Date balls

Date balls is kind of a bad name for these - they are nicer than that - also containing cacao, coconut, almond... Based on this recipe.

(makes approx 12)

1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup ground almonds
1 tbsp cacao powder
1/2 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp almond butter
3 medjool dates
Extra cacao and cinnamon powder for rolling (or coconut)

Grind coconut and almonds together in a blender. Add cacao, coconut oil and almond butter and blend to mix. Add the dates and blend until well mixed*. Scoop approx tsp sized pieces of mixture, roll into balls, and coat by rolling in extra cacao powder (and/or cinnamon and/or more desiccated coconut). Best kept in the fridge (or freezer).


* I couldn’t get the dates to grind in my blender at all - they just stuck in big pieces... later realised the blender broke (it was ancient). So I ended up chopping and mashing with a knife and fork instead: old school. The fork solution worked out ok but was more work than I was expecting! But good to know you could make them without blender at all if needed.

These would also be lovely with ground pecans instead of almonds... but I liked the symmetry of using almonds plus almond butter, and coconut plus coconut oil, for this time. And they are good - best after chilling overnight. Would be quite kid friendly without the cacao.

German rhubarb cake

I am slowly trying out more recipes from this book. This is possibly my favourite so far. Definitely the simplest I have tried - but nonetheless a lovely way of using the first rhubarb of the season. Below is what I baked, which was a half quantity, in a 9 inch cake tin with removable base. It was a good size of cake for our little family.

250 g rhubarb, trimmed and chopped into 12 mm pieces
80 g sugar
50 g butter, softened
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
grated zest of 1/4 lemon
95 g flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
30 ml milk

Heat oven to 350F / 180C. Grease and line a 9 in cake tin with removable base. Toss rhubarb pieces with 1 1/2 tbsp sugar and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the remaining 63g sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the egg, then beat in the vanilla and lemon zest.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt together with a fork. Beat half of this mixture into the butter mixture, then beat in the milk, then beat in the rest of the flour mixture until just combined.

Scrape the batter into the prepared cake tin, smoothing it out evenly. Scatter the rhubarb over the top and press in lightly. It will seem like a lot of rhubarb, but that is good. Bake for 45-50 min, or until the cake batter has puffed up slightly around the rhubarb and is golden brown. Remove from the oven when done, and set on a rack to cool completely before removing the cake and peeling off the paper. Best eaten the day after baking.


The lemon and vanilla are almost imperceptible, but important - I had a really nice, fragrant lemon by chance, and I think maybe it made a difference in such a simple cake. Can’t help wondering about replacing some of the flour with ground almonds? The recipe suggests trying almond streusel on top, and trying sour cherries or chopped plums instead of rhubarb.

Easter egg decorating

I kicked the Easter holidays off with some egg dyeing experiments. I bought a big box of biodynamic white eggs, and used everything I could find in the kitchen to try and colour them. I wanted to make something for Sage to discover and play with, mainly. But was also curious to try different things.

Clockwise from top right: Egg blown (innards used for banana pancakes), then soaked in hot water containing a little vinegar and lots of turmeric - which made it pale yellow - then dipped in hot water containing green food colouring, a little vinegar, and some sunflower oil spattered on top; Egg hardboiled (9 min) in water containing salt, a little vinegar, and a lot of red onion skins - which made it hen's egg brown, with the colour seeming to stick in the pores but wipe off elsewhere; Egg hardboiled, then dipped in hot water containing green food colouring with a spatter of sunflower oil on top; Egg treated same as the first one; Egg hardboiled (9 min) in water containing salt, a little vinegar, and as much chopped red cabbage as I could fit in - turned the water a pretty purple shade but did nothing to the egg... so then I dunked it in the red onion skin water, and smeared it with frozen-defrosting blueberries... and the purple one is one of small S's egg shaker toys.

