Posts Tagged With: banana

Banana, Buckwheat & Walnut Slices – Yummy, easy and don’t cost the earth!

Posted on August 18, 2015 by leroy watson

Banana, Buckwheat & Walnut Slices – Vegan

A nice slice of proper, old fashioned cake here. I love baking these traditional style cakes, you can’t go wrong with them. Its so quick and easy to get together and it is also very cheap. I doubt you’ll be able to cobble a cake together for much less. This recipe is a request from one of our lovely guests at Trigonos, Debbie. It is a Trigonos classic and a variation on Ed’s (long serving chef and all around superhero) recipe that has been served to many thousands of artists, meditators, yoga students etc over the years. One of the best things about it, is its ease in preparation. Never a bad thing when working in a busy kitchen!

I was going to make Jack Monroe’s awesome looking Extra-Wholesome Banana Loaf and will be soon as I am always open to adding coconut oil to cakes. I think its the closest we vegans can get to butter in baking and certainly adds richness and a fuller texture to your favourite slab of sweet happiness. The extra-wholesome element in this cake is the buckwheat. Adding great nutrition and a depth to the flavour of the cake.

PLEASE EAT MORE CAKE:)

Afternoon tea at Trigonos is always a highlight for most of our guests. It seems that this tradition is fast disappearing, maybe Great British Bake Off is reversing the trend a little, but a nice sit down with a cup of tea is a British institution that is dwindling due to our now fast paced lifestyles. I think eating cake is essential to a balance, healthy, blissed out existence. A little sweetness brings a smile. Even if its a piece of fruit or one of the vast array of healthy cakes out there now; no sugar, gluten free etc. We’re making one today actually, something revolving around polenta, garden blackberries and gram flour. Watch this space (idea pinched from the brilliant Laura at Whole Ingredient blog!)

THE LUCKIEST CHEF ALIVE!

Trigonos is rocking at the minute with local produce. I’m the luckiest chef living to be able to cook everyday with glorious organic produce. Its all thanks to Judy and Owain who work their socks off year round to make the conditions right for these summer gluts. The team have just podded over 200lb of peas alone, the sun has been out a little recently meaning the tomatoes are finally going red and we’ve a whole poly tunnel of them to munch, roast and/ or jar up.

Lovely to see the Ruby Chard back on the Trigonos Menu

As a cook, its a busy time of year, but a wonderfully satisfying one. Our freezers are beginning to burst at the seams with blanched and fresh veggies, prepared for the more leaner months. Our guests at the retreat centre really appreciate the fact that a lot of the food they eat was grown on the land, it certainly adds to the dining experience. You can’t beat the flavour and vibrancy!

The courgettes are just taking off and that’s always interesting, overnight they can turn into something resembling a canoe crossed with a marrow. They just blow up! Sometimes these are great stuffed, as a real centre piece. Basil has also ran wild this year, meaning many pesto/ pistou’s. An abundance of basil is always a rare gift. I’ve been loving Toasted Cashew and Sun Dried Tomato Pesto, hopefully I’ll get the recipe on the BHK soon. Jane and I are also doing a few house renovations and working on plenty of Beach House/ Peace & Parsnips based projects. More news of those to follow soon.

Overall, I’m consistently amazed at how the Trigo guys eek out such abundant harvests from what is quite a damp and overcast part of the world with fairly dodgy volcanic soil. Its taken 17 years to get it to this stage. I think that is the main lesson with organic farming/ veg growing. Patience.

This recipe makes roughly 24 slices. It comes directly from my Trigonos recipe book (a cluster of precious, undecipherable scrap paper) where recipes are normally fit to serve 20-30. Please feel free to scale it down a little. I’ve also made this with added tahini and sesame seeds (no walnuts) and it becomes even richer with a nice chewy texture. You may also like to add seasonal berries to the cake. Raspberries and blackberries, for example, work beautifully. As ever, use this recipe as a base and go wild! Feel ever free to experiment………… Use any oil you like, of course unrefined is much better, preferably with a neutral flavour. If you don’t have buckwheat flour, you can use all wholemeal.

