Time For Sticky Toffee Pudding

It was a sunny Sunday in late September. The dining room was full and noisy. We had just finished eating a roast dinner, and in the midst of the loud clamour of conversation, someone passed me another bowl of food. I looked at it with mild curiosity. I had no idea what it was. The plain white bowl held a generous portion of what appeared to be a mounded island of dark brown cake, surrounded by an ocean of sauce and cream. I took a tentative spoonful, and so began my love for this delicious toffee drenched treat of a comfort food.

It was also the first traditional pudding I learned how to make as a teenager living in Scotland. It was my introductory kitchen foray into the art of making English puddings, always served with single cream or hot pouring custard.

The word “pudding” itself originally referred to a cake in a pudding basin, tied in a cloth bag and steamed in a pot of boiling water. We do still steam our raisin-laden Christmas pudding (the fabled figgy pudding of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”) before pouring over a ladleful of lighted brandy, transforming it into a tiny mountain of blue flame. Many of the other traditional steamed pudding recipes are just as often baked in a dish. “Pudding” can also be a catch-all word referring to “dessert”. 

This recipe is the one I learned to make in Scotland, generously shared with anyone who wanted it by Mrs Doreen Gray, principal gardener extraordinaire. I've changed the margarine to butter and the sugar to muscovado or coconut, for even more toffee flavour.

STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING

6 oz butter

6 oz dark muscovado sugar or coconut sugar

8 oz plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 egg, whisked

6 oz stoned, finely chopped and floured dates

1/2 pint boiling water

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp vanilla extract

1) Whisk flour and baking powder together.

2) Cream butter and sugar.

3) Beat egg into creamed mixture with some of the flour.

4) Continue beating for a minute or so before adding the remainder of the flour mixture.

5) Place dates in a bowl and pour boiling water over them.

6) Mix soda and vanilla into date mixture. Add dates to the batter and mix well.

7) Turn into a greased (or fully paper lined) 11x7-ish tin.

8) Bake for 40 minutes in a 350F/180C/gas mark 4 oven.

Topping:

2 1/2 oz dark muscovado or coconut sugar

1 1/2 oz butter

2 TBSP double cream 

Heat sugar, butter and cream in a heavy saucepan and simmer for 3 minutes. You can pour the sauce over the hot pudding and place under a hot grill until it bubbles and then serve up the pudding with a second batch of extra sauce, and single pouring cream. Or you can simply pour the sauce over individual bowls of pudding with pouring cream to finish. Either works!

Creamy Vegetable Soup [vegan]

Friday is soup night at our house! This is one of our current favourites, a versatile soup packed full of veggies with a creamy tomato base. I like it because I always have these ingredients on hand, and if I'm bereft of fresh green veggies I can use frozen instead! This recipe makes about eight large servings.

Saute two large onions in a tin or two (2-4 cups homemade) of coconut milk, with a blend of dried or fresh herbs (thyme/oregano/basil/sage), garlic, and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper. 

 

Add diced carrots and sweet potatoes, and green veg. Today it was kale but spinach works too, as does frozen green veggies like spinach/kale/peas. 

Stir in three tins of chickpeas, and 800g (large tin) crushed tomatoes or puree. Add in enough water (or broth, if that's what you prefer) to cover all the ingredients and allow to simmer for a while. When the carrots are softened, throw in a box/ bag of pasta. If you're using a gluten free pasta, you'll want to wait to add this to the heated soup and cook it right before you plan to eat. Otherwise, add the pasta and then simmer for another minute or two.

Put the lid on the pot and turn off the heat; allow the soup to cool on the back of the stove until you're ready to re-heat for dinner. This is a great make-ahead soup; it tastes best the day after! It's also a perfect last-minute soup; start to finish it takes about fifteen minutes to prep and half an hour to cook. 

Other variations: omit the pasta and add 4-5 large potatoes, or omit the pasta and add 2 cupfuls brown short grain rice. For both of these, include when you add the veggies rather than at the end!

 

Chocolate Chia Energy Bites

 Makes about 18.

