Flapjacks

Flapjacks are very British (from what I can tell) & can be made with the simplest ingredients..mine, however, are a bit more museli-like & extra wholesome.
You can find a plainer version here, if you'd prefer.
Not really like biscuity baking at all & quite definitely erring on the side of nutritionally justified & useful.
Just as simple to make a large batch as a small one.

This was my made-up-on-the-spot version this week:

Mix altogether in a large bowl
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup coconut
1 cup sesame seeds
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup ground linseed (optional)
1 cup chopped dates
1 cup sultanas, raisins or chopped dried apricots or cranberries etc

Melt together:
1 cup raw or brown sugar
1 cup honey
300g butter (or half butter & half coconut oil)
If using unsalted butter..add a pinch of salt
Stir constantly over low heat until all melted & nice & thick & caramelly looking.
Add 1 tsp vanilla & pour over the dry ingredients.

Press into a sponge roll type tin either lined with baking paper or greased with butter.
The thinner you make the flapjacks the crunchier they are likely to be.
Thicker will be more on the chewy side.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 150 degrees.
Watch it doesn't get too brown towards the end.
Cool a little & then mark the squares before it all hardens up.

Halve the recipe if you like & leave anything out that you don't love or have on hand.
Then just add more coconut or oats if you like.
Excellent for school lunches & picnics most especially!

Catherine

Nan's Fruit Delight

I have been thinking about this dessert a lot lately whilst re-evaluating our nourishing traditions.
 I used to make it with my Nan & copied the recipe out by hand in to my own cookbook when I was 15.
It is so simple & very versatile & for a dessert, actually really good for you!!
The original version is lemon flavoured:

~soak 2 dessertspoons of gelatine in 1/3 cup of cold water
~separate 3 large free range eggs
~beat the whites until stiff & fairly smooth
~beat the yolks with 1/2 - 3/4 cup of sugar until thick & creamy (I like to use raw sugar or rapadura type or honey)
~add 1/2 cup of boiling water to the soaked gelatine & stir to dissolve
~add juice of 3 lemons & the rind of one to the fluffy yolks
~mix in the gelatine & fold in the beaten whites.
~sets quickly in or out of the fridge.

So that is the basic recipe but it can be made with any kind of fruit you like.

If using other cooked fruits the juice of one lemon will do & there's no need to add the extra water to the soaked gelatine. I just add the lemon juice to the gelatine & heat gently to dissolve. It's a pretty flexible recipe.

Matt was visiting so we made a tamarillo version today.

Peel & cook the fruit.

 Soak the 2 dessertspoons of gelatine in 1/3 cup of water.

 Beat the 3 egg whites.

 Beat the 3 yolks with 1/2-1/3 cup of sugar or honey & yes remove all bits of shell first!

 Stir the gelatine in to the hot cooked fruit & cool.

 When cool but still warm stir in to the yoke mixture.

 Fold in the whites.

 And your done!

The pudding separates out in to layers as it sets.

 I love the colour of the tamarillo.
 Passionfruit is especially delicious too.

This could also be set in individual dishes.

You could add yoghurt or kefir or kefir cream to the mixture using a tad more gelatine as the volume of other ingredients increases.

I know we've been warned off eating raw eggs of recent times but my research suggests that the risk when using free range eggs is very small & not to worry about, in fact, raw eggs are extremely good for you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

8th February 2020

I've just made Nan's Mountain Pawpaw version & it is so good.

The only way to eat these fruit, in my opinion!

The fruit needs to be peeled & cooked & the seedy inside discarded- they really are very acidic although we loved them as kids. They are a real fiddle to peel but once cooked, with a little sugar, they are sublime.

15 the September 2023

Banana passionfruit and cape gooseberry version.

I sweetened this mix with sugar when I cooked it. And added some honey to the egg yolks when I made the dessert part.

 

Coconut Chocolate Balls

I just discovered these yummy little balls the other day & they are quite brilliant.
Very coconutty & extremely delicious.
I am finding that coconut oil is a fabulous food with a huge number of uses & health benefits.
It is the basis of this recipe along with coconut itself.
As often happens..after making them according to this recipe I made a few adjustments of my own & here is what I arrived at...just so I don't forget.

