Chocolate Christmas Trees
Thursday, December 04, 2014Give a creative food gift this Christmas - these tree-shaped chocolate spelt cookies call for a few simple ingredients you’ve likely got on hand, they’re super-easy to make and gorgeous on a cookie platter. The kids will love helping you decorate and eat these holiday cutout cookies.
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- Using an electric hand mixer, beat butter, pure stevia extract and vanilla until pale and creamy. Add egg. Beat until well combined.
- Sift flour and cornstarch over butter mixture. Add cocoa and milk. Stir well. Divide in half. Press each half into a disc. Wrap each disc in plastic film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 160C/320. Line two baking trays with baking paper. Roll each disc out between 2 sheets of baking paper to 3mm-thick. Using cookie cutters (tree, star, or round), cut shapes from dough.
- Place them onto the prepared trays. Refrigerate for 15 minutes or until firm. Bake for 12 minutes or until firm to touch. Stand for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- Melt chopped white chocolate in a water bath. Spread some white chocolate over flat side of each biscuit. Press 1 pop stick onto one cookie and sandwich together with another one. Set aside until they are firm. aside until they are firm.
- Spoon white chocolate into a small plastic bag. Snip off 1 corner. Pipe a zigzag pattern over trees. Decorate with coloured sugar and silver cachous.
Lamb's Lettuce Salad with Belgian Endive, Grapes and Goat Cheese
Saturday, November 29, 2014A fresh and healthy winter salad wtih lamb's lettuce, Belgian endive, grapes, and goat cheese, dressed with a truffle mustard vinaigrette, which complements the flavours of the lettuce. This delicious salad is full of goodness, and makes a simple yet impressive starter.
Lamb's lettuce, also known as mache lettuce, or corn salad, has long spoon-shaped dark green leaves and a distinctive, tangy flavour. The interesting name comes from the lettuce's resemblance to the size and shape of a lamb's tongue.
Salad | Dressing |
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- Up to 2 days ahead, shake all the dressing ingredients together in a jar. Season and chill.
- Slice the chicory in half diagonally so you get loose leaves and a solid stalk end. The leaves will be easy to separate, thinly slice the stalks, add the grapes, and lamb’s lettuce. Chill until needed.
- When ready to serve, top with sliced goat cheese and drizzle with prepared dressing.
Black Quinoa Salad with Mandarine, Kale, Radicchio and Anchovy Vinaigrette
Tuesday, November 25, 2014Sweet, juicy mandarin oranges, slightly bitter crisp radicchio, deep earthy kale, and crunchy nutty quinoa tossed with a balsamic anchovy vinaigrette-- this beautiful vibrant salad is bursting with flavours and naturally gluten free. I used black quinoa here, but you can use whatever kind you like.
Salad | Anchovy Vinaigrette |
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- Place all the dressing ingredients in a food processor on medium speed until combined.
- In a medium saucepan, bring the vegetable broth to a simmer over medium heat. Add the quinoa, cover, turn the heat down to medium low, and cook until the quinoa is tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand for 3 to 5 minutes. Uncover and fluff with a fork. Let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
- Toss the black quinoa, mandarin oranges, kale, and radicchio together. Add some of the vinaigrette, toss, and serve.
Pear and Walnut Tart
Friday, November 21, 2014A deep dish pear tart, adapted from Eat Smarter, with walnut honey filling in a nutty spelt shortcrust pastry. This is also great with the combination of apples and almonds.
Spelt Walnut Crust | Filling |
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- Combine all the ingredients for the crust and mix until the dough forms a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Combine vanilla sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Peel, halve, and use a melon-ball scoop to core and stem the pears. Cut them in half lengthwise and add to the saucepan. Adjust the heat to low and let it simmer for 12 minutes. Remove the pear halves and set aside to cool.
- Beat the egg whites until stiff. Beat the egg yolks with honey until thick and creamy. Fold in egg white.
- Preheat to 180C/350F. Roll out the chilled dough on floured sheet of parchment paper and Gently lay dough inside 9-10-inch spring form pan and press up the sides.
- Spread the walnut filling evenly into the crust. Arrange the pear halves atop filling and gently press in. Bake tart until golden, about 50 minutes. Cool tart in pan on rack. Cut tart into wedges and sprinkle with powdered sugar and chopped walnuts, if desired, and serve.
