Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

I came across this jam recipe on facebook the other day and thought I just had to try it, seeing as I had all the ingredients at the time and I love using chia seeds!  Well, it was the easiest and quickest jam I've ever made and it is also healthy and delicious, so I'm sharing it with you here.

Thank you, to thankfulexpressions.blogspot.com :)  I am so impressed with this jam that I may just be making all my own fruit jams from now on!

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

Ingredients

1-1/3 cup strawberries
2/3 cup rhubarb - cut into small pieces
2 tbsp raw honey (or to taste)
2 tbsp chia seeds


Process all the ingredients in a blender (I used my food processor for this).

Refrigerate overnight, or at least a couple of hours.  The chia seeds will gel, thickening the fruit puree.

Add additional diced fruit if you like it chunky.

Enjoy!  We certainly did in our house!

Caryl ♥

Bulghur Wheat Salad

On these hot summer nights, I haven't really wanted to eat much more than a salad for dinner.  Teenagers though, need filling up, so adding grains to salad and vegetable ingredients is a great way to satisfy everyone.  This salad was tasty and filling.

Bulghur Wheat Salad

Ingredients

1-1/4 cups bulgur wheat
1 tsp ground oregano
2-1/2 cups boiling water
2 medium courgettes (zucchini) - sliced lengthwise down the middle and then crosswise into diagonal slices
1 large red pepper - sliced into strips
Olive oil
2 medium carrots - grated
2 spring onions - sliced thinly
handful pine-nuts
large handful fresh mint - chopped


Dressing

2 tbsp Olive oil
1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 orange - juice only
Honey - a little drizzle


Put the bulgur wheat into a large bowl and mix in the oregano. Pour the boiling water over and cover with a lid. Set aside for approx. 20 mins.

Combine the courgettes and peppers in a bowl. Give them a good drizzle of olive oil and stir well. Transfer veggies onto a baking tray and roast in the oven - approx. 200 degrees C - for 20 mins.

Meanwhile, make the dressing by combining dressing ingredients in a small jar. Shake well and put aside.

When the bulgur wheat is cooked, fluff it through with a fork and transfer to a large serving bowl. Mix in the roasted veggies, carrots, spring onions, pine-nuts and mint. Drizzle over just a little dressing and mix through. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Just before serving, mix in more dressing to suit your tastes (some people like just a little and others like it soaked right through the salad).

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Chia Chocolate Pudding - Updated

I have just put together this, very delicious, Chia Chocolate Pudding and decided to update it here, so you can try it too.  There isn't a huge difference from the original version, but if you hadn't thought of the variation yourself, now you can try it too! :)


Ingredients

4 tbs (1/3 cup) chia seeds
400ml Almond milk
2 tbs cocoa powder
2 tbs honey


Please note:

1. If you are using sweetened almond milk, you may wish to reduce the amount of honey.
2. Try using soy milk or even regular cow's milk.
3. Use melted chocolate or instead of the cocoa powder and omit the honey.
4. Use grated raw cacao instead of the cocoa powder.
5. As in the original recipe, use 400ml coconut milk, instead of almond milk; and replace the honey with agave syrup.

Whisk all the ingredients together in a large bowl.  Refrigerate for an hour or so.

Enjoy!

Caryl ❤

Rhubarb with Chicken Thighs

Members of my family have mixed feelings about rhubarb.  I quite like it but wanted to try something different, for a change from the traditional sweet desserts that everyone seems to associate with rhubarb.    This chicken recipe was a real hit with everyone.  Unfortunately, it was eaten too quickly to get any photos, but will add one next time I make it! :)


Ingredients

8 x chicken thighs
Olive oil
1 bunch spring onions
2 tbs fresh ginger - grated
1 tsp ground cardamom (I could only get the pods, so opened them up and ground the seeds with a mortar and pestle)
1/2 cup sherry
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup honey
Juice from one orange
3-4 sticks rhubarb - diced into small chunks


Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

Heat a little olive oil in an ovenproof pan.  Place the chicken thighs in the pan and cook until golden, then turn over and cook the other side.  Transfer the thighs to a plate.

Add the spring onions, ginger and cardamom to the pan.  Season to taste.  Saute until the spring onions start to soften.  Pour in the sherry and scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.  Cook for a few minutes, then add the stock, honey and orange juice.  Stir to combine.  Return the chicken pieces (and any juices) to the pan, turn the chicken to coat, and bring mixture to a boil.

