editor, Author at The Kind Cook

Sour Cherry..ade

on January 19, 2013

This is so refreshing for long hot days out on the deck. My passion for food has very much extended itself to a passion for creating drinks. I adore making drinks that are served loaded with the fragrance of herbs and/or fruit. Nothing accompanies beautiful food more than a beautiful beverage. Don’t overlook the entirety of a food event, if you want to make an impression.

I am not normally a sour or a cherry fan but when I spotted some sour cherry juice recently I had to try it. If unlike me you are a sour fan, you may wish to add less pure maple syrup and if you are after an even quicker recipe you could just add lemonade. I just prefer knowing how much sweetener I am drinking and also prefer pure maple syrup.

YOU NEED

100mls of sour cherry juice

1 tablespoon of pure maple syrup

100mls of soda water

ice

cherries for garnish

#optional – a splash of vodka

YOU DO

Mix the sour cherry juice, maple syrup and soda water. Fill a glass ½ to ¾ with ice. Pour in your cherry soda mix, Garnish with some fresh cherries and serve.

Yields: 1 serve

#Next time I may even freeze some cherries into my ice blocks <3

Summer Daze Smoothie

on January 17, 2013

YOU NEED

1 banana

200mls of fresh pineapple juice

½ a fresh mango

juice from half a lemon

1/3 cup of fresh orange juice

YOU DO

Chill all your ingredients in the fridge.

Blend everything and enjoy.

Servings: Serves 1

Time: Takes about 5 minutes.

Freeze: N/A

Zucchini, Corn & Mint Fritters

on January 13, 2013

Zucchinni Fritters 2wm

Zucchini, Corn & Mint Fritters

I was playing with corn fritters a few months back but wasn’t quite happy with the result. Then today I was standing in the kitchen once again looking at the 2 gigantic zucchinis I just got from my father in law and a load of corn in the fridge that needed using up. I then wandered through the vegie patch for some inspiration and realised I have not 1, but 2 mint patches and so decided to have another crack at these fritters.

It only took 1 practice batch and then another batch with a little less of this and a little more of that and I have ended up with a cracker fritter.

Not only are these delicious but they are super easy to make, garlic free, gluten free, dairy free, egg free and easily made low fat

YOU NEED

1 cup of grated zucchini

1 cup besan flour (also known as chickpea and/or garbanzo flour and is found in most health food and Indian grocer shops)

1 cup (2 cobs) corn kernels, cooked

¾ cup of water

1 cup fresh mint leaves, washed and pat dried with a tea towel

¾ cup spring onion (also known as scallions), finely sliced

1 teaspoon salt

Extra salt for dusting

Pepper to taste

YOU DO

Strain all the excess of water out of the grated zucchini using a nut bag, chux or tea towel. Discard the water that comes out of the zucchini and set the zucchini aside.

Sift the besan flour into a large bowl and whisk the 3/4 cup of water into, it until you have a smooth batter.

Add the remaining ingredients, including your zucchini into the batter and stir well to combine.

Heat a pan with a little bit of oil and cook in batches. Drop a generous tablespoon of the batter into the pan. Cook until browned and turn to brown the other side. I find the trick is to have the heat slightly higher at the start so you get a nice colour and the fritters don’t soak up a load of oil and then once both sides are nicely browned, turn the heat down a little and cook a bit further, so that the insides are cooked through.

Drain on a clean tea towel. Lightly sprinkle a little salt over each fritter, while they are still piping hot.

Serve warm with salad and chutney.

Yields: 12 fritters.

Time: 15 minutes preparation. 5 – 10 minutes cooking (if frying)

Freeze: I wouldn’t.

Note: Don’t use canned corn. You get a much more plump and sweet corn kernel, if you cook a couple of cobs and cut off the kernels.

Be careful when cooking your fritters as the corn can pop!

# I tested a couple out in the oven for a fat free version on 175c for about 15-20 minute and they worked out fine. The texture was obviously a little different but they still had a nice crunch.

