The mousse, tart and mocktail question

I've been putting the finishing touches to the Healthy Fresh Start class at Harts Barn Cookery School this coming Sunday (22nd). I've decided on many of the recipes that I'll be sharing but I thought there might be room for a couple more.

I couldn't decide between a fresh fruit mousse, a raspberry tartlet, sunset mocktail and a raw tarte tartin. 

In the end I've come down on the side of the apple. Apples are aways plentiful here in the forest and the dish involves a couple of techniques that can be used for other desserts.

I'll be sharing a few mocktail recipes. I've also decided to share the secret of the sunset mocktail. It's unbelieveably mouthwatering, creamy and delicious and everyone who I've made it for has loved it. I hope they'll love it too.

New Classes at Harts Barn Cookery School

I'm delighted to be running some new classes at Harts Barn Cookery School in Gloucestershire this year. I really want to debunk the myth that raw and living food is just about salad. If you've been following my blog you'll know that I regularly make raw noodles, crepes, pizzas, cheesecakes and chocolate cakes, pates and crackers...and a whole lot more.

Most people think that raw food is a hippy diet...but I'm not a hippy and those I know who eat raw food aren't either. We know how good we feel when we eat this way.  

So these classes are not aimed at promoting the latest fad craze or hippy diet or turning people to a raw food diet overnight, but teaching you how to bring the benefits of raw and living food into your current way of eating. 
  

The raw and living food movement is growing in popularity because it makes people feel better – provides real health benefits, gives people more energy, helps to lose excess weight and makes us feel and look younger (and who of us doesn’t want that!)  

A Healthy Fresh Start to 2012

Sunday 22^nd January 10am – 12pm

If you fancy getting fresh and losing any excess weight in 2012, this two hour class includes some delicious tasters and ideas that you can try straight away and you’ll be amazed by.

The class covers: The principles and benefits of alkali and living foods, raw food preparation techniques, breakfast recipes, lunch ideas, sauces, spreads and wraps and delicious healthy dairy-free and soya-free banana ice-cream and chocolate sauce. Yes there is such a thing as raw chocolate! Refreshing soft drinks without refined sugar.

They’ll be a pack of recipes and notes to take away and lots of other raw food tasters on offer too. For the recipes you’ll only need a knife and/or a blender/food processor.   

£25 per person – Introductory offer: bring a friend and pay only £45 for two people.

Raw and Living Foods Made Easy with Lunch

Saturday 4^th February 10am – 2pm

Or… how to create a more youthful body, lose excess weight, gain an extra two hours in your day and feel better than you’ve ever done before (and still eat chocolate)

Fresh fruit and veg are great for your health and have all the flavour of cooked foods when you know how. Often called ‘raw or living food’, this introductory workshop will give you an overview of the principles and show you the range of raw and living foods from sea vegetables to superfoods. 

·         Benefits of raw and living foods

·         Raw food groups and principles of combining

·         Overview of equipment for preparing raw and living foods (including sprouter and dehydrator)

·         Raw food preparation techniques

·         Menu planning

We will demonstrate delicious recipes including:

·         Juices and elixirs

·         dairy and soya free mylks,

·         a silky smooth warm chocolate drink

·         spreads and pates

·         warming wheat free vegetable noodles to beat the February chills

·         garlic mushrooms and marinated veggies

·         wraps and lunch ideas

·         raw chocolate and a healthy rich and dairy free raw chocolate mousse & a delicious raspberry sorbet.

If you want a break from dairy or to eat less meat or get your kids to eat more fruit and veg, this workshop will give you lots of ideas – and lots of tasters of a whole range of new and exciting foods.

You will also get a substantial delicious lunch (which includes a range of raw foods – not just those demonstrated) and a recipe pack with course notes to take away. £45 per person.

“If you’re interested in raw food as a concept, and are curious to find out what it’s all about, I’d recommend Deb’s course as a great introduction – light on lecture - heavy on experience.  Give it a go, you, and your body might like it!” Andrew, Artisan Southwest

Harts Barn Cookery School is a lovely setting for these classes. It's a great space and the views over rolling countryside are amazing...  To book a place you can email  yvette@hartsbarncookeryschool.co.uk or telephone 01452 830954.

I hope to see you there.

Deborah x

  

 

 

Getting creative with raw chocolate

Happy New Year! I was busy over Christmas making lots of lovely raw chocolates for friends and family as well as lots of other scrummy things (..but more about that later!).

I put together some classic combinations: chocolates infused with orange peel formed into orange segments; coffee creams - a soft coffee flavoured ganache topped with walnut; hazelnut pralines; chocolate raspberry truffles dusted with cacao powder; and some delicate peppermint thins wrapped in mint green foil. I also added some superfoods for good measure; hempseed, blueberry, goji berry, maca and almond.  

I think my favourites were the peppermint creams and the violet flowers – the latter were flavoured with botanical extract and I hid a chewy sour cherry in the middle of each chocolate.  

Some glass bowls found in thrift shops made pretty containers. After a few days in the kitchen, it was such a pleasure to visit friends with their gifts of raw chocolates – and I had lots of fun making them too!