IDEAS FOR REPLACING EGGS

The bananas here act as a egg replacer. Other vegan options for helping to bind things together when baking are apple sauce (cooked apples), silken tofu, mashed sweet potato/ squash, ground flax seeds……there are loads of healthy and effective plant based options.

This one’s for you Debbie!!!!!!!x

Trigonos farm - looking a bit misty yesterday. We're having a pretty good year with produce, but unfortunately, much less sunshine than last year.

The Bits – 24 Slices

Do It

11 oz (310g) self raising wholemeal flour

5 oz (140g) buckwheat flour

10 oz (285g) unrefined brown sugar

1/2 pint (285ml) sunflower oil

1/2 pint (285ml) soya/ rice milk

4 ripe bananas

3 oz (85g) crushed walnuts

Do It

Oil and line a 10 inch x 14 inch (roughly) pan with baking parchment. Preheat an oven to 375oF (190oC).

Sieve the flour and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Mash your bananas in a seperate bowl with a fork, until smooth. Make a well in the flour and sugar, gradually pour in your oil and milk followed by your bananas. Stir until all is nicely combined (not too much).

Pour into the baking pan and pop in the oven for 40-45 mins. Until your trusty skewer comes out clean when pressed into the centre of the cake.

Turn out onto a wire rack (removing the baking parchment) and leave to cool for 20 minutes. Devour at will.

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Serve

Big cups of tea with your neighbour or granny. Cats are also nice to have around when eating good cake.

Foodie Fact

Buckwheat is a great alternative when used as a flour or grain. Buckwheat is classed as a whole grain but is actually a fruit and is related to sorrel and rhubarb. Buckwheat is a good source of magnesium and has other properties that promote good cardiovascular health. Fibre is so important in a well balanced diet and buckwheat, being a whole wholegrain, is full of it.

I use buckwheat, both flour and grain, loads in Peace & Parsnips, things like Buckwheat Pancakes, Toasted Almond Buckwheat Crumble, Kasha with Rosemary, Apricots and Walnuts……. It’s such a nutritious and tasty thang.

Categories: Baking, Cakes, Local food, photography, Recipes, Wales | Tags: banana, buckwheat, cake, farming, nutrition, organic, vegan, vegetarian | 2 Comments

Monkey Puzzle Nut and Jaggery Muffins (Vegan)

Posted on October 31, 2012 by leroy watson

We’re on the road in France and Spain at the minute, but here’s one we did earlier…….

We have some lovely friends of the Beach House Kitchen to thank for these nuts, Rachel and Axel over on Anglesey, who somehow man-handled their monkey puzzle tree into letting go of its precious nuts. Not an easy task, these trees are seriously covered in sharp spines.

We saw this technique being executed by the British wild food guru Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall on his TV programme ‘Veg Everyday’ recently and he needed the help of a tree expert and a hydraulic lift. From what Rach tells me Axel simply shimmied up a neighbouring tree and shook the hell out of the top, using only a snake catching pole (Axel is an expert in all things snakes and adders) and net. Unconventional harvesting techniques demand an unconventional recipe me thought. Hugh made a tasty looking summer cous cous salad out of his puzzle nuts, but we were on a different page all together.

So I had a bowl of these beauties, I roasted them and tried one, tastes a little like a chestnut merged with a pine nut. They are probably best just eaten as they are, but I couldn’t resist sticking them in this vegan muffin recipe that I’ve been sitting on for a while. A word of gentle warning, these nuts do go a bit dry after roasting and when baked. CRUNCH!

Jane has been fantasising about cake now for a few days and I have finally got around to making my poor, long suffering lady something resembling a sweet thing. This is as close as I get really, all that white flower, butter and sugar makes me feel a little queasy. These muffins are packed with the good stuff and still taste mighty fine.

Monkey Puzzle Tree

What on earth is a Monkey Puzzle Nut?

