Best Date Balls Ever!

I have tried many variations on date balls, always seeking one that is easy and reasonably light / light on the blender (don't have a powerful one), doesn't involve any cooking, and uses only things that are not too expensive or fancy and we usually have in stock... and never quite found it...

I bought a pack of dates not long ago, maybe I was thinking about making date square? I hadn't done much with them... Then I noticed there was a recipe for date balls on the side and decided to give it a whirl... 

Perhaps this is the date ball recipe I have been looking for!

150 g / 5.3 oz dates (normal ones, pitted - not medjool), coarsely chopped

100 ml plant milk (used oat)

80 g / 2.8 oz oats

50 g / 1.76 oz desiccated coconut

20 g / 0.7 oz cocoa powder 

additional cocoa powder, desiccated coconut, or freeze-dried fruit powder for rolling

 

Blend dates and plant milk until smooth. Scrape into a medium bowl.

 

Blend oats slightly to break them up, then add to the date mixture along with the coconut and cocoa. Stir well together. 

 

Make balls of a size you like, and roll in something - e.g. cocoa powder, orange zest, desiccated coconut, freeze-dried fruit powder, sesame seeds...

 

 

I did some rolled in freeze-dried strawberry powder (left over from s's birthday cake) - which were a big hit with s; and also some rolled in cocoa powder and some in desiccated coconut. All were good, the strawberry powder was the best.

 

I'd be curious to play with adding ground spices e.g. cinnamon, ginger, cayenne; and also with using nuts/seeds - e.g. sesame seeds; walnuts. I have some blackcurrant powder which was a spontaneous purchase when I bought the strawberry powder - might be good with that as well... Lots of space for variations! 

 

Possibly slightly less plant milk would have been good. Might also be good to figure out a quick n dirty cup measuring version as my scales are in ounces and the amounts are awkward. Apart from that, I really liked this recipe!

 

Edit: I have made these a few times now, as s actually really loved the version with strawberry powder on the outside. The next time I did a mix of blackcurrant and strawberry powder (although the favourite is still strawberry, the blackcurrant powder is not as nice...). Still keen to try a version with a lot of spices and maybe some sesame seeds (toasted? instead of the coconut?). Always seem to be a hit! 

 

The mixture is quite sticky so I rolled them with nitrile gloves on the last time, which I think was a good idea. 

S birthday mango-chocolate football cake

For S birthday this year, he wanted mango and chocolate, Dortmund football team themed...

I wanted to try making mango cake with freezedried mango powder this time. It was surprisingly hard to find a recipe with mango powder in it. I decided to use this one, subbing the raspberry powder with mango. And then mango icing based on this recipe. And coconut 'grass'.

I ended up doing a half size cake cos I realized it'd prob be too much if I did the whole lot. Meant 1.5 eggs, bit awkward, but if I was doing it for more people could do the whole lot...

(for a half size)

For the cake:

5 oz plain flour

1 oz freeze dried mango

(1 oz cocoa powder)

1 1/8 tsp baking powder

3 oz butter, softened

5 oz sugar

1 1/2 eggs

3/4 tsp vanilla essence

5/8 cup milk

yellow + black food colouring 

 

For the icing:

4 oz cream cheese

2 oz butter

6 oz icing sugar

2 oz freeze dried mango

For the 'grass':

4 oz desiccated coconut

c. 2 tbsp warm water

green food colouring

 

Also:

White mesh from a bag of garlic

wire

six lego figures, three with yellow dortmund shirts made from felt

one little ball

chocolate, chopped

Heat oven to 180C / 350F. Grease and line the base of 1 9-in round baking tin.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, mango, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar til pale and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla.

Alternate adding the flour mix and the milk to the egg mix, beginning and ending with flour (3x flour, 2x milk), fully incorporating after each addition.

 

(if doing black and yellow for dortmund, split the mix and add black food colouring to one and yellow to the other)

 

Transfer to the tin. Bake til a skewer comes out clean - 24-28 min. Cool in tin 10 min before removing to wire rack. Cool to room temp.

 

For the icing, beat butter and cream cheese til smooth. Add icing sugar gradually, and mango powder. Beat until smooth and fluffy. 

For the grass, heat oven to 70C. Put coconut in a bowl and add food colouring and water and mix until it is s good and consistent colour. Spread thinly on a baking sheet lined with paper. Stir every 10 min til dry - c. 40 min total.

To assemble, cut the cake in two horizontally. Layer it with icing. Put top half on, cover with icing. Press 'grass' onto the top to make a football field. Make a goal out of net and wire and press it in on one side. Add the figures and ball to make a scene.

