Chia Cornbread Muffins

We were craving cornbread muffins to eat with our soup tonight, but I didn't have any eggs.  I have been playing with chia seeds though, so decided to make them using chia gel in place of the eggs.  It was a great success and the muffins are delicious.

Chia Cornbread Muffins

This recipe is based on my original Cornbread Muffins.


Ingredients

2 tbsp chia seeds
6 tbsp water
1-1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup Polenta (corn meal)
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/4 cup hemp oil


First, stir the chia seeds into the water and leave to thicken up.  Stir again a few times and leave until the seeds have completely taken up all the water and have become a good thick mixture.  This should only take a few minutes.  Stir again.

Stir all the other ingredients together in a bowl.  Add in the thickened chia gel and stir well until the mixture is completely combined.

Put spoonfuls of the mixture into greased muffin pans - approx. 3/4 full.

Bake at 190 degrees C for approx. 25 mins.

Serve with soup, or as a side for just about anything.

You can use this recipe in a baking dish, or bread tins - whatever you choose.  Just remember to alter the cooking time accordingly.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Citrus Coconut Almond Biscotti

I do love biscotti and so does my family.  When a friend shared a recipe she had for something with citrus and coconut, I just had to play around with it.  This is what I came up with.  Delicious on their own or with a cup of your favourite warm beverage.

Citrus Coconut Almond Biscotti

Ingredients

1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup plain flour
2/3 cup ground almonds
1/3 cup self-raising flour
1 cup desiccated coconut
Finely grated rind of 1 each x orange, lemon & lime (you could use just oranges if you prefer)


Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and grease oven tray.

Whisk sugar and eggs until combined.  Stir in flours and ground almonds, then coconut and rinds.

Knead dough on floured surface until smooth (doesn't take long).  Divide dough in half, roll each portion into an approx 30cm log.  Place logs on tray.  Bake for around 30 minutes.  Cool on tray for 10 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 150 degrees.

Using a serrated knife, cut logs diagonally into approx 5mm slices.  Place slices in a single layer on ungreased oven trays.  Bake for 30 minutes until dry and crisp turning halfway through baking.

Cool on wire racks.

These should keep in an airtight container for at least a month, but I've never been able to test this theory as they are well gone by then!

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Stewed Squid with Pasta

Years ago, I used to love eating stewed squid from one of my favourite little Greek Restaurants in London.  Unfortunately, the restaurant has been long gone, so when I came across some lovely fresh squid a little while ago, I just had to try and recreate this lovely dish.

Stewed Squid with Pasta

Ingredients

Pasta of choice
Olive oil
1 red onion - finely sliced
4 garlic cloves - finely sliced, or crushed
1-2 small chillies - seeds removed, finely diced
Handful of fresh parsley - leaves and stalks trimmed separately
1 red pepper - finely sliced
Paprika
Red wine
400g tin chopped tomatoes
500g squid - tubes sliced into rings and tentacles cut into pieces


Boil a large pan of water and cook pasta to directions on packet.

Meanwhile, heat a spoonful of oil in a large saucepan.  Gently stir-fry the onion, garlic, chilli and parsley stalks until soft.

Add the peppers and a shake of paprika and fry together for another minute or so.

Add a good splash of red wine and the tomatoes. Stir and bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.

Bring back to the boil and stir in the squid pieces. Cover and simmer very gently for 4 minutes.  (You don't want to overcook the squid, or it will become rubbery!)

Sprinkle the parsley leaves over and serve with pasta.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Soul Cakes

Soul Cakes are traditionally baked to celebrate Samhain, a time to reconnect with our ancestors and to honour those who have passed.  This recipe is my own version and makes approx. 16 small cookies.

Soul Cakes

Ingredients

1 cup plain flour - white, whole wheat or a mixture of the two.
3/4 cup ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cocoa
1/2 cup soft brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Zest of 1 orange
1 egg
1/4 cup butter - melted
1 tbsp orange juice


Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.  Line a baking sheet with baking paper.

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, beat the egg, then add the butter and orange juice and stir well.

Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir until well combined and the dough starts to form into a ball.

Split the ball in half and repeat until there are 16 small balls. Flatten each one slightly and place on baking tray, leaving a little room for them to spread.

Bake for approx. 25 mins, or lightly brown.

Cool on a wire tray.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Cavolo Nero Pesto

I know, you looked at the title of this post and thought, "Cavolo Nero Pesto, what was she thinking????!!

Well, I really love leafy green veggies, but my family can be a little fussy, so I've been playing with ideas on different ways of using them.  After a not-so-successful attempt at Kale Crisps the other day (I am going to need a food hydrator for things like that), I decided on a pesto instead.  This turned out really well, very garlicky - so you may want to reduced the amount used, if you're not as garlic mad as I am - and there is enough for an easy pasta meal, as well as for basting fish, and/or stuffing under the skin of a chicken before roasting.

Cavolo Nero Pesto

Ingredients

1 bunch Cavolo Nero - washed and stripped from their stalks.  Discard stalks.

Sea salt

40g Butter - approx.

Olive Oil

3 cloves garlic

75g Parmesan - grated

Boil a large pot of well-salted water, plunge in the Cavolo Nero leaves and cook for five minutes.   Remove and drain.

Place the cooked Cavolo Nero in a food processor along with the butter, a couple of tbs of oil, garlic and parmesan and purée until smooth.  Add more oil as needed.

Note*:  I poured a little oil over the top of the pesto in the jars, so it should last a bit longer when stored in the fridge ..... although I think we'll be using it up pretty quickly!

Enjoy!

Caryl  ♥