Fruit and Vegetable Bran Muffins or Loaf

After having an inspired conversation with Viv at Cornucopia, our local organics shop, a while back- about how her grandkids were happily eating loaf stuffed full of veggies, I decided I would have a go at making bran muffins with loads of both fruit & veggies in them to see if they really were that yummy. Well it turns out that they really are both filling & delicious & can be made in to either muffins or a loaf. 

The mix is brilliantly free-form so just use whatever is to hand. So far I have incorporated, grated carrots, parsnip, courgette, choko, apple, pear & banana. Almost any kind of dried fruit would be useful too & nuts like walnuts if you have them. 

In a large bowl add:

1/2 cup bran

1/2 brown sugar (demarara, coconut or other)

100 grams of chopped butter

A pinch of salt. A tsp each of cinnamon & ginger to taste.

A tsp vanilla essence

2 cups of dried fruit- dates (definitely) raisins, sultanas,  dried apricots, prunes etc

Pour over a cup full of boiling water stir & leave to sit until just warm & well soaked together.

Add an egg & a large tbsp of plain yoghurt 

Add 1/2- 1 cup of nuts- walnuts etc

2 cups of grated fruits & vegetables such as apple, pear, carrot, parsnip, beetroot, choko or courgette.

Add a mashed ripe banana

Stir altogether & then sift in 1- 1/2 cups of wholemeal flour & 2 tsps baking powder. Just see how the mix is looking. You may not need all the flour.

Gently fold the flour through the mix.

Spoon in to large muffin tins or a greased/lined loaf tin.

Bake for 20-30 mins at 180 degrees C until firm & a nice colour.

I guarantee no one will ever guess there's all those veggies in there!

Katie x

Lightly Spiced Apple Mousse

This particular apple mousse was inspired by a foodie conversation with a friend last week. The old fashioned recipe called Apple Snow came to mind at the time of our chat and then I also recalled the Ballarat apples I had sitting at home waiting for a purpose. Apple Snow is a dessert made with cooked apples and beaten egg whites and it's a tad bland so I used the concept and then just made it more delicious. Ballarat's are brilliant cooking apples- they turn to mushed apple in no time at all- perfect for this mousse.

Any suitable cooking apple will do.

I began by peeling, coring & chopping two large apples, adding just a sprinkle of water, popping on the lid & simmering the apples for 10 minutes or so (watching to see that they don't catch on the bottom as they cook) until they have broken down & have become apple sauce.

Add a tbsp of honey.

Leave to cool.

In a small pot or glass jug soak a large tsp of powdered gelatine in a 1/4 of water for a few minutes.

Heat gently on the stove or for 20 seconds in the microwave. Stir to dissolve.

Add to the apple and stir.

Beat 2 large egg whites until very stiff and smooth and meringue-like.

Beat 125 mis of cream with a tbsp of honey and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon until soft peaks have formed.
Fold the apple, egg whites and cream together gently.

 Pour in to small cups, or bowls, or one large one.
Chill. The flavours improve over time. One of those recipes that's even better the next day.

 Caramelised walnuts go well with the apple and cinnamon flavours too.
Stir a little brown sugar, butter and some walnuts in a nonstick pan for around 5 minutes until fragrantly golden. Tip out on to baking paper and spread out to cool.

Katie X

Medlars- Are Marvelous!

 Medlars (Mespillus Germanica Rosaceae) are not a fruit that you stumble across very often in New Zealand & even if you did, you probably wouldn't have a clue what to do with them. I have found them once before a few years ago, but I didn't quite figure them out & we just enjoyed their oddness and ended up composting them.
So, two weekends ago, in mid May, when we were walking at Park Island in Napier, we certainly never expected to wander off the beaten track, follow the meandering path in to a wild area and stumble on a spendid Medlar tree- at just the perfect time. We spent quite some time with this wonderful tree and picked some fruit to bring home with us. It turns out that Medlars are an ancient  fruit from South West Asia- they are related to hawthorn and pears & are of the rose family.

Having never tasted them before we decided just to remain curious and see what happened as we waited for them to ripen. Just like quince, medlars are inedible when hard and have a similar gritty texture at that point. Unlike quince, Medlars eventually ripen up in to the most delicious cinnamon apple saucy squishiness that we think is just yummy. The process of ripening is known as bletting- not sure why the fuss about it- they just get ripe and therefore become totally useable.

 This Medlar is perfect to eat and when opened is a wonderful rich toffee colour. I love them just as they are.

They are delicious with soft cheese, walnuts, pears and other autumn/winter fruits.

Medlars have really interesting stones in them (not pips), but the soft flesh can be spooned out and spread on things.

I think that eating them just like this is my favourite way to enjoy them, but I thought that I would explore other uses. I found a recipe for making Medlar cheese just here which was really helpful. I soon found an even quicker way to use the ripe fruit than described. So what I did was to place 2 kilos of whole washed soft medlars in to a large pot with 750 ml of water. Now just squash the fruit with a potato masher- they squash up so easily! 

 Then pour in to a sieve/collander that is fairly open but without actual large holes in it. I use this one such a lot. It's perfect for hawthorn berries too.

 Work the pulp through the mesh until there's just the skin and seeds and lumpy bits left. Then pour the sieved pulp back in to the pot. I decided at this point to not put all my Medlars in one pot and poured off some of the mixture in to a smaller pot, added a little brown sugar and cooked the pulp for 10 minutes or so- hard to tell if Medlars are cooked or not! I then added a tsp of homemade vanilla essence and put the cooked Medlar in to a jar to store in the fridge.