These are yummy (if you can’t tell by the name) but you do need a food processor to prepare them! 

• 2 TBS chia seeds
• 1/4 cup plus 2 TBS water
• 10 medjool dates, pitted
• 1 TBS coconut oil
• a pinch of sea salt
• 1/2 cup raw cacao powder or organic cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup raw walnuts, soaked overnight and drained
• 3/4 cup raw almonds, soaked overnight and drained
• 1 1/3 cups dry desiccated coconut [unsweetened, no additives]
• spices [optional]: 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ground cloves

Soak chia seeds in water. Let seeds absorb water--about 5 minutes.  Once absorbed, place in food processor with the dates and coconut oil; process until smooth.  Add salt and cacao or cocoa and process.  Add walnuts and almonds and stir in the coconut.  You will have to use your hands as the mixture will be quite thick at this point! Form into balls.  Roll in extra coconut [optional].  Store in a tin in the fridge.

Raw July: Week Four

This winds up our month of eating raw!  We did four weeks, and then gradually began to add in some cooked food.  I waited to have coffee until the month was over, and will be staying with decaf for the time being.  We buy amazing Swiss water decaf beans from Suma so it's not a hardship.  I'm also still trying to avoid dairy for a while but I'm definitely looking forward to eating eggs again!

Thursday, 25 July

Breakfast: smoothies with strawberries

Lunch: green salad with leftover raw vegetable chilli

Tea: rocket and mixed leaf green salad; fresh salsa; avocados; sprouted lentils and beans; raw creamy cashew dressing with hemp seeds

Friday, 26 July

Breakfast: smoothies

Lunch: snacks

Tea: romaine leaves with fresh salsa, raw taco filling, and guacamole; raw chocolate banana coconut cream pie

Saturday, 27 July

Breakfast: chocolate banana avocado smoothies

Lunch: salad leaves, carrot sticks, cucumber, apples, pistachios, cashews, dried mango and pineapple

Tea: rocket leaves with olive oil, kalamata olives, hemp seeds, and cherry tomatoes; green salad

Sunday, 28 July

Breakfast: mango pudding with cashews

Lunch: raw snack bar, pistachios, cashews, dried mango and pineapple

Tea: small amount of cooked wholemeal spelt spaghetti with raw basil cashew pesto

Monday 29 July

Breakfast: smoothies

Lunch: sprouted lentil salad with avocados and creamy cashew dressing

Tea: fresh salsa, guacamole, green salad, brown basmati rice with pinto beans in a wholemeal tortilla wrap

Tuesday, 30 July

Breakfast: smoothies with mango

Lunch: snacks

Tea: raw purple cabbage coleslaw, green salad, pinto beans and brown basmati rice

Wednesday, 31 July

Breakfast: smoothies

Lunch: green salad with sprouted lentils and leftover raw purple cabbage coleslaw

Tea:  vegetable chilli with brown basmati rice, green salad

Snacks: Fresh pineapple and mango, dates, cashews, apples, carrot sticks, walnuts, watermelon.

Green Spaghetti [100% vegan; optional raw]

Despite the odd title, this simple recipe has become a definite favourite for our family and community. I gathered my initial inspiration for it from a Nigella Lawson recipe, but have modified it extensively from her version.  Her aim was to create a nut-free pesto, which, as you can see below, I've changed completely!

The pesto is 100% raw and can be eaten with raw courgette "spaghetti" for a raw variant of this recipe.

Raw Basil Cashew Pesto

• 1 cup organic cashews, soaked in water overnight and drained
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, washed
• 1/4 cup organic, extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp sea salt

Blend well using hand blender, adding in a bit of water if necessary.  Set aside.

Green Spaghetti

• 2 large potatoes, cubed but not peeled
• 2 large handfuls topped and tailed fresh green beans
• 1 packet wholemeal spelt spaghetti  [why spelt?]

Fill a large saucepan with cold water.  Add potato pieces and cook until potatoes are softening.  Add packet of spaghetti and cook for a further five minutes.  Add green beans and stir well.  Cook until green beans are very lightly steamed but still crunchy.  Drain carefully using large colander, and stir in basil cashew pesto.

