Apple Slice

Hi Everyone,
SURPRISE!!! I'm back after more than 12 months. I'm not sure for how long or if I'll be very consisted but I'm here for now. I do post a lot on Facebook and Instagram as I like those forums because I don't have to think so much about writing, which I've mentioned before is not my forte. So it might be a case of if I've got a lot to share at once I'll post here and let you know on Facebook and Instagram.
 What has prompted this post, is this recipe. I felt like making something sweet but healthy and this slice came to mind. I couldn't find my print out of it so I came looking on the blog, knowing I'd written a post about it. When I came to find it, I discovered it was only a draft and apparently I hadn't published it at all. I could have sworn I had but I can't find on the blog, so I'm here to remedy that situation.

So remembering this was originally written in March last year, here we go. 

Being Autumn here in my part of the world, it is the season for apples. I have a few small apple trees that have produced more than enough apples for us (and the birds). One tree, I planted when we first moved here 16 years ago, has produced fruit for the first time this year. I can't even remember what sort of apple it is but the apples are quite sweet so they are lovely to stew and eat without having to add sugar. They also hold their shape and don't turn to mush which I like as well.
A couple of weeks ago I adapted my Jam Slice recipe and made a healthy Apple Slice to take to Garden Group for morning tea. Although it was a bit crumbly it was quite a hit so I have since made it again and solved the crumbly problem. Now it's ready to share with you.

APPLE SLICE

Base

100g almond meal (about 1 cup)

½ cup rice flour (or coconut flour)

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup honey

1 egg

1 teas vanilla

Filling

3 large sweet apples, peeled, sliced & cooked

Topping

2 eggs

¼ cup honey

2 cups desiccated coconut

Set oven on 180C (160C fan) & grease (with olive oil) and line a 22cm cake tin.

Mix all the base ingredients together and spread into the cake tin (this can be a bit fiddly as the mixture is sticky)

Bake for 15 mins or until cooked.

Remove from the oven and spread the apple on the base.

Wait until you have done this before making the topping as the coconut will absorb moisture and the topping is too crumbly when cooked.

Using a mixer beat the eggs until they are very light and fluffy.

Drizzle in the honey while the mixer is going & beat until combined.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the coconut.

Spread over the apple.(see NOTE)

Bake for 15-20 mins or until golden brown.

Allow to cool completely for cutting.

NOTE: Smooth coconut mixture down with the back of a spoon then lightly rough it up with a fork, this helps it stick together when cooked and not be too crumbly.
NOTE 2: You can use tinned unsweetened apple for convenience. It is also delicious with a sprinkling of blueberries, fresh or thawed frozen, with the apple.
PRINT RECIPE

Looking at the picture of the apples reminds of when we were kids, and apples didn't come all waxed and shiny. We would have competitions at lunch time to see who could get their apple the shiniest. Did you do that too?

Hope you've enjoyed the catch up

Thanks for popping by and until next time 

TOODLES

I would love your feedback.

You can either comment here or on Facebook 

or

You can follow me on

Facebook or Instagram @oneearlybird 

Apple Sultana Walnut Cake - Gluten Free

Hi Everyone,

I'm back with a quick post. You may recall I shared a recipe for Apple Sultana and Walnut cake back HERE.

I have a couple of relatives who are gluten intolerant so I had a fiddle with the recipe and made a healthier version that is gluten, dairy and sugar free and topped it with a vanilla cashew cream.
I posted the following picture on Facebook and had a few requests for the recipe.

So I decided I would share it here just in case anyone else might be interested.

APPLE SULTANA WALNUT CAKE–Gluten Free

1 cup chopped dates

Water (enough to just cover the dates)

½ cup mild tasting oil

3 eggs (lightly beaten)

1 teasp vanilla

2 cups almond meal

½ cup rice flour

½ teasp bicarb soda

1 teasp baking powder(gluten free)

2 teasp mixed spice

150g (5oz) sultanas

60g (2oz) chopped walnuts

2 apples (peeled & diced)

Cover dates with water and allow to soak overnight or until dates are very soft.

