Savoury muffins zucchini and pecorino

These muffins are great for breakfast with a slab or butter or a mid morning/ afternoon tea.

They are nutrient dense made with spelt and buckwheat flours and the sharpness of the pecorino cheese perfectly balances the zucchini, they are simple to prepare and babies and toddlers love them!

130g white spelt flour
120g wholemeal spelt flour
60g buckwheat flour
80g pecorino grated
150g zucchini, raw grated
250g wholemilk unpasteurised (or dairy free milk - oat milk)
1 egg
80g extra virgin olive oil (use good quality)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Black pepper freshly grinded into batter

Makes around 10-12


Method

Line a 12 hole muffin tin with papers or grease with butter so muffins do not stick
Prepare all the dry ingredients, weigh the flours and baking power and put into a large bowlwhish for a few seconds to get some air in the flour mix.
Grate the zucchini and pecorino and if you have a thermomix you can grind the hard cheese for 6 secs
In another bowl combine the wet ingredients, oil, milk and egg, blend with a whisk or use thermomix 5 secs
Combine both the wet and dry ingredients and blend well with a wooden spoon hand stirring gently until all ingredients are well combined (do not over mix)

Take a large spoon and fill each muffin hole until almost to the top

Bake for 30 - 35 minutes on 170 degrees

Kerfir soaked spelt blueberry and vanilla muffins

After a long break from blogging due to pregnancy and also a hectic catering schedule here is a very simple and nourishing muffin recipe inspired by the muffin recipe in nourishing traditions by Sally Fallon, I soaked the flour for 24 hours and once done it is elastic and resembles the texture of sourdough. Soaking grains has many nutritional advantages the main one been easy digestion. If you have every tried any of the eithopian flatbreads or indian breads they are all fermented up to 3 days in water or a culture to make them more digestable, we don't do it much here in the western world but its well worth investgating for your families gut health.
Here is a great little article for more info

3 cups spelt flour (I grinded mine from grain in a thermomix but you don't have too!)
2 cups home made kefir or buttermilk
3 tablespoon raw honey
1 teaspoon real vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 fresh organic eggs
3 tablespoons melted coconut oil or butter
1/2 teaspoon seasalt
1 cup blueberries

Method
In a large bowl sift the flour and add the kefir or buttermilk
Cover the bowl with a teatowel and leave in a warm place in the kitchen for 24 hours
Grease a muffin tin with some coconut oil or butter
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees
Whisk eggs in a clean bowl
Take your mixture that has been fermenting for 24 hours and add the raw honey, coconut oil or butter, vanilla, eggs, baking soda and seasalt
In each little hole of the muffin pan add 4 blueberries then ladle in the flour mixture and add 5 more blueberries on top
Bake in a preheated oven for 35 minutes
I have added cultured cream to my muffins just before eating which is delicious or have some yoghurt

Buckwheat and raspberry pancakes

Here is my breakfast this morning lucky for me I had all the ingredients ready to go. I really like a sweet pancake for breakfast but the beautiful thing about this one is the buckwheat flour is slightly bitter and the raspberry is sour so they make a wonderful marriage.

There is a lashing of organic Canadian maple syrup but that is to you, it might be just sweet enough with the raspberries.

We cook these in bulk so there is left over for afternoon tea or a snack which can be served with some good quality organic yoghurt.



1 cup organic buckwheat flour
1 cup oat/almond/rice milk
1 organic egg
1/2 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
extra virgin coconut oil or organic ghee to fry in




In a large bowl place the buckwheat flour and run a balloon whisk through to break up any lumps. Add your egg and oat milk and whisk until combined. Spoon in your raspberries and if they are frozen try and thaw out before hand otherwise it will thicken the batter and not look good at all !

In a cast iron fry pan (or what ever you have) add a little coconut oil or ghee and spoon batter into, once the batter starts to bubble flip over and cook the other side and then serve hot.

Summer berry tart

Thank you to everyone who has supported The Organic Cook this year, if you're a client, student or blog reader we really appreciate your emails and encouragement to keep us inspired in the kitchen. Wishing you and your family a safe, healthy and joyful christmas.

To go out on a yummy note special thanks to our friend Michal Nassi and her gorgeous summer berry tart. Michal is from my kitchen wisdom Michal is a talented baker and can be contacted for gluten/dairy free birthday cakes and all your special dietary needs! We love this recipe and Michal's food styling and photography. Thanks for sharing!

