and beat well until combined. 


Combine the dry ingredients in a sieve and sift them into the butter mixture, alternating with the sour cream, ending with the last of the dry ingredients.


Stir well in between each addition to combine. 


Fold in the chopped pecans.


Pour the batter into your prepared pans and decorate with the pecan halves.


Bake in your preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until the little loaves are golden and a toothpick comes out clean.


Cool completely before slicing to serve. 


As mentioned above, these make great gifts and also freeze well. 
 
Food Lust People Love: These pecan banana bread mini loaves are wonderfully tender, sweet and nutty, perfect for breakfast or snack time. Eat all four or give some away as gifts!

Enjoy!

It’s the second Tuesday of the month so that means it’s time for my Bread Baker friends to share their recipes. Our theme this month is bread with fruit! Many thanks to our host Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen.

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.




Pin these Pecan Banana Bread Mini Loaves!

Food Lust People Love: These pecan banana bread mini loaves are wonderfully tender, sweet and nutty, perfect for breakfast or snack time. Eat all four or give some away as gifts!

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