Walnut and banana cake

This is a variant on the classic banana loaf that I have developed firstly for some variety and secondly because it looks a bit posher and is therefore useful for the obligatory school coffee mornings / charity bakes and parties.

I would normally make a basic banana bread and one of these cakes at the same time. I do this by slightly altering the method and making a basic batter then putting half in a cake tin before adding the walnuts and cinnamon to the batter that is left.  This is useful for feeding children who would baulk at anything with walnuts on the top!

Ingredients
300g almond flour
170g honey
2 overripe bananas
3 eggs
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tbsp cinnamon 

75g walnuts

Instructions 
1. Preheat oven to Gas Mark  4 / 180 C / 350F
2. Sieve the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon into a bowl

3 Mash bananas in food processor or by hand using a fork
3. Add eggs to bananas in processor and blend 

4. Add in the dry ingredients dry ingredients (bar walnuts) into the mixer and pulse until mixed
5.Put aside a handful if walnuts for the top of the cake 

6.  If you want there to be larger walnut pieces remove the mixture from the blender into a bowl and mix in the remaining walnuts.  If you want a smoother texture pulse again in the blender.
6  Pour into  one large cake / loaf tin or two 1 1b loaf tins lined with greaseproof paper or cake cases 

7. Scatter the remaining walnut pieces on the top of the loaf.
8. If in two small pans bake for 40 minutes. Put skewer into middle of cake and if it comes out dry, cakes are ready.  If not give cakes another 5 minutes.  If in a larger tin bake for 45 minutes and check.

This cake can be sliced and frozen.

Spaghetti bolognese (with added veg)

Most people can get together a spaghetti bolognese so the reason for including this recipe is because it includes lots of hidden vegetables that work well with the traditional recipe.  I quadruple the ingredients below and make a huge amount in a stock pot and then have 3/4 portions to freeze as well as that night's dinner.

I can't always afford or find organic meat but I would always buy organic mince from a supermarket or at least grass fed from a butcher as it is not a stupid price. It's important to get full fat mince - it tastes much better and fat is good for you! 

I make my own Italian mixed herbs by mixing together equal amounts of dried oregano, thyme, basil, sage and rosemary.  

I chop the vegetables quite finely because I don't want to draw too much attention to the mushroomsand courgettes with my four year old!  I don't grate or blend the vegetables as I still like the interesting texture of the vegetables and the meat but this is an option if you have children (or partners!) who baulk at any noticeable vegetable pieces or require a smooth texture. 

I cook this with olive oil as I keep everything at a fairly low temperature but if you don't wish to cook with olive oil you could use good quality beef dripping. 

Ideally the final meat sauce should be left simmering for at least half an hour to develop the taste but if you are in a rush to serve dinner it tastes fine after a ten minutes or so. 

We don't eat gluten so we use rice or buckwheat pasta but this would obviously work well with any pasta or as a filling for a lasagne. 

We serve with buttered green beans and or a salad and grated Parmesan. 

Ingredients 

500g beef 

1 large onion

1 red pepper 

1 courgette (optional) 

Approx 1/2 dozen mushrooms (double if small mushrooms) 

2 cloves of garlic 

1 tsp of Italian mixed herbs 

1 glass of red wine (optional) 

1/2 jar or 340g passata 

Seasoning to taste 

1 tbsp of tomato purée. 

Grated Parmesan (optional) 

Method

- Finely  chop up the vegetables 

- Heat up a couple of tbsp of olive oil or beef dripping in a large pan and gently cook the vegetables for approximately ten minutes until the onion has softened

- Add the garlic (crushed) and cook for two minutes, stirring continuously so garlic does not burn and become bitter 

- Add the meat, break up with the back of a wooden spoon and cook until meat browned.

- Add the passata, tomato puree, herbs, seasoning and wine 

Stir thoroughly and allow to simmer until it reaches your desired consistency.  This will also improve taste.   For us and this size portion this will be around half an hour. 

