Soaked Whole Grain Choc Chip Cookies

After the success of last week's blender bender (and my relatively easy week in the kitchen that followed) I decided that weekly blender benders are now a must for me. My bender on the weekend just passed wasn't quite as impressive as the first one, but I still managed to produce 16 soaked whole grain muffins, a dozen soaked whole grain rolls, a batch of soaked whole grain cookies and a big batch of soaked whole grain crumpets. It certainly all helps during the busy times and to have our breakfasts made for the week (crumpets and muffins to go with our smoothies) is a huge plus.

For those of you wanting to make wholesome and tasty cookies for your family, why not try my soaked whole grain choc chip cookie recipe. Yummo!

Soaked Whole Grain Choc Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
220g spelt or khorasan grain
75g butter
70g organic honey
150g organic natural yoghurt
130g organic rolled oats
100g rapadura
100g organic coconut
2 tbsp boiling water
3/4 tsp bicarb soda
2 tbsp chia gel (optional)
120g choc chips (see tips)

Method:
Mill grain in TMX for 1 minute on speed 9. Set aside.

Add butter and honey to TMX bowl and melt for 2 minutes, 80 degrees at speed 2.

Add oats, milled flour and yoghurt and mix for 30 seconds at reverse speed 3. Scrape mixture into a jug or bowl (or leave in TMX if it will not be needed) and cover. Leave to soak at cool room temperature for at least 7 hours.

After soaking period preheat oven to 180 degrees and grease or line 2 large biscuit trays.

Add soaked mixture to TMX bowl (breaking it into small pieces with your hands).

Add the rapadura and coconut. Measure the boiling water into the MC, add the bicarb and stir well. Tip this into the TMX also. Mix the ingredients on reverse speed 3 for 40 seconds. Check to see if the soaked mixture is completely stirred through (no white streaks through the dough) and continue mixing on reverse speed 4 for 10 seconds if necessary.

Add choc chips and stir through on reverse speed 3 for 10 seconds.

Place spoonfuls (tbsp size) of mixture on tray (or roll and flatten them) and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Tips:

These aren't crunchy cookies. If you like a firmer cookie try double baking them (bake, cool and then bake again).

These biscuits are very versatile. The choc chips can be replaced by:
120g organic sultanas
120g chopped organic dried apricots (lovely with the coconut)
120g assorted dried fruit and seeds (muesli cookies)
100g of organic chocolate chopped (organic choc chips are hard to source and usually very expensive).

Filling Tummies - Anyone for Pizza???

My boys love our weekly pizza night!!! My youngest son races around the house singing and dancing while I assemble them and my eldest has recently started to help by spreading on the pizza sauce and sprinkling on the toppings (so exciting). Over the past few months I have been experimenting with different pizza base recipes in order to create a soaked whole grain dough that is both healthy and tasty. I recently created a dough recipe that I was happy with, but then decided that my pizza sauce recipe needed tweaking. Finally both of my recipes are complete (for now anyway) and are posted here for your tasting pleasure:

Spaghetti Bolognaise Stuffed Crust Pizza

Fluffy Soaked Whole Grain Pizza Bases:

Ingredients:
300g khorasan/spelt grain
2 tsp organic apple cider vinegar
250g water
4 tsp dried yeast

25g rapadura

230g white spelt flour
40g organic extra virgin olive oil
40g chia gel (or extra oil)
2 tsp dulse flakes
1/2 tsp Himalayan salt

Method:

Mill grain in TMX for 1 minute on speed 9. Pour into a jug or bowl and sit on top of TMX lid. Weigh in 200g water and measure in cider vinegar. Stir well and leave covered at cool room temperature for at least 7 hours.

After the soaking period place the remaining 50g of water (lukewarm), yeast and rapadura to the TMX bowl. Stir on speed 2 for 10 seconds and then leave for 10 minutes to activate the yeast.

Add the remaining ingredients (including the soaked flour) and mix on speed 4 for 10 seconds.

Knead for 3 minutes. Check the consistency of the dough in the last minute of kneading (it should be slightly sticky) and add a little flour or water if necessary.

Leave the dough to rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size. This normally takes at least an hour for me with the heavy flour. I usually warm my oven slightly (4 minutes at 50 degrees and then turn off) and place the dough in there either wrapped in my silicon bread mat or in an oiled bowl covered with plastic wrap.

Once the dough has doubled it is ready to be rolled out or wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for use later in the day.

I don't have a pizza stone so I like to pre-bake my pizza crusts (so they don't go soggy in the middle). To do this simply roll out the pizza dough and place it on oiled oven trays. Spread the dough with pizza sauce and bake them in a preheated oven (200 degrees) for 7 minutes. Remove them from oven, sprinkle on the toppings and then cook for a further 7-10 minutes.

Notes:

My hubby and boys love my stuffed crust pizzas. To make stuffed crust simply roll the dough out a little large than your tray. Sprinkle some grated cheese (mozzarella is my favourite) around the edges and then fold the edges over the cheese and press down. Yum!

