Turkish Delight Kombucha Jellies

I wanted to do something different with my kombucha, and after the link I posted on my Facebook page this morning to a raw Turkish Delight cheesecake, I thought it would be a good idea to make some kombucha jellies and coat them in chocolate!  You could muck around with the liquid part of the jelly - you could add some fruit juice to make the jelly a bit sweeter, but personally I like the jellies quite tart thanks to the kombucha, and I find that the sweetness from the choc coating contrasts the jelly centre really effectively.  The next test will be to see whether or not my kids will like them!

Ingredients (makes 16 squares):

Jelly:
- 2 tbsp gelatine (I used Great Lakes brand)
- 3/4 cup hot water
- 1 1/4 cups kombucha (I used homemade strawberry kombucha)
- 1 tbsp rosewater

Chocolate:
- 3/4 cup cacao butter
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1/2 cup cacao powder (reduce this amount if you don't like your chocolate as bitter as I do!)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla

Method:

1.  Dissolve the gelatine in the hot water and allow to cool slightly.

2.  In a large bowl, add the kombucha and then gradually pour in the gelatine liquid as you whisk the mixture together.  Whisk in the rosewater.

3.  Pour the jelly mixture into a square cake tin lined with baking paper.  Allow to set in the fridge.

4.  Make the chocolate by melting the cacao butter and coconut oil on a low heat, while stirring.  Whisk in the remaining ingredients until smooth.

5.  Allow the chocolate mixture to cool slightly while you take the jelly out of the fridge and cut it into 16 squares.

6.  Dip the jelly squares, one by one, into the chocolate, and then put them onto a large tray lined with baking paper.  Allow to set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.  Enjoy!

Double Chocolate & Peach Brownies

We get our organic fruit and veggies delivered fortnightly and so we always get a pretty good variety of fresh produce.  Sometimes though we get some items which don't get eaten as quickly - I had a few peaches in the fridge and thought that a good way to use some of them might be to make something lunchbox friendly that I could include some peaches in - so here it is!  The kids are pretty impressed and I hope you like it too!

Ingredients:

- 1 cup whole spelt flour

- 1/2 cup buckwheat flour

- 1/3 cup cacao powder

- 1/3 cup rapadura sugar

- 1/2 cup choc chips

- 2 tbsp chia seeds

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 1 free range egg

- 1 cup coconut cream

- 1/3 cup coconut oil

- 1 tsp vanilla

- 1 large or 2 small peaches, sliced

Method:

1.  Preheat oven to 180 degrees and grease and line a 20cm x 30cm baking dish.

2.  In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and stir together.  Add the wet ingredients (except peach slices) and stir until just combined.  

3.  Pour mixture into the prepared baking dish and arrange peach slices on top.  Bake for about 15 minutes or until just cooked through (you don't want to overcook it or it will be too dry).

4.  Allow to cool completely and cut into slices to serve. 

Strawberry & Chocolate Cupcakes

I always go out of my way to ensure that our fridge is fully stocked with a variety of wholefoods because one of my kids (yes, only one of my 2, much to my frustration) loves to have a large variety of fruit and veg in her diet.  So I may or may not have gone a bit overboard with buying berries in the past week.  With a large stash of strawberries, I decided to cook something lunchbox friendly with some of them!

Ingredients (makes 12):
- 1 cup light spelt flour
- 1/2 cup whole spelt flour
- 1/2 cup rapadura
- 1/2 cup cacao powder
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1 free range egg
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 1/2 cup choc chips
- 100g strawberries, hulled and sliced
- 2 tsp baking powder

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees and line a 12 hole cupcake pan with cupcake cases.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cacao powder, milk, coconut oil, egg and vanilla.  Stir to combine.

3.  Fold in the remaining ingredients.

4.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until cooked through.

Choc, Coconut & Chia Brekky Pudding

My Tuesday mornings are a tad hectic!  Kids have to be at school by 7am and I have to be at uni not long after.  So hectic mornings call for brekkies on the run... and this chia pudding is my new obsession!  With just a couple of minutes of prep time last night, my brekky was all ready and waiting for me in the fridge this morning when I needed to grab it and race out the door!

