Date Paste

January 28, 2017February 11, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ 5 Comments

Medjool dates are my friend! I head to our local markets and buy 1kg at a time. They store really well in an airtight container in the fridge for about a month.

Now – yes, dates have a quite a high sugar content (roughly 80%) … BUT… and it is a big but, they are loaded with other beneficial nutrients and fibre that reduces the load on your body and mutes your insulin response when compared to regular sugar. So if you are after a small amount of sweetener in you food – dates are a great option.

I use 1 in a smoothie, or 4-6 in a whole batch of muffins or cookies, or even 12 in a batch of about 24 bliss balls. So you get the sweetness and the benefit of the whole food but the overall load is quite small.

I have been experimenting with date paste as my sweetener in cooking when I want a smoother option (or less obvious ‘bits’) and it is divine!

There are 2 ingredients (if you count water?!) and 2 steps – so very very easy!!!!

Pit 12 medjool dates, place them in a bowl and cover them with 1/2 cup boiling water.

Leave them sit for 1/2 an hour, then transfer the dates, with habout 1/2 of the water, to a high powered processor/blender/nutribullet/thermal cooker and blitz until smooth. If the mix is to chunky to blend, add 1 tsp of the remaining water at a time until you can form a smooth paste.

Store in a glass jar in the fridge for a couple of week, or freeze in ice cubes for later use.

1 heaped tsp = 3/4 of 1 date.

Enjoy 🙂

P.S. If you want a yummy ‘caramel’ – blitz equal parts of this paste together with my sunflower seed butter, a pinch of cinnamon, a pinch of pink salt and a bit of vanilla bean pastes – heavenly!!!!

Apple, pumpkin and oat muffins

January 26, 2017January 24, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ 1 Comment

Next week our little people to go back to school – cannot believe that our beloved holidays are already at an end! Of course with school comes lunchboxes …. and this year we have 3 at full time school. Eek!! That’s a lot of pre-made snacks every week!

I created these muffins to use the produce we had growing well in our garden – apples and pumpkins. I love that they are loaded with fibre and whole foods and that their sweetness comes from fruits. They are soft and fragrant and a massive hit with my kids – I know there will be smiles and satisfied tummies when they open their lunchboxes 🙂

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce*
1/2 cup mashed pumpkin
1/2 cup milk of choice (vanilla almond is fabulous here)
3 tbsp aquafaba OR 1 whole egg
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
70g vegan butter or tasteless coconut oil, melted
4 medjool dates, pitted (or 4 tsp of my date paste)
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup wholemeal spelt flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
pinch salt

*To make my apple sauce I just core my apples and cut them into quarters (don’t peel – keep the benefit of the skin’s nutrients!) and steam them until soft with a little bit of water and a pinch of cinnamon and then blend or process until you reach the consistency you like. (Speed 2, Steam Temp for about 10-12 minutes, then turn off temperature and increase speed gradually up to 6). I make it in bulk and store it in reusable squeezy pouches in the freezer.

Blitz the oats until you have a rough flour (Speed 8, 6 seconds). Add to all other dry ingredients and whisk to combine (Speed 4, 6 seconds)

Place all wet ingredients, including dates into a blender/processor and process until smooth (Speed 4 whilst you drop the dates in then gradually up to speed 7 for about 20 seconds).

Pour the wet ingredients into the centre of the dry ingredients and gently fold through until all combined (Speed 4, 8 seconds, scrape down and repeat)

Put a spoonful of mixture into a lined muffin pan and place into a preheated oven for about 20 mins or until a inserted skewer comes out clean.

Makes about 15 …. or apparently fewer if you turn your back for too long and your little people can’t wait!!!

These freeze and defrost well.

Enjoy 🙂

P.S. I haven’t made a gluten free version of these ones yet, but try replacing the flour with equal quantities of a good GF flour mix and replacing the oats with 1/2 cup almond meal and 1/2 cup rolled quinoa.

Salmon and broccoli salad with avocado pesto

January 24, 2017January 8, 2018 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

I found myself singing Powderfinger’s ‘My Happiness’ while I was making this for dinner last night!! And I think, probably, if I was Julie Andrews I’d be singing ‘My favourite things’ about most of the ingredients in this dish – salmon, seeds, spinach, broccoli and avocado!!

Such a fabulous combination, loaded with fibre, great fats, calcium, iron, vitamin C, E, Magnesium …. and the list goes on!

It is a really lovely subtle flavour – and I’m very happy to be anticipating the left overs for lunch!

