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Chia Seed Nectarine Popsicles (Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Vegan)

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

These chia seed nectarine popsicles are more than just a summer cooler, they are nutritious and good for you too. The combination of silky almond milk, sweet juicy nectarines, and crunchy nutty chia seeds make these popsicles a delicious super food. You can experiment the recipe with different types of fruit and milk too.

2 tbsp Chia seeds
400 ml Almond milk
2 Nectarines, peeled and pitted
1 tbsp Maple syrup

Whisk together the almond milk and chia seeds in a jar. Fill 8 moulds with half of almond milk-chia mixture. Place them in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Peel and pit the nectarines. Place them in the blender together with maple syrup and puree until smooth. Remove the moulds from the freezer and divide among 8 popsicle moulds. Return the moulds to the freezer for another 30 minutes.
Remove the moulds and place a popsicle stick in the middle of each cup, return to freezer again for another 30 minutes.
Lastly, divide the remaining nectarine puree into the moulds and freeze until set, at least 6 hours.

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Blueberry Hazelnut Friands

Friday, August 08, 2014

A friand is a French term for a bite-sized almond cake typically made in an oval shape, but suitable for a muffin pan too. They are a great way of using up leftover egg whites and other than almonds, you can also use hazelnut or pistachio meal.
This recipe uses a mix of confectioners' sugar and powdered agave (I ordered mine from Amazon), a natural sweetener made from dried organic agave syrup. Its consistency is very similar to confectioners' sugar, but much sweeter and contains 25% less calories than sugar. If you plan to use only confectioners' sugar, increase the amount of sugar to 100 grams.

100 g Butter, melted and cooled
40 g Organic powdered agave
50 g Confectioners' sugar, plus extra for dusting
40 g White spelt flour
80 g Ground hazelnut
4 Small egg whites
80 g Fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 200C/400F. Grease eight non-stick standard-size muffin or friand holes. Melt the butter and set aside to cool.
Sift the powdered agave, confectioners' sugar and flour into a bowl. Stir in ground hazelnut. In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites until just frothy. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Gradually add egg whites, stirring with a spoon until combined. Stir in melted butter to form a soft batter.
Divide the batter among the muffin holes and sprinkle a few of blueberries over each cake. Bake for 15-20 minutes until just firm to the touch and golden brown.
Cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then turn out and cool on a wire rack. To serve, dust lightly with icing sugar.

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Naked Barley Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Grapes

Monday, August 04, 2014

Healthy and delicious, this salad is a perfect low GI meal as it uses naked barley, sweet potato and grapes. The lower a food's glycemic index or glycemic load, the less it affects blood sugar and insulin levels.
Naked barley, aka hulless barley, is a low glycemic food that is not just good as part of a diabetic-friendly diet, It also helps to fight diabetes. Its soluble fiber slows the absorption of sugar and reduces the risk for developing Type 2 diabetes. It has a chewy texture and more fiber and nutritional value than pearl barley, which has been processed to remove the hull and bran. You can use naked barley everywhere that you formerly used rice.

Salad	Dressing
200 g / 1 cup Naked barley 1l / 4 cup Water 1 tsp Salt 400 g Medium sweet potato 1 tbsp Maple syrup 1 tbsp Olive oil 150 Grapes, halved 1 Red onion, thinly shredded 1 Small carrot, thinly shredded 2 stalk Spring onions, chopped Romaine lettuce, halved lengthwise	45 ml White balsamic vinegar 2 clove Garlic, minced 1 tsp Dijon mustard 80 ml Olive oil Salt and pepper to taste

Rinse barley under cold running water and drain. In a medium saucepan, bring water with salt to a boil. Add barley and bring back to boil, then reduce to low heat and cook, covered, for 50 minutes or until barley is tender. Drain and rinse with cold water. Transfer to a bowl.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 200C/400F. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 3cm cubes. Toss the cubed sweet potatoes with maple syrup and olive oil, then arrange them on a baking tray in a single layer. Season with salt and pepper and roast for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
In a small bowl, combine white balsamic vinegar, garlic, and mustard. Whisk in olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.
Combine barley, sweet potatoes, grapes, red onion, carrot and spring onions in a large salad bowl. Pour the dressing over the barley mixture and toss. Spoon the salad over the Romaine lettuce halves and serve.

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Matcha Coconut Popsicles (Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Vegan)

Thursday, July 31, 2014

These coconut matcha popsicles, that happen to be gluten-free, dairy-freeand vegan, are a deliciously refreshing and delectable treat on a hot summer day. They are lightly sweetened with pure stevia extract powder and the combination of creamy coconut milk and antioxidant-packed matcha green tea powder tastes amazingly delicious. I was trying to make these sugar-free, but you can feel free to use maple syrup or sugar instead if stevia isn't your thing.

500 ml Coconut milk
2 tsp Matcha powder
0.2 g Pure stevia extract powder (or 60 g sugar)

In a glass pitcher, whisk together the coconut milk, matcha powder and stevia extract powderuntil well blended.
Pour the mixture into moulds and freeze for at least 4 hours or until set. Release from the moulds and enjoy!

