Fluffy Pancakes

Great with syrup and with bananas or other fruit.

 

Ingredients:

1½ cup milk (I use rice milk)

4 tbsp lemon juice

2 cups flour

3 tbsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

oil for the pan

 

Instructions:

1. Mix the milk and lemon juice and set aside for a while.

2. Mix the flour, sugar, vanilla, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt together.

3. Mix the eggs into the milk and then mix well with the flour mixture.

4. Oil the pan and fry the pancakes a few at a time.

Aubergine Pate

This is great as a dip or spread, especially when with people who are busy munching on caviar or liver pate or similar. You can vary it with different spices or by using yogurt instead of tahini.

 

Ingredients:

1 aubergine

olive oil

sea salt

1-2 garlic cloves

1 tbsp tahini, optional

1 tsp mint

1-2 tsp honey

1 tsp chilli powder or flakes

 

Instructions:

1. Wash and slice the aubergine, then drizzle it with olive oil and salt. Roast at 200 C for about 25 minutes, until soft. You can remove the peel if you prefer.

2. Mix it in a food processor with the other ingredients and more olive oil until smooth.

Vegetable Korma

This seems somewhat involved, but it actually isn’t that complicated, and the results are lovely. The veg can be varied, and the sauce can also easily be varied – I added dried chilli flakes to spice it up for me.

 

Ingredients:

1 onion

water

50 g cashews

50 g almonds

2-3 dried apricots

1 tin coconut milk

rice (about 50 g per person, so 200 g would suit this amount of food)

1 pepper

1 head cauliflower

150 g other veg (frozen peas and beans are fine, but vary according to taste)

2-3 garlic cloves

1-3 tsp fresh or frozen ginger

1 tsp oil

1 tsp sugar

1-2 tsp tikka masala (or curry powder or garam masala or other spices)

1 tsp mint

 

Instructions:

1. Peel and quarter the onion. Simmer it in boiling water for about 10 minutes. Add the nuts and continue to simmer for 5-10 more minutes.

2. Drain the onion and nuts (save the water to boil the veg in, if you want). Remove any almond skins.

3. Mix the onion, nuts, apricots, and half a tin of coconut milk in a food processor until fairly smooth (though some pieces are fine).

4. Rinse the rice and cook according to directions. I usually add 1-2 tbsp coconut milk for extra flavour.

5. Meanwhile, wash, de-seed, and slice the pepper. Wash the cauliflower and break it into florets.

6. Boil the veg for 4-6 minutes in water, then add the frozen veg and boil for another 2-3 minutes.

7. Peel and dice the garlic and ginger and fry lightly in the oil. Add the sugar and spices and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add any leftover coconut milk.

8. Add the nut mixture to the spice mixture and warm through.

9. Serve the rice topped with vegetables and korma sauce.

Pear, Apple, and Raspberry Crumble

Ingredients:

4 pears

1 apple

50 g rapeseed oil, plus extra

1 tsp lemon juice

55 g sugar, plus extra

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 tbsp oats

60 g flour

30 g almonds (ground or chopped)

30 g dark chocolate, optional

50-60 g raspberries (frozen is fine)

 

Instructions:

1. Wash, peel, and chop the pears and apple.

2. Lightly oil them and toss them with lemon juice and a little sugar. Bake at 190 C for 10-15 minutes, until softened.

3. Meanwhile, mix all the other ingredients together except the dark chocolate. Grate or chop the chocolate.

4. Top the fruit with the raspberries.

5. Dot the crumble topping over the fruit and sprinkle with chocolate (or mix the chocolate into the crumble topping first).

6. Bake at 190 C for 30-40 minutes.

Blondies

I made these for my students and they appealed to their desire for a sugar hit. I like to sprinkle them with sea salt so there’s a salty and caramel mixture, but you can leave the salt off.

 

Ingredients:

½ cup vegetable oil (or melted butter if you prefer)

2 cups dark brown sugar

1½ cups flour

2 tsp vanilla

2 tsp salt, plus extra to sprinkle on top, if desired

2 eggs

 

Instructions:

1. Mix all the ingredients together until a soft ball/mush has formed.

2. Spread in a lightly oiled pan or tin.

3. Sprinkle with fine sea salt, if desired.

4. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 180 C.