As much as I’d love to be making this with a large slab of fresh, wild caught salmon …. our food budget doesn’t often stretch to that, but the benefits of salmon are great and we try to eat it regularly – so tinned it is! Try to buy a wild caught and sustainable brand, and choose one that is tinned in water, rather than loaded with oils and other additions.

3 tbsp my basil and spinach nut free pesto
1 ripe avocado
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 large head broccoli, chopped and steamed
400g tin salmon, skin removed, flaked
pinch pink salt and a few grinds of black pepper.

Mix together the pesto, lemon juice and avocado until well combined and smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Remove the skin from the tinned salmon and the large bones – but leave in the tiny bones as they mash up well and provide and extra boost of calcium (really important for our little miss who is deficient).

Stir the pesto mix through the chopped broccoli, while it is still hot, then stir through the salmon.

I am very happy to eat this as a meal on its own – but the kids …. not so much! So I stir theirs through some pasta. And tonight I added a handful of left over roasted veg to mine as well.

I also enjoy this salad with raw broccoli and I add in grated raw beetroot.

Enjoy 🙂

Loaded pumpkin pancakes

January 19, 2017November 25, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

I’m doing some extra training at the moment …. Seriously, who thought 6am boxing sessions were a bright idea?!

With 7 sessions a week I am having to careful to be kind to my body which means enforcing a rest day and being careful with my nutrition so that I can recover well.

I have added these delights to my breakfast rotation and I hang out for them each time.

I had no intention of offering them to my kids! However, miss fussy pants saw me digging in and said ‘where’s mine?!’. She promptly demolished 3 and has asked for them every day since! Wonders never cease!

These will boost your fibre, good fats and calcium, contribute to your fruit and veg intake for the day and keep you full for ages … But best of all they taste fabulous – hope you love them as much as we do!

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1 tsp mixed spice
1/4 tsp pink salt flakes
1 tsp each of GF baking powder and baking soda
3 cup wholemeal spelt flour
1/2 cup steamed, diced pumpkin
6 medjool dates
1 overripe banana
1/2 cup stewed pears
1 tbsp sunflower seed butter (or other nut butter)
3 cups milk of choice (I use unsweetened vanilla almond)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

In your processor place all of the dry ingredients, except the flour and blitz them until fine(Speed 10, 8 secs).

Add in the flour and mix to combine (Speed 6, 8 seconds). Then set aside.

Place all wet ingredients into blender/processor/nutribullet/thermal cooker and process until very smooth. If you’re using a machine that has a chute at the top, add the dates after you have begun processing, to protect your machine. (Start on speed 4 until dates are added, then increase speed up to 8 for 10 seconds, scrape down and repeat).

Add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix well to combine (Speed 4, 8 seconds, scrape down and repeat).

Spoon the batter into a hot, lightly greased frying pan, for about 90 seconds or until the first side is a deep golden colour, then flip and cook until both sides are done. This is a thick mixture and you may need to use the back of the spoon to spread the mix out a little.

Enjoy with a small amount of whichever butter suits your diet.

Makes about 40, and the leftovers freeze well. I always make pancakes in bulk … but this recipe halves easily if you don’t have as many staaaaarrrrving mouths to feed 😉

Enjoy 🙂

Pistachio and Pomegranate Yoghurt cake

January 16, 2017January 12, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

Today was our traditional family school holidays ‘ladies lunch’. We are always delighted to have 4 generations of us together.

Of course, ladies who lunch, must also have cake. Special cake. And this was my offering today. Beautifully moist and tart, it was well received by everyone. Phew!

The idea of the yoghurt cake was based on Indian Chef, Nita Mehta’s Basic Eggless Vanilla Cake.

For the syrup:

2 cup pure pomegranate juice
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp coconut sugar
Seeds from 1 pomegranate

Place all ingredients, except seeds, into a saucepan, stir well and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce to a simmer for about an hour until it has reduced by more than half, stir regularly. (or Speed 2, Steam Temp for about 3 mins, then reduce down to 90C for about an hour).

While the syrup is simmering, de-seed your pomegranate. I find the easiest way to do it is in a bowlful of water – the seeds sink and the pith floats. No mess!

Once the syrup has reduced, add the seeds and set aside.

For the cake:

1 1/4 cups spelt flour (or 1 cup GF flour mix)
1/4 cup pistachio meal (or roasted pepita meal)
1/4 tsp pink salt
1/2 cup milled coconut sugar
1 cup yoghurt (dairy, soy, coconut)
1/2 cup light tasting oil (rice bran or tasteless coconut, melted)
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp baking powder

In a stand mixer, mix together the yoghurt and sugar until sugar has dissolved (speed 4, 8 seconds, scrape down and repeat)

Add in baking powder and soda, mix to combine then sit aside for 5 minutes, allowing it to bubble (speed 4, 6 seconds)

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, nut meal and salt.