Set oven on 180C and grease (with oil) a 20cm cake tin, line the base and dust the sides with almond meal or rice flour.

Blend together the soaked dates, oil, eggs and vanilla until smooth.

In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients, sultanas, apple and walnuts.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well.

Put mixture in prepared cake tin and bake for approximately 40-50minutes or until done when tested with a skewer. (It may take longer depending on the moisture in the fruit)

Allow to cool for 5-10minutes before removing from the tin.

 

Vanilla Cashew Cream

85g raw cashews

¼ cup chopped dates

½ cup water

1 teasp vanilla

20g cacao butter(melted in a bowl over hot water)

Soak the cashews and dates in the water with the vanilla overnight.

Blend together until smooth and creamy then add cacao butter and blend until thoroughly mixed.

Spread on the cooled cake and sprinkle with extra walnuts.

PRINT RECIPE

You will notice I have included a link to a printable version of the recipe. I am hoping over the next couple of weeks to update all my previous recipe posts to include printable recipes. That will make your life easier if you want to try any of them.

Thanks for popping by and until next time 

TOODLES

 

 

I would love your feedback.

You can either comment here or on Facebook 

or

You can follow me on

Facebook or Instagram @oneearlybird

Happy Birthday

To Me

Hi Everyone,

Well it was happy birthday to me a couple of weeks ago but this post is really about the cake I made myself not my birthday. I posted a picture of it on Facebook and had a request to share it here. I hadn't planned on blogging about it so I didn't take an photos of the process but there is no rule that says that I have to so I'm going to share it anyway.
It's not very often I have to make my own Birthday cake, usually one of the kids does it but they weren't home and baking is not Ross' forte, so it was up to me.
Originally I was going to make a wheat free version of this experiment that Heidi and I made a couple of weeks ago, Caramelised Pear Cake with custard cream.

Yes, I know, not the most elegant looking cake (the components needed to be well chilled before assembly hence the oozing custard cream) but it did taste REEEEEEALLY good. I was a bit pushed for time on my birthday so I didn't have time for chilling things so I decided to do another experiment instead. The challenge was to make a healthy cake that tasted decadent and naughty.
I already had some tried and trued healthy recipes that I thought, when they were combined, might just fit the bill. I started off with my 'Innocent Chocolate Cake', a perfectly yummy guilt free cake. I did a post on it a couple of months ago and you can find it HERE.

For the filling I took my inspiration from the recipe for this chocolate tart that we made in a raw food workshop with Cat Cannizzaro. I changed it so that the flavours blended better with the cake. (If you want the recipe for this tart, which is to die for, it will be available for purchase at Wild Raw soon)

And I  made an orange cashew cream that I used on some muffins a little while ago. I also love hazelnuts and I thought they would go nicely as well.

This is what I came up with,
TA DAH!!
Innocent Jaffa Hazelnut Cake.

Looks pretty good, don't you think? It tasted pretty good too. It certainly fulfilled the brief. In fact tasted so good I almost felt guilty eating it, even though it's perfectly healthy.

