April 23, 2015 / emma@cookfasteatslow.com Leave a comment

Lime Syrup Cake

I’ve heard it said that as men conduct friendships ‘shoulder to shoulder’ women conduct friendships ‘eye to eye’.

I would like to amend that statement to ‘women conduct friendships eye to eye….over coffee and cake’.

A friend, pot of tea or coffee and some cake, has pretty much saved my sanity many times over in this crazy journey I call Motherhood.

And it’s never really been about the tea or the cake. Homemade, store bought, tea bags, tea leaves, beautiful china, mix and match mugs, tidy homes or amongst the mess, quiet children or chaos abounding….. regardless of the setting or the situation, sharing a cuppa and some cake with girlfriends over the years has been essential for me.

Friends who have done life with me since primary school, right through to the kindred spirits I’ve collected and loved along the way, each time one of them has perched themselves up at my kitchen bench for a catch up has been such a great gift to me in so many ways.

We have LAUGHED OUT LOUD at the most ridiculous things, laughter often being my therapy of choice. We have cried oceans of tears over pain, health, marriages, injustices, our kids and the amount of laundry our families produce. Advice offered, recipes swapped, prayers given, plans made, hearts encouraged.

The lifeline isn’t so much in the tea and the cake, as it is in the stopping of our busyness to offer our time and ears and hearts to listen, love and relate.

I’m not sure I could have survived the early years of parenting without this.

As the kids grow and our families and lives get a little more complicated, this ritual has become less frequent, but no less important. Instead of mid week catch ups with toddlers roaming around us, it’s becoming more important to find other ways of catching up. Sometimes it means leaving the kids at home with Dad or a babysitter so that we can grab dinner together.

As I get to the end of my life, I don’t think you are going to hear me say “I spent WAY too much time having coffee with friends.”

Rather, I hope to be still laughing and crying with those near and dear to me, and enjoying the richness and encouragement that comes from doing life together.

Lime Syrup Cake

This cake is one of my favourite cakes. The photo’s just don’t do it justice as you can’t see how sticky and moist it is. The original recipe is from the Women’s Weekly cookbook ‘Food We Love’.

Ingredients

250gm unsalted butter, softened

1 tablespoon of finely grated lime rind

1 cup castor sugar

3 eggs, seperated

2 cups self raising flour

1 cup milk, with the juice of 1/2 lime mixed in (the acidity of the lime juice curdles the milk slightly and gives a similar result to using buttermilk)

Lime Syrup

1/3 cup lime juice

3/4 cup castor sugar

1/4 cup water

Method

Preheat oven to 160 degrees celsuis, fan forced.

Grease a 20cm fluted ring tin or bundt tin (if you don’t have one, you can use a normal round tin, but the cake will just take longer to cook, about 30 minutes more).

Beat butter, rind and sugar in a bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Beat in egg yolks one at a time. (The mixture will look a little curdled at this stage, that’s okay).

Transfer this mixture to a large bowl and stir in some of the flour and milk, alternating between the two, until all of it is mixed in and the batter is smooth.

Beat the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Fold into the cake batter in batches until it’s all combined. (Use a metal spoon to do this step and try and ‘cut’ through the batter, this will mix the egg whites in without knocking all of the air out).

Spread the mixture into the pan and bake for approximately 1 hour or until it’s cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool for 5 minutes and then turn onto a wire rack that’s been placed on top of a plate.

Meanwhile, combine all the ingredients for the syrup in a small saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil and boil gently for a few minutes to reduce and thicken the syrup.

Pour the hot syrup over the warm cake.

Sprinkle with finely grated lime rind to serve.

It’s perfect eaten on the day it’s made, however, this cake will last for a couple of days, covered in the fridge. Heat each piece slightly in the microwave before serving.

April 20, 2015 / emma@cookfasteatslow.com 2 Comments

Hoi Sin Pork, Fried Rice and Steamed Greens

If you would like a low carbohydrate option for this meal, you can substitute cooked Quinoa for the rice in this recipe, or leave it out all together and just enjoy the pork and vegetables.

If you want to use rice, Basmati is your best choice as it is a long-grain rice and has less starch in it, which means it has a lower glycemic load than other varieties of rice. In other words, it releases energy more slowly into your blood stream rather than giving you a quick energy hit. Short grain rice, like Arborio or Carnaroli, (used in dishes like risottos and sushi) are higher in starch which means they are soft and sticky when cooked. This type of rice is considered to have a higher glycemic load.

If you are watching your carbohydrate intake, you are best to limit your consumption of rice or use Basmati rice where possible.

Ingredients

(Serves 4-5)

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 tablespoon of grated fresh ginger or fresh ginger paste

1 teaspoon Chinese 5 Spice

2 tablespoons Hoi Sin sauce

400-500gm pork fillet, sliced thinly

1 cup cooked basmati rice or quinoa, cooled down

1/2 bunch of asparargus, sliced vertically

2 handfuls of beans, top and tailed and cut in half

1 bunch of brocillini, cut in half and then sliced in half vertically

Method

Combine the sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger paste, Chinese 5 spice, Hoi Sin sauce and pour over sliced pork fillets and marinate for 30 minutes (or as long as you have).

Steam the green vegetables till just cooked and set aside.

Heat a medium size frying pan and cook the pork through. Set aside.

Add the left over marinade to the frying pan and bring to a boil, add rice and fry a few minutes till the rice is coloured and warm.

Throw the steamed greens and pork back into the frying pan and give a big toss to combine and heat through before serving.