Ingredients (serves 1):
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 3/4 cup coconut cream (or coconut milk or other milk)
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp cacao powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- Fresh fruit to garnish (I used strawberries, blueberries and a couple of mint leaves)

Method:

Mix all the ingredients (except garnish) together in a small bowl, cover and pop into the fridge overnight.  In the morning, garnish with fresh fruit and an extra sprinkle of cinnamon.

Lemon & Almond Balls

My my, it has been a long time since I have blogged!  Life has just been so busy so far in the second half of this year thanks to my studies and life in general.  On a positive note though, at the end of this year, I will officially be halfway through my degree! It's been a big 4 years so far and I'm hoping it will take a lot less time to finish the second half.  Anyway, in between studying for an exam last week, I made a batch of these yummy treats.  A healthy snack to have in the fridge for when I need it!

Ingredients (makes 16 balls):

- 1 cup almond meal

- 1/2 cup activated mixed nuts

- 1 tsp chia seeds

- Zest from half a lemon

- Juice from 1/4 lemon

- 2 Medjool dates, pitted

- 1 tbsp coconut oil 

- 1tsp vanilla essence

- Organic desiccated coconut for rolling 

Method:

Add all ingredients to a food processor or Thermomix and pulse a few times until the mixture starts to come together and the contents are well chopped.  Roll into balls and then roll in coconut.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge.  

Apple & Cinnamon Brown Rice Waffles

Some lazy weekend mornings I love to put a bit of extra effort into breakfast... and by extra effort I usually mean preparing some of the ingredients the night before.  This is the case with this recipe.  I grind my brown rice down into flour (or you can buy brown rice flour) the night before and I soak it overnight in some liquid with a bit of apple cider vinegar.  Soaking grains in an acidic medium allows the phytic acid in the grain to be neutralised, and this allows our digestive tract to more easily absorb the nutrients from the grain.  It really doesn't take very long to prepare these babies, just a few minutes of prep time the night before!

Ingredients (makes 8 waffles):
- 2 cups brown rice flour (or brown rice, ground in Thermomix for 1min/sp9)
- 400ml can coconut cream
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup rapadura sugar
- 2 free range eggs
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tsp vanilla essence
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 large apple, grated (please peel if not organic)

Method:
1.  Combine the brown rice flour, coconut cream and apple cider vinegar in a large bowl.  Cover and leave overnight to soak (I leave mine on the bench but if you're not comfortable doing this, you can pop it in the fridge).

2.  In the morning, add the remaining ingredients and whisk together.  Preheat a waffle iron and cook the waffles in batches.  I find that cooking them a little longer allows them to hold together a lot better.  Serve with fruit, yoghurt, maple syrup, honey etc.  

Chocolate & Vanilla Swirl Berry Delight Cake

If you've been following my Facebook page, you may have seen me post about Matilda, the travelling swirly pan from the Aussie Peoplehood of the Travelling Swirly Pan.  Matilda makes its way to a new Australian home every fortnight.  Currently it's my turn to bake in Matilda and I made this gorgeous cake in it.  If you would like to be part of the baking action, head over to this page for more info or to sign up!   In the meantime, check out my latest blog post.

Ingredients:
Cake:
- 3.5 cups unbleached spelt flour
- 3/4 cup rapadura sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 free range eggs
- 400ml coconut cream
- 50g butter, melted
- 2 tsp vanilla essence
- 1/3 cup cacao powder

Icing - whipped coconut cream:
- 2 x 400ml tins coconut cream, refrigerated for a few hours
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla essence

Strawberry sauce:
- 1 punnet of strawberries, washed and hulled
- 1 tbsp maple syrup

Garnish:
- Fresh mixed berries
- Toasted organic coconut flakes

Method:

1.  Make the cake.  Preheat oven to 160 degrees.  Grease the cake tin with butter and dust with spelt flour.  Set aside the prepared cake tin.  In a large bowl, whisk together until well combined the spelt flour, rapadura, baking powder, eggs, coconut cream, butter and vanilla.  Pour half the cake batter into another bowl.  Add cacao powder to one of the bowls and whisk to combine.  Pour small amounts of the cake batter, alternating between the 2 batters, into the prepared cake tin.  Swirl the batter with a skewer or knife.  Pop into the oven for around 20-25 minutes or until the top of the cake springs back when pressed lightly on top.  Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before turning out and allowing to cool completely.

