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.

Raw brownie bites - a healthy treat, gluten and dairy free

Got a chocolate craving ? but you are trying to eat healthy, what about these deliciously moreish raw brownie bites. Easy to make if you have a decent food processor and dairy and gluten free, they are also a great way of using up the last of the Christmas nuts too, as you can mix and match the nut content with whatever nuts you have to hand. Favourite in our household is almonds but pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts would all work well.

The keep well in the fridge in a container cut into small bite-sized pieces, but they won't last that long I promise you. I would recommend if possible just a couple a day to stave off the chocolate cravings, they also only contain just a little honey as a sweetener, as there is no baking involved I used some of our precious Honey from our hosted hive.

So what's not to like.......

What you need

• 100g Whole shelled nuts with skins on - almonds / walnuts / hazelnuts
• 250g pitted dates (ordinary or Medjool if you can get them)
• 2 generous tablespoon of Local Honey (I used some from our hive)
• 80g Cocoa powder (Raw or at the very least Organic)
• Pinch of salt
• 50g Chopped nuts - pecan, walnuts, almonds, I used flaked  almonds as that's all I had

What you do

• Blitz the whole shelled nuts until you have a coarse powder in your food processor
• Add the Dates, Cocoa, Honey and salt to the bowl, blitz until the mixture is well chopped and starting to come together.
• Add the chopped nuts, and quickly incorporate into the mixture.
• Tip into a greaseproof lined cake tin, a 20cm square seems to be about the right size.
• Press down the mixture firmly, cover with clingfilm and press down again
• Chill in the fridge for a couple of hours
• Remove from fridge and then chop into small bite sized squares, pop them in an airtight box in the fridge to store.

We are joining in with "We should Cocoa" created by Choclette over at Tin and Thyme and hosted this month by Lovely Appetite. The theme this month being "Simple Recipes"

                                                          

Banana and honey loaf cake - gluten free and no artificial sugars

Here at Lancashire Food we don't like to waste food and also where possible create recipes which not only taste good but do you good. This recipe ticks all the boxes for us, using ripe bananas for the majority of the sweetness for this cake and just a touch of honey its free from artificial sugars and being full of all things that are good for you it a "super" bake.  A great debate currently ranges in the food community about the amount of sugar in our diets and home cooking and baking gives you the control to adjust the amount of sugar added to your recipes. We like that, we use buckwheat flour here for its nutritional value but a basic plain gluten free flour would also work.

Please don't expect this to taste exactly like a normal banana loaf as it doesn't, but it still has some sweetness and as we are using honey you can adjust the sweetness level to your taste, I would suggest starting at 1/2 cup and reducing down from there as your taste buds acclimatise to less sweetness.

A couple of months ago we started hosting a local beekeepers hive in our garden and hopefully very shortly we might just (fingers crossed) get to taste some honey from our bees, its a fascinating process and has been very interesting watching the development of a new hive with all its trails and tribulations. In just a short couple of months we have had issues with wasps ( nasty things that attack hives ), the birth of a new queen and the balancing act of when to collect the honey. I have been stung twice once by a bee (yes a honey bee) and also by a wasp ( very painful and much worse than a bee sting).

So hopefully next time I bake this loaf we might be using our own honey .........

What you need

• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour (check gluten free if necessary as not all are)
• 1/2 cup ground almonds
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cardamon
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 eggs - free range
• 1/4 cup - coconut oil
• 1/4 cup of milk (any type nut, cows, goat)
• 1 tsp cider or wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup of local honey
• 3 ripe bananas

2lb loaf tin, oiled and base lined.
If you don't have all the spices to hand sweet mixed spice or lebuken spice can be substituted

What you do

• Pre heat the oven to 180c
• Mash the banana roughly in the bowl of your mixer
• Add all other ingredients
• Mix thoroughly and pour into prepared tin
• Place in the oven and bake for approx 45 minutes
• Cool in tin
• Delicious served slavered with butter

We are linking up to Bake of the Week over on Casa Costello

                                                             

Also to Recipe of the Week with Emily over on A Mummy Too

                                                            

Love Cake - Back to Basics over on Jibberjabber, as this is good basic banana loaf recipe at heart.

                                   

Simply Eggcellent - Theme being Cakes this month over with Dom at Belleau Kitchen (Happy Birthday !) which celebrates all thing egg.

                                                               

Credit Crunch Munch over at Fuss Free Flavours as once again we are using up manky bananas. A blog challenged created by Fuss Free Flavours and Fab Food for all.