Chocolate Meringue Cookies

Ingredients:

3 egg whites

¼ tsp cream of tartar

½ - ¾ cup caster sugar (add more if you like it sweeter)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-2 tbsp cocoa powder

 

Instructions:

1. Whisk the egg whites until foam, then add the cream of tartar.

2. Continue whisking on a higher speed, and add about 1 tbsp of sugar at a time.

3. Slowly add in the vanilla and cocoa powder.

4. Whisk until firm and shiny.

5. Pipe onto parchment paper on baking trays and bake for 40 minutes to 2 hours at 140 C until crisp on the outside and chewy inside. The time varies depending on how big the cookies are.

Carrot Ginger Soup

Ingredients:

2 shallots or 1 onion

oil

2-3 tsp minced ginger (I use frozen, but fresh is great too)

1 vegetable stock cube

5-6 carrots

1 potato

water (about 4 cups)

black pepper, to taste

powdered ginger, to taste

yogurt or cream (we use Oatly)

 

Instructions:

1. Peel and dice the shallots or onion, then fry lightly in oil.

2. Add the ginger and stock cube and fry another minute or two.

3. Peel and chop the carrot and potato and add them to the pan.

4. Boil the water and add it to the pan.

5. Cook the vegetables for 15-20 minutes.

6. Puree the soup.

7. Season as desired, then top with a dollop of yogurt or cream.

Light Wheat Buns

This is another recipe inspired by The Nordic Diet by Trina Hahnemann, but I shifted the proportions quite a bit to allow for a lighter wheat taste for my M.

 

Ingredients:

275 g white flour

50 g spelt flour

5 g fast action dry yeast

1 tsp salt

1 tsp honey

300 ml warm water

 

Instructions:

1. Mix all the ingredients together and leave to rise. Hahnemann suggests overnight in the fridge, whereas I left it for much of the day on the counter.

2. Shape into buns (the dough is soft so you might need to use a couple of spoons) and bake for 15-20 min at 220 C.

Beetroot Patties

I randomly took The Nordic Diet by Trina Hahnemann out of the library awhile back. The book annoyed me with the way she constantly bangs on about smaller portions, healthy eating, no dessert (well, few desserts), exercise, etc, as though we didn’t already know all that. But nonetheless, a couple of the recipes struck me as new and interesting.

 

So I made my own version of her beetroot patties (which she serves with barley, which probably tells you all you need to know!). They’re great with mayonnaise, served with watercress and over couscous.

 

It helps to wear gloves when working with beetroot – we keep a stock of disposable plastic gloves, which we use when cooking with beetroot and other vegetables that stain easily.

 

Ingredients:

500 g beetroot

1 shallot

4 tbsp parsley

½ cup oatmeal

3 eggs

1 tsp salt

1 dash sesame oil (or other oil)

 

Instructions:

1. Peel and grate the beetroot.

2. Peel and dice the shallot. Wash and chop the parsley.

3. Mix all the ingredients together. Shape into patties (this recipe makes about 8).

4. Bake for 15 minutes at 180 C. Turn over and bake for another 5-10 minutes.

Homemade Wheat Thins

One of my favourite crackers when I was little was Wheat Thins. I’ve spent a large part of my life in countries where you couldn’t buy Wheat Thins, so I’ve had to learn how to make them myself.

 

Here is a recipe for homemade Wheat Thins. If you want, you can make them only with whole-wheat flour, but because M has trouble with whole-wheat, I mix two types of flour.

 

Ingredients:

¾ cup white flour

½ cup spelt flour

1¼ tbsp sugar

¼ tsp vanilla extract (strange, yes, but it does add to the flavour)

½ tsp paprika

1 tsp salt, plus more to sprinkle on top

5 tbsp sunflower oil (or butter or margarine, if you prefer)

¼ cup cold water

 

Instructions:

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a food processor.

2. Roll out in batches on a floured surface. Roll as thin as you can. We thought about putting it in our pasta maker, but we thought it would be too wet for it.

3. Cut into squares (or whatever shape you want). Prick each square with a fork once or twice. Sprinkle with more salt.

4. Bake at 200 C for 5 minutes. Check and if it needs a little more time, put it on for another minute or two.

Oatmeal Bread

Ingredients:

1¼ cups liquid (I use ½ cup water and the rest rice milk)

1 tbsp quick-action dry yeast

2-2½ cups flour

½ cups oats, plus extra for topping

¼ cup vegetable oil

¼ cup honey or sugar

1 tsp salt

milk/water/egg for wash, if desired

 

Instructions:

1. Warm the liquid. Put the yeast in it and leave it to foam for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, mix the flour, oats, oil, honey, and salt.

