Spinach Pancakes

These spinach pancakes are yet another all-time favourite of mine. Smothered with lingonberry jam, these pancakes make a perfect dinner for one (or two if you must share)!

Spinach Pancakes

2 eggs (organic, free-range)

500ml milk (full cream, organic)

about 150g plain flour

a pinch of salt

1 tablespoon olive oil (or melted butter)

150-200g baby spinach, blanched under hot water, chopped finely

butter (organic), for frying

lingonberry jam, for serving

1. Whisk eggs in a bowl and stir in half the milk, flour, salt and oil. Whisk until smooth, then add the rest of the milk and spinach and stir well to combine. Leave to rest for about half an hour. 

2. Fry small pancakes on hot frying pan (greased with butter) for a couple of minutes on each side. Serve with lingonberry jam.

Sugar-free, grain-free sweet parsnip bread

Hello all!

It's my sixth week of the sugar-free challenge and I am quite excited to share another recipe with you.

For this recipe, I was thinking of all the vegetables one could use to make sweet cakes and desserts. There are the usual suspects - carrot, sweet potato, zucchini and beetroot, of course. But parsnips have been a favourite of mine for as long as I can remember, and I've been meaning to use them in a cake for a while. You could easily make a carrot version of this sweet bread, but if you are keen to try something different, I urge you to give a go at parsnips. This is a sweet bread, but perfect served at breakfast or morning/afternoon tea with a big dollop of cinnamon yoghurt or organic butter, if you prefer. I love to toast a couple of thick slices and savour them with a big cup of spicy herbal tea.

On the note of the sugar-free challenge, I was so happy to be featured in Sarah's inspirational blog earlier this week. Sarah's e-book 'I Quit Sugar' was the driving force for this challenge, and I am ever so grateful to her. Thank you Sarah!

 

Sweet Parsnip Bread

(adapted from Elana's recipe)

300g almond meal

pinch of sea salt

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

5 eggs (free-range, organic)

60ml extra-virgin olive oil or melted organic butter

2 tablespoons brown rice syrup*

300g grated parsnips

150g chopped walnuts

* brown rice syrup is available at health food stores. Rice syrup is a low glucose alternative to other sweeteners, like raw honey. You can leave this out altogether, if you prefer.

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and grease a medium sized loaf tin or a 12-cup muffin tin. 

2. Mix together the almond meal, salt, cinnamon and baking soda. 

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, olive oil and brown rice syrup. Stir in the grated parsnips and chopped walnuts.

4. Mix in the dry ingredients. 

5. Scoop the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 45-60 minutes or until firm to touch. Leave to cool on a wire rack before serving. The bread should be moist, not crumbly, so be careful with the baking time and make sure to check during baking as every oven is different.

The last of the apples - Apple and sultana loaf

 

As the northern hemisphere salutes the new-season apples, us on the other side of the globe are farewelling this fruit and moving on to the summer produce. I am not ready to let go of apples just yet, however, as this simple loaf savoured with some smooth ricotta and honey is such an irresistible treat for a morning tea.

 

Apple and sultana loaf

200g organic, whole spelt flour

50g lupin flour*

1 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

100g natural sultanas

500g organic, unsweetened apple sauce**

2 large, free-range egg whites

1. Preheat the oven to 200C and line a medium size loaf tin with baking paper.

2. Place the dry ingredients, including the sultanas, into a bowl and mix to combine.

3. Stir in the apple sauce.

4. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites into soft peaks. Fold the egg whites gently into the rest of the batter. 

5. Bake the loaf for about an hour or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack before serving. Serve fresh or toasted with soft ricotta and honey.

Notes to the recipe.

* lupin flour is available at health-food stores. If you are unable to find it, you can replace it with besan (chickpea) or sorghum flour, or use 40g of wheat or oat germ instead.

** Unsweetened apple sauce is also available at health-food stores. If you are unable to find it, you can replace it with finely grated apples.