                                                 

And finally No Waste Food Challenge blog hop over at Foodie Quine this month. This challenge was created by Elizabeths Kitchen Diary.

                                                             

Strawberry honey and lavender trifles, serendipity in a glass

A couple of weeks ago whilst browsing in TK Maxx I decided to treat myself to a madeleine tin and last weekend I finally got around to attempting to bake with the purchased tin, I researched quite a few recipes and I closely followed the instructions in my chosen recipe carefully buttering and flouring the tin,and deciding to add honey and lavender to the mixture.

Everything turned out fine, well mostly, other than not being able to extricate the madeline's from the tin, the actual sponge was lovely, well flavoured and light. I am not defeated and will try madeline's again but my first attempt left me with a quantity of beautiful sponge cakes that needed using up, so this trifle was born.

This easy fruity delight used the disaster sponges to great effect and ensured no waste, so definitely serendipity in a glass. According to Mr LF a trifle is not a trifle unless it contains jelly, I think this must be a hark back to his child hood so this one does contain a fruit jelly layer, but its optional.

What you need

• Quantity of sponge cake - crumbled (mine was flavoured with 1 tbsp honey and 1 teaspoon of edible lavender flowers)
• Splash of sherry or some other suitable alcoholic beverage (mead would be good too), if for children you could use fruit juice
• Strawberry jelly - cubes, crystals or made from juice and gelatine, I used sparkling fruit juice drink to give the jelly sparkle
• Chopped fresh strawberries
• Thick custard - homemade or custard pot
• Creme fraiche or whipped cream 
• Fresh fruit or sprinkles to decorate
• Small quantity of edible lavender flowers for decoration

What you do

• Take 4 glass tumblers and crumble the sponge cake into the bottom of the glass, splash with alcohol of your choice
• Top with a small quantity of chopped strawberries
• Mix up your jelly according to the instructions on the packet, I also make a stronger solution so I know it going to set well and pour into the glass about a third of the way up the glass.
• Place in the fridge to set fully
• One set top with custard and cream layers
• Chill again and then serve topped with a sliced strawberry and strewn with lavender flowers.

Mr LF ate 2 in one sitting, so I am taking that as a recommendation that they are good. Plenty of traditional trifle flavour but with a hint of honey and lavender.

If you fancy having a go at the madeline's (you may have better success than me) then this is the recipe I used and tweaked by adding lavender instead of vanilla.

I am linking up to Credit Crunch Munch which I feel is totally appropriate as Iam using my rejects as the basis of a new recipe. Jointly run by Fab Food for All and Fuss Free Flavours

And to No Waste Food Challenge over at Elizabeths Kitchen 

And lastly recipe of the week over A Mummy Too

December 2014 Craig Hughes - Crossmoor Honey

This months featured foodie is aparist Craig Hughes of Crossmoor Honey based in Elswick Lancashire.

Craig and some suitably festive friends

Craig Hughes is a beekeeper with over 30 years experience of keeping bees and 30 years of bee stings and is also a qualified and classically trained chef with many years in the industry.Craig is multi talented and also is a qualified lawyer specialising in European and Islamic law. It was after his brush with cancer that he changed his lifestyle and returned to beekeeping full time.

He is ambitious, desiring 4000 active hives in the next 5 years, is driven by quality and service but retains a common touch. He is gentle with his bees, trying not to move them too much, and considers his livestock as an extension of himself and promotes animal welfare and safety.

Craig has also featured on local radio  and been featured featured in Lancashire Life Magazine and the Farmers Guardian (www.farmersguardian.com) amongst other publications. He has also recently written a book, Urban Beekeeping.

He lives in his beloved Lancashire, and is a keen promoter of local food and is often food selling his honey and associated products at many of the local farmers markets. His products are used in many fine eating establishments across the county. 

As is usual Craig has kindly answered our now familiar questions

·         What is your favourite cookery or food book or publication ?

 Cookery for ten year old's, my first cookery book

·         What sentence sums up Lancashire Food to you ?

 Comforting, warm,tasty artisan food

·         If you weren’t doing what you do now, what would you like to be ?

Rescuing animals treated badly by mankind

·         Which piece of kit could you not do without ?

My ipad

·         Who would join you at your ultimate dinner party and why?

 Joni Mitchell, T.S. Elliot, W.H.Auden Nikolai Copernicus, Eamon Develeria, Salladin.

·         What advice would you give to your younger self?

 Never be a bully, never be bullied.

·         Describe your style in three words

Country, mainly green.

·         What was your latest foodie gadget purchase ?