The monkey puzzle tree (or Araucaria araucana if you’re Latin speaker) is an evergreen that can grow up to 40 metres tall with a trunk of two metres wide! The tree is covered with sharp, blade-like, ‘reptilian’ leaves or spines that make the monkey puzzle nut one of natures toughest morsels to harvest. The tree is native to the low Andean slopes of Chile and Argentina but seems to do well on this little grey island. It is a hardy conifer and you regularly see them sticking out of gardens and stately home driveways. I don’t think there is a more incongruous tree on this island than the monkey puzzle.

What on earth is Jaggery?

Jaggery is an unrefined sugar used in many parts of the world, known as Gud in India. It has an amazing toffee-like texture and can be made with palm, coconut or date tree sap. Jaggery has a powerful, caramelised flavour that sets it apart from any sugar I have come across. It is high is sucrose and can be used as a healthier alternative to refined sugar. Great in a chai. I like to bake with it because it flavours and sweetens.

You could use a good unrefined brown sugar as a substitute, or even something like molasses, as jaggery can be a little hard to track down.

These muffins make for a great breakfast (they are nice and dense) and are best served warmed through. A cold muffin has an air of austerity to it that a baked good should not possess. If you are storing them, make sure they are in a well sealed container or well cling filmed, they can get a little dry these vegan sorts.

I used polenta and oats here as they were in the cupboard, another flour like spelt, rye or tapioca will work really well. Polenta isn’t quite fine enough to bind and bake as well as other flours. The oats add alot of ballast and ‘feel’ to these wonder muffs.

Makes for six hearty muffs.

The Bits

2 cups polenta, 2 cups oats (gluten-free), 1 teas cinnamon, 1 teas baking powder (gluten-free), 1/2 teas bicarb, 1/4 teas sea salt, 2 mashed bananas, 1/2 cup coconut oil, 1 grated carrot, 1/2 cup jaggery, 8 finely diced dates (finely chopped), 1 teas vanilla extract, 2/3 cup monkey puzzle nuts (or pine nuts/ your favourite nut), 1/3 cup chopped dark chocolate (finely chopped), 1/3 cup roasted pumpkin seeds, 1/2 cup soya milk

Do It

Preheat your oven to 375ºF and grease six muffin cups (or use silicon muffin cups). In a bowl, mix with vigour the polenta, oats, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a food processor, blitz together the banana, coco oil, jaggery and vanilla until relatively smooth with just some small banana lumps remaining. Add wet mix to dry and add carrot, chocolate, seeds and milk. Fold and stir together nicely until just combine.

Divide the batter up between the six muffin cups, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until slightly browned on top and a thin knife inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Serve

With a cup of fine tea. Best warm from the oven, but great in a packed lunch too.

We Love It!

Simply put, we know of no cooler muff.

Foodie Fact

Jaggery is unrefined and a more complex carbohydrate than normal white sugar. It contains magnesium and salts and good levels of the antioxidant selenium. Jaggery also contains iron, which helps ease tension.

Categories: Baking, Desserts, gluten-free, Recipes, Vegan | Tags: banana, breakfast, carrot, foraging, hugh fearnley whittingstall, jaggery, monkey puzzle nut, muffin, recipe, vegan | 12 Comments

Vegan Chocolate and Almond Ice Cream

Posted on August 7, 2012 by leroy watson

One big pile of Vegan Chocolate Nut Ice Cream

The Beach House Kitchen is definitely rustic. Not in the manufactured ‘rustic’ sense of the word, I mean we have sheep invading our front garden and no coffee shop within a half hour drive. The wind howls and we regularly have horses looking into our bathroom window (which can be quite a shock when you’re getting out of the shower!). We live out here and it’s beautiful!

I try and convey this country feel in our pictures, I just don’t have the gadgets (and time) to make our food look so polished. I am in awe of many blogs that manage to make any dish look like food of the Gods. When it’s so grey outside, taking photographs of food just doesn’t do the dish justice. One blog who constantly dazzles with its photographs and gorgeous food is 84th&3rd. This recipe is inspired by their Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream recipe. This is one of those food blogs that is so delicious and sexy, you just want to try out all of the recipes.

