Ingredients

150 g rolled oats
300 ml filtered water
almond milk, unsweetened and unflavoured, to taste
a few pinches of mace powder
a few pinches of cinnamon powder
concentrated apple juice, to taste
1-2 handfuls of pomegranate kernels
half a red apple, cleaned and diced
1-2 handfuls of raisins

Makes 2 servings.

Directions

Place the rolled oats in a large bowl and cover them with the water. Cover with a plate or kitchen foil and let soak overnight in a cool place. In the morning, divide the oats into 2 individual serving bowls, add the almond milk, spices and the rest of the ingredients and serve. If you prefer, you can lightly warm the oats up with some milk just before dividing them into the bowls.

Ingredients

half a very small head celeriac, peeled and shaved thin
1 red apple (I used Red Delicious), cleaned, quartered and cut into very thin slices
1 very small lemon, cleaned and cut into thin slices
lemon juice, to taste
extra virgin olive oil, to taste
whole sea salt, just enough to taste
rice malt syrup, to taste
whole grain, old style mustard, to taste
apple vinegar, to taste

Makes 2 servings.

Directions

In a salad bowl combine the celeriac, apple and lemon slices and drizzle with some lemon juice. In a separate, smaller bowl, combine the olive oil, salt, rice malt syrup, mustard and apple vinegar until completely mixed. Transfer the vegetables into individual serving plates then pour the dressing over them just before serving.

Ingredients

For the cake

150 g semi-whole wheat flour
150 g millet flour
a pinch of whole sea salt
half a teaspoon cream of tartar
4 Granny Smith apples
160 ml unsweetened and unflavoured almond milk
100 ml extra virgin olive oil
170 g rice malt syrup
a few pinches of vanilla powder

For the rice malt caramel sauce

250 g rice malt syrup
150 ml vegetable cream (I used almond cream)
a pinch of whole sea salt
2 tablespoons muscovado sugar
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tablespoons filtered water

Makes 1 cake (20-22 cm). 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 180° C. In a bowl, combine wheat flour, millet flour, salt and cream of tartar. Peel, core and thinly slice 2 apples. Line a cake pan (20-22 cm) with parchment paper and arrange the apple slices in a single layer on it on concentric circles, making sure there are no gaps. Peel, core and cut into pieces the remaining apples and put them in the bowl of a mixer, add the almond milk, olive oil, rice malt syrup and vanilla and process until very smooth. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and fold together quickly. Pour the batter on top of the sliced apples and bake for 40-45 minutes.

To make the rice malt caramel sauce, combine the rice malt syrup, vegetable cream, salt, muscovado and vanilla in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down a bit and continue  to cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring regularly. Do not overcook. Add cornstarch, cook for a few more minutes, until the sauce thickens further to your preferred sauce consistency. Turn off the heat.
Remove the cake from the oven, let cool slightly for 5-10 minutes, transfer the cake onto a wire rack or a plate, pour the rice malt caramel sauce on top of it and let cool completely before serving.

Ingredients

400 g stale wholemeal bread
600 ml oat milk, plain (unflavoured) and unsweetened
200 ml apple juice, with no added sugar
150 ml vegetable cream, GMO-free (I used almond cream)
100 g rice malt syrup
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
4 red apples, cleaned, cored, peeled and thinly sliced
200 ml filtered water
2-3 tablespoons apple juice concentrate, with no added sugar
half a teaspoon vanilla powder
maple syrup (grade B), to serve 

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 170° C. In a large bowl, mix together oat milk, apple juice, cream, malt syrup and vanilla. Cut the bread into small cubes and stir it into the liquid mixture. Let soak for at least 40-45 minutes. Now and then, mash the bread with a fork. Add some more oat milk and apple juice if necessary (it shouldn’t be, but that depends on the kind of bread you use).
In the meantime, put the sliced apples in a pan, add the water, apple juice concentrate and vanilla, stir well and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove the apples from the heat. Transfer some of the bread mixture into a lightly oiled baking pan (or divide it between small oven safe ramekins), add one layer of the sliced apples and repeat with remaining mixture and apple slices. Bake for about one hour. Check for donness by piercing with a knife: it should come out clean. Cook a bit longer if necessary. Serve either warm or cold drizzled with some maple syrup.

