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!

Date Square

When I lived in Wellington in my student days some 30 odd years ago I used to buy this date square from a wonderful organic food place. It's still a goodie & universally loved. And it's very simple!

The date filling:
2 cups of dates
1 cup of sultanas (or just dates is fine)
Pour over 1/2 cup of boiling water & the juice of a lemon, mix together, cover & sit for several hours or over night until all the juice has been absorbed & the fruit is plump & moist.
You can also grate an apple in to the mix if you like or use any other combination of dried fruit.

300g butter........ cream together with the sugar & vanilla
1 cup brown or raw sugar
1 tsp natural vanilla essence
Then add:
3 cups rolled oats
2 cups wholemeal, spelt or mixed zentrofan type flour

Use as much of the flour as seems good at the time..you don't want it too dry or it will be crumbly.
You may need to work it all together with your hands.
Press half of the buttery mixture in to a deep slice tin, spread the date mixture evenly over the top & then crumble the remaining mix over that.
Press down firmly.

Bake at 180 degrees for 25-30 mins.
Cool in the tin.

As a little update- in  November 2018 -

After cooking some apple the other night with cinnamon, ginger, lemon zest, diced dried apricots & loads of raisins we decided that it was a bit strong & tasted rather like Christmas mince so here was our solution- much better! Just as delicious & simple as it always was.

Catherine

Ras el Hanout

Ras el Hanout: a blend of spices that has flavoured the dishes of Morocco for generations, widely regarded as the best of spice concoctions & frequently created freehand. The mix can be found at specialist shops. Vetro in Ahuriri appears to be our only stockist in Hawke's Bay or you can make your own with a small collection of spices & a mortar & pestle. Keriann of Sweet Mary told me about this lovely dish & I am so glad that she did! This was my go at making the mix.

 Here is a good basic recipe from Rowan Bishop for Ras el Hanout using powdered spices
1tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
2 tsps tumeric
2 tsps cinnamon
2 tsps ginger
1 tsp coriander
1tsp cumin
2 tbsps paprika
1 tsp ground fennel seeds
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
Mix altogether well & store in an airtight jar in a cool place.

I like to make a very simple Ras el Hanout using potatoes and my wonderful old ranzware casserole dish.
Place 1 chopped onion in a casserole dish, cook gently to soften in a little olive oil.
Add 3 or 4 diced potatoes (agria are good)
2 tbsps of Ras el Hanout spice mix.
1 tsp good salt & 1 tsp of raw sugar...sounds strange but the little bit of sugar brings out all the flavours.
1/2 or 1 can of diced tomatoes or 6/8 diced fresh ones.
1 can of water.
Simmer gently with the lid on for an hour & a half or until the sauce has thickened & the potatoes are tender. Add more water if necessary.

 this one had olives added to it towards the end of cooking & the little less tomato.

In the winter months the combination of potato & celeriac is really good. I have also been adding garlic flower heads as in the picture..lovely mild flavour, just crumble in.

 This can of tomatoes had sliced olives in it. You can also make Ras el Hanout with chicken which is very good too.

Choko is great with this dish. Serve with a delicious crusty bread.

Choko are very useful & cheap through the winter here & are often grown by Chinese market gardeners. they taste like kamo kamo &/or firm courgette. 

They are also known as cheyote, vegetable pear or a christophene etc in other parts of the world. I must just add that apparently in Aussie slang "He couldn't train a choko to grow up a dunny wall" is used to refer to a dimwitted, incompetent or incapable person! 

I also found the assurance that a choko vine would grow in your old shoe if you put a piece of fruit in there, probably while your foot was still in it! So they are easy to grow. If you have an old car, shed or ugly fence lurking around that you fancy hiding try choko!

Katie X

Potacchio Sauce

 This has become my most favourite sauce of all time. Almost not even worth the write down it's so simple. You could even be forgiven for thinking that it is just any old pasta sauce but you would be quite wrong! This sauce is magical!
The secret ingredients: lemon zest & rosemary.
True lemons like lisbon or villa franca give the best lemony result by far in any dish, so if you can get them or grow them do.

Gently heat the zest of a lemon
 with a tbsp of finely chopped rosemary in a tbsp of good olive oil.
Add a can of tomatoes. (chopped is good or any of the variations we have here)
good salt,
lots of freshly ground black pepper & a tsp of raw sugar.
Simmer together for about 20 mins until thickened & fragrant.

You can add garlic if you like & some tomato paste gives a richer redder result, either way this sauce is divine & so useful. Try it & you'll see.
If you're really keen make the pasta too. Click here for Matt's how to.
Or here:

Katie

Fabulous Baked Apple Crumbles

Why didn't I ever think of these??...such a clever little idea that I recently came across in a New Zealand House & Garden Magazine. A cross between a traditional baked apple & the ubiquitous apple crumble & better than both!
Choose great apples to start with. As many as the number of people that are going to be eating them!

I used some of these tree ripened Granny Smiths.

Cut the top off each apple & use a melon baller to scoop out the inside until you have a fine apple bowl. Throw away the core part. I wrapped each apple in a damp paper towel & cooked them for 1.5 minute in the microwave but you could cook them for 20 mins in the oven if you prefer.

While they are busy. Prepare the filling by putting the apple balls in to a pot..no need to cut them any further, include the flesh from the top of the apple too.

add a tbsp of raw sugar

a tsp good cinnamon

and 1/2 raisins

 ( I love the big sticky ones for something like this, but you could use any of your favourite dried fruit)

Add a very small amount of water (if any) and cook until the apple is tender.

Thicken with a tsp cornflour mixed in to a little cold water.

Spoon this mixture in to the apple shells.

 To make the crumble topping:
Combine 1/2 c rolled oats, 1/2 c wholemeal flour, 1/4 to 1/2 c of raw or brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, then rub in 50 gms of softened butter.

 Top the apples with the crumble & bake for about 20 mins in a medium oven.

 Done this way the fruity, spicy flavours go right through the apple..so delicious!

The original recipe mixed the apple with blackberries...that would be another excellent alternative.

Catherine