INNOCENT JAFFA HAZELNUT CAKE

INNOCENT CHOCOLATE CAKE
1 cup chopped dates (cover with water & soak until soft)
1 teasp vanilla
1/4 olive oil
3 eggs (separated)
1/2 teasp bicarb soda
1/2 teasp baking powder
200g almond meal (approx. 2cups)
1/3 cup cacao powder (or cocoa)
Set oven to 180C & grease and line a 20cm cake tin. Puree dates, vanilla, oil & egg yolks until smooth and  add to the dry ingredients, mix well. Beat egg whites to soft peaks and mix 1/3 into the rest of the mixture then gently fold through the remaining egg whites. Pour into the cake tin and bake for approximately 30 mins or until done when tested with a skewer. Allow to cool for a few minutes before removing from the tin.
NB: While the cake is cooking roast 1/2 cup of hazelnuts for 5-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and roll them in a tea towel to remove most of the skins and chop roughly.
FILLING
Chocolate Cashew Cream
11/2cups chopped raw cashews
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup chopped dates
1 teasp vanilla
30g cacao powder
40g cacao butter (melted in a bowl over hot water)
Soak the cashews and dates in the water overnight. Blend the cashews, dates, vanilla and cacao powder until really smooth. Add a little more water as needed to achieve a smooth result but it doesn't want to be  runny. Finally blend in the cacao butter until well combined. The chocolate cashew cream will firm up a bit as it cools down so it best to fill the cooled cake straight away while it's still easy to spread.
TOPPING
Orange Cashew Cream
11/4 cups chopped raw cashews
Juice of 2 orange
Grated rind of one orange
5 teasp agave syrup
20g cacao butter (melted in a bowl over hot water)
Soak the cashews in the orange juice overnight. Blend all the ingredients except cacao butter until really smooth (add a little water if needed). Add the cacao butter and blend until well combined. This also will firm a little as it cools so best to use straight away.
ASSEMBLY
When the cake is cold slice in two. Spread one half with the chocolate cashew cream and sprinkle with half the hazelnuts. Place the second half on top and spread some of the orange cashew cream on top, sprinkle with the rest of the hazelnuts and some orange zest and pipe around the edge if desired.

PRINT RECIPE

I hope you give Innocent Jaffa Hazelnut Cake a try and let me know what you think.

Thanks for popping by and until next time 

TOODLES

 

 

I would love your feedback.

You can either comment here or on Facebook 

or

You can follow me on

Facebook or Instagram @oneearlybird

 



UNnoodle Soup

ME: You do realise that this is not just a food blog don't you?
YOU: Yes
ME: Good that's a relief.
YOU: Why do you ask?
ME: Cos I'm here again with another recipe.
YOU: So?
ME: Well that's two in a row and I don't want you to think that's all this blog is about.
YOU: For goodness sake just write the post.
ME: Okay.

Being a relatively new to this blogging caper, it's very much a learn as you go sort of thing. Before I started I had no idea how long it took to do a post. Taking photos, or remembering to take photos, when the light is good (particularly for cooking posts), setting up shots and editing, all take time. And for me the writing is also quite time consuming too as I'm not a natural writer (words don't flow in an orderly fashion from my brain), so I have to do a lot of editing sometimes over a couple of days. These are skills that I'm hoping to improve and streamline so I can do posts more efficiently, and I'm enjoying the challenge.
That sort of brings me to today's post because I've had to prepare it quicker than I normally would. I put a picture of this Asian style soup on my Facebook page, asking if anyone would like the recipe. I thought I would have a bit of time to prepare the post but no, what with on thing and another, some people thought I had already put it on the blog and were very eager to have the recipe. So here I am posting another recipe when I normally like to mix up the topics).

This recipe is based on a vague memory of a soup made on the TV show "Good Chef, Bad Chef" and is super easy. When I make it I don't measure anything. You know, like those recipes your Mother used to make that she could never give you exact quantities for. It was just a bit of this and a bit of that. Now I find I also make lots of things that way and have to smile to myself when my kids ask me for some recipes because I haven't a clue about quantities, it's just what feels right. Anyway I've done my best to write a proper recipe.
 
UNnoodle Chicken & Veg Soup
(Serves 4)
1 chicken breast fillet
5 cps water
1 Tbsp soy csauce
1 garlic clove (sliced)
2cm piece ginger

¼ teas chilli flakes (optional)

1 zucchini 

2 cps thinly sliced/chopped vegetables (eg carrot, capsicum, celery, corn, broccoli, etc)

Put the chicken fillet, garlic, ginger and chilli flakes in large saucepan and cover with water. Add the soy sauce and bring to a gentle simmer.Cook for approximately 20 minutes.