Serve with black pepper and optional freshly grated parmesan.  This recipe tastes absolutely delicious without the parmesan, so don't add cheese until you've tried it!

Serves 6 with the addition of a large green salad.

Raw July: Week Three

Wednesday, 17 July

Breakfast: smoothies with mango

Lunch: green salad with tomatoes; guacamole; leftover piri piri houmous

Tea: raw purple coleslaw; salad with little gem lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, sprouted mung beans, and olive oil

Thursday, 18 July

Breakfast: smoothies

Lunch: leftover salad; carrot sticks, apples

Tea: leftover purple coleslaw; radish and alfalfa sprouts

Friday, 19 July

Breakfast: smoothies

Lunch: raw piri piri houmous, carrot sticks

Tea: piri piri houmous; romaine lettuce leaves; tomato, sweetcorn, courgette salsa with coriander, red pepper, and lime juice

Saturday, 20 July

Breakfast: smoothies with mango

Lunch: leftover piri piri houmous and salsa; fresh mango; chocolate chia energy bites

Tea: watermelon

Sunday, 21 July

Breakfast: smoothies

Lunch: salad with spinach, rocket, and watercress, dressed with balsamic vinegar and olive oil; olives

Tea: salad with lambs leaf lettuce, hemp seeds, sesame seeds, tomatoes, avocadoes, and pumpkin seeds; fresh fruit

Monday, 22 July

Breakfast: smoothies with strawberries

Lunch: avocado, mango, and banana smoothie

Tea: raw vegetable curry with hemp seeds and various sprouted beans and lentils; rocket [arugula] salad

Tuesday, 23 July

Breakfast: smoothies

Lunch: green salad with sprouted mung beans

Tea: rocket [arugula] salad with kalamata olives, plum tomatoes, hemp seeds, and fresh basil; lemon bars

Wednesday, 24 July

Breakfast: smoothies with mango

Lunch: green salad with sprouted mung beans, hemp seeds, lime juice & avocado oil, and fresh coriander

Tea: salad of pea shoots mixed with raw vegetable chilli, eaten rolled up in romaine leaves

Snacks: cashews, dates, walnuts, carrots, pistachios, dried mango, chia chocolate energy bites, fresh beetroot + carrot + apple juice

Raw Piri-Piri Houmous

On the rare occasion that we take our loud, hungry, and not exactly table-trained family of six out for a meal, we like to visit Nando's, a restaurant that specialises in African-style chicken.  They have plenty of meat and dairy free options.  My favourite meal there is a salad with pumpkin seeds, green beans, and avocado; eaten along with a starter of houmous with pitta bread and piri-piri sauce.

It was that addicting, delicious piri-piri flavour I was trying to achieve in this yummy corn and cashew-based houmous.

Using a hand blender, blend together:

• corn from two ears of fresh sweetcorn, sliced off the cob
• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight and drained
• juice of two limes, or of one lime and one lemon
• 2 TBS sesame seeds
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 2-4 tsp ground paprika
• 1/2 tsp dehydrated chilli flakes
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt   
• splash red wine vinegar

Add more seasoning according to your personal tastes.  This is delicious eaten with raw veggie sticks, rolled up in romaine lettuce like a wrap, or in raw sushi.

Cornbread

Mmm... we love cornbread!  I grew up eating this southern favourite.  Ours was a homemade version --no packet mixes for Mom!-- and it is absolutely delicious.  This is my mother's basic recipe.  You can add grated cheese for savoury cornbread, or eat it with honey or maple syrup for a sweet treat.

Preheat the oven to 400F/200C/gas mark 6. Lightly whisk together in a large bowl:

• 1 cup coarse cornmeal 
• 1 cup plain flour [I generally use wholemeal spelt]
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 TBS brown sugar or maple syrup

In a separate bowl, beat:

• 1 cup plain yoghurt [coconut milk or rice milk both work fine too; it will just be a bit crumblier]
• 2 beaten eggs
• 1/4 cup melted butter [or coconut oil if you want to keep this cornbread dairy free]

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients.  Stir in the liquid mixture; beat gently but well.  

