Scrummy Coconut & Sultana Cookies

I am always on the hunt for yummy treats that are super healthy & super fast to throw together. These cookies are just that. They are a fantastic snack and hunger buster when you're on the run. They are not super sweet, with just a wee bit of agave syrup to satisfy those with a penchant for sugar. Of course, you can add more, the proportions below are a suggestion, change them at will! I am becoming less convinced of the super healthy virtues of agave syrup. It is certainly lower on the GI scale than sugar and that's a good thing. This is because it's made up of mostly fructose and a little glucose. Proportions vary, depending on the variety of plant and harvest method...but my guess is it's somewhere around 70% fructose and 30% glucose. Fructose has to go to the liver first, before it can be metabolised, hence the delay in increasing blood sugar levels. Massive amounts of fructose can do it's own damage, so my advice is, everything in moderation, including agave syrup!

So, back to the cookies; they are made with a mix of tahini, dessicated coconut, dried fruit (in this case sultanas) and oat flour. I had intended to use all coconut, but ran short. Necessity being the mother of invention, I grabbed some oatflakes, blitzed them in my little coffee grinder and made oat flour! Who'd have thought it would be so easy? I quite like the end result, coconutty without being macaroons, of which I am not a fan! The tahini adds protein and buckets of calcium, which is good news for anyone who struggles with dairy. The oats are rich in fibre and bring their own share of protein to the mix too.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup dark tahini
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 generous tbsp water
• 1/4-1/2 cup agave syrup
• 1 egg beaten
• 1 1/2 cups dessicated coconut
• 1 1/2 cups oat flour (see method above! Substitute all coconut if you prefer)
• A good handful of sultanas (or unsweetened cranberries if you have them)
• A pinch of salt flakes

Get stuck in!

1. Turn the oven on to 170C and grease and line two shallow baking trays.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the tahini, lemon zest, water and agave syrup. Mix thoroughly until smooth & glossy. Tahini has a habit of seperating into oil on top and a more solid, dense paste at the bottom. Stir it up as best you can and make sure you smush out all the thickerlumps of tahini.
3. Add the beaten egg and mix thoroughly
4. Combine the dry ingredients in a seperate bowl and add to the wet mixture. Give it all a good stir.
5. With wet hands, shape and flatten spoonfuls of the mix into discs about 1cm thick.
6. Place the whole lot in the oven and set your timer to 10 minutes. My fan oven takes 14, others will take 10, so the first time you make these, watch 'em like a hawk to be sure they don't burn. When they are nicely golden, they're done.
7. Enjoy with a cuppa herbal and kick back for a few minutes. As one of my sugar loving tasting friends skyped me yesterday 'Jeebus those cookies are f****n delish...'

Scrummy breakfast...and that's according to a sugar addict!

I have a friend who is a self confessed sugar addict. He does pay attention to what he eats, but man, there's a whole lot of sugar in there. Breakfast is usually a cup of coffee and maybe a gourmet breakfast roll from the local deli in the car on his way to work. I have given up berating him for eating while standing, dining on pizza and chips, consuming copious amounts of coffee...

For anyone trying to change their diet, starting the day well is always purported as being one of the most important first steps and it is! Usually, people are advised to eat porridge or homemade granola with a boiled egg, or maybe even an omlette. If you're new to eating breakfast, these options might not hold much appeal. I think I may have discovered a combination that works, even for the sweetest tooth. This is porridge like you've never known it. This is porridge from planet delicious. Try it, it will satisfy your sweet tooth, it doesn't taste like grandmother's gruel and with the addition of protein rich quinoa will keep you going for much longer than that breakfast roll, croissant or even a bowl of Special K. The cinnamon helps to balance blood sugar levels and the apple puree adds a lovely sweetness without any sugar neccessary, along with the benefits of pectin, creating a smooth creamy delight. The berries turn the whole concoction a beautiful pinky purple, definitely not grey and stodgy!