It didn't rise well. Perhaps it took too long to mix in the yellow and black. Or perhaps the baking powder was too old. Or perhaps something else went wrong... Oh well, it still tasted nice enough.

5th birthday: Dragonfish cake

For the first time this year I had a birthday cake request from s (who was turning five! FIVE!). Dragonfish. Perhaps I was too ambitious last year and got his expectations up? It's nice to be believed in, and I thought I’d try… Request was for coconut and mango. And blue. 

Decided to do a coconut cake and mango icing. Needed to get a few details for it to be a dragonfish - mainly a light- up lure and long, sharp, multitudinous teeth. Then also big weird eyes, and some spikes and spots along a long, thin body.

Hard to find good pics of dragonfish, since it cannot live above deep sea level. But I am pretty sure s got the idea from wild kratts so I partly based the look on that.

Pretty much followed this recipe for the coconut cake - baked in one round springform tin and one loaf tin.

For the cake:

250 g / 9 oz butter, softened, plus extra for greasing

250 g / 9 oz sugar 

4 eggs, lightly beaten 

1 tsp vanilla 

250 g / 9oz flour 

3 tsp baking powder 

75 g / 2 ½ oz desiccated coconut 

4 tbsp coconut cream

 

For the icing:

6 oz butter

6 oz icing sugar

c. 3/4 cup mango purée made from dried unsweetened mango covered in hot water and soaked for a few hours, then blended up

3-4 tbsp ground desiccated coconut

Food colouring (should be blue)

 

For Features:

1 fresh ripe/brown coconut

1 pack marzipan

c. 30 g dark chocolate

Small white chocolate drops / buttons

Food colouring (blue, green)

Small bike light

Tape

Kitchen foil 

To make the cake:
Heat the oven to 180C. Grease tins and line the bases with buttered baking paper.

Cream the softened butter and sugar together for 3–4 min, or until pale and light – do this as much as possible, here is where I wish I had a mixer of some kind. Gradually add the eggs, mixing well between each addition. Add the vanilla and mix again. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl, add the desiccated coconut and coconut cream, and beat again until the mixture is smooth and the ingredients are well combined.

Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared tins and bake for 25–30 min, or until the cakes are well-risen, golden-brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Leave the cakes to cool in the tins for 5 min, then carefully turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

To make the icing:

Beat the butter until really pale and light. Gradually add the icing sugar, mixing well between each addition. Add the thick mango puree and ground desiccated coconut and mix again. Finally add the food colouring until desired colour is reached (nb I wanted it to be blue but it ended up more green - think the orange-yellow colour of the mango might have skewed it). Chill until needed.

To make the features:

Teeth + spikes - fresh coconut - cracked open and flesh removed in as big pieces as possible; then sliced into thin spikes. Tooth pieces left white; tail spike pieces coloured blue by mixing with food colouring.

Lure+spots - marzipan, food colouring, bike light, tape, foil - marzipan coloured with food colouring by kneading briefly together until colour consistent, then squished into spots; bike light taped into appropriate shape then wrapped with foil, then foil covered with coloured marzipan to make the part that attaches the lure to the fish's body.

Eyes - Melted dark chocolate with small white chocolate blobs in the middle. 

To assemble:

Carve the cakes into shape, sticking together with icing. I used a couple of toothpicks hidden at the back of its head as well, to keep the jaws open. When the shape is OK, cover the outside with icing. Then add the features in appropriate places.

I made the cakes, icing and most of the features two days before the birthday, then chilled overnight, then assembled the day before and kept in cool room overnight. Ideally you could do it all in one day, but... life... All the components should be chilled when assembling - and definitely not at all warm - think it makes everything easier if stuff is stiffer.

I wasn't completely happy with the colour, and the fish was a little dumpier than I would have liked, but on the whole it turned out like I wanted - recognisably a dragonfish!

Cranberry oat coconut biscuits

These are probably my favourite biscuits at the moment. They remind me a bit of the 'National Trust' biscuits my mum used to make (the bicarb, and oats). And I love that the only sweetener (apart from the cranberries) is honey - I am always looking for good things to do with my jars on jars of honey... 

(makes about 12 small ones - double for a more normal number of biscuits is in brackets)

50 g wholemeal flour (100 g)

1 tsp cinnamon (optional) (2 tsp) 

45 g oats (90 g)

43 g desiccated coconut (86 g)

23 g sunflower seeds (46 g)

15 g dried cranberries (30 g)

56 g honey (112 g)

38 g melted butter (or coconut oil) (72 g)

1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda (1/2 tsp)

1 tbsp warm water (2 tbsp)

Heat oven to 180C. Line a baking sheet with paper. 