If you prefer thinner crusts then cut down the rising time and roll the dough out thinly.

Our favourite pizza topping at the moment is leftover spaghetti bolognaise (carb overload I know!!!).

And now for the pizza sauce recipe . . .

Yummy Pizza Sauce

This pizza sauce recipe is one of my favourite things to make in the TMX. It is so quick and easy, but full of vegie-goodness. I love it!

Ingredients:

30g organic extra virgin olive oil

1 medium brown onion, peeled and quartered

2 cloves garlic, peeled

1/2 carrot washed and quartered (peeled if non-organic)

1 large red capsicum, washed, deseeded and quartered
800g tomatoes (fresh, thawed or canned)
30g rapadura
small bunch fresh basil
2 tsp dulse flakes
dried oregano to taste
pepper to taste

Method:

Weigh in olive oil and heat for 2 minutes, varoma temp, speed 1. Add onion, garlic, carrot and capsicum and heat for 4 minutes, varoma temp, speed 3-4.

Add the remaining ingredients and cook for 20 minutes, varoma temp, speed 1. To finish, puree the sauce on speed 6 for 5 seconds.

Notes:
I make this sauce once a month and freeze the cooled portions in zip lock bags.

I usually make this with thawed sauce tomatoes, but this recipe also works well with tinned tomatoes.

Stuffed Crust Meatlovers Pizza (meatballs, salami, capsium, pineapple etc)

Filling Tummies - Nourishing Chia Gel

My friend Ange has returned from her latest adventure on the other side of the world and is once again inspiring me with her knowledge of healthy living. On the weekend we had a great chat about chia seeds and I was telling Ange that I had started adding them to my breads and batters. When Ange asked me if I had been making gel with my chia seeds, I have to admit I had no idea what she was talking about. So of course I set out to research chia gel and then made up my first batch.

For those of you who aren't familiar with chia, they are a seed of ancient origin that have been described as having an "off the scale" nutritional profile. The seeds contain more protein than any other seed or grain, more potassium than bananas, massive amounts of essential fatty acids, 3 times the antioxidants of blueberries, 3 times the iron of spinach and 5 times the calcium of milk (and the trace mineral boron which assists in the transference of calcium into bones). Besides being quite nice tasting another big bonus of chia seeds is that they are extremely stable (unlike flax seeds) and can be stored for several years without going rancid or losing any nutritional value.

So what about this chia gel?

Well like most seeds and grains, I've learnt that chia seeds really need to be soaked to break down the acids and to make the nutrients readily available to the body. The easiest way to soak chia seeds is to make up a batch of chia gel.

To make a batch simply add 1/3 cup chia seeds and 2 cups of cool water to a large clean jar with an airtight lid (or do a half batch in a smaller jar). Stir well and place the jar in the fridge. Within ten minutes the gel will start forming (particularly if you help it along with a gentle stir after 10 minutes). The gel will be able to be used after 10 minutes but continued soaking will make further nutrients available for absorption. Chia gel has a fridge life of about 3 weeks. Add 2-3 tablespoons of the gel to smoothies, fruit juice, pancake batters, bread doughs, soups and savoury dishes for an instant boost (or you can eat it as is). I have read that you can replace up to a third of the butter quantity in cake and biscuit batters with chia gel, but I haven't tried this yet.

My Chia Gel (after 30 minutes)

Some health food stores charge ridiculous prices for small amounts of chia. I have bought a bulk 2kg bag of chia through Biodistributors and this amount will last us for at least a year. The chia seeds that I bought are not organic, but the company is chemical free and is working toward organic certification.

Filling Tummies - Blender Bender (Part Two)!

I am pleased to report that my blender bender went very well and I now have a freezer full of soaked whole grain baked goods ready to be thawed and gobbled up. I must admit that my time frame did blow out a little (it took me 1 1/2 hours instead of the 1 hour I was hoping for). That time did include washing up and making our dinner (yummy pizza) so I guess it still wasn't too bad. Having the thermomix certainly helped the process along and I was so thankful for the scales (no cup measures to wash) and the self cleaning function. You can really go for it with a thermomix and get so much done in a limited time! I will definitely be incorporating a blender bender into my weekly schedule from now on.

Here are the photos of my soaked whole grain baking (just for you Mandy).

One of the soaked khorasan pizza crusts that didn't make the freezer :-)

(will blog recipe soon)

A dozen seeded rolls made with soaked khorasan and rye grain

(will blog recipe soon)

Soaked khorasan and rye banana muffins and khorasan blueberry muffins

(recipe found here on Jo's Quirky Cooking blog)

Soaked khorasan grain chocolate and pecan self-saucing pudding

(recipe found here on Jo's Quirky Cooking blog)

Note: I added the following soaking step to this pudding recipe. Mill 150g of grain in TMX, add all of the milk from the recipe and 2 tsp organic cider vinegar. Stir well and leave covered overnight at a cool room temperature. Proceed with the recipe the following day, adding a little more milk if necessary.