Fresh Apricot Pops

on January 10, 2013

YOU NEED

1 overflowing cup of fresh apricots that have had the stone removed and cut into chunks

1 cup of your favourite vanilla plant based ice cream

1 tablespoon of pure maple syrup (I used this because I wanted the sweetness to be highlighted once the cold had dulled it down slightly during the freezing process).

YOU DO

Put the apricots into a blender and blend till smooth. Once they are smooth scrape the puree into a 1 cup measuring cup. You want the puree to equal 1 cup. So if it doesn’t just put the puree back into the blender and add a couple more apricots to top it up and blend till smooth.

Soften a little vanilla soy, cashew or coconut ice cream. Measure out a cup and put it in the blender with the apricot and blend till smooth. Add the maple syrup and pour the ice cream mixture into your icy pole moulds and place in the freezer till solid.

Eat fast because they melted fast!

Serves: I used Tupperware moulds and this gave me 5 ice – creams

Time: It took all of a few minutes aside from the freezing time. My husband LOVED them. My toddler was sadly suspicious because they weren’t “white ice cream” 😕

Note: By blending frozen banana and fresh apricots along with a couple of soaked dates you can also create raw ice creams.

Pineapple & Apricot Juice

on January 9, 2013

YOU NEED

1 cup of fresh pineapple juice

1 cup of apricots, halved and stones removed

the juice from 1 lime

YOU DO

BLEND.

Yields: 1 serve

Time: 5 minutes

Notes: I LOVE lime but the acidity from the pineapple may be enough for you, so taste this and then decide if you want the lime as well.

I also think this would be gorgeous with a little fresh ginger.

Spiced Apricot & Almond Smoothie

on January 7, 2013

This reminds me of some of the drinks I had in Oman in 2011. They were rich, “creamy” and often sweetened with dates.

YOU NEED

1 cup of almond milk

fresh apricots, stone removed . I used 4 but they were tiny. I measured them in a cup to make it a and it was 1/2-3/4 of a cup of apricots.

½ teaspoon of allspice

1-2 teaspoons of pure maple syrup

YOU DO

BLEND. BLEND. BLEND…..till smooth.

This would be a perfcet way to start the day and would be gorgeous made raw with home made almond milk and dates.

Yields: 1 serve

Time: 5 minues

Notes: Almond milk is available in pretty much any supermarket these days in the UHT milk section.

Home Made Cinnamon & Maple Granola

on January 4, 2013

There is something so rewarding and beautiful about anything home made. The best part of this recipe though is the warm, sweet aroma of maple and cinnamon that floats through the house as it bakes. This is perfect for breakfast or as a part of a trail snack between meals.

YOU NEED

1/2 cup of hazelnuts

1 cup of slivered almonds

1 .5 cups of rolled oats

1/2 cup of wheat germ

1/2 cup of pure maple syrup

1/2-3/4 of a teaspoon of ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

YOU DO

Preheat your oven to 175c.

Line a large baking tray with baking paper.

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until everything is well coated in the maple syrup.

Pour the mixture onto the tray and spread it out so that it is even. Place the tray in the oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes check your granola and turn the tray if it is browning too much in one area. Put the tray back in the oven and cook the granola for another 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow the granola cool. Once it has cooled, break it up and store it in an air tight container.

Enjoy with your favourite dairy free milk.

Servings: Enough for 5 – 7 small serves

Time: Takes about 30 minutes.

Freeze: N/A

Coconut Pumpkin Korma Soup

on December 27, 2012

This was just born from Xmas Day left overs, but turned out to be a tad incredible.

Think thick, “creamy”, sweet & spicy.

YOU NEED

1kg of kent pumpkin that has been peeled, seeded & cut into small chunks

250ml coconut cream (I use Ayam because it’s lovely and thick)

750ml of water

3 teaspoons of Massel vegetable stock powder

6 teaspoons of korma paste

YOU DO

Put the water and stock into a large pot. Whisk to combine and start to bring to the boil.

Add the pumpkin to the stock as soon as it is chopped up. Once the pumpkin is in the stock and the stock has come to the boil turn it down to a simmer and cook until the pumpkin is tender.

