Orange Swirl Coconut Bread

I can’t take credit for the bread part of this Orange Swirl Coconut Bread, that is thanks to a Whole Foods recipe which I have tweaked for British kitchens, into grams etc. But the orange swirl was my idea.

I’d made a banana bread with a strawberry swirl just over a year ago and thought that this combo would work just as well.

I was very surprised at how good the bread on it's own was. Very light and mildly sweet from the coconut. But you know how I love to mess with things and so thought that adding orange jam in the centre would be a bonus.

I spread on some shredless sweet orange marmalade (regular marmalade would work just as well) and sprinkled on some brown sugar. In fact this was a bit like making the Dundee Marmalade Sticky Buns I made last year.

Anyway, I tightly rolled the bread and placed it into the loaf tin. The baked result had to be left to cool completely else it falls right apart. I froze some of my loaf to see what it would be like toasted ( I thought placing the fresh bread in the toaster might have been a bit precarious).

And overall, the toasted bread was even better than fresh bread. But I urge you to give this a try and have it both fresh and toasted. You will LOVE it!

Ingredients:

45 grams desiccated coconut

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

225 ml warm water

1 sachet of dry active yeast (approx. 7 grams)

350 grams plain flour

½ teaspoon salt

250 ml coconut milk

45 grams butter, melted

4-5 tablespoons Shredless Orange Marmalade (or regular)

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
Adapted from Whole Foods

Method:

In a bowl, place the desiccated coconut, granulated sugar, warm water, and yeast and stir to combine, then leave for 10 minutes to become active.

In a separate bowl, sift the flour and salt together. Add the yeast mix and with your hands combine until dough forms. If it’s a little sticky add a bit more flour.

On a floured work surface, knead the dough for 10 minutes then place into a lightly greased bowl, covered with a tea towel. Leave to prove for an hour and a half in a warm area.

After it has proved (it will have doubled in size) tip it back onto a floured work surface and spread out to an oblong about 30 cm wide and 1 cm thick (approximately!). Spoon the marmalade on and gently spread out with a knife. Then sprinkle the brown sugar on top.

Lastly, roll the loaf up tightly, like you would a Swiss roll. Place into a regular sized loaf tin and let rise again for 1 hour, covering with the tea towel.

Preheat the oven to 180C and after the hour, place the loaf in the centre of the oven to bake for 40 to 45 minutes.

Remove from the loaf tin immediately and leave to cool completely, on a rack.

Slice the bread and each slice sort of unfurls into a sticky delicious treat. And like I say, if you have any leftover, freeze it and toast from frozen (if your toaster has that setting). It is delicious – TRUST ME – and enjoy!

Apricot and Goji Berry Balls

These Apricot and Goji Berry Balls follow on from my recent recipe for Raw Coconut Fudge. Did you see it? Turns out it wasn't technically raw as desiccated coconut has been treated, but you got the idea.

It has been phenomenally popular though and has inspired me to come up with more raw type baking ideas. Raw baking seems to be taking off, and you know me, anything to jump on a bandwagon! Raw ‘bakes’ are vegan friendly plus they are healthier. No refined ingredients, just natural stuff. For me that’s good as I have just been in London for a few days and over-indulged. A little clean-eating will do me no harm.

Actually, I made this recipe before we went down to London. I’ve had it on the back burner – waiting for you all to see. It’s made in my fantastic Optimum 9400 blender, from the people at Froothie.

This blender is almost indestructible. As I have said to you before, it can crush paving stones. Thanks to its powerful motor (up to 48,000 rpm) and six stainless steel blades.

And did you know that the jug is made from Eastman Tritan copolyester - which probably doesn’t mean anything to you. But it is non-toxic and there is video evidence of it online being run over by a truck. The jug did not break at all! So you can be rest assured that it will not crack, or explode on you.

This ‘bake’ is made from only a few ingredients and the resultant treat is absolutely delicious. I combined cashews, soft dried apricots, goji berries and desiccated coconut. Vanilla extract is optional. This recipe can be made to suit true raw cooking if you get the correct ingredients.

The Optimum 9400 took no time at all to blend these into a large ball, ready to be separated into smaller balls of bliss. I used the tamperer, which comes with the blender, to make sure everything came into contact with the blades.

The colour of the mix is a gorgeous orange, with flecks of fiery red throughout, from the goji berries.