Go back to the yoghurt mix and add oil and vanilla. Mix well (speed 4, 10 seconds).

Then, whilst mixing (on speed 4) gradually add in the flour mix (about 1/4 cup at a time), until well combined and light.

Pour into a greased 9inch round tin and place into a pre heated 160c oven for about 45 minutes, or until golden and a skewer comes out clean from the middle.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes before poking holes over the cake for the syrup to soak into a little later.

This cake cuts best if allowed to cool for a couple of hours before slicing. So gently rewarm the syrup and spoon it over the cake before serving.

Enjoy 🙂

Real Protein Powder

January 12, 2017January 30, 2021 ~ desertcook ~ 7 Comments

I should preface this post by letting you know that I’m not much of a fan of commercial protein powders.

It’s actually really fairly easy for the average healthy person to meet their daily protein needs – even with an hour or so of exercise, special dietary needs or a totally plant based diet if you focus on eating real foods.

Our dietary guidelines suggest 0.8g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. If you have special dietary needs through malnourishment or illness, or are an elite athlete – please make sure you seek advice from your doctor.

But if you are looking for something to add to shakes, pancakes or sprinkle on your porridge or cereal to give it a boost, then why not stick with the good stuff available from nature?

Nuts and seeds are an amazing source of protein, iron, calcium, folate, magnesium, great fats …. And the list goes on! And by getting your protein boost from them you an avoid all of the fillers, flavours and additives etc that come in most commercial powders.

I blitz up this mix and leave it in a glass jar in my freezer for a scoop when needed.

3 tbsp each of sunflower, pumpkin, chia and flax seeds
1/2 cup roasted almonds
1/2 cup roasted hazelnuts (skin off)

Place nuts and seeds in high power processor and process until fine – be careful not to overdo it and wind up with a butter! (Speed 8, 8 seconds).

If you are using a smaller machine like a nutribullet, then you need to blitz one ingredient at a time and mix together at the end.

For a nut free version:

3 tbsp each of chia and flax seeds
3/4 cup roasted sunflower seeds
3/4 cup roasted pumpkin seeds

To dry roast the seeds, place them in a large baking tray under the grill, on the shelf furthest away in the oven. Watch them carefully … it only takes a few minutes! Flip seeds in tray a few times during cooking process to ensure even cooking coverage.

Allow seeds to cool before adding to processor with chia and flax.

If you want a chocolate flavour or sweetened version of this powder, you can check out my Chocolate Drinking Mix – which is especially awesome for kids milkshakes.

The protein powder goes great in our vanilla hotcakes too!

Enjoy 🙂

Apricot ginger crumble

December 31, 2016December 29, 2016 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

My apple and blueberry crumble is one of my favourite, comforting desserts. But the other day my Nanna was coming for dinner. She has always been a great gardener so I wanted to make a meal for her that used our home grown produce.

So – I figured it was a great time to use up the slightly overripe apricots we had waiting in the freezer. You could always use the tinned variety too.

See below the recipe for my Coeliac friendly option

800g – 1kg Lightly stewed apricots
800- 1kg lightly stewed pears
100g Nuttelex/Vegan butter
1 1/4 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup plain flour (spelt or GF)
1/3 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup toasted sunflower seeds
1/2 cup puffed rice
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp extra coconut sugar

Place fruit in a large greased baking dish.

Sprinkle with the lemon juice and a mix of ginger and the tsp of sugar. Then set aside.

Mix crumble well and spread over the top of the fruit mix. Heat butter until it is very soft (but not melted). Then add to the mixed dry ingredients and lemon zest.

Bake in a preheated moderate oven for about 45 minutes.

20161228_203644 — Whoops …. Got busy serving and forgot a photo!

Serve with the custard or ice cream your diet allows.

To make this a Coeliac friendly dish you just need to replace the oats. To do this, I increase the flour to 1 cup, then add an additional 1/2 cup of puffed rice, 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds and add 1/4 cup of rolled quinoa.

Enjoy 🙂

Balsamic Beef

December 29, 2016September 9, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

This is my twist on this recipe from Add A Pinch. It’s so quick and simple to prepare and has such a delicious, flavour. And since it is in the slow cooker – the ‘roast dinner mess’ is very minimal – hooray!!!!

Beef Roast, Approx 2kg (brisket works well)
1/2 cup hot beef stock (homemade, or Massel)
2 tbsp coconut aminos (or soy sauce)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp mince chilli
1 tbsp honey
6 cloves

Place beef in slow cooker.