Mix flour, cinnamon if using, oats, coconut, cranberries and sunflower seeds in a large bowl. Melt butter and honey together in a small bowl in the microwave until just melted. Mix bicarb and water together in a cup and then add to the butter/honey mix. Add the butter/honey/bicarb mix to the flour mix, and mix well.

Put tbsp sized balls on the tray and flatten as much as you can without breaking (nb one time we squished the mix into dinosaur cutters to make dinosaur shapes and it worked OK). Bake 12-15 min until golden. Take out of the oven, let sit on the tray for c. 10 min, then remove to a wire rack and let cool.

The toasted oat / cranberry / sunflower seed / coconut mixture is delicious. Could easily be vegan (with coconut oil instead of butter). Raisins instead of cranberries and chopped walnuts instead of sunflower seeds could be good - or other such substitutions.

Raspberry coconut rhino biscuits

An idea from little s. I more-or-less used this recipe, except I switched out a little bit (75 g?) of flour for desiccated coconut. And didn't have quite enough freeze dried raspberries so used a little acai powder as well. s helped me make them - he cut out almost all the shapes! And we used almost all the different biscuit cutters we have - rhinos were a favourite, but also moose, bear, squirrel, snail, pterodactyl, t-rex, stegosaurus, triceratops, flower, heart, egg, dinosaur footprint, stars... 

(makes quite a lot - maybe 30 biscuits of various sizes and shapes)

15 g / 1/2 oz freeze-dried raspberries (used about 12 g rasps plus 3 g acai powder)

114 g / 4 oz sugar

227 g / 8 oz butter at room temperature

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp vanilla powder

1 egg at room temperature

340 g / 12 oz plain flour (subbed c. 75 g for desiccated coconut)

Crush raspberries a little - not to a powder, just until they are broken down to individual drupelets and a wee bit powdery - I used a pestle and mortar. Line two baking sheets with baking paper.

Beat butter, sugar and salt together in a large bowl until smooth. Add egg and vanilla and mix until smooth. Add flour, beat until mixed. Add raspberries and mix until just mixed.

Split the mix into two balls. Roll out the first on a lightly floured surface until 1/4 inch thick. Cut out shapes and put them on prepared baking sheets. Chill on the sheets for 20 min.

In the meantime, heat the oven to 150 C (300 F). Bake for 20-30 min - until the edges start to turn golden. Take out and let cool for 5 min before transferring to a cooling rack.

 

These are good! Buttery and raspberry-y. Hold their shape really well, without being tough. It is quite a lot though, and you can't halve the recipe without halving an egg... If making again, I might try increasing the proportion of coconut. Could also be good with all acai - or matcha powder.

Date and oat balls

I got really behind on writing up recipes... I made these ages ago, they were good, s liked them too (and I took some to the park and shared them with C and little m and gave an untrue impression of being an organized mum). Could have included a bit more cocoa? Every time I make date balls I wish for a proper blender. I think I nearly ended up buying a Vitamix as a result of these.

1 cup dates (normal dried ones not fresh or medjool)

2 cups rolled oats 

3/4 cup desiccated coconut 

1 tbsp cocoa powder 

1 tbsp almond butter

 

Cover dates with water in a pan and bring to the boil. Turn off the heat and drain, setting the liquid aside. Put drained dates, oats, coconut, cocoa and almond butter in a blender or food processor. Add about 1/4 of the date liquid to the mix and blend (aiming for a good rolling texture - add slowly). Roll mixture into approx. 12 balls. Roll in extra coconut if desired. Keep in the fridge or freezer.

Kid-friendly coconutty ‘flapjacks’

I stumbled upon this 'flapjack' recipe and it sounded really like something small S and I would both like - not too sweet, lots of tasty stuff. It took me a while to get around to making it but when I did I discovered that I was so right: we both love it! I've been making a half quantity in a loaf tin (I don't have a bigger square or rectangular baking tin) and that lasts us about a week. We have been developing a little tradition of baking snacks together on Sunday mornings that small S can eat after vuggestue through the rest of the week. We've made these a couple of time now. Also, I have discovered that I love pretty much every Anna Jones baking recipe I have tried so far - she uses all my favourite things!

