Chocolate Fudge Brownies.....With Homemade Semi-Sweet Chocolate

These are an easy recipe to make - I like anything that is versatile - especially when you want to use other flours such as spelt. If using all whole grain spelt, remember to adjust the liquid content (use less) but this is also nice to mix and match. Use some spelt to give them more of a dense nutty texture familiar in a brownie...

I also make my own semi-sweet chocolate....for inclusion in a recipe it's often better then the factory made variety - besides you can control the ingredients completely with no preservatives etc. And, there is that continued satisfaction of making your own whenever possible. 

Chocolate Fudge Brownies

Cake

1 ¾ cups flour (I use 1/3 spelt)

¼ cup cocoa powder

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

2/3 cup chopped nuts (almonds, cashews)

125g butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

½ cup sour cream or yogurt

Semi Sweet Chocolate

6 tablespoons cocoa powder

6 tablespoons powdered sugar 

1 ½ to 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening (start with less)

Topping

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

¾ cup powdered sugar 

1 cup cream cheese

Preheat oven to 170C. Butter and flour a square baking tin or a shallow brownie pan. You can also line the sides with parchment paper to ensure ease of removal.

In a mixing bowl, sift together dry ingredients (except sugar) add ½ chopped or coarsely ground nuts. In the meantime, in a saucepan, over hot water, make the semi sweet chocolate in a heat-proof bowl.  Add all ingredients starting with the vegetable shortening first. Stir constantly to remove any lumps making sure all the sugar is blended in.

Allow chocolate to cool a little then add in sugar (from the cake section), lightly beaten eggs and sour cream or yogurt – beating until mixture is well combined – it will be thick and smooth. 

Add chocolate mixture to dry flour ingredients – using a wooden spoon stir gently until combined but do not over stir. Spoon evenly over the bottom of buttered baking tin – bake in oven 32-37 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in tin.

For the topping, place all ingredients into a bowl, using a fork, mash until well combined. It will soften and become spreadable after a few minutes. Using a knife, spread thickly and evenly over top of cooled cake then sprinkle topping with remaining chopped nuts. Cut into squares and serve….Lovely! 

April

A very chocolaty treat! 

April's Energy Balls....Healthy Coconut Treats

These days it really is all about energy - we seem to be running on empty, even when we are full or feeling drained, although we do so much to stop the leaks. Of course a huge amount of our energy (all of it?) must come from our food, and when we are eating things made from machines - well, let's just say that warm and fuzzy feeling is missing.

If you would like to try a dairy free, sugar free, wheat free - yummy treat, try these little energy balls. I have a more involved recipe listed below, but really, it you have a food processor, just use a handful of almonds, a few dates and figs and make a paste. Then roll into balls and sprinkle on some coconut.

It couldn't be easier to treat yourself....and lets face it - you deserve the best (say it often and believe it).

April’s Energy Balls

2-3 cups of chopped dates, figs or apricots and other dried fruit
¾ cup of crushed almonds, cashew or walnuts
2-3 tablespoons of sugar free strawberry jam
Maple Syrup (about 1-2 tablespoons)
Dessicated Coconut (1 cup)
½ to ¾ cup Tahini or Almond Butter

This recipe can be made differently each time you make it according to the ingredients that you have on hand. Also, the measurements can not be exact as sometimes the dates, figs and apricots may be a little drier and will therefore need more of the ‘wet’ ingredients to hold them together.

I chop all dates, figs and apricots by hand as fine as possible and combine in a large bowl (if you have a food processor, use this). Next I put in the nuts, jam and maple syrup. Mix all of these together loosely by mixing lightly, then add the tahini or almond butter slowly- seeing how much you will need to make the dry ingredients stick together.

Tahini works best for this recipe because it is not sweet and does not make Coconut balls overly sweet, and also because it is less thick then the almond butter. However, I have made it with both and it has worked out well. Even try a combination to give a nice nutty taste too.

Once all those ingredients are mixed in, see if you can squeeze a small teaspoon full into a ball- if this is done easily then do not add any thing else. If it is too wet, add more dates and if too dry add more jam and/or tahini.

Now that you can make little balls with this, roll them onto a plate covered with the coconut until each one is coated entirely. Then place onto a separate pan or serving dish.

These look very nice, are a balanced, healthy snack and are quite tasty with a cup of dandelion coffee. I serve them with seasonal fruit such as fresh strawberries or orange sections on a platter for nibbles at the end of a meal or at any party. Enjoy!

Or drop by my market stall in Bantry or Skibbereen to have a treat....can't wait to see you,

April

A bowl of Energy Balls.....yumm! 

Homemade Fig Newtons!!

Last week during our cleanse, my son kept asking for Fig Newtons for our feast - it was funny because I don't think he has ever tasted them, but he did see some friends of his eating them and was curious as to what they were....

