I make - Tahini marmalade flapjacks

Being a long time fan of Dan Lepard (and flapjacks), I found two of his flapjack recipes which uses tahini or marmalade. Tahini and marmalade! Two of my favorite ingredients in the world. I can't decide which one I want to make first so I combine both. Just by licking the mixing spoon I know this is going to be good!

Tahini Marmalade Flapjacks

75 g butter
50 g brown sugar
75 g marmalade
75 g tahini (or other nut butter)
50 g golden syrup
1/4 tsp salt
100 g raisins, soaked in warm water and drained
100 g walnuts, chopped
2 tbsp chia seeds, soaked in 2 tbsp water
200 g porridge oats

Preheat the oven at 160C. Grease and line a 23-cm square tin.

In a pot on low heat, melt together butter, sugar, marmalade, tahini and golden syrup with 1/4 tsp of salt. Once the butter is melted, stir everything to combine. Turn the heat off (no need to boil the content).

Tip in raisins, walnuts, bloomed chia seeds and oats. I also added 1 tsp cinnamon powder and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract to the mixture, but that's just for my taste.

Pour the flapjack mixture to the prepared cake tin. Press down the mixture and pack firmly in the tin. Bake in the oven at 160C for 30 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden.

Tasting note: this one is a keeper. I start to understand why some say to stay away from this flapjacks because I single-mouthly finished in three days (with great restraints).

I make - Gluten-Free Ginger Loaf

This is adapted from Mary Berry's recipe. I have to say the more I use Mrs Berry's recipes, the more I like them. They are unfussy, easy to work with and with high first-time success rate. This ginger loaf is no exception. The dough is easy to put together. Although it is on the loose side, it bakes up beautifully into feather light texture and a very pleasant light bouncy chew. This is my kind of ginger loaf.

Gluten-free ginger loaf

50g butter, plus extra for greasing
75g light muscovado sugar
1/4 tsp salt
75g black treacle
125ml milk
1 large egg, beaten
100g gluten-free plain flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp mixed spice

For toffee sauce:
25g butter
50g light muscovado sugar
150ml pouring double cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.and generously butter and line a 1kg loaf tin.

In a pot, gently heat together the butter, sugar, salt, treacle and milk together until both butter and treacle are melted. The mixture does not have to come to boil, just warm them enough to melt and beat until smooth. Remove from the heat source and mix in the egg.

Measure all the dry ingredients into a large bowl.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and beat hard for a minute until smooth. Pour into the loaf tin (it will only part-fill the tin).

Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes (I turned the oven to 160C for the last 10 minutes). Start doing the toothpick test at 25 minutes. Cover loosely with foil if getting too dark. Once it's baked, remove from the oven and cool completely.

To make the sauce, put all the ingredients into a saucepan and stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has melted. Bring to the boil, stirring for 3-5 minutes.

Arrange slices of mango on a plate and sit a slice of ginger pudding on top. Serve warm with warm toffee sauce.

2020 weekly - week 15 (3rd week of confinement)

05/04/2020, Sunday

Ankle circumference (tape going on top of tibia/fibula pointed parts):
left widest: 22.5cm
right widest: 24.5cm

Morning or maintenance routine (this is my old routine):

0. Warm up by raising up both heels and slowly coming down
1. Alternating toe and heel walk: 10 minutes
2. Heel walk: 4 minutes
3. Single leg stance: 5 minutes
4. Alfredson Protocol: 15 reps x 3 on the right leg; 15 reps x 3 on the left leg
4b. Single leg calf raise: 1 minute x 3 on the right leg; 1 minute x 3 on the left leg
5. Dorsiflexion stretch on a step: 4 minutes
6. Ankle four ways with resistance band

Afternoon routine (this is for the new exercises):

0. Warm up: squat down and heel raise 8x10, inchworm 10-20 reps
1. Stationary lunges, forward/backward: 2 minutes
1b. Walking lunges: 6 minutes
2. Jogging on the spot: 2 minutes
2b. Knee-high jump: (45-sec on + 15-sec off)x4
3. Stationary side lunges: 2 minutes
3b. Moving side lunges: 4 minutes
4. Single leg calf raise with a dumbbell on a stepper: right leg 3 minutes + left leg 3 minutes
5. Jumping squats: 5 jumps x 3
6. Balance on a wobble board (not yet)
7. Leg press machine (not yet)
8. Standing crunches: 20x3

06/04/2020, Monday

It looks like a week of glorious sunshine ahead of us but I will choose to be a responsible citizen by staying at home for the pandemic. #StayHomeSaveLives

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We've had soups for lunch lately, after the exercise. It's a nice and not so heavy option for a mid-day meal, also eminently adaptable.

The formula I have is as follows:

1. Make a pot of base soup with onion, celery/carrot and garlic, with or without herbs (fresh coriander is very nice for middle-eastern flavored soup)

2. Add main seasoning such as Cajun spice, Baharat spice mix (or any exotic spice mix you like but not frequently used), turmeric and coconut milk, or just ground black pepper

3. Add main flavor ingredient(s) such as tomatoes, cauliflowers, red bell peppers, lentils or a combination

4. Puree half of the soup, stir to mix, season and serve!

So far, my favorite combo is: 1(+coriander), 2(Baharat), 3(tomatoes and lentils).