This is an amazing recipe that will blow anybody away. Vegan or otherwise. Even the hardest of hardcore Ben and Jerry lovers will be impressed with this ice cream. It is a wonder, with purely natural and healthy ingredients. Good fats and sugars ahoy!

The Beach House additions to this recipe were mainly nutty. Almonds to be exact, although pecan and cashews would be lovely also. We used soaked almonds here, the soaking brings out the nutrients and also makes them nice and plump and soft, ready for blending. Soak your nuts! It helps.

Cacao powder is a great investment, a little costly, but a small spoonful goes a long way. It is surprisingly chocolaty and opens a doorway into much sweet experimentation. Contrary to popular misconception, vegan ice cream can be rich and we’ve turned to the old favourite, avocado, to give things that creamy richness that diary normally would.

Cacao Beans

Cacao or Cocoa?

Cacao is not cocoa, cocoa is not cacao. They are very similar in every way, which can be confusing, but one way they differ greatly is nutritionally. Cacao is raw, meaning not heated to an extent that fragile enzymes and nutrients are destroyed, cocoa is heated (although still very tasty). Raw chocolate is brilliant for the body (in moderation) and big slab of Cadbury’s just ain’t so great.

Try to buy organic with your cacao, they use a load of pesticides and bad things in cacao growing. There’s no point going healthy and opting for a chemical cocktail, it will probably be the matter of a few pennies more.

Bananas (not ripe yet)

Bananas

The bananas here, and in general, should be getting towards brown. Some brown spots and a nice soft banana is important. They will be alot sweeter and better for you (I won’t bore you with the science of it this time, see the ‘Foodie Fact’ for that). Most places sell bananas way to early, meaning we eat them far too early. We try and buy bananas a week in advance so they are nicely ripened when we get around to them. Bananas are an essential part of any healthy foodies diet. They are so packed with sugar and can add super sweetness to all kinds of things. No added sugar required when a banana is in town. It is a nice idea to keep some bananas (and fruit in general) chopped and ready in the freezer. It keeps them fresh and is perfect for making smoothies etc.

This recipe is so easy to prepare, no need for an ice cream blender (which is surely a dust trap/ counter clutterer waiting to happen). It just needs a little stirring and a freezer and you have a gorgeous, very chocolaty ice cream.

You may like to add even more chocolate to this recipe, just bash up a bar of your favourite dark chocolate or add cacao nibs for the healthier touch. This adds some nice crunchy bits, as does the almonds. If you like a smoother ice cream, just blend for longer.

Jane sneaks in

The Bits

1 cup soaked almonds (overnight), 1 ripe avocado, 2 large frozen bananas (chopped up), 1/4 cup cacao powder, pinch good sea salt (we use halen mon tahitian vanilla sea salt), 1 tsp maple syrup/ honey, 3 tbsp bashed up dark chocolate or cacao nibs (for serious chocolate fiends only)

Do It

Blend up the almonds first for a minute then add your banana, avocado and salt using a food processor until smooth. Chop up the rest of the almonds into rough looking pieces and stir them through with cacao powder until well combined. Add maple syrup/ honey. Stir through chocolate chunks/ cacao chips if using.

Pour into an old ice cream container, or something of those dimensions. Stir every 30 minutes or so, breaking up frozen bits and mixing until smooth. Do this approximately four times if you can. You may also like to dust off and put into use your ice cream maker here.

Set out for 15 or 20 minutes to soften slightly before using, it is easier to scoop this way. Sharing is optional.

Serve

We had ours with blueberries and chopped banana, with a little more chopped almonds on top.

We Love It!

The texture of this ice cream is so rich and has a lovely smooth nuttiness. We cannot believe how healthy and delicious it is, we will be making more of this. Alot more.

Foodie Fact

When bananas ripen proto-pectin is converted into digestible, soluble pectin and starch is also converted into sugars of which 20% is glucose, 14% is fructose and the remaining 66% is sucrose.

Bananas give off a large amount of ethylene, which helps fruits ripen. If you have any fruits that need ripening, pop them in a bowl with the bananas and wait a day. They use this ethylene to turn green oranges orange. Many people don’t like the look of a green orange, even though they are ripe. We do funny things with our food!