I'm sorry I don't have a photo of the soaked brown rice and almond pancakes, as we gobbled them up for brekkie yesterday. We have them every Sunday, so next week I will try to remember to take a photo of them.

Filling Tummies - Blender Bender!!!!

This weekend I am on a serious "blender bender". My bender started today in a frenzy of milling, soaking and blending and will continue tomorrow with the final ingredient additions and the baking of these rather tasty whole grain creations.

What has prompted this bender you may well ask? Well, I love whole grain baking but really need to find an organised and manageable way to include it into our week. It is difficult to always think a day in advance with baking and I have been getting frustrated at having to wait a day for the grains to soak, before I could do some baking. So I have decided to trial a whole grain bake-up each weekend (or on a weeknight if we have a busy weekend) instead of smaller amounts scattered through the week. I am hoping that by spending an hour or two each weekend, we can have loads of whole grain muffins, rolls, crumpets and cakes ready and waiting in the freezer and then I can concentrate mainly on meals during the week.

Check out what I have soaking today (uncovered for the photo):

The soaking flour certainly doesn't look attractive at the moment, but tomorrow will be a different story. Tomorrow the soaked flour will be transformed into khorasan blueberry mini muffins, khorasan/rye banana muffins, brown rice and almond breakfast pancakes, khorasan pizza bases, khorasan chocolate self-saucing pudding and rye/khorasan dinner rolls. Yummo!!!

Although it sounds like a tonne of baked goods, when you cook for a family of four (and cook everything from scratch) you can go through quite a lot in a week. We tend to have a small whole grain baked item (normally a naturally sweetened muffin, crumpet, pancake or piece of toast) with our fruit smoothies for breakfast each day. We occasionally have bread or rolls for lunch (although we try to have soup most days in winter) and we have pizza for dinner once a week so it really all adds up. Lot's of milling, soaking and baking.

Anyway, wish me luck for tomorrow's bake-up. I am hoping to have it all in the oven within an hour (a bit of a personal challenge). I will report back and let you all know how I went. :-)

Hunter Gatherer - Nourishing Traditions!!!

Whether you love it or hate it, Sally Fallon's book "Nourishing Traditions" certainly gets the brain ticking. For those of you who haven't come across this book before it is "the cookbook that challenges politically correct nutrition and diet dictocrats". With over 700 healthy recipes and a great deal of information, this hefty cookbook is well worth getting hold of.

I think it is a good starting point for family-cooks like myself who are entrusted with the important job of preparing healthy food for our families. It isn't easy to source and prepare genuinely healthy food, but this book certainly assists in that area. I must admit to being a little sceptical about some of the "studies" documented in the book, but I do find the historical information (the background of today's chemically-treated, highly refined food) very interesting and I've learnt a great deal from reading this book.

One of the most interesting topics in the book (in my opinion) is refined sugar. Readers of Nourishing Traditions can be left in little doubt of the evil effects of refined sugar on the human body. Here are some interesting extracts from the book that will certainly provide food for thought:

"Refined sugar is lethal when ingested by humans because it provides only that which nutritionists describe as empty or naked calories. In addition, sugar is worse than nothing because it drains and leeches the body of precious vitamins and minerals through the demands its digestion, detoxification and elimination make upon one's entire system. . . Sugar taken every day produces a continuously overacid condition, and more and more minerals are required from deep in the body in the attempt to rectify the imbalance. Finally, in order to protect the blood, so much calcium is taken from the bones and teeth that decay and general weakening begin.

And this extract that breaks my heart every time I read it:

"It's almost as if the devil sat down and listed all of the criteria of a substance man could use to destroy himself. It would have to be pleasing to the eye and taste. It would have to be pure white and easily available. It would have to appeal to all the people of this world. The destroying effects would have to be subtle and take such a long time that very few would realise what was happening until it was too late. The cruelest criteria of all is it would have to be supported and distributed by the kindest, most well-meaning people to the most innocent people."

As much as I dislike food wastage, I urge people to throw away their refined sugar and cross it off the shopping list permanently (especially those people with young children). It is a highly addictive, highly refined bleached industrial product that is not fit for human consumption. Natural sweeteners such as rapadura, honey and pure maple syrup all provide excellent results in baking and can be used (in moderation still) in almost every application. I buy my organic rapadura and maple syrup through Biodistributors at excellent prices.

Filling Tummies - Soaked Whole Grain Chocolate Cake

I spotted this soaked wholegrain chocolate cake recipe recently on the passionate homemaking blog and just had to try it. I have tweaked it a little to cut down the butter, to make it wheat-free and to include a glazed pecan topping. It has the option of being dairy free which is also a bonus. It is a lovely cake that keeps well for several days.

Delish . . . . .

Soaked Whole Grain Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
260g organic spelt/khorasan (kamut) grain
350g non-homogenised milk or almond/rice milk
2 tsp organic apple cider vinegar
70g pecans or walnuts - roughly chopped
40g organic pure maple syrup
150g rapadura
90g chopped butter or solid coconut oil
2-3 tbsp organic cocoa
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch Himalayan salt

Method:

Mill grain in TMX for 1 minute at speed 9. Pour into a jug or bowl and sit on TMX lid. Weigh in 250g milk and measure in cider vinegar. Mix well and leave covered at cool room temperature for about 7 hours.

