Rosemary, Garlic & Bean Dip

on

This is so so easy and the result is rich, creamy, fragrant gorgeous dip. It’s perfect for a kids snack with vegetable sticks or at a party or BBQ.

YOU NEED

1 x 400 gram can of Cannellini beans, washed well and drained

1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves

1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons of olive oil (I use a cold pressed olive oil)

½ teaspoon of salt

2 cloves of roasted garlic

1 extra tablespoon of chopped fresh rosemary leaves

 

YOU DO

Blend all the ingredients except for the extra tablespoon of rosemary leaves.

Once the ingredients are all well blended and smooth, stir the extra rosemary through the mixture and serve.

If you wish you can pour a little extra olive oil over the top when you serve it.

 

Serves: Makes about 1 cup of dip

Time: Seriously takes about 5 minutes

Freeze:  I wouldn’t

Note: I made this using raw garlic and the garlic was too sharp on your tongue. I just popped a bulb of garlic in the oven on a low to medium temperature – about 150c with oil and cooked it until it was soft and well coloured. I then added 2 cloves to this and the result was so much better. Roasting the garlic takes that raw harshness away and you end up with a lovely sweet result.

Chocolate Mandarin Pudding

on

I’m a bit into mandarins at the moment so purchased a massive bag of them the other day to play with some recipe ideas. Here is my 1st effort! It turned out just as I had imagined so I am thrilled:)

…………It is incredibly simple. So simple in fact that I was tempted to keep playing with it, but sometimes “less is best” and this is a perfect example of that old adage. I didn’t use a lot of mandarin but its notes still shine through in the pudding.

And it’s **full** of flavour.

 

YOU NEED

1 x 300gram pack of silken tofu (I use Blue Lotus organic silken tofu)

2 x mandarins

4 tablespoons of cocoa (a really good quality one will make a difference such as Dutch Cocoa but if you don’t have that don’t stress and just use what you have)

3 tablespoons agave syrup (if you do not have agave syrup use icing sugar to taste)

 

YOU DO

##GENTLY## grate the skin of the mandarins with a citrus zester (I highly recommend investing in one of these if you like a lot of recipes that use fruit zest. I have never had the same results with a normal grater for jobs like this. I end up with large chunks and pith which is not pleasant. Doing this with a zester will impart the flavour of the mandarin without chunks.)

Blend the zest and the rest of the ingredients together till smooth.

Refrigerate for a few hours

 

Servings: 2 -3

Time: Takes me about 5 minutes to make this one.

Freezing: Not suitable for freezing

Peanut Butter Chocolate Mousse

on

 

This is the perfect snack…… or perfect for dessert!

You absolutely cannot tell that there is avocado in this. It’s rich, chocolate velvet and is absolutely delicious.

It’s a dessert I made for my 3 year old every sometimes. As long as he doesn’t see the avocado go in, all is fine.

 

YOU NEED

1/2 a large avocado

1/4 cup of pure maple natural syrup

1 tablespoon of peanut butter (I use an organic peanut butter that contains only peanuts. No oil, salt and sugar)

1-2 teaspoons of dairy free cocoa (Just add this slowly until you get a lovely rich colour ..enough to forget that you are eating avocado)

 

YOU DO

Blend all the ingredients together until smooth.

Sieve some good quality cocoa over the top

 

Servings:  2 children or 1 adult

Time:  5 minutes

Freezing: Not suitable for freezing

Notes: Instead of sugar you can use pure maple syrup or agave

Strawberry & Orange Pops

on

 

YOU NEED

200mls of fresh strawberry juice

200mls of fresh orange juice

 

YOU DO

All you need to do is combine the strawberry and orange juice and and pour the miture into small paper baking cups and place in the freezer.

Wait until the pops have almost frozen through and/or a firm enough for you to be able to place a paddle pop stick into each then pop the sticks in the middle of each pop and allow them to freeze completely and serve.

 

Serves: Made 4 pops.

Time: Prep time of 5 minutes plus freezing time.

Freeze: YUP

Pineapple Basil Pops

on

 

 

I struggled to stop myself drinking this it was so delicious!!!  I did however have some left to freeze into pops.