For a thinner cornbread, use two 8" baking tins.  For more cake-like cornbread, use one 8" tin.  Butter tins well and line the bases with circles of baking paper.  Bake in hot oven for 20-25 minutes.

Turn out onto a wire rack to cool and eat right away, or store in a tin when cold to use later.  Believe me, if you love cornbread as much as we do, it won't last that long!

Raw “Stirfry" with Hot and Sour Sauce

Serves 2

• 1 cup fresh pineapple juice [omit if using pineapple]
• 1 small mango, peeled and cut into pieces [or 2 handfuls fresh pineapple pieces)
• 2 cloves fresh garlic
• 1 one-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 tsp organic tamari
• 1 TBS lime juice
• 1 TBS maple syrup
• 2 medjool dates
• sea salt, and dehydrated chilli flakes to taste

Blend. Set sauce aside to chill in fridge. 

Later, just before serving, thinly slice the following:

• 1/4 purple cabbage
• 1/3 head broccoli
• 1/3 cauliflower
• 1/4 large red onion
• 3 medium-sized carrots
• 1/4 green pepper
• large handful of sugar snap peas

Stir well, adding in a few teaspoons of organic tamari sauce, 2 TBS sesame seeds, 1 cup of sprouted mung beans, and a few large handfuls of fresh pineapple pieces.  Serve with the hot and sour sauce and additional sesame seeds on the side.

Breakfast Smoothies

In a large glass or jar, measure out:

• 2 TBS oats
• 1 tsp dried [desiccated] unsweetened coconut
• 3 whole brazil nuts
• 5 almonds

Pour over enough water or coconut water to submerge.  Cover and leave overnight.

In the morning, add:

• one small ripe banana, peeled and sliced
• 3/4 large apple or one small apple, quartered and cored but not peeled
• two teaspoons chia seeds
• any other handful of fruit you want to add: mango, pineapple, and fresh berries are some of our favourites [optional]
• 1-2 cups coconut milk, homemade almond milk, or coconut water

Blend well, stopping often to make sure all ingredients are being incorporated.  Add more coconut or almond milk as necessary to liquefy the texture.  

I make our smoothies in the same jars that we drink from.  These are incredibly handy as we can put a lid straight on to take our breakfast with us if in a rush, or pop in the fridge if we can't finish it all right away.

I did not take a photo of these smoothies as they are fairly unimpressive visually. Their taste is wonderful, though, and with all their wholesome ingredients, will keep you full until lunchtime!

Celebrating a Life

Today, my grandma, Dorothy Jane, would have been eighty-four years old. 

I decided to honour her birthday by baking her recipe for lemon meringue pie.  "I jist git it off the cornstarch box," she told me many years ago, but I had the presence of mind at the time to copy it right then and there.  I'm so glad I did.  She was such a good cook, but we have only a handful of her recipes.  Her habit of keeping those recipes filed in a mental recipe box meant that when she began to lose her memory, they went too.

The sunshine blazed out today in a blue sky here, on St George's Day.  It's telling of my Anglicisation that one of the ways I remember Grandma's birthdate is that it is the same as this most English of unofficial holidays!  A fresh cold breeze reminded me that I'm in still in Blake's "green and pleasant land" and not some milder climate. 

Our grandparents' days, celebrated on their birthdays, are a chance for us to celebrate their lives and write down our memories of them.  This is important for the kids, who barely remember them, but also for Dan and I.  Today I remembered one of my phone conversations with my grandma in her final years.  She was very confused at that point but she still knew who I was.  In a moment of unusually wistful clarity she was able to express to me that she was proud of me for travelling out of the country of my birth, and being brave enough to do that.  She had always wanted to do have adventures, but in her words, she was too afraid.  