4 tbsp chia seeds
200g rolled oats
150g dried fruit (used a mixture of dried apricots and raisins)
1 medium carrot
1 apple
100g desiccated coconut
100g pumpkin seeds
6 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp vanilla extract
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground ginger
70g coconut oil, melted

Heat the oven to 200C and line a 20cm × 30cm baking tin (or large loaf tin for a half quantity) with greaseproof paper. In a small bowl, soak the chia seeds in four tablespoons of water, then set aside (did 2 tbsp chia in 3 tbsp water for half recipe - the chia mixture felt too thick the first time).

Put the oats in blender and blend until you have a scruffy flour, then tip into a large bowl. Put half the dried fruit into blender and blend until broken down and a little mushy. Scrape into the bowl with the oats.

Grate the carrot and apple (no need to peel them... also ok with double apple no carrot or double carrot no apple, depending on availability) into the bowl, and add the remaining dried fruit, coconut, chia mixture, pumpkin seeds, maple syrup, vanilla, spices and melted coconut oil. Mix well.

Spoon into the tin, smooth the top with the back of a spoon, and bake for 40–45 minutes (c 30 min for half quantity), until golden brown. Leave to cool a little in the tray, then turn out on to a wire rack and leave to cool completely. Slice into pieces.

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.

Dry kale and coconut curry

I can't get enough coconut at the moment, and kale and beetroot have been very regular fixtures in our veg bag. So when I came across these recipes for beetroot and kale curries I was dead set on making them asap. Not least because they reminded me very much of the delicious coconutty food I'd eaten in Tamil Nadu and Kerala in southern India many moons ago.

I made the kale one first, and it is great. I was totally going to follow it with the beetroot one (I have  a guilty beetroot mountain in the fridge - much though I love the stuff I have not been getting through it quickly enough!) but the site was down when I looked on Friday... So I made this beetroot soup instead. Very much intending to do the beetroot one soon too though (yes, I do still have more beetroot in the fridge)!

½ cup / 45 g desiccated coconut
½ cup / 125 ml coconut water (didn't have - just used water)
4 cups / 130 g shredded kale
1 small red onion (used white), sliced
1 tsp ground cumin
¾ tsp fine sea salt, plus more for garnish
1 green chilli, if desired (used a bit of red), finely chopped
juice of ½ lime, plus extra for garnish

Mix desiccated coconut and coconut water in a small bowl and let soak for about 30 min. Prepare veg while you wait.

In a large pot over medium heat, add the onions, salt and cumin. Stir often, letting the onions soften in the pan. Add a couple tablespoons of the liquid from the soaking coconut if the pot becomes too dry (reserve as much liquid as you can, however). After about 8-10 min, add the kale and the coconut mixture. Stir to coat, and quickly cover the pot with a lid so that the kale steams inside. Wait just 30-60 sec (or a bit longer if your kale is tough) – the kale is ready when it is bright green and tender. Remove from heat and squeeze in the lime juice. Season to taste.

Note: I ended up with loads of liquid at the end. I evaporated it with the pan tilted to avoid overcooking the kale, but it's probably smart to avoid adding extra water as much as possible, and to make sure the kale is well dried after washing.

Date balls

We bought a couple of boxes of juicy dates (dadler) lately. They are so sweet, they are like candy. Halfway through the second box I thought of doing something other than just eating them as they are, and decided to try some kind of raw date balls. They perhaps don't sound that delicious, but they are really good - just enough chocolatey-ness from the cocoa, nice crunch from the almonds, sticky sweetness from dates. Not to mention, they (obviously) don't require any cooking and came together in about ten minutes.

(makes 10-12 depending on size)

1 cup pitted dates
1/3 cup whole almonds
2 tbsp cocoa powder
desiccated coconut for rolling (optional)

Put pitted dates, almonds and cocoa in a blender and whizz until reasonably pasty but still with nice chunks of almond. Switch off and unplug, and then scoop out teaspoon sized pieces with a teaspoon and roll into balls in your hands. Scatter some desiccated coconut (if using) on a plate and roll the sticky ball in it. Transfer to a storage box. Repeat for the rest of the mixture. Store in the fridge (if they get that far).

Chocolate cherry coconut

My Mum used to make this sometimes - it's from the WI Book of Biscuits. I have that book now, with her annotations in places. I don't make stuff out of it that often, but it's ace - all the recipes are minimal and pictureless and simple and they work. I've made this every once in while since I was about 12 (although this is the first time I attempted a vegan version).

I love glace cherries even though I know they are wrong - I like to think of them as cherries with all the cherry removed and replaced with sugar. Yum. Coconut, cherry and dark chocolate is an amazing combination.

I veganised the recipe slightly by replacing the egg, but otherwise the recipe was vegan (and gluten-free) already.