2.  Make strawberry sauce by processing strawberries and maple syrup until a smooth consistency.  I did this in the Thermomix for about 40sec/sp4-5.  Rinse Thermo bowl. 

3.  Make whipped coconut cream.  With an electric beater (or Thermomix, with the butterfly attachment), add all the coconut cream icing ingredients and whip until the mixture thickens (approx 1min/sp4 in Thermomix).

4.  Ice the cake with the coconut cream and strawberry sauce, then garnish with berries and toasted coconut. 

Lemon Cheesecake Bites

Well I'm still looking for a house in Brisbane while we stay with family so most of my pantry essentials are still in storage - in case anyone is wondering why I've been missing in action!  Anyway, this afternoon just seemed like a good afternoon for blogging so here goes.

Ingredients (makes 10):
* I used 10 cupcake sized silicone moulds
Base:
- 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
- 1/2 cup cashews
- 1/4 cup rapadura sugar
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla essence

Filling:
- 450g quark cheese
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp pure cream
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Juice of half a lemon
- 2 tbsp coconut oil 
- 1 tsp vanilla essence

Method:

1.  In a food processor or Thermomix, add all the base ingredients.  Process for a few seconds or until finely chopped (6sec/sp5 in Thermomix).
  
2.  Divide evenly amongst the 10 silicone moulds and press down.  Put into the fridge while you make the filling. 

3.  To make the filling, add all the filling ingredients to the food processor or Thermomix and process until smooth and combined (1.5min/sp4 in Thermomix), stopping and scraping down the sides a couple of times during this process.

4.  Spoon the filling into the silicone moulds.  Put into the freezer for at least an hour.  To serve the cheesecake bites, take them out of the freezer and remove the silicone moulds.  Thaw for about 10 minutes and serve.

Spicy Quinoa Salad

 

I love quinoa for its nutritional benefits as well as being a grain-free alternative to grains such rice.  This salad is easy and quick to prepare and it's delish.  I have it as a side dish or on its own.  Perfect meal in the current summer heat!  

Ingredients:
- 200g quinoa
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- 1/2 red capsicum, diced
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 1 avocado, cubed
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 1/2 cup toasted cashews

Dressing:
- 2 cloves garlic
- Thumb of fresh ginger
- 1 large red chilli, deseeded (or leave the seeds in if you dare!)
- 2tsp rapadura sugar
- 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1tbsp tamari
- Juice from 1 lime
- Small handful fresh parsley
- Few leaves of fresh mint
- Sprinkle of sea salt

Method:
1.  Rinse the quinoa well and then cook it as per the packet directions.  Alternatively, if you have a Thermomix, put the quinoa into the rice basket and rinse.  Pour 1L of water into the TM bowl and steam the quinoa for 12min/Varoma/sp4.  Tip the cooked quinoa into a large bowl and allow to cool.

2.  Stir through diced vegetables and nuts

3.  Make dressing - blend together all the ingredients until smooth (about 1min/sp9 in Thermomix).  Stir the dressing through the salad.  Serve.

Creamy Smoked Salmon Dip

Well it's really only a matter of days that I have left in Perth and apart from that it's been a pretty busy time with the kids' school year coming to a close.  There have been quite a few shared lunches and farewell parties and for one of these, my 4 year old daughter (with very refined taste for a 4 year old I think!) asked me to make some smoked salmon dip with veggie sticks.  I thought that was a fab idea!  So here is my recipe.  Please note that I do my best to avoid using Australian salmon.  The reason being is that salmon is not native to Australia and therefore any Australian salmon tends to be farmed.  In addition, the nutritional value of farmed salmon is lower than that of wild salmon.  So I buy salmon which specifically states on the packet that it has been wild caught and therefore in this rare instance I believe local is not the way to go.

Ingredients (makes about 1.5 cups):

- 1 shallot, trimmed and cut into chunks

- Small handful fresh dill

- 250g block full fat Philly cream cheese

- 150g smoked salmon fillet (wild caught preferably)

- 2 heaped tbsp natural full fat yoghurt

- 2 tsp tomato paste

- 1 tsp onion powder

- Squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice

- Sea salt and pepper 

Method:

Add shallots and dill into Thermomix or food processor and process for a few seconds until chopped finely (2sec/sp7 in Thermomix).  Add remaining ingredients and process until well combined and smooth in consistency (40sec/sp4 in Thermomix), stopping and scraping down the sides halfway through the process.

