SUNFLOWER SEED BUTTER

Sunflower seed butter Recipe www.bettybake.co.za

This is one of those things that gets made in my house and gets divided out EQUALLY! As to not cause world war 3. Yes i know- crazy but true! We each get a jar labeled with our name so that we can't blame each other for finishing the jar and then act like children blaming each other!

I think one of the reasons we value this yummy spread so much is because my husband is allergic to peanuts and some other nuts so we can't just go to the shop and buy whatever nut butter we want and use it.
It is very yummy and we have the added benefit of knowing exactly what is in the spread that we are eating plus we can buy the best quality ingredients to make it- eg, organic and pesticide free.

Himalayan Crystal Salt also known as "pink salt"

This is one of those recipes where you can make as little or as much as you like. I simply buy a few bags of organic sunflower seeds and place them in the oven to roast and then blend them in my electric blender.

INGREDIENTS
750grams (+/-) its up to you
Sunflower oil
Salt - 1-2 teaspoons (or to taste)
Honey - 1- 4 teaspoons (or to taste)


METHOD
Turn the oven on to bake/roast at 160- 180 degrees celcius. Place your sunflower seeds in an oven roasting dish and place in the center of the oven.
Watch CAREFULLY and stir often as the seeds burn easily - especially near the end!
Roast them till nice and golden brown in colour then remove from the oven and allow to cool. (at this stage you can place all of it in an air tight jar for a few days if you don't have the time to finish the recipe)
Place the seeds in the blender about a cup at a time and follow the directions below.
Turn the blender on and blend until a course ground flour like state.
Add sunflower oil a table spoon at a time and some salt and honey. blend and then taste.
Keep adding things according to taste and also the thickness you desire.
I sometimes add more oil depending on how spreadable i want it to be

Enjoy on toast or add to your biscuit recipes or have with cheese or fruit :)

Im enjoying Instagram on my phone and photographing my lunch is just part of the fun.



 

Disclaimer: I have been making this recipe for months. I make it often and this is just the way I make it. I have seen various recipes all over the internet to make all sorts of seed and nut butters so by no means is this an original idea but this recipe is my own as this is how I make it. 

Have a fabulous weekend!

Enjoy it, have fun, relax and just be you :)

Judging, Tasting, Braaing, Advertising

On an unrelated note: Can you believe this was taken with my cellphone?

Sometimes I am at my happiest when I am at my busiest! This is not to be confused with my happiness while on holiday (relaxing and reading in a sunny spot in a foreign place)- that is THE ULTIMATE.
But when we have to do normal life with work during non-holiday times then I love being busy. It makes time fly. It also makes for easy writing and inspiration. BUT it also doesn't allow for much baking or photographing which = no recipe posts!!! Darn and sorry.

This month I am working on and looking forward to:

Judging: Being a food judge, this is a first for me but I am enjoying it thoroughly. Being asked to eat food at the V & A Waterfront in the Masters of the Trade Route Culinary Challenge  in which their restaurants are partaking to be the winner of the signature dish and title.  The fact that I get to eat at some of the restaurants and say what I think is even more fun than I thought it would be.

Advertising: I am so SUPER excited to have my first blog advertiser! I have been hoping for this day for so very long and now that it is here I am even more chuffed than I thought I would be. Please welcome yuppiechef to my side bar. Click the ad  - they have yummy kitchen equipment and I love their website so it was a natural choice to say yes to them. 


Tasting a Legend: I finally got to eat some of the legendary Chef Luke Dale Roberts food at The Potluck Club on Wednesday night all thanks to The Big Green Egg - a ceramic braai of sorts. All the food was cooked on their ceramic braai's and everything tastes so very yummy!  Which was very cool! I hope to own one - one day! To take a look at some of the food that I ate click here. (I chose the vegetarian option)


Farmers Market: My favorite market that I shop at weekly in Tokai every Saturday - The Earth Fair market opens in Noordhoek on a Thursday night (from 4pm onwards). Yay, I am looking forward to seeing how it will be - I am sure it will be the best of all their markets yet!

Instagram: I am loving Instagram and post photos on there most days. I never thought that a cellphone app would be as fun as this! search for me on Instagram @bettybake :) or you can look on your computer using an online website called webstagram or Statigram


I still check on my blog everyday and love reading the comments. So how are you? What are you looking forward to?