My memory of this conversation should probably be shaded with sadness for her, but it isn't.  She had a full, busy life in Indiana.  Her days were crowded with food preparation, farming tasks, friends and family, card games, watching her favourite TV shows, ladies' club meetings, thrift store shopping, and grandchildren.  

Instead it just reminds me that every time I take a wobbly step of uncertainty towards some goal of mine that appears doomed to fail, I am choosing not to be afraid, and I know she would be proud of me.  

Today my step was simply making lemon meringue pie for the first time, ever.  In spite of all my baking and kitchen creations over the last twenty years, I've never made lemon meringue pie.  The recipe's exorbitant amount of sugar nearly deterred me at first, but I soldiered on!

It was good.  Six other people told me so.  Maybe it was the sugar.

But best of all was just thinking about Grandma, and how glad she'd be to know I've followed in her footsteps and love baking for my family.  

Celebrating a life isn't necessarily about having a prestigious funeral or an elaborate burial plot.  It's about remembering and honouring that loved one in simple ways, and that's what we did for Grandma today. 

Earth Soup

This creamy soup is deliciously soothing, easy to eat, and perfect for using up some of those winter veggies that might be languishing in the dark corners of your kitchen...

EARTH SOUP

Saute in a tiny bit of extra virgin olive oil:

• 3-4 cloves crushed garlic
• 2 chopped onions.  

Add a combination of equal amounts of some or all of these: potatoes, swede, turnips, carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes.  

Pour in a pint or so of vegetable broth, add a few bay leaves, some freshly grated nutmeg, a bit of freshly grated ginger or a teaspoon or so of powdered, and some ground cumin and coriander.  

Add water to only just cover the vegetables and simmer until they're soft.  Remove the lid and puree with a hand blender.  [At this point I add a tin of butter beans or cannellini beans but it's up to you.]  After you've pureed the soup, throw in a few handfuls of chopped fresh herbs: coriander [cilantro] or flat-leaf parsley are delicious in this soup.

Salt and pepper well and serve with salads or toasted bread.

Is Your Extra-Virgin Olive Oil the Real Thing?

Over the last few years, the natural foods industry has been full of reports of adulterated extra-virgin olive oil. Even some organic brands have been found to contain a percentage of vegetable oils.  Apparently more than two-thirds of common olive oil brands are not what they claim to be, according to this report.

Here are three simple checks you can do to find out if yours is the real thing.  

1. Look for the IOC certificate of authenticity on the label.  Yes, I know, maybe they've paid the Mafia to have it certified, but... just see if it's there, anyway.  Apparently olive oils with this certificate are more likely to be authentic.
2. Is it flammable? It should burn when a lighted match is touched to it --preferably not when the kids are watching! If it doesn't burn, it's probably adulterated with cheaper oils.  
3. Note the olive oil's appearance after refrigeration. Real olive oil appears cloudy and thicker in texture after being stored in a cold place. If your olive oil's consistency remains the same, it is most likely not pure extra-virgin olive oil. Real olive oil will not necessarily turn solid in the refrigerator.  Read this blog post for more information about the reliability of the olive oil solidity test. 

Usually, I buy Sunita extra-virgin, cold-pressed, organic olive oil.  However, we're long overdue for a wholesale food order, so I had to make do and purchase this from our local Sainsbury's.  

It's cold-pressed and unfiltered, so there's a powdery residue at the bottom of the glass bottle.  The colour is beautifully green, and when I popped the lid, the first thing I noticed was the rich green smell.  Just like olives.  Which is reassuring, to say the least!  

Did it pass the test? 

1. There's definitely an IOC certificate, though it's blurred in the photograph above.
2. It was flammable.  I tried to light it [in the kitchen sink, sans children]... It worked!
3. After being in the refrigerator overnight, this olive oil thickened and maintained a texture similar to molasses, as well as displaying a slight wisp of cloudiness.

I think it's safe to say that this particular olive oil, though not organic, is what it claims to be. Which is a great thing, because I use it for everything: salad dressings, cooking, frying, baking.  Sometimes I blend it with more expensive unrefined, organic coconut oil; other times I just use it on its own.