Spaghetti Carbonara

One of the things I really miss since finding out about my food intolerances is dairy... Thankfully it's only mild intolerance so I can tolerate having a small amount of dairy on occasion.  You can make this recipe dairy free by substituting the cream with non-dairy milk but I saw some Barambah organic cream at my local health food store, so decided to make this recipe with dairy cream and have my once in a blue moon dose of dairy!

Ingredients (serves 4):
- 1 onion  
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 rashers nitrate free bacon
- 2 tbsp ghee (or other cooking fat)
- 300g free range chicken thigh fillets, cubed
- 2 tbsp gluten free cornflour
- 100g mushrooms, sliced
- 1/2 cup preservative free white wine (I used Happs brand)
- 1/2 cup water or stock (I used chicken bone broth)
- 1 cup cream or milk of choice
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- Sea salt and pepper to taste

To serve: cooked spaghetti (we used wholemeal spelt) and cheese (we used Blue River sheep's milk cheddar)

Method:
1. Melt cooking fat in a pot on medium heat.  Add finely chopped garlic, diced onion and diced bacon.  Cook stirring for a few minutes until starting to brown a little.

(Thermomix: add garlic, onion and bacon to bowl.  Chop 3sec/sp5.  Add cooking fat and cook 2min/100deg/sp1)

2.  Add chicken and cornflour and cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes.

(Thermomix: add chicken and cornflour and cook 3min/100deg/rev+sp1)

3.  Add mushrooms, wine, stock/water, cream/milk and stir to combine.  Turn down the heat to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring every now and then.

(Thermomix: add mushrooms, wine, stock/water, cream/milk and cook 10min/100deg/rev+sp1)

4.  Season with salt and pepper and stir through parsley.  Serve.

Mick's Grain Free Brekky - My Fave Ever!

So those of you with a Thermomix will recognise this recipe as CADA (coconut, apple, dates, almonds) but this is my hubby's take on it to make it just the way I like it!  I came home from my pilates class this morning and this is what he made for me for brekky - the flavours of CADA with just the 4 ingredients are pretty amazing - but the addition of our little tweaks to the recipe takes it to a whole new level!  Best of all, it takes barely any time to prepare this deliciously nutritious brekky!  To make more serves, just increase the ingredients to however many serves you would like to make.

Ingredients (serves 1):

- 1/2 apple or pear, quartered

- 2 Medjool dates, pitted

- 1/4 cup raw almonds (or other nuts)

- 1/4 cup organic desiccated coconut

- 1 tbsp cacao powder

- 1/4 tsp cinnamon

To serve - milk (I used almond milk), fresh fruit (cherries, strawberries and blueberries in mine)

Method:

Pulse all ingredients in food processor or Thermomix until finely chopped and serve with milk and topped with fruit!

Strawberry Jam

I have never made my own jam much because the last time that I made it, I cooked it way too long and it turned into a solid blob!  So now I have plucked up the courage to give it another go and it turned out really good!  I thought I would start with your standard strawberry jam.  It has a bit of a tangy flavour to it because I didn't add anywhere near as much sugar as what most jam recipes tend to use.  Plus using rapadura makes it that bit more healthy.  Next time I want to try making jam with summer fruit so stay tuned for that!

Ingredients (makes about 400ml):
- 500g strawberries, washed, hulled and roughly chopped
- 1 green apple, peeled, cored, roughly chopped
- 1/2 vanilla bean, halved lengthways
- Juice of half a lemon
- 200g rapadura sugar

Method:

Add all ingredients to a saucepan.  Bring to the boil and reduce heat to simmer for around 40 minutes, stirring often.  Check to see if the jam is set (put a small blob of jam onto a cold plate - when set, it will be thick in consistency and not move much when the plate is tilted).  If not set, cook for another 10 minutes at a time and check again.  I cooked mine a total of 60 minutes.  Pour into a sterilised jar and store in the fridge.

If you have a Thermomix, you can cook your jam on 100deg/sp2 (with rice basket on top of the lid instead of the MC) following the instructions above.