5 oz / 150 g chocolate
2 oz / 50 g margarine
4 oz / 100 g sugar
1 egg (I replaced with ~2 tbsp soy yoghurt and ~2 tsp cornstarch - other egg replacements should also work)
2 oz / 50 g glace cherries
4 oz / 100 g desiccated coconut

Line a Swiss roll tin (flat-based tin with straight sides) with tinfoil (if you only have large tins you can make a false wall with the foil). Melt the chocolate in a double boiler (small bowl set over almost-boiling water), then spread it out over the foil evenly and leave to cool.

Once the chocolate has set, heat the oven to 170C / 335F. In a medium bowl, cream the margarine and sugar together. Beat in the egg (or soy yoghurt+cornstarch). Chop the cherries and fold them in, along with the coconut. Spread over the chocolate and bake for 15-20 min. Let cool in the tin and when cool cut into slices.


The version with egg is (unsurprisingly) a bit fluffier on top, but either way this is amazing - like a Bounty bar made with good ingredients, and with cherries in it!

One pot red lentil, coconut and greens dal

Making dal with coconut milk instead of water had been in the back of my mind for a while. Also adding stuff other than spices and aromatics. Someone recommended this recipe, thought I'd give it a try (with modifications).

This is a pretty good summer dal. Since it uses red lentils the cooking time is short (relative to other dal like chana), so less time spent over the stove. Coconut and greens also seem like summery additions.

2 tbsp coconut oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 in piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped (used ~1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes)
1 tsp mustard seed
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
1 cup (approx 250 g) red lentils
1 ~400 ml tin coconut milk made up to ~800 ml with water
~ 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup spinach or other tender greens (I used a mixture of the green parts of napa cabbage and butter lettuce)
1 small bunch of coriander, chopped

In a medium saucepan, heat the coconut oil, then add onion, garlic, ginger and chilli and fry gently til lightly browned. Add the mustard seeds and heat til they pop. Add the turmeric and garam masala and fry for a minute or so before adding the lentils. Add the coconut milk-water mixture to the pan, then cover and cook gently for 15-20 min, stirring occasionally. Add the salt and taste for seasoning. Finally, add the greens and coriander and cook for a few minutes more, until they are wilted but still bright green.


I really enjoyed the rich coconuttiness of this dal (makes it a bit richer than most dal, but totally delicious). Also the greens. This is a different cooking method to my usual dal - adding everything to one pot rather than frying the onions and spices separately and adding them last. Think it is fine, and obviously saves washing up etc, although perhaps uniquely possible for small, quick-cooking dal like the red lentils.

Popcorn muffins

I made a lot of popcorn and started daydreaming about baking with it. I was running short of snack muffins so muffins were the obvious choice (referred to this recipe). These are fun!

(makes ~9 muffins)

5 cups popped corn (2 1/4 cups after homogenising)
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt (use less if the popcorn was salted)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup fake milk
1 tbsp ground linseed mixed with 2 1/2 tbsp boiling water
2 tbsp veg oil
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Version 1 = dark chocolate, sour cherry and thyme - add 1 tsp dried thyme, handfuls of sour cherries and of dark chocolate chips/chunks in with the dry ingredients.
Version 2 = mango, coconut and cardamom - add 1/2 tsp freshly ground cardamom, 2 tbsp dried shredded coconut and ~4 tbsp diced mango (from frozen) to the dry ingredients.

Heat oven to 400F. Prepare a muffin tin. Grind popcorn (I used the blender) until it is mostly pulverised (don't worry about a few remaining unground kernels - they will be fine+fun). Put ground popcorn in a medium bowl with flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and any additional dry ingredients (see Versions) and mix with a fork. In a separate bowl, beat together the fake milk, linseed mixture, veg oil and vanilla essence. Add wet to dry and mix until just combined. Dollop into prepared muffin cups and bake for 25-30 min, until lightly browned and a skewer comes out clean.


They are tasty but with so many additional flavours the popcorn is lost. I plan to tweak this to get a version that actually tastes like popcorn!

Coconut and banana polenta, lemongrass tofu, peanut sauce

Our vegetable supplies are getting low - the first CSA since before Christmas is due tomorrow. This was a low-veg-supply dinner that was really rather good (and very quick!).