Salad dressing

So important if you are going to absorb all the good stuff from your salads and veggies.  This also tastes fab on an avocado. There is no hard and fast rule as everyone has their own preference and different vinegars and oils have varying tastes.  However a good starting point is a ratio of about two thirds oil, one third vinegar . 

This makes a little under a jars worth (approximately 340ml) - the reason for not filling the jar straight off is you can add more of things and adjust to taste. 

This will taste better if you allow the garlic a few hours to infuse the mixture. 

You can add pepper to taste - we don't as children don't like it 

Ingredients 

1 large clove of garlic 

Generous pinch of salt (to taste) 

Tsp of mustard powder 

Olive oil

Cider or wine vinegar 

3 tbsp of honey 

Method 

Crush the garlic and add this to the jar along with the salt, mustard powder and honey 

Add 150 olive oil

Add 100 vinegar 

Close jar and give it a good shake (be vigorous) 

Taste. If it tastes thin then add more oil. If it is too tangy then add a bit more oil. If still not sweet enough for your liking add half a tsp of honey 

Meatballs (with hidden liver)

Liver is fantastic for iron and other nutrients but the taste and texture can be offputting. So I thought about sitting down with my kids and explaining rationally how good it is for their growing bodies but then realised the better option is just to lie. Well not declare the whole truth. So I grind liver up and put it into meatballs which are then smothered in tomato sauce. Even kids coming over for tea have been tricked into eating it!

The ratio of liver is up to you but I would suggest starting with a bit less and building up gradually. 

I always double the quantities below so that I can have a meal in the freezer 

I don't normally like to dictate in the recipe that ingredients must be organic but with liver it's a must as you anything the animal is subject to will affect its liver. 

If you prefer you could use the minced mixture in a bolognese sauce.  

Ingredients. 

For the meatballs: 

400-500g minced beef

100g organic calves or beef liver 

For the tomato sauce: 

1 jar of passata 

1 large onion

2 cloves of garlic

Tbsp oregano (optional) 

1.Grind the liver up until it is a mince consistency (it will be rather gloopy)

2. Mix thoroughly with the beef mince 

3. Season with salt and pepper 

4. Shape into small balls and place in a glass shallow dish

5. Grill until the meatballs are brown rather than light pink when cut open 

For the tomato sauce 

1.Heat 2-3tbsp of ghee or olive oil on a low heat

2. Chop the onion and add to the pan, sweating gently for about 10 minutes

2. Crush the garlic and add to the onions. Cook for a further two minutes constantly stirring so the garlic doesn't burn 

3. Add the jar of tomato sauce and season well, adding oregano if you wish 

4. Cook on a low heat for about 20 minutes or longer of you want a thicker sauce 

Biltong (a bit like beef jerky but a million times better)

Biltong is air dried beef.  Originating from Africa this was how tribesman would 'cure' meat and preserve it so that protein was available on the move.   We find it is a perfect snack for lunchboxes (or long train journeys!) and is also impressive enough to be part of a tapas or hors d'ouevre offering.

If you want to buy this in the UK you either pay through the nose at the Selfridges or Harrod's counter or online  (£32 - £50 a kilo!!!).  Or you can suffer the cheap nasty version that has hit the high street called beef jerky which is frankly a sugary abomination that should not be mentioned in the same breath as the original.  Even shop bought biltong can have sugar and MSG which is totally unnecessary if the right spice mix is used.

It's not a particularly pretty snack and sometimes we have had to employ a bit of arm twisting to get our more conservative friends to try it but they are soon converted.  Don't be put off by the look of the fat - I am not a lover of big chunks of animal fat and will refuse even the crispiest pork crackling (much to the dismay of the rest of my family) but I would kill anyone who tried to steal the fat off my biltong.