Peaches & Cashew Cream Cake

This blog looks like it's becoming a bit more of a dessert blog than anything else lately!  I'm going to have to ramp up some savoury recipes soon I think just to balance things out a little.  In  the meantime, here is a recipe for a yummy, no-bake, super easy cake recipe that is dairy free and grain free.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
Base:
- 1 cup organic desiccated coconut
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 5 fresh Medjool dates, pitted
- 2 tbsp coconut oil

Cashew cream layer:
- 2.5 cups cashews, soaked in water for 4 hours and then drained, rinsed
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 tsp vanilla essence
- Squeeze of lemon or lime juice

Peach jelly layer:
- 425g can peaches in juice, pureed
- 1 cup hot water
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 1.5 tbsp additive free gelatin powder (I used Great Lakes brand which I bought online)

Method:
1.  Grease a springform tin with coconut oil.

2.  Make base layer.  Combine all base ingredients in Thermomix or food processor and process until finely chopped (5sec/sp6 in Thermomix).  Tip into prepared cake tin and press down evenly.  Refrigerate while you make the next layer.

3.  Make cashew cream.  Combine all cashew cream ingredients in Thermomix or high speed blender and blend until smooth (2min/sp6 in Thermomix), stopping and scraping down the sides a couple of times.  Pour into the cake tin onto the base.  Smooth out and refrigerate for 2 hours until the cashew cream layer is firm.

4.  Make peach jelly.  Dissolve the gelatin in the hot water.  Add pureed peaches and stir well.  Add cold water and stir well to combine.  Pour into the cake tin on top of the cashew cream layer.  Refrigerate until set.  Serve.

Chocolate Fondants

So initially I tried to make these fondants white chocolate, dairy free and gluten free.... however... that didn't quite work out as planned!  So I tried again and made them with cacao powder and with spelt flour which is a lot more predictable, I find, than gluten free flour.  And they worked a treat!  However of course spelt isn't gluten free.  Anyway they turned out great - you can tell just by looking at the photo can't you? 

Ingredients (makes 4):

* You will need 4 ramekins, each approximately 1 cup capacity

- 3/4 cup cacao butter

- 1/4 cup coconut oil

- 2/3 cup rapadura sugar

- 1/2 cup cacao powder

- 2  large free range eggs

- 2 tsp vanilla essence

- 1/2 cup spelt flour

Method:

1.  Grease the ramekins with coconut oil and lightly dust with spelt flour

2.  Melt together on low heat the cacao butter, coconut oil, and rapadura sugar.  Take off the heat.

(Thermomix: add cacao butter, coconut oil and rapadura sugar to TM bowl and melt 4min/70deg/sp2)

3.  Whisk in the cacao powder, one tablespoonful at a time and also add the vanilla.

(Thermomix: with blades running on speed 3, add the cacao powder, one tablespoonful at a time through the hole in the lid and then the vanilla)

4.   Whisk in the eggs, one at a time.

(Thermomix: with the blades running on speed 3, add the eggs one at a time)

5.   Whisk in the spelt flour, one tablespoonful at a time.  

(Thermomix: with the blades running on speed 3, add the spelt flour one tablespoonful at a time)

6.  Pour the mixture evenly among the prepared ramekins.  Refrigerate for 1 hour. 

7.  Preheat oven to 190 degrees.  Bake the fondants for around 10 minutes.  Take out of the oven and loosen by running a sharp knife around the edges of each ramekin (take care not to burn your fingers - be sure to use an oven mitt!).  Turn out onto plates to serve.

Making Sauerkraut

OK so I know this is not one of my most glamorous blog posts.... but... there are so many health benefits to fermenting veggies at home.  It's not something I have been doing too long just yet and I haven't ventured past fermenting cabbage.  But I love sauerkraut and it is an excellent natural probiotic.  I strongly believe that if we look after our gut, every other aspect of our health will improve as a result.  The other piece of equipment that I have found is necessary for my sauerkraut making is a Pickl-It fermenting jar which I bought from Kitsa's Kitchen and since then, I have not had any problems making sauerkraut.  Everytime I make sauerkraut, it still amazes me just how much the cabbage ends up shrinking and therefore fitting into that jar!