For the tofu:
1 block super firm tofu
~4 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 tsp sesame oil
~2-3 tbsp chopped lemongrass
salt+pepper

For the polenta:
(pretty similar to this recipe; note I haven't completely settled on the right amount of liquid vs polenta)
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup polenta
1 tsp salt
~2 tbsp chopped coriander
1 banana, peeled and diced

For the peanut sauce:
1-2 tbsp peanut butter
juice of 1 lime
~2 tbsp soy sauce

Cut the tofu into cuboids ~ 6 x 2 x 2 cm and dry. Heat the oils in a frying pan and plonk the pieces of tofu in it. Cook each side for a few minutes, flipping along the long axis using a fork. When nicely browned on all sides add the lemongrass and stir-fry for a few more minutes until the lemongrass is lightly browned and crispy. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, heat the coconut milk and the water in a small saucepan. Mix the polenta and salt in a bowl. When the liquid is boiling whisk in the polenta mixture a little at a time. It will probably become thick and seem cooked almost immediately. Stir in the coriander and banana, cover, cook for a minute and then turn off the heat and let it sit and steam a little.

To make the peanut sauce mix peanut butter, lime juice and soy sauce and taste to check balance. Add some chilli sauce, maple syrup or finely chopped fresh ginger if you like.

Serve the tofu over the top of the polenta, with peanut sauce over the top or on the side.


All very simple and good, making the best of the contents of fridge, freezer and storecupboard.

Dry beetroot coconut curry

I was thinking about India. Probably the best meal I had in ~3 months there was a thali at a place overlooking a temple bathing tank, in Varkala (Kerala). All the places along the beach were very touristy and the food not very veg and not very interesting, so we had ended up walking inland in search of something more exciting. The place was small and simple; we sat on a palm-roofed terrace watching a family of feral cats play around our feet. Eventually they brought this amazing thali, with very coconutty, South Indian, interesting curries. The one I remember so clearly was a dry curry of shredded beetroot and shredded coconut - beautiful, full of earthy sweetness and texture, and so unlike anything I'd eaten before.

I thought I'd try and recreate it with our latest haul of CSA beetroot. The fridge was starting to look bare after a few weeks of soup and using up, and those beets were almost the last thing to get through. Actually, I think what reminded me of that place / that thali was making my favourite dry cabbage curry the other day - it is similar in spicing and texture and use of coconut to what I remember of the beetroot one. So I thought I'd try something a bit like it - definitely using shredded coconut, curry leaves and mustard seed... I ended up using this recipe, as it sounded much like my memory.

1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped into large chunks
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
~1/2 tbsp water
1-2 tbsp coconut oil
3 curry leaves
1 tsp chana dal (aka yellow split peas; increase to 1 tbsp if you don't have urad dal)
1 tbsp urad dal (subbed mung beans but this wasn't awesome - make sure to use shelled dal)
1 tsp brown mustard seeds
1-2 tsp red chilli flakes
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 small onion, finely sliced
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 medium-large beetroot, grated
~1/3 cup dried shredded coconut (unsweetened; fresh probably better if you can get it)
salt

Put the ginger, garlic and water in a blender and pulse until it becomes a paste - add just enough water to make it work / become paste.

Heat the oil in a good-sized frying pan. Add the curry leaves, chana dal, urad dal (if using), mustard seeds, cumin seeds and chilli flakes and stir-fry until fragrant. Add the onion and the garlic-ginger paste. Once the onion is translucent, add in the turmeric and the grated beetroot. Stir-fry until beets are almost dry then add in the coconut and mix. Taste and add salt to taste. Turn off the heat.


We ate with brown rice, sprinkled with chopped fresh coriander, with a splash of vinegar and some coconut cream on the side. yummmm. S thought it could have been more coconutty - I guess you could add more shredded coconut or some coconut cream - but I was pretty happy with it.

Note, I am actually growing to love turmeric - I'd always thought of it as mainly a colouring agent, but while the colour is definitely fantastic the smell and flavour are wonderful too.

Aromatic coconut and udon soup

S has rediscovered udon noodles in a big way - currently, they are (almost, besides gorgonzola pasta) his favourite thing. Times have changed from when he bought a packet and they lay unused for almost a year... Last night I was heading home before him and asked for dinner suggestions. He said udon (naturally), and followed up with coconut (inspired, I think, by a soup we had at the Thai place at the end of our road the other night). I started thinking about all the lovely aromatics we had squirreled in the freezer (lemongrass, galangal, ginger...) and the tin of coconut milk I had left over from my abandoned kefir experiments, and realised it was a brilliant idea!

