Banana, nut and honey crunchy granola - gluten free option

I haven't done a recipe post in a very long time, apologies my loyal readers but life just got in the way. This beautiful crunchy granola was originally inspired by a facebook post by Miranda Gore Browne ( off on of the early series of GBBO), she posted something similar and it looked delicious, so I set myself the task of creating a granola which would use overripe bananas.

We all experience the unloved banana syndrome from time to time, Mr LF refuses to eat banana once slightly spotty so I nearly always have an ample supply of bananas for bakes and makes, but this one has become one of my favourites, so frugal , so delicious.

For the last month or so I have been sharing the recipe with some of my work collegues and they all love it, so here goes.....

What you need

• Roughly 1 1/2 cups of rolled oats (if you need gluten free, buy GF oats)
• 1/4 cup of chopped mixed nuts ( I buy a mixed bag with skins on and roughly chop)
• 1/4 cup of mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, linseed, etc)
• A few drops of vanilla extract
• Pinch of sea salt
• 1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 1/2 tsp runny honey 
• 1 large ripe banana

What you do

• Pre heat the oven to 200c
• Prepare your baking tray, line with baking parchment
• In a large bowl, mash the banana with a fork
• Add the coconut oil, vanilla and honey.
• Mix until you have a smoothish mixture, mashing any coconut oil lumps
• Add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly.

• Strew on the baking tray so you have a moist rubble like texture

• Place in the oven for approx 12 minutes , remove and turn the rubble to dry out the other side
• Place back in oven for approx 10 minutes until your granola is golden and slightly crunchy.
• Switch the oven off but leave tray in oven to cool with the oven door a jar to let the granola dry out further.

• Once cool store in an airtight jar, I find a kilner jar is perfect.

Besan flour, banana and choc chip loaf - gluten free

Well we are still in banana cake mode here as I  hate to see them go to waste and the fruit bowl every week seems to contain at least one unloved spotty specimen. I like to ring the changes when it comes to recipes, so this recipe is another gluten free one featured bananas.

I wanted to experiment with cake making using besan flour, naturally gluten free, this earthy high protein high fibre flour is made from chickpeas and some times lentils or other beans. This flour is much more cost effective when compared with other gluten free flours and I am pleased to say produces a very tasty bake too, no hint of  lentil or chickpea at all.

Its moist and decadent and the loaf has just the right amount of sweetness and the chocolate chips provide just the right amount of chocolately flavours in every bite.

What you need

• 2 large very ripe bananas- mashed
• 3/4 cup of Thick live yogurt
• 1 egg - free range
• 1/2 cup light brown soft sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 1/3 cup coconut oil - melted
• 1 1/2 cups besan flour (different brands have different mixes, mine was chickpea and lentil, some are just chickpea) - above all check gluten free if required most are
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• Pinch of sea salt
• 1 pkt of dark chocolate chips

What you do

• Pre heat the oven to 180c and prepare your loaf tin, either oil spray or base line a 2lb loaf tin
• In your mixer blend the bananas, yogurt and egg, until well combined and the mixture is creamy.
• Seive the besan flour, baking powder, bicarb, salt and cinnamon on to the wet mixture, incorporate using a wire ballon whisk to retain the air in the mixture.
• Stir in the chocolate chips and pour the batter into your prepared tin, smooth the top
• Place in the oven and bake for approximately 50 minutes until well risen and golden. Test with a skewer to ensure done.
• Cool initially in the tin for 10 minutes and then remove to cool fully on a wire rack.
• Store in an airtight tin
• Freezes well when double wrapped

                                       

We are linking up to Love Cake this month, created and hosted at JibberJabberUk, the theme this month being in the words of the lovely Toyah "Its a Mystery !" as besan flour isn't usually used in cake baking.