Big Merry christmas and hope you will be inspired to try out some new recipes over the holiday period.



The berries filling:

450 mixed berries- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc,,,
50g raw sugar
3-tablespoon port/Brandi

The base and crumbs:

320g spelt flour
50g almond meal
50g pure icing sugar
65g raw sugar
240 cold butter cut to small cubes
1-teaspoon vanilla essence
1 egg

Method –

- Soak the berries for 15 min in sugar and alcohol
- Preheat the oven to 170c
- The base: place all the ingredients except of the egg in a food
processor, and process only until you get crumbs, better use
pulses.
- Take out 2 cups of the crumbs and set aside that will be our top
of tart.
- Add the egg and process to create the dough.
- Place the dough in a 24cm tart tin or 8 small ones.
- On top of the dough place the berries with their fluid, on top
place the crumbs.

- Bake for 35 min or until the crumbs get a nice golden colour.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, YUM!!!

Enjoy
Michal – My Kitchen wisdom

** Where I can I usually use organic produce, highly
recommended****

Spelt gingerbread men

This weeks recipe is from Susan our wonderful cook, and super organic mamma

Thanks for sharing your recipe Susan I can't wait to try them with my niece Mia.

Hi Belinda - I baked some really yummy spelt gingerbread men with my daughter Olivia this afternoon so thought I would pass on the recipe! I adapted the recipe from a few different recipes that I found, to make it more nutrient dense and a little lighter on the sugar, replaced brown sugar and golden syrup with molasses sugar and a little bit of honey. Changed the flour to spelt, added some fresh ginger and ditched all modern icing sugar decoration and went back to the old women in the fairytale's idea of currants and orange peel! Baking the gingerbread men turned out to be a great afternoon with the kids, Olivia loved decorating them and we ate them together reading the fairytale over and over :-)


Ingredients

125g organic butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup, firmly packed molasses sugar (I used Billington’s brand)
1/4 cup honey
1 large organic egg, separated
2 1/2 cups spelt flour
1 tbs ground ginger
½ - 1 tsp of finely grated fresh ginger
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Extra flour, to dust
Currants, raisins and fine strips of orange rind – to decorate

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 2 trays with baking paper (or lightly grease with melted butter)

Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until paler and creamy. Add the honey and egg yolk and beat until combined. Stir in the flour, fresh and dried ginger, mixed spice and bicarb soda. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Press dough into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.

Place the dough between 2 sheets of baking paper and roll out until about ½ cm thick. Use gingerbread man cutter to cut out shapes. Place on trays about 3cm apart. Decorate using currants for eyes and nose, orange rind for mouth and raisins or sultanas for buttons.

Bake in oven for 7-10 minutes or until brown (I like mine crunchy so cook for 10, but reduce time if you like the gingerbread soft). Remove from oven. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Cauliflower gratin with roasted walnuts, rye bechamel and pecorino

Because of the cold snap I bought up a whole organic cauliflower to squeeze out one more winter dish. It was pouring rain all weekend but I made it to French's forest markets on Sunday too do a quick shop to get the week started and pick up some la tartine spelt sourdough for my boyfriend's daughters (it's there favourite!)

Oh how I love cauliflower and use it alot, I couldn't think of a better recipe to share for the last cold days. I had it for lunch with some beautiful spicy lamb and beef sausages that I also bought at the markets from a lovely Algerian french man that is now selling them at his stall. You could eat this with some snapper or ocean trout or if your vegetarian serve it with polenta and sauteed spinach

The unique ingredients in this recipe are biodynamic rye flour and oat milk to make the bechamel. The roasted walnuts give it a crunchy texture and also extra protein if you are a vegetarian. If your vegan you can use extra virgin olive oil to make the bechamel. And I did use fresh thyme, rosemary and sage from my garden cut very small to add a delicate aroma


1/2 cauliflower cut up into small florets
1/2 cup raw walnuts (roast in oven for 5 minute on 170 degrees)
1 cup pure harvest oat milk or use organic cows milk
1 tablespoon organic butter or ghee
2 tablespoons rye flour (or you can use rice or spelt flour)
1 small garlic clove, chopped very fine or use garlic crusher
fresh herbs thyme, rosemary and sage (optional)
Some handful sourdough breadcrumbs
Grated pecorino


Firstly prepare your cauliflower and set aside. In a saucepan gently melt your butter and add in the flour to make the white sauce, with a balloon whisk keep stirring and slowly pour in the milk, keep stirring until it starts to thicken and look like a nice white sauce, turn off the heat and add the herbs and garlic stir well. In a pyrex or baking dish arrange the cauliflower and then completely cover with the bechamel, sprinkle on the breadcrumbs, roasted walnuts and pecorino and then cover in foil and bake on 180 degrees for approx 20 minutes, you need the foil so the cheese doesn't burn.