By trying vegetarian and non-vegetarian soup, I notice that vegetarian soup actually works out better for my tummy. My body just feels much better and relaxed with vegetarian soup so that's how it will be as far as lunch time soup goes.

07/04/2020, Tuesday

Easy Nacho dinner: On a bed of torn iceberg lettuce, spoon over your chili con carne or chili beans, poached egg (optional but nice) and grated cheese. Before eating, have as much plain yogurt as your heart desire on the side with sensible amount of corn chips. Fresh, light and easily gluten-free.

10/04/2020, Good Friday

Wow, Doves Farm Gluten-free plain flour (FREEE) works like a dream. I made a quiche pie crust with it and I feel it works even better than with the wheat flour. The dough still needs to be handled delicately especially when it's rolled out but it does not crumble like almond flour (or wheat flour in my case).

For a 23-cm round pie dish, I used 200g flour, 1/4 tsp xanthan gum, 1/2 tsp salt and 2 tsp sugar, 1/4 cup butter mixed with 1 yolk, 4 tbsp water. This is going to be my default pie crust recipe!

11/04/2020, Saturday

We did have a week of unstoppable sunshine and warm temperature. At least we got to enjoy some while WFH.

Happy Easter with a daffodil from the garden.

I make - Jam crumble bars

Easy to put together, with all store cupboard ingredients, this is Quarantine Baking!

Jam crumble bars

Ingredients
125g butter, melted
1/3 cup / 70g brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/2 cups / 225g (gluten-free) plain flour
1/2 cup (gluten-free) porridge oats (or flour)
1/2 cup ground almond (or flour)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup strawberry jam (or flavour of your choice)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Instructions
Preheat oven to 180C.
Spray a 23cm/9" square tin with oil and line with baking/parchment paper with overhang (so it can be lifted out once cooked).

To make the crumble mixture, stir together butter, sugar, salt, vanilla and egg. Then add in flour, oats, ground almond and baking powder until you can no longer see white bits of flour.

Place two thirds of the crumble mixture in the tin and press into base. Spread with jam. Mix the chopped nuts (if using) with the remaining crumble mixture, then use your hands to crumble the remaining mixture over the top.

Bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until the top is deep golden. Remove and allow to cool in the tin before lifting out of the tin using the baking paper.

Cut into squares (I have 16 squares). Serve at room temperature. Store in airtight container.

I make - Sweet chilli sauce (or jam)

I love sweet chilli sauce. I use it for salad dressing, cooking and making dips. It's such a versatile sauce. I've been using Nigella's recipe for a long time and I can't believe I haven't written about it. Recently, I also tried a version with tomatoes. Both recipes are pretty good but Nigella's recipe is slightly simpler (and more precise) and the product looks prettier.

I like the fact that I can adjust the level of spiciness by playing the ratio between chilli peppers and bell peppers. Each time I make 4-6 jars and it lasts me for a year or two. They keep well in sterilized jars.

My Favorite Chilli Jam adapted from Nigella's recipe

150 grams long fresh red chilli peppers (deseeded and cut into 4 pieces)
150 grams red peppers (cored, deseeded and cut into rough chunks)
1 kilogram regular sugar, with 1 tsp of pectin added at the end
600 ml white wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
4-6 garlic cloves, minced

Method

You will need 6 x 250ml / 1 cup sealable jars, with vinegar-proof lids, such as Kilner jars or re-usable pickle jars.

Wash your jars and dry them at 120C in the oven for 20 minutes.

This is Nigella's method with food processor: Put the cut-up chillies into a food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped. Add the chunks of red pepper and pulse again until you have a vibrantly red-flecked processor bowl.
Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar in a wide, medium-sized pan over a low heat without stirring.
Scrape the chilli-pepper mixture out of the bowl and add to the pan.

This is the method I use without a food processor: Put roughly chopped peppers, garlics and salt in a pot along with the vinegar. Use an immersion blender to blitz up everything. Add in (regular) sugar and heat the pot over a low heat until sugar is dissolved (no more grittiness when scraping the bottom of the pot with a spatula/spoon). 

After dissolving all sugar, bring the pan to the boil, then leave it at a rollicking boil for 10 minutes. When I use regular sugar (no pectin added), I like to reduce the mixture by at least a third, usually by half. If you reduce the mixture by half, it should be quite thick and jelly like without adding pectin. I, however, still add a teaspoon of pectin at this stage to be on the safe side.

Take the pan off the heat and allow it cool. The liquid will become more syrupy, then from syrup to viscous and from viscous to jelly-like as it cools.

After about 40 minutes, or once the red flecks are more or less evenly dispersed in the jelly (as the liquid firms up, the hints of chilli and pepper start being suspended in it rather than floating on it), ladle into your jars. If you want to stir gently at this stage, it will do no harm. Then seal tightly.