 Kitchenaid mixer glass bowl

·         What is your greatest achievement to date ?

 Living with a ghost

Tell us a secret about yourself ? may be something we wouldn’t expect !

I once considered buying a citrus plantation in Swaziland

    

Cereal bars for walkers

Mr Lancashire Food joined a walking group last year and one of the hot topics of conversation on the walks is cereal bars and flapjacks and the dubious quality of  the commercially available versions and also the expense of them.

Quite a few of the walkers don't bake so over the last few weeks I have been sending Mr LF with parcels of different recipes. This one have proved the most favourite so far, making you own cereal bars is a much better idea as you know what ingredients are in your bar and also the cost per bar is around half what a commercially available bar retails at.

What you need

• 225g oats
• 75g sunflower seeds
• 100g dried fruit (dates / raisins)
• 50g pumpkin seeds
• 25g sesame seeds
• 25g rice crispies
• 75ml vegetable oil
• 75g honey or maple syrup
• 50g light brown sugar

8" square tin (lined)

What you do 

• Preheat the oven to 150c 
• Place all the dry ingredients except for the sugar in a large bowl and stir until well mixed
• In a small saucepan bring the vegetable oil, honey and sugar to the boil
• Mix the honey/oil mixture with the dry ingredients and stir until everything is coated with the mixture.
• Scoop into the prepared tin and press down firmly
• Bake for 30 -35 minutes until lightly golden
• Cool in the tin
• Once cold cut into slices, squares or bars.

Serve to hungry walkers ! 

Clarks New Honey - Honey monster biscuits

Clarks the Honey and Maple syrup people have just launched a new clear honey and I have been sent a jar to have some fun with. A blend of British honey with some blossom and acacia honey to keep it clear, this is a great honey for the store cupboard, personally I love the  bee on flower design on the label, the honey itself was great in this recipe for monster honey biscuits, monster as they are so huge.

Really tasty with a nice honey flavour these biscuits are sure to be popular with all the family and keep well in an airtight tin (not that they will last that long !). Clarks Honey has a lovely website as well with lots more serving ideas for this lovely versatile honey.

What you need

• 1/4 cup of honey 
• 1 egg - free range, beaten
• 2 1/4 cups of self raising flour - sieved
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 175g butter 
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla paste

What you do 

• Melt the butter, sugar and honey in a saucepan over a low heat, until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth.
• Remove from the heat and add the cinnamon, allow to cool.
• In a large bowl place the other ingredients and mix gently, now add the melted butter mixture and mix well until you have a stiff sticky mixture.
• Using a wet tablespoon scoop out the mixture an form balls. Place these on an oven tray, pressing down with a wet fork, remembering to allow space for the biscuits to spread.
• Bake in an oven at 180c until golden and firm to touch, normally about 12 -15 minutes.
• Allow to cool on the baking trays and store when cool in an airtight tin.

Orange blossom honey, spelt and poppyseed cake - almost healthy !

I love baking (if you are a regular reader this is nothing new  to you !) but how to make cakes more healthy ?

From time to time I experience a guilt trip and remind myself that where ever possible I should be making my baking more healthy, food fads come and go, eat that don't eat this, so that sometimes its difficult to determine as to whether the changes and tweaks you are making to your baking are making it any healthier, but the one thing I do know is that I like to try different things. So this cake was born, using a natural sweetener, spelt flour and poppyseeds.

A month or so ago I was sent some honey for review so I currently have a nice selection in my store cupboard, so I chose to bake with the orange blossom honey on this occasion, so here's what I came up with.

What you need

• 50g poppyseeds ( you can buy in most healthfood shops or collect your own)
• 180g orange blossom honey ( you could use agave nectar or maple syrup also)
• Grated zest of one large orange
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3 eggs free range please
• 180g spelt flour (sieved to remove the majority of the meal)
• 180g butter - softened

What you do 

• Preheat your oven to 170c
• Oil spray and base line a 20cm loose bottom or springform tin
• In a large bowl or your mixer, cream the butter until fluffy, now add a little of the flour and beat in eggs one at a time
• Beat in all the flour, baking powder, honey, orange zest and poppy seeds
• Scoop into your tin, levelling and bake for approximately 35 - 45 minutes until tested cooked with a skewer.
• Cool in the tin for approximately before transferring to a wire rack to cool fully.
• If you wish you could make an orange drizzle syrup or frost with a cream cheese butter cream.

Clarks Maple syrups and Honeys - taste testing !

