Sesame Snaps

You will need:

Feel free to be rough with the seeds/oats/nuts, a good sprinkle will do, as long as u have enough to cover your baking sheet :) You can also use alternative ingredients, such as differnet seeds/nuts to taste, you can also replace the peanut butter with tahini if you like :)

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup raw butternut squash seeds
1/2 cup chopped pecans


1/2 cup hempseed
1 cup Sesame seeds
3 tablespoons golden syrup
1 tablespoon peanut butter
pinch of sea salt
pinch ground cinamon



Method 


1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4 /  325F

2. Line a baking sheet with baking paper and spread out the seeds, nuts and oats

3. Bake in the oven for 20minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent over browning

4. Meanwhile, combine the syrup, peanut butter, salt and cinamon in a pan over a medium heat for about 5 mins

5. Pour the syrup mixture over the seeds etc on the baking tray and press down gently

6. Leave to cool for 5 mins, then cut into squares

Mini Chocolate Puddings

This is not for the faint hearted :)  Its a nice gooey chocolate pudding, with a spongey outer and a hot melty chocolate centre. 100% indulgent - be warned.

You will need:

50g Good quality dark chocolate

50g Unsalted Butter
1 Egg

1 Egg Yolk
1 Tablespoon Caster Sugar
3 Tablespoons Plain Flour

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 7 / 220'C / 425'F and lightly butter and a pudding bowl (I use a Le Creuset mug - all you need is a little bowl you can put in the oven - like a souffle cup) - then lightly flour the bowl with either coco powder, icin sugar, or just flour

2. Melt together the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl suspended over a saucepan of simmering water.  (its very important that the water in the pan doesnt touch the bottom of the heatproof bowl).  Once melted, leave to cool

3. Whisk together the egg and sugar until mixture is bubbly, then fold in the cooled chocolate mixture

4. Next add the flour and fold again until smooth

5. Pour the mixture into the bowl, and bake for 10 minutes - or until the top is firm.

6. Once done, turn them out into a bowl and eat right way :)


NB: If you're really stuck for something to make this in, then try in a bun case/cupcake papers and cook for slightly less time.

Vegan Butternut Squash and Chocolate Loaf

This recipe includes my favourite vegetable - butternut squash! Ive adapted it from a recipe book, and changed it to vegan, but it doesnt have to be vegan if you like, I'll include both options in the recipe :)

You will need:

225g Butternut Squash - raw, peeled and grated
350g Granulated Sugar
50g Butter (soya butter or marg)
100g Silken Tofu (or 2 large eggs)
400g Plain Flour
1/2 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Mixed spice
Juice of half an Orange (Optional - see note at bottom about this)
50g Dark Chocolate - chopped into small chunks

1 loaf tin - buttered and lined with baking paper

 Method:

First - Preheat oven to gas mark 4 / 350'F / 180'C

1.  Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy

2. Add the Tofu half at a time, beating inbetween each addition.

3. Add grated butternut squash and mix well

4. Add the orange juice to the mixture and stir well

5. Sift together the flour, bicarb of soda, salt, baking powder and spices.

6. Fold flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture until everything is incorporated

7. Add the chopped chocolate to the mixture and stir well

8. Bake in the oven for 50 mins to 1 hour (depends on how moist the squash is) Check by inserting a skewer: if it comes out clean then its done.

9. Leave to cool before eating, and enjoy! :)


 NB: I adapted this recipe from a green and blacks recipe book. It says to use Maya Gold chocolate, or any good quality orange chocolate..I couldnt find a vegan version of this, so I used Dark chocolate and the juice of half an orange, which worked well. This is optional really, if you cant be bothered with the orange then no worries, but bare in mind you might have to add about 50ml of water to the final mix if it is too dry :)

Homemade Pizza for Two

This recipe is great because its easy to knock up and consists of ingredients that you can find in your store cupboard!

You will need:

150g - 200g Plain flour (dependin on if you want 2 smaller pizzas or one big one)
1 teaspoon dried yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
A sprinkle of hemp seeds (optional)

Toppings of your choice

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients together

2. Add about 4 tablespoons of warm water (not hot!). Add enough so that the dough becomes sticky

3. Knead it on a floured surface, and leave to stand in a warm place for 20 minutes

4. Roll out and add your desired toppings!


My suggestions are (not all together) a layer of tomato puree, cheese, mushrooms, ham, bacon, chorizo, sardines, tuna, onion, baked beans, hemp seeds!  If you dont have any tomato puree you can cheat by adding a tin of chopped tomatos, just add it to fried mushrooms/bacon/whatever and cook for a bit so it reduces!

