Roast pumpkin, caramelised onion and goats curd spelt muffins

Recently I was lucky enough to win a copy of Wholefood Baking by Jude Blereau.

It is such an inspiring book with a wealth of information.

The concept of these muffins is so simple and there are many different flavour combinations you could use.

The pumpkin is roasted with chopped rosemary.

More rosemary is finely chopped and combined with the dry mix of seasoned spelt four and baking powder.

You combine the dry mix gently with scoops of roasted pumpkin, caramelised onion and goats curd.

Then mix in the wet of milk, yoghurt, egg and oil.

There is much advice throughout the book to substitute ingredients if need be due to intolerances.

Spoon into muffin cases, top with a dollop of goats curd, sprinkle with pepitas and bake.

They are amazing, so soft and flavoursome.

I tasted one still warm from the oven and couldn't help myself but to eat another....

I cannot wait to bake more from my new book, 

very grateful to Honest To Goodness from whom I won the book.

Banana, Passionfruit and Coconut Loaf

This is a great recipe that Sammy&Bella posted recently.

When I spotted a mountain of passionfruit at the shop I knew exactly what I was going to bake.

It is a simple recipe where you combine the milk, banana, egg, passionfruit (minus the seeds) and butter but I substituted with coconut butter.

Combine with the flour, baking powder, sugar and cinnamon. 

Stir through some oats, I used a beautiful blend of rolled grains from Honest to Goodness.

Spoon in to a tin and top with coconut and the passionfruit seeds.

Bake.

I loved this bread, the coconut and banana really came through with the passionfruit giving it a really yummy twist.

And the texture was amazing, so soft and cake like.

You should be tempted to cook this one! 

Thanks to S&B for another delicious recipe.

Venison Chorizo and Prawn Paella

This is a simple rice dish that is so tasty.

Cook some onions and garlic in olive oil over low heat until slightly browned.

Add the chorizo and brown.

I used Mandagery Creek Venison Chorizo.

Pop in some cherry tomatoes, I love leaving them whole as it adds real bursts of flavour.

Add in a couple of teaspoons of smokey paprika, I use a beautiful one from PureBlends.

Stir in 200g of short grain rice, giving it a few minutes to go slightly translucent.

Add 400ml of hot seasoned stock, top with some sliced green onion.

Let it simmer over low heat.

When the rice starts poking through, top with your green prawns and a handful of peas.

I made this loaf of sourdough using organic Kialla flour from Brasserie Bread,

Turn the prawns over when they are looking half done.

Once the stock is fully absorbed your ready to serve, takes about twenty minutes from when you start to simmer.

Serve with some crusty sourdough.

A simple and delicious dinner that was enjoyed by all.

Live Below The Line

For the past five days we have been participating in Live Below The Line.

This means that you spend just $2 per person per day on food. 

I made a vegetable stock using the onion skins, ends of the celery and ends of the carrot.

So now I have to confess that as a family of four we had $8/day but I didn't actually include the kids lunch in this budget.

But the reason I signed us up was to support those who are in such great need and donate the money we saved.  

I made a vegetable, beef, and lentil ragu and homemade pasta (this made two dinners).

It was a real eye opener, you need to be resourceful, nothing can go to waste and you can't afford to buy quality ingredients.

Chicken drumstick with rice and green veges.

I also used a very small amount of honey but in the real third world I'm guessing they could not afford to buy such a luxury ingredient.

Roasted vegetables with homemade sourdough.

We ate cereal and milk for breakfast, and leftovers from dinners for lunch (this made portion sizes small).

The second dinner of pasta and ragu.

It was hard, and we were hungry.

Especially when you were exercising, made you think of those who physically work so hard yet are paid next to nothing. 

We felt sick due to lack of food.

Pumpkin soup and homemade sourdough.

This was our budget if your interested.

Note: I also used small amounts of oil, salt and sugar.

 

It really is a worthwhile week that I would encourage all of you to take part in next year.

I truly believe we can make a difference.

Coconut Butter Passionfruit Jam Drops

Recently I discovered Honest to Goodness, I have been buying their organic flour for my sourdough and also trying some of the other products.

I had to sit the jar in warm water as it went quite hard.

I was very keen to taste this coconut butter and was definitely not disappointed.

I've used it in many ways - a coconut custard, a frangipane tart and added a spoonful to finish a pumpkin soup. 

So beautiful and smooth with a very rich coconut flavour.

These little melt in your mouth dairy free cookies were an experiment.

Combine the coconut butter and icing sugar.

Mix in the sifted flours.

Add some coconut oil to bring it together.

Roll into bite size little balls.

Make a dent in your balls.

Fill with some jam.

Bake for fifteen minutes.

Cool on a rack.

The coconut flavour was superb and went beautifully with the passionfruit.

They melted in your mouth but the texture was quite different to a butter based cookie.

I think they are a delicious little treat.

Coconut Butter Passionfruit Jam Drops

(makes 30 bite size)

125g Coconut butter

30g Icing sugar

70g Plain flour

1/2 tsp Baking powder

50g Cornflour

1 tbsp Coconut oil

Passionfruit jam

Preheat oven 180C.

Combine the coconut butter and icing sugar.

Gently rub in the dry ingredients.

Add the coconut oil to bring it together as a dough.

Roll into little balls, place on lined oven tray and make a dent for the jam.

Fill with jam and bake for 15 minutes.

Cool on rack.