My basic raw chocolate recipe is

·         75g raw cacao butter, chopped small

·         3 heaped tablespoons of raw cacao powder

·         A pinch of Himalayan pink salt

·         Sweetener to taste – I used a mix of raw agave and xylitol.    

The most important part of the method is to ensure that the cacao butter doesn’t melt to a temperature above 42 degree C. I melt mine in the dehydrator set at 105F, but you can also melt the cacao butter by placing it in a glass bowl set into a bigger bowl of hot water until the cacao butter melts. It helps the melting process if it is either chopped into small pieces or grated.  Then stir in the other ingredients until all are dissolved. I usually add some mesquite powder to the mix too – it’s high in calcium, iron and zinc and is a gorgeous sweetener with a slight malty taste.

It was great to be able to eat chocolate over the holidays without the guilt! I made bags of raw Follyty Street to dip into over the festivities.

Citrus Firelighters

I get through a lot of citrus fruit in my raw food kitchen.  It always seems a shame to throw away the peel, but it can’t be composted because citrus can make the compost heap overly acidic.

So what to do?

Recently I’ve learned that when the peel is dried out in the dehydrator it makes great fire lighters – with the added bonus that it scents the room as it burns.

I save the citrus peel in the fridge and pop it in the dehydrator when the dehydrator is on for something else. I'm guessing that the oven would be just as effective for drying the peel too.

I store it in a basket by the fire so it’s ready when I need it. This may be a small thing but it really makes me happy to put the citrus peel to good use. Come on baby light my fire... 

A Spiced Apple Hot Toddy for a Foggy Night

I took a trip over to Taurus Crafts in Lydney as they have lots of local heritage apples for sale at the moment. The colours of the apples were beautiful and there was quite a wide variety to choose from. The aroma of crisp apples was absolutely mouth-watering.

In need of a warming drink on a cold foggy night, I made this spicy and fruity drink from the apples that I bought – it’s just lovely and the lemon provides a little bit of added zing.  

Ingredients

3 apples

½ lemon, juiced

2 cloves

1 slice of fresh ginger

1 star anise

1 stick of cinnamon to serve


Method

Juice the apples and mix in the juice of the lemon. Stir in the spices. Place in a double boiler on the stove and heat until finger hot.

Tip: If you are using a masticating juicer then you can warm this in the dehydrator at 115 degrees F for an hour instead of using the stove. Masticating juicers keep the juice at a higher quality for longer than  centrifugal juicers.   

Buzz Buzz Buzz

    

We've been so busy here over the last couple of weeks. We had Kristyn, a vegan chef from America, come to stay for a while to undertake some intensive training in raw food. She is part of the WWOOF programme and as an exchange was a fantastic help to us in the garden. Thanks Kristyn! x



Mediterranean Pizza Flatbread

 

Falafel with Satay Sauce


 

Blonde Macarons





We managed to make over 40 different raw recipes and even found time to throw a raw dinner party to friends over the weekend. Amongst the goodies we made together were lime and cumin kale crisps, falafel wraps with satay sauce, pizza flatbreads, buckwheat and mulberry slices, chunky chocolate brownies, blonde macarons and dark chocolate cherry cake with Madagascan vanilla cream.  Some of the things we made are pictured here. 



Kristyn’s been undertaking an apprenticeship with Katie Venner and Gordon Woodcock at Tracebridge Sourdough in Somerset since June. I met her at the Introduction to Raw Foods Workshop and Lunch that I ran there at the end of October. Andrew from Artisan South West came along to the course too and was kind enough to review it. You can see the Artisan Southwest website and read the review here.

There are more courses coming up in Somerset and Gloucestershire – more about those in the next few days.

 

Chunky Chocolate Brownie
































Buckwheatsicles

When I was young I used to crave 'Ricicles' - a sugar coated breakfast cereal made from puffed rice. Very occasionally my mother would let me have some. I loved the sugary crunch combined with the creaminess of the gold top milk.

These days I prefer my breakfasts organic, un-pre-packaged, vegan and raw but I still like lots of crunch.

The name 'buckwheat' is abit misleading because it isn't related to wheat at all - nor is it a cereal. It's actually a seed which makes it great for sprouting.      

These buckwheatsicles are delicious for breakfast but to be honest I eat them at any time of the day. I tend to make ½ kilo’s worth at a time to last a while and I keep them in an airtight jar. 

 

Combined with creamy Brazil nut mylk which has been sweetened with Madagascan vanilla and organic medjool dates, this is definitely a breakfast cereal to surpass anything in a packet.
                                                                                                   

Equipment

A dehydrator (I use the Excalibur 9 Tray Dehydrator)

Ingredients

Raw Buckwheat

Method

Sprout the raw buckwheat by soaking it in pure water for 5 hours and then rinse frequently for about 3 days until the buckwheat grows little tails. Make sure you rinse a few times a day because the buckwheat can go slimy. 

Once it has sprouted, dehydrate the buckwheat at 105 degrees for 10 hours until it has lots of crunch. 

Serve with Brazil nut mylk and top with banana for added sweetness.