Ingredients

For the mini loaves

150 g semi-whole wheat flour
50 g chestnut flour
50 g whole rice flour
50 g cornstarch
half a teaspoon powdered cinnamon
a pinch of whole sea salt
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
70 ml extra virgin olive oil
100 g rice malt syrup
230 ml oat milk
3 small apples (I used Fuji), peeled and pureed using a food processor

For the hazelnut sauce

6 tablespoons rice malt syrup
5 teaspoons hazelnut butter
a pinch of whole sea salt
5 teaspoons oat milk

Makes 5-6 mini loaves.

Directions

Preheat oven to 170° C. In a large bowl combine the semi-whole wheat flour, chestnut flour, rice flour, oatmeal flour, cinnamon, salt and cream of tartar.
In another bowl pour the oil, rice malt syrup, and milk. Whisk well and add the apple puree. Mix again then fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients (preferably using a wooden spatula). Stir gently until the ingredients are combined (add some more oat milk if necessary). Lightly oil the mini loaf pans and sprinkle them with flour. Fill them with the batter, using a spoon. Place in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick or knife inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean. Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from the loaf pans.

To make the hazelnut sauce, combine the agave, hazelnut butter, salt and milk in a bowl and whisk until perfectly smooth. Refrigerate until shortly before serving (the sauce might get a bit sticky and hard when refrigerated: all you have to do is leave it at room temperature for a while and stir it).

Serve the loaves topped with the hazelnut sauce.

Ingredients

1 small pumpkin
a pinch of whole sea salt
filtered water (to cook the pumpkin)
2 apples (I used Red Delicious), peeled and cut into cubes or slices
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, and some more to serve
juice of 3 cm fresh ginger root
a large handful of pumpkin seeds
half a teaspoon dried, powdered ginger
1/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt

Makes 2-4 servings.

Directions

Peel the pumpkin and remove the seeds, then cut the flesh into cubes. Place the pumpkin cubes in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, sprinkle with the salt, and add the water. Cover and cook over low heat for about 15 minutes, until soft. Add some more water if necessary. When cooked, set aside and allow to cool a bit, then transfer the mixture into a food processor. Add the apples, the olive oil and the ginger juice and blend until smooth and creamy, adding some more water for a much looser texture (in case you do add some more water, make sure it’s not too cold). Briefly crush the pumpkin seeds in a mortar with the ginger and salt. Gently reheat the soup if necessary, transfer into cups or serving bowls and sprinkle with olive oil and some of the pumpkin seeds-ginger-salt mixture before serving.

Thoughts, tips, ideas

This soup is good warm or at room temperature but also colder. You can even  make it completely baby-friendly and leave the ginger (as well as the pumpkin seeds and salt) out.

Ingredients

200 g semi-whole Manitoba flour
100 g whole rice flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
a pinch of whole sea salt
70 ml extra virgin olive oil
100 ml agave syrup
100-120 ml oat milk
half a teaspoon of essicated ginger powder
half a teaspoon cinnamon powder
2-3 pinches of powdered cloves
3-4 pinches of grated nutmeg
a pinch of mace powder
a pinch of vanilla powder
a pinch of cardamom powder
2 firm apples (I used Golden Delicious)

Makes 12-14 muffins.

Directions

Preheat oven to 170° degrees C. In a large bowl combine the Manitoba flour, rice flour, cream of tartar, salt and spices. In another bowl combine the oil, agave and milk. Whisk well and fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients (preferably using a wooden spatula). Stir gently until the ingredients are combined but make sure you don’t over mix the batter. Add the apples and stir againg just to make sure they’re evenly incorporated into the batter. Fill the muffin cups or muffin tray with the batter, using a spoon. Place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick or knife inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from the muffin tray or muffin molds.

Tips, thoughts and ideas

You can either use single greaseproof muffin cases or paper cases placed in a muffin tray. If you spoon the batter directly into the muffin tray, make sure you lightly oil the molds and sprinkle them with flour.

Zucchini, green apple, radishes, wakame, sunflower and sesame seeds flavoured with a sweet and tangy dressing. This is a fresh, healthy, detox salad.

Makes 2 servings.

Ingredinents:

For the salad

2 medium-sized zucchini

6 radishes

2 green apples (Granny Smith)

1 strip wakame seaweed, about 8 cm long

1 handful black sesame seeds

1 handful sunflower seeds

For the dressing

7 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

juice of 1 lemon

1 pinch whole sea salt

juice of 4 cm fresh ginger root

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoons shoyu

½ spring onion, chopped

Directions

Dressing

Shake all the dressing ingredients together in a jar with a tight-fitting lid.

