Almond-Currant Granola

2 cup rolled oats (not quick oats)

1/4 cup almonds, chopped

1/4 cup shredded coconut

1/4 cup currants

3 tablespoons coconut oil (liquefied)

4 tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch salt

2 tablespoons golden whole flax seed

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. In a small bowl, combine the rolled oats, almonds, coconut, currants, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt. Mix until well-combined.

2. On a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, place granola in a single, even layer. Bake for 10 minutes, then give the granola a good toss.

3. Bake for 5-10 more minutes or until granola is golden brown. Remove from the oven, let cool slightly, then add the flax seeds (heat destroys their omegas). Stir to combine.

4. Let cool completely before storing the granola in a covered container. It will crisp as it cools.

Makes: 3 cups, Preparation time: 15 minutes, Cooking time: 20 minutes

Labneh, The Middle Eastern Yoghurt Spread

Make your own cheese spread, Labneh. Easy and delicious!

Breakfast in the Middle East. There’s black coffee. Pita. Chopped cucumbers and tomatoes. Olive oil to drizzle at will. And labaneh, a thick, yoghurt-based cheese whose sour taste perfectly complements vegetables,bread and olive oil. All you need is plain yoghurt and salt. Fancy equipment? Well, how about a clean kitchen towel and a colander, and a bowl? Because that’s all you need to make this versatile white spread.

Labneh

Ingredients:

3 cups plain white yogurt

1 teaspoon salt

Mix the yogurt and the salt well.

Place a wide, thin kitchen towel or several layers of cheesecloth in a colander (or sieve), and pour the salted yoghurt into it.

Gather up the corners of the cloth and tie them into a knot. Place a bowl under the colander to catch the dripping whey or hang the bag over the sink. 

Let the labaneh release whey and become thick over 24 hours. It will have a texture like rough cream cheese. If you let it dry out two days, it will become quite firm.

Don’t throw the whey out! It’s full of protein. Use it in baking.

Open the bag and remove the cheese, using a spatula or the edge of a spoon.  Store your labaneh in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

How To Serve Labneh:

Spread it evenly over a medium-sized plate. Sprinkle with fresh seasonal herbs like mint, za’atar, or dill – or place a few olives around the center of the plate. Drizzle a thread of olive oil over all. Serve with pita or other fresh bread.

Labneh may also be used as a substitute for sour cream in many recipes; for example, cheescake.

If you allow your labneh to drain for 2 full days or more, obtaining a soft cheese, you can roll pieces up into balls the size of small eggs and marinate these balls in olive oil to cover, 2 peeled garlic cloves, and a tiny chili pepper. Labneh preserved this way will stay good for two months. It does become more sour as time passes, so taste it once in a while to see when you want to finish it up.

Spiced Lentil Carrot Veggie Burgers

Spiced Lentil Carrot Veggie Burgers

Ingredients

    1 cup uncooked lentils
    3 carrots, grated
    1 onion, diced
    3/4 cup whole grain flour, approximately
    water (optional)
    pinch sea salt
    1 teaspoon coriander
    1 teaspoon cumin
    1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
    pinch salt
    pinch black pepper
    1 to 2 teaspoon(s) olive oil

Directions:

1. Before you begin, the lentils must be fully cooked. Gently boil them in enough water to cover them by 2 inches, with NO salt. Lentils will take about 30 minutes to cook. Drain lentils and place in bowl.

2. Add carrots and onion. Mash them a bit, but not too much. Add enough flour to get them to the point where they will stick together. You may also need to add a bit of water.

3. Season the mix with the spices (coriander, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper); stir them through well. With your hands, form the lentil mix into burger shapes.

4. Add a teaspoon of olive oil to a heated pan and lay the burgers in. Leave them for about 10 minutes on the first side, flip, and cook another 5 to 7 minutes. Put the burgers in an oven on low heat to keep them warm while you cook the second batch.

Savory Split Pea Soup

Savory Split Pea Soup

Ingredients

    2 cloves garlic
    1 yellow onion
    1 1/2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves
    3 stalks celery
    1 tablespoon dried parsley
     Pinch rosemary
    1 tablespoon olive oil
     Water   
    1 tablespoon vegan bouillon mix
    2 cups dry green split peas
    1 bay leaf
    Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Fresh basil makes this split pea soup an absolutely to die for dish.