Ingredients:
* I used a 750ml Pickl-It jar
- 800g cabbage (I used a mix of red and white cabbage)
- 2tbsp good quality salt (I used Murray River salt flakes)
- Optional - 1 large carrot, grated

Method:
1.  Shred your cabbage finely - I used the thin slice setting on my V-slicer to achieve a nice uniform result.  From your shredded cabbage, remove any thick pieces and discard.

2.  Put the cabbage into a couple of large glass bowls and spinkle with salt.  Allow to sit for a few hours - in this time, you will see the cabbage shrink in volume and the salt will draw the brine out of the cabbage which you will see collect in the bottom of the bowl.  Every now and then, give the cabbage a toss to distribute the salt.

3.  After a few hours, begin to compress the cabbage with your hands, drawing out more brine.  Once there is enough brine to cover the cabbage, mix in the grated carrot (if using) and then tip about a quarter of the cabbage and brine into the Pickl-It jar.  Using the Dunker which came with your jar and a rolling pin, compress down the cabbage in the jar to remove any air bubbles.  Repeat the process until all the cabbage is in the jar.  Leave the Dunker in the jar as this will help to submerge any cabbage which may be floating on top.  The brine should come up at least a couple of centimetres above the surface of the cabbage.  Ensure also that there are a good few centimetres in between the neck of the jar and the surface of the brine to allow room for expansion during the fermentation process.

4.  Put the airlock into the lid and then close the lid.  Fill the airlock with water to the level indicated.  Close the airlock with the lid provided.

5.  I like to wrap the jar with a tea towel and then pop the jar into a cool, dark spot - I use my laundry cupboard.  I leave the jar in there for about 3-5 days, checking every second day or so.  When I don't see any bubbling anymore, I then place the jar in the fridge and my sauerkraut is ready to eat!

Strawberry & Almond Cupcakes with White Chocolate Icing

I've mentioned previously that I make my own nut milk and always wonder what to do with the leftover pulp so as I'm not wasting it.  So when my little girl stayed home sick from daycare yesterday and asked me to make some strawberry cupcakes for when she felt better, I thought these cupcakes would be a great way to use up the latest batch of leftover almond pulp.  Now I know this sounds strange but my little girl has the most amazing palette when it comes to food!  So when she suggests I make something, I know she's onto a good thing!  Later in the day she felt much better and started to get hungry so she asked me for some cucumber and avocado slices.  I was so proud!  She is the sort of kid who loves her healthy foods and who knows, maybe one day she might follow in my footsteps and study to become a nutritionist as well??

Ingredients (makes 9):
Cupcakes:
- 100g strawberries, washed and hulled
- 1 cup almond pulp (or almond meal)
- 1/2 cup spelt flour
- 2 free range eggs
- 50g butter, melted
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 2 tsp baking powder

Icing:
- 100g white chocolate (I used Green & Blacks), broken up into pieces
- 1 tbsp coconut oil 

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees and line a cupcake tray with 9 cupcake cases.

2.  In a food processor or Thermomix, process the strawberries until finely chopped (5sec/sp5 in Thermomix).  Add the other cupcake ingredients except the baking powder and process until combined (20sec/sp4 in Thermomix).  Scrape down the sides and add the baking powder.  Process for a few more seconds (5sec/sp3 in Thermomix).

3.  Divide evenly amongst the cupcake cases and bake for around 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted into a cupcake comes out clean.  Allow to cool.

4.  To make chocolate icing, melt the chocolate and coconut oil on low heat, stirring constantly until smooth.  Drizzle over the cupcakes (to make icing in the Thermomix, melt the chocolate and coconut oil for 4min/70deg/sp2 until smooth).  Garnish with fresh strawberries.
 

Savoury Corn, Cheese & Bacon Mini Muffins

Here's another great and super easy recipe which freezes well and therefore is excellent for your kids' lunchbox freezer stash!  And as always, I love the sneakiness of hiding veggies in something I cook and then watching my son gobble it up.  Then admitting to him that there are veggies in there.  Nowadays he just laughs when I tell him that because he knows that veggies are good for him and he loves it when he has eaten something with veggies hiding in it that he couldn't taste!