Salad

Soak the wakame in filtered or mineral water for 10 minutes. In the meantime, clean all the vegetables, then slice the radishes and ribbon the zucchini the long way with a potato peeler. Peel the apples and cut them into bite-sized chunks. Drain the wakame, discarding the fibrous central stem, and break it or cut it into pieces.

To assemble

In a salad bowl, toss and mix the vegetables, seaweed, and apple. Transfer into individual serving plates,( or keep in the bowl), sprinkle the sunflower and sesame seeds over, drizzle with the dressing and serve.

This is my own version of parsnip and apple soup, a dish which is often featured in traditional English recipe books. For this soup, its important to choose a good apple juice with no added sugar, to complement the really sweet flavour of the parsnip. 

Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

4 parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks

2 apples (Granny Smith or other tart apples), peeled and cut into small chunks

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

whole sea salt (to taste)

filtered water

2 cups organic apple juice (with no added sugar)

1 teaspoon powdered, dried ginger

freshly, finely ground pink peppercorns (to taste), for garnish

Directions:

Place the parsnips in a steamer fitted over a saucepan filled with filtered or mineral water (3-4 cups should be enough), sprinkle with some salt, put a lid on and steam until tender (it should take no more that 30 minutes). In the meantime, pour the apple juice in a pan and add the apples, ginger and salt and bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the apples are soft. Set aside. Once the parsnips are done, remove them from the steamer and save what is left of the cooking water. Blend together the parsnips and apples until very smooth, adding the parsnip cooking water, little by little, until your desired consistency is reached. Add more water if you like a very runny texture. Reheat the soup if necessary, adjust salt and serve with a drizzle of olive oil and freshly, finely ground pink peppercorns.  

Ingredients

1 medium red cabbage
3 carrots
1/4 leek
6-8 pitted dried plums, finely chopped
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon whole sea salt
a pinch of ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard powder
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons apple juice concentrate
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2-3 handfuls walnuts, coarsely chopped
fresh thyme

Makes 4 servings.

Directions

First of all, finely slice the leek and the carrots and put a wok or a frying pan on the heat. Drizzle in the olive oil. When it’s hot, add the leek, carrots, dried plums and salt, and stir fry with a wooden spoon, on a medium heat, until the leek is lightly golden. In the meantime, clean the cabbage and slice it as thinly as possible, discarding the core. Add the cabbage to the wok and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar, apple juice concentrate, dried thyme, mustard and pepper and stir fry a bit longer, until the vinegar has evaporated. Stir in the walnuts and cook for another minute. Remove the wok from the heat, transfer your veggies into a salad bowl or platter, season with more salt and pepper if needed, and garnish with fresh thyme. This is equally good served warm or cool.

Notes, thoughts, ideas

Beautifully coloured, and sweet and savoury in taste, this dish is perfect on its own but also ideal to be served alongside some tofu or seitan. The cabbage and the carrots should keep their crunchiness, so be careful not to overcook them.

Suitable to almost any season, this very easy salad is Inspired by the famous Waldorf salad. It’s ideal to add a light, fresh, crisp touch to a meal, but also filling enough to be enjoyed as a main course for lunch or dinner. Nuts and dried fruits are always a delicious and nutricious combination which work in any sweet and savoury dish. In this case, dried cranberries provide the salad with the sweetness needed to balance the acidic flavours of the apple and dressing.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Ingredients:

For the salad

4 medium celery stalks

2 green apples (Granny Smith)

50 g dried cranberries

80 g Brazilian nuts (finely ground)

the juice of 1 lemon

1-2 teaspoons dried, ground mint leaves

For the dressing

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

5 tablespoons vegetable cream (gmo free)

2 tablespoons apple vinegar

½ teaspoon yellow mustard powder

1 pinch freshly ground black pepper

1 pinch whole sea salt

Method:

Salad

Clean the celery properly, removing any tough filaments, and cut it into bite-sized pieces. Core and peel the apples and cut them into cubes. Transfer the celery and the apples into a salad bowl, add the ground Brazilian nuts and the ground mint leaves. Sprinkle with the lemon juice and stir.

Dressing

Pour the olive oil, cream, apple vinegar, salt and pepper into a jar and shake well untill combined.

Dress the salad, toss and serve.