1. Thinly slice the garlic, onion, basil, celery. In a deep and large pot, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and fry the chopped vegetables on medium-high heat until softened and the onions are translucent and starting to brown.

2. Add water to your pot, filling to the top. Set the heat to high, dissolve bouillon and add the split peas, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat to medium, cover, and wait, stirring occasionally. It will take about 1 hour or more to cook down, but patience is a virtue...especially since this soup is so good and simple. Give it a good stir with a whisk once the peas are mushy; this will make the soup creamy without making a mess with the blender.

If you like a thicker soup, let it boil down longer until the desired consistency is reached. If you like a thinner soup, feel free to add water when you notice it becoming too thick.

Spicy Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burrito

These sound delish, will have to give them a try. I just love sweet potato.

Spicy Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burrito

Ingredients
    1 large sweet potato
    1/4 cup chili powder
    1 teaspoon garlic powder
    1 tablespoon cumin
    Dash cayenne
    1 teaspoon oregano
    1/4 cup diced red onion
    1 cup cooked black beans
    1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
    1/2 cup cooked brown rice
    1/4 cup frozen corn kernels   
    3/4 cup tomato sauce
    1/4 cup canned diced green chilies
    3 cups roughly chopped kale
    6 corn tortillas
    1/4 cup diced tomato
    1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

1) Wash sweet potato and peel, if desired. Bring large pot of water to boil. Add sweet potato, cut in large chunks, and boil until tender, about 30 minutes. When easily pierced with a fork, it's done.

2) Meanwhile, combine the chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, cayenne, and oregano.

3) Saute the red onion on medium-low heat in a small amount of water until soft and slightly translucent, roughly 5 to 10 minutes. Add half of the mixed spices, black beans, bell pepper, rice, corn, tomato sauce and green chilies. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Lastly, stir in the kale and heat until bright green and just wilted. Remove from heat.

4) When sweet potato is cooked, mash until smooth with the remaining half of spice mixture. Heat corn tortillas between two damp paper towels in microwave for 30 seconds.

5) Spread mashed sweet potato down the center of each tortilla. Top with the black bean and veggie mix. Roll and serve topped with diced tomato and fresh parsley.

Sticky pear & ginger cake

This is a cross between a sticky toffee pudding and a ginger cake. Serve warm with ice cream or cream as a dessert.

Ingredients

For the cake

250g stone dates , finely chopped 

300ml milk 

100g butter , plus extra for the tin 

140g ginger preserve (you'll find this with the jams) 

140g dark muscovado sugar 

3 large ripe pears

175g self-raising flour 

50g pecans nuts, reserve 10 and chop the rest 

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 

2 tsp ground ginger 

½ tsp mixed spice 

2 eggs , beaten

FOR THE BRANDY SYRUP

85g light muscovado sugar 

150ml brandy

 Method

Put the chopped dates in a pan with the milk, butter, ginger preserve and dark muscovado. Heat gently until the butter has melted and the mixture starts to bubble round the edges of the pan. Stir well and set aside for 1 hr to cool.


Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line the base of a buttered 23cm springform tin with baking parchment. Peel and chop the pears into large chunks. Mix the flour, chopped pecans and bicarb with the spices, then stir into the cooled date mixture with the eggs. Pour into the tin and scatter over the pears. Roughly break the reserved pecans and drop on top. Bake for 40 mins, then cover the top loosely with foil and return to the oven for 25-30 mins more until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with just sticky crumbs - the cake may still look a little wet around the pears.


While the cake is baking, make the brandy syrup. Tip the light muscovado sugar into a pan with 50ml water and dissolve over a low heat until syrupy. Stir in the brandy and set aside. When the cake is ready, spoon over half the syrup, then leave the cake to cool before serving with extra syrup on the side.

To freeze, cool the cake in its tin, then wrap well and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost and warm through in a low oven. The syrup can be frozen separately, warmed, then drizzled over as before.

Lentil and nut roast

Ingredients

115g/ 4oz/ 1/2 cup red lentils

115g/ 4oz/ 1 cup hazelnuts

115g/ 4oz/ 1 cup walnuts

1 large carrot

2 celery sticks

1 large onion/ sliced

115g/ 4oz/ mushrooms

50g/ 2oz/ 4tbsp butter

 2tsp mild curry powder

2 tsp tomato ketchup

 2 tsp soy sauce

1 egg beaten

 2 tsp salt

4 tbsp fresh parsley/ chopped

150ml/ 1/4 pint/ 2/3 cup water

Preheat the oven to 190C/ 375F/ gas 5

Method

1 Soak the lentils for 1 hour in cold water then drain well. Grind the nuts in a food processor until quite fine but not too smooth. Set the nuts aside.