Take the chicken fillet out and slice into small pieces. Remove the garlic and ginger with a slotted spoon or through a sieve, chop finely. Add back to the stock along with the sliced vegetables and any of the chilli flakes that may have been removed in the straining process. Bring stock back to a gentle boil. Taste the stock and add more soy sauce if needed.

While the vegetables are cooking prepare the zucchini UNnoodles by peeling it first (discard the peel) and then shaving it into long strips with a peeler (or you can get a gadget (see picture) that looks like a peeler with teeth that cuts really thin strips). Only shave the zucchini down to the seeds.

When the vegetables are nearly cooked (this should only take 5 minutes, if you like them a little firm), add the chicken and UNnoodles and cook for about a minutes (don't over cook or the UNnoodles will break up). Serve.

OPTIONS:
Use rice noodles if you prefer.
Add 1 or 2 teaspoons each of lime juice, palm sugar & fish sauce for a more Thai style flavour.

PRINT RECIPE

I would love your feedback. You can either comment here or you can also comment or follow me on Facebook or Instagram @oneearlybird

Until next time when I will share something other than cooking.

TOODLES

  

Innocent Chocolate Cake

Hi everyone.  Who's for delicious, healthy and guilt free chocolate cake? Did you think there was a hint of sarcasm to the post title or that is was tongue in cheek? Well no, when I developed the recipe I didn't want to call it guilt free or healthy so I decided that innocent was an appropriate alternative.
The recipe was inspired by a friend who follows mainly a Paleo diet, so that means no sugar, no flour, no butter and lots of other things. She does indulge every now and again, on special occasions. I wanted to take a sweet treat to her place one evening so I thought I would take on the challenge of making something that was yummy and basically fit her diet.
So with my own basic cake formula (which I'll work on sharing at a later date), I decided on the ingredient replacements; dates for the sugar, almond meal (I grind my own almonds) for the flour & oil for the butter. Add some cocoa, because everything tastes better if it's chocolate, vanilla, eggs and you have the ingredients for one healthy chocolate cake.

A bit of soaking, blending, beating, mixing and baking. 

VOILA "Innocent Chocolate Cake" was born. 

This is a great everyday cake, as it satisfies those cravings for chocolate and something sweet without the guilt factor. For me it is wheat free and for that matter it's also gluten free.

Now I don't want you to think I'm a complete wowser when it comes to baking. On special occasions I still indulge in the decedent much less healthy cake options and  I'll share them with you as well but for today it's Innocent Chocolate Cake.

 

INNOCENT CHOCOLATE CAKE

1 cp dates (cover with water & soak until soft)

200g almond meal (approx 2cps)

1/3 cp cocoa

½ teas bicarb soda

1 teas baking powder

1 ts vanilla

¼ cp olive oil

3 eggs (separated)

Grease a 20cm (8") cake tin with oil, line the base with baking paper and dust the side with a mixture of cocoa & almond meal.

Mix together dry ingredients in a bowl. Puree dates with oil, vanilla and egg yolks until smooth, add to dry ingredients and mix well. Beat egg whites to soft peaks. Mix 1/3 of the egg whites into mixture thoroughly, then gently fold through the remaining egg whites. Pour/spoon mixture into prepared tin and bake at 180C (360F) for approximately 30 mins or cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool slightly before removing from the tin.

PRINT RECIPE

 

I would love you to let me know what you think about the recipe or blog. You can either comment here or you can also comment or follow me as One Earlybird on Facebook or @oneearlybird on Instagram.

Hope you have a fantastic day until next time

 

TOODLES

 PS. Coming soon, by popular demand, another winter warming soup recipe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

What's a Girl To Do?

What's a girl to do when she gets home from her 5 km walk/run, starving hungry and she discovers she can't have her usual breakfast (banana, canned fruit, yoghurt and muesli).

 

The canned fruit is all gone, there isn't even any in the cupboard and the last of the bananas went to work with the men folk.

