I am really LUCKY enough to win a copy of Carla Sandrin’s debut book, Uncorrupted, August giveaway event hosted by Beth on Of Muses and Meringues and October Doughnut Pan Giveaway - a special gift to celebrate Kelly's generous nature held on Susan's My Mother's Apron Strings. I'm thrilled, honoured and grateful :) Thank you so much, Beth, Susan, for the fantastic giveaways!
I am almost halfway through the book and trying not to rush it -- a truly inspiring and intelligent book.
Uncorrupted tells the story of Clare McTavish, a young woman whose atheist mother has just died. However, the more Clare gets to know about her, the more she realizes there is much more to her mother’s story than Clare ever knew. A story of family bonds, the power of love, and finding goodness in a world littered with misery and evil, Uncorrupted reminds us to remain open to different perspective, yet stay firm in our conviction in what is right. Most of all, it speaks to tolerance, decency and justice, with hope as the cornerstone of all.

Now for the doughnuts, the recipe is slightly adapted from "Black & White Chocolate Pumpkin Doughnuts", also from Susan. Instead of all purpose flour and sour cream used in original recipe, I have used refined spelt flour and plain yogurt. They are so moist and delicious, that I couldn't resist eating one soon after they were out from the oven. Great even without any icing or glaze!

Doughnuts	Glaze
210 g Refined spelt flour 25 g Dutch-process cocoa powder 1/2 tsp Baking soda 1 tsp Baking powder 3/4 tsp Salt 113 g Unsalted butter, at room temperature 130 g Raw sugar 300 g Pumpkin puree 2 Eggs 100 g 3.5% Plain yogurt 1 tsp Pumpkin pie spice	125 g Confectioners' sugar 30 ml Hot water 100 g White couverture chocolate, chopped Pumpkin seeds, toasted

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Grease a doughnut pan with melted coconut oil and set aside. Sift together the spelt flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
2. Cream the butter and raw sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the pumpkin puree and mix to combine. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
3. Add in half of the flour mixture and stir on low until just incorporated. Mix in plain yogurt, then the remaining flour mixture, stir until combined.
4. Spoon half of batter into the doughnut pan openings with a 3-tablespoon scoop. Bake 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes then invert pan onto a rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining batter.
5. Mix confectioners’ sguar and hot water in a bowl until smooth. In another bowl, add the chopped white couverture chocolate. Set the bowl over a pot of simmering water and melt the chocolate. Coat the doughnuts with powdered sugar icing or melted white chocolate and sprinkle the chopped pumpkin seeds on top.

When you're in need of a healthy and delicious meatless dinner, you can always turn to these fiber-rich, flavourful and delicious bulgur patties with an oriental touch. If you don't have lemon balm in your garden, substitute it with mint and lemon zest.

Bulgur Patties with Lemon Balm Yogurt

adapted from Küchen Götter

250 g Bulgur 250 ml Vegetable stock or water 1 Shallot, diced 1 clove Garlic, minced 3 tbsp Olive oil Salt and pepper to taste 1 tsp Cumin powder 2 Eggs 4-5 tbsp Breadcrumb 200 g Plain yogurt Lemon balm leaves, chopped

1. Bring the vegetable stock to a boil. Turn the heat off and ad in the bulgur. Let soak for 15 minutes.
2. Peel and finely dice the shallot and garlic clove. Cook in 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, and season with salt, pepper, and cumin powder.
3. Season yogurt with salt and pepper. Fold in chopped lemon balm leaves.
4. Stir together the soaked bulgur, eggs, prepared shallots, garlic, and breadcrumb. Season to taste. Form the mixture into 16 patties. In a large skillet, heat the rest of olive oil over medium-low. Cook patties until browned and firm, 5 to 6 minutes per side. Serve with lemon balm yogurt.

I found this recipe on daheim und unterwegs, and couldn’t resist the temptation to give it a try. With some aromatic homemade dried apples, crunchy peanuts and sunflower seeds, soaked rye berries, this sourdough bread has a hard crust, soft interior and makes a filling and wholesome lunch with a generous helping of salad. For the bread add-ins, don't limit yourself to just dried apples, peanuts and sunflower seeds. Great alternatives include dried figs, pecans, pumpkins, or dried beet. The original recipe calls for the combo of dried apples, carrots, celery root and hazelnuts.

