Gingerbread experiment 2

10 dates

Knob ginger, peeled & roughly sliced

80g unsalted butter

1 ripe banana

2 eggs

1 Tbsp psyllium

1 cup almond meal

1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup w/meal rye

1 tsp baking powder

2.5 tsp ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp mixed spice

1/4 tsp sea salt

Oven to 160C. Line loaf tin.

Blitz dates, ginger & butter till combined (watching out for ginger hunks.) Blend in banana, then eggs. 

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Fold through wet, spread in tin & bake 50 mins.

Next time? Too dry. Cut back on flour. Use an extra banana. Go for three (proper) tsp ground ginger.

Sunflower Buckwheat Crust

1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1 scant cup buckwheat flour
pinch sea salt
zest of 1 lemon
3 Tbsp. coconut oil, very cold
1 ½ Tbsp. pure maple syrup
1-3 Tbsp. ice water, as needed

Toast sunflower seeds in a pan, about 5 mins, allow to cool.

Oven to 190C.

Blitz seeds till sandy. Add remaining ingredients except water & blitz again.

Add water gradually till dough forms.

Roll out & bake 15 or 20 mi Utes.

Served with yoghurt (sweetened & with vanilla), strawberries & sour cherries, drizzled with a little honey. Could also use fresh mint, pollen, honeycomb.

Next time: more water? Try butter? Increase oil?

Date & orange cake

2 ¼ cups soft dates
1 ½ cups raw almonds
5 Tbsp. O oil
zest and juice of 1 orange
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
generous pinch of salt

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 eggs

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 160C.
2. Butter & flour a ring tin
3. Put all ingredients in a food processor, except applesauce and eggs. Blend until rather uniform, with some chunks of nuts remaining.
4. Add applesauce slowly, ¼ cup at a time while blender is running. Then add the eggs in the same manner, one at a time while blender is running.
5. Pour batter into pan, spread until even. Bake for 45 minutes until a tester inserted comes out clean. 
6. Let cake cool completely before removing it from the pan (important!)
7. Serve with plain yoghurt.

Strawberry cherry breakfast crumble

2 ppl:

Half punnet strawberries, chopped in chunks

Preserved cherries, (only 13% sweetened)

3/4 cup oats

1/4 tsp vanilla powder

4 drops stevia

45g coconut oil

3 (15ml) Tbsp almond meal

Oven at 175C, bake 35.

Next time try a little more almond, or some flour or less oil or substitute for butter.

Peanut butter granola

2.5 cups oats

2 Tbsp (20ml) sesame seeds

Pinch salt

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup honey

1/2 tsp vanilla

Oven to 140C.

Microwave honey & peanut butter about 25 seconds. Stir in vanilla. Fold through remaining ingredients & spread on lined baking tray.

Bake 15 minutes, stir & bake another 10. Turn off oven, stir & leave in cooling oven.

Pear clafoutis

For two:

1 pear

2 Tbsp (15ml) butter, melted

15 ml maple syrup

1 egg

2 Tbsp (15ml) thick cream

1/4 tsp vanilla

20ml almond meal

1/8 tsp cinnamon

Pinch salt flakes

Oven to 160C. Grease the deep bottom half of Pyrex dish.

Mix wet ingredients, add dry.

Slice pear & arrange in the dish. Pour mixture over & bake 30 mins.

To serve 8, quadruple & use 9 inch dish.

Gingerbread experiment 1

8 dates

Knob ginger, peeled & roughly sliced

80g unsalted butter

2 big bananas

2 eggs

1 Tbsp psyllium + 3 of water

1 cup almond meal

1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup w/meal rye

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 t clove

1/4 tsp sea salt

Oven to 160C. Line loaf tin.

Blitz dates, ginger & butter till combined (watching out for ginger hunks.) Blend in bananas, then eggs. Then stir in psyllium & water.

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Fold through wet, spread in tin & bake 55mins.

Next time, extra tsp ground ginger. Swap 1 banana with another 4 dates. Omit water. Make muffins.

Pesto power bowl!

Kale pesto, four big serves:

6 kale leaves

1/2 cup parsley

2/3 cup almonds

Juice 1 lemon

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1/2 cup EVO oil

Pinch salt

Blitz, adding oil gradually at the end.

Stir through chickpeas, cannelinni beans, cottage or ricotta cheese & sardines. Drizzle with extra lemon juice & chilli oil.

Chinese black beer chicken

4 ppl:

8 chicken thighs w bone & skin

1 Tbsp sesame oil

150ml stout

100 ml soy sauce

100 ml Shaoxing wine

40g coconut (or brown) sugar

20gm piece of ginger, thinly sliced

6 garlic cloves, crushed

1 star anise

2 long red chillis, split lengthways

3 spring onions, cut into 5cm batons

1/2 bunch garlic chives, chopped

1/2 cup coriander

Fry chicken in sesame oil until brown. Add remaining ingredients except spring onions, chives & coriander, bring to simmer on low, cover & cook 25 minutes. Remove lid, add spring onion & simmer on low about 50 to an hour. Turn off heat & sprinkle in chives & coriander.