As a Latter Day Saint, I subscribe to a law of health which is called the Word of Wisdom.  As a part of that law,  we have been asked to abstain from drinking tea and coffee. This can be somewhat of a challenge, especially if you enjoy the flavours of teas and coffees. I have not imbibed them as hot drinks for a very long time now, but have still used them in baking. Recently however I challenged myself to come up with an alternative so that I could follow the WOW in every form, and so I have been using Barleycup as a healthy alternative.  For those of you who are not familiar with the product,  Barleycup is a range of instant hot drinks created from roasted cereals and chicory root, which are completely free from caffeine and artificial additives.

 

It is a very easy product to use.  Simply spoon the Barleycup into a mug and add boiling water.  This hot drink contains no sugar but has a tempting aroma and mild taste, coming in at only 10 calories per cup.  You can enjoy it on its own or with milk (including soy, almond or rice milk) as a part of a balanced diet.

There are four variations of Barleycup to choose from. Barleycup Powder, Barleycup Granules, Barleycup Organic and Barleycup with Dandelion. 

It is available in 200g jars from independent health food stores nationwide and on line. Our friends Tony and Tina actually use it to make milkshakes, which I haven't done yet, but it is on my list of things to try. 

Basically however, I have been trying to use it in my baking as a suitable substitution for coffee.  First I used it in my Coffee & Walnut Cake recipe, with excellent results.  It was used both in the icing and in the cake itself and worked very well.  In fact I could barely tell the difference!

 

I love muffins.  They are like little cakes for one . . .  but not too sweet. I  like to think of them as a healthy alternative to cake.

 

Muffins are great for packing into lunch boxes!  Perfectly portable, they are great for breakfasts on the go, and they make great bring-alongs to work for break time and are probably a lot healthier than anything you could buy at a bake shop.

 

Adding Barleycup to these muffins adds some extra fibre, along with a mild flavour that is caffeine free and tastes good! Its also low in calories, so win/win/win! 

 

I like to use dark chocolate chips because they pack a lot of flavour and dark chocolate is actually quite good for you.  Try to find a chocolate chip with a high level of cacao.  Alternately you can chop of a bar of high level cacao chocolate into smaller bits.  This works fine.

  

As you can see these muffins rise tall with beautiful domed tops!  I love domed tops, and these muffins are just the perfect size.  You don't need, and shouldn't be,  eating anything larger than this!

 

Why not enjoy them along with a nice hot cup of Barleycup? A beautiful combination.  Caffeine free, filled with fibre and delicious too!

  

 

For further information and recipe inspiration, visit:  www.barleycup.com or @BarleycupUK on facebook. 

#BakingWithBarleycup 

  

I am determined this year to use all of the pears from our pear tree.  I struggle with this each year.  We have a Conference Pear Tree, (Bosc Pears) and they are not the best pears for eating. (Lesson learnt.)  They are however great pears for cooking with, so bring on your crumbles, cakes and pies! 

 

Our landlord brought us a big bag of cooking apples yesterday and I looked at the pears that Todd had picked and the apples and thought, crumble . . .  and then I thought why not add blackberries.  But I had only a handful of blackberries, so threw in some frozen cranberries I had to make up the difference.  But you can use either all blackberries or all cranberries if you wish.

 

I can't think of anyone who wouldn't love a crumble . . .  not quite a pie, not a cake . . . fruity and sweet and topped with a nutty/buttery/crispy/crumbly topping.

 

I love to make crumbles. There is no faffing about with rolling out crusts or beating together batters . . . you just prepare your fruit, pop it into a baking dish . . .

 

Rub together a few ingredients . . .  flour, butter, sugar, oats, nuts, etc.  . . .  scatter them over top and then bake! 

 

Until the fruit is soft and jammy . . .

 

And the topping is golden brown. If you find your topping browning before your fruit is ready, cover it lightly with some aluminium foil. 

 

Let it sit for a bit . . .  you don't want anyone burning their mouth, and then spoon it out into bowls for eating  . . .

 

There is rather a lot with this one, so make sure you have plenty of people around to help you heat it, either that or prepare it in two bakes, and freeze one for later. (Without baking it, just wrap well and pop it into the freeze. Thaw completely prior to baking as below.)

 

Todd loves cream or custard poured over his  . . .  I prefer ice cream  . . .

 

Although cream is also very, very good  . . .

 

and what is ice cream, but  . . .  frozen custard.

 

Todd managed to scarf down two bowls of this on the day  . . .  and another big bowl the day after. 

  

In fact, I think he would have it for breakfast if he could . . .

 

 

Crumbles speak Autumn to me  . . .  not quite there yet, I know  . . .  but only a few more days to go. This is a lovely one. Bon Appetit!

 

I had some pumpkin leftover from making my Pumpkin Pie Roll ups last weekend and I didn't want it to go to waste and so I decided to make this Pumpkin Pound Cake with its luscious Caramel Walnut Sauce for us to enjoy!  It is a recipe that I have adapted from one found in a book by Pillsbury, The Complete Book of Baking, published in 1993.  It is a cake that I have made many times through the years, and a real favourite, even without the sauce!