Ingredients per person:

• 1/3 cup of jumbo oatflakes
• Small handful of quinoa (I like to use seeds, but you can use flakes for faster cooking)
• 2/3 cup of water
• Small handful of sultanas
• Good pinch of cinnamon
• 2 dsp apple puree or stewed apple
• Handful of berries (fresh or frozen)

Get started:

I suggest you get this started pretty much as soon as you get out of bed. It will take about 20 minutes to cook, which gives enough time for morning ablutions.
First off, put the oatflakes, quinoa, sultanas, cinnamon & water in a saucepan.
Turn the heat on really low (my hob goes from 1-9 so I use 2)
Give it a stir and leave for approx 20 minutes.
Return from beautifying yourself for the day and add the apple puree & berries.
If the berries are frozen, you'll need to wait a few minutes for them to defrost.
Pour the lot into a bowl and enjoy, slowly...give yourself time to enjoy the feeling of virtue it bestows.
If you fancy a little more sweetness, drizzle some agave syrup over the top. Agave is much lower GI than sugar and so won't send you into a sugar rush. This got the double thumbs up from my sugar addict friend, and that's my litmus test for success.

Spring is in the air

On Sunday I went for the most gorgeous walk by the sea with my mountain man (we decided against an afternoon on our bikes in the hills). It was bloody freezing. My nose, ears, fingers and toes were numb by the time we got back to the car, but despite that, there was a definite hint of spring in the air.

We walked the pretty streets of Sandycove in south Dublin, seeking out signs of spring in the gardens of the quaint little houses there. Cherries in blossom, already! I'm sure it's really early, but there they were, just coming into bloom and it got me feeling all spring like.

Today is pancake Tuesday and while I have already partaken in the tastiest spelt pancakes (my breakfast choice was flaked almonds, sultanas, a wee bit of dark chocolate, banana and some maple syrup) I have an urge for something more pure. Inspired by a youtube clip I watched of the boys from the happy pear I whizzed up a smoothie for my lunch and I am bouncing around the place with energy. Give it a go, it's super healthy, super food, super fast. Yum


Green Goddess Smoothie

• half an avocado
• 2 dsp golden linseed (flax)
• half a mango
• 200ml apple juice
• juice of half a lime
• 1/4 red chilli, chopped finely (this gives it a gently kick, I could definitely handle more)
• big handful of spinach

Put everything in your blender and blitz thoroughly.
You will get the most delicious, vibrant green, tasty filling smoothie. No need for milk or yoghurt. The flax provides some protein along with super healthy fibre and essential fats, as does the avocado, plus wonderful Vitamin E. The spinach is rich in iron, magnesium & fibre. The chilli will get your circulation going and the apple juice, well, it helps the whole lot go down! It is pretty low GI too, as there is buckets of fibre to slow the release of sugar from the fruit into the blood. ENJOY!

Valentine's shmalentines...

Valentine's Day. I will save the rant about hallmark and rip off roses, I'm sure it wouldn't be welcome. I'm not a massive fan of Valentine's Day. It's crowded with tat, overpriced roses, nasty fluffy underwear and the pressure to be the perfect lover...oops, sorry, that rant sort of sneaked in the back door. I'm a wee bit too matter of fact for such things and in my quieter moments would have to admit that I have always liked to think if you love someone, you should tell them on a regular basis. Life is too short to save that stuff for one day in the year. Be kind, thoughtful, generous with your love...why the hell not? Does it cost anything? Nope.

So, what do I do on Valentine's Day? I guess it depends. I have been subjected to all of the above and while I would never expect such things, I promise I would never be so ungracious as to refuse a beautiful bouquet or box of chocs. To me, flowers and chocolates do not symbolise romance. This year I am hoping to get out into the mountains on my bike, preferably with my mountain man. Maybe the sun will shine and we'll catch the view from the top all the way out to sea and over the Wicklow mountains. Maybe I'll fall off (again) and have my bloody knees wiped clean while I wait for my breath to return. In my world, that is romance.

The truth? I like the idea of Valentine's Day. Does it have to be expensive? No. Does it need to include dinner, surrounded by roses and red balloons? Not at all. Should there be some sparkley trinket on your wrist by the end of the day? This is a tough one, I do love a bit of sparkle, but the answer is no.

If you do fancy marking the event with some small inexpensive but personal gesture, why not try this!

Make your favourite person a loved up scent for their skin. Skip the nasty perfumes, they're overpriced chemical soups that just pile on the toxins for your liver to deal with. Admittedly, even the recipe below will mean a little more work for your liver, but it will be a hell of sight less challenging than anything you might buy in a fancy department store.

