Cook with Me at Bodnant!

  

I've loved sharing my recipes with you since starting this blog in 2010. My aim has always been to show that healthy eating is easy as well as appetising.  I have a lot of fun making each dish look tasty and tempting in the photos and now there's a chance for you to sample the food too!

Next Sunday, 25th August 2013,  I'll be giving a demonstration of dairy free cooking at the Cookery Festival being held over the Bank Holiday Weekend at Bodnant Welsh Foods Centre in the Conwy Valley.  

It's free to enter and there will be a variety of events going on each day so do come along if you live in North Wales.  I'll be there around 3pm on the Sunday and, if you like chocolate, you definitely won't want to miss sampling my Extra Special Chocolate Brownies!

Click here for more information about the Festival and, if you are there, do come and say hello!

Rhona's Cookery Course

In October, I'll be teaching a one day Cookery Course at the exclusive Bodnant Cookery School in Conwy.  If you would like to cook alongside me in the wonderful facilities, this is your chance and I would love you to join me.   

The course takes place on Saturday 19 October 2013 and is all about baking the dairy free way.   As it's National Baking Week, it seemed like the perfect time to offer some healthy alternatives to traditional baked recipes which are so often loaded with sugar, eggs, cream and fat.  

Over the years, I've lost count of the number of times I've been asked "How ever do you make cakes without eggs?" so I'm really happy to share with you my tried and tested methods of making cakes and cookies as well as savoury scones and tartlets.  As with all my recipes on this blog,  you won't find any eggs or dairy ingredients and very little sugar too. 

 Eating Well is a Way of Life

  
To me, choosing what to eat has everything to do with the impact it has on my health.  I love food and I love the pleasure I get from growing, preparing and eating it.  It's really not that difficult to enjoy eating a healthy diet. It's just a simple commitment to eat food that does my body, mind and soul good.

We all have different body types and different responses to food so no one way of eating is right for everyone. As more people are being diagnosed with food intolerances, it's even more important for each of us to adapt our eating habits to meet our individual health needs.

Far from being restrictive, changing our diet can be an opportunity to try out new ingredients and new methods of preparing food.  It can revitalise our taste buds as we become more conscious of each mouthful of food we eat. It can also open up a whole new way of cooking that can transform our life as well as our health!

When I stopped eating meat and animal products thirty three years ago,  there were few cookbooks that could teach me how to cook food free from animal ingredients.  However, I loved cooking (and eating!) so it didn't take me long to find new ways of making fantastic meals that even my meat-eating friends enjoyed!

   The Joy of Baking

Baking can be a wonderfully absorbing and creative hobby. When we bake mindfully, we put something of ourselves into the mixing bowl and this expression of love and care is like a magic ingredient that produces amazing results!

This course will appeal to anyone who cares about what they eat and who loves making food delicious.  Whether you are a complete novice or an experienced cook, newly diagnosed with a dairy intolerance or well accustomed to eating dairy free or maybe you simply want to expand your cooking repertoire, you will be inspired to create some fabulous food.

 Hands-On Experience
 

You will have plenty of hands-on practical experience as you prepare light and crispy pastry without animal fat, bake scrumptious cakes and savoury scones without milk or eggs and produce a creamy dessert without cream!  

The course starts at 10 am and finishes at 3.30pm and, at the end of the day, you'll take home a wonderful assortment of baked goodies that you have made yourself, including:-

• Basil, tomato and olive scones
• Butternut squash and mushroom tartlets
• Baked lemon tofu cheesecake with summer fruit topping
• Blueberry muffins
• Apricot and pecan cookies

A light lunch is included which we'll eat together in the spacious dining area overlooking the beautiful Conwy estuary.

Click here for all the details on the Bodnant website and to book your place.  While October may seem like a long way off, make sure you reserve a place for yourself now as numbers are limited. 

Look forward to seeing you there!  

Fruity Chocolate Florentines

After a break from posting recipes,   I'm back with a little treat for you just in time for Christmas.   These fruity chocolate florentines are amazingly quick and easy to make and are particularly good served chilled from the fridge - or even straight out of the freezer!  

Florentines are traditionally full of sugar and cream so, in my recipe, I've reduced the sugar, cut out all the dairy products and added maple syrup, dairy-free dark chocolate and plenty of naturally sweet fruits and nuts.   As it's Christmas, I've added dried cranberries and some naturally red glace cherries but you can use any combination you like!