Serves 4

Homemade butter

When I was shopping at the frenchs forest markets a few weeks back I couldn't buy any butter from my regular guy at the jersey milk stall and he suggested I make my own with his double cream, so this is what I did and it was very interesting to watch the butter start churning in the food processor and I just added a level tablespoon of celtic sea salt which was recommended but far to salty for my tastes so I would add a level teaspoon next time. The flavour is unbelievable and it is a fun project that is worthwhile.


1 container of double cream (I used jersey cream which is quiet thick I can imagine barrambah organic would be good to)
1 teaspoon celtic or Himalayan pink salt


Pour the cream straight into the food processor and add the salt, start pulsing and within 30 seconds it will start to look like butter. Stop (don't over process) and lift out and then mould into a butter shape and store in the fridge

It will last for a few months

Rye sourdough french toast with fresh passionfruit

Organic rye sourdough bread is the secret to this recipe, I got mine from bourke st bakery sister/brother bakery in neutral bay. Now don't kill me but it doesn't appear to have a name on the bakery and is in the back lane in neutral bay. Anyhow they make very good organic sourdough that's really sour and chewy just like it should be! This recipe was made on the fly with the rye sourdough, it compliments the egg and passion fruit I also ate with a splash of pure Canadian maple syrup. Great breakfast if your need something a little sweet and also has protein with the egg. I used oat milk instead of regular cow milk and it was yum.


2-4 pieces of fresh sourdough sliced medium
2 biodynamic eggs
1 cup oat milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
passion fruit or banana or whatever you have in the fruit bowl
splash maple syrup
Organic ghee or extra virgin coconut oil (I use oil4life doesn't go rancid the best I can find)

In a bowl whisk the eggs, oat milk and cinnamon until mixed well, start with one piece of bread and dip in bowl and leave for a few minutes until its soggy. Meanwhile heat a skillet/fry pan and gently melt the fat (either ghee or coconut oil) when it has melted put in your first piece of bread, now the trick is to turn heat up a little so it crisps and is golden but still moist, turnover the first piece of bread after 3 minutes and follow dipping the other pieces of bread and repeat cooking all pieces until golden.
Plate up and add sweet and healthy condiments

Serves 1 - 2 (2 pieces per person)

Divine spelt banana cake with maple frosting

Many exciting movements have been taking place at The Organic Cook firstly we have a brand new website please check it out here and let us know what you think!

And we have just hired a wonderful new cook to help out with cooking for our lovely clients.
Susan is our new lady and she is studying naturopathy at Nature Care college in Sydney, and is a mother of two children. She loves to cook real food for her family, and also loves to visit the frenchs forest organic markets on sundays. We look forward to sharing some of Susan's recipes here on our blog and also spreading our cooking principles of nourishment and home cooking.

This week I would love to share a beautiful recipe that I have been tinkering away with, I created it for my sister Sally, who just had a beautiful baby girl last week.

It's simple and yummy.


3 bananas
2 eggs
2 cups white spelt flour (demeter is best)
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup rapadura sugar
125g organic butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
1 teaspoon of Bob's red mill aluminium free baking powder

In a food processor blend the sugar and butter until creamy, add the eggs and bananas, blend until smooth. Add the buttermilk and vanilla and mix again. In a large mixing bowl sift the flour and baking soda, pour in the wet mixture from the food processor and hand stir with a wooden spoon. The consistency should be a medium stiff batter that moves easily.

Using a spring form tin, grease with a little butter then pour in the batter.

Bake on 160 degrees for 50 minutes, check after 40 minutes

While the cake is baking, roast some raw walnuts in a skillet and set aside

Maple frosting

In a food processor beat either cream cheese or fresh quark until smooth and add 1/2 cup maple syrup

Healthy tuna and spinach bake with spelt rigatoni and sourdough breadcrumbs

Returning home from a short easter break and missing cooking in my little kitchen I dug around my fridge and cupboard to find not much really! Hungry and craving some pasta I headed to the store and bought just a few ingredients to make a yummy nurturing pasta bake that I know all the kids will like and adults too.