Well, this weekend, true to form, I stepped back and thought - I can make them, and they will taste even better then anything that comes from a shop. So, I did, and they were better then any fig newton I have ever had....

In fact they were so delicious - we ate them all before I even had a chance to snap a quick photo. But, all was not lost - I simply made another (and bigger) batch. LOL Right now I am sitting here, smelling the aroma of cooling fig newtons.

And boy do they smell nice - perhaps the nicest of any cookie I've ever had the pleasure of baking. The combination of figs, orange and cardamom - is nearly intoxicating. And just as flavorful, tasty or mouth wateringly delicious as you can imagine anything to be.

This is my own recipe here - I am still tweaking it a little - however - it makes an awesome Fig Newton, so give it a try for yourself at home.... you won't be sorry and perhaps you might be pleasantly surprised!

2 1/3 cups spelt flour

2 tablespoons honey

12 to 16 large figs

boiling water

8 - 9 tablespoons goat's butter

1 egg

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup goat's milk

1.5 tablespoons orange zest

2 tablespoons orange juice 

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

pinch salt

In a small bowl place the figs with stems removed - then pour boiling water over top - enough to cover them. I then let them sit while I prepared the rest of the ingredients. Break the egg in a bowl big enough to mix in the milk and maple syrup.

In a small saucepan place the butter - allow it to gently melt or if already at room temperature add this to the egg, milk and maple syrup mixture - stir well to blend. 

Using a deep mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, cardamom and salt together. Once the figs have soaked for about 10 to 15 minutes, transfer to a food processor (or cook on stove top) to blend with 1 tablespoon of the soaking water, 1 tablespoon orange zest, plus 1 or 2 tablespoons honey.

Once the figs are well blended, set them aside. Then add the liquid butter mixture to the flour in the deep mixing bowl and stir until a soft dough forms. Add a little orange juice and the rest of the orange zest here. If the dough is too soft you may chill it for an hour or so - but I never had that problem so far. 

Turn out the dough (I did this in 2 smaller balls of dough) onto floured parchment paper and flatten into a rectangle shape. Spread some of the fig mixture down the middle of the dough or along one side, so that you can either roll it into filled cookies or layer 2 pieces. 

If there is too much fig mixture this is lovely on bread or toast....

Once the dough is filled and ready - cut into individual cookies and place onto a baking sheet. Put into a preheated oven at 180C for about 18 to 20 minutes or until gently browned. 

These are absolutely a treat!

April

Fig Newtons....Yumm!!

Food as Comfort - Nutmeg Stewed Apples & Pears

Today I am only on day 4 of my November Master Cleanse - and I am not certain yet how long I will go with this one - perhaps 15 or more days. It is the detox season just before Solstice and Christmas and the perfect time of year to cleanse.

So, I am working at it here - of course by now, I have slipped into my usual cleanse routine of getting more organized, thinking about recipes and food! This is where my heart is so I can often be found puttering around the kitchen late at night conjuring up things to make. 

Right now with this cleanse I feel as if I am processing through an entire encyclopedia of old patterns and issues - and perhaps most of them have to do with food. I have been wondering if absolutely everything in our human existence revolves around food.

I know there are many who would say we respond to and revolve around sex - however, you can't have a healthy sexual attitude without being fed properly and developing at least to a minimum emotional level. And that requires food. 

Besides eating is sensual and a loving activity people can share and make part of any relationship. The first thing we do in life, besides breathing, is eat and seek out comfort after the ordeal of birth. So our food should provide not only nutrition but also comfort for us. 

With this in mind - the kids have been spending more time outside (cool sunny days) and working hard in the barn with all the animals and chores to be done. So I wanted to make a little treat for them today to warm them up when they came inside.  

I had to use up some organic Irish apples and pears - so I made them a stewed apple/pear dish with big chunks of fruit and a little nutmeg. I love the smell of warm apples in the house and the nutmeg is very warming as well. 

Late last night I had made a cinnamon banana bread with the older bananas - a slice of this in a bowl with the hot stewed apples over top was not turned down by anyone. It smelled and looked delicious!

April

Cinnamon banana bread with stewed apples & pears

Sugar Free Samhain

Today has been a busy day with running around for classes with the kids - I love Saturdays for that reason and I get a lot done out and about. One thing caught my eye today however and it never dawned on me before now -

It's Halloween in a couple of weeks and we don't do anything processed! Not that I have given out sugar treats in the past 10 years or so, however, I would buy healthy snacky things to have on hand. This year with our nothing processed rule, is going to be interesting indeed.

This was our topic of discussion as we were coming home earlier today - what on earth to do about Halloween. First of all, let me clarify things here - this is Ireland and usually we would not get anyone at all come to the door trick or treating. But the odd time it does happen.