Bananas also contain our happy friend trytophan, that converts to serotonin and makes us shine. See our ‘Mood Foods….’ post for more info on happy veggie foods.

Categories: Desserts, Recipes, Summer, Vegan | Tags: almond, banana, cacao, chocolate, cocoa, dessert, food, healthy, ice cream, recipe, vegan | 17 Comments

Nourishing Banana Smoothie

Posted on June 28, 2012 by leroy watson

Banana Smoothie

Eat your greens. Now they are real words of wisdom.

A clean and fresh smoothie that feels so good on the way down. A green smoothie a day is a huge step in the right direction for a zinging, healthy approach to living, especially in the morning time when our body needs some real t.l.c.

This was a part of my little detox spell which went incredibly well. It always amazed me, when we inhibit or restrict our diet in anyway the cravings or desire for that food just slips away. That’s me anyway, I think I’m a lucky one! When I make a clear decision to give up something that is blatantly not doing me any good (we all know what they are……booze, coffee, lots of fatty, processed foods) my body respects that decision and responds in a very positive way. It is such a reassuring step in the right direction.

Smoothies do most of the breaking down that our bodies would normally do, making nutrients readily accessible to be snapped up by our bodies and make us shine. This is why they’re such a wonderful thing early in the day.

This smoothie is so simple and effective for a morning super boost. You can play around with the fruit and veg, just keep the quantities the same and don’t add and citrus fruit (remember the Raw No No’s!).

I always try and pack as much spinach into the blender as possible, I normally add the spinach last as it does not blend well. As a rule, add your juicy bits first to the blender.

This smoothie recipe is taken from the raw food book ‘Live Raw’ by Mimi Kirk which I can recommend highly. Mimi is a real foodie and some of the dishes would grace any fine dining restaurant (not that they have anything to do with real food).

GOOD MORNING to you all……….

The Bits

2 bananas, 4 stalks of celery, 1 apple (quartered), 3 handfuls of spinach, 1/2 cucumber (cut in half), 1 1/2 cups of filtered water (add to your liking, ice will be nice in hot places)

Do It

Add all to a blender and blitz until nicely smooth.

Serve

In your finest glassware, add a slice of fruit of vegetable to give it that special finish, you can use it to scrape out the leftovers in the glass.

Foodie Fact

A good tip with fruits is, freeze them. If you have a glut of something, get it in the freezer and use it whenever you like. Great in smoothies as it gives them that lovely chilled touch.

Categories: Breakfast, Detox, Healthy Eating, Raw Food, Recipes, Smoothies, Vegan | Tags: banana, breakfast, detox, food, green smoothie, healthy eating, nutrition, raw, raw food, raw vegan, recipes, smoothie, spinach, vegetarian | 3 Comments

Super Spinach Smoothie

Posted on January 26, 2012 by leroy watson

A shot of pure green goodness

This smoothie will kick any day off with a natural sugar hit and good dosing of iron to wake you up and feed your sleepy body. Sweet and smooth with an iron fix.

It is so simple and quick to make and is Janes favourite morning booster. You won’t be craving biscuits for elevensies either, the banana will see you through!

The Bits

1 1/2 bananas per person (ideally, I have two because I’m like a sloth in the morning)

2 tbsp coconut cream

Two good handfuls of spinach

A splash of water (to get it all blended nicely)

Need balast? Add a handful of oats.

Do it

Stick it all in your blender and whizz until smooth.

Serve

Jane eats it from a bowl with a spoon, topped with some finely sliced veggies, celery is nice. I glug from a glass, which is scrapped out after with a spoon.

We Love It

Its so easy and nutritious and its very green!

Foodie Fact

Spinach is famous as a good source of iron, but surprisingly not as good as much as most beans, lentils, nuts and seeds. Even a dried apricot has more iron!.

Bananas are packed with natural fruit sugar (frustose), the highest of any fruit by a jungle mile. This is still relatively low compared to most maufactured sweet foods. They are great for the digestive system, with lots of fibre and also rich in Vitamin C and Potassium.