Of the natural colours I tried, the turmeric gave by far the strongest/nicest colour - although I might try again with blueberries and raspberries, they also had potential (but I didn't want to waste them). And my cabbage didn't seem to have as strong a colour as other red cabbages, actually - could maybe try again. Or maybe use a different approach - instead of putting stuff in the cooking water could try making a puree or extract and rubbing it directly onto the egg like with the blueberries... The effect I like best is the marbling with oil on coloured water though - I guess food colouring is designed to stick well and look good...

Banana pancakes

The small one is obsessed with bananas. I guess most small ones are. He can spot them a mile off - was standing and staring at a small boy eating one on the train the other day...

It being Easter, a combination of egg and banana seemed like exactly the right thing this morning. I never tried making pancakes with only egg and banana before (I'd say the vanilla and bicarb are optional), but I came across the idea when looking for banana pancake recipe inspiration, and it worked!

(makes approx 3 large medium (ie somewhere in between uk and us thickness) pancakes)

1 large banana, mashed with a fork
2 eggs, beaten
pinch of bicarb
1/2 tsp vanilla
oil for the pan

Mash the banana in a medium bowl, add the beaten eggs and mix well together, incorporating the bicarb and vanilla. Heat a little oil in a non stick frying pan and then fry the pancakes, flipping when one side is done. Watch they don't burn, the banana sweetness can speed that up.


Good with maple syrup, greek yoghurt, raspberries, pecans, that kind of thing. Small S ate a whole one, so I guess he was a fan.

Banana tahini chocolate cake

I got on a bit of a roll with tahini baking after making these - couldn't believe I hadn't done more of it before! This was the next thing I tried - was also delicious, although I wished I could taste the tahini...

2 large ripe or overripe bananas (approx 250 g weighed with skins on / ¾ cup mashed)
60 ml veg oil
50 g tahini
1 large egg (at room temp)
50 g caster sugar
35 g soft dark brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
60 g flour
25 g cocoa
¼ tsp fine sea salt
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
100 g dark chocolate chips
1-2 tsp sesame seeds (to sprinkle on top)

Heat the oven to 170C / 150C Fan / 325F. Grease and line a 1 lb / 450 g loaf tin (approx 21 x 10 x 6 cm / 8.5 x 4 x 2.5 in). Peel and mash the bananas in a large bowl, then beat in the tahini, followed by the oil, then the egg, and finally the sugars and vanilla. Mix flour, cocoa, bicarb and salt together with a fork in a separate, medium bowl, and then slowly beat into the batter. Fold in the chocolate chips. Add the batter to the prepared tin, smoothing the top, and sprinkle over the sesame seeds.

Bake for 45-50 min until risen and firm to the touch, and a skewer comes out almost clean (bearing in mind chocolate). It will probably crack on top. Let cool completely in its tin on a wire rack. Once cold, remove from tin and wrap in parchment then foil and leave it for a day before slicing and eating.

Tahini chocolate cookies

I came across this recipe and it marries two of my favourite things (dark chocolate and tahini), and everything I’ve ever baked with tahini I have loved, but there hasn’t been nearly enough, and so clearly I had to make it. Then I looked at the cookbook it came from and realised it is some kind of cancer diet cookbook... I am not sure how I feel about diet advice for cancer, mostly I try and trust my body to tell me what it needs. But sometimes it is nice to think there is something within your control, like the food you eat every day, that can make a difference. Anyway, I haven’t done anything drastic with diet, although I have found it comforting to cook and to try and make appetising, varied food for my wee family, even when I didn’t feel much like eating. Weirdly, my appetite during chemo was often similar to when I was pregnant, so I had some practice already of figuring out what to eat when I don’t feel like eating. Also, I am a consummate snacker / grazer, which I think has helped stave off nausea in both situations.

Anyway, back to the topic: tahini! dark chocolate! As I made these I was reminded of happy gluten-free baking adventures in Boston, making gluten-free vegan treats for A, H and me. These cookies are fundamentally really similar to the sunflower butter gf cookies I used to make - I have no idea why I didn’t think of replacing the sunflower butter with tahini before, given how much I love tahini and how much easier it is to find...