They almost have the texture of cookie dough and taste sweet, fruity and wholesome. I initially made the balls into flat discs and was going to freeze them, so they could be snacked on like cookies. You could do this if you prefer.

But in ball-form they are softer, slightly sticky, indulgence. Here’s how I made them.

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Raw Apricot and Goji Berry Balls

by Stuart Vettese July-28-2014

Vegan friendly little treats of apricot, goji berry, coconut and cashews. Little balls of heaven.

Ingredients

• 200 grams soft, dried apricots
• 250 grams raw cashew nuts
• 25 grams desiccated coconut
• 25 grams goji berries
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Instructions

Add the cashew nuts to the blender and blitz until they resemble fine meal. Add the other ingredients and blend until the mixture turns into a solid mass and comes away from the side of the jug. 

Scoop out balls of the mix and with your hands, roll into bite size balls (about 1 tablespoon). 

Chill in the fridge until ready to eat.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: Total time: 10 mins Yield: 2 dozen balls approx.

Disclosure Statement: I received the Optimum 9400 free to use. Any opinions expressed are my own.

Chocolate Cinnamon Cranberry Porridge

Another breakfast recipe for you, although this Chocolate, Cinnamon and Cranberry Porridge is just a wee bit healthier than the Elvis MacMuffin breakfast sandwich I brought you recently.

In fact this porridge, triple C porridge I am going to call it, hits the sweet spot, but has mostly natural ingredients.

I love porridge. I could eat it every day of the week if I had time. Sadly I only eat it on weekends when work isn’t beckoning. I know I could use instant porridge options, but they don’t quite do it for me.

I use almond milk in mine and drizzle with some light pancake syrup. This triple C variety though is even better than that. It’s sweet, spicy with the cinnamon and a bit tangy from the dried cranberries. Make sure to use unsweetened cocoa powder (or cacao if you have it).

It’s not exactly re-inventing the wheel but when I thought of adding cocoa to porridge I realised what a treat it would be.

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Chocolate Cinnamon Cranberry Porridge

by Stuart Vettese July-24-2014

A healthy breakfast of porridge oats, sweetened with cocoa, cinnamon and dried cranberries

Ingredients

• 40 grams porridge oats
• 250 ml almond milk (sweetened or unsweetened)
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• handful dried cranberries
• to taste agave nectar

Instructions

Place the oats in a saucepan and cover with the milk. Add the cocoa and cinnamon and a handful of cranberries. Cook over a low heat, stirring continuously, until the porridge begins to boil. Let it simmer for a minute or two until it thickens. 

 Transfer to the serving bowls and scatter with some more dried cranberries.

Details

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 10 mins Total time: 15 mins Yield: 2 small bowls

It’s simple and delicious – and healthy! A great way to start your day.

Elvis Breakfast Sandwiches

I so wanted to call these breakfast sandwiches ‘Elvis’ McMuffins, but I think copyright might not have been on my side there.

I am doing a couple of breakfast recipes this week. No idea why, but it does happen to be my favourite meal of the day. Whenever we go on holiday, we never take breakfast in our hotel. I love the adventure of going out to try new places for breaking fast.

It can vary widely, depending on which country you are in. From a greasy fry-up – to waffles and maple syrup, I love how diverse the first meal of the day can be.

Personally, and you will not be shocked at this, but I prefer a sweet breakfast. Give me a stack of pancakes over a plate of sausages and fried bread any day.

But I decided to try and combine the two, inspired in part by the fast food chain's McMuffins and the sweet/savoury combo which reportedly was a favourite of Elvis Presley – the Banana, Peanut Butter and Bacon sarnie!

English Muffins are so overlooked when it comes to breakfast, unless of course you are buying food to go. Until I made this I can honestly say I have never bought them before. So I ventured into the supermarket and purchased some, plus all the fixings for these tremendous Elvis Breakfast Sandwiches (or Macky D Muffins)!

I don’t fry my bacon, but cover it with brown sugar and pepper and pop it in the oven to crisp up. So easy and less mess when you cover the tray underneath with a spot of foil or greaseproof paper.

Yield: 4 Breakfast Sandwiches

Ingredients:

6 rashers of unsmoked bacon

1-2 tablespoons brown sugar

Black Pepper

1 -2 bananas

Smooth Peanut Butter (I use reduced fat)

4 English Muffins

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C and line a grill pan. Place the bacon on the grill pan, sprinkle with the sugar and grind some black pepper over the top.