                                                           

And recipe of the week , over on A Mummy Too

Pesto, Appley Bridge - a review

Last weekend we popped over to the cute Lancashire village of Appley Bridge to visit Pesto at the Dicconson Arms, a beautiful marriage of pub meets Italian food and not just any Italian food, piattini no less. Situated just off the M6 junction 27 as you head towards Parbold, its really easy to find.

The decor is classic country house with contemporary Italian touches, I particular liked the chunky Mediterranean pottery and flashes of lime green and orange in the decor. The facilities were lovely. very clean and nicely furnished too.

The staff were warm and friendly and on arrival we were shown to a delightful window side table, furnished with the chunky pottery as previously mentioned. We ordered drinks as we perused the extensive menu, which caters for all. Even though it was fairly early into the lunch service we were soon joined by plenty of other diners.

The ambiance in the restaurant was good, the tables were decadently spaced and unlike a lot of other contemporary styled venues, it wasn't echo prone.                                          

Piatinni for those not in the know is the Italian version of tapas, i.e small plates, well for me that's almost food heaven. Italian food but with the ability to taste anything and everything, so we did just that selecting from across the wide and varied menu. Here's our selection

Bruschetta al salmone affumicato - just enough for two, crunchy bread topped with smooth cream cheese and moist flavourful smoked salmon.

Olive miste - mixed olives, tasty and more than adequate, but not the best olives I have every eaten.

Selezione di pane Italiano - bread basket of various breads, including sun dried tomato, ciabiatta. On the menu this is supposed come with oil and vinegar, ours didn't arrive, minor point and frankly we didn't notice until comparing the menu and what we had ordered for this post. Sure if we had mentioned it would have arrived pronto.

Insalata Toscana -  one of the stand out dishes, mixed salad with beans, avocado, tuna and red onion. Perfectly seasoned and with a delicious dressing, just enough to enhance and not drown the salad.

 Calamari fritti - a personal favourite, lightly battered squid rings with a punchy dip

Gamberoni all’ aglio e peperoncino - tasty king prawns with hints of garlic and chilli

Polpette di manzo - Spicy meatballs, served with a tasty tomato sauce, enough spicing to keep them interesting yet not blow your head off.

Pizzetta rustica - Cute little baby pizza, topped with goats cheese and rocket. Very tasty, just wished we had ordered two. Nice crust on the pizza

Fettuccine alla carbonara - an Italian classic, pancetta was crispy and the sauce silky, pasta al dente. Very nice would order again.

Arancini - classic milanese risotto (saffron) balls in a crispy crumb, stuffed with melted mozarella. I was recommended by a friend who eats regularly at the Trafford Centre Pesto, they were nice but thought they lacked a dip or sauce to eat them with.

Followed by desserts to share

Affogato - two balls of ice cream, we chose chocolate and vanilla, topped with a hot shot of espresso, delicious and very refreshing,  I love affogato and the combination of coffee with chocolate was sublime.

Tiramisu - served in a cute little pot, we were warned the portion were small, but we didn't think they were at all, just the perfect size. Lovely light sponge, creamy filling and more coffee flavour.

We really enjoyed our lunch and were impressed with the standard of food , we noted that they have an offer of 3 piatinni dishes for £8.95 or £10.95 at certain times and days, which looks to be good value for money. Pesto is a small and growing chain so check out if there is one near you.

Interestingly enough one of the waitresses mentioned that most men don't get the concept of piatinni , Mr LF had no such trouble !

The staff had no idea that we were undertaking a review until it came to settle the bill, so we received exactly the same service standards as anyone else visiting. We were mightly impressed by Pesto, the venue and concept is unique in the area and we are already planning our next visit.

                                                         

Our lunch was provided free of charge for review purposes, all views and opinions are our own.

Yuletide Gingerbread - dairy and gluten free

Who doesn't like sticky gingerbread, the prefect accompainment to present wrapping and one sure fire way of putting in the festive mood. 

