Banana pancakes with banana jam

Banana pancakes with banana jam

Coming up with interesting recipes, connecting with your food, can be frustrating at times. Much like being a stammerer. You know what you want to express but find it hard to express. Like making a macaron for the first time and coming to grips with a piping bag. Like being a stammerer and talking to new people in a social setting for the first time where no one knows of your affliction. There can be moments of joy though after much hard work. Hopefully I can share these moments of joy with my readers.

Anywho, in the lead up to pancake day on Tuesday, here is a favourite recipe of mine:

Banana jam

2 bananas
3-4 knobs of butter/margarine
3 tbsp honey

Break the bananas into pieces in a small pan and add the butter and honey. Heat over a medium heat, stirring until the pieces start to break up. Turn the heat to low and allow to simmer remembering to stir every so often for about 5 minutes.

Banana pancakes

2 bananas
150g gluten-free flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 egg
220 ml rice milk
25g butter/margarine

Combine the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda in a large bowl. In another bowl mash the bananas and stir in the egg and milk. Slowly combine the liquid with the flour until you have a thick custard-like mix. Melt the butter on a heavy-based frying pan and pour into the mix, stirring at the same time. Cook one ladle full of the mix in the frying-pan.

Enjoy the pancakes with the banana jam.

Poached plum and almond porridge

Poached Plum and Almond Porridge

It is funny how every fun day has been turned into a marketing campaign. Next up is Shrove Tuesday. A great excuse for trying new things with pancakes. So you would expect me to make pancakes this morning but Sunday is my traditional pancake day, every week, not just once a year.

Ingredients:

2 plums quartered

200 ml water

4 tbsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

4tbsp rum

1 tsp cinnamon

100g gluten-free oats

25g ground almond

500ml water

150ml rice milk

3 tbsp honey

Method:

Wash and quarter the plums and place in a small saucepan. Pour the water, sugar, vanilla, rum and cinnamon into the saucepan and bring to the boil stirring ocassionally.

Simmer for about 10-15 minutes until the plums are tender and the skin has peeled off. Leave the plums in the syrup to cool.

To make the porridge, add the oats, ground almonds, water, milk and honey to a saucepan and gently bring to the boil, stirring occassionally. Simmer for 10-15 minutes on a low heat stirring every so often.

Serve the porridge with plums on top and 1 tbsp of the syrup if you feel particularly sweet in the morning.

Coconut milk and pandan cheesecake

Coconut Milk and Pandan Cheesecake

Is it wrong to pretend that you do not speak English to avoid having to talk to a pushy fundraiser on the way back from shopping? I felt slightly guilty having done it but the dude was just too pushy! 

Anywho, as promised I decided to use up the pandan leaves that I had used earlier in the week. It is part of the learning process when using an ingredient which you might not be familiar with to experiment with different tastes and combinations. Pandan is interesting as the closest thing I can compare it to is grass, even Mrs. NMFS agreed. So I decided to try to make a cheesecake with it.

Coconut milk and pandan cheesecake

 

Ingredients:

150g gluten-free biscuits

40g dairy-free margerine

2 tbsp pandan juice

400g lactose-free cream cheese

80g honey

1 egg

3 tbsp cornflour

200g coconut milk

Preheat the oven to 180C and grease an 8 inch tin with a loose bottom. Prepare base by crushing the biscuits, melting the margerine and mixing the two in a bowl.

Tip the mixture into the base of the tin and press down firmly, either with a spoon or washed hands and pop into the fridge whilst you work your magic with the rest of the ingredients.

Next to make the pandan juice. Blend 3/4 cup of water with 3 pandan leaves and pour the mixture through a sieve into a saucepan.

Add tbsp of honey and bring to the boil. Leave to simmer for about 20 minutes - mixture should have reduced down to 1/3 of original. Leave to cool.

Next, using a electric whisk, mix the cream cheese together with the cornflour, honey and pandan juice.

Add the egg and coconut milk and continue to mix until thick and blended.

Pour into the tin and bake for about 55-60 minutes.

 Leave to cool before removing from the tin. Don't worry if the top browns as it is supposed to be baked! This cheesecake is quite creamy. For those who prefer a drier cheesecake, watch out for this space for another recipe!

So fellow bloggers, do you think pandan works in a cheesecake?

Chocolate nuts and cherry clusters

Chocolate Nuts and Cherry Clusters

How much should you put out there? Mrs NMFS made me consider that question after she found out that I shared the 'peaches' moment! I think I will keep sharing as it is so much more rewarding that way. I just think of my joy at my first comments coming from a blogger who I respect so much, Not Quite Nigella. Her choice of name is genius.

Anywho, I am putting together a feast of recipes hopefully for tomorrow but wanted to give this quick and easy recipe for chocolate clusters which I tentatively claim to be sugar-free on the basis that it uses 72% chocolate and no added sugar.

Ingredients:

200g dark chocolate (at least 70%)

175g nuts of your choice

50g sour cherries

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C. Place the nuts on a baking tray and roast in the oven.

In the meantime melt the dark chocolate in a bowl being careful not to heat for too long for fear of burning the chocolate. Leave the melted chocolate to cool.

Chop the sour cherries and the roasted nuts. Add both to the melted chocolate. Cut out a piece of baking paper to cover the baking sheet. Take a cookie cutter and place on the baking paper and sheet and spoon 1-2 tablespoons of the mixture inside. Carefully remove the cutter and repeat with the rest of the mixture.

Once you have used up all of the mixture, leave to set for about 45 minutes. Carefully remove and enjoy with coffee.

Do you have any recipes that only use 3 ingredients?