Lately, I've had an obsession with bread. The homemade unpretencious kind, you'll eat and savour despite its faults. Because there is value in the things we chose to make by hand. There is beauty in their imperfections. And there is pleasure in simplicity. 

I've baked with carob, and spelt. laced my loaves with seeds and drizzled them with warm olive oil infused with garlic. Baked a Sun dried tomato focaccia, as big as my oven. And lastly, I accidentally  made muffins in my skillet, due to oven failure. And they turned just right! The best things, it seems, happen by chance. 

I discovered the beauty of simple, easy food! Unprocessed and bare, true to itself. Seasonal Sunday market food. Food that's to be repeated over and over again! 
So here it is: Seared pattypan squash, blackened peppers, goat's cheese, radish top salsa and garden cress. Served in a humble skillet muffin.   

Skillet Muffins
250g Whole wheat flour
100g Spelt Flour
250g Strong White flour
470g water
5g fresh yeast
 
Pre-ferment | In a large bowl, mix luke warm water, yeast and 200g white flour. Cover and let sit for 3-4 hours in a warm environment or until it has doubled. 
Add remaining flours and mix into a soft dough. Knead for about 10 minutes and allow to rise for 30 minutes. With the help of a wet spatula, stretch dough from opposite ends and fold into centre. Cover and let rise until it has doubled in size. Repeat the process a second time. Allow to rest for 15 minutes. Cut and shape dough into 40g balls and place on floured surface. Leave to rise for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, place skillet on medium to high heat. Cook muffins on each side until a tanned crust forms. leave to rest on the side of the pan. This allows them to cook thoroughly. 


Pattypan Muffin Burgers (for 2)
1 Pattypan squash
1 clove of garlic
1 bell pepper
1 tomato
1 small red onion
Goats Cheese
Cress/ salad leaves
Radish top salsa verde
salt/ pepper
EVVO

Blacken peppers straight on flames (coals or gas). When the entire skin has turned black, place in a sealed plastic bag for 5 minutes. Remove blackened skin under running water. Slice and season with EVVO, salt, pepper. Set aside. 

Cut tomatoes into thick slices, onions into wafer thin slices. Slice cheese. Thoroughly wash and drain salad. 

Slice Pattypan squash into thick circles. Rub with crushed garlic, salt, pepper, EVVO. Leave to marinate for 15 minutes or so. Place a skillet on medium to high heat. Sear squash for 5 minutes on each side or until golded brown. Allow each side to be seared before turning. 

Assemble burger making sure to lightly coat with EVVO (no soggy muffins). Cheese, over hot squash (melty) and pesto over leaves. 

I've been trying hard to eat local. To cook as seasonally and as healthily as I possibly can. It's darn hard too! And it seems the easiest way to achieve that, is to develop an apathy for supermarket shelves.  So, I spend more time in market stalls. Meeting the hands that have grown the food on our table. I have a huge respect for them and in love with the beautiful produce they bring us each week. I'm so grateful for these passionate farmers and farm shop owners and thankful for their efforts. 

I've also developed the habit of looking out for trees on our journeys. So far, I'd know where to get walnuts and figs and blackberries too. Last week, we found a bountiful apple tree, So heavy, it's branches reached the ground. So I made pie! Foraged apple pie, with homemade red gooseberry compote and flavoured it with Vanilla bean and thyme from my tiny urban "jungle". And we ate it while it was pipping hot with a hot cup of Earl Gray. 

P.s: I've held onto some apples for a day that perfect for baked apples. I'll sprinkle them with cinnamon and douse them in Moscatel and cream...

Apple, Red Gooseberry, Thyme & Spelt Pie

Ingredients:
Pastry
280g Spelt Flour
30g Soft Brown Sugar
180g Coconut Butter 
5g Salt
60g Icy Water

Filling 
6 Medium Sized Apples, Peeled and Sliced
30g Brown Sugar
40g Almond Meal
50g Red Gooseberry Compote
5g Cinnamon poder
3g Nutmeg 
2 Sprigs of Thyme
1 tsp Vanilla bean paste

Preheat the oven to 200 degs C.
In a bowl mix thinly sliced apples with sugar, thyme, vanilla bean paste and spice and let macerate for an hour or so. Add almond meal and mix gently.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour, sugar, coconut butter and salt with the tips of your cold fingers until you get a fine crumbs. Slowly add icy water until you have a soft dough. Cover in film and place in fridge for about 30mins.