When I have time on the weekends I often batch cook a red and green sauce and then pop into the freezer so I have on hand when I'm in need of a quick nutritious meal on the go. In this case I had a beautiful tomato, basil and chilli red sauce which I used for this dish. If you are time poor buy a good quality organic pasta sauce (without sugar) and add fresh herbs, garlic and chilli to spice it up.

In this recipe I also used a sustainable tuna from my organic shop, I used to use sirena italian tuna but did some research and realised the italian tunas are the most unsustainable on the market here s the below list from Green Peace rating tuna brands and sustainability

1. Greenseas
2. Coles
3. Aldi
4. Woolworths
5. Safcol
6. Paramount
7. John West
8. Sole Mare
9. IGA, Franklins and SPAR
10. Sirena

This recipe is rich in omega 3, complex carbohydrates, iron, vitamin c and also lots of fibre and calcium if your gluten free just swap the pasta for a gluten free brand


1 packet organic spelt or wholemeal rigatoni
3 cups home made tomato sauce (or store bought organic pasta sauce)
1 can sustainable tuna
1/2 bunch english spinach, blanched lightly then put through the food processor to chop finely
3 tablespoons organic sourdough breadcrumbs avail at Always Organics
1 cup grated organic cheddar or I often use Nimbin cheese (more economical)
Fresh pepper and sea salt to season


In a large pot bring water to the boil and add the spinach, blanch for 2 minutes ( to keep the nutrients) then drain and whiz through the food processor, in the same pot (let's save washing up!) boil more water and put in the pasta cooking to the instructions on pack, in a small saucepan heat the pasta sauce and add the tuna and spinach, also add fresh herbs and season with celtic sea salt and pepper.

When the pasta is cooked drain in a strainer and pour into a pyrex glass container large enough to hold the pasta, mix through the tomato sauce and tuna an then lastly top with cheddar and sour dough breadcrumbs, again season with fresh pepper an sea salt.

Bake in the oven on 170 degrees for 15 minutes uncovered and serve immediately

Apologies for the average photo I was shooting in the late afternoon on my iphone (not ideal!)

Banana, date, walnut and carrot small cakes with blackstrap molasses

These small cakes are packed with dense nutrition, fibre, iron from the molasses and flavour. There easy and sweet enough with the dates, banana and molasses, the icing is quark with maple syrup and is truly delicious. I took some to my new gorgeous friend's Lisa and Adele from the Rancan Sisters they have a brand new boutique fitness studio in Mosman with a killer view up at Bradley's Head to inspire any workout.


3 bananas, mashed
2 carrots, grated
150g butter, melted
2 tablespoons black strap molasses (I use Spiral)
1/2 cup dates fresh or dried
2 eggs
1 teaspoon cardamon powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped finely
2 cups organic wholemeal self raising flour or use plain spelt flour with 1 teaspoon aluminium free baking powder
1/2 cup greek yoghurt ( I use barrambah organic dairy)

Icing

1 tub quark (I use paris creek)
3 tablespoons Canadian pure maple syrup

Method

In a mixing bowl put the flour and spices, stir around, in another bowl mash the bananas and add the carrot and whisked eggs.
Put the dates chopped small in with the butter and melt, slowly add the flour and butter mixture and yoghurt hand stirring and mixing well, lastly add the molasses and walnuts and again stir well until you have a thick batter. Spoon into a cupcake tin and bake on 170 for 35 minutes.

When the cakes have cooled take the quark and beat with electric beaters adding the maple syrup until it's whipped.
Take a spatula and ice the small cakes.

Raspberry dark chocolate brownies

This recipe belongs to my dear friend Michal Nassi from my kitchen wisdom in Bondi, Sydney.
Michal is one clever baker, and specialises in gluten free baking, she also mentors me through any baking crisis and will help blame it on my gas oven.

It's a quick and easy recipe and waiting for the brownies to cool for half an hour after taking from the oven helps them firm up a little, great sweet for a party I recently took a batch of brownies to my friend's daughters first party and they went down a treat.

This is super sweet and a little bite goes a long way.