Pop into the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. The edges will turn crispy and the sugar will have melted. Remove from the oven and allow to cool whilst you slice up the bananas and toast the split muffins.

Spread each half of the muffins with peanut butter and place the bananas on one half of muffin. Tear up the bacon into pieces and place onto the other half of muffin. Bring both sides together and press the muffin down.

That’s it! It really is quite easy and delicious for a breakfast treat. The sweet meatyness of the bacon goes well with the fruitiness of the banana and nuttiness of the PB! Enjoy.

And thanks to Dundee's new Brewdog craft beer pub for giving me the red basket which the sandwiches are housed in!

Viking Direct - More Than Just Paper Clips!

When I was recently asked if I would like to review the products of a company called Viking Direct I was initially a bit confused as they are primarily office supply stockists and I am a food blogger.

But when I saw their product range – I realised that they are more than just paper clips and tippex. Although their range of office supplies is impressive, they sell school supplies, furniture, and technology including TV’s and mobile phones plus they have a fantastic cook shop.

Being a food blogger the cook shop was the area that piqued my interest. I browsed through their impressive range of tableware, crockery, cutlery. They also had bakeware, cookware and appliances.

I chose to order a Tassimo coffee machine from Viking (priced at £99) and a selection of the Tassimo discs (£5.99 per pack) that can be purchased from their ‘Eating and Drinking’ section.

I was advised that the discs would be dispatched quickly and that the machine would follow on soon. I received the discs a couple of days later after a card was put through my door saying they had been left in a shop nearby (working 9 to 5, this happens a lot with deliveries, which is fine).

I waited about a week for the Tassimo to arrive. Then I got a knock on the door from the shop owner saying she had the coffee machine and had done for a few days. But no card was put through my door on this occasion.

I have to say that the service from Viking was friendly and efficient. But the delivery company they use has let them down a tad. The machine was marked as next day delivery and was dispatched by them quickly enough. Had the delivery people put a card through my door to say it was waiting for me, everything would have been fine.

So, I recommend Viking Direct and their vast product range, but not their delivery company. I have highlighted this to the company and they are to be looking into the matter.

As for the Tassimo coffee machine – I am loving it and feeling very perky after all my coffee!

Disclosure Statement: I received the coffee machine and discs free to review the company's services. Any opinions expressed are my own.

Banana Split Smoothie

Yes, a Banana Split Smoothie, but we are not talking Fleegle, Bingo, Drooper or Snorky here!

courtesy of BBC

Remember the dessert based smoothies I made back at the start of the year? There was carrot cake, black forest, lemon meringue, apple pie and hummingbird.

These were all packed full of fruit, but gave a nod and a wink to the delicious cakes they were based on.

Well, I haven’t finished with smoothies yet.

Since getting my Optimum 9400 blender from Froothie, I am seriously becoming addicted to green smoothies, packed with fruit and spinach. But, I digress, I decided to try another dessert based one.

This Banana Split Smoothie contains bananas (obviously!), strawberries and cherries like you would find in a real Banana Split. I also added some almond milk to make it a little bit creamier.

The cherries were frozen black cherries, which the blender whizzed up no problem. Whatever cherries you decide to use, remember to pit them. The Optimum 9400 would take care of the stones, but the smoothie might not be quite as tasty as you might have hoped.

I used cup measurements in this recipe. For smoothies, I find volume wins over weight. But if you don’t have cup measurement, pack a measuring jug full to the 250ml mark – that is one cup.

To garnish the banana split smoothie, I frothed up some more almond milk and spooned this on top to ‘kinda’ look like cream. Not necessary, and neither are the sprinkles, but if making these for kids, always an option!

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Banana Split Smoothie

by Stuart Vettese July-7-2014

A rich fruity smoothie that tastes just like a Banana Split.

Ingredients

• 2 large bananas
• 1 cup strawberries, hulled
• 1 cup cherries
• 1 cup almond milk

Instructions

Place all of the ingredients in the blender and whizz up until smooth. Pour into a glass and enjoy!

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: Total time: 10 mins Yield: 2 large glasses

Cherry Banana Mini Pies

Did you know this Wednesday is a special day? Well, aside from it being my birthday(!) July 16^th also happens to be National Cherry Day.

When I was sent a cherry pitter from the good people at OXOGood Grips, I knew exactly what I wanted to make with cherries.