1 star anise
~2 tbsp chopped lemongrass
2 inch piece galangal, peeled and sliced
2 inch piece ginger, peeled and chopped into matchsticks
2 dried red chillies
1-2 lime leaves (optional)
good handful of fresh coriander, chopped (stalky parts and leafy parts separated)
1 tin coconut milk
~1-2 tbsp light soy sauce
juice of 1 lime
water
hot chilli sauce
2 (single serving) packets of udon
1 small onion, peeled and sliced lengthways into bitesize pieces
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into coins
1/2 a pack of extra firm tofu, drained and chopped into ~2 x 2 x 1 cm chunks
3 large-ish button mushrooms, trimmed and chopped into sixths lengthwise
3 smallish tomatoes, cut into sixths (or use cherry tomatoes)

Put the star anise, lemongrass, galangal, ginger, dried chillies, lime leaves (if using) and the stalky bits of coriander into a saucepan and add the coconut milk, soy sauce, and lime juice. Add ~1-2 cups of water and bring gently to a simmer. Taste for saltiness, acid, thickness/intensity of coconut milk, and add more soy sauce, lime juice or boiling water accordingly. Put in the udon, onion, carrots and tofu and bring back up to a simmer. Turn off and let sit for 10 minutes or so before checking the flavour balance again. Adjust as before, also add a few drops of hot sauce if you think it needs to be spicier. A few minutes before serving, add the mushrooms, tomatoes, and the leafy parts of the coriander. Bring back up to simmering point, check all the vegetables and the udon are cooked, turn off the heat and serve the soup. Avoid eating the star anise, the big pieces of galangal, and the dried chillies.


Really good. Quick (veg preparation the most time consuming step), and super easy / minimal washing up - just one board, one knife and one big pan (besides bowls and spoon+forks). Most of the stuff is either always in the storecupboard or basic veg and herbs. Veg could be varied (brassicas nice); as could noodles / it could be served with rice on the side instead. Lovely, warming, filling, aromatic and comforting for a cold, cold, end-of-year day.

Dehydrator granola: almond, seed and spice

Another granola variation: the ones I've been making in the oven come out very toasty, which is nice, but I wondered about trying it in the dehydrator. This version is following the same super simple formula as the other granolas I have tried recently, but drying in the dehydrator instead of the oven. Could be good for those sweltering Summer days when turning on the oven seems like the worst idea ever (we're not quite there yet).

3 cups oats
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup toasted flaked almonds
1/4 cup dried unsweetened coconut
3 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp ground linseed
1 tsp mahlab
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
3 tbsp clear honey
3 tbsp refined coconut oil
1 tbsp grape molasses
1 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp almond milk

Mix the oats, seeds, coconut, ground linseed and spices in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix the honey, coconut oil, grape molasses, brown sugar and almond milk until they are well combined and any lumps of sugar are gone. Add the wet stuff to the oat mixture and mix until everything is coated. Transfer the mixture to dehydrator sheets (the ones with no holes; I used two sheets for this quantity). Spread it out evenly and put it in the dehydrator at 115F. Dry for ~20 hours, until completely crunchy, with no remaining softness.


Nicest thing about this version is that it clumps really well. However, it never goes really crunchy and is not very toasty. One thing to try would be toasting the oats/seeds/coconut separately in pan or oven before dehydrating (would kinda defeat the point of granola-making, as it makes it much more complicated). Another would be a higher temperature in the dehydrator - perhaps that's next...

Granola (coconut, pecan, pumpkin seed, banana)

I'd never even considered making granola before, because I prefer muesli and it's so much quicker to make. But S has been buying granola quite regularly of late, and he likes it, so I wanted to try making it for him...

There are lots of granola recipes out there. It seems to be one of those things where you can just chuck a bunch of stuff together and it will work out. I looked at a lot of recipes: here, here, here, here... And then got a little overwhelmed, decided all I needed was some oats and seeds, a little fat, stickiness and sweetness, and some time in the oven, and made something up from there.

3 cups oats (old-fashioned)
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
1/8 cup sesame seeds
1/8 cup unsweetened dried coconut
1/3 cup pecan pieces
good pinch (1/4 tsp) desert (or sea) salt
1-2 tsp mahlab
1-2 tbsp ground linseed
1 1/4 large, ripe bananas
3 tbsp coconut oil (liquid state)
3 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp carob molasses
1 tbsp date molasses

Heat the oven to 350F. Mix the oats, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, coconut, pecans, salt, mahlab and ground linseed in a medium bowl. Put the bananas, coconut oil, maple syrup, carob molasses and date molasses in a blender and blend until smooth. Add this liquidy mixture to the dry ingredients and mix with your hands until well combined. Spread onto two baking sheets (with edges) and put in the oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes, taking out every 10 minutes or so to move the granola around with a wooden spoon and check it is not burning. When it is well browned it is done. Take it out of the oven and allow to cool completely before transferring to an airtight container to store.