2 Chop the carrot, celery, onion, and mushrooms into small chunks, then pass them through a food processor or blender until they are quite finely chopped.

3 Fry the vegetables gently in the butter for 5 mins then stir in the curry powder and cook for 1 min.

4 Mix the lentils with the nuts, vegetables and remaining ingredients.

Grease and line the base and sides of a long 1kg/ 2lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper or a sheet of foil. Press the mixture into the tin.

6 Bake for about 1-1 1/4 hours until just firm, covering the top with a piece of foil if it starts to burn. Allow to stand for 15 mins before turning out onto a serving plate. It will be fairly soft when cut as it is a moist loaf.

My any time vegetarian gravy

I have scoured the net for a good vegetarian gravy recipe that uses vegetables instead of stock cubes and failed miserably. 

So this recipe is my own.

My any time vegetarian gravy

Make up a large batch and freeze it in small containers ready to reheat and serve.

Ingredients:

1 large onion (sliced into rings). 

2 clove of garlic(peeled) 

4oz mushrooms 

3 carrots 

2 sticks celery 

6 tbsp of sunflower oil 

1 small knob of butter (use a vegan butter or omit all together if you wish to) 

2 1/2 pints of  water 

1 level tsp of Marmite 

2 tsp of soy sauce 

1 tsp of balsamic vinegar 

1 pinch of decent mixed herbs  

Ground black pepper to taste

Method:

Heat the olive oil and butter in a frying pan over a low heat and add the onion, celery and carrot slices. 

After five minutes add the garlic and mushrooms. 

Sautee until the onions are soft and transparent.10 to15 minutes. 

Add the water gradually, stirring constantly. Then add the Marmite, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar,  mixed herbs and black pepper. 

Bring the mixture to the boil and simmer very gently for 20 - 30 minutes.  

puree 

season to taste
If you ommit the butter and use spray oil the ProPoint value for this recipe is zero.

Basic roast chicken soup base

This is a great way to use up left over roast chicken.

Ingredients

left over roast chicken (meat, etc and bones separated) 

Carrot peeled (cut in half so it fits into your slow cooker)

Celery stick (cut in half so it fits into your slow cooker)

onion peeled

thyme

method

place the chicken, saving the meat to add later into your slow cooker

Add all the other ingredients and cover with water.

Cook on high for 6 hrs.

Remove the carrot, celery and onion and place in a blender with the chicken meat.

Strain the rest of the soup, discard the bones, etc.

Add enough of the stock to the blender to allow you to puree the other ingredients.

Mix in the rest of the stock.

The soup base freezes well, so you can always have a batch  ready for use.
2 cups=1 can 

This is a great soup base, how you then use it is up to you. 

Chicken soup with ginger and fennel

I have been wondering what to cook with my homegrown fennel bulb, this sounds perfect 

From Anne's Food

serves 4

1 chicken
1 carrot, peeled and cut into smaller pieces
1/2 fennel (fairly small bulb), coarsely chopped
5 ginger slices, 2 mm thick
2 yellow onions, coarsely chopped
1 bay leaf
6 black peppercorns
1 tsp dried tarragon
50 g butter
2 tbsp flour
100 ml cream (full-fat)
1 tbsp sherry or cognac
salt

Place the whole chicken, breast up, i a pot along with the carrot, fennel, ginger and half of the onion. Add the bay leaf, black pepper, tarragon and a pinch of salt. Add water so that it almost covers the chicken, but leaves the top of the breast above water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and cover the pot with a lid. Simmer on low heat for 1,5 hours.

Remove the chicken and let it cool enough to handle. Shred the meat.

Pour the boiling liquid through a sieve into a clean pot, and boil until about one litre remains.

Melt the butter i a pot (large enough to hold all the soup) and fry the remaining onion on medium heat until it's softened but not browned. Add the flour and stir well. Gradually add the boiling liquid from the chicken, stirring all the time to avoid clumping. When all liquid has been added, bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let it cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Blend the soup until smooth - I prefer an immersion blender.

