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Tamari roasted nuts

Oktoberfest is almost upon us and it feels like the city is in countdown mode. I am not quite there yet. Firstly, it is September, and I hate to point this out to the organizers, but it is called OCTOBER-fest. I just don’t feel ready for it, or the hordes of people about to descend on the city but a part of me is excited. I love love love the fact that everyone suddenly wears lederhosen and dirndls…to work, to school, to the office. It feels so colorful and happy somehow. I also really love that everyone is in love with the city. Its like a big gingerbread heart surrounds Munich and everyone just wants to show off all that this place has to offer. There is a buzz in the air, the streets feel busier, the beer makes people friendlier and chattier.

I also have to confess that we didn’t go last year. It was our second month living here but I was 40 weeks pregnant and we were in the midst of a heatwave. You also have to walk a pretty long way to get to the wiesn and I just couldn’t face it. Instead I lived vicariously through our friends stories. I admired their dirndls and laughed at their crazy drunken antics. We did sneak down very early one morning, way before it opened so that I could walk round and see the huge tents. Amongst all the tales, I have to admit that I was impressed by how much people consume. Personally I couldn’t drink 5litres of anything and especially not beer. I read that on average people consume 800kcal an hour at Octoberfest, which makes sense with all the beer, pretzels, and pancakes! To get me into the spirit of the upcoming festivities I thought I would make this week all about the snacks. Snacks that you can pair with beer (or not) and snacks that are slightly more nutritionally dense than what the tents have to offer

These tamari roasted nuts are seriously addictive. They are rich and earthy, salty and crunchy. They are delicious on their own or crushed on top of a buddha bowl. I used cashews but you can use any nuts you like. Let the beer fest count down begin.

Ingredients
300g cashews

3 tbsp tamari

0.5tsp chilli oil

Method
Place the cashews into a jar with the tamari and oil, cover and leave overnight to soak

The next day, preheat the over to 180C

Spread the cashews out on a lined baking tray and roast in the oven for 20mins

Leave to cool before enjoying

Will keep in a jar for up to 10days

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Three ingredient chocolate truffles

Sometimes the sweetest things are the simplest things. These chocolate date truffles only need three ingredients. I make these all the time. I think most of my friends have tried them, my clients all make them now with ease and there is always a stash of them in our fridge. They taste amazing, they are ready in 5 minutes and you can customize them in so many ways. The basic recipe needs only dates, raw cocoa and walnuts. By grinding down the walnuts and cocoa into a powder you can use the dates to bind them together. You are making the easiest energy ball in the world. It is packed with iron and healthy Omegas. Dates give you long lasting energy rather than a sugar spike making these a perfect pre training snack.

I like to add in fresh ginger to the walnuts and cocoa and simply blend it down with them. You could add in supplements that work for you such as spirulina, maca or lucuma. A tiny splash of espresso, orange zest or a pinch of cinnamon taste great too.

Day to day we eat them like this. Just the simple combination of three ingredients, but if I am making them as a gift or as a after dinner treat I dip them in melted raw chocolate and then roll them in flaked almonds, cocoa or cocoa nibs. They make a really lovely gift, piled into a jar and sealed with a ribbon.

Ingredients
12 walnut halves
4 medjool dates
2 tsp raw cocoa

Method
Pulse the walnuts & the cocoa in a food processor until you have a fine crumb
Add in the dates & pulse until a sticky dough forms
Roll the dough into balls & either place in the fridge or dip in melted raw chocolate first and roll in toppings of your choice

To make the raw chocolate all you need to do is melt 50g cocoa butter with 3tbsp raw cocoa

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Matcha marzipan chocolate cups

It is my 32nd birthday today and I hate to quote my parents, but seriously where have the years gone? What’s funny is that I can’t remember all my birthdays, can you? I remember turning 6 as it was our first year in Norway, I got a kidney infection the day before and I also got a Polly Pocket, which was top of the secret wish list. I also remember 17 as it was the first time we were allowed to have a house party at a friends. I got so ‘merry’ that I was home and in bed by 9pm. 21 was fun and my first grown up birthday, spent in Troy bar in Shoreditch. 30 we spent paddle boarding in LA. 31 was the last one just the two (plus nanuk) of us, we were impatiently waiting the arrival of the little one, and I ordered very spicy thai green curry for lunch in a bid to try and get her to hurry up.

This year is my first birthday as a mama. There were no lie ins or long runs. There was a 5am start and a lot of snuggles. Somehow today doesn’t feel as important, it has somewhat paled, especially as all I can think about it the upcoming first birthday of the kid. Still, its nice to have a few treats. I have been showered in gifts, had beautiful walks in the sun, have a bottle of something bubbly in the fridge for later and I made these little chocolate cups. Alex loves marzipan and I love making it. It is so easy, just ground almonds, a splash of rose water and a drizzle of maple syrup.

I use maple syrup as it has the lightest taste and allows the almonds to shine. This time I added in matcha, for its colour, for its caffeine and for its beautiful earthy flavor. You could mix these up and make some filled with almond butter, sunflower butter, chia jam or anything else that takes your fancy. Mini muffin tins (the silicon ones) make a perfect ‘two bite size’ for a sweet moment on a sweet day.