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE SQUARES - FLUFFY CHOCOLATE MALLOW AND COCONUT

 

  

So life throws you ingredients and I bake...

I was sent some products from Wellness Warehouse ( I always try to disclose when I get stuff for free) they were kind enough to chat to me about what I liked and didnt just guess what they thought I should have... So it was nice to say things like I use coffee beans instead of already ground coffee as I have a coffee grinder and like to grind mine fresh. :) See its the little things that count.

Anyway one of the things I thought would be cool to try was cacao nibs - I have been dying to try these for a while but haven't forked out the money because I wasn't sure if I'd like them. Well now was my chance to get my hands on some.
I am happy to say I love them and will purchase them again when mine run out. Cacao nibs are filled with antioxidants and are healthy for you.
On a side note: cacao nibs should be paired with a NATURAL sweetener to taste good - they are bitter! But with some sweet natural almonds (or sugar) it becomes super yummy as they balance each other out.

Anyway I decided to bake a double chocolate cookie bar from scratch and placed a whole bunch of ingredients on my kitchen counter that I thought I would need and worked from there.. tasting and mixing as I went along. 

This biscuit/ cookie bar is what I came up with and is made in 2 parts - but is quite quick to whip up - just a little patience is needed at the very end when they sit in the oven to cool! but they are worth it. You could try eat them straight away but they are better if you do wait :)


COOKIE BAR BASE (PART 1)

INGREDIENTS
3 Tablespoons coffee (liquid -brewed and cold)
6 heaped Tablespoons Gluten free flour
1 Tablespoon cocoa -sifted
3 egg yolks (the topping uses the whites)
5 heaped Tablespoons xylitol (or another sweetener- eg organic brown sugar/honey)
Half a cup dessicated Coconut
2 teaspoons vanilla essence or a 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 heaped tablespoon cacao nibs (if you have - optional)

METHOD
Separate the eggs and place the yellows in a bowl with the xylitol (or sweetener of choice) and beat on medium high until pale and thick.
Add vanilla ess, coconut, cacao nibs and cocoa and mix.
Add half the flour and mix
Then add the coffee and mix.
Add the rest of the flour and mix again.
Spread in an oiled baking dish and smooth out until about 1.5 cm thick (i used coconut oil and squished the mixture into a ceramic rectangular dish about 20 x 30 cm - it didn't fill the whole dish)
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees celcius for 8 min



TOPPING (PART 2)

INGREDIENTS
3 egg whites
6 heaped tablespoons Xylitol (or organic brown sugar)
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder - sifted
1 Tablespoon coffee (liquid - brewed and cold)

METHOD
In a clean bowl beat the egg whites until soft peak stage.
Add  xylitol (or sugar) and beat until smooth and slightly glossy
Add the cocoa and stir in
Add the coffee and stir in

*When the biscuit base is finished baking take out and turn the oven temperature down to 145 degrees celcius.
Smooth the topping over the base
Place in the oven and bake for 15 min and then turn the oven off and leave in there to get cold ... well leave in for as long as you can resist but for atleast 1 and a half hours - 2 hours.

Cut and serve or place in an airtight container. Will keep for a few days.

NOTES: Next time I may try agave syrup or sugar in stead of the xylitol to see how it turns out. I felt the xyltiol was ok but sugar or another source would have made these cookies AMAZING!

Also omitting the flour out of the base maybe interesting... Will need to report back on this one!

Wellness Warehouse also sent me some gluten-free flour (which I found kind of sticky) but it would probably make yummy pancakes.
They have an online store for your foodie health fix and other things too ;)

Making me smile...

 

Life is a happy place when I reflect on the good and happy places in my life. It makes the craziness more bare-able. hope you like my list:  

• Beautiful flowers no matter the kind always make me happy - my home has a bunch in almost every room!
• Achieving the little things - whether its getting through a sink full of dishes or ALL the emails - getting tasks done makes for a happy accomplishment
• Smiling at a stranger
• Singing loud while listening to music
• Having fun and tickling my daughter and listening to her laugh 
• Acting like a goof ball every now and then ;) 
• Eating well and feeling healthy
• Seeing my blog linked on other blogs - so kind
• Eating chocolate

What is making you smile at the moment?