Zingy Lemon Coconut Balls

Very simple, lemony, nutritious & totally delicious.

Adapted slightly from Petite Kitchen..Simple Wholefood Recipes

1 cup of ground almonds

1 1/2 cups fine coconut

1/2 cup softened butter (softened)

1/2 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla essence

Finely grated zest of a large lemon

Juice of the same lemon

Pulse the almond & coconut in food processor until extra fine,

 then add all other ingredients & pulse/process until it all comes together as a dough.

Chill until it all firms up nicely.

Roll in to balls & then in to coconut.

Best kept chilled.

Coconut oil is a good substitute for butter if you prefer.

A tangy variation on this recipe is the addition of dried apricots & cranberries.

I soaked 1 cup of tangy "real" dried apricots in the juice of an orange for several hours before adding to the above mixture, leaving out the lemon juice & adding a handful of dried cranberries.

Catherine

Banana Chocolate Fudge Icecream

This is the strangest of recipes but actually very good.
It is nutrient dense, healthy & extremely quick to make.

3 ripe bananas
1/4 c good cocoa
1/3 c runny honey
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp smooth peanut or almond butter (preferably organic)

Pop the whole lot in together in the food processor or blender.
Blend until very smooth & glossy.

Pour in to small pots, cover & freeze for several hours or overnight.
The mixture doesn't need any further stirring or churning & stays smooth & satiny once frozen.
It's great on it's own or could be served with other things.
You can find the plain banana version just here.

Catherine

Lemon Crunch Pie

I needed something fabulous & very lemony to take with me on Saturday night, Lemon Crunch Pie immediately sprang to mind. I came across this recipe back in my teen babysitting days & it's still a goodie & can be made all year round.

It takes very little time to put together & is best made the day before...even better!

I like to use digestive biscuits in the base but any plain sweet biscuit will do.

1 packet crushed digestives

 (I popped mine in to a plastic bag & used the rolling pin trick)

Add 100 grams of melted butter & press in to a greased pie dish.

Rinse out your bowl & quickly dry it, now in to that pour

300ml of runny cream & then beat it until thick

pour in a tin of sweetened condensed milk

and a good half a cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice & maybe a little more

plus the zest of a large, spray free lemon

gently mix all the ingredients together & pour in to the pie crust

Chill.

That's it...truly!!

One small tip..the lemons need to be the true lemon variety like Lisbon, Villa Franca etc

If you use Meyer's the dessert will taste wonderful but not set as well.

I also added lemon zest to the biscuit mix for extra lemony-ness.

Being autumn I made a fruit salad to go with the pie that proved to be an excellent combination:

 Feijoas, figs, blueberries, omega plums & a couple of wrinkly passionfruit, then
drizzle with lovely runny honey, a dash of rosewater & a good slug of kombucha...if you have it.

pears & banana also go well with this combination

Catherine

Passionfruit Coconut Tart

So easy & so delicious..this gorgeous tart is also very clever.

All you have to do is mix all the ingredients together in one bowl, as it cooks it will separate itself into three layers.

Makes a lovely dessert or tea party treat.

Combine in a large bowl:

 1 cup of desiccated coconut

3/4 cup raw sugar

1/2 cup flour

In another bowl mix:

125g butter...melt

4 free range eggs

1 1/3 cups of milk (could be coconut milk)

1/2 cup passionfruit pulp..6 or 7

juice of a lemon

Pour one into the other & mix thoroughly, then pour into a greased 24cm pie dish.

Bake in a moderate oven for about 45 mins or until golden brown & set.

Serve warm if for a dessert or chill if to be cut for a tea party.

Dust with icing sugar if you like.

For this recipe you can use whatever flour, sugar or milk that you prefer.

Catherine

Raw Cashew Nut "Cheesecake"

This "cheesecake" is so delicious & a real food not just a treat!

Some of the ingredients may seem a little odd to you & perhaps a bit expensive, but so are the ingredients that make up so many desserts; besides good health is worth every penny.