Soaked Rye	Starter	Final Dough
200 g Rye berries 4 g Salt 200 ml Water, cold	175 g Bread flour 4 g Fresh yeast 4 g Salt 120 ml Water, at room temperature	225 g Sourdough, 100% hydration 404 g Soaked rye berries 303 Starter 200 g Wholewheat flour 125 g Light rye flour 180 g Bread flour 15 g Fresh yeast 12 g Salt 310 ml Water, at room temperature 200 g Dried apples, cut into smaller pieces 200 g A mix of peanuts and sunflower seeds

1. Place rye berries, salt, and cold water in a bowl. Set aside on counter overnight.
2. Mix all the ingredients of starter in a bowl. Cover and set aside for an hour at room temperature. Refrigerate it for 15-24 hours before using.
3. In the mixing bowl of your stand mixer, place in sourdough, soaked rye berries, starter, flours, fresh yeast, salt and water. Stir until a soft, pliable dough forms. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Add in chopped dried apples, and a mix of peanuts and seeds. Knead until all ingredients are well-distributed .
4. Dust the dough with a little flour and cover it with a clean kitchen towel. Allow it to proof for about 30 minutes. Divide the dough into 2 portions. Shape each into a log and place them into two parchment paper lined loaf pans. Dust lightly again with some flour. Cover and proof for an hour until the dough reaches 90% of the pan.
5. Place a baking tray at the bottom of oven and preheat to 230C/450F. Place the bread into the hot oven and pour a cup of hot water into the baking tray. Close the door of the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 190C/375F and continue to bake for 40-50 minutes until nicely golden brown and crusty.

Coarse bulgur, spiced butternut squash, bell pepper, dried cherries and cilantro team up in this fiber-rich, warm vegetarian main dish salad.

Bulgur with Butternut Squash and Cherries

adapted from Küchen Götter

100 g Bulgur Salt 2 tbsp Dried cherries 400 g Butternut squash 1 Red bell pepper, peeled and diced 1 Shallot, diced 1 clove Garlic, chopped 1 tsp Ginger, shredded

1-2 tbsp Olive oil 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp Cumin powder 1/4 tsp Chilli powder 2 tbsp Orange juice 80 ml Vegetable stock 1 handful Cilantro

1. Place bulgur and 250 ml water in a medium pot. Bring it to a boil. Season with salt. Turn the heat off and fold in dried cherries. Leave it, covered, for about 25 minutes until fluffy.
2. Peel butternut squash. Scrape out the seeds and membrane. Cut into 1.5cm dices. Peel, deseed the red bell pepper. Cut into 2cm cubes. Peel and dice the shallot, garlic and ginger.
3. Heat the olive oil in a pan. Add in diced shallot and garlic, stirring briefly, then add in diced butternut squash, bell pepper and ginger, and stir for a minute. Add in spices, stirring for one more minute, then pour in orange juice and vegetable stock. Cook, covered, for about 15 minutes. Stir from time to time. Remove cover and cook until remaining liquid evaporates. Fold the bulgur into the vegetables. Turn the heat off and mix in chopped cilantro leaves. Serve with yogurt sauce if desired.

A warm and cozy autumn side dish with roasted pumpkins and Brussels sprouts tossed with a spicy honey balsamic vinaigrette. The pomegranate seeds add their brilliant harvest colours to this rustic side dish.

400 g Pumpkin, peeled and cut into inch pieces 300 g Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut into half 2 Shallots, diced 1 clove Garlic, chopped 1 Red chilli pepper, cut into rings 3 tbsp Olive oil 1 tbsp Honey 1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar 1/2 tsp All spice Salt and pepper Pomegranate seeds

1. Cut the pumpkin in half, scrape out the seeds and membrane , then cut into inch pieces. Slice off the rough part of the stem of Brussels sprouts. Remove the unappetizing outer leaves, cut out the core and slice vertically in half.
2. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Remove papery outer skin from shallots and dice. Peel and chop the garlic. Cut the chilli pepper into rings. Combine olive oil, honey, balsamic vinegar, allspice and the prepared shallots, garlic, and chilli pepper. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Place pumpkin and Brussels sprouts in a baking pan. Pour in the sauce and toss well. Place in the middle of hot oven and roast for about 25 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with some pomegranate seeds if desired.