Use the three steps detailed above and check the authenticity of the olive oil in your cupboard!  You don't want to be fleeced into paying extra-virgin olive oil prices for what actually turns out to be a lesser quality, cheaper oil.  For more information about olive oil, visit Olive Oil Source.  If you're REALLY into this, you could try reading Extra Virginity: the Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil.

For more eco-friendly consumer advice, recipes, and green ideas, visit Beth's blog and follow the links to other bloggers' articles.

Healthier Rolled Sugar Cookies

These cookies are similar to their traditional counterpart, but personally I think the taste is even better!  Wholemeal spelt flour enhances the flavour, while brown rice flour and coconut palm sugar gives them extra crunch. Someday I'd like to be able to perfect this recipe using raw honey, but as that's not affordably available to me at the moment, I'll stick with butterscotch-flavoured coconut palm sugar for now!

ROLLED SUGAR COOKIES

• 1 1/4 cups wholemeal spelt flour
• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1/4 tsp salt 

Stir flours and salt together. Set aside.

• 1 cup coconut palm sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1-2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1-2 tsp almond extract

Beat butter with sugar; add egg and flavour extracts and beat well.  Stir in flour mixture until dough is well-mixed.  Roll into a large ball and wrap in baking paper; leave the wrapped dough in the fridge for an hour before rolling out.

When the dough is firm, roll out between two pieces of baking paper to a quarter-of-an-inch thickness.  Cut out with shaped cutters and use a palette knife to place the cookie shapes onto baking paper-lined cookie trays.  

Bake 350F/180C/gas mark 4 for ten minutes.  Remove carefully from baking trays and allow to fully cool on a wire rack.  Store in air-tight tins to stay fresh.  These cookies freeze well!

A Hobbitty Cake

When the kids realised Christmas was over and we had forgotten to make our traditional gingerbread house, Mr J suggested we make a gingerbread hobbit hole for Easter, instead.

His idea morphed into the cake I created yesterday. As you might already know, hobbit holes are curved, comfy dwellings etched into hillsides. Angled, straight-lined gingerbread is not very conducive to curvy comfort, but soft cake most definitely is!

I whipped up the super easy spice cake recipe detailed below and divided it between two containers for baking: an eight-inch round cake tin, and a similarly-sized stainless steel bowl.  When the cakes were cool, I sandwiched them together with an icing glaze, after cutting off a few centimetres at the front to create the indentation for the door.  These extra slices of cake provided a doorstep, and some height above the door of the hobbit hole.  

The door itself was a large round cookie, an adapted healthier version of traditional rolled sugar cookie dough.  I kneaded green colouring into white fondant icing and rolled it out to fit the door, using a toothpick and cocoa powder to create the detail.  The door handle was a tiny piece of white fondant, rolled in cocoa powder.  The two round windows were also bits of white fondant, covered in gold sparkle and detailed with a toothpick. I iced the entire hobbit hole with cinnamon-spiced buttercream, and sprinkled it with green coconut grass.  

Mmmm.... delicious!

SPICE CAKE

• 1 1/2 cups wholemeal spelt flour
• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 1 1/2 cups raw caster sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp mixed spice [or allspice]
• 1 cup coconut milk, melted with:
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 eggs

Whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder, bicarb, and spices. Separately, beat eggs and vanilla into cooled melted butter/coconut milk mixture.  Whisk two mixtures together well and pour batter into oiled/floured/lined baking tins of your choice: either the bowl and the cake tin if you're making your own hobbit house, or alternatively two dozen cupcake/two eight-inch cake tins.

Bake for about 45-50 minutes in a pre-heated 350F/180C/gas mark 4 oven.

When cool, ice with buttercream of your choice.  Ours was this:

CINNAMON BUTTERCREAM ICING

• 1 cup softened butter
• 1 TBS vanilla extract
• 2 TBS cinnamon
• enough icing sugar to create a creamy consistency: about 2-3 cups

Beat together butter, vanilla, and cinnamon until well mixed.  Add in icing sugar, a cup at a time, until the right consistency is reached.  Cover cakes or cupcakes with icing and top with coconut.