5. Bake about 2/3rds of the way up the oven at Gas mark 5 for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Lebkuchen - Christmas Biscuits

Lebkuchen is a traditional German-Austrian christmas biscuit.  Whilst you can buy them in Lidl, these home made versions are super deliciously yummy and well worth a try :)

This recipe is adapted from Australian Womens Weekly "Big Book of Beautiful Biscuits"

You will need:

60g Butter
2 tablespoons Golden syrup
250g Plain Flour
1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
1/2 teaspoon Ground Ginger
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Cocoa powder
1 tablespoon milk
Jam - raspberry or blackberry
100g Dark Chocolate

Method

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the golden syrup and bring to boil.

2. Remove from heat and leave to stand for 10 minutes

3. Add all the dry ingredients and milk. Stir well until smooth

4. Cover and leave to stand for an hour and half at room temperature, to allow mixture to form into a thick dough.

5. Once ready, turn out onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead lightly, working in some of the flour until it loses its stickyness.

6. Using a rolling pin, roll out to about 8mm thick.  Cut out into your desired shape (hearts are best!) and place on a baking sheet, lightly greased and with baking paper.

7. Using the end of a wooden spoon, gently poke a dent into the centre of the biscuit.  Fill with half a teaspoon of jam.

8. Bake in the oven, Gas Mark 5 for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden. Leave to cool on tray.

9. Once cold, melt the chocolate in a pyrex bowl over a pan of boiling water.  Dip the base of the biscuit into the chocolate, and smooth off the excess choco with a knife.

10. Place jam side down on a foil lined tray and place in the fridge till choco is set.

Banana Bread

This recipe is from my second attempt at making Rory's favourite banana bread.  His instructions were for it to be thick, bananary and moist - and this recipe achieves it perfectly :)  It is my adapted version of a banana bread recipe I found in "Australian Women's Weekly - Cakes and Slices" book.


You will need:

Rory ate it so quickly I could only get a photo of half of it!

125g Butter
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Essence
180g Castor Sugar
2 Eggs
4 Mashed Bananas
230g Plain Flour
1 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
(Optional - you can also add chopped nuts or raisins if  you like that sort of thing. about 100g)

Method:

1. Cream butter and sugar together, mix in the vanilla essence.

2. Beat in the eggs one at a time

3. Stir in half the mashed bananas and half the dry ingredients (flour, etc), mix well then add the second half and stir until its all combined.

4. If you are putting in additional bits like nuts/raisins fold them in now.

5. Pour mixture into a greased and lined baking pan.

6. Bake about Gas Mark 4 for 45mins to an hour.  Cooking time depends on the pan you use, a flat pan will need less time, or a big one like mine will take up to an hour.  You will know when its done if you poke in a knife or cocktail stick and it comes out clean (ie no raw mixture on it)

7. Leave to cool before eating. Enjoy!

Chicken with Pesto and Mozzarella

I stole this pic to give u a rough idea ;)

This is one of my favourite dinners of mums own recipes.  The pesto and mozzarella provide a delightful flavouring to the chicken whilst the pesto juices that run off make a delicious sauce which is scrumptious when poured over the mash potatoes.  yummys :)

It is easy to make as it only requires a few basic steps, and enough time whilst you wait for it to cook to whip up a cake or do other things.

You will need:

1 Chicken Breast per person
Pot of Green Pesto
125g Mozzarella
Knob of Butter

This is best served with Mash, so get some Potatoes too (and some parsnips / butternut squash / swede if you like magic mash)

Method:

1. If making mash, you may want to prep the veg first and place it in a pan of water, cover and leave to simmer away whilst you cook the rest of the meal (for about 25mins until soft)

2. Heat up the knob of butter in a frying pan on the hob

3. Add the chicken and cook for 5 mins on each side at a medium heat

4. Turn the heat down and cook for a further 15 minutes, or until it is cooked through and the juices run clear.

5.  Once done, spoon two or so teaspoons of pesto on each bit of chicken

6. Next gently place a few generous slices of mozzarella cheese on the top of the pesto

7. Transfer pan to a grill, and cook at a high heat for about 5 minutes or until all the cheese is nicely melted and browning. 

8. Whilst its browning under the grill, sort your mash out.  Drain the water off (and save it for veg stock if your super efficient), add a knob of butter, a splash of milk and mash with a potato masher.

9. Serve next to your mash, and don't forget to pour the pesto juices from the pan over the top too!

10. Enjoy!