This gingerbread is the sticky cakey kind and not the crunchy gingerbread man type of gingerbread, again not a beauty and a recipe that practically always sinks slightly in the middle but it has a beautiful spicy warmth with just the right amount of cloves. Easily made dairy and gluten free if required so its a recipe for all. 

A tip for you - lightly oil the container you measure the treacle in otherwise it will make a very sticky mess.

What you need

• 50g soft brown sugar
• 50g granulated sugar
• 120g quality vegetable margarine (dairy free) - I use Pure
• 1 large free range egg
• 150ml treacle
• 300g Self raising flour ( I have made this gluten free and it works fine, you may need to a little more water)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 heaped tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 heaped tablespoon ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• Pinch of salt
• 60ml of warm water

2lb loaf tin - oil sprayed and lined

What you do

• Prepare the baking tin
• Preheat the oven to 175c
• Cream the sugars and margarine in a mixer , until well mixed, fluffy and lighter in colour
• Add the rest of the ingredients to the mixer
• Mix quickly until you have a smooth mixture
• Scoop into the prepared tin and place in the pre heated oven
• Bake for 50 - 55 minutes
• Cool initially in the tin
• Remove from tin to a wire rack to cool fully
• Wrap and store in an airtight tin, if you can leave it for a few days its starts to go delightfully sticky.
• Delicious served with a cup of tea 

We are linking up to Love Cake over on JibberJabberUk , theme this month is "Festive Fun"

                                                        

Simply Eggcellent - with Dom at Belleau Kitchen, theme this month "Anything Goes"

                                                           

And finally Recipe of the Week with A Mummy Too.

                                                           

Banana Cinnamon Swirl loaf

I love baking and can't think of many things that create that sense of clam and contentment in a household like a freshly baked homemade cake. The weather in Lancashire is currently blustery but still fairly mild for the time of year and we have only experienced one frost so far this season, I love cooking with warming spices and cinnamon in one of my absolute favourites and thought that the addition of a cinnamon sugar swirl would work well and oh my it does. Since coming up with this twist on a basic banana loaf I have made this loaf at least 4 times already, its that good.

Its falling off a log simple to make, an easy recipe and another one for using up manky bananas, as mentioned earlier I love cinnamon and buy it in industrial quantities, just make sure that it still fragrant before baking as you want that beautiful cinnamon amours to perfume your whole house whilst you are baking.

What you need

• 3 soft ripe bananas - peeled
• 1 egg - free range
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 1/2 cup of plain flour
• 3/4 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
• 1/3 cup of melted butter or if diary free - sunflower oil

For the swirl

• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup of granulated sugar

You also need a 2lb loaf tin, lined

What you do

• Preheat the oven to 180c
• Mix the swirl ingredients together in a ramekin, put to one side.
• Mash the bananas in a large bowl with a fork until you have a smooth puree, add the vanilla to the bowl.
• In the large bowl, I use my stand mixer add all the other ingredients (except the swirl mixture) and mix until you have a smooth mixture
• Pour half of the mixture into the prepared pan and sprinkle with just over half of the cinnamon swirl mixture
• Top with the rest of the banana cake mixture, smooth level with a palette knife and then sprinkle the top with the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture.
• Bake for 50-60 minutes until the cake tests baked with a skewer
• Cool initially in the tin for 15 minutes and then cool fully on a wire rack.

Pear, ginger and cardamon loaf

This is a perfect recipe for this time of year, slight spicing adds a warming note to this delicious bake, great served with a steaming mug of tea after a wild and windy walk, but also great as a pudding cake served with custard.

This loaf cake isn't going to win any prizes in the beauty stakes but is definitely a prize winner in the flavour stakes, I just love the moist fruity pear chunks and the crunch of the flaked almonds. It does have the habit of swallowing the pears and almonds into the cake but I still love it, its frugal too as it a good recipe to use up pears that are starting to become overripe. I am using British Conference pears here which have a great flavour, they aren't in season very long so make good use of them while you can.