Basil is not everyone’s thing but its mine and combined with pineapple it’s a match made in heaven.

These would be perfect served at a finger food event or at the end of a dinner party for a fun finish on a warm day.

 

YOU NEED

400mls of fresh pineapple juice

fresh basil leaves to taste. I easily used a very loose ¾ – 1 cup because I LOVE basil. I suggest you do this to taste.

 

YOU DO

All you need to do is place the pineapple juice and basil into a blender and blend until they are well combined and the basil has broken down. Then place some baking cups onto a small tray and pour the pineapple and basil juice into the cups and place the tray in the freezer.

Wait until the pops have almost frozen through and/or a firm enough for you to be able to place a paddle pop stick into each then pop the sticks in the middle of each pop and allow them to freeze completely and serve.

 

Serves: Made 4 pops.

Time: 5 minutes of preparation. Plus freezing time.

Notes: If you have a juicer that presses, you can just pop the basil leaves into the juicer, as you juice the pineapple and it will press the basil beautifully. Otherwise simply blend the basil into the pineapple juice as the recipe explains and then even strain the mix if you don’t want any “bits”.

#Note that I had a VERY sweet pineapple so if your pineapple is not SUPER sweet your results will be different and you may need to add a little agave or pure maple syrup.

Pistachio & Coriander Pesto Pinwheels

on

corianderpinwheelsIMG_2161wm2

YOU NEED

1 batch of my “Pistachio & Coriander Pesto”

1 unsliced loaf of bread

YOU DO

Using a serrated knife carefully slice all the crust off the loaf of bread. You want the entire loaf to be crust free for this recipe. Place the crusts aside for another recipe.

Then slice the loaf along the long side into about long slices. So you should end up with about 7 long rectangle slices of bread, depending on how thick you cut them.

Lay one slice of bread on your bench and spread a thick layer of pesto across the top. Then roll the bread slice from one of the short ends until the whole slice is rolled into a snail shape. Cut the roll into 2 so you end up with 2 good size pin wheels and place aside. Repeat this with all of your sliced bread until you have about 14 pin wheels.

These are great for parties and picnics or just a different lunch box idea for the kids.

 

# For a quicker recipe have the pesto made and in the fridge ready to use. You can also pre slice your bread and just keep it over night in an air tight container or sealed in the plastic it came in so all you have to do on the day you want your pin wheels is top , roll and cut them.

Zucchini, Corn & Mint Fritters

on

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

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.

Home Made Cinnamon & Maple Granola

on

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

Cucumber and Cream Cheese Sandwiches

on

cucumberIMG_8554wm

Another super simple but always popular recipe. It’s great for an afternoon tea, for something easy, but a little bit fancy pants.

 

YOU NEED

1 large cucumber

1 tablespoon of fresh dill

½ tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

dairy free cream cheese

salt/pepper to taste

8  slices of fresh bread

 

YOU DO

Wash & dry the cucumber. Cut it into sections that are the same length as the bread. Then cut those sections into very thin slices. You need enough slices to have one layer of cucumber for each sandwich. Probably 2 slices per sandwich will be enough, depending on the width of the slices. Lay the cucumber slices onto draining paper and set aside while you prepare everything else. Put any leftover cucumber aside for another recipe.

Wash and dry the dill. Finely chop it and mix the dill and lemon juice through the cream cheese and then season with salt and pepper

Trim the crusts from the bread and set them aside for another recipe.

Lay 2 slices of bread onto your bench and liberally spread them with the cream cheese mixture.

Place 1 layer of cucumber onto 1 of the slices, until all the cream cheese is covered and put the 2nd slice of bread on top, with the cream cheese facing down onto the cucumber.

Cut the sandwich into 3 even rectangle finger sandwiches and put them on a plate. Repeat until all your finger sandwiches are made and serve.

If you are not serving straight away, cover the sandwiches with cling film and refrigerate. Use in the same day though.

 

Yields: 12 finger sandwiches

Time: 15 minutes

Notes: Giving the cucumber time to sit on some draining paper is a really important step because otherwise you will end up with very soggy sandwiches.

You can get dairy free cream cheese in the supermarket, where the dairy cream cheese is.