1 large egg
½ cup tahini
½ cup almond flour (used normal almond meal)
½ cup coconut sugar (used normal sugar)
½ tsp baking powder
One 3½ oz / 100 g 70% (or higher) dark chocolate bar, coarsely chopped
pinch coarse sea salt

Heat the oven to 350F / 180C and line a baking sheet with baking paper. In a medium bowl, beat together the egg, tahini, almond flour, sugar, and baking powder to make a thick, sticky mixture. Fold in the chopped chocolate. Scoop about 1 tbsp of batter and place it on the baking sheet. Continue, spacing each cookie about 2½ in apart (they will spread a bit), until you have used all of the dough. Sprinkle cookies with the coarse salt. Bake 8-9 min, keeping an eye on them as they can burn easily - they should be just lightly browned on top (nb mine took longer: c 20 min). Let cool for 10 min on the baking sheet, then finish cooling on a rack.


These were simple and delicious! They seemed a bit greasy when shaping but baked up ok. There was maybe a bit much (!) chocolate, I used almond meal, which I suspect is a bit different from almond flour but was what I had, and they still came out looking like cookies and tasting good. Could be good with an oat-raisin-cinnamon situation instead of chocolate. Probably easily veganised with a flax egg, although I didn’t try it (just checked, and my favourite Lidl chocolate is vegan - hurrah). Also, might be interesting to try them with black tahini - I have some...

Delia veggie moussaka

This was comfort food too. I made this a few times, a long time ago. You can't go wrong with Delia and this kind of thing. It was just as satisfying as I remembered.

10 fl oz / 275 ml veg stock
2 oz / 50 g puy lentils
2 oz / 50 g green lentils
4 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 large red pepper, chopped into ¼ inch (5 mm) dice
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 aubergines, each 8 oz / 225 g -> 1 lb / 450 g total, cut into 1/2 in / 1 cm dice
1 x 14 oz (400 g) tin chopped tomatoes, drained
7 fl oz / 200 ml red wine (subbed a bit of soy sauce and some water - wine is rarely open around here)
2 level tbsp tomato purée or sun-dried tomato paste
1 level tsp ground cinnamon
2 level tbsp chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper

For the topping:
10 fl oz / 275 ml whole milk
1 oz / 25 g plain flour
1 oz / 25 g butter
¼ whole nutmeg, grated
1 x 9 oz / 250 g tub ricotta 
1 large egg
1 oz / 25 g parmesan, grated
salt and pepper

Heat the oven to 350F / 180C. Pour the stock into a medium saucepan together with the puy lentils (but no salt), cover and simmer for 15 min before adding the green lentils. Cover and cook for 15 min, by which time most of the liquid will have been absorbed and the lentils will be soft.

While the lentils cook, heat 2 tbsp oil in a large frying pan and fry the onions until they're soft and tinged brown at the edges (about 5 min), then add the chopped pepper and soften and brown that too for about another 4 min. Add the garlic, cook for 1 min more, then transfer the whole lot to a plate.

Put the other 2 tbsp oil in the frying pan, turn the heat up to high and toss the aubergines in it so they get evenly cooked. When they're starting to brown a little, add the tinned tomatoes and the onion and pepper mixture to the pan. In a small bowl mix the wine, tomato purée and cinnamon together, then pour it over the vegetables. Add the lentils and the chopped parsley, season well and let everything simmer gently while you make the topping.

Put the milk, flour, butter and nutmeg in a saucepan and whisk until it comes to simmering point and becomes a smooth glossy sauce. Season with salt and pepper, remove it from the heat and let it cool a little before whisking in the ricotta followed by the beaten egg.

Finally, transfer the vegetable and lentil mixture to a large ovenproof dish and spoon the cheese sauce over the top, using the back of a spoon to take it right up to the edges. Sprinkle with the parmesan, put the dish in the oven and bake on the middle shelf for 1 hour. Rest for 15 min before serving.


It tasted good. I did not miss the wine.