I am heading to Melbourne tomorrow to attend a course in Advanced Natural Fertility Education with snack in hand and luggage in tow. I am looking forward to indulging in these not so sweet biscuits in flight whilst reading a magazine without interruption. Ahhhhhh, i can hardly wait.

These cookies were inspired by Maria Speck whose cookbook Ancient Grains for Modern Meals never disappoints me. Every time i pick up her book i find i love wholegrains more and more. Her style is enviable. Feel free to omit the outer coating of Amaranth in these cookies as they can be a little crunchy for some.



Amaranth Cookies with Orange Blossom and Ginger
Makes 12

3/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup amaranth flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 tsp ground ginger

7 T almond butter
1 large egg
2 T orange blossom water
1/4 cup honey

Walnuts for top of biscuits
1/4 cup Amaranth for rolling (optional)

Preheat oven to 185 degrees celcius
Line a flat baking sheet with baking paper

Place the first 5 ingredients in a bowl
Use a whisk to mix the ingredients together briefly

Add the remaining ingredients and mix together with a spoon to form a dough
Using a spoon scoop a piece of dough the size of an apricot and dollop onto baking sheet
(this dough is a little sticky so you will need to use you finger to slide of the spoon)

Repeat with the rest of the mixture
Feel free to shape the cookie dough into round little coin shapes with your fingers if you wish

Add a walnut to the top of each cookie and sprinkle with amaranth whole grains if you desire
Bake in oven for 10 - 12 mins or until slightly golden around the edges

We ate this straight out of the oven topped with a smear of gympie cheese butter!

A Quick and Easy Rustic Loaf
(Adapted from Maria Speck)

3 cups wholewheat flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 ¼ tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp rapadurra sugar
2 tsp Italian dried herbs
2 tbs sage, roughly chopped
1/3 cup pepitas/pumpkin seeds
½ cup roasted artichokes (in oil but drained), roughly chopped
¼ cup pitted kalamata olives, pitted and roughly chopped
1 ½ cups organic milk (any type)

Preheat oven to 185 degrees celcius
Place the first six ingredients in a bowl and whisk together disperse ingredients and remove any lumps
Make a well in the centre and add the milk
Use a wooden spoon to gradually incorporate ingredients
Mix until ingredients come together and a moist dough is formed
Rest the dough for 5 – 10 mins
Line a flat baking tray of a pizza stone with glad bake
Then turn out the shaggy dough onto lined tray and use a spoon to shape it into a loaf shape
Using a sharp knife cut 3 diagonal slits across the top about ½ inch deep
Cover the loaf with a clean tea towel and let sit for another 10 mins
Place loaf in the oven on the bottom shelf and bake until well risen, crusty and nicely browned (about 45 – 50 mins)
Cool on a wire rack and cut with a serrated edge knife
Best served warm straight out of the oven or at room temperature the same day

My husband recently flew home from work via Los Angeles and on his arrival back into the land of Oz he presented me with a collection of the latest food magazines. I cannot tell you how excited I was!!! It was in the edition of Saveur that I discovered Jenni Bauer - Artisan Ice Cream Maker and her fantastic Ice Cream Recipes. What I love about her base recipe is that it doesn't include eggs (see below). Don't get me wrong, I love everything about eggs I just don't like them in ice-cream. What i choose to modify from her recipe is the use of corn syrup with my preference for a substitute being honey. I am not sure if this will work as I am yet to try it out. I chose to make two of her recipes that didn't include corn syrup (see below) but if anyone has any thoughts or other substitute suggestions I would love to hear from you. My other substitution thought was for arrowroot powder instead of the cornstarch????? I used rapadura sugar in each of these recipes as opposed to white sugar and where possible all ingredients used were organic. Please note - the use of rapadura sugar will result in the end product being a caramel colour which is fine for the two flavours I made. You may want to reconsider its use if you want to make vanilla for example. Rapadura sugar is widely available nowadays and can found in most health stores.

The thing I love most about making my own ice cream is that I can control the ingredient list and the kids love being a part of the process especially when we start mixing it in the ice cream maker. They also love having fun with flavour suggestions with the most recent being - "scrambled snake" and "grufallo crumble" - needles to say they are still in the recipe development phase....

Bauer's techniques for Ice Cream Making are innovative and in the article "Heres the Scoop" she explains that "you have to see ice cream as chemistry - a delicate dance between proteins, sugars, butterfat, air, and a few unsexy components". Her scientific logic behind her technique is a great read and you can get her Ice Cream 101 tips for rich and creamy ice cream here

To date we have made two of her recipes - Blackstrap Praline and The Darkest Chocolate Ice Cream in the World which both turned out great. They were scoopable, non icy and creamy. I chose these two because they didn't include the corn syrup and I had all ingredients on hand. If you don't have an ice cream maker then don't despair check out this article for alternative ways to churn some yourself. You will want to go to the extra effort after taking a peek at this article over at Natural News that poses the question - Is Ice Cream A Treat or Threat?


Jenni's Ice Cream Base:
Courtesy of Saveur Magazine

MAKES ABOUT 1 QUART (approx 1/2 litre)

INGREDIENTS

2 cups milk
4 tsp. cornstarch (? arrowroot powder)
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar (i used rapadura sugar here)
2 tbsp. light corn syrup (? honey)
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
3 tbsp. cream cheese, softened

INSTRUCTIONS

In a bowl, stir together 1/4 cup milk and the cornstarch; set slurry aside.
In a medium saucepan, whisk together remaining milk and the cream, sugar, syrup, and salt
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Cook for 4 minutes; stir in slurry.
Return to a boil and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes
Place cream cheese in a bowl and pour in 1/4 cup hot milk mixture; whisk until smooth
Then whisk in remaining milk mixture
Pour mixture into a plastic bag; seal, and submerge in a bowl of ice water until chilled.
Pour mixture into an ice cream maker; process according to manufacturer's instructions
Transfer ice cream to a storage container and freeze until set.

Next time your in need of something to satisfy your sweet tooth consider these as an alternative. The natural and whole ingredients are satisfying and nourishing in comparison to the refined and processed options on the market. Pop them in the lunchbox or take them along for morning tea at the office for some sweet goodness. Just make sure you don't eat the lot of them on your own....

Raw Walnut Macaroons
Makes approx 10 - 12 small macaroons

!/2 cup walnuts
1 cup organic shredded coconut
6 organic Medjool Dates
1/2 medium size banana

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or high powered blender
Pulse until ingredients are combined, but not pureed
Remove mixture from food processor
Using your hands shape into your desired shape (rounds balls, flat discs) and place on a tray
Refrigerate for 30 mins or until firm and eat...........