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. 

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.  

Spicy Kale Chips

Super easy one today.  I had a bunch of kale sitting in my fridge - some of which I had juiced, but there was still lots leftover.  So I decided to make a batch of kale chips.  The spices made them super tasty and these babies didn't last long after I had baked them!  As a side note, anyone with hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) needs to be careful when consuming cruciferous veggies such as kale as these types of veggies have been linked to suppressing thyroid function.  I personally don't have an underactive thyroid, however kale also contains oxalates - which when consumed, bind strongly to iron (and some other minerals) in your body and the iron is then excreted.  Not ideal for those of us (like me) who have iron deficiency.  So this is definitely one of a number of foods that I only like to enjoy every now and then.  

Ingredients:
- 1 bunch of kale
- 1 tbsp macadamia oil
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder

Method:
1.  Preheat oven to 170 degrees and line 2 large baking trays with baking paper

2.  Separate the kale leaves from the stems and discard the stems.  Wash the kale leaves and then dry well.  Break up the kale leaves into chunks.

3.  In a large bowl, toss the remaining ingredients through the kale leaves.  Spread out onto the baking trays.  Bake for around 10 minutes or until the kale starts browning around the edges.

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.

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.

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!

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).

Passionfruit & Coconut Custard Filled Tartlets

One of the girls at uni came in one day handing out some beautiful fresh passionfruits which she had grown at home.  I adore passionfruit so I decided to make these little tartlets for the kids.  There was lots of custard leftover (what a pity right?) which we decided to churn through our ice cream maker for some beautiful coconut and passionfruit ice cream!

Ingredients (makes 24):

- 3 sheets Pampas butter puff pastry

Custard:

- 400ml coconut cream

- 200ml water

- 2 free range eggs

- 3/4 cup raw or rapadura sugar

- 1 tsp vanilla essence

- 2 tbsp gluten-free cornflour

- Pulp from 3 large passionfruit

Method:

1.  Preheat oven to 200 degrees and grease a 24 hole mini muffin pan.

2.  Using a 7cm diameter round cookie cutter, cut 24 circles out of the pastry.  Line the greased muffin holes with the pastry circles and bake for around 10 minutes or until the pastry is golden.  Take out of the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. 

3.  While the pastry is baking, make the custard.  In a saucepan on low heat, whisk together all the custard ingredients (except passionfruit) until the custard has thickened.  Set aside to cool for 15 minutes and then stir through the passionfruit pulp, reserving a little of the pulp for garnish.

(Thermomix - add all ingredients except passionfruit and cook 7min/90deg/sp4.  Stir through passionfruit pulp, reserving some for garnish)

4.  Fill each pastry case with the custard and then garnish with some of the remaining passionfruit pulp.  Serve.    

Hummus

It is finally feeling like spring in Perth and it's been such a lovely, relaxing day.  I felt like something super easy for an afternoon snack (but it was so good that I probably won't be hungry at dinner time now!).  Since buying my Thermomix in 2010, I have been making loads of different dips.  One of my faves is the hummus from the Thermomix Everyday Cookbook, but I'm not a fan of using tinned legumes (where possible), so I have tweaked that recipe a bit to make the hummus just as I like it!  If you're wondering what the issue is with tinned legumes, they are usually cooked without soaking.  Soaking legumes prior to cooking helps to neutralise the phytic acid and makes the legumes much more digestible.  It's well worth the effort I think!

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup dried chickpeas, soaked in water for 24 hours, then drained and rinsed and simmered in water for about an hour or until tender, then cooled and drained

- 1/2 clove garlic

- 1 tbsp tahini

- Small handful of fresh parsley

- 2 tsp onion powder

- Good splash of extra virgin olive oil

- Juice of half a lime

- Sea salt, pepper and Herbamare to taste

Method:

Put all the ingredients into Thermomix or food processor and process until desired consistency is reached.  I processed for about 30sec/sp4 in my Thermomix, stopping and scraping down the sides a couple of times.  Serve with crackers or veggie sticks and an extra drizzle of olive oil on top of the dip!

Pear & Cinnamon Cupcakes with Quick Caramel Sauce

Keeping the kids' lunchboxes interesting can be a bit of a mind boggling exercise sometimes.  They do have their favourites that they like me to make but I like to keep things interesting.  This is a super easy recipe for cupcakes which freezes well (without the caramel sauce on top - the sauce is just for us to have at home but for the lunchboxes, I use un-iced cupcakes) and the cupcakes are super moist on the inside thanks to the pear sauce. 

