Oaty Crunch Cereal

I don't know about you, but I love my porridge, especially on these cold, damp, windy, dark winter mornings....so it also goes that I like oats. And usually cereals, but not the cardboardy kind that taste as bad as the box they are in likely tastes.

A few days ago, I had a memory of eating something crunchy, sweet and oaty for breakfast - that wasn't muesli. It was a roasted oat cereal that was really nice for a change from the usual fare and ever so ever simple to make.

I set about working on a recipe to call my own and having a few taste testing mornings (and evenings!) with everyone. The following recipe is the one we all loved - it wasn't overly sweet, or too oaty or not filling enough - it was just right.

To make this cereal:

3 cups oats

1 cup chopped pecans

6 tablespoons goat's melted butter 

6 tablespoons maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch salt

Preheat your oven to about 150C and prepare a large baking tray by covering it with a sheet of parchment paper. 

Mix all of your ingredients together in a deep bowl taking care to make sure all the oats are well coated with the butter and maple syrup. It should not be overly wet.

Then spread out the mixture evenly over the baking sheet and place in the hot oven for about 25 to 30 minutes. After 15 minutes or so, give it a little stir to ensure browning throughout. Then leave in the oven until it takes on a golden colour. 

I turned off the oven after 30 minutes and left the cereal to cool on the tray. Once cool I broke it up into clumps and stored in an air tight jar until we were ready to use it. This is lovely with goat's milk, a few fresh berries or chopped apple and of course on it's own.

It will keep for a couple of weeks like this - but it doesn't last long as it tastes so good!

April

Oaty Crunch Cereal

Herb & Spice Loaf

Today I wanted to make something quite different - I had been thinking of using up some of the dried fruit leftover from Solstice as well - so I put these two ideas together to come up with a bread/cake that everyone would enjoy.

There is a traditional loaf made most often with a strong tea (Tea Loaf or Tea Bread) however, as I don't drink tea, but I do drink anything with herbs in it, I decided this could be made using some of the more flavourful ones.

A tea loaf is usually spiced as well with either pumpkin pie spices or apple pie spices. If you don't have any, this is not a problem as we most often have the ingredients for these in our cupboards. To make apple pie spice mix together cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice and a little cardamom.

Now for the bread - I mixed about 1 and half cups of dried blueberries, dried cranberries, sultanas, dates, and my personal favorites, elderberries. These were soaked in 1 1/3 cups of boiling water to which I added 3 teabags of lemon and ginger.

However, anything would do - perhaps lemon verbena, chamomile and lavender or any combination of herbs for taste, flavour or added health benefits. I put the apple pie spices (about 1 teaspoon) in with the soaking fruit - just to blend the flavours more.

This fruit was left for about an hour in the hot water, but could easily have been sitting overnight to bring out the full blend and tastes. As well, the spices could have been added to the flour mixture for a more subtle taste.

Next I put 3 cups of spelt flour in a deep mixing bowl and then sifted in 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt. Once these were thoroughly mixed I rubbed in 3 heaping tablespoons of goat's butter until the flour was forming peas.

In another bowl I had an egg well beaten with 1/4 cup of molasses - I like to use the black strap because it has the most mineral and highest nutrient content. I poured this in with the flour mixture and then the fruit was gradually added together with the water it had soaked in.

Once this was mixed it resembled a thick cake batter. I spooned the batter out into a prepared loaf tin and baked it for about 1 hour at 180C. It is a rich dark cake with a lovely moist texture...great with a cup of herbal tea.

April

Herb & Spice Loaf

Super Foods

I have been asked lately what foods would I consider to be super foods...and I know many people would immediately list off several wonderful foods - such as kale, broccoli, onions and fish. And each of these are wonderful - I eat them as often as I can. 

But there are a couple that really jump out for me - I would use them exclusively for their healing or energy shifting ability and then marvel at the successes I have had because of them. 

I would have to start with herbs, I use and enjoy many different ones - both dried and fresh, but there is one stands alone from this kingdom for me and that would be garlic. I simply love this food, remedy, herb and all round great healer.

Personally I have seen garlic work miracles in my own body, for my children and for many others around me as they literally astound themselves by healing without 'meds' while using garlic and a healing diet. 

The other super food - is perhaps something no one really considers that much at least not in the way I think they should...and that is water. Water is an essential element, and yes I would also have it listed as a food and it makes up the basis of my own food pyramid.

You cannot live without water. Absolutely every body function, process and system requires water to operate. And your body cannot cleanse, detox, heal, or eliminate debris when you are water deficient. This food is so important even your brain shrinks when there isn't enough to go around.

Other than that - a super food for me would be anything home made - sugar free, additive and toxin free, then carefully prepared by someone who enjoys working with food. Believe me, you can taste the difference...

April 

Fruit salad is a good place to start...

Jam Jams with Date & Raisin Mince Filling

On to further adventures here this week...I tried my hand at making some Jam Jams. For those of you who may not know what these are - these are cookies with some jam baked inside. Actually it can be jam or jelly or some other yummy filling - but it's basically a filled cookie.