Thane Prince's Chilli Pepper Jam

Ingredients
5 red peppers
8 red chillies
1.25kg granulated sugar
360ml white wine vinegar or cider vinegar
225g canned chopped tomatoes
125g liquid pectin

Method
To clean the jars, preheat the oven to 140C/275F/Gas 1. Wash the jars well in warm soapy water then rinse thoroughly under running water. Leave the jars and lids to dry, upside down, in the oven. (Or you can clean the jars by putting them through the hot cycle of a dishwasher.)

Place a clean plate in the freezer to chill. This will be used to test if the cooked jam has reached setting point.

For the jam, cut the peppers and chillies in half, then remove the seeds and white membranes (keep the white membranes of the chillies if you want more spicy heat). Either chop the peppers and chillies finely by hand or, alternatively, roughly chop them, then place in a food processor and pulse to chop finely.

Place the chopped chillies and peppers into a wide, deep saucepan with the sugar, vinegar and tomatoes. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved.

Bring the mixture to a rolling boil for 7-10 minutes to reduce the liquid by a half. Remove from the heat and stir in the pectin. Return the pan to the heat and boil for another couple of minutes.

To test if the jam has reached setting point spoon a little onto the chilled plate. Leave for a moment, then push the edge of the jam with your finger - if the jam is ready the surface will wrinkle as you push.

Once the jam has reached setting point, let it cool for five minutes before potting into the sterilised jars. The jam will keep in the sealed jar for up to six months.

Tasting Note: The sourness is not as sharp as in Nigella's recipe, a milder chilli jam. I prefer the sourness sharper in my sweet chilli jam. 

I make - gluten-free apple flapjacks

This is adapted from Anna Jones' Carrot and Apple Flapjacks. She uses "scruffily ground oats" which gives a rather smooth texture after baking, although the mixed-in seeds/nuts do provide some crunch. If you want more texture, ground half of the oats and mix with the remaining.

Apple Flapjacks

4 tbsp chia seeds, mixed in 4 tbsp water
200g porridge oats
150g dried fruits
2 medium-size apples, grated
50g desiccated coconut
100g mixed chopped nuts and/or seeds
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp golden syrup
1 tbsp vanilla extract
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp mixed spice
70g butter, melted

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/gas 6 and line a 20cm × 30cm baking tin with greaseproof paper. In a small bowl, soak the chia seeds in four tablespoons of water, then set aside.

Coarsely grind all or half of the porridge oats and then tip into a large bowl along with the dried fruits. Ms Jones specified to blitz half of the dried fruits until a little mushy before adding to the oats. I merely chopped the big pieces to smaller ones.

Grate the apples (no need to peel them) into the bowl, and add the remaining dried fruit if you blitz the half earlier, coconut, chia mixture, mixed nuts/seeds, golden syrup, vanilla, spices and melted butter. Mix well.

Spoon into the tin, smooth the top with the back of a spoon, and bake for 40–45 minutes, until golden brown. Leave to cool a little in the tray, then turn out on to a wire rack and leave to cool completely. Slice into pieces.

Tasting note: it's kind of bready texture (like hard bread pudding), even though it's healthy. Probably no next time. The idea of adding bloomed chia seeds is a good one and I will keep it for my next batch of flapjacks.

2020 weekly - week 14 (2nd week of confinement)

29/03/2020, Sunday

Ankle circumference (tape going on top of tibia/fibula pointed parts):
left widest: 22.5cm
right widest: 24.5cm

Morning or maintenance routine (this is my old routine):

0. Warm up by raising up both heels and slowly coming down
1. Alternating toe and heel walk: 10 minutes
2. Heel walk: 4 minutes
3. Single leg stance: 5 minutes
4. Alfredson Protocol: 15 reps x 3 on the right leg; 15 reps x 3 on the left leg
4b. Single leg calf raise: 1 minute x 3 on the right leg; 1 minute x 3 on the left leg
5. Dorsiflexion stretch on a step: 4 minutes
6. Ankle four ways with resistance band

Afternoon routine (this is for the new exercises):

0. Warm up: squat down and heel raise 3x10, inchworm 10-20 reps
1. Stationary lunges, forward/backward: 2 minutes
1b. Walking lunges: 6 minutes
2. Jogging on the spot: 2 minutes
2b. Knee-high jump: (45-sec on + 15-sec off)x4
3. Stationary side lunges: 2 minutes
3b. Moving side lunges: 4 minutes
4. Single leg calf raise with a dumbbell on a stepper: right leg 3 minutes + left leg 3 minutes
5. Jumping squats: 5 jumps x 3
6. Balance on a wobble board (not yet)
7. Leg press machine (not yet)

31/03/2020, Tuesday

Just realize one thing about insisting not using gluten-free flour mix. I will end up eating ground almond all day long, breakfast, dinner and dessert. After going through almost a kilo of ground almond in the form of blondies, cakes, crackers and pizzas, I conceded that I need gluten-free flour mix. Although some of the baked goods taste good, you taste ground almond predominantly. It can be too much even for an almond lover like me. So the search and the experiment of gluten-free flour mix begins!