salad of rubies

a stunning salad! beautiful for a substantial summer meal, or to impress friends as a gorgeous starter (or work lunch :) )

1 large tomato
1 cucumber

3-4 sprigs of fresh mint, finely sliced (substitute fresh parsley and dried mint if not available)

0.5tsp salt
2tsp lemon juice

1 tin kidney beans
1 pomegranate

0.3c pepitas (pumpkin seeds, shelled)
0.25tsp ground black pepper
3Tbs pomegranate molasses (available from delis and nut/spice provedores)
2Tbs olive oil

100g baby spinach or baby leaf mix

 
chop tomato into 2-3cm chunks, and slice cucumber; add to salad bowl with salt, lemon juice and mint; toss gently to combine. 

drain and rinse kidney beans; remove pomegranate jewels from the main fruit; add both to bowl. add all the other ingredients except greens; toss gently. add greens and toss before serving.

this can be made 6 hours or so ahead of time and refrigerated if greens are added right before serving.

the chocolate crackle gets more crack-like

here is a post for chocolate crackles that anyone with a mouth and a need for deliciousness must read. crackles contain the essentials of life: coconut in two forms, cocoa for strength and general hipness; and the crunch of a thousand rice puffs. somehow, no doubt in violation of some natural law, i have made them BETTER.

read on.

4c puffed rice cereal

0.5c icing sugar, sifted (or blitz some raw sugar in an electric spice/coffee grinder for 10 seconds)

1.5c desiccated coconut, toasted on low- medium til light golden brown in a dry frying pan

200g coconut oil

0.25c cocoa powder
1-1.5c raisins and pitted prunes, finely chopped 
150g dark chocolate, melted

0.5tsp salt

grated rind of one orange

in a large bowl, mix the rice cereal, sugar, cocoa and coconut. gently mix in the chopped fruit.

in a medium bowl, melt the coconut oil and dark chocolate in the microwave (60-90 seconds). add in the rind and salt. pour this into dry ingredients, stirring gently til well combined. spoon into a loaf or brownie tin (remember: silicone rocks!) and press firmly to level and refrigerate until firm, then slice into squares.

all you need is cinnamon granola

someone made this on tv last night. my mouth was half full of dinner, yet i NEEDED to make this RIGHT NOW. and since the person who told me about date syrup isn't forthcoming in reminding me what the hell i was supposed to be using it for, this is date syrup's first outing chez loulou. looks like i'll be making more later in the week- half of it's gone already! enjoy :)

2c rolled oats 

1.5c seeds and roughly chopped nuts (eg almonds, walnuts, pepitas, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds)

1c unsweetened coconut flakes (or coarsely shredded)

2Tbs ground cinnamon 

0.25tsp sea salt 

1c raisins or other dried fruit (cherries, chopped apple or apricots)

0.75c date syrup (buy this from a Middle Eastern grocer, or substitute 0.5c maple syrup or agave and 0.3c pitted dates blended til smooth with 3Tbs warm water)

3Tbs coconut oil, melted (or grapeseed, macadamia oil)

preheat oven to 150C.

mix all the dry ingredients except for the fruit together in a large bowl. add the date syrup or maple/date mix and stir til the dry ingredients are well coated.

line a baking tray with a silicone baking mat, or lightly greased baking paper or foil. spread the mix evenly and bake for 15 minutes; carefully stir the fruit in and bake a further 15 minutes. allow to cool (not completely, just til warm) and break into clusters; cool completely and store in airtight containers.

serve with grated apple and coconut yoghurt!

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the prune and almond friand

meet my tasty little friend, le friand. it may not be known as such in la france, perhaps bearing more of a resemblance to a cake called un financier. all these italics are making me feel slanty, as in, slanting towards another friand. these are an excellent prune delivery system.