So, to begin, find a small glass vial, ideally dark glass with a screw on lid. I recently discovered that the 10ml shots of royal jelly sold in health food shops (like my favourite, The Hopsack) offer the perfect container. Hooray! Soak for half an hour to get the label off, make sure it's dry & start experimenting...

3/4 fill the vial with almond or jojoba oil.
Add a few drops of your chosen essential oils. Atlantic Aromatics are a lovely Irish company who make the most beautiful oils, again you'll find them in a good health food shop.
If you're making this for your girl, try some rose, ylang ylang & geranium. Rose is emotionally nourising, ylang ylang super sensual and geranium lifts mood & stimulates all over.
For guys, try some benzoin, sandalwood and juniper. Benzoin lifts the mood, while sandalwood calms and harmonises and juniper relieves anxiety. The combination is a lovely musky, gentle sexy scent.
Get into your local health food shop and sniff a few little bottles, buy the ones that take your fancy and get mixing. You'll only need a few drops, the rest you can use to scent your bedroom or add to bath water, depending on your mood.
p.s. make sure that you don't apply neat essential oil to your skin, most oils are best applied in a base oil like almond!

Whatever you get up to this Valentine's Day, enjoy yourself and if you have no significant other, show yourself some love, you're worth it!

The new kid on the block

Maybe not so new, but Oliveto is new to me. An Italian restaurant in Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin...where I happened to dash in for a quick bite to eat before the cinema recently. I didn't know it existed, probably because I haven't been eating out as much as I used to. On our first visit; the mountain man and I, we noticed tasting menus displayed for an evening that had already passed in October of last year, but which seemed to be a regular, seasonal event. It looked incredible, 7 courses, 3 different wines and all for the price of €60 a head. Ok....so €60 aint exactly cheap, but as a special occasion, could we stretch to it?

We did... I found out that OLiveto were having their second tasting night in February and added my name to the list. With only 40 places available, first come first served, I watched my inbox like a hawk, waiting for the email to arrive inviting us to book. I waited...and waited...when the menu didn't come I feared the worst. They had taken my email address down incorrectly and I had missed out. I phoned up, left a message, desperately hoping that I wasn't too late. I wasn't, hooray! Fla, the owner rang me and assured me that I was still in with a chance, just to sit tight.

So I waited some more and the menu arrived, glistening with the promise of new tastes and flavours. I replied in a breathless fashion and was on the list. Hip hip hooray! This was no ordinary night out...this was a belated birthday dinner for the mountain man, who unlucky for him, was born on the 23rd of December. That sucks. One present for 2 events. So, I wanted this night out to be special and oh boy, was it.

We were the second group in the door, at about 3 minutes to 7, like teenagers we could barely hide our excitement. The evening kicked off with glasses of delicious prosecco while we waited for everyone to arrive. Once the entire guest list had been seated, Fla thanked us for coming and explained the intention behind the evening. A thank you to their regulars (we were interlopers!) an opportunity to try something you might never order otherwise, a chance to showcase the 'talent in the kitchen. And so, he introduced us to Alberto, the head chef, who proceeded to take us (or was it just me?) on a journey, describing each course in detail, how he had marinated the ox tongue for a week to remove the toxins before marinading it further to enhance the flavour. He described the thick, rich chestnut veloute that came with the ravioli in the 3rd course and told us that the wild pheasant in the 5th course came from Glenmalure, just a few miles down the road...'I ring them up and say, I want 24 pheasant...and they go out and gather them up'. I was totally rapt.

All seven courses were, to me, incredible.
Course 1: Jerusalem Artichoke Soup - earthy, mellow, sweet...served with a brightly coloured chive oil.
Course 2: Ox Tongue & Portobello Mushroom Terrine - salty, meaty, delicate...delicious and as Fla pointed out, something that I might never order if offered it on an a la carte menu.
Course 3: Ravioli with Chestnut Veloute - light, rich, comforting...
Course 4 : A palette cleanser, mandarin jelly and beetroot granita. Beetroot? Really? Yes, really...possibly my favourite course. The beetroot looked like it had been crumbled over the top of the jelly, as soon as my spoon touched it, it melted. Sharp, tingly mandarin with the earthy, sweet taste of beetroot.
Course 5: Wild Irish Pheasant, cabbage puree, tomato & olive compote, salsify. I loved this least, but honestly, I adored every morsel.
Course 6: Orange Chocolate Fondant - happy Ruthie, chocolate....mmmmmmm... and no, it wasn't overdone as Alberto may have feared. Gooey and delicious.
Course 7: 3 Italian cheeses. Oh my word...is it over?