 It tastes delicious and is lovely with yoghurt for breakfast.

I then cooked the rest of the Medlar sauce in the pot for 10 minutes or so, then used a cupful to make a Medlar baked custard.
Beat 2 eggs with a tbsp of brown or raw sugar.
Heat 1 cup of cream in a small pot until just not quite boiling and pour over the eggs- whisking as you pour.
Add 1 cup of the Medlar sauce and a 1tsp of vanilla essence.
Whisk altogether.
Pour in to small pots or a larger one.
Bake in a moderate oven in a water bath until golden and just set.

 Now- the remainder of the sauce in the big pot- I kept cooking it over a low heat, stirring often as I was still in the kitchen cooking dinner, and when it's reduced by around half add around about a cup for cup of raw sugar (I'll do less next time). Stir to dissolve the sugar and continue to cook the sweetened pulp on low heat until it's gorgeously chestnut brown and glossy- probably an hour or so. Pour in to greased paper (I use a natural wax paper) in a shape that works for you. I've got mine curing by the fire. Handy that Medlars ripen in winter! I'll see how I go, but I'll probably store the cheese in the fridge and serve it with soft cheeses, ripe pears and toasted walnuts. We both love the flavour of Medlars- cooked, they remind us both of the lovely acorns that we worked with back in April.

Goodness, the Medlar exploration continues.

I have decided that my favourite way to eat Medlars is to open out a ripe Medlar and spread the soft caramelly flesh over a perfectly ripe, sliced sweet persimmon. A perfect balance of flavours & tastes.

Having discovered that the soft ripe insides of a Medlar are so delicious I then tried making Medlar ice-cream. Oh, it's wonderful!

Here's what I did:

Scoop out the flesh of 5-8 ripe Medlars and add them to a small bowl,

Add a tbsp of any lovely honey- runny is good

1 dsp of homemade vanilla essence

1/2 tsp of cinnamon & 1/4 tsp of ginger

Mix altogether.

Beat 250 ml of cream in another bowl until firm

Fold the two lots together & freeze.

That's it!

 Since we had sadly neglected some beautiful bananas, we made fritters with them tonight and served them with Medlar ice-cream and toasted coconut flakes and walnuts- so delicious!! Awful photo, but we were hungry and it's night time.

The banana fritters- 4 or 5 mashed ripe bananas

a pinch of salt & a tsp vanilla essence

1/2 sunflower flour, 1/2 cup spelt flour

1 egg, 1 tsp baking powder

Mix altogether.

Cook in a non stick or cast iron pan in butter until golden.

Delicious served with Medlar ice-cream!

And topped with coconut flakes and walnuts toasted in a cast iron fry pan with a little date syrup, or maple syrup or honey added in the last few minutes and a teeny pinch of salt.

Medlars have some lovely medicinal attributes too. We find them really digestible and they feel very nourishing to us. I found this page most interesting so I will link it here and do some more research on the Medlar benefits soon.
I have also discovered that there is a Medlar tree in the Katherine Mansfield Garden in Wellington- how fascinating!  So much more to experience of this interesting tree.

Katie X

Mountain Pawpaws- what ever do I do with them?

When I was a child my grandparents lived in Frasertown Wairoa, for a bit & as I grew older I loved helping Nan in the kitchen & writing out her recipes- for hours on end. We would make a dessert called Fruit Delight with all kinds of cooked fruits- Mountain Pawpaw was a favourite They are pretty odd raw- we would eat the pulpy stuff from the middle (as kids do) but if you can be bothered

 peeling the ripe yellow outer fruit & cooking them gently, they suddenly become delicious.

Best with a little sugar added & even a squeeze of lemon juice.

It turns out that they are delicious with strawberries too. Just add yoghurt or cream.

Nan's Fruit Delight recipe is just here, if you fancy having a go at that. I'm just waiting to end up with enough ripe fruit to make it. It's been a long, long time since I last tasted it.

Katie X

Dreamy Fig Ice-cream

Fresh figs truly make the best ice-cream & it's really, really simple to make.

Being such a fragile fruit they often go off quicker than we can use them or they ripen all in a rush.

So...firstly- they freeze really well & can be slow baked any time of the year from frozen.

Secondly, the fresh fruit slow bakes so beautifully- just uses as is or...best of all, turn those succulent baked figs in to the most delicious ice-cream you've ever tasted.

So many different varieties & colours in the fig world.

They can be simmered in a pot..

you can find the recipe for simmered figs just here.
Or, you can spread them in a baking dish & bake them for an hour- an hour & a half on 120-130 C until they look much like this...

Each time I bake figs they come out a little different but always so delicious.

So here's the basic recipe for the ice-cream:

Slow bake as many figs as you have to work with.

Cool- blend with a hand mixer or in a small processor, bullet etc until fairly smooth.

The balance is 1/2 & 1/2 to get the texture of the ice-cream just right.

1 cup of baked fig pulp to 1 c of whipped cream

To the cream add 1 tsp of vanilla essence & either honey or maple syrup to taste.

To a 2 cup ice-cream I would probably add a tbsp of honey/maple syrup.

But taste it & see what you think.

No, no don't eat it all- it needs to go in the freezer first!

Ginger is a nice edition on occasion.

Freeze in a flatfish dish with a lid.

Serves perfectly, straight from the freezer & really doesn't require much else.

Just that simple.
Love Katie x