For homemade, greener alternatives follow the link to Beth's blog and find more bloggers' household tips, recipe ideas, and creative stuff!

Garlic Lover's Salad [100% vegan/optional raw]

A long-loved favourite in my family is "Potato Lover's Salad".  Friends gave my parents the recipe when we lived in upstate New York.  I've adapted it slightly and here offer a vegan, optionally raw, very garlicky, immune-boosting version of my family's best summer salad recipe!

GARLIC LOVER'S SALAD

[feeds six as a main; we usually have soup on the side, too!]

Creamy garlic dressing [blend with a hand blender until smooth]:

• 1 cup cashews, soaked overnight or for a few hours
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• salt and pepper
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1-4 cloves garlic, crushed [I use four --spicy hot--mmmn!]
• enough coconut milk [Koko] to thin the dressing [or coconut water]

Potatoes:

• six medium-large potatoes, scrub well but don't peel, cut into one-inch cubes
• 1 TBS paprika
• salt and pepper
• extra-virgin olive oil

Toss the potato cubes in the oil, salt, pepper, and paprika.  Roast in a baking tin for 45 minutes at gas mark 8/450F/220C. Stir frequently. These can be done well ahead of time; often, I will pop them into the oven in the morning and use them later to make the salad for our evening meal.  

[alternate raw recipe, minus the potatoes]

• one large courgette or two smaller ones [zucchini]
• 1 TBS paprika
• salt and pepper
• extra-virgin olive oil

Grate or cube the courgette and toss in the paprika, salt, pepper, and olive oil.  Marinate for a few hours in the fridge before adding to the salad.

Make an enormous green salad.  I use a mixture of rocket [arugula], spinach, lamb's lettuce, other dark green leaves, and some sprouted beans or lentils for extra protein --just whatever is available and looks good.  Stir the potatoes or courgette into the green salad and pour over the dressing.  Mix well and eat right away.  Delicious with a tomato-based soup!

Homemade Falafel

I've often bought ready-made falafel in overpriced, ethnically decorated packets. It's delicious, but there are about two servings per box, and it's just not great value for money, especially with the number of eaters around our table!  

My friend Sue gave me this recipe from one of her cookbooks ages ago; I've adapted it slightly, and it's so easy. I would have been making homemade falafel years ago if I'd had any idea how simple it would be!  

FALAFEL

[This recipe makes about 8-10 medium-sized falafel patties; I did triple it to feed quite a few of us! You'll want at least two per person.]

• 1 cup cooked chickpeas [garbanzo beans], drained
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, crushed
• 1 medium red or purple onion, chopped
• 1 egg
• 1 heaping teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 heaping teaspoon ground cumin
• 1-2 TBS fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley [you can use dried, like I did in the photos below, but you won't have the vivid herb green colouring in the falafel!]
• seasoning: a teaspoon of salt and some freshly ground black pepper --I use about half a teaspoon

The original recipe says to put the above ingredients in a food processor, which I don't have.  However, I blended it up with my hand-blender [which blends everything from smoothies and almond milk to soap and body butter] and it was fine!

Scrape the blended chickpea mixture into a bowl, and stir in wholemeal spelt flour until you have a formable mixture.  It starts out looking like this: 

and ends up like this, just about to slip off the spoon but not quite:

On a hot griddle pan over medium heat, put a light sprinkling of extra virgin olive oil, and shallow-fry the falafel for about four minutes on each side until suitably browned.

Place the cooked falafel on a plate covered with a cotton tea towel, to absorb any extra oil.

Falafel can be a vegetarian substitute for burgers, and eaten on bread rolls with all the traditional burger trimmings.  

However, I like mine eaten in a wholemeal wrap, with cashew and garlic dressing, spinach leaves, olives, and cucumber/tomato/onion salad with a bit of lime juice.  

For more great green, homemade ideas, visit Beth's blog and click on the links from other bloggers!