After the soaking period preheat oven to 180 degrees and grease an 8 x 8 inch cake tin (I also line the base).

Add chopped pecans and maple syrup to TMX bowl. Heat for 5 minutes at 60 degrees, reverse speed 1. Set aside (scraping all of the pecans out of the bowl).

Without washing the bowl place in the remaining ingredients (including the remaining 100g milk and excluding the glazed pecans). Mix the ingredients for 40 seconds on speed 5. The batter should be quite thick so that the pecans won't sink in.

Scrape the batter into the prepared cake tin and spoon the glazed pecans evenly over the batter (pressing in slightly). Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Tips:

The original recipe said to bake the cake for 30-35 minutes but I have found that it consistently needs longer.

This cake is lovely straight out of the oven, but even nicer the next day (it has a brownie-like texture the next day).

You can chop the pecans in the TMX, but I prefer to hand chop for this recipe.

The milk and vinegar can be replaced with 1 cup of cultured buttermilk, whey, yoghurt or kefir (you may still require the extra 100g of milk though). I have tried it with the buttermilk and it was delicious.

I have cut the butter down from 125g to 90g. If you would prefer a denser brownie-like cake then add more butter.

I have cut down the amount of cinnamon and nutmeg from the original recipe. I am considering leaving them out altogether next time as I'm not 100% sure they are a good match for a chocolate cake.

Filling Tummies - Thermomixer's Delicious Crumpets

I got an email from a friend recently who has been making Thermomixer's Crumpets using 100% spelt grain (milled in her thermomix). I was more than a little intrigued and just had to give them a go. So last night I milled some grain into flour, soaked it overnight and then today I followed Thermomixer's fantastic recipe to make the most deliciously fluffy homemade crumpets for our lunch. Thanks Thermomixer, they are just brilliant!!!

Thermomixer's Yummy Crumpets

Here is Thermomixer's Crumpet Recipe (with my own little tweaks):

Ingredients:

370g organic spelt/khorasan grain
300g tepid milk
200g tepid water
2 tsp organic apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp organic spelt flour (white or wholemeal)
1/2 tsp organic raw sugar
2 tsp dried yeast
1 egg
1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
1/2 tsp bicarb soda
oil for greasing
4 egg rings

Method:

Mill grain for 1 minute at speed 9. Pour into a jug or bowl and sit on top of TMX lid. Weigh in 200g tepid milk, 100g tepid water and 2 tsp cider vinegar and mix well. Cover and leave to soak for a minimum of 7 hours at cool room temperature.

After the soaking time place spelt flour (1 tbsp), sugar and yeast into TMX bowl with remaining 100g of milk. Mix for 3 minutes at 37°C on speed 2 (the mixture should start to become frothy).

Add soaked flour, remaining 100g of water, egg and salt. Mix for 10 seconds on speed 7. The mixture should resemble a thick batter rather than a bread mix. I had to add an extra 100g of tepid water at this stage to thin the mixture down (soaked recipes often require extra liquid) and I mixed this in at speed 7.

Mix for 8 minutes at 37°C on speed 1.

Leave the mixture in the TMX bowl to prove for about 1 hour or until the surface bubbles.

Add the bicarb soda and gradually increase the speed to beat the mixture for 2 minutes at speed 5.

Oil the egg rings and fry pan. Place the rings in the pan and heat for 1-2 minutes.

Pour batter into each ring and cook for 5 minutes, or until the surface has dried and is full of holes. You may need to puncture a few holes for visual effect if you like. Lift off the rings and turn the crumpets to cook on the other side for a minute or until golden. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Clean and oil rings and fry pan and repeat process until all batter has been used.

Serve warm with butter and your favourite topping.

Tips:

I have non-stick egg rings with little handles on them. They are just fantastic for this recipe. A little expensive but worth it!

Thermomixer noted that the left-overs may be frozen with pieces of baking paper between crumpets and toasted as needed.

Filling Tummies - Soaked Rye Bread

Baking bread is a bit of a hobby for me and something that I really enjoy doing. Although I occasionally enjoy creating specialty breads, more often than not I am satisfied making wholesome loaves and rolls for my family. I am very proud to say that I have only bought one loaf of bread (for a last minute BBQ) since buying my thermomix over a year ago. I really enjoy the challenge of using the healthiest ingredients I can find to create delicious bread without all of the additional extras found in store bought bread and some bread mixes. My bread doesn't stay fresh for more than a day or two (as it without preservatives and acids), but I don't get too concerned as I have a toaster and a freezer :-).

In my quest to reduce the amount of store-bought flour in my baking I have modified this wonderful buttermilk bread recipe that was posted by Isi (a Portuguese bread-making extraordinaire) on forumthermomix. I have included 50% soaked whole grain rye flour (freshly milled in my TMX). You can find out all about the benefits of soaking flour here.

