Welcome back folks!

After a rather lack-lustre weekend, I was feeling uninspired upon my return home from work today.

Instead of indulging in my usual habits, taking a nap, I decided to get creative in the kitchen. It seemed like once I got started, I couldn’t stop.

This afternoon I made:

Spiced apple, pear & coconut granola

Banana bread with spelt and honey

Bliss balls

Cacao nib, almond & cashew nut butter

Step back three months ago and just the thought of creating these dishes in one afternoon would have been enough to increase my heart rate and respiratory rate. Now, it’s what I do to relax and feel good. This blog has changed me, man.

For the better of course.

• Handy tip #1- Grooving to 90’s disco hits whilst baking will improve your mood dramatically. I was instantly brought back to the rollerskating rink days where I was covered in protective gear from elbow guards, wrist guards, knee pads & I’m pretty sure there was even a helmet in there too #thanksmum.
• Handy tip #2 – Clearly all of this protective gear worked as I am proud to say that I have never broken/sprained a bone/joint in my body #safetyfirst.

Now to the recipes.

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Spiced apple, pear & coconut granola:

I decided to be adventurous and step away from my deliciously amazing and reliable gingerbread granola recipe.

Still using this recipe as a guide – I decided to create my own granola recipe.

Ingredients:

Dry Mix:

• 3 & 1/4 cup oats
• 3 tablespoons desiccated coconut
• 3 teaspoons coconut sugar
• 2 teaspoons chia seeds
• 3/4 cup raw almonds
• 4 teaspoonss of Gewurzhaus ‘Apple Cake Spice’ – This can be easily substituted for a mixture of cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg, ground cloves & ginger

Wet mix:

• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Method:

• As per gingerbread granola recipe
• Add approximately 8 finely sliced dried pears to mixture and store in airtight container

Interestedly, Alex called me from interstate whilst I was busy concocting this recipe. He was perplexed as to why I was trialling a new recipe when my go to one was oh so delicious. Ye ol’ if it ain’t broke don’t fix it mentality.

I responded with.. Why shouldn’t I?

Sure, I’m taking a step outside of my comfort zone. But hey why not? What’s to lose?

I couldn’t believe these words were coming out of my mouth. For someone who isn’t particularly confident in the kitchen, this was a huge step.

If not now… then when?

So my first granola baby was born.

I can’t wait to try it tomorrow morning with greek yoghurt to really put it to the test.

This was my first time cooking with coconut oil. Normally I use olive oil because I love the flavour profile of it, plus it’s always readily available. I decided to jump on the coconut bandwagon today. I’m interested to see how this one turns out.

Stay tuned folks…

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Banana bread with spelt and honey + Bliss balls

I used the ever trusty and incredibly inspirational Heidi Sze’s blog for these recipes. After opening my wholemeal spelt flour last week and having such a success with my cookies [see blog post here], I was keen to use this again.

The bliss balls? I had left over medjool dates to use and these babies were so moorish I couldn’t resist. I also added some ground ginger just for fun.

As always, Heidi’s recipes are easy to follow, nutritious and down right tasty. I highly recommend heading over to her blog for some more inspiration.

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Cacao nib, almond & cashew nut butter

I had purchased cacao nibs from The Source Bulk Foods a few weeks ago but had been rather unsure how to incorporate them into my recipes.

Just a heads up – don’t try and eat them on their own. They can be quite bitter and over powering. I stumbled across this recipe which seemed just perfect.

My one and only previous encounter with making nut butter was around Christmas time when I decided to make Almond maple nut butter. I found the consistency to be quite gritty. The recipe I followed today recommended adding some coconut oil to create a smoother texture. My goodness did this make a difference.

It’s delicious, smooth and luxurious. I’m now dreaming about eating this nut butter on fresh sourdough bread…

That’s a task to cure mondayitis tomorrow I’m sure.

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So after today’s adventures in the kitchen I’ve decided that cooking baking is officially my hobby.

Now to work on those savoury dishes…

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Lots of love,

Tess xoxoxox