Health benefits from this you ask? Dark chocolate in small amounts is a powerful antioxidant it also gives you a power up if your studying or need a boost without compromising adrenals with coffee, raspberries are sweet sour and jam packed with vitamin c, and can be eaten with almost anything and good when paired with a soft cheese like marinated goats feta.

Enjoy.


150g dark chocolate
150g butter
250g panela or rapadura sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
85g flour ( spelt, rye, buckwheat or barley)
100g raspberries

Method

In a baine marie melt the chocolate and butter, taking a small bowl beat the eggs and sugar until pale and creamy, add the vanilla, hand stir in the flour mixture, lastly add the chocolate mixture and raspberries, stir gently until mixed.
Take a 28cm lamingtim style tin and line with paper overlapping the edges, pour in the mixture and bake in a moderate oven 165 (gas) 175 (electricity) for 40 minutes.

Cool then eat

Christmas sweet pumpkin pie with no crust (gluten free)

I love a good pumpkin pie even though it's more american than australian I revel in it's creaminess and spiciness, I used some spices that I smuggled back from a herbal apothecary in east village new york, the mixed pumpkin pie spice has cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and cardamom. Today cooking this in my kitchen I explored a pie with no crust, I'm not so skilled with pastry and have wheat intolerances so I opted for no crust and this is the delightful result.
It's so easy and the longest part of this recipe is roasting the pumpkin, so I painted my nails while I was waiting for the pumpkin to roast. I can imagine this doesn't need anything to go along with it just simply slice and eat.

500g butternut pumpkin, skinned and cut into small chunks
1 tablespoon sweet spices (see mix above)
1 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon arrowroot
3 eggs
1/2 rapadura sugar
1 tablespoon shredded coconut I use loving earth brand

Method

Lightly coat the pumpkin with extra virgin olive oil and put on a baking tray to cook for 30 minutes
In a food processor add the pumpkin, spices, sugar, coconut milk, eggs and arrowroot and pulse until blended very well.
Grease a pie dish and pour in the mixture, sprinkling some coconut on top
Bake on 160 degrees for 40 minutes

Cranberrries, oat, roasted walnut and spelt anzac cookies

These cookies just might be my best one's yet, they have an unusual crunch and the cranberry and walnuts are a perfect match.

1 cup organic dried cranberries (try and find apple juice sweetened one's)
1 cup biodynamic oats
2 cups wholemeal spelt flour
1/2 stick organic butter
2 tablespoons raw honey
1 cup rapadura sugar
1 cup walnuts
1/2 teaspoon aluminium free baking powder

Preheat the oven and on roast walnuts on a baking tray for 5 minutes or until crispy and light in colour on skins.
Chop walnuts roughly and set aside.
In a mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, oats, cranberries and sugar
In a saucepan gently melt the butter and honey and then add to dry four oat mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined.
Take a spoon and drop mixture onto baking tray then flatten.
Bake for 12 minutes and cool.

Raspberry, white chocolate spelt and buckwheat muffins

Today I adapted these muffins from a recipe in Good to the grain cookbook I baked them for my little friend Atticus who turned 3. He requested pink or strawberry cupcakes these worked a treat for all the children and adults.

1 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1 block fair trade white chocolate
2 cups raspberries (frozen)
3/4 stick organic butter
1/2 cup panela sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees
Lightly grease the mini muffin tins with butter
Make sure the butter is room temperature and cut into small cubes to put in a bowl with the panela sugar.
Beat with electric beaters or use mix master to blend until pale and creamy. Add the eggs and butter milk and mix until combined. In another bowl sift the flour and add raspberries and cut the white chocolate into small pieces to add too.
Now take the butter mixture and add to the flour mixture and hand stir with wooden spoon until blended
Drop a spoon full of the mixture into each hole in the muffin tin.
Bake for 20 minutes

Wild fig and buttermilk muffins

This original muffin recipe is taken from Nourishing Traditions, but I have adapted it to my own tastes and preferences.
It really is very healthy, delicious and so damn simple!