So go on embrace the season and create a beautiful warm spicy fug in your kitchen as a perfect antidote to the weather outside, the Danish have a word for it Hygge, give it a try......

What you need

• 175g softened butter or quality vegetable margarine
• 1 tsp ground cardamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 175g light brown sugar
• 3 conference pears - peeled, cored and cut into 1/8ths
• 2 free eggs 
• 175g self raising flour (gluten free works fine)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp flaked almonds
• 2lb loaf tin - lined

What you do

• Pre heat the oven to 180c
• Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy in your stand mixer
• Add the flour and baking powder, spices,  and eggs to the bowl, mix until you a smooth mixture
• Place half the mixture into your prepared tin, roughly level with a palette knife, place roughly half of the pears (chopped into little cubes) in a layer on the cake mixture
• Top the pears with the rest of the cake mixture and places the rest of the pear slices on the top, sprinkle with flaked almonds
• Bake for 50-60 minutes until golden and cooked through.
• Cool in the tin for at least 20 minutes or so, perfect warm on its on or with cream or custard. Cold its great with a cup of tea.
• If you like serve cold with a dredging of icing sugar

We are linking up to Recipe of the Week over on AMummyToo 

                                                                 

And to Casa Costello's Bake of the Week 

                                                          

JibberjabberUk - Love Cake linky whose theme this month is Best of British

                                           

And two of my favourites Credit Crunch Munch from Fuss Free Flavours and Fab Food for All, hosted this month by Elizabeths Kitchen and No Waste Food Challenge from Elizabeths Kitchen, hosted this month by Its not Easy being Greedy.


                                             




                                                             

A year of cake - The new Clandestine cake club recipe book

Proud to say that we have a recipe in the new Clandestine Cake Club recipe book. A Year of Cake - features 100 new recipes from the club including my recipe for a scrummy gluten free treat of Buckwheat, carrot and sultana cake, with a fresh orange buttercream.

A delicious recipe if I do say so myself , I will be baking this cake for the celebration book launch we are holding at Ebb and Flo Books in Chorley on Saturday 12th September 2015, at 2pm.

The book is also currently on special offer on Amazon for the bargain price of £10 and apparently is already on reprint due to the volume of pre orders.

Blackberry and apple geranium swirl

My lovely blogging friends, Karen at Lavender and Lovage and Janice who blogs at Farmers Girl Kitchen are currently running a campaign to encourage us all to enjoy seasonal blackberries and have created #GBBR or Great British Blackberry Recipe Round Up. So I'll be linking up this post to there linky.

                                                    

If you are a regular reader of this blog then you will have no doubt noticed that along with courgette, blackberry recipes are quite common. I regularly post blackberry recipes as we have a large plant of the thornless variety "Loch Ness" in the garden, its a fabulous reliable variety and routinely spurs new plants, the plant I am currently picking from is a spur of a spur of a spur we moved from our previous home. The plant crops very well most years and produces large juicy berries so beloved for inclusion in jam, preserve and crumble recipes.

This recipe came about as I wanted to utilise the beautiful subtle flavour of a new scented leaved pelagonium for this year, "apple scented" and what better combination than apples and blackberries. I was aiming for a fool but decided to substitute the cream for yogurt instead to lighten the dish.

I have also been experimenting with my new camera too, not that I am trying to surpass Mr LF but just handy for when I am in the kitchen or he's not available. So far I am pretty pleased with the results. Anyway on to the easy recipe.

What you need

• 1 cup of blackberries (retain a few whole ones for decoration)
• A few Apple pelagonium (geranium) leaves (optional, still tastes great without them)
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla paste
• 1 cup Greek yogurt (0% fat works well)
• 1/2 cup creme fraiche
• Qty of dinky glass pots or dishes to serve 

What you do

• Whiz up the blackberries, sugar and pelagonium leaves in the food processor until you have a puree
• Sieve the puree to remove the seeds,leaves and stalks.
• In another bowl mix the vanilla, yogurt and creme fraiche to combine
• Simply place alternate layers of the yogurt and puree into your glass pots and swirl using a cocktail stick
• Chill a little before serving

Chicken, potato and chorizo bake

Are you in need of a quick and easy supper dish, that's healthy and tasty and with hardly any washing up too !  Well this is the dish for you, a one pot dish that uses one of my favourite cuts of chicken, thighs juicy and extra tasty they are also a great economy cut too, providing plenty of flavour and flesh for your buck.