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Raspberry Vinaigrette with Homemade Raspberry Vinegar

Saturday, July 26, 2014

This raspberry vinegar recipe is fuss free and takes minutes to make, you only need to let the vinegar rest for 6 days before you strain and bottle it. Not only is this homemade raspberry vinegar beautiful, it is also inexpensive to make. And it makes a fantastic gift.
Raspberry vinegar can be used in a variety of salad dressings or sauces to add complexity, depth and fruity, delicious flavour. Tangy and sweet, this vinaigrette dressing can be made with fresh or frozen raspberries and enjoyed any time of the year.

Raspberry Vinegar	Raspberry Vinaigrette
150 g Fresh raspberries 240 ml Surig vinegar essence 240 ml Water 720 ml Rose wine (or grape juice)	2 tbsp Raspberry vinegar 1 Shallot, chopped 1 tsp Truffle mustard 1 tsp Honey 1/2 tsp Salt 80 ml Olive oil 10 Fresh raspberries

Combine all the ingredients of raspberry vinegar and divide in a large glass bottle. Close the bottles and leave them in a dark cool place for 6 days. Strain and store in the bottles with air-tight top.
Place raspberry vinegar, chopped shallot, truffle mustard, honey and salt in the blender. Process until combined. Gradually blend in olive oil, and add in raspberries. Pulse to combine. Cover and chill. Whisk just before using.

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Chocolate Cups with White Chocolate Pastry Cream

Monday, July 21, 2014

Pastry Cream, a very versatile cream used to fill cakes, pastry shells or as a filling for those cute chocolate cups. It is quite simple to make at home, and can be easily flavoured many different ways including chocolate, coffee, with liqueurs, lemon or any extracts, although vanilla remains the most common.

300 ml Whole milk
1 Vanilla bean, split and scraped
3 Large egg yolks
35 g Green bean starch (or cornstarch)
0,2 g Pure stevia extract powder (or 50 g sugar)
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp Orange liqueur, optional
100 g White chocolate, cut into chunks
Dark chocolate cups
Fresh berries
Lemon balm

In a saucepan, heat the whole milk, vanilla bean and seeds over medium heat until simmering.
Combine the cornstarch, stevia extract powder, salt and egg yolks. Once the milk has come to a simmer, remove the vanilla bean and add 1/3 of the milk into the egg mixture and whisk until combined and smooth.
Now return it to the saucepan and cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Whisk it constantly for 3-5 minutes until thick. Remove from the heat and add in orange liqueur if using and white chocolate chunks. Whisk until smooth. Press a plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until well chilled. Fill the chocolate cups with the pastry cream and garnish with berries and lemon balm leaves.

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Freekeh Black Quinoa Cookies

Thursday, July 17, 2014

These delicate buttery wholegrain cookies, made with ground green spelt berries, black quinoa, butter and egg, sweetened with pure stevia extract, are delicious plain, dipped in dark chocolate, or sandwiched with flavoured cream.
Freekeh (also known as Grünkern in Germany) is roasted green spelt berries. The spelt is harvested when it is still young and green. It is then slow roasted over coals in the hulls, and is then de-hulled resulting in a beautiful green spelt berry.

Freekeh Black Quinoa Cookies

adapted from Eat Smarter

150 g Green spelt berries, ground into flour
50 g Black quinoa, uncooked
0.2 g Pure stevia extract powder (or 75 g sugar)
Pinch of salt
100 g Cold butter, cubed
1 Egg

Combine together the ground green spelt, black quinoa, stevia extract powder and pinch of salt. Add in cubed butter and rub into flour until mixture resembles breadcrumbs, then, using your hands, add in egg to bring it together.
With your hands, flatten out the ball of dough until it is about 2cm thick, then wrap it in cling film and leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Roll out the dough between two parchment sheets until about 3 mm thick. Cut out cookies with cookie cutters and place on a baking tray lined with parchment. Bake for about 10 minutes. Let cool on the tray for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

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Summer Salad with Goji Berries and Poppy Peach Vinaigrette

Sunday, July 13, 2014

This fresh, colourful summer salad with a vibrant fruity vinaigrette is quick and easy, and the perfect way to enjoy all the produce that's in season now. Antioxidant-rich goji berries add a note of exotic sweetness to this light summery salad. If goji berries aren't your thing, you can always swap them out for dried cranberries or cherries.

Poppy Peach Vinaigrette	Salad
3 Ripe peaches 3 tbsp White balsamic 1 tsp Truffle mustard 1/2 tsp Salt 3 tbsp Olive oil 1/2 tbsp Poppy seeds	150 g Mixed Asian salad leaves 6 Cherry radishes, thinly sliced 2 Ripe but firm peaches 1 tbsp Goji berries

To prepare the dressing. Peel and pit the peaches. Cut the peaches into chunks and place in a blender with the white balsamic, truffle mustard, salt and olive oil. Whirl until smooth. Stir in poppy seeds.
Pile the mixed salad leaves, cherry radishes and peaches on two serving plates. Scatter the goji berries over. Drizzle the salad with dressing and toss gently to coat.