A delicious pie baked with the flavour of cherries AND bananas. It’s a flavour combo I’ve been thinking of for a while. I figured the sweetness of the cherries and bananas would make for a really sweet tangy pie.

Instead of one big pie, I decided to make individual pies instead. I used a large muffin pan which housed the individual pies perfectly. And I cheated – I admit, I used shop-bought short-crust pastry. If you want to make your own, grab the recipe here. But when time is tight, I always used pre-made pastry.

I had never used a cherry pitter before but found it very easy to use. Without one pitting the 200 grams of cherries I used would have been a nightmare. But pop a cherry into the gadget and you are done in no time at all. The pitter is also good for olives too btw.

I made a thick cherry pie filling and let it cool before adding banana as I didn’t want the banana to cook down before going into the oven.

I made a cute lattice top for the pies from the pastry which let the fruit juices bubble up to reveal the flavours going on inside. Here’s how I made them.

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Cherry Banana Mini Pies

by Stuart Vettese July-14-2014

Individual shortcrust pies, filled with a thick cherry and banana fruity filling.

Ingredients

• 1 roll Shortcrust Pastry
• 200 grams Pitted Cherries
• 2 medium Bananas
• 55 grams Granulated Sugar
• 1 tablespoon Fresh lemon Juice
• 2 tablespoons Cornflour
• 100 ml Water
• 1/4 teaspoon Almond Extract
• 1 tablespoon Milk
• 1 tablespoon Sugar Crystals

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200c and grease four cups of a large muffin tin. Cut the pitted cherries into quarters and place in a large saucepan with the sugar, lemon juice, cornflour, water and almond extract. Bring the mix to the boil, stirring constantly then reduce and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Meanwhile slice the banana in discs and quarter each disc. Remove the cherry mix from the heat and stir in the banana. Allow the mix to cool whilst you prepare the pie shells. Cut circles of pastry large enough to fill each muffin cup. Spoon the pie filling into each well, so that it is slightly heaping. Make the lattice topping by weaving strips of leftover pastry, the cutting out with a pastry cutter, the size of each muffin cup. Transfer the lattice top to each pie and press the top and the sides together slightly. Lastly wash the pastry tops with a little milk and sprinkle with sugar crystals. Place the pies into the oven for 20 minutes or until they are golden brown on top. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before removing them from the muffin tray. Enjoy.

Details

Prep time: 1 hour Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 1 hour 50 mins Yield: 4 mini pies

And here are some other cherry recipes, from well-known bloggers, to get you inspired for National Cherry Day:

Kavey Eats: Homemade White Cherry Rum Liqueur
Maison Cupcake: Cherry Meringue Pie
Veggie Desserts: Black Forest Cherry Chocolate Avocado Mousse
Franglais Kitchen: Sour Cherry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Food to Glow: Cherry Chocolate Clafoutis
The Botanical Baker: Cherry and Almond Muffins
Fab Food 4 All: Cherzipan Cake
Fuss Free Flavours: Black Cherry Syllabub

I'm entering this bake into this month's Biscuit Barrel Challenge, hosted by Laura over at I'd Much Rather Bake Than... The theme this month is In-Season Fruit, which cherries are! As these are mini pies they would fit, rather messily, into a biscuit barrel!

Disclosure Statement: I received the cherry pitter free to review. Any opinions expressed are my own.

Foodies Festival Edinburgh 2014 Ticket Giveaway

Do you have any plans for the weekend 9-10 August? If not, read on!

The brilliant Foodies Festival returns to Edinburgh for the 8^th year on the weekend 8 – 10 August and I am excited to be giving away 5 pairs of tickets for the event, to be used either on the Saturday or Sunday. Here's more information about the festival;

 ‘Foodies Festival, the UK’s largest celebration of food & drink returns to Edinburgh’s Inverleith Park on the 8^th, 9^th and 10^th August for a weekend celebration of Scotland’s finest produce, international street food, and culinary masters.

 Having started as a small event in Edinburgh eight years ago, the festival has now grown into Scotland’s food and drink event of the summer, transforming Inverleith Park into a foodie paradise with over 200 artisan producers, pop-up restaurants, premium brands and the chance to watch your favorite chefs cooking live. 