First thing to do is to soak 2 cups of raw cashew nuts in clean cold water.

In another bowl put 3/4 cup of washed dates & squeeze over them the juice of a large lemon.. (Check each date as you go, giving it a little squeeze or tearing it open to make sure that there are no stones in any of them).

Leave both the cashews & dates to sit overnight or a good 3 hours.

So you could say, soak the dates & cashews in the morning & put it all together in the afternoon.

The base is very simple & adaptable & so much better than the standard biscuit base.

Into the food processor place:

3/4 cup of softened dates as above,

1 cup of coconut,

1/2 cup of sunflower seeds

 (I used Wright Sprouts dried sunflower sprouts but plain are fine)

1/2 cup of walnuts or almonds or macadamias etc

1/4 cup of ground linseed

Pulse all the ingredients together..

 until they come together in to a ball like this.
 Feel free to adjust the mix to suit your taste, allergy situation or store cupboard.

 This amount goes a long way & makes lovely little balls too, great for lunch boxes & snacks.

 They can be rolled in coconut if you like.
I was a little heavy handed with the date measurements with this version..I think I added a cup but a bit less would have been fine.
Press the mix into one large dish or lots of small ones as pictured.

Now the topping:

Strain the cashews & give them a rinse with cold water.

To the cashews add

 1 cup of organic coconut oil

1/4 cup lemon or lime juice

1/2 cup of honey (runny is best)

1 good dsp of natural vanilla essence

a pinch of good salt

Now add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of hot water

Pulse altogether, then process for about 2 minutes until it all looks pretty smooth.

 Taste to check the flavourings..they will develop a little more over time.
Pour over the waiting bases & freeze for 1-2 hours until firm. They will also set in the fridge given a bit more time.
These will freeze really well for a month or so.

 The above mix makes a really good amount. That's handy 'cos you're bound to need it all.
Once you've tasted it you'll soon know why!

I buy my organic coconut oil in large 4 litre tubs ( from Chantal in Napier) which makes a big difference to the overall price & they last us for ages.  

I found the basis for this recipe here & another version here.

Catherine

Strawberry Cloud Cake

This is the most amazing, magical dessert & so much fun to make. The original recipe from Annabel Langbein is just here (or will be when the link is working on her page) or at the bottom of this page.

My version requires perhaps 2 punnets of strawberries or most of a large one

2 or 3 room temperature egg whites

2 large tbsps of runny honey or 1/2- 1 cup of sugar depending on your taste

Then either: 1 tbsp lemon juice & 1 tbsp vanilla essence 

or 1 dsp rosewater

Whizz the washed hulled strawberries in a blender or food processor with 1 tbsp of honey

Beat the egg whites in a large bowl with another large tbsp of honey

add the strawberries a bit at a time to the whipped egg whites & continue beating

about now, if you are using a handbeater like I am, call for help from any available child & bribe them with licks from the bowl & future frozen delights if they take over & do some beating for you...

Beat until really smooth & thick & marshmallowy.
I poured half the mixture into the four small pots pictured & put them into the freezer & then added 1 dsp of gelatine to the remaining mix before setting in small containers in the fridge.
Gelatine: sprinkle 1 dsp of gelatine powder over 1/3 c of fruit juice: apple, pomegranate etc
stand for 5 mins until it has swelled, heat the gelatine over low heat, stirring constantly until the gelatine has dissolved,
remove from heat & cool a little
stir in a couple of tablespoons of the strawberry mixture & then add to the big bowlful
To the final heart shaped bowl I added some plain Greek yoghurt.
All of the variations above are fabulous!!
We love the frozen version the best.
It will keep in the freezer for over a month.
Take out of the freezer for 10 mins before serving.

If you want to make this as a full cloud cake, here is the full recipe, including the base.

Click the photo to see the writing larger. 

Raspberry cloud cake here.  Our black doris plum version was delicious too.
Hope you love it!