Ingredients (makes 12):
Cupcakes:
- 1 large pear (to make pear sauce)
- 1 cup light spelt flour
- 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
- 1/4 cup oat bran
- 1/2 cup rapadura sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup milk of choice
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
- 1 free range egg
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 2 tsp baking powder

Caramel sauce:
- 6 fresh Medjool dates, pitted
- 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup coconut cream
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- Pinch of sea salt

Method:
1.  Make pear sauce: peel the pear, chop into pieces and boil in some water until tender.  Drain off the water and mash the pear.  Set aside to cool.

2.  Preheat oven to 180 degrees and line a cupcake tray with cupcake cases.

3.  Into a large bowl, add all the cupcake ingredients and stir to combine.  Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake cases.

4.  Bake for around 15 minutes or until the cupcakes spring back when lightly pressed on top. 

5.  Allow the cupcakes to cool.

6.  To make the caramel sauce, blend all the ingredients until smooth in a high speed blender or Thermomix (around 1min/sp9).  Drizzle over the top of the cupcakes.

Beef & Vegetable Pies

Well it's still footy finals time and hubby has once again requested some "dude food".  I went through our deep freeze and found some osso bucco in there which I thought would be a great cut to slow cook some pie filling.  There's something pretty satisfying about making your own pies!  Hope you enjoy this recipe. 

Ingredients (makes 6):
(You will need 6 pie pans or you could use a Texas muffin pan)
- 800g of beef suitable for slow cooking (I used about 1.5kg of grassfed osso bucco and took out the bones after the filling was cooked)
- 1 cup homemade chicken stock OR 1 cup Campbell's liquid veggie stock OR 1 cup water + 1tbsp Thermomix veggie stock concentrate
- 2 cups water
- 400g can diced tomatoes (or fresh)
- 100g sliced mushrooms
- 1/2 carrot, diced
- 1/2 zucchini, diced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- Optional - 1/2 chipotle chilli, sliced (this adds a lovely smokey flavour)
- Sea salt, pepper and Herbamare to taste
- Pampas butter puff pastry sheets (I used 4 sheets, having to do some patchwork to create the lids to 2 of the pies!)

Method:
1.  Combine in a slow cooker (or casserole dish, though if doing this then preheat your oven to 150 degrees) all the ingrediens (except puff pastry of course!) and cook on low setting for 6 hours, stirring every now and then.  Or if using oven, cook for 3 hours, stirring every now and then.

2.  Allow the meat mixture to cool right down.

3.  Preheat oven to 200 degrees and grease your pie pans.

4.  Line the base of each pie pan (to do this, I used 3 pastry sheets, cutting each one diagonally in half and then trimming off any excess pastry).  Fill each pan with the filling, ensuring you don't put in too much liquid.  Seal each pie with a pastry lid (I cut the remaining pastry sheet into 4 squares and then for the remaining 2 lids, I patched together the excess pastry leftover from lining the bases), trim off excess pastry.  I also used a fork to press right around the edges of each pie to seal.  Then I also used the fork to prick a couple of vents in the top of each pie.

5.  Pop the pies into baking trays and bake for around 20 minutes or until the pastry looks nice and golden on top.  We served these pies with organic tomato sauce and salad on the side.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bites

So have you tried my homemade chocolate recipe yet?  Well if you haven't.... it's... AMAZING!  I have tweaked the recipe over time and am super dooper happy with it now.  This is a variation on that recipe but with a peanut butter centre.  And who doesn't love peanut butter and chocolate together?  Well.... my husband doesn't like nuts.... but he's a bit strange!  Just have to mention that the cacao butter is pretty much essential in this recipe.  You can buy it from most good organic health food stores.  Next time I make these, I will also add a little strawberry jam into the centre.  Enjoy!

Ingredients (makes 6):

- 3/4 cup cacao butter

- 1 tbsp coconut oil

- 1/2 cup cacao powder

- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup

- 1/2 tsp vanilla

- 6 tsp natural peanut butter (or other nut butter. I used Macro Organic smooth peanut butter)

Method:

1.  Line a baking tray with 6 silicone moulds.

2.  In a small saucepan on low heat, combine cacao butter and coconut oil.  Stir until melted and smooth.

(Thermomix: add cacao butter and coconut oil to bowl, chop 5sec/sp7 and melt 70deg/4min/sp2).