April 17, 2015 / emma@cookfasteatslow.com Leave a comment

Chocolate Avocado Fudge Cookies (gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free)

These cookies are for serious chocoholics. Rich and fudgey, I recommend making them quite small, even bite size. They are best eaten after a little time in the fridge to firm up and need to be stored in the fridge if not eaten all at once!

This recipe is from thesmoothielover.com blog

Ingredients

(makes about 10-12 cookies or more if you make them smaller)

3/4 cup of ripe avocado flesh

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup cocoa powder

50gm of 70% dark chocolate, chopped (milk free)

1/2 teaspoon of bi carb soda

Method

Preheat oven to 170 degrees celsius

Place avocado flesh and coconut sugar in a bowl and stir till combined.

Add egg and stir.

Mix in cocoa powder and bi carb soda.

Stir in chocolate chunks.

Place small spoonfuls of batter on baking trays lined with baking paper. These cookies won’t spread a lot, so flatten them with the back of your spoon slightly.

Bake for 10 minutes or until they don’t stick to the paper. Cool on trays. Store in single layers in the fridge. These will last for a few days in the fridge.

April 17, 2015February 4, 2016 / emma@cookfasteatslow.com 2 Comments

Avocado and Lemon Pasta

This dish is known as ‘Green Pasta’ in our house, and when the kids find out we are having it, they fist pump the air and say “We love Green Pasta!” I find this quite amusing as all 3 don’t like avocado. Please don’t anyone tell them that’s the main ingredient!

Serves 4-6 people

Ingredients

500gm pasta, we use fettuccine

2 ripe avocados

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 clove garlic

3-4 tablespoons of lemon infused olive oil (or plain if you don’t have it)

1 tablespoon of basil paste or a small handful of fresh basil leaves

a handful of cherry tomatoes, cut in half

fresh parmesan cheese, grated

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

While your pasta of choice is cooking, place the flesh of the avocados, the lemon juice, garlic clove and basil in food processor and blitz until smooth.

While the motor is running, add the olive oil slowly. Taste and season with salt and pepper and add more olive oil if you wish.

Drain the pasta and toss it through the avocado sauce.

Serve with cherry tomatoes and parmesan cheese.

April 12, 2015April 12, 2015 / emma@cookfasteatslow.com 2 Comments

Chocolate, Date and Chia Slice (gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free)

I have many family and friends who face daily health battles, most of which come with strict dietary restrictions, in order to help control, slow down or halt their painful and debilitating conditions.

I call them the ‘silent sufferers’.

To most people, their symptoms and daily struggles cannot be seen. It’s not like a broken arm with a cast or condition that will heal in a few months. Auto-immune diseases such as Arthritis and Lupus, Coeliac Disease, Digestive disorders, Diabetes, Thyroid problems. These are just a few of the conditions that impact many around us each day, probably more than we know. These conditions do not have a ‘cure’ and sufferers will live with them and their effects forever.

Then there are all those who can’t pin point exactly what their health issue may be, but find themselves ‘intolerant’ to so many foods.

It is wonderful that relief from pain and the slowing down of a diseases’s progress can be achieved through making dietary changes. But for those people already struggling, another challenge arises in relation to their food and eating.

Celebrations, entertaining, just stopping off somewhere for a quick lunch can be a problem. Going out to dinner becomes difficult, often a phone call to a restaurant ahead of time is needed to ensure there will be something suitable for them to eat. The people I know who suffer, hate a fuss to be made and don’t like the extra attention it brings, so they often miss out, go without or even don’t attend functions if it’s all going to be too hard.

I don’t think those of us who eat what we want, when we want always realise how hard it can be.

So to my family and friends suffering; you are AMAZING. You are strong, determined, disciplined, BRAVE, courageous and you care about your health so much you will do whatever you can to improve or maintain it.

And to those of us who don’t suffer, we can work at being a little more understanding and sympathetic. If you have a loved one on a restricted diet, find out about it, take an interest. Maybe it means you need to learn a new recipe, that’s okay. Try and remember to cater for their needs if you are cooking for them. Ask ahead of time and show that you’ve gone to a little extra effort to make sure there is something for them to eat at the next family get together or dinner party.

So, onto the recipe….this is a yummy, moist ‘brownie’ style slice that is gluten, dairy and refined sugar free.

It has even received the tick of approval from the men and women in my husbands office who thought it was a ‘normal’ brownie!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups water
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 cup rice malt syrup
200gm dried pitted dates, chopped
1/4 cup chia seeds
2 eggs
1 t vanilla extract
100gm good quality 70% dark chocolate (milk free)
50gm coconut oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup coconut flour

Method

Preheat oven to 170 degrees celsius.

Grease and line with baking paper, a slice tin (approx 25cm x 15cm).

Place water, cocoa and rice malt syrup in a saucepan and stir over medium heat until a smooth paste.

Remove from the heat and add dates and chia seeds and set aside for 30 minutes to cool and thicken (the chia seeds will act as a thickening agent and the mixture will thicken as it cools).

Melt the chocolate and coconut oil together in the microwave, approximately 50 seconds on high. Remove from microwave and stir until melted and combined.

Lightly whisk eggs and vanilla extract and add to date mixture.

Add the coconut flour and cinnamon to the date mixture.

Add the slightly cooled melted chocolate mixture to the date mixture.

Mix thoroughly and spoon into the tin.

Bake for approximately 30 minutes until firm when lightly pressed.

Leave to cool in tin then remove and cut into squares.

Dust with cocoa powder or icing sugar to serve.