Here is my version:

Soaked Rye Bread

Ingredients:
300g organic rye grain
300g buttermilk
2 tsp organic cider vinegar (only if using homemade buttermilk)
300g organic unbleached bread flour
200g water
2 heaped tsp dried yeast
1 tsp organic dulse flakes
1 heaped tsp Himalayan salt
2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Method:
Mill rye grain in TMX for 1 minute at speed 9.

Pour milled flour into a jug or bowl and sit on TMX lid. Weigh in buttermilk (and cider vinegar is using) and mix well. It will be a very thick paste consistency. Cover and leave at cool room temperature for 24 hours.

After 24 hours (approximately), place all ingredients into TMX bowl (including soaked flour) and knead for 7 minutes. Feel the dough through the hole as it is nearing the end of kneading time and add a little more flour or water if necessary (it is quite a wet dough however).

Place the dough into an oiled bread pan (30cm long) and leave in a warm place until it has doubled in size (may take over an hour).

Preheat the oven to 240c and place an ovenproof dish of water in the bottom of the oven. Bake the bread for 10 minutes before turning the oven down to 200c and baking for a further 20-30 minutes. Take the bread out of the pan and bake it for the last 5-10 minutes sitting on the wire oven shelf.

Enjoy!!!

Hunter Gatherer - No Spelt Grain!!!

It is with great sadness (sniff sniff) that I report to you all that due to widespread crop failure and the need for farmers to retain grain for future crop sowing, spelt grain is now unavailable across most of Australia. There are still small amounts available at the moment (at ridiculous prices), but we may not be seeing spelt grain in bulk amounts again for 6-7 months. There are still bulk amounts of white and wholegrain spelt flour available at the moment, but for whole grain enthusiasts this provides little comfort.

Our Last Spelt Grains

If you do cook with spelt grain (or are hoping to start) don't despair completely though. There are other options to try until the next spelt harvest. One of these options that is worth some consideration is khorasan grain (also known by its trademark name - Kamut®).

Khorasan grain is another ancient grain that is closely related to durum wheat and like spelt it can be used to replace durum wheat in most recipes. Khorasan grain is becoming increasingly popular as it contains considerably more nutrients than durum wheat and large amounts of the natural antioxidant selenium. Khorasan contains a greater vitamin content than traditional wheat and 40% more protein. The higher lipid to carbohydrate ratio means that khorasan produces greater energy and that is why it is known as the "energy" grain.

After comparing the nutritional content of khorasan and spelt, spelt grain is still my preferred option. Until spelt grain is available however, khorasan grain will be a very good substitute (and still considerably better than durum wheat). Khorasan is naturally sweeter than spelt grain so a little less honey or rapadura is required in baking, but no other modifications of whole grain spelt recipes are generally required.

In spite of the loss of this spelt harvest, I can't help but reflect on how lucky we are to be living in a country where food is so abundant. For our family the loss of the spelt harvest has meant that we will "endure" baking with a slightly less desirable grain for a few months. For many families around the world however the loss of a harvest signifies the onset of famine and enormous suffering and loss.  We truly are very blessed.

Filling Tummies - Versatile Beef Stew

This is one of my absolute favourite winter warmer recipes (and boy has winter arrived in Tassie this week). I serve this as a winter stew with cheesy dumplings, as a chunky shepherds pie base topped with mashed sweet potato and grated cheese and as a filler for meat pies made with yummy homemade puff pastry. It is easy in the TMX or as a casserole in the oven. I will put some notes for my Mum's casserole version below.

Chunky Homemade Meat Pie

Versatile Beef Stew

Ingredients:
1 onion peeled and quartered
500g casserole steak diced 3x3cm
30g organic extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp organic spelt or wheat flour
500g assorted sliced veg (I like carrot, green beans, celery, swede etc)
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp relish
1 tbsp TMX veggie stock (or 1 stock cube)
Water 450g
Cornflour (optional)

Method:
Add onion to TMX bowl and chop for 2 seconds on speed 5. Scrape down.

Add diced meat, flour and oil. Saute for 3 minutes, 100 degrees, reverse speed 1.

Add all other ingredients and cook for 35-60 minutes, 100 degrees, reverse soft speed (35 minutes for tender cuts, 60 minutes cheaper cuts).

If you like a thicker stew make a paste using cornflour and water and add it to the stew (stirring it through quickly and well) before continuing to cook for a further 3 minutes.

Notes:
You can chop the veggies in the TMX, but I prefer to chop them by hand for this recipe.

Don't be tempted to leave the relish out as it is the main flavouring for the stew. If you don't have relish then be sure to substitute something very tasty in it's place.

Casserole Option:
Dice onion, veg and meat. Place all ingredients in a casserole dish (excluding the flours and oil) and almost cover with water. Cook in a slow oven (150-160c) for 2-3 hours. Thicken with a paste of plain flour and water (and gravox if you use it).

Filling Tummies - Loving Whole Grain Baking!!!

