Ingredients

280-300 g cooked semi-whole rice
100 ml coconut milk, unsweetened and unflavoured
100 ml almond milk, unsweetened and unflavoured
a few pinches of vanilla powder
2 handfuls raspberries, cleaned
maple syrup, to taste
a handful of toasted pumpkin seeds

Makes 2 servings.

Directions

Divide the rice in 2 serving bowls. Pour half of the coconut milk and half of the almond mik over the rice in each bowl and stir. Add vanilla powder, raspberries (you can crush some of them and stir them into the rice as well), maple syrup and pumpkin seeds and serve.

Ingredients

a 5-6 cm piece of a leek, cleaned and finely sliced
the juice of 1 lemon
whole sea salt, just enough to taste
half a ripe but firm pear, cleaned and sliced lengthwise
2 tablespoons grade C maple syrup
100 g smoked tofu, thinly sliced
a large handful of fresh baby spinach, cleaned
extra virgin olive oil, to taste
a few pomegranate kernels

Makes 2 servings. 

Directions

Place the sliced leek in a bowl, add half of the lemon juice and salt and let marinate for about 45 minutes. In another bowl, place the pear slices, add the remaining lemon juice and maple syrup and set aside for about 30 minutes. Sauté the tofu in very little olive oil until brown on both sides then remove form heat and set aside. To assemble your salad, mix the leek, pear, tofu and spinach and add some olive oil. Garnish with the pomegranate kernels and serve.

Ingredients

multy grain or wholemeal bread, sliced (and lightly toasted, if you prefer)
maple syrup
hazelnut butter
fresh figs (ripe but firm), cleaned and cut into quarters
shelled hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
dark chocolate, preferably Fairtrade

Directions

Drizzle each slice of bread with maple syrup then pread some hazelnut butter on it. Arrange the figs, cut side up, on top of the bread, add the hazelnuts and some extra maple syrup. Shave some chocolate on top and serve.

Ingredients

200 g fair trade dark chocolate (70% cacao)
90 g quinoa flour
a pinch of whole sea salt
a pinch of cinnamon powder
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
115 g rice malt syrup
55 g maple syrup, grade B or C
4 tablespons powdered flax seeds, mixed with 12 tablespoons filtered water
50 g hazelnut butter
50 ml extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon hazelnut oil
6 tablespoons almond milk, unflavoured and unsweetened

Makes 30-35 brownies.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 170° C. Lightly oil and flour a 20 cm square (stainless steel) baking pan. Melt the chocolate in a bain marie.
Combine the quinoa flour, salt, cinnamon, cream of tartar in a medium bowl and stir. In another bowl, combine the rice malt syrup, maple syrup, flax seeds, hazelnut butter, olive oil, hazelnut oil and almond milk. Fold the wet into the dry ingredients, stir well then add the chocolate as soon as it has melted. Stir again until combined and spread evenly in the baking pan.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick plunged into the center comes out slightly moist with batter. Let cool for a couple of minutes, then unmold the cake and transfer onto a cutting board. Cut into squares and let cool a bit more before serving.

Ingredients

100 g quinoa flour
200 g semi-whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
a pinch of whole sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
half a teaspoon cardamom powder
200 ml plain (unflavoured) and unsweetened rice milk
70 ml extra virgin olive oil
80 g rice malt syrup
20 ml maple syrup (grade C)
100 g dark chocolate (70% cocoa), broken into pieces
3 handfuls of dried sour cherries

Makes 10-12 muffins.

Directions

Preheat oven to 180° C. In a large bowl,  combine the quinoa flour, wheat flour, cornstarch, cream of tartar, salt, baking soda, cardamom powder and stir to blend well. In another bowl combine the milk, olive oil, rice malt syrup, maple syrup and whisk well. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir gently until the ingredients are combined but make sure you don’t over mix the batter. Add the chocolate and cherries and give another stir 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, let cool for a couple of minutes, unmold the muffins and place them on a wire rack to let cool.

Thoughts, tips, ideas

If you want to enjoy the bits of melted chocolate, eat the muffins while they’re still warm. Or whenever you fancy one, you can always warm it up. Anyways, they’re equally good cold. 

Ingredients

For the dressing

8 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
3 teaspoons raw sesame oil
a pinch of whole sea salt
2 teaspoons umeboshi paste
3 teaspoons tahin
3 teaspoons apple vinegar
4 teaspoons white miso
3 teaspoons maple syrup
juice of half a lemon

For the salad

half a white cabbage, shredded
1 carrot, peeled and grated (using the the large holes of a grater)
2 handfuls of pumpkin seeds
a handful of white sesame seeds
fresh thyme, to taste

Makes 2 servings.

Directions

In a bowl, whisk all the dressing ingredients and set aside. Alternatively, you can put all ingredients in a jar, secure it with a tight fitting lid and shake until perfectly combined (this is actually the quickest way to make the dressing).

In a large salad bowl, toss the cabbage with the carrot and the seeds. Pour the mixture over the vegetables and toss gently until thoroughly coated and moistened. Refrigerate to chill, garnish with the thyme and serve.