A savoury pumpkin side dish bursting with colour and flavour, perfect for autumn. Hokkaido pumpkins, also known as red kuri squash, originally from island Hokkaido, Japan, have a deep orange colour and are very sweet inside. You can use them in cooking, baking or simply enjoy them raw.

Honey Lemon Roasted Hokkaido Wedges

adapted from essen und trinken

1 Hokkaido pumpkin 1 Red chilli pepper 3 tbsp Honey 6 tbsp Lemon juice 20 g Sesame seeds Salt and pepper 3 tbsp Olive oil Nutmeg

1. Cut the pumpkin from the top in half. Using a large spoon, scrape out the seeds and membrane , then cut into wedges. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.
2. Clean the chilli pepper by cutting off the stalk and removing the seeds, then cut into rings. Combine honey, lemon juice, sesame seeds, olive oil and chilli rings. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Place pumpkin wedges in one large baking pan. Sprinkle the pumpkin wedges with a little of salt, pepper and nutmeg, then pour the honey-lemon mixture over. Bake in the hot oven for about 35 minutes.

A quick and easy recipe for dates stuffed with a mixture of toasted walnuts and sesame seeds flavoured with cinnamon, orange zest and rose water. For the coating, I have used coconut flakes and pumpkin seeds, but any other nuts or seeds would work just fine here. They are great as a light dessert, a snack, or just anytime you feel like a nibble.

70 g Walnuts, toasted 30 g Sesame seeds, toasted 1/2 tsp Cinnamon powder 20 g Brown sugar 1/2 tsp Orange zest 1-2 tsp Rose water 10 g Coconut oil, melted 30 Lightly dried dates, pitted 30 g Coconut flakes 40 g Pumpkin seeds, finely chopped

1. Toast walnuts, and sesame seeds in a dry skillet until fragrant, about 5 minutes, and then remove them from the heat and set aside to cool.
2. Place walnuts, sesame, cinnamon, sugar and orange zest in a coffee grinder. Process until you have a thick paste. Turn the paste into a bowl and stir in rose water.
3. Fill each date with about a teaspoon of nut mixture. Brush with melted coconut oil and coat with coconut flakes or chopped pumpkin seeds.

A dense, moist rye bread lightened with whole-wheat flour, spiced with cumin and coriander. Cumin seeds are purported to contain enzymes that aid in digestion and are said to be effective in combating acid reflux. Coriander seeds are known to have anti-oxidant vitamin and rich in dietary fiber. So, the addition of spices adds not only flavour to the bread, but also nutritional potency.

Spiced Rye Bread with Sesame

adapted from Brot backen köstliche Rezepte aus der guten alten Zeit

400 g Light rye flour 140 g Wholewheat flour 150 g Rye kernels 7 g Dried yeast 450 ml Water, lukewarm 150 g Sourdough rye starter 2 tsp Salt 1 tsp Sugar 1 tsp Coriander powder 1 tsp Cumin seeds 40 g Sesame seeds

1. Mix together light rye flour, wholewheat flour, rye kernels and dried yeast in a mixing bowl. Add in water, sourdough starter, salt, sugar, coriander powder and cumin.
2. Knead with a a hand mixer fitted with dough hook attachments until the dough is smooth and pliable. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and shape into a ball. Dust the surface with a little flour and cover with a kitchen towel. Set aside in a warm place for an hour.
3. Place a 26-cm springform ring on a floured baking tray. Knead the dough thoroughly on a floured work surface. Shape the dough into a ball and place into the ring. Cover the dough and set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Cut some decorative slashes on the top of bread. Brush the top with water and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake the bread in the middle of the hot oven for about an hour until nicely golden brown and crusty.