At the moment I am madly keen on baking with whole grains. I am driving my children mad with milling noisy grains and my normally relaxed hubby is "over" having bowls of soaking grains and flour sitting on his folded clothes in the wardrobe (I needed a cool spot that the kids couldn't reach :-))! Now don't get me wrong I'm not doing happy dances about the boring old porridge type stuff that you may normally associate with whole grains, but instead I am excited to be cooking up yummy whole grain cakes, pancakes, puddings, muffins and bread.

A field of grain

Why bother baking with whole grains I hear you ask?

That is a good question, especially when you consider that whole grains really need to be stored in the fridge or freezer and should be soaked before using. What a pain! Why not just bake with store-bought wholemeal flour as it is so much easier? The answer to that is really quite simple.

Within 3 days of milling, an average of 80% of the vitamins contained in store bought wholemeal flour is lost. In the coming weeks, months and sometimes years of sitting on supermarket shelves, mold and bacteria that is invisible to the human eye quickly develops to further reduce the nutrients. Wholemeal wheat flour contains the much prized wheat germ oil, but once milled this quickly becomes rancid and leaves the flour tasting bitter when baked. Store-bought wholemeal flour is still nutritionally superior to refined white flours, but fresh soaked whole grain flour (made from properly stored non-rancid grains) is nutritionally awesome!

I hope you can see why I get so excited about baking with whole grains and why serving my family a deliciously quirky chocolate and pecan self-saucing pudding using milled spelt grain would put a big smile on my face. I am busily trying out whole grain soaked recipes (and creating a few of my own) and look forward to sharing them with you soon.


Photo Credit - Simon Howden/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Filling Tummies - White Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies

These cookies are just heavenly!!! If you are looking for something special to make for Mum this Sunday then look no further. Don't be put off by the craisins, as these sweetened cranberries (naughty I know) can be found in the dried fruit section of most supermarkets.

Many thanks to RoxyS for converting this into a thermomix recipe. If you would like to use wheat flour or cup measures check out RoxyS' version here on forumthermomix. I'm sure this recipe would be manageable without a thermomix and I will add some tips for this at the end of the recipe.

Here is my tweaked version:

White Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies

Ingredients:

150g white organic chocolate - broken up
150g unsalted butter
100g rapadura
1 egg
2 tsp homemade vanilla extract
180g white spelt flour
1 tsp aluminium free baking powder
pinch salt
200g organic rolled oats
110g craisins

Method:

Preheat oven to 180C and line baking trays with baking paper or mats.

Place the white chocolate into TMX bowl and press turbo a couple of times to break it up. Set aside.

Place butter and rapadura into TMX bowl and cream on speed 4 for 1 minute (scrape down bowl once or twice).

Add the egg and vanilla and mix on speed 4 for 20 seconds.

Add flour, baking powder and salt to the bowl and mix on speed 4 for about 20 secs until combined.

Add the oats, chocolate and craisins and mix on reverse speed 4-5 for 30 seconds, using the spatula to push the mixture down onto the blades.

Roll tablespoons of the mixture and place on baking trays.

Bake for 12 - 15 mins or until pale golden.

Remove from oven and cool on trays for 5 mins before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

Tips for making without a thermomix:
Hand chop the chocolate or use white choc chips. If you have a mixer or beater use this to cream the butter and rapadura and follow the recipe steps. As the dough becomes really dense you may need to stir it by hand.

Hunter Gatherer - Going Organic . . .

Australian organic food costs up to 65% more than it's non-organic equivalent. There are many legitimate reasons for this such as the limited supply of organic food, the labour-intensive methods of growing chemical-free food and the shortened shelf life of food that is grown and manufactured without chemical preservatives. The cost of organic food doesn't have to be a barrier to converting to organic however and we have managed to convert with a limited food budget.

Here are some ways we have found to manage the extra costs:

Cooking from Scratch - Prepared and packaged organic foods are often very expensive and can be avoided by making your own food from scratch wherever possible. It may mean spending a little more time in the kitchen, but with a glass of wine and some good music or company, that doesn't have to be a bad thing.

Homemade Organic Cheese and Basil Rolls

Eating Seasonally - Giving fruit and veg that has spent months in a cool store a miss and eating what is in season now can save you money and provide your body with significantly more vitamins and minerals. We ate organic zucchini almost every day over summer as they were plentiful in our garden, but with the change of season we have now moved on to the organic cabbages and cauli's that are at our local organic farm store (chow mien, cauliflower cheese, yummy yummy!!!). We are also making the most of the last fresh organic garlic that won't be ready again for harvest until December.

Eating Locally - Checking out farm stores, farmers markets and fruit and veg shops for inexpensive local organic produce can save you money. Sometimes you can even be lucky and find organic food without having to pay a cent. We are currently enjoying the rather late fruits from a huge unsprayed blackberry patch down the lane from our house. My hubby always knows when the boys and I have wandered down to the berry patch for afternoon tea - our purple hands are a big giveaway.