I am digging back into my long distant past here - these would have been a childhood treat made with partridge berry and apple jam traditionally, as well as lots of molasses as a sweetener. They were lovely and even better when homemade.

When I had decided to make them, I wasn't sure what kind of jam I would use as a filling - but I wanted something very sticky. So that leaves out most of my jams because they do not have any sugar in them. But what I did have was date and raisin mince meat and this would do very nicely.

To make the cookie dough I used about 3 cups of spelt flour, 1 cup molasses, 3/4 cup goat's butter, 1 duck egg, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and a pinch of salt.

I mixed all of these together - using softened butter and warm molasses - then crumbling this into the flour (dry ingredients). After a few minutes a soft dough was forming - usually this recipe is made with brown sugar and wheat flour....

However I avoid these items and it always comes out just fine. As well, the dough is often chilled for a few hours before cutting into cookies. But with spelt flour it can become quite hard (though not impossible) so unless this is really too soft - I would just make the cookies right from the soft dough.

I rolled out the dough onto a floured surface and then cut some round cookies out to be baked in the oven at 175C for about 9 or 10 minutes. Once these were done enough I removed them and placed a spoonful of the mince in between each one to make a sandwich. But I let them cool down a tiny bit first..they were quite soft.

These went back into the oven for about 3 or 4 minutes further....and then came out to cool onto a rack.

They were big! Almost like giant Jam Jams - but were they ever good!

April

Jam Jams....Very tasty!

More Adventures in Rebel Cooking...

Today for something different I decided to try my hand at making some Biscotti - of course, I've never made this before and actually, have never eaten it either. But, that matters not - because until I started baking, cooking, growing and canning everything for myself - I never ate half of these foods! LOL

So, I dug around for some older recipes for biscotti and then thought about what it would mean when I had to adjust the recipe for spelt flour, fresh organic ingredients, goat's butter, and no sugar. This means I always end up tweaking each recipe quite a bit.

To the point that it no longer resembles anything that I might have started out with. In fact - what I ended up doing was combining the advice of several recipes to see what I might end up with. Having not ever tasted a biscotti before might have been a blessing as well....

Because then I could be fully impartial. Or at least I hoped so.

To make these biscotti I decided to have almond and orange flavours as I have this thing for orange right now and I really like the thought of nuts in any cookie. I also knew they needed to be crisp or hardened in order to dunk them in my coffee...

Here's what I did to make these cookies today....

1/2 cup almonds toasted and chopped

1 cup whole grain spelt flour

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup maple syrup

1 duck egg

3/4 cup polenta 

2 T orange rind

2 T orange juice

1/2 teaspoon gr coriander

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon baking soda

pinch salt

First I wanted to get each of the wet ingredients into one place. To do this I blended the maple syrup with the butter, added the egg and then the orange juice.

In a separate mixing bowl, I placed the flours, orange rind, baking soda, salt, spices and some of the toasted almonds. I then mixed this with a wooden spoon until it was well blended - adding the wet mixture slowly until a soft dough was formed.

On a piece of parchment paper I sprinkled some flour and the rest of the almonds. Taking half the dough at a time, I rolled it into a sausage shape taking up the rest of the almonds into the dough. I did this twice with each piece of dough.

Then I just placed each of these long sausages onto a baking sheet and into a hot oven for about 25 to 28 minutes. The oven was around 175C. Once these cookies were a little firm I took them out and let them cool for about 10 minutes or so. Then I sliced them into pieces and placed the pieces back into the oven for an additional 10 minutes.

They turned out nicely - a tiny bit crumbly but really fresh and flavourful. I think I will run through this one again to see if I can get them a little harder like a biscuit....Yummy though!

April

Almond & Orange Biscotti 

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!!

Haricot Bean Salad with Stir-fry veg

During my fast I often crave certain things, most often they are single fruits or vegetables. However this time I had my heart and mind set on having some bean salad as soon as I was finished and had time to prepare it...

I even had the beans soaking on the last day of my cleanse - I was so adamant I was having something yummy with beans in it. Usually I am not a bean person - I like them (in other things) but could never say that I would crave them.

What I do like about beans is their versatility - you can use them in nearly anything to make a dish tasty, thicker and full of an earthy flavour. Even right now as I am writing this, I have had a couple of servings of bean salad and now have a Venison Cassoulet warming on the wood stove (also full of beans!).

So, there must be something in the beans I need right now....

For my bean salad I soaked 1 cup of haricots overnight, but other beans would do just as well such as flageolet or cannellini. These were cooked in lots of sea weed (dillisk) until they were soft and then put aside.

Next I sauted some vegetables - grated carrot, shallots, onion, leek and garlic in olive oil and water until they were a little overdone to give them more of a fragrance. I then added 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and about the same in grated lemon rind while the vegetables were still hot.

After seasoning with salt and pepper, I spooned the cooked beans into the vegetable mixture which was let sit for about half an hour to marinate. A little more olive oil was added just before serving....

It was perfect!

April

Bean salad....