 

If you don't have this book, I highly recommend it.  You can still buy it second hand from a variety of locations.  It is filled to overflowing with great recipes and information on baking.  I picked it up originally in a second hand book shop, and it became one of my favourite books in due course!

 

It makes a rather large bundt cake, or you can bake it into two large loaves (9 inches by 4 inches) which is just perfect for us, as we are only two. By baking it into loaves, I end up with one to keep and one to share, or freeze for a later date. 

 

I know it doesn't really look like much, but don't be fooled by its simplicity. There is nothing simple about this. It is filled with wonderful flavour and I'll let you in on a little secret. This cake gets better tasting with every day that passes . . .

 

On the first day with this wonderful Caramel Walnut Sauce, it is just WOWSA!!  If you are not fond of the flavour of dark soft brown sugar, do use some light soft brown sugar in its place. Personally I like the flavour of the dark brown.

 

It lends a smoky, almost molasses-like quality to the richness of the sauce which just goes beautifully with pumpkin!

 

I used my homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice to flavour the cake. But if you don't have any you can use this alternative:  3/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp ground cloves . . . but if you have it  or can make your own, do opt for the Pumpkin Pie Spice. I think it's better.

 

I always toast my nuts before using them.  Just throw them into a hot oven (200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6) on a baking sheet for about 8 to 10 minutes, just until you can smell them becoming nutty. You don't want to burn them.

 

Toasting nuts really brings out their flavours. Trust me on this.  And it makes them crunchier . . .  moreish even.

 

Together with the cake . . .  this sauce, this cake  . . . just magical.  Autumn on a plate.

 

And Autumn is only a few days away now, you know  . . .  summer is on its swan song now  . . .

 

Its time to embrace the pumpkin  . . .  smoke . . . warmth . . . comfort . . . spice . . .

   

The only way this could get any better would be if you added a dollop of whipped cream. I didn't have any on the day  . . .  sigh  . . .  Probably a good thing because I probably wouldn't have been able to control my appetite!

 

I really hope you will bake this and enjoy it on day one with the sauce and the nuts, and then on every day afterwards . . .  just plain. OH MY GOODNESS!!!! This is truly amaze-balls as the younguns say! Bon Appetit!

 

Its amazing what you can do with just a few simple ingredients. The other day I had a package of chicken breasts which needed using, along with a few bits and bobs and I created a delicious Chicken Pot Pie for us, with a Puff Pastry Topping and leftovers for a second meal the day after.

 

There was two largish single chicken breasts in the package. (The equivalent of 4 small ones.) These I covered with some light chicken stock and then poached until tender.  I let them cool in the stock and then I shredded them with two forks.  I kept the pieces bite sized. I like the rough look of shredded meat rather than  cubes. I popped the shredded chicken into an enamel baking dish.

 

I toyed with the idea of making pot pies like the ones my mother used to buy when I was growing up. My mom made fantastic pot pies from scratch, but every now and then she would buy us some frozen ones which we saw as being  a real treat.

 

I have no idea why.  They were mostly white sauce, with some veg and only a tiny bit of meat in them, but then again  . . .  there is no accounting for taste, right?  What do kids know??  They were different than what we normally had, a rare treat, and that made them special to us.  Looking back, I would choose my mother's over them any day of the week!

 

So . . .  scratch the white sauce.  Instead I decided to use the liquid leftover from poaching the chicken and make a gravy with that, but I am getting ahead of myself here!

 

First I sauteed some chopped carrot, celery and mushrooms in a bit of butter . . .  sweating them until they were tender and almost beginning to caramelise, but you don't want to let them brown. No, no, NO.

 

Once they were softened I whisked in some flour and then the stock from poaching the chicken. You might need to add a bit of water to give you the full amount. that's okay. 

 

Once it has thickened, you add the frozen peas (I am partial to the petit pois) and some sage along with some seasoning,  and then pour the whole lot over the chicken in the baking dish.

 

Now here is where I got a bit fancy smancy . . .  I had a packet of Puff Pastry that was about to go past its sell-by date and so I used a flower shaped cookie cutter and stamped out large rounds to top the hot filling with, brushing them with an egg wash. 

 

I popped it into the oven to bake for about half an hour, just long enough for me to boil some of our garden potatoes . . . .

I served them along side the pot pie, gilded with a bit of melted butter, parsley and seasoning.  The whole meal was scrumdiddlyumptiously tasty good!  And a fabulous way to make two chicken breasts stretch to either feed four people once, or two people twice!  Everyone is a winner!

 

This is the kind of cooking I really love to do  . . .  seeing what I have on hand and then creating something tasty from what's there!  It is a good exercise in stretching my imagination, and more often than not works out to be quite delicious in the end!  Bon Appetit!