Drizzle honey over the top.

Mix together the stock, vinegar, aminos, garlic and chilli and pour over the top of the beef.

Place cloves on top of the beef and return lid to the slow cooker. Set on low for 7 hours.

Remove beef from slow cooker and slice before placing in serving dish.

Strain and reserve the juices from the slow cooker. Then I use them in my gravy recipe. However, I want a much lighter gravy, so I use only 1 tbsp fat and 1 tbsp of flour to the 3 cups of liquid.

Pour the gravy over the meat and serve with your favourite sides.

Tonight we had it with roast veg and a beautiful summer salad.

Enjoy 🙂

Chocolate Bliss Bars

December 20, 2016November 15, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ 4 Comments

These delicious little bars are a cross between my chocolate bliss balls and my muesli bar slice.

So very yummy, loaded with great stuff to keep you going and really easy to make – and my little Miss Fussypants loves them …. in fact, she had one for breakfast this morning (together with a banana and a glass of oat milk!).

12 medjool dates, pitted
1/2 cup nuts of choice (I used almonds and hazelnuts)
1 tbsp, heaped, sunflower seed butter (or other nut butter to suit your diet)
1/4 cup rolled oats/desiccated coconut/rolled quinoa
2/3 cup mixed seeds (I use a mix of pumpkin, flax, chia and hemp)
2 tbsp cocoa
1/4 tsp pink flaked salt

To make these Nut Free simply replace the 1/2 cup of nuts with an additional 1/2 cup of seeds – roast the seeds first for a ‘nuttier’ taste.

Place all of the ingredients, except the seed butter and the dates into your processor/thermal cooker and process until fine (Speed 8, 8 seconds)

Add in the seed butter and begin processing again (speed 4), then drop the dates one at a time through the chute at the top. Process until dates are totally combined (increase to speed 7 for a thermal cooker once dates are all added). At the right consistency the mixture will clump together in the mixer.

The moisture content of your dates will have quite an effect on the mix. If it is too crumbly, the add a tsp of cold water at a time whilst mixing until the clumping begins.

Tip the mix into a lined baking tray and, using damp hands, press down firmly.

Place into the freezer for 30 minutes before removing from the tray and cutting into bars.

These need to be stored in the fridge (or even the freezer) – and they work better if there is a sheet of baking paper between the layers.

Makes 15-18 bars depending on the size you cut them.

Enjoy 🙂

Crispy Potato Bites

December 5, 2016December 5, 2016 ~ desertcook ~ 2 Comments

Hot potato chips and any of their close cousins are a big win with my kids – in fact, with most kids I think! Ok, ok …. with me too!

The kids occasionally have baked potato gems (Tater tots?!) with a meal, but, as with all things, I’d prefer to go with a home made, less processed version if possible. And since we’ve just had a bumper crop of potatoes what better time to give my own version a go?!

This version was hugely successful with my kids – and the biggest kid too 😉 They loved that they were eating ‘their veggies’ and I loved that they were getting the vitamins and minerals found in the potato skins. No need (or time) for peeling or grating here 😀

20161129_171908-1 — He was very proud of the results of his digging efforts!

5-6 baby potatoes
1/4 cup flour of choice (GF/Spelt etc)
1/4 cup GF breadcrumbs
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp pink flaked salt
2 tbsp aquafaba (OR 1 whole egg, well whisked)
spray olive oil
OPTIONAL: any fresh chopped herbs or dried spices to complement your meal – rosemary, thyme or dill work beautifully.

Give your potatoes a good scrub, but don’t peel them.

Cut them into bite size pieces and place into a saucepan of boiling salted water.

Boil for a couple of minutes until they are just becoming tender.

Drain and rinse well. Blot them dry.

In a separate bowl mix together the flour, crumbs and yeast. Add the herbs or spices at this point if you’re using them.

Coat the potato in the aquafaba (or egg) and then toss in the crumb mix to coat all sides.

Place them pieces on a line baking tray, spray them with oil and sprinkle with the salt.

Place into a preheated, very hot (220C) oven for about 30 minutes, shaking the tray to toss them after 20 minutes.

This makes about 4 side servings.

Hope you enjoy them as much as this guy …..

20161205_180053-1 — ‘These are even better than shop chips Mum!’

20161205_175928-1 — The biggest kid enjoyed them too 😉

Bulk cooking/prep tip: If you have a bumper crop of potatoes like us, you can pre-prepare a heap of them, by cleaning, cutting and par boiling them, then blotting dry and freezing in an airtight bag. Then just defrost when you’re ready, add the crumb and bake away.