Ingredients (makes 12 mini cups)
130g 90% chocolate

0.5 tsp matcha powder

1 tbsp maple syrup

6 tbsp ground almonds

0.5tsp rose water

Method
Place half the chocolate into a bowl over a bain marie and melt

Pour into mini muffin molds up to 1/3 of the way up

Place into the fridge until set

Whilst the chocolate hardens, mix the almonds, syrup, rose water and matcha together

Place small spoonfuls of the marzipan into the centre of the chocolate bases and then flatten to almost the edge

Melt the remaining chocolate and pour over the marzipan

Place back into the fridge and allow to harden

Enjoy

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German damson cake

What I love about Germany is that they really celebrate seasonal food. During white asparagus season little stalls pop up everywhere. Trays and trays of white asparagus are brought out each morning and are gone by the afternoon. The stalls are often little more than a road side table and carry only the prized white stalks and occasionally a packet of Hollandaise sauce and the odd homemade jar of jam. As strawberry season arrives, the stalls make room for the berries and then they seem to disappear until the next year. Here, close to the Alps, mushroom season is a huge deal and the first of the chanterelles have just started to appear. Kale is only around after the first frost but before the ground thaws.

Being that Germans love cake you can also follow the seasonal foods via what cake is in the bakery windows. Right now it is damson cake. Up north this is called ‘Zwetschen (damson) Kuchen (cake)’ but down here is ‘Zwetschgendatshi’. In Bavarian the word datshi means to squish. Traditionally when you make this cake you squish the damsons onto the cake base to allow the juice to soak in before baking. I buy this cake a lot just to sit and eat the roasted damsons off the top (the dog gets the cake base…which isn’t helping his diet). Damsons are in season now and at their most delicious but you could replicate this cake with greengages or plums. In a few weeks the damsons will be gone and in their place will be apricots (at the stalls and the bakery) and then come apples. I really appreciate that local seasonal food is embraced and enjoyed. And also that it then disappears until the next year when once again its arrival is celebrated with much fanfare.

When my good friend arrived at my doorstep with a huge punnet of damsons from her Aunty’s garden I knew that I wanted to try and replicate this delicious cake. You could layer it onto a thinly baked sponge, but keep the marzipan as it stops the cake from getting too soft. As with all things, this cake is best shared and even better enjoyed with a cup of coffee and a good chat.

Ingredients (base)
2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup honey

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cardamon

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/4 plain flour

Method
Place the oats and flour into a blender and blend until the oats are finely chopped

Add in the spices and oil blend briefly

Add in the honey and blend until you have a thick sticky ball of dough

Place the dough onto a piece of baking paper and place a second sheet on top

Roll out the dough between the paper sheets into a rectangle until it is approx 2cm thick

Bake for 12-15 minutes

Once almost cool cut into 4 rectangles

Ingredients (Marzipan)
100g ground almonds

2tsp maple syrup

1 tsp rose water

Method
Combine all the ingredients in a blender and mix until you have a dough

Roll out on baking paper into a thin layer and cut into rectangles to fit onto the base rectangles

Place onto the biscuit base whilst the base is still slightly warm and allow to melt

Ingredients (damsons)
14 – 16 damson (halved and de stoned)

2 tbsp water

Method
Place the damsons cut side up into a baking dish with the water

Roast for 30 mins until soft

Allow to cool then layer onto the base

Enjoy

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Nectarine and Pecan Baked Oatmeal

I’ve been making a concerted effort with breakfast this week. I often leave the house and halfway through the baby/dog walk/nursery drop off I realize I am starving. This being Munich, rather than London, there are not many ‘on the go’ options unless I fancy a croissant or a butter pretzel (I don’t). But then by the time I get home the hunger has somehow dissipated and I don’t get hangry until 11am when I basically eat lunch. This is not a great way to start the day, with a belly full of powerful coffee and nothing else.

I’ve been working hard to come up with easy, make ahead breakfasts. Ones that I can eat whilst the baby eats her breakfast (and throws berries at the dog). These nectarine and pecan baked oatmeals fit the bill perfectly. They work because you can vary the ingredients according to your tastebuds or what you have in the fridge. You can make them in individual portions or one big sharing dish to last the week. You can make them on a Sunday evening and enjoy them all week long. I’m thinking that you could even make them savory with roasted mushrooms, feta and spinach…as soon as I try, I’ll let you know. But for now I hope you enjoy the ease of these.

I used roasted nectarines because we had a glut of them sitting on the counter and even though they are in season, the ones we had were rock solid and showed no signs of softening. Roasting fruit brings out its natural sugars and I love the sweetness of the nectarines with the slightly bitter pecans. You can use any fruit and you don’t have to roast it first. Apples, pears, plums and peaches work well but equally you could just throw in a handful of fresh berries and call it a day.

Ingredients (6 servings)
4 sliced nectarines

1/2 cup pecans (chopped)

2 cups oats

1 tsp baking powder

2 flax eggs (or normal eggs)

2 tbsp melted coconut oil

6 tbsp maple syrup or date syrup

2 cups almond milk

Method
Place the wet ingredients (milk, oil, eggs, syrup) into a jug and whisk together.

Combine the oats, baking powder and nuts in a bowl.

In a baking dish (or individual dishes) begin by placing a layer of fruit then covering with the oat mix. Repeat the layering until you almost reach the top of the dish.

Pour over the liquid mix waiting to allow the oats to soak it up until all the liquid is absorbed.

Place onto a baking tray and bake for 40mins (single dish) or until golden brown.

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