Cover the pan with a lid and place it in the oven and cook for approx. 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven, scatter the rhubarb pieces between and around the chicken, then return the pan to the oven for another 15 minutes.

I served this with brown rice and steamed broccoli.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Lavender Honey Butter

This is a lovely sweet herb butter that could be used in all sorts of different ways.  I especially made it to go with my Lavender Scones.


Ingredients

100g butter - softened
1 tbs lavender buds
1 tsp honey


Just like with my lavender scones, I used a pestle and mortar to grind the lavender buds.

Add the ground lavender and a nice squeeze of honey to the softened butter.  I used a wooden spoon to mix it all together.

When everything is mixed as evenly as you can, spoon the lavender butter onto a piece of cling film and roll into a small log shape.  Wrap and place in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

Delicious with Lavender Scones or spread on toast or crumpets!

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Parsnip Cranberry Cakes

What do you do at Christmas time when you have left over parsnips and clementines?  You peel and grate and squeeze them into delicious little cakes of course! :)

Parsnip Cranberry Cakes

Ingredients

75ml olive oil
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 clementines - zest and juice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1-3/4 cups plain white flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 large parsnips - grated (approx. 1 mug full)
Handful chopped pecans
Handful cranberries
Honey


Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C.

Whisk olive oil, sugar, eggs, cinnamon, clementine zest and juice together until light and fluffy.

Sieve in flour, bicarb, baking soda and salt.  Gently fold through.

Carefully swirl in the parsnips, pecans and cranberries.  Don't overmix.

Divide between baking cases.

Bake for 30mins, until skewer comes out clean.  Finish with a drizzle of honey.

Store in airtight container for 2-3 days, if you don't eat them all at once!  Delicious with a bit of butter and a cuppa!

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Banana Chocolate Cake

This must be the most delicious Banana Chocolate Cake I've tasted!

Banana Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

120g butter - melted
75g brown sugar
75g honey - (this is approx. 50ml)
2 large eggs
1-1/2 cups white self-raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 over-ripe bananas - mashed
3/4 cup creme fraiche (or sour cream)
100g dark chocolate - cut into 1cm pieces
50g pecans - roughly chopped


In a large bowl, mix melted butter with sugar, then add the honey and stir well.

Next, add the eggs and beat thoroughly.

Sift the flour, bicarbonate and cinnamon over the top, and mix well until combined.

Stir in the bananas and creme fraiche.

Fold in the chocolate and nuts.

Pour mixture into prepared loaf tin. 

Bake in oven at 180 degrees C for approx. 70mins, or until browned and there is no mixture sticking to the tester.

Leave in tin for approx. 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.  Leave to cool, if others in the household let you.  Otherwise, slice and serve immediately to keep them quiet! ;)

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Chia Chocolate Pudding

This vegan pudding has the consistency of tapioca, with the taste of chocolate.  It is the simplest of puddings to make and tastes delicious, but doesn't photograph very well, so you'll have to trust me! :)


Ingredients

4 tbs (1/3 cup) chia seeds
2 x 400ml cans coconut milk
2 tbs cocoa powder
2 tbs agave syrup


Whisk all the ingredients together in a large bowl.  Refrigerate.

It will be ready to eat in an hour or so.

Note:  If you are not vegan, you can replace the agave with honey, or any other sweet syrup.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Blueberry & Apple Chia Muffins

It's always nice to add a little extra from the garden - in this case, from our apple trees - to a baked treat!

Ingredients - (makes approx. 12 muffins)

1 cup fresh Blueberries
1 Apple - peeled and chopped
1/4 cup Chia seeds - ground
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup plain flour
60g butter
3 tbsp honey
2 large eggs - beaten
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup creme fraiche (or sour cream)


Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.

Rinse the blueberries and leave on a paper napkin to dry.  Peel and roughly chop the apple and set aside.

Melt the butter with honey.

Sift the ground chia seeds with the flours and baking powder into a large bowl.  Stir the chopped apple into the flour.

In a small bowl, roughly beat the eggs with the vanilla, the pour in the butter mixture and the creme fraiche.  Stir until well combined.

Pour the wet ingredients into the flour and apple mixture.  Mix lightly with a fork, until just combined.  Carefully fold in the blueberries, without crushing.

Put spoonfuls of the mixture into well-greased muffin pans - approx. 3/4 full.  Bake in oven for approx. 20 minutes, or until well risen and golden.  Transfer to a wire rack.

Enjoy warm, or cold!

I usually try to double the recipe so there are some muffins left to freeze for another time.  They make a healthy and delicious snack!

Caryl ♥