  

Ingredients          Makes about 15

55g dairy free margarine

27g light brown muscovado sugar

1 tbsp natural maple syrup

140g mixed dried fruits, cranberries, glace cherries, mixed peel

40g mixed nuts e.g. almonds, brazil nuts, pecan

25g plain white flour

100g dairy free dark chocolate

Method

 

Preheat the oven to 170C/150C fan/Gas Mark 3

Prepare two baking trays by greasing with a little margarine or use non-stick baking liners. 

Start by placing the margarine, sugar and maple syrup in a saucepan and melting them over a low heat, stirring constantly until smooth.   Remove the pan from the heat. 

Roughly chop the dried fruit and nuts, then add them to the pan with the flour.  Stir well.  

Drop small spoonfuls of the florentine mixture onto the baking sheets allowing plenty of space between them.  They do spread out during baking so, if you don't leave enough room, you'll have one very large florentine instead of about 15 smaller ones!  

Place in the oven and bake for about 10 - 12 minutes until they are golden brown.

Leave for about 3 minutes to harden slightly before loosening carefully with a knife or spatula. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.  

If your florentines have merged together whilst baking, they can still be rescued!  As soon as you take them out of the oven, separate them carefully with a knife or scissors and ease them into a circular shape. 

Break up the chocolate into pieces and place in a small bowl.  Microwave until completely melted, stirring frequently to avoid overcooking.

  

(Alternatively, place the bowl over a small pan filled with a couple of inches of just boiled water, making sure the base of the bowl doesn't touch the water) 

When the chocolate is glossy and smooth, spread a thin layer over the back (i.e. flat side) of each florentine, using a knife or pastry brush.  If you like, you can make a zigzag pattern using a fork whilst the chocolate is setting.

  Have  a wonderful festive season and see you in the New Year!

Dairy Free Macaroons

You don't normally associate the words "low in sugar" and "free from eggs and dairy" with sugary macaroons.  However, these light, crispy biscuits contain no egg white or fat and the quantity of sugar is less than half what you would normally expect to find in a macaroon. They are also incredibly quick and easy to make and look so dainty!

If you can, look out for natural almond extract rather than almond essence which may contain artificial flavours.

The first time I made them, the biscuits stuck like glue to the greased baking tray when baked and I ended up with a pile of crumbs. Maybe it's because there is no fat in the recipe.  To make life easier,  I now line the tray with a teflon non-stick baking liner and they slip off every time!

Ingredients                                        Makes 12 biscuits

50g ground almonds

50g semolina

50g golden castor sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp natural almond extract

5 tbsp cold water

12 flaked almonds

Preheat the oven to 160C/140C fan/Gas Mark 3.

Line a large baking tray with non-stick baking liner.

In a bowl, mix the ground almonds with the semolina, golden castor sugar and baking powder.

Measure the water into a small jug or cup and add the almond extract.  Pour into the dry ingredients and stir well.

Place teaspoonfuls of the mixture on to the prepared baking tray, spacing them well apart.   Flatten each spoonful into a circular shape, using a fork.

Place a flaked almond in the centre of each one.

Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes until golden brown.

Transfer to a cooling rack, then store in an airtight container.

The macaroons are lovely served with poached pears or plums for a simple dessert.

Almond Tuiles

These little almond biscuits are as light as a feather and are the perfect accompaniment to a simple fruit dessert such as poached pears or plums, raspberry or blackcurrant coulis and icecream or a compote of summer fruits.   They look fabulous and are really fun to make and very quick too.

 

Ingredients         Makes 18

70g Pure sunflower dairy free margarine
50g golden castor sugar
45g plain flour
45g flaked almonds




Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas Mark 4.

Place the margarine and sugar in a bowl and blend together with a hand-whisk or a wooden spoon until light and creamy.

Using a knife or spatula, fold in the sifted flour and flaked almonds until well blended.

With a teaspoon, place small blobs of the mixture, spacing them well apart, on two greased baking trays.  I usually put 9 blobs on each tray.

Then carefully flatten the mixture with a fork to make a rough circle shape.

Bake in the oven for about 9 -10 minutes until the biscuits have turned a pale golden colour in the middle and brown at the edges.

As soon as they come out of the oven,  take a palette knife and carefully run it underneath the biscuit and lift onto a rolling pin.   Gently press the biscuit into a curved shape taking care as the biscuits are very brittle!

Leave for a few moments to harden then transfer to a cooling rack.

Stored in an airtight tin, they will keep crisp and fresh for a few days  (if they last that long!)