A Ripe Apple On Our Tree

Growing Fruit and Veg -Growing your own fruit and veggies can be an inexpensive way to stock the fridge with fresh organic produce, particularly if you give some real thought to your planting. We can regularly buy carrots and onions for $2 per kg at our local organic farm shop, so we don't bother growing these at home. Organic leeks, zucchini, broccoli and beetroot on the other hand are quite expensive and so we grow these ourselves. We also regularly grow veggies such as spring onions and celery that we can pick or cut often, instead of wasting big expensive bunches bought from a store.

Buying in Bulk - Buying food items in bulk from our organic distributor saves us a small fortune each month. We buy most of our non-perishable food in bulk including olive oil, cacao powder, flour, rapadura, grains, canned vegetables and tomato paste. I rarely buy anything from our local health food store as items are usually much more expensive and often not packaged appropriately to avoid becoming rancid. Getting organised by making room in the freezer for grains and nuts and buying suitable storage containers for dry-store items is essential to keep food from going rancid.

Our Growing Lemons

Only Buying What is Needed - Organic fruit and veg is usually more expensive than regular fruit and veg, so avoiding excess and only buying what you need makes a lot of sense. Doing a weekly menu plan helps to figure out what is actually needed for the week.

Using it Up - Getting into the habit of checking the fridge contents each day and using up the left-overs before cooking anything else is important. Lunch is a great time to use up left-overs from the previous day. Homemade dinner rolls and potato mash are wonderful winter "sides" to bulk out leftover stews and soups and make a substantial family lunch. Emptying out the vegetable crisper once a week and using the contents to make a soup, stew or veggie stock is a great way to avoid waste and to stock up the freezer for busy times.

Buying Less - When you are cooking with organic whole foods (especially organic whole grains) you need a lot less food to fill your tummy. Rarely can my hubby eat more than 3 pieces of homemade spelt-base pizza and yet he can eat a whole pizza (refined white flour base) from a takeaway store.

Filling Tummies - Delectable Torta Caprese

On Friday I had the difficult task of choosing a dessert to make for a playgroup fundraiser - a dessert and pampering night just for the Mum's!!! The task really was difficult as there are so many gorgeous dessert recipes out there and I really didn't know which one to make. After pouring over my cookbooks I finally decided to tweak the rather divine Torta Caprese recipe from the thermomix Everyday Cookbook. It was super easy to make and rather yummy even if I do say so myself!!! This recipe is easy to make in the thermomix but can also be made without using store-bought almond meal and hand grated chocolate.

Torta Caprese     (with my tweaks)

Ingredients:

250g dark organic chocolate, broken into pieces
250g raw organic almonds
150g rapadura
pinch of stevia powder
200g butter (room temperature)
1 tbsp cornflour
6 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp organic cocoa

Method:

Preheat oven to 170 degrees and grease a 24cm tin (line base with paper).
Place chocolate into bowl and grate for 10 seconds on speed 8. Set aside.
Place almonds into bowl and mill for 10 seconds on speed 7. Add to chocolate.
Place remaining ingredients into bowl and mix for 20 seconds on speed 7.
Add chocolate and almonds and continue to mix for 30 seconds on speed 6.
Spoon mixture into cake tin and bake in oven for approximately 50 minutes.

Ganache Topping:

Place 100g dark organic chocolate into dry bowl and grate for 5 seconds on speed 8.
Add 70g cream and cook for 2 minutes at 50 degrees on speed 3 (scrape down the sides after 1 minute).
Leave the mixture for approximately 10 minutes (until it has thickened slightly) before spreading over cake.

Enjoy!!!

Hunter Gatherer - My Favourite Ingredient Shortlist

When it comes to healthy eating I have learnt that it is not so much what you cook that matters but more so the ingredients that you use in your cooking. I am hoping to use this post as a shortlist (or ingredient glossary) where I can detail the ingredients that I love using in my cooking. As I am constantly researching and modifying these ingredients, this will most likely be an ever changing post.

Cacao Powder (organic)

Cacao Powder (from cacao beans) is an amazing power food that can be used to replace cocoa powder in almost every application. Cacao contains many rare nutrients that enhance both physical and mental well-being. Raw Cacao beans contain 10 grams of flavonol antioxidants per 100 grams. At a staggering 10% that is significantly more than red wine, green tea and blueberries. The antioxidants in cacao are highly stable and easily absorbed by humans. Raw cacao beans are the primary dietary source of magnesium (out of all known foods), which is extremely significant as magnesium is the most deficient mineral in western civilisation. Magnesium is responsible for balancing out brain chemistry, building strong and healthy bones, and regulating heartbeat and blood pressure. Cacao does contain the non-addictive stimulant theobromine. Although it has been proven to be harmless in small amounts (other than causing significant alertness), I still use cacao in moderation.  Cacao powder can be found in some health food stores and through online organic distributors.