The other point to be made is in years past my own children would get to eat the snacks and we would have our own little celebration of Samhain. However, this year we are all geared up for some great homemade treats such as cookies, halva, flapjacks and so forth.

As of right now I have quite a line up of delicious foods to make over the coming holiday (love long weekends) and our house will once again go into party mode. My own children don't eat sugar and never have - they are quite happy to indulge in our own homemade treats.

Other people's kids I am not so certain about! LOL It was decided today that should someone show up looking for a treat, we would invite them in for home pressed apple juice and sugar free cookies and cake. 

I'll have to let you know if there are any takers!! 

April

Nut butter cookies 

Nut Butter Cookies

I came home late tonight from a day out and of course, everyone was feeling a little peckish after our long day. No one was really overly hungry (we had taken food with us for our picnic) but you know how it often is....

You would like something to nibble on, without being a disaster or going off the rails. Of course, in my house now, there is no room for a disaster, because absolutely everything must be made from scratch or we have nothing. Once I was in the house and getting everyone settled - my mind was already turning over the possibilities of what I could make quickly enough...

I wanted to have a light snack, tasty, nice with a dandelion coffee yet filling and still a treat of some kind. My thoughts were going to some kind of cookie - and I knew just the right one to make.

Going back to my basics of baking guidelines, this time I used 2 cups of oats instead of flour, some baking soda, a little salt, and it took off from there - I put all of those things into a deep bowl and looked around the kitchen for something quick to add in.

Nut butter cookie dough

Next went in a 1/2 cup of flour, then some cinnamon, 2 mashed bananas instead of an egg (for texture) and 1 cup of nut butter. I combined half tahini and half cashew nut butter because those were both on hand and needed to be used up. 

After I started mixing this up I added more liquid as needed, in total about 6 tablespoons of milk, and 4 tablespoons of maple syrup. This mixture was stirred around just enough to make sure the flour had been well blended in and then dropped onto a baking sheet covered in parchment paper.

Nut butter cookies ready for the oven

They were in the oven for less then 20 minutes - and before anyone knew it, we had a batch of nut butter cookies to go with a hot cup of coffee. This is a tasty and fairly healthy snack too, it can be made sweeter if wanted or you can omit the maple syrup all together and just add more milk or water to get the cookie dough consistency.

All in all, to make these cookies it took less than 30 minutes, they are so easy and straight forward to make. The best part about this type of recipe is it's versatility - whatever nut butter you have on hand or want to make, can be used in the cookies. 

Right now, I am working my way through a couple of them, so good!

Have a lovely day,

April

Nut butter cookies - just out of the oven!

Just Go Nuts!

Today I am making some things for our party next week - I like to be a little organized, but it is also so much fun to be busy in the kitchen cooking, creating the foods we love. Even though I am fasting for my Master Cleanse and I can't taste these treats, my sense of smell is very keen, so I have a very good idea when they turn out well.

I decided to go through my list of requests for our feast and see which items I could make this week and store, as well, many things taste a little better after a few days or need the time to 'mature'. Homemade foods also taste a little better then shop bought mostly because they are made using fresher ingredients.

Starting with cashews I thought to try two different ways to make them. The first one is to soak the cashews over a day in a light brine solution of sea salt and water, then at the end of the day to roast them in a hot oven for about 20 minutes, adding more salt if needed and cooling. So far, this batch is still soaking, so I will let you know how they turn out tomorrow.

Cashews soaking in a light brine coating

With some other cashew pieces I wanted to just throw them into the oven with a tiny bit of oil (I used sunflower oil) and sea salt and see how they turn out. I have done this many times before to good results, however, we would still go out and buy ready salted cashews! I know, doesn't make any sense at all.

Oil, sea salt, brush for coating the cashews

Next,  I used a Christmas recipe for honey cinnamon roasted almonds, I have been making these for a few years now and they always taste lovely. For the almonds, I roast them first in the oven, while I make a syrup from water, honey, oil, cinnamon, sea salt and a pinch of pepper.

Once these are out of the oven I simply coat the hot almonds with the hot syrup, stir and turn a few times and then allow to cool on a piece of parchment paper. Often they stick together, but that is usually no problem as they are gobbled up so quickly!

Honey cinnamon roasted almonds cooling on parchment 

For a feast, I like to have snacks, treats and things in the house ready for any impromptu gourmet needs and roasted nuts are so easily made at home in a few minutes. One thing that I will note - the smell is delightful as they come out of the oven, nothing like anything from a package - it is deep, rich and full as if the nut itself is bursting open. 

Homemade food just doesn't compare to anything else! 

Have a healthy day,

April

Lightly salted roasted cashews