Once the pumpkin is cooked, add the coconut cream and korma paste and blend.

Enjoy. It’s delicious!

Yields: 4 serves.

Time: Takes about 30 minutes.

Freeze: Fine to freeze.

Note: If you get your stock on and bring it up to the boil while you are cutting up your pumpkin and if you cut your pumpkin into quite small chunks this can be ready in less than 30 minutes.

You can find Massel Stock Powder in pretty much any supermarket where all the stocks and spices are.

Patak’s Original Korma is vegan.

Not Egg…Nog

on December 26, 2012

I was first introduced to egg nog when I lived in Canada many years ago and I loved it. So when thinking about Xmas recipes this year, I was determined to create a dairy and egg free nog.

I researched how people were doing it and found some used avocados, some bananas, or vanilla pudding mix and also tofu. My first shot at it I tried using silken tofu to mimic the thickness, but I ended up with a really earthy flavour. Second time I simply made custard and added maple syrup to sweeten it. It was lovely, simple and I am thrilled!

Next time I am going to make it with a non gluten free custard powder though and may even use a little more so it’s slightly thicker but I tell you…I drank my weight in this yesterday at our xmas lunch.

YOU NEED

4 tablespoons of custard powder. (I used Orgran gluten free Custard Powder which I get from the health food shop. I simply followed the instructions on the packet)

1 litre of Bonsoy. (Bonsoy is available most anywhere these days. The price varies drastically though so shop around. The cheapest I have found it to date is at my local organic grocer where if you buy a slab of 6 they work out to $4 each.)

1 vanilla bean, split lengthways and seeds removed. Don’t stress if you don’t’ have a vanilla bean. It just makes the nog a little more special.

1/4 cup of maple syrup (or sugar, or agave, or brown rice syrup)

2 shots of brandy

2 shots of rum

cinnamon & nutmeg to taste

YOU DO

Make the custard as per the packet, using the 4 tablespoons of custard and the litre of Bonsoy.

Then whisk in the rest of your ingredients. Allow the mixture to cool, then refrigerate.

When you serve the cooled nog dust it with some cinnamon sugar.

# If you want it to also be soy free just use a different plant milk 🙂

Rich, Peppermint, Rum Truffles

on December 24, 2012

YOU NEED

400grams of dark chocolate that has 70% cocoa, broken up into small pieces (I used Whittaker’s Dark Ghana which I get in Safeway or Big W which is palm oil free)

¾ cup of coconut cream (I used Ayam coconut cream which is in the Asian section of most supermarkets. You may need a couple of tins to scoop the thick stuff from the top, for the recipe. Use what is left in a curry)

1 teaspoon of peppermint essence

1 teaspoon of rum essence

4 tablespoons of good quality cocoa (I use Loving Earth Cocoa which I get at Go Vita Health Food at Knox City, because they do a lot with the communities that they work with)

YOU DO

You want the coconut cream and the chocolate to both be a similar temperature so have your chocolate melting while you are boiling your coconut cream.

Place the chocolate into a bowl and melt in the microwave 30 seconds at a time. Stir between each 30 second time slot and continue until the chocolate has melted. Alternatively you can melt the chocolate using a double boiler.

Place the coconut cream into a small pot and gently bring to the boil. Just as it comes to the boil add the peppermint and rum essences and whisk to combine. Turn off the heat and let the mixture stand for a minute or 2.

Whisk the coconut cream into the melted chocolate.Whisk until they are well combined then place into the fridge to chill for an hour or so.

Once it’s set either break rough bits up from the mixture using a soup spoon as I have or ball it into round balls.

Place the truffles into a tray and sift the cocoa over them. Shake the tray gently until they are all covered with cocoa. Put in an air tight, sealed container in the fridge until you are going to serve them.

They are yum 🙂

Serves: I haven’t recorded this yet.

Time: I haven’t timed it yet either but aside from setting time it is so quick and very easy.

Freeze: I wouldn’t

Note: These are rich but not sweet.