To enhance the dish I used fresh oregano from the herb garden including the flowers so beloved of the bees at the moment. Did I tell we now host a hive in the garden so I am much more aware of what flowers they enjoy and oregano is a firm favourite, along with cat mint and thyme.

What you need

• Chicken thigh - skin on and bone still in
• Chorizo - approx 1/2 a loop, chopped into chunks
• 1 red pepper - seeds removed and chunkly chopped
• 1 red onion - peeled and chunky chopped
• Couple of large handful - washed baby potatoes, chopped in half or quatered if large
• Small bunch of fresh oregano
• Extra virgin rapeseed or olive oil - about 1 tbsp
• Large metal baking tray
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

What you do

• Pre heat the oven to 220c / 180c fan
• Place all the ingredients in a large metal baking tray
• Toss so all ingredients have a very light coating of oil

Bake for approx 30 minutes baste with some of the delicious juices, bake for another 30  minutes or so until golden.

• Remove and serve with a freshly dressed green salad and a glass of something chilled.

We are linking up to recipe of the week over on A Mummy Too

                                            

And to Cooking with Herbs over on Lavender and lovage - who's theme this month is Summer Herb
Flowers

                                         

Chickpea and lentil and spinach cheats curry

Chickpeas are a great standby staple and the other day I had a craving for a warming curry, weird I know considering its August in the UK, but the summer weather this year has been really disappointing and even quite cool on a couple of occasions. So I turned to my trusty store cupboard to provide a healthy vegan curry for our supper.

Raiding the cupboards and freezer, I came up with this wholesome tasty recipe which used tinned chickpeas, dried red lentils and some leftover frozen homegrown tomatoes from last year and a couple of chunks of frozen spinach leaves I had forgotten were in the freezer.

The recipe made plenty so had ample to freeze or to take to work in a container for lunch the next day and as you in control of the spice level you can make this curry as hot and steamy as you wish.

The other bonus is as you are using canned chickpeas you can also make this fabulous chocolate mousse for dessert using the retained canning juice.

What you need

• 1 tin of chickpeas - drained but remember to retain the canning liquid for other recipes.
• 2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes or the equivalent in canned or frozen tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato ketchup (organic or homemade is best)
• 1 tbsp mango chutney (optional)
• 2 - 3 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tbsp garam marsala
• 3 blocks frozen spinach
• 1 large white onion chopped finely
• Coconut oil or vegetable oil 
• 3 - 4 tbsp red lentils
• Vegetable stock
• Freshly ground pepper - to taste

What you do

• Heat the coconut or vegetable oil in your pan
• Add the onion and fry gently until starting to soften but not colour
• Reduce the heat slightly and add the spices and cook for a few minutes moving about so they don't burn.
• Add the rest of the ingredients to the pan, using enough vegetable stock to cover the legumes and frozen vegetables.
• Now bring to a gentle simmer and cook until the frozen vegetable are cooked and the lentils are almost undetectable. Stirring occasionally, this took about 20 minutes for me.
• Season with freshly ground pepper increasing the spices if so required.
• Serve with roti or boiled basmati rice
• If you have any fresh coriander then this would be a good garnish

The dish froze beautifully and also benefits from cooling and reheating another day so that the flavours are more well rounded.

This post is being linked up to MLLA (My Legume Love Affair) created by The Well Seasoned Cook and Food and Spice and hosted this month on Allotment 2 Kitchen.

And also to Recipe of the Week over on at A Mummy Too