Dulse Flakes (organic)

Dulse (palmana/palmata) is a sea vegetable that grows in the icy waters of Eastern Canada and is hand-harvested and sun dried prior to packaging. Dulse is regarded by many as being the sea "super food" and contains high levels of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, C, E and minerals including iodine, iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, chromium and zinc. The iodine provided by dulse is particularly important to our diet as we no longer consume iodised salt. By adding a teaspoon of dulse flakes to all of our savoury cooking and to our breads we can maintain our iodine levels without having to rely on minerals derived from rocks (which are extremely difficult for humans to absorb anyway). You can purchase dulse flakes online here.

Himalayan Salt (organic)

I have been using unrefined sea salt for the past 12 months but have recently changed to Himalayan salt due to it's increased mineral levels and other health benefits. We are currently using Himalayan salt in our cooking and plan to start taking a teaspoon of it daily with water as a supplement to fully benefit from the salt's amazing properties. Refined salt particles (including sea and rock salt) are too big in size to be absorbed by the cells in our bodies and cause our kidneys to go into overdrive trying to rid the "poison" from our bodies. Refined salts (including basic kitchen salts) are almost always the industrial by-product of the chemical industry which require large amounts of pure salt (Na CI). It is interesting (and somewhat scary) to consider that a salt-water fish cannot survive in a solution of water and refined salt. Himalayan salt is available at some health food stores and through online organic distributors.

Rapadura (organic)

Rapadura is pure evaporated cane juice that is ground to produce a textured "sugar-like" product. Rapadura is amazingly produced without chemicals and anti-caking agents and contains considerable vitamins and minerals. I use rapadura as a replacement for sugar in almost all of my baking. My eldest son has a moderate intolerance of refined sugar (raw, white and brown), but thankfully doesn't react to rapadura. Rapadura is available at some health food stores and online organic distributors. I purchase my rapadura online at biodistributors (the price per kg is excellent).

Raw Honey (organic)

Raw honey is considered by many to be a super-food and is a very different product to the regular honey that is widely available in stores. Raw honey has not been heated beyond 45 degrees and therefore all of the health giving enzymes and nutrients ("the impurities") have not been destroyed. Raw "organic" honey is even better as you have the guarantee that the honey bees have not been fed with antibiotics or chemically treated and that the flowers used by the bees to collect nectar are both pesticide and chemical free. We eat raw honey regularly in smoothies and as a spread, but I do use regular honey in my baking as most of the enzymes etc are destroyed in the baking process. It is suggested that individuals try a small amount of raw honey to begin with as allergic reactions can occur. Raw honey is available in health food stores and some supermarkets.

Spelt Grain and Spelt Flour (organic):

I use spelt in almost all of my baking. In our somewhat wheat obsessed world (the western world anyway) it is really nice to be able to enjoy the health benefits of baking with a different grain, whilst still being able to use my favourite recipes (spelt behaves in a similar way to wheat when used in baking).

Here are some extracts regarding spelt from the our bulk organic distributors website - biodistributors.

"Spelt is by nature a wholefood. Unlike wheat, where the vital nutritional bran and germ are usually removed during milling, the vital substances of spelt are found in the inner kernel of the grain."

"Due to spelt's high water solubility, the grain's vital substances can be absorbed quickly into the body. The nutrients are made available to the entire organism with a minimum of digestive work."

"Spelt contains more protein, fats and crude fibre than wheat and also has large amounts of Vitamin B17 (anti-carcinoma). It also contains special carbohydrates which play a decisive role in blood clotting and stimulate the body's immune system so as to increase its resistance to infection."

"As spelt is a pure, original grain and not biologically modified in any way it is very resistant to the crop diseases that often plague modern crop varieties and grows quite successfully without the application of herbicides, pesticides or fungicides."

"Spelt is stored with the husk intact so it remains fresher over a much longer period than other grains. It has been claimed that the hull is so strong that it can protect the grain from virtually every type of pollutant, even radioactive fallout."

Spelt flour and grain is available at health food stores and online organic distributors.

Non-Homogenised Milk:

Hmmmmmmmm.  This is one ingredient that I'm really not certain about.

I have read all about the "great dairy debate" and whilst I do recognise that I am not feeding calves and I do think that it is somewhat strange that humans are the only mammals to drink the milk of another species, I'm really not convinced that my family (which includes two growing children) can eat sufficient levels of non-dairy calcium enriched foods at this stage of our food journey. I realise that the calcium and other minerals found in milk and milk products are not easily absorbed by humans (unlike plant-derived minerals), but have still found it difficult to discard milk and milk products altogether. As a compromise we eat a reduced dairy diet and I supplement our diet with calcium-rich foods such as homemade tahini which is great in shakes and smoothies.

The milk that we do use is non-homogenised A1 milk from a local dairy. We were buying non-homogenised organic milk (with a wonderful glass bottle exchange system), but the supply was so irregular that it really wasn't worth the special trip into town when we often were only allocated one or two 650ml bottles. I recognise that A2 (jersey) milk would be a better nutritional option for our family, but only homogenised varieties are available here at present. Non-homogenised milk is available at many supermarkets and health food stores.

Photo Credits (freedigitalphotos)  honey - M-Bartosch  cows - Graur Razvan Ionut