Add the cream, sherry or cognac, and the shredded chicken. Season with salt, and any additional spices you might like.

Witches Finger Cookies

Creep out everyone at your Halloween party with witches finger cookies. You can use any shortbread cookie recipe, but here’s one for you to use if you prefer.

1 cup sugar
	1 cup Butter, softened
	1 Egg
	1 tsp Almond extract
	1 tsp Vanilla extract
	2 2/3 cups Flour
	1 tsp Salt
	3/4 cup whole Almonds, blanched
	2 squares of melting chocolate, or chocolate bark

Combine the sugar, egg, butter, almond extract, and vanilla in a bowl. Mix in the flour, and salt. Cover and refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes, or until it’s firm.
When you’re ready to shape the cookies, only take out a small portion of the dough at a time. Shape the cookies into fingers by rolling and working with your hands. Score the top of the cookie with a knife or spatula to make it look like the wrinkles in your knuckle. Press an imprint into the tip of the cookie with your finger to make a spot for the almond finger nail. Press an almond into the tip of each finger to look like a fingernail.
Placed on a cooking sheet lightly coated with no-stick cooking spray and bake at 325` for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cookies are a very light golden brown. Let the cookies cool on a drying rack.
Use melting chocolate to go around the outside of the almond nail, giving a ghoulish appearance. Just melt the chocolate, put it in an icing piping bag, and cut a very small hole in the tip. Then pipe around the nail.
If you use red melting chocolate the look will be even more dramatic, you can also make small drops of chocolate blood, or chocolate cuts on the cookies if you really want to gross out your guests.
The witches finger cookies will make great party treats, but you can also bundle them up in a decorative container and use them for your Halloween party favors.

Swedish Cinnamon Buns

From Anne's Food
Makes 40

80 g fresh yeast
2 eggs
500 ml finger-warm milk (2 cups)
1 kg wheat flour
200 g demerara or muscovado sugar
150 g butter, softened
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cardamom

Filling:
80 g butter, softened
demerara or muscovado sugar
cinnamon

Decoration:
1 egg, beaten with 1/2 tsp water, and a tiny pinch of salt
pearl sugar

Crumble the yeast into a bowl. Add some of the tepid milk, and stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the rest of the milk, half of the flour and both of the eggs. Leave to proof, covered, for one hour.

Add the rest of the flour, the sugar, salt, cardamom and butter. Work into a smooth and silky dough. Here's when you might need a bit more flour. Transfer the dough to a clean bowl, cover and leave to proof for 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into two. Roll out each part to a large rectangle. Spread with butter, and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Roll each rectangle into a tight roll, starting at the long edge, and cut each roll into about 20 pieces. Place each piece in a paper cup on a baking sheet (covered with parchment paper so you won't end up with a mess), cover and leave to proof for 30 minutes.

Beat the egg with a pinch of salt and 1/2 tsp of water, and brush this carefully on the buns. Finish by a light sprinkling of pearl sugar.

Bake at 250°C for 6-8 minutes, until they're as golden as you like them.

easy red lentil dahl

Ingredients

8 oz red lentils

1 chopped onion

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp ginger

1 7 oz can chopped tomatoes

1 pint veg stock

salt and pepper

Just bung into your slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours.

To serve just sprinkle with torn coriander leaves.

coriander flat bread

Mix together in a bowl

7 oz self-raising flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

pinch of salt

Add 2 tbsp sunflower oil, then gradually mix in 6-7 tbsp water to make a soft dough.

Cut the dough into 6 pieces  and roll out each piece thinly on a floured surface to form an oval.

Fry in a frying pan untill puffy, about 2-3 minutes on each side.

Carrot Seed Bread

adapted from Anne's Food
makes 20
1 sachet dried yeast
500 ml milk
50 ml golden syrup (molasses would work well, or honey)
1 tsp salt
100 ml neutral oil, such as canola
50 g crushed linseed
50 g sesame seeds
100 g dried apricots, finely chopped
200 g carrots, grated
1 kg high-protein bread flour
Add ingredients in order suggested by your breadmaker. Use the dough cycle.
Divide into 20 equal pieces (mine weighed about 100 g each), and shape into nice, firm rolls. Place on baking sheets, cover with a tea towel again and leave to rise for about 30 minutes.
Bake at 200°C for about 15 minutes. (I use a fan-assisted oven, it might take a bit longer in a regular one.)