0.5c (75g) plain gluten free flour
0.75c (100g) icing sugar, sifted (i wonder if brown sugar or panela would work?)
1.5c almond meal
4tsp (heaped) no-egg, mixed with 2tbs water in a small bowl
150g melted nuttelex
200g pitted prunes, roughly chopped
3 drops each of almond essence and brandy essence (optional)


preheat oven to 140C

sift the flour and icing sugar into large mixing bowl. stir in almond meal, no-egg and melted nuttelex. fold in prunes and essences (if using). spoon mixture into mini muffin pans (silicone is the best, paper may stick) and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown (when a skewer is inserted into centre, it should come out clean). bake for longer if using regular-sized muffin or friand pans.

definitive, ultimate fig leather

fig dilemma.

the last two years, i've made fig jam (delicious, but there's only so much jam i and my associates can eat, and i usually end up with a fridge still full of last year's batch when the new season rolls around), and i wanted something portable and unusual (ie something i wouldn't buy) to preserve and enjoy this bounty. there are many, many recipes and techniques available on the net for making fruit leather, and even specifically fig leather, but none had sufficient detail. i have compiled my learnings for DEFINITIVE, ULTIMATE FIG LEATHER

• surprisingly easy but requires patience (about 6 hours' worth)
• don't underestimate the weather- pick a sufficiently cool (and preferably dry) day as the stove and oven will be on a while. also get a book or dvd to fill in the time, and a timer.
• the recipe below makes two 40cm x 30cm sheets; but if you can, double the recipe to make 4 trays and fill your whole oven because the amount of work is the same, and unlike jam, your whole proceeds may very well disappear in an afternoon
• the amount of sweetener is probably not very important; figs being very sweet as it is, i wonder if one could do without sweetener altogether
• an oven thermometer is very, very useful for this recipe. a dehydrator with a reliable temperature gauge would also do well

2-3kgs figs, rinsed

2-3Tbs lemon juice

0.25c agave syrup

3Tbs ground cinnamon, aniseed (optional)

halve or quarter figs; remove pithy top of stem. cook figs in large saucepan (8-10L) sealed with lid on low heat until some juice is released- about 10-15 minutes. remove lid, stir and cook on medium heat (gentle simmer), stirring every few minutes with a wooden spoon (so it doesn't stick) for the next 30-40 minutes. 

set oven to 50C. if oven only goes to 80C-100C, prop the door open 1-2cm with a wooden spoon or other item.

figs should be mushy. remove from heat for a minute, blend with a stabmixer in the saucepan until there are no bits of fruit; the seeds won't blend, and give a nice texture. stir in the lemon juice and agave nectar, and stir every minute over medium-low heat for a further 20-30 minutes until mixture is thick (ie the mixture doesn't slide back together immediately when a spoon is drawn in a line through the centre of the mixture).

spread half the mixture 0.5cm thick on a silicon baking sheet sprayed lightly with oil (or a cookie sheet covered with baking paper sprayed with oil). allow for 1-2cm border free from mixture; spread the rest on a second sheet. if using, sprinkle top with ground cinnamon and aniseed.

place on upper racks of oven for 3-4 hours until the leather is not too tacky or soft to the touch; there should be very little give. during this time, you may want to rotate the sheets front to back (my oven is hotter towards the door), and top and bottom trays (as heat rises and will dry the top tray more than the bottom). 

remove each sheet one at a time from oven temporarily. lightly spray a piece of baking paper (one for each sheet of leather) with oil and lay on each sheet of leather. lay a chopping board or other flat item on top, then flip the lot over and peel the silicon/baking paper bottom carefully off the leather. return the leather now on the baking paper to the oven for a further 30-45 minutes, or until the centre is not tacky to touch. switch the oven off and leave the door closed for 1-2 hours.

to store, cut with a sharp knife into stips and layer alternating with baking paper in an airtight container in the fridge.

lemon marmalade

my lemon trees are spoiling me with their bounty, and i'm trying to make the most of the season to try new recipes.

i used an old margaret fulton cumquat marmalade recipe as the basis of this recipe.