Melt 1/2 cup of organic coconut oil
 with 1 tbsp of butter & 1/2 cup of honey over a gentle heat.
Cook stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture becomes glossy & thick.

Stir in 2 tbsp really good quality cocoa like Valhrona & continue to stir & cook for another couple of minutes. Just be careful not to burn it, so don't wander off about now.

Cool a little, then add:
2 tsps (true) vanilla essence & 1/8th tsp of good salt.
Mix in 2 to 2 1/2 cups of fine desiccated coconut & stir to combine all the ingredients.
The mixture will set as it cools & then you can make it in to balls.
Roll in coconut if you like.
Doesn't need to go in the fridge..unless you need to hide them.
I also placed some mounds on slices of banana & froze for an hour or so.
Such a yummy flavour combination & a quick dessert that kids will love & "other" people will wonder what on earth they are!
You might prefer the other version over at free coconut recipes.com
either way I'm sure they taste much the same.

Amazing Spicy Apple

I love apples.

I love them...all of them, any way at all.

 But this has to be one of my favourite apple recipes ever.

Apple & cinnamon speaks pie, crumble, family, warm memories & winter.

 This version elevates apple to just plain special.

The original concept came from my dear friend Sue, an innovative & grand cook.

She makes the most delicious strudel using filo pastry. I have borrowed the flavours & now I cook the apple with ginger & lemon just on it's own.

I guess it's a bit audacious to call this a "recipe" but truly, it is divine & different & so worth making.

Whatever apples you chose to use will give a slightly different result according to variety but that really doesn't matter. The flavours will still be the same.

Below I have given a proposed a few quantities but really just make it up according to your own taste & what you have available.

Peel & dice 1/2 a dozen apples,

add the zest or finely grated rind of a lemon (lisbon type are best)

2 tbsps drained ginger,

1 tsp ground ginger,

1/4 raw sugar or honey

1/2 cup of your favourite raisins or sultanas

Pop all the ingredients in to a pot together, put on the lid & turn on to low & let the apple begin to cook & release it's own juices.

Keep an eye on it & stir from time to time.

Cook until it's all fragrant & delicious.

This gorgeous mixture is now magical served warm, cold or used in crumble or strudel.

Golden raisins give a lovely glow to the cooked mixture.

Jumbo raisins are a lovely mix of colours & flavours & work well too.

I love it best with thick, creamy Greek yoghurt.

Apple Dessert Cake

This is one of those recipes that's been passed on & on through the years.
 Useful, easy & made in no time at all.
And it certainly doesn't need to stay trapped in the dessert department.
It's always popular & can be easily adjusted to suit whatever you have on hand.
Here is the original version that I wrote out by hand when I was about 15:

2 cups diced apple } mix in 125 grams melted butter &
1 cup brown sugar    1 egg
Add 1 cup (total) of sultanas, raisins or dates or a mixture of whatever you have on hand.
1 tsp of cinnamon & 1/2 tsp of ginger, mixed spice & some nutmeg (or just cinnamon if you prefer)
Mix in 1 1/2 cups of wholemeal flour (or plain flour is fine) & 1 tsp baking soda mixed in a little milk.
Combine altogether.
Cook 45- 50mins in a moderate oven.
Cool in the tin before turning out.
Serve with whipped cream or Greek yoghurt if you have made it for dessert.
Dusted with icing sugar looks nice.

The cake I made today is a little different but equally delicious.
I like to keep sugar to a minimum in our diet & make everything I cook as nutrient dense as possible so here's the version from today:

125 gms butter, gently melted
1/2 cup honey & 1/4 cup organic panela (evaporated sugar cane juice)
mix in one egg & spices..at least 1 dsp of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger & I really like to add some freshly grated nutmeg,
add 2 apples & 1/2 a dozen plums, diced
1 cup of dried fruit: sticky raisins, sultanas, raisins, dates or any combo that you love.
Mix in 1/2 cup of ground almonds,
1 cup of wholemeal flour (I used a 7 grain flour)
& 1 tsp baking soda mixed in to a little milk.
Stir to combine & cook for around 50 mins in a moderate oven.

If you have never tried freshly ground nutmeg do look out for some..it's so worth doing & the nutmegs will keep for years stored nicely.

The plums I used are called Luisa & have such a delicious flavour. They work really well with the apple. 

Of course you can make your cake any shape you like!