ROAST LEMON CHICKEN WITH ROOT VEGETABLES

This new take on the classic roast will fast become a family favourite

Ingredients

 75g Butter

 1 Whole Chicken, approx 1.55kg

 Sprigs of fresh thyme

 1 Lemon

 Assorted root vegetables, roughly chopped

 

Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Using your hands, rub the butter underneath and over the chicken skin and place some of the thyme sprigs under the skin, too.

Cut the lemon in half and squeeze its juice all over the chicken. Put the squeezed lemon into the cavity of the chicken.

Put the root vegetables and remaining thyme in a medium-sized roasting tin and season. Place the chicken on top and cook for 1½ hours, basting once halfway through cooking. Check the chicken is cooked through before serving (the juices should run clear when the thigh is pricked).

Smoked sausage and bean casserole

A brilliant one-pot winter warmer, packed with spicy pork sausage in a rich tomato sauce. 

Ingredients

This casserole is even better served with warm garlic bread.

1 smoked sausage, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 jar of tomato and basil sauce
415g can of baked beans
300ml water

Method

 

Heat a splash of oil in a large pan and fry the carrots for 5 mins. 

Stir in the tomato sauce and water. Bring to the boil, cover and then simmer for 15 mins. 

Add the sausage and baked beans and cook for a further 10-15 mins until the carrots are tender.

Provençale fish

This quick and easy version of a French classic blends white fish with a herby tomato sauce and cheese topping

Ingredients

To make this even quicker, you could use a ready-made pizza paste or sun-dried tomato paste, but cooking it fresh is better!

2x227g can tomatoes
Pinch of crushed chillies
1tbsp chopped fresh basil, oregano or thyme
4 thick white fish fillets (cod or haddock) about 150g (5oz) each
125g pack mozzarella, drained and thinly sliced
4tbsp freshly grated parmesan
Bread and pasta, to serve

Method

Place the fish in your slow cooker 

mix together  the tomatoes, chillies, and herbs 

pour over the fish and cook on high for 2 hours 

10 minutes before serving place cheese on top so that it melts and goes nice and gooey 

Herb-crust roast chicken

This flavoursome roast chicken with delicious crispy skin, will really impress the family at your next Sunday lunch, plus don't forget to check out our brilliant video for perfect roasties 

Ingredients

The chicken is fully cooked when the juices run clear when the bird is pierced in the thigh with a skewer

Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
2tbsp flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
2tbsp tarragon, finely chopped
6tbsp low-fat spread, like Clover
1 x 2kg whole chicken
Seasoning

Method

In a small bowl, combine the orange zest and juice, parsley, tarragon and the low-fat spread. Loosen the skin of the chicken from the flesh, by easing your fingers or a handle of a spoon under the skin. Rub the herb mixture under the skin of the chicken. 

Place the chicken in a large dish and cover with cling film. Chill for an hour. 

Preheat oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/400°F/gas mark 6. 

Place the chicken in a deep roasting tin and season the chicken generously with sea salt and black pepper. 

Cover the chicken loosely with foil and roast in the oven for an hour. Remove the foil and cook for a further 30 mins. 

Leave the chicken to rest for 10 mins before carving. Watch our video for perfect roast potatoes to serve with your roast chicken.

Cidered Pork with sage dumplings

I cooked this in celebration of Mabon, but it is so good you will not want to save it just for celebrations. I also made a batch of my ratatouille bread to mop up the appley sauce.

Ingredients

1 tbsp sunflower oil

1 1/2 lb pork shoulder, cubed

1 thinly sliced leek

2 tbsp plain flour

1/2 pint dry cider

1/2 pint chicken stock

2 sliced carrots

1 cored and sliced cooking apple

2-3 stems of sage

salt and pepper

method

Preheat the slow cooker.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the pork. Transfer to your slow cooker.

Fry the leek untill softened.

Stir in the flour, then mix in the cider and the stock.

Add the carrot, apple, sage, and season with salt and pepper.

Bring to the boil, stirring.

Transfer to your slow cooker pot and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Make the dumplings

Put the flour, suet,herbs and a little salt and pepper into a bowl and mix together.

Slowly add enough water to make into a soft dough.

Roll into 12 balls with floured hands.

Arrange on top of the pork and continue cooking on low for 1 hour.