English Snickerdoodles

I know... why Anglicise the name of these American favourites? But I added mixed spice, which is just too much of a flavour change not to receive mention. If you're making these elsewhere in the world, see the note at the end of the recipe for mixed spice ingredients so you can make a suitable substitution.

Beat together:

• 1/2 cup (4 oz) melted butter
• 1 cup raw caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract.

Stir in mixed dry ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups plain white flour
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar 
• 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Refrigerate dough for an hour or so.  

Mix together: 2 TBS raw caster sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 TBS mixed spice.

Shape cold dough into 1" balls and roll in spicy sugar.  

Place 2 inches apart on a baking sheet covered in baking paper.  Bake 375 or gas mark 5 for 8-10 minutes or so.  Less for chewy; longer for crunchy.

Warm cookie dipped in hot coffee... Amazing!!

NOTE:  A typical mixed spice combination consists of these ground spices: cinnamon, coriander, caraway, nutmeg, ginger, cloves.

Andrea's Pumpkin Pie

Andrea's blog was one of the first I read regularly, quite a few years ago now. We had similar ideas about family time, homeschooling, and food. She's no longer blogging, but fortunately I wrote down some of her recipes and over time, they're now numbered among our favourites.

This is her pumpkin pie recipe; it is definitely the best pumpkin pie I've ever eaten.  Believe me, I've eaten a few! My first taste of solid food was pumpkin pie. Mmmm... I love anything made with pumpkin, but pumpkin pie is my favourite just like autumn is my favourite season.  With its lovely warm rich colour, fragrantly spicy scent, and creamy smooth texture, it makes the perfect pudding but also the best cold breakfast the day after Thanksgiving.

2 cups thick pumpkin puree [you can use either tinned or puree your own stewed/baked pumpkin; just make sure it's not too thin --you want a non-watery consistency similar to whipped cream]

1/2-2/3 cup maple syrup 

1 cup milk [any nut-based milk or rice milk usually works well]

3 large eggs

2 TBS ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

3-4 tsp ground mixed spice

1/4 tsp ground cloves

Beat eggs well; add maple syrup, pumpkin puree, and milk.  Stir in spices.  

Bake in an unbaked pie crust for about 75-80 minutes on gas mark4/350F/180C.  The centre should no longer wobble when the pie is ready --similar to a custard pie.  

Cool slightly and serve with vanilla ice cream while warm, or cool completely and serve with whipped cream!  Pumpkin pie is also nice on its own, chilled from the fridge, a day after making --or when spooned from the pie dish as crumpled leftovers.  I have to confess that in our house, I normally claim the last piece of pumpkin pie, unless, of course, I make it for a friend's birthday.  

Pumpkin Cookies

When I was twelve, my brother and I travelled to California from the Midwest to visit my grandmother.  We spent two weeks with her; it was probably the most independent venture we'd had up until then. I remember standing in her Californian kitchen spooning persimmon cookie dough onto tins to bake.  Her recipe for these deliciously spicy cookies was one of the first of many of her recipes that I wrote down.  I've made them again and again over the years, but my favourite version contains pumpkin instead of persimmon.  They are little bites of soft, velvety cake that taste like autumn.

PUMPKIN COOKIES

makes about two dozen

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup melted butter, coconut oil, or olive oil or a blend of those three

1/2 cup honey or maple syrup or some of each

1 egg

Beat well.  Add one teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda and beat again.

2 cups wholemeal spelt flour

2-4 tsp cinnamon, ground

1/2 tsp cloves, ground

1 tsp ginger, ground

1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

Stir both mixtures together with a wooden spoon.  Either leave as is or add one cup of chopped walnuts or pecans.

Drop by spoonfuls onto baking tins covered with baking paper -- twelve cookies on each tin.  

Bake 375F/200C/gas mark 5 for 12-15 minutes.

Optional Cinnamon Vanilla Icing

1 tsp natural vanilla extract or 1/2 tsp vanilla paste

1 TBS hot water

1/2 cup icing sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Mix all together well, adding the water as needed.  Drizzle over cooled cookies and allow to set before storing in airtight tins.