I love maple syrup, so was pleased when Clarks Maple syrups and honey's sent me some of their lovely products for taste testing and recipe development and what's more you can win some of their lovely products too in an easy to enter rafflecopter competition (please see below).

Clarks are based in Newport in Wales were they blend the finest quality pure and blended maple syrups, honeys and fruit syrups. Their maple syrup is collected in the beautiful province of Quebec in Canada between February and April. Maple syrup is graded according to its light transmission the more it transmits the lower the number. Maple Syrup is now classed as a superfood being a good source of manganese and also rich in antioxidants.

Clarks Pure Canadian Maple Syrup (Medium no 1) - this is traditional maple syrup, light with a good maple taste , mild and sweet and ideal for using drizzled on pancakes, waffles and in cooking.

Clarks Pure Canadian Maple Syrup (Amber no 2) Darker in colour than the above syrup with a stronger more pronounced maple taste which may be a little strong for drizzling purposes for some. Ideal for using in cooking and baking where the  maple flavour is to be combined with other ingredients.

Clarks Original Maple (blended with pure carob fruit syrup) - with a  great maple taste this is ideal for using as a sweetner for porridge or cereals or drizzled on yoghurt and fruit. Ideal for using in when baking  Parsnip, apple and syrup cake.

Clarks Original Vanilla Maple (blended with pure carob fruit syrup),a great syrup with a good vanilla hit , you could use this drizzled over fruit or in coffee or chai as a sweetner.

Clarks Clear blossom honey - blended from blossom to produce a versatile honey which is great on toast and as a general honey for the kitchen cupboard. Its a handy sugar substitute.

Clarks Orange blossom honey - is blended from honey from orange groves across the world, with a slight citrussy note, this versatile honey is delicious in recipes which are enhanced by the orangey flavour. Golden and bright in colour.

Clarks Acacia honey - a mild and delicate honey with a very slight vanilla note, this honey is a delicious substitute in any recipe which calls for honey.

Clarks Lavender Honey - a gorgeous honey with a lovely lavender note, collected from Spanish lavender groves this is a delicious addition to desserts and cake recipes or drizzled over scones and cream.

Our Clarks prize giveaway consists of 2 prizes, a maple syrup selection pack and a honey selection pack  which will be sent to the lucky prize winners addresses by those nice people at Clarks.(Sorry UK only)

How do I enter the Giveaway?

• Simply follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter widget below. 
• To be in with a chance of winning you must complete ALL the required fields. 
• All entries will be checked and verified before a winner is announced.
• You can increase your chances of winning by Tweeting on a daily basis.
• Rafflecopter will pick a random winner.
• The competition runs from 15/05/13 to 31/5/13 .
• If you win, you MUST send me your delivery details before 12pm on 02/06/13, or the prize will be passed to the next person.
• The first prize drawn will be the maple syrup pack
• The second prize drawn will the honey pack
• Please see the Terms and Conditions on the Rafflecopter widget for the rules and more information.

Maple Syrup Prize Pack

Honey Prize pack

a Rafflecopter giveaway


We have our winners - Jen Price @BlueKitchenbake & Pat O'Brien via Facebook

Rhubarb, vanilla and honey frozen yogurt

Mr Lancashire Food picked a large quantity of Rhubarb from the garden this weekend, so rather than just freeze it I decide I would experiment. After making a tray of honeyed rhubarb, the ice cream mood took hold, so I came up with a frozen yogurt alternative using items I  had readily  found in  the fridge. This will satisfy any cravings for a sweet cool dessert you have , it would also be great served with hot puddings or fancied up with shortbread or other biscuits.

Honeyed Rhubarb

• 1 kg Rhubarb, cut in small pieces
• Honey - 4 tbsp 
• Orange / lemon - grated zest and juice

Just place your rhubarb in an oven tray, drizzle with the honey and the zest and juice, bake in a 150C oven for about an hour or until soft and slightly golden

Frozen yoghurt

1/2 of a large pot of low fat vanilla yogurt

1/2 pot of low fat creme fraiche

1 tsp vanilla paste

2 tbsp honey

1 ramekin of honeyed rhubarb

Method

• Mix the yogurt, creme fraiche, vanilla and honey in a large bowl
• Stir in the honeyed rhubarb 
• Pour in to your ice cream maker, churn until softly frozen
• If you don't have an ice cream maker then place in a freezer suitable tub in the freezer , remove approximately every half an hour and stir vigorously.
• Store in the freezer until you want to use.
• Serve as you would ice cream

This post is my contribution to Frugal Food Fridays from fuss free flavours and guest hosted by Blue Kitchen bakes this month