We finished up with the most delicious coffee, which we were later told is ordered direct from a supplier in Italy, who roasts the beans the day they are ordered and ships them directly to Oliveto. Mountain man doesn't really drink coffee in Ireland, but this double espresso bowled him over.

We were in the restaurant for 5 hours. We chatted comfortably with the most gorgeous couples sitting either side of us. We ate every morsel of food presented to us from what was described as the most challening season of all...and loved every bite. We took our time, we enjoyed wonderful conversation and left just before midnight, promising to return.

I won't wait until the next tasting menu and I would advise anyone else who loves good food not to wait too long either.

kale

I promised to write about kale. I still have a bag of organic kale from the most gorgeous organic farm stand...in my fridge. It's been there for over a week. It's beginning to get a bit brown around the edges and laughs at me every time I go to the fridge. I don't really know what to do with it to make it sing. Sure, I can make soup or add it to a stir fry, but that's just a bit dull, don't you think?


Today I made celeriac and fennel soup. Yum. Still the kale looks on and laughs. It is so full of fibre, magnesium, B vitamins and other wonders...why can't I just eat it?

So, if anyone has any kale recipes, send them on. I will find something, eventually and I will buy kale while it is still in season and I promise to post a fantastic kale recipe, just not yet.

Spelt Pastry

I've just posted the recipe I used to fill the spelt pastry shell I made last week and thought I had better post the recipe for the pastry I used! This is a version of a recipe my Mum has been using for years, since I was a child when she made applie pies on a regular basis. I don't often make pastry, but whenever I do, I have to phone my Mum to get the proportions. She has the recipe in her head, of course, and calls it out to me over the phone. I write the details on the back of an envelope and by the time I've made the pastry, the envelope has been recycled and I still don't know how to make pastry! Finally, I have written it down and now you get the benefit of my Mum's years of experience. The only change I've made to her recipe is to use wholegrain spelt flour rather than plain white, but you can use either, depending on what you're making.

When you're making pastry it's really important not to over handle it. So, minimal poking and stirring, rolled and folded as per the instructions below and then put in the fridge. When you use it and trim off the bits you don't need, you can use them again! Fold them, rather than squish them together and keep in the fridge or freezer.

I've used spelt flour because I like to avoid wheat when I can, as we do tend to eat far too much of the stuff. Spelt is an ancient grain which has not been farmed as intensively as wheat and therefore remains much as it was when humans first started growing it. It also contains less gluten than wheat so is easier to digest. Wholegrain spelt contains a broader range of nutrients in comparison to it's more inbred cousins, including manganese, B3, phosphorous and magnesium.

The Recipe!
12oz wholegrain spelt flour
8oz vegetable margarine
water to mix (approx 100-150ml)

• Weight out the flour
• Slice in the margarine and continue to break up with a knife, until the pieces of margarine are quite small.
• Add the water slowly, and bring together with the flour mix.
• The mix should be fairly dry, just barely holding together, stay on the dry side.
• Put the mix on a floured counter and roll out.
• Fold in 3 and roll out again
• Fold in 3 and roll out again
• Fold in 4 and put in the fridge until you need it.

Bad blogging practice

I have had my wrist slapped by a reader of my blog. I promised to finish the recipe I started last week and never quite made it back to my laptop to do so. How incredibly remiss of me. Hopefully it's not too late, so here goes!

I gathered together the collection of random ingredients in my fridge; organic chestnut mushrooms, organic baby leek, Spanish chorizo, organic eggs, greek feta cheese and a little organic milk. A very quick stiry fry of some sliced garlic - a couple of cloves - 4 chestnut mushrooms and one small leek provided most of the filling. I added the chorizo to the pan at the last minute, then tipped the whole lot into the by now well chilled pastry shell (I had put it in the fridge that morning). I crumbled about 50g of feta over the top. 2 eggs and a little milk with a grind of fresh black pepper were gently whisked together and poured over the top of the tart filling. (You don't have to use the milk, eggs alone will do fine)

30 minutes in a 180C oven and the tart was cooked and crisp. Delicious served with a crisp green salad of rocket, baby spinach, avocado & some gently toasted seeds.