We don't always use organic but you have to go for the best you can afford.  Certainly the first time you try out the recipe it is probably best to go for an affordable joint just incase you make a mistake and find it is too salty or strong to taste

A dehydrator is a must unless you have space for a dedicated biltong maker.

You could invest in a coffee grinder or electric pepper grinder but we have managed fine with a pestle and mortar.

We would normally prepare about  2 kilos of beef 9 (a good sized roasting joint) as it does shrink and it can be frozen.  The ingredients below are based on 500g for testing purposes - just multiply ingredients equally as joint gets bigger.

We find we get the best results with Aspall vinegar.

Some tips for cutting the beef:

• You need different amounts of salt depending on the thickness of the beef strips.  If you want to try thinner strips use less salt but remember there will be a lot of shrinkage during drying
• Normally when you are carving you would cut against the grain but when cutting into strips, go with the grain. 
• As this is a curing process it is vital that every surface of the meat is coated in salt and vinegar 

Ingredients

500g of beef (silverside or topside roasting joint)
2 tbsp of sea salt or 1.5tbsp of himalayan rock salt (which is much stronger!)
1 tbsp of coriander seeds
1 tbsp of peppercorns.  If using ground pepper use 1/2 to 2/3 of tbsp
3 tbsp of red wine vinegar.  (Can replace with cider vinegar)


Method

• Grind the coriander seeds and peppercorns in a pestle and mortar.
• Add the salt and mix together the dry ingredients in a large dish. 
• Cut the meat into equal size strips of approximately 2 centimere width.  
• Coat each surface of the meat in the mix and leave in the dish
• Pour the vinegar over the meat and move the meat around to ensure every side of the meat has been in contact with the vinegar 
• Wrap the dish in clingfilm and put in the fridge for 2 days.  Every 12 hours rotate and move the meat around to ensure that the marinade is covering the meat equally
• After two days the meat should all be brown with no red areas - any red areas means there is not enough salt and vinegar and you may need to marinade for longer
• Lay the meat out onto the dehydrator racks so that the pieces are not touching
• Set the dehydrator or 35c and set for continuous.  Smaller pieces will be ready in 72 hours,  Larger bits will be ready in 5 days. 
• The pieces are ready when they are half the size of the original meat and are thoroughly dried.  You can test this by checking there is no 'give' or 'squashiness' when you press the meat.  Thin bits should splinter if twisted
• The drier it is the longer it will last at room temperature. Wrap in greaseproof paper and store in a dry place (we use kitchen, Simon's mum using the airing cupboard!)
• To store for longer than a week: cool, store in a air tight freezer bag and freeze for up to three months.  (We would store longer - this are cautious guidelines!)

This is served on its own as a snack - delicious sitting outside a tent with a glass of wine or as a paleo snack watching the box! Just make sure you have a sharp knife, cut in thin slices against the grain... 

Chocolate muffins

These are perfect for parties or lunch boxes (although they make for a sticky lunchtime!)

Follow the recipe for chocolate cake but divide mixture into 12 muffin cases and bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes.

To make the chocolate icing take the topping 1/3 mixture that was set aside and add in 2 tbsp of yoghurt and a tsp of honey to thin. (If you do not want to use dairy you can use the mixture as is, or add in some coconut milk)

Allow the cakes to cook before icing

One happy customer! 

Chocolate!!!!

My daughters reaction to this recipe was 'wow I feel like I am not on that funny diet any more'.  This is incredibly rich.  The only downside is that because there are no stabilisers etc it goes liquid if left at room temperature so if you want 'block' chocolate it needs to be eaten straight from freezer. However that also means it works as a chocolate cream for cakes or chocolate sauce for ice-cream or pancakes.

I can't actually claim this is a recipe more of a happy accident. I made the chocolate mix for the cake (see post) and decided that it was too thick to spread between cake layers so I added approximately half the amount of yoghurt to sauce.  Then add more honey to taste.

Spread into a shallow dish, cover in clingfilm and bung in freezer.