On the advice of a sensible friend who recently quit sugar and has not cried into her vodka soda once about it, I picked up Sarah Wilson’s new cook book in the flesh the other day. I already had her book on kindle but since I decided to catch up on six seasons of Mad Men I don’t even know where the kindle is. There’s nothing like flicking through an actual real life book when cooking.
It’s called I Quit Sugar which I know is going to put some of you off and draw others like a bear to honey. Perhaps, like me, you fit into both categories.
This is a fantastic cookbook although I am not sure about the name. While it will immediately appeal to the anti-sugar purists (I tried and failed this and am now simply anti-purist) it has loads of really gorgeous recipes suited to the committed sweet toother. Some of the really beautiful ‘sweet’ recipes in it that are actually sweet enough on their own, or alternatively lend themselves really well to a few glugs of maple syrup or coconut sugar (my two favourite sweeteners).
This is my own version (very close to the original) of Sarah’s Coco-Nutty Granola as I have made it twice now – the first time it was quite easy, the second time it was ridiculously easy and “ridiculously easy” is a pre-requisite for getting a recipe up here. I’ve linked the title above to Sarah Wilson’s recipe at her website.
These storage jars make finding stuff in the pantry and fridge easy – from IKEA.
2 -3 cups nuts (I used almonds, brazil nuts and cashews)
handful chia seeds
handful goji berries (optional)
1 tbsp spice (cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg)
80g coconut oil
big splash of maple syrup (optional)
1/2 – 1 cup raw muesli (fine without this)
a few apricots
Method:
Preheat oven to 120* C.
Use a food processor/thermomix to chop nuts, apricots – not too fine.
Combine all ingredients and spread on a baking tray covered with baking paper (it doesn’t matter if it’s a little deep).
Bake for 20 mins, toss and turn, keep baking till golden brown.
Sarah’s recipe calls for a total baking time of 20 mins but mine took closer to 40 so just keep an eye on it.
Brazil nuts are a good inclusion if you want to up your selenium intake as they are a very rich source. If you’re having trouble finding unsweetened coconut flakes, try the link in the recipe or here and check out Supercharged Food, it’s a great site for whole-foodies and a flat shipping fee of $10.50.
Lunch at the newly renovated Cott Hotel with two sensible friends last week and the conversation turned to the movies. One of them gets free tickets to Luna Palace films and often asks me along. This is because I am a very agreeable movie date:
I scoff my choc bomb before the main feature comes on, or I eat nothing, so there’s no crunching of the end of the cone during awkward quiet bits. I don’t talk at all during the film, not even an ironic glance. Unlike one of the clever men I know I also don’t drink from a water bottle which then creates a little vacuum, making a popping noise as air is returned to the bottle once the drinking has finished (there was no easy way to write that bit).
Sensibly, we decided there were some people with acute attention to detail and others without and how one behaves in the movies is a pretty good yardstick.
The chatter moved seamlessly from movies to parking (aren’t we the fun girls?) and again bewilderment at some people’s lack of attention to detail.
When you’re headed to your car and you can see someone is waiting to pull into your spot, you skedaddle into your seat, put your seatbelt on as you’re pulling out and hot-foot it out of there ASAP so the person behind you doesn’t have to wait for too long, holding up traffic and getting annoyed. Although you will never see them again in your entire life, you don’t want them thinking ill of you.
So why when the situation is reversed, do you find yourself sitting there with your indicator on while the person in the car leaving ambles over, hops in their car does God knows what for two or three minutes then reverses out slowly, visibly surprised to see you waiting there for their spot. Then while they are half out of the spot, slowly put on seatbelt, make another call, chat to child in back seat for a while….This isn’t reserved to beach parking – there’s the shopping centre, the theatre parking, Napoleon Street…
Lets not even go there with the pick up lane at the kids’ schools and the mothers in front chatting from car window to car window when their little one has been belted in already for a full three minutes.
Holier than thou Toyota Prius
At least I can sit smugly in those queues knowing I am helping save the world in my Prius (let’s just forget the fact I am driving when I live less than one kilometre from the school gate).
Many of my sensible friends are celebrating this week: kids back to school, house staying cleaner, no longer haemorrhaging money on a daily basis. In my family we have two landmark years with one daughter in Year 1 and the other daughter in Year 12. In the middle a son in Year 10. We’re at the pointy end of the education system, but hysterically it’s both pointy ends. What fun.
Have you, like me, been wondering what to feed the kids for brekky? Sensible friend Jane suggested an easy breakfast that avoids the cereal trap (cereal is easy but as you know, nutritionally so poor there is no point in it at all): Good quality yoghurt – we use Mundella (because it’s good quality and locally grown and owned by dear friends), some nuts roughly chopped, and some fresh fruit. It’s SO simple and so healthy. Maybe some nice homemade or Gaby’s Muesli and maple syrup spooned on top.
Yoghurt with fruit and nuts
Below is a recipe I have adapted for the Thermomix and altered so it is almost completely Superfoods (superfoods I tell you!). It was originally a Curtis Stone recipe from a friend who dropped a slice of it in yesterday.
Don’t be alarmed by the number of ingredients, you just throw in what you have in your pantry. If you’re not a thermomixer, it’s basically a cup of flour and a couple of cups of ‘bits’.
Superfood Slice
130g coconut flour/other flour
100g muesli
30g each of sunflower seeds, goji berries, shredded coconut, chia seeds, coconut sugar, dates.
50g coconut oil
50g sun warrior protein powder (or whichever brand you like)
20g maca powder
40g honey (I used the McCall’s honey from the Margaret River Farmers Market!)
20g molasses
1tsp baking powder
1 or 2 eggs depending on how dry your mix is.
Throw it all in the bowl, mix it up speed 5, and press it into a brownie tin. Bake 180 for 20 minutes. For non-TMX’s just throw it all in a big bowl and mix it up.
This version happens to be gluten-free but I have also made a batch with normal wholemeal flour and it was fine. Don’t expect it to be more than luke-warmly received by the younger kids, its ‘healthy’ tasting: No it doesn’t taste nearly as good as a Tim Tam okay? You could try melting some chocolate and butter and spreading it on top to dress it up, or add 30g cacao powder to recipe to turn it into a chocolate slice.
Silver Linings Playbook
Back to movies – you know who to ask if you want a movie date! It’s probably my most favourite thing to do. If you haven’t seen Silver Linings Playbook or Argo, do. Especially Argo.