3.  Add cacao powder, maple syrup and vanilla to saucepan.  Whisk until smooth.

(Thermomix: add cacao powder, maple syrup and vanilla to bowl.  Mix 20sec/sp4).

4.  Pour half of the chocolate into the silicone moulds.  Refrigerate for 5 minutes.

5.  Top the chocolate in each mould with 1 tsp of peanut butter.  Refrigerate for another 5 minutes.

6.  Pour remaining chocolate into the moulds to cover the peanut butter.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until set.  Keep in the fridge. 

Roasted Capsicum & Sundried Tomato Dip

I haven't bought premade dips in a few years due to the nasties that get added to them.  Plus it is so easy to make your own dips at home, full of real and wholesome ingredients.  This particular dip requires a little prep time with roasting the capsicum and nuts, but apart from that, it takes almost no time at all to make!  It makes a great little afternoon snack on the weekend.

Ingredients:
- 1 red capsicum
- 1/2 cup raw cashews or macadamias
- 1/2 cup organic sundried tomatoes (make sure they are additive free - it can be difficult to find additive free sundried tomatoes in the supermarket - I used Organico brand which I bought from an organic health food store)
- 1 fresh tomato, halved
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes (or parmesan/pecorino if you're OK with dairy)
- Squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- Sea salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1.  Preheat oven to 180 degrees and line a baking tray with baking paper.  Put the whole capsicum onto the baking tray and also the raw nuts.  Put into the oven. 

2.  After around 10 minutes or when the nuts are looking lightly roasted, remove them from the oven.  Put the capsicum back in the oven for another 10 minutes or until it is soft.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature.

3.  When the capsicum has cooled down, peel it (the skin should just pull away easily) and discard the skin and seeds.

4.  Add the capsicum flesh along with all the other ingredients to Thermomix or food processor.  Pulse a few times until the desired consistency is reached.  We had this dip with cucumber slices!

Spicy Roasted Chickpeas - guest post by Meagan James

Hi everyone and thank you to Iwa for inviting me to post my recipe for roasted chickpeas! My name is Meagan and I am studying Naturopathy at Endeavour College of Natural Health. I am seriously addicted to chickpeas and love having them in salads or hummus, but that can start getting a bit boring after a while... This easy recipe is great for mixing up my chickpea consumption, plus it’s a good alternative to nuts and is very transportable, so something to pop in your handbag to keep the hunger pangs at bay. I like to marinate my soaked chickpeas in a mixture of olive oil and warming spices such as cumin, turmeric, coriander and cayenne, which gives it a bit of a Middle Eastern flair. You could use just about any powdered spices/aromatics you like – for example, if you used cumin, sesame seeds and lemon zest you would get a deconstructed hummus!

Before I get started on the recipe, I would like to take a moment to discuss the importance of soaking your grains and legumes.

The reasons why these foods should always be soaked before cooking are to improve their digestibility, and to neutralise substances found in grains and legumes that would inhibit the absorption of important minerals such as magnesium and zinc. The phytates and enzyme inhibitors tend to draw minerals from the body’s stores, plus the nutrients that the legume actually contains is bound up in lots of fibre and starch that is very difficult to digest. So, show your tummy some loving and make sure to soak your grains and legumes from now on! Smaller grains and legumes such as lentils will only require about 6-8 hours of soaking, while the more robust chickpea takes between 12-18 hours. I also pop in a spoonful of bi-carb soda to the soaking water, just to ensure all the phytates etc will completely break down.

And now, to the recipe!

Ingredients:

- 1/3 cup dry chickpeas, soaked for up to 18 hours

- 1 dessert spoon bi-carb soda

- 1 – 2 tsp olive oil

- 1/2 tsp turmeric 

- ½ tsp ground cumin

- ¼ tsp garlic powder

- 1/8 tsp cayenne, or to taste (can be omitted)

- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Measure out dry chickpeas in a jug, sprinkle on the bi-carb soda and pour in enough water to cover the chickpeas by roughly an inch.

2. The next day, drain and rinse the chickpeas thoroughly under running water. Mix the remaining ingredients together in a small dish. Return chickpeas to the jug and pour over the marinade. Cover and leave for at least 3 hours.

3. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Spread the chickpeas evenly over a baking tray – try not to let any touch – and cook for around 15 to 20 mins, or until golden. These do burn easily, so make sure you stay close by while they are cooking, and if you hear any popping, take them out immediately.  Enjoy!