Notes:
This makes a delicious, toasty granola. But I always love the big, stuck-together lumps in granola the best. So ever since first making this I have been trying to figure out how to make a lumpier version - I tried dehydrating, which kind-of worked. My latest experiment involved chucking in a bit of psyllium seed husk and using a lower temperature (300F), which maybe helped a little bit but not that much.
This recipe allows for endless variations. I made a pumpkin granola by subbing pumpkin puree for the banana and using pumpkin spice, which came out delicious. Pretty much everything can be varied. But I do love this combination - toasted pecans, pumpkin seeds, coconut, sesame, banana and maple make a wonderful granola. I cannot express how much I love oats.

Curried cabbage and coconut

Got a big white cabbage that needed eating fast from last week's Alvin farmshare. Turned over a few ideas in my head: perhaps Polish style stuffed leaves (had been talking about these with my labmate who made them with his Polish-descended mother recently)? Or pickled? But then the idea of a dry, yellow curry with coconut came into my head and seemed so delicious I couldn't drop it.

I more-or-less followed this recipe, because it seemed to be quite straightforward and almost exactly what I had in mind - even including curry leaves, which I bought a bag of a month or so ago and had been storing in the freezer until an opportunity to cook them arose.

3 tbsp safflower oil (or other non-flavoured, high temp cooking oil)
1/4 tsp brown mustard seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1 heaping tsp mung dal, urad dal or small yellow lentils
1-2 small green chillies, seeds removed, finely chopped
10-20 fresh curry leaves (used 11)
1 small onion, finely sliced
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 a medium white cabbage (approx 1 lb), cored and shredded
1 piece fresh ginger, 1-inch long, peeled and chopped or cut into matchsticks
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp finely grated fresh coconut or grated dried coconut

Heat the oil in a large, tall saucepan over med-high heat. When it’s hot and shimmery add the mustard seeds. When they have almost all popped (30 sec or so), remove the pan from the heat, then turn down to medium, put pan back on, add cumin, dal, chilli, curry leaves, and saute until everything looks lightly golden (~ 45 sec). Add the onion and cook, stirring, until it’s soft and limp but does not change colour: two to four minutes. Add the turmeric and stir well to mix. Add the cabbage, ginger and salt, and mix thoroughly. Reduce the heat to low and cover the pan. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, until cooked through, slightly translucent, tender, still crunchy but not mushy: about seven minutes. Add the coconut, and mix well. Taste for salt. Let sit for at least 5 min before eating.


This is really delicious, and makes a beautiful pan of yellow shreds studded with brown seeds and dal. The curry leaves lend a very particular aroma and flavour which I like, and the combined dal, cooked cabbage and coconut make a wonderful set of contrasting textures. Yum.

Buckwheat-coconut-blueberry pancakes

I woke up this morning and this pancake idea kept me awake: S really deserved a fancy Saturday morning breakfast - last night I was feeling a bit crappy and he went out to get Yoma (= one of our favourite food places) takeaway to try and sort me out.

This is another experiment with buckwheat: buckwheat flour crepes are obviously a classic, but I got into the idea of a thick, lumpy pancake full of whole buckwheat groats and other exciting, tasty bits and pieces.

(makes 5-6 medium size, thick pancakes)

1 banana, mashed with a fork
2 tsp coconut oil
3 tbsp plain flour*
3 tbsp wholewheat flour*
1 1/2 tbsp chickpea (gram) flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup cooked buckwheat groats
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded dried coconut
1 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup almond milk
1/4 cup water
pinch salt
1/2 cup frozen blueberries

coconut oil for cooking
maple syrup to serve

Mash the banana and coconut oil together in a bowl with a fork. Add the rest of the ingredients except the blueberries and mix together until well combined, adding a little more or less water until you get a good (American-style) pancake consistency (ie fairly thick). Add the blueberries, mix lightly and let sit for 5 min.

Heat some (~1 tsp) coconut oil in a frying pan. Add a big spoonful of pancake batter and spread it out to make a ~8mm thick pancake about 10cm across. Cook on the first side until it starts to look done at the edges, lift the edge to check it is brown underneath, then flip and cook on the other side until browned. Serve with maple syrup on the side.


I really liked these, and they went down well with S too: the buckwheat / coconut / cinnamon / blueberry go great together, and the texture is really sound (quite a dense kind of a pancake, but with so much texture that's fine). You only need a little maple syrup, but it really brings it all together.

*I like the idea of making these gluten free by subbing the plain and wholewheat flours with GF oat flour - I didn't feel like grinding the oat flour, otherwise I would have made them that way.