 

The options are grapefruit, I don't think so, too sour with yoghurt, and a less than appetising apple.

 

What to do?

 

Think outside that square, you creature of habit, there are other options.

 

IDEA

 

Make some porridge, you haven't had porridge for ages and it's nice with yoghurt and muesli.

 

Oh and grate that ordinary looking apple and put that in it.

 

And some sultanas.

 

Let it cook while you have a shower.

 

10 minutes later.

 

Yummy, yum, it didn't disappoint.

 

One happy girl.

 

Have a great day!

TOODLES

 

Easy Peasy & Ham Soup

Hi everyone, still not much happening on the crafty front so I'm back with a recipe.
As a child I was a fairly fussy eater or so I was told, but on reflection I don't know that I was that fussy, its just that I didn't like the foods that were served up to us. A lot of the foods that I like now are ones that my mum didn't like so they weren't on the menu, in particular salads. Even the cooked foods I like now I didn't like then because they were cooked to within an inch of their life so   they tasted horrid(I'm gagging as I write).
One of the things I didn't eat as a kid was soup. Even as an adult I wasn't a big fan, until my eldest daughter Cherry (who by the way isn't a fussy eater) made Minestrone (or as we call it Mine Strone) soup at school. She came home very excited and insisted on making because it was so yummy and she was sure I would like it. I had my reservations but she made the soup, I loved it and the love affair with soup began. I started looking at soup in a whole new light, now realising that there were so many options out there other than  Mum's vegetable soup with its favour dominated by onion and celery or my Mother-in-laws goopy split pea soup.

Soup has now become a winter staple in our house though hubby doesn't eat it (I think he was scarred for life by the split pea soup). I like to make a big batch and have it in the fridge or freezer for a quick easy lunch and it's great to take hot to the footy/netball in a vacuum flask.

This particular recipe was inspired by one of my best friends Gabby. I was visiting her a couple of weeks ago when she was making soup. She had been wanting to make pea and ham soup but there must have been a world shortage of split peas as she hadn't been able to get them anywhere, so she decided to try substituting red lentils. The soup was pretty good but

when I left her place I had made up my mind to make pea and ham soup, split peas or no split peas. I hadn't made pea & ham soup before but I couldn't see any reason why frozen peas wouldn't do the job, so I bought a packet and a ham hock. A few minutes prep, a couple of hours cooking and 'Easy Peasy & Ham Soup' was ready to eat. 

    

EASY PEASY & HAM SOUP
1 kg frozen peas
1 ham hock
1 medium onion (diced)
oil
water
salt & pepper
Note: I like to peel the skin off  the ham hock so the favour of the soup isn't too smoky.

Sauté the onion in a little oil over a medium heat in a saucepan large enough to fit your ham hock. When the onion is translucent added the ham hock, frozen peas and enough water to cover the hock, or at least nearly cover it. Note: The more water you add the thinner your soup will be.

Bring the soup to the boil, then turn down to a simmer and put a lid on the saucepan. Leave to simmer for about 2 hours. You may need to turn the ham hock over every so often if it isn't completely covered. Once the meat is starting to fall off the bone, take the hock out of the soup, remove the meat from the bone and cut into pieces.

Blend the peas, until smooth either in a blender or I use a stick blender in the saucepan. Add the ham back into the soup, season with salt & pepper to taste (if needed) and it's ready.

 

I like to add a few chilli flakes for an added little kick, and because of my wheat allergy, I quite often serve my soups with corn chips, instead of bread, they add a nice contrasting crunch.

AND

If you want "comfort" in a bowl, make a mash of potato, sweet potato, creamed corn and cheese and add a big dollop of it to your soup with little extra grated cheese. This is soooooooo good I can't even describe it. YUMMO.  

There you have it an easy winter warmer, and if you wanted to make a quicker version just use some diced smoky bacon instead of the ham hock. I'm sure it would be just as delicious.

Make, eat & enjoy, until next time

TOODLES