3. Add the yeast and liquid and mix well. Leave to rise for an hour.

4. Knead well and shape into a loaf. Place in an oiled loaf tin if desired.

5. Sprinkle with oats and wash, if desired. Leave to rise again.

6. Bake at 190 C for 30-40 minutes, until golden.

Pita Bread

A warm pita filled with hummus or some other dip or salad is a lovely thing.

 

Ingredients:

2 tsp fast-action dried yeast

200 ml warm water

400 g flour (white or brown or a mix; it doesn’t need to be bread flour)

1-2 tsp salt

1-2 tsp honey or sugar

1-2 tbsp olive oil

 

Instructions:

1. Put the yeast in the water and set aside for 10 minutes until foamy.

2. Mix the other ingredients together, then add in the yeast. Knead or blend for 10 minutes.

3. Leave to rise for at least two hours. You can also leave overnight in the fridge.

4. About an hour before baking the bread, put a bread stone or baking tray in the oven to warm up at 220 C.

5. Roll out the dough into 8-12 circles on an oiled surface. Test one by putting it on the baking tray and baking for 3-4 minutes per side. If it doesn’t puff up enough, sprinkle the other circles with water or a touch more olive oil.

6. Bake them all and serve.

Egg Pasta

Who knew making pasta at home was so easy?

 

You can vary this by using truffle oil, adding semolina, or grinding in saffron or herbs.

 

Ingredients:

275 g “00” flour

3 eggs

1 tsp fine sea salt

1-2 tsp olive oil, optional

water to cook in

 

Instructions:

1. Put the flour into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the eggs and salt.

2. Beat the eggs lightly, then gradually mix the flour in.

3. Add the oil for increased pliancy, if desired. Knead well.

4. Leave the mixture to rest for 10-30 minutes.

5. Roll out thinly (you can use a pasta machine if you want) and cut into shapes.

6. Cook in boiling water for 2-3 minutes and serve as desired.

Butternut Squash Soup

M and I were both ill, and we’d had colds for over a week. Soup – and lots of it – was what we needed. So I made butternut squash soup. It’s really soothing and flavourful, especially when served with fresh bread.

 

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash

2 shallots or 1 onion

oil

1 vegetable stock cube

1 tbsp maple syrup, plus extra

2-3 cups water

1-2 cups milk (I used rice milk)

cream (I used Oatly)

 

Instructions:

1. Roast the squash in the oven at 180 C for 40-60 minutes. Halve it halfway through so the inside gets fully cooked.

2. Peel and slice the shallots/onion and fry lightly in oil. Add the stock cube and maple syrup and caramelise slightly.

3. Peel and de-seed the squash. Put in chunks into the pan. Add the water and cook for 10-15 minutes.

4. Add the milk and cook over medium heat for another 10 minutes.

5. Puree and then swirl in a little more maple syrup and some cream.

Sweet Potato Casserole

I saw a similar recipe in the Sainsbury’s magazine, but it had a lot of dairy and various spices we didn’t want, so I adapted it quite a bit. It was nice for a cold day.

 

Ingredients:

oil

1 leek

2 shallots

1 tsp sugar or maple syrup

4 sweet potatoes

75 g margarine (I used Pure spread)

75 g flour

500 ml milk (I used rice milk)

2 eggs

1 tbsp parsley

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp mustard

2-3 tsp other herbs and spices (I used a bit of ginger and a bit of curry powder; I think tikka spice, mint, etc could work too)

1 tbsp lemon juice

 

Instructions:

1. Oil the pan.

2. Wash and dice the leek and shallots and cook over low heat. Add the sugar or maple syrup to get a sweeter flavour.

3. Peel and slice the sweet potatoes.

4. Melt the margarine. Add the flour, whisking.

5. Let cool, then add the milk and eggs, whisking until smooth. Season with the various herbs and spices and lemon juice.

6. Put the leek, shallots, and sweet potatoes in the pan, and pour in the sauce.

7. Bake at 180 C for 45-60 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the top is slightly golden.