Cook's tip * you need to start this the night before by soaking the flours in buttermilk or water and lemon over night in a bowl covered with tea towel*

2 cups barley flour (demeter farm mill)
1 cup spelt flour (demeter farm mill)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon raw honey
2 cups wild figs (available from middle eastern grocers and sometimes organic retailers)
1 tablespoon cardamom powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract (not artificial colouring please)
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups butter milk (or water if dairy sensitive with 1 tablespoon lemon juice)
60 grams melted organic butter
2 eggs

Soak flours overnight in butter milk or water and lemon juice
In a saucepan gently on low simmer melt the butter and add maple syrup and honey stir well.
To the soaked flours add the spices, salt and vanilla and also whisked eggs, lastly add butter mixture and figs and gently fold.
The mixture will be more like a dough, spoon into a muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes or until firm to touch, cool and enjoy with a spread of butter and a cup of tea!

Rosewater and lime cardamon almond vegan cookies

Now as the cooler weather has reached us all I wanna do is Bake!
These small and sweet cookies are made with barley and spelt flour and more like a healthy whole food version of petit four because I'm so fanatical about middle eastern and persian food these hit the spot with the fragrant rosewater

1 cup spelt flour
3/4 cup barley flour
1 tablespoon rosewater
1 tablespoon cardamon powder
3/4 cup panela sugar (similar to rapadura low gi and rich in minerals)
1/2 cup almonds (grind up in a coffee grinder or food processor)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons millet milk or no dairy milk
1 tablespoon aluminium free baking powder (available at health food shop or organic retailer)
1/4 organic sunflower oil (or use coconut oil)

Preheat oven t 17o degrees
Mix the flours, baking powder in a bowl together and set aside
Put the milk, lime juice, oil, sugar, oil and rosewater in a bowl and whisk, add this mixture to the flour mixture and use your
hands to mix into a dough, make little balls and roll in the almonds and put on a lined baking tray and bake for 15-2o
minutes.

New season gala apple quinoa coconut flake and date crumble

Well it is meant to be Autumn and I really can't wait any longer for the cooler weather so here is a 'head's up' yummy recipe to get it started.


4 gala apples, cored and sliced thinly
1 lemon, juiced
1 cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons apple juice concentrate
3 tablespoons extra virgin organic coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon cardamon powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1 tablespoon rapadura sugar
2 tablespoons sour cherries (avail at Persian supermarket north bridge)
1/2 cup walnuts

in a saucepan boil water and throw in the apple slices along with the lemon juice to stop them going brown, also add cinnamon stick

In a a bowl mix the quinoa flakes, coconut oil and rapadura sugar

In a fry pan toast the walnuts until aromatic and chop up coarsely

When the apples are al dente drain and put in the baking dish with the apple juice concentrate add the walnuts and sour cherries and lastly top with the quinoa crumble mix

Bake in the oven for 1-15 minutes on moderate 170 degrees

Spelt dark chocolate cookies with quinoa flakes

The last day of summer, dark and stormy, I really feel like healthy yummy cookies to have with tea and friends!

Here we go yum yum Enjoy.

Spelt dark chocolate cookies with quinoa flakes

2 cups spelt flour
1 cup quinoa flakes
1 packet lindt dark chocolate or green and blacks dark
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup coconut oil
1 cup panela or rapadura sugar


Preheat oven to 180 degrees
Line baking tray with baking paper
In a mixing bowl sift the spelt flour, sugar and add the quinoa flakes, stir until mixed well
Chop the dark chocolate into very small pieces, add to flours.
In a small bowl mix the coconut oil and egg with the vanilla
Add egg mixture to flours and mix well.
Roll into small balls then flatten into a cookie shape
Bake for 20 minutes or until golden on top.
Let cool then eat

Almond pear tart

It's being raining all week, I've been cooking up a storm at home and catching up on reading and research. Tonight I baked an almond and pear tart with luscious coconut oil.

Pear and Almond Tart (Vegan/GF)
4 brown pears ( in season and ripe ready to go!)
2 cups raw almonds
1 cup extra virgin coconut oil (avail at health food shop must be organic and extra virgin)
1 T rapadura sugar (avail at health food shops)

process almonds and coconut oil and press into a spring form tin
slice pears and fan on top of almond base, sprinkle rapadura sugar on top and bake for 25 minutes.

Note on rapadura sugar (unrefined, evaporated cane juice)
a natural pure sweetener that contains many minerals and vitamins, harvested in brazil, harvested quite simply, juice is pressed from sugarcane and cooked to reduce water content.
It does not pass quickly into the bloodstream like white sugar does and is a healthy option for cooking. But go easy it's still sugar!