Black Quinoa Spelt Muffins
Sunday, November 16, 2014These delicious and moist quinoa spelt muffins, adapted from Martha Stewart, are an ideal breakfast on the go or for a post work out treat. They are healthy, protein packed, and refined sugar free. Use regular quinoa if you don't have the black variety.
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- Preheat oven to 180C/350F. In a medium saucepan, bring quinoa and water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook until water has been absorbed and quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pure stevia extract, baking powder, salt, raisins, and 300 grams of cooked quinoa. Reserve any leftover quinoa for another use.
- In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, milk, egg, and vanilla extract. Add milk mixture to flour mixture, and stir just until combined. Divide the batter among prepared muffin cups.
- Bake until toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool muffins in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Teriyaki Tofu Steaks
Monday, November 10, 2014The delicious teriyaki marinade, a blend of dark soya sauce, brown sugar, sake, mirin, and fresh ginger, imparts a wonderful salty, sweet and yet tangy taste to tofu steaks. Sake can be replace with dry sherry, and mirin with white wine or vermouth with 1 tablespoon of sugar.
Teriyaki Tofu Steaks
adapted from taste
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- Combine the soya sauce, sake, mirin, sugar and ginger in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes or until sauce thickens slightly. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
- Place the tofu in a single layer in a glass or ceramic dish. Pour over the soya mixture with the sesame oil. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 4 hours to marinate.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet. Cook the tofu for 3 minutes each side or until caramelized. Transfer to a serving platter. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, green onions and chilli. Serve over the greens.
Spiced Apple Hazelnut Bread with Einkorn and Spelt
Wednesday, November 05, 2014Warm fragrant Lebkuchen spice mix, apples, hazelnuts and organic ancient grains make this the perfect fall quick bread. Applesauce was added to make the bread more flavourful and moist, while chopped hazelnuts make an appealing crunchy top. It's great for breakfast and ideal for tucking into a lunchbox.
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- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Butter and flour the bottom and sides of a 26-cm loaf pan, tapping out any excess flour. Skip this if using a silicone bread tin.
- In a large bowl, combine the flours, pure stevia powder, baking powder, salt and spice mix. Whisk until well blended. Stir in the toasted hazelnuts and chopped apples.
- In another bowl, combine the milk, eggs, vanilla and applesauce, whisking until blended. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients. Add the melted butter. Using a silicone spatula, gently fold until blended.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared bread tin and spread evenly. Sprinkle the chopped hazelnuts evenly over the batter, gently patting them in so they adhere.
- Bake for 50 to 55 minutes until the top is nicely golden and a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool completely.
Hachiya Persimmon Arugula Salad with Truffle Oil and Lemon Juice
Saturday, November 01, 2014Colourful, fresh and full of flavours, this autumn salad features sweet tender hachiya persimmons, bright peppery green, crunchy juicy pomegranate seeds and rich earthy truffle oil. Persimmons not only lend a seasonal touch to the salad, the sweetness also complements perfectly the spicy arugula and tart pomegranate.
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- Peel the hachiya persimmons and slice them finely on a mandoline. Peel and cut the red onion into rings.
- Arrange the arugula leaves and sliced persimmons on a serving plate. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and top with onion rings. When ready to serve, drizzle with truffle oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Avocado Red Lentil Salad with Macadamia Oil and Cream of Balsamic
Monday, October 27, 2014A hearty vegan and gluten-free lentil avocado salad flavoured with lemon, macadamia nut oil, cream of balsamic and fresh herb. It is an easy and quick to make recipe that is healthy yet so rich and satisfying.
Avocado Red Lentil Salad with Macadamia Oil and Cream of Balsamic
adapted from Küchen Götter
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- Place the vegetable broth in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add in red lentils and cook, covered, over medium heat for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Shake out all excess water.
- Meanwhile slice the avocado in half lengthwise and remove the pit. Cut the avocado halves in slices and remove the skin. Arrange them on a serving plate.
- Add lemon juice to the drained red lentils and season with salt and pepper. Now spoon the red lentils over the avocado slices. Sprinkle some chopped parsley leaves over. Drizzle with macadamia oil and cream of balsamic. Garnish with peperoncini and serve immediately.