Festival Director Sue Hitchen said… “Edinburgh is where it all started for Foodies Festival, so it’s a very special event for me and our team. This year we are delighted to be the official partner of the MasterChef Dining Bus, which offers our visitors a unique onboard dining experience with the contestants and winners from the series cooking onboard and serving visitors top-notch dishes from the purpose built kitchen. “

Top chefs joining the festival this summer include MasterChef the Professionals runners-up Adam Handling and Scott Davies, Great British Menu’s Jacqueline O’Donnell of The Sisters, Mark Greenaway of Bistro Moderne, TV Chef Tony Singh, The Pompadour by Galvin Head Chef Craig Sandle, Café St Honore’s Neil Forbes and Glasgow’s The Three Sisters bakers Gillan, Nichola and Linsey, all of whom will cook their signature dishes live in the Chefs’ Theatre while explaining how home cooks can prepare the same dishes for friends and family.’

I, personally, am excited about the new Chocolate, Bake and Preserves Theatre. It’s new this year and hosts top pastry chefs, chocolatiers and bakers. There is also a Chocolate, Baking and Preserves Village where you can buy sweet treats aplenty and gadgets too.

There is so much more at the event, so be sure to check out all the information at the Foodies Festival website.

Ticket Information

2014 Foodies Festivals tickets are now available from www.foodiesfestival.com or by calling 0844 995 1111.

Tickets:

1-day adult ticket for Friday £10.00
1-day adult ticket Saturday or Sunday £12.00 (£10.00 concession)
3-day adult ticket £18.00 (£15.00 concession)
1-day VIP ticket £38.00 (Friday VIP ticket £35)

Opening times: 10am until 6pm.

 To be in with a chance of winning a pair of adult tickets, simply leave a comment on this post, making sure to leave details of how I can contact you, if you are one of the lucky winners. The competition is open for two weeks, and closes at midnight on Saturday, 26 July. Winners will be selected by a random number generator.

The giveaway is open to UK residents only, over the age of 18.

Good luck, and I may see you there!

Disclosure Statement: I have not been paid to run this giveaway. I am receiving press passes to the event in remuneration.

Raw Coconut Fudge

This recipe for Raw Coconut Fudge is made using the fantastic Optimum 9400 blender (so much more than a blender) from Froothie.

Did you see my last post for Fresh Orange Slushies using it? This powerful beast can blend anything you set your mind to, I put in whole peeled oranges and ice to make a refreshing and healthy slushie, great for hot summer days.

This recipe I am sharing features on the Froothie TV YouTube channel and on there, they call them Jersey Caramels. But I have no idea what Jersey Caramels are. They sounded nice enough, so I decided to whip up a batch and to me they taste like coconut flavoured fudge. There are no bad fats or processed sugars in this recipe! This isn't raw cooking in it's truest sense but the ingredients can be swapped for proper 'raw' ones.

The only ingredients used are desiccated coconut, pitted dates, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. That’s it. With Just a couple of simple, natural ingredients you have a sweet treat which is a little bit more virtuous than regular fudge. And those with an aversion to dates - you don't even taste them - honestly!!

Dates do contain a lot of  natural sugar, so don’t be fooled into thinking you can scoff these like rice cakes!

The mix of coconut and dates is blended up no problem at all thanks to the high speed of the Optimum 9400. Plus its 6 stainless steel blades ensure nothing is left clinging to the bottom.

Here’s how to make them;

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Raw Coconut Fudge

by Stuart Vettese July-09-2014

Healthier fudge, made using raw ingredients of desiccated coconut and pitted dates.

Ingredients

• 180 grams desiccated coconut
• 84 grams pitted dates (about 7)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (alcohol free, if you have it)
• pinch of salt

Instructions

Line a loaf tin with clingfilm and leave overhang. Place the coconut into the blender and whizz until is fine and powdery. Take care not to over blend, as the oils will be released and you will get coconut butter. Add the dates, vanilla and salt and blitz until a solid ball forms which is not sticking to the sides of the jug. Transfer the mix into the loaf tin and dab any excess coconut oil away with some kitchen paper. Cover the mix with the clingfilm overhang and press down firmly with your fingers so the mix is tightly packed into the tin. Transfer to the fridge and allow to set up, for at least a couple of hours, if not overnight. Remove from the tin, remove the clingfilm and cut into squares. These last up to a week in the fridge, if you can resist them that long. They taste exactly like coconut flavour fudge, with the consistency of fudge also. Delicious!

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: Total time: 2 hour 15 mins Yield: 16 servings approx.

Adapted from Whole Foods Simply

Disclosure Statement: I received the Optimum 9400 free to review. Any opinions expressed are my own.