Catherine x0x0x

Baked Cheesecake

Silke, my lovely sister-in-law made this German-style baked cheesecake at Christmas time & we all loved it.

It looks fabulous & tastes delicious, isn't overly sweet & rather than just a dessert it's a real food.

Since my birthday comes at the end of January I decided to make one for myself.

Here's the general recipe, adapted from several that I found:

Base:

2 cups of flour

200 grams butter

1/3 cup raw sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

process in the whizz till mix looks like fine breadcrumbs then add

one egg

pulse to combine..until it all comes together

press into greased spring form tin 

Chill for 30 minutes

Pour this mix into the centre:

3 cups of quark, yoghurt cheese, ricotta or a mixture of them all.

(to make up the quantity of dairy you could also drain some thick Greek yoghurt to add to the mix...tip it into muslin in a sieve & hang over a bowl to let the whey drain off)

4 eggs

1 cup raw sugar or honey or half & half

1 tbsp vanilla

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 cup soft unsalted butter

1/2 cup flour or cornflour

Pulse in the food processor to mix until very smooth adding the flour last.

Bake at 150 degrees C (300F) for around 70-80 minutes or until firm to the touch in the centre & lightly golden brown.

I added 3 black doris plums to my mixture & it made a pretty colour & a good flavour.

The centre is likely to crack when cooked but looks fabulous piled up with fruit such as berries when served or make a fruit jelly for the topping as below.

Fruit jellies are so easy & amazingly delicious.
This one was made with organic pomegranate juice.
2 1/2 tsps gelatine powder sprinkled over 1/2 juice in a small pot
stand for 5 mins for the gelatine to swell
gently heat the mixture stirring all the time...you can see the gelatine dissolve
as soon as it's clear remove from the heat
set aside to cool a little
stir in a tbsp of honey or raw sugar & a tsp of rosewater (if you like)
 then add in another 1 & 1/2 cups of juice
stand for an hour or more until it's just starting to set, then pour over cheesecake
I poured too soon & the jelly just soaked in through the cracks.
It will set more quickly in the fridge but then it would be good to set a timer so that you don't forget about it & it sets before you've used it.
Decorate with berries or other fruit like cherries.
Chill well..preferably overnight.
Any left over jelly can be set in small bowls.
Adjust the flavours to what you have available, the season & the fruits you love.
Passionfruit, raspberry, strawberry, boysenberry, apple....

 Catherine

Bookshop Cafe Savoury Muffins

I have had this recipe floating around for months & months & finally got around to making these muffins last weekend. They were so delicious they just had to be posted here so that when I lose the squitty bit of newspaper I won't lose the recipe.

The recipe is obviously designed with cafe proportions in mind!

 Here it is as I found it, halve it or do whatever you like with it from there:

6 cups flour,

9 tsps of baking powder,

1 tsp curry powder, 

 lots of freshly ground black pepper,

1/2 tsps of good salt

6 cups grated cheese,

4 eggs,

3 cups of milk,

2 cups feta cheese,

2 onions finely chopped (personally I would saute the onion before adding or use spring onions)

3 cups of the any of the following: leftover roast veges, sundried tomatoes, red capsicum, parsley, pesto, grated courgette etc..roast pumpkin would be brilliant.

Sift the flour, baking powder, curry powder & black pepper into a large bowl,

toss through the feta, grated cheese, salt & various herbs & veges,

lightly beat the eggs & milk together then fold into the big bowl.

Divide out into greased muffin tins (makes 20-24)

Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, or top with tomato slices, relish & sesame seeds.

Bake in a pre-heated oven for 20 mins at 200degrees C

These are fantastic for picnics, traveling, work, school lunches.

I added lots of roasted peppers & 2 grated courgettes to this batch & I made them really large!

I also used 2 finely sliced spring onions from my garden rather than onion & used about half the amount of feta.

Lots of room for improvisation! 

Recipe kindly shared by Muirs Bookshop Cafe, 62 Gladstone Road, Gisborne.

Catherine