1.5kg lemons

2.2kg white sugar

3L water

wash and halve fruit, and place all seeds in a small bowl. with a vegetable peeler, peel off the yellow rind. cut off white pith and discard. 

finely slice the fruit and rind, place in large saucepan with 2.5L of water; cover the seeds with the remaining water, leave to stand overnight.

the next day, strain the seed water into the saucepan. boil all together until the liquid is reduced by half. add sugar and boil for about 1.5 hours or until marmalade sets (drop a teaspoonful of marmalade onto a cold plate- it should be gently firm, not runny or solid after 30 seconds).

while still hot, pour into hot, sterilised jars, seal and if possible, process in a water bath.

feijoas!

so exiting to discover a feijoa tree in my front yard! delicious, packed with vitamin c (related to guava), and FREE!

lemon delicious

this makes me think of my friend viola :) it's been an amazing, completely forgiving recipe for over 10 years. great to throw together for impromptu dinner desserts; and so easy that kids can make it with minimal help :)


0.5 cup sugar
1 cup self-raising flour
1 egg replacer made to packet instructions
0.3 cup dessicated coconut
grated rind 2 lemons
0.5 cup soy/other milk
50g melted nuttelex/margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
0.5 cup frozen raspberries (optional)

0.5 cup sugar
juice of 2 lemons
hot water (to make total 1 and 1/2 cups liquid)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

preheat oven to 180C. 


in a 20cm, pudding bowl or deep baking dish, mix flour, sugar, "egg", coconut and lemon rind. add milk, margarine and vanilla, mix until smooth. if using, gently fold in raspberries.

put 1/2 cup sugar, lemon juice and vanilla in a measuring jug.  top with enough hot water to make the fluid up to 1 and a half cups (375mls). pour liquid gently over the pudding mixture in the pudding basin. bake for 35 minutes.

harvest

bounty from the garden despite maniac weather:

• two kinds of figs
• peaches
• lemons
• beans
• strawberries
• baby zucchini
• garlic
• red chilli

and the world's tiniest full-grown capsicum

nectarine blossoms

strawberry jam

an unexpected abundance of strawberries led me to the unthinkable: jam.

i can't believe that i've had this opportunity; cooking strawberries, to me, has always been luxury verging on impossibility. i have not used as much sugar as is usually recommended, which means that it may not keep for long (as though that was really a concern...). if you want a thicker jam, increase sugar to 800g, and/or add pectin.

also, i don't fully sterilise (only sit my jars in boiled water for a few minutes), nor do i seal (but i do store in the fridge until and after opening). the peach and fig jams i made in march are still fine: no mould or other spoilage so far.

1kg strawberries, rinsed and leaves cut off

2 small green apples

400-500g raw sugar

1 lemon, juice and pips

cut strawberries into halves, place in large saucepan. thickly peel the apples, remove cores and wrap peel, lemon pips and core in muslin. tie muslin closed securely and place in pan with apple cut into large chunks. cook over low heat for 30 minutes. add lemon juice and sugar, cook for a further 10 minutes, or until jam sets on the back of a spoon. mash with a potato masher, or blend with a stab mixer.

i also made a smaller batch with xylitol (400g strawberries, 2/3c xylitol, 1 apple, 1 lemon juice and pips). it tastes 95% as good as the sugar batch, but is not as gelled.

bliss balls

1.5c pitted dates

.5c sultanas

.5c almonds, soaked overnight (this is my health preference, but is optional)

2tbs coconut oil, melted

3tbs cocoa

.75c dessicated coconut

1tbs coconut flour

process half the dates and half the almonds in a food processor. gradually add in the rest of the ingredients, and pulse until combined (the almonds will be about the size of sesame seeds). roll into balls and refrigerate; makes approx 20.

D thought these were chocolate truffles, and ate four before being told they contained dried fruit :) :)

bliss balls are forgiving to make, and infinitely variable: substitute in some portion of tahini; sesame, sunflower or poppy seeds; dried apples or cranberries...