Ingredients (makes 12):
- 1.5 cups light spelt flour
- 2 free range eggs
- 1/2 cup freshly grated cheese of choice (I used sheep's milk cheddar)
- 1/2 cup grated zucchini
- 1/2 cup corn kernels (I used organic frozen ones)
- 1 rasher of nitrate free bacon, diced
- 1 cup milk of choice
- Sprinkle of rosemary (I used dried organic rosemary)
- Optional -  Superfoods for Kidz Vital Veggie Power
- Sea salt and pepper
- 2 tsp baking powder

Method:
1.  Preheat oven to 180 degrees and line a 12 hole cupcake tray with cupcake cases (or you can grease)

2.  In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except the baking powder and stir to combine.  Then add the baking powder and stir it in.

3.  Divide the mixture evenly among the 12 cupcakes cases and bake for 15 minutes or until the muffins are golden on top and spring back when pressed lightly on top.  These are delicious served warm with a big dollop of butter!

Grain Free Pizza

As many mums out there would know, sometimes it can be a bit of a struggle to get veggies into your kids!  I have been blessed with 2 beautiful kids.... but only one of them loves veggies!  The other, who is now 6 years old, still hates most veggies (though he is slowly but surely acquiring a taste for a slowly increasing variety of veggies) and often I have to resort to hiding veggies in the meals that I cook.  Here is one example of such a meal - the main ingredient in the pizza base is cauliflower, which Ben would not otherwise eat.  But he does love pizza, and this one was no exception!

Ingredients (makes 1 large pizza):
Base:
- 1/2 a cauliflower (about 400g) cut into florets
- 3 free range eggs
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes (or some freshly grated cheese)
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- Squeeze of lemon juice or splash of apple cider vinegar
- Season with sea salt, pepper and Herbamare

Toppings:
Whatever you like but I used organic BBQ sauce, sprinkle of dried organic herbs, diced nitrate free bacon, sliced mushrooms and freshly grated sheep's milk cheddar.  I also served the pizza with a side of baby spinach leaves dressed with some extra virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar, sea salt and pepper

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees and line a pizza tray with baking paper.

2.  In a food processor or Thermomix, pulse the cauliflower until finely chopped.  Add remaining base ingredients and process together until combined (20sec/sp3 in Thermomix).

3.  Tip out onto the lined pizza tray and spread out the mixture evenly. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.

4.  Top the base with toppings and put back into the oven until cooked to your liking.

Choc Mint Ice Cream with Magic Chocolate Topping

I haven't always liked the chocolate with mint flavour combination.  Must be my taste buds changing as I get older or something but I have recently started enjoying it.  So here's my recipe for choc mint ice cream.  Super easy if you have an ice cream machine, but if you don't that's OK!  You can still make your own ice cream.  And also the extra special part of this recipe is the topping (think "Ice Magic" but without the nasties) - so yummy!

Ingredients (makes about 1L):
Ice cream:
- 400ml coconut cream (or other full fat milk of choice)
- 200ml water
- 2 free range eggs
- 3/4 cup rapadura sugar
- 1/2 cup cacao powder
- 2 tsp vanilla essence (I make my own using this recipe)
- 1/4 tsp natural mint flavouring (I used Medicine Flower mint extract)

Chocolate topping:
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 2/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup cacao powder
- 1 tsp vanilla essence

Method:
1.  In a saucepan on low heat, whisk together the coconut cream, water, eggs, sugar and cacao powder.  Continue whisking until the mixture is smooth and slightly thickened.  Take off the heat and stir in the vanilla and mint flavouring.  Set aside to cool.

(Thermomix: add coconut cream, water, eggs, rapadura and cacao to the TM bowl.  Cook 7min/90deg/sp4.  Add vanilla and mint flavouring and mix 10sec/sp3.  Set aside to cool)

2.  Churn through ice cream maker.  Or if you don't have an ice cream maker, blend the mixture in a high speed blender for about 30 seconds (speed 9 in Thermomix)  to aerate.  Freeze for a couple of hours.  Take out and blend for another 30 seconds on high speed.  Put back in the freezer until completely frozen.

3.  When ready to serve, allow the ice cream to sit on the bench for about 10 minutes to soften to a scoopable consistency.

4.  To make the chocolate topping, melt the coconut oil on low heat and then whisk in all the other ingredients until smooth. 

(Thermomix: melt coconut oil for 1min/70deg/sp1.  Add remaining ingredients and cook for 1min/70deg/sp4).