Remove the dough from he fridge. Gently pat half of the dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll to a 3mm thickness and line tart tin. Don't trim the edges just yet. Add the apple filling and gently stir in gooseberry compote. 
Roll the other half of the dough and cut into equal sized strips. Weave it over the filling. Cut off excess dough and pinch the ends. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with brown sugar. 

Bake at 180 degs C for 30 mins or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool, or if you're like me, eat warm with a nice cup of tea. 

For the past few years my mission has been to replace the ingredients in my pantry and bubbling pots, with unprocessed ingredients & whole foods. I've discovered the wellness that comes with keeping ingredients as natural as possible. I've slowly seen myself turn into, a make it all yourself (from scratch), kinda girl!

I've made milk from pretty much anything I could find: Oats, soya, white beans & rice. I have substituted cows milk with Water or natural juices; spelt for wheat; wild honey, raw cane sugar or maple syrup in place of the refined white stuff. There was even that time my husband and I decided to go vegan for a whole two months. Not easy - I'll assure you, so admire those that do. 

 All this healthy eating isn't for everyone and I must confess to feeling a little guilty when we have our friends around and there's nothing but grains and 'brown' food to offer them in the pantry. However, because we love our friends dearly, we occasionally steer away and indulge them and ourselves!! After all, life is short. And we don't really like rules all that much!  Or so I tell myself after a big indulgence.

But these pancakes are both healthy and indulgent! 

Chocolate, Spelt & Poppy Seed Pancakes

Ingredients:
3/4 Cup Spelt Flour
1/4 Cup Cocoa Powder
2 large eggs ( separated)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp Poppy Seeds
1 tspn Baking Powder
1/2 cup Hot water

Place a Skillet on gentle heat. Do not over heat!

In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar. Slowly add boiling water until well blended. Sieve flour and cocoa into the bowl and gently incorporate. Add poppy seeds. 

Add baking powder to egg whites and whisk until stiff.  Gently fold into pancake batter, 

Thinly spread olive oil onto skillet and remove excess with kitchen towel. Spoon dollops of pancake batter onto skillet.
Flip pancakes as soon as you are able to lift the edge with a palette knife. Allow to cook gently.


Serve with chocolate sauce if you've been good lately!!

A few days ago I hosted my first Portuguese Supper club, and on the days that followed one particular dish lingered. The cod with a miga crust...  
Migas are traditionally eaten in the Alentejo region. Made with aged rustic bread, heavily flavoured with garlic, olive oil and herbs. In Alentejo,  the miga is cooked until golden, as opposed to the rest of the country, where the rule is to toss it no more than twice.   
Corn bread (Broa de Milho) , has the perfect almost crumbly texture for a good miga.  And in the spirit of preserving tradition, minus the cob oven, and a good measure of experimentation and perseverance, a Broa Caseira (homemade cornbread) is born.

Ingredients

2 cups Corn meal flour
3/4 cup rye flour
1/4 cup  sourdough starter
5g fresh yeast
250ml boiling water
100ml warm water (37 C)
A good pinch of salt


Dissolve yeast and 1/4 cup rye flour in warm water. Set aside.
In a large bowl  scald corn flour with boiling water, mix with wooden spoon. Once manageable, massage until crumply consistency. Allow to cool, then add 1/2 cup rye flour, salt and dissolved yeast along with sourdough starter
Work the dough until ball forms. Cover with wet towel and set in a warm location for 1 hour or until slightly risen. 
Preheat oven on maximum temperature. 
Dust a bowl with flour, place the dough in the bowl and sprinkle with more flour to prevent sticking, shake dough in the bowl until well coated, and turn onto oven tray. 
Reduce heat to 220C and bake for 30 minutes, or until the crust is a nice golden brown colour (but not starting to burn!).

ENJOY!

For Migas... Age bread for 2-3 days. Recipe soon!!