Mango and Ricotta Muffins for Marci

I miss my Canadian friend Marci. She left Australia in May this year and gave me the most incredible muffin cookbook as a leaving present. So after chatting to Marci this morning, I made muffins to remind me of all those mornings we drank coffee and shared a muffin at Single Origin in Surry Hills. I am a big fan of ricotta in muffins, it adds a dose of animal protein to an otherwise carb heavy snack and it tastes yummy. There are no ricotta muffin recipes in the book so this is my version.

I have used organic stone ground spelt flour which does not rise as well as refined white flour but has a better glycaemic index (GI).  The glycaemic index is a measure of how much a food raises blood glucose levels after eating. This year, we were lucky enough to be lectured in carbohydrate science by Professor Jennie Brand-Miller who is well known for her work on the GI. Conventional milling is very efficient in removing all of the bran from the endosperm, which increases its digestibility and thus its GI. To make wholemeal flour, ground bran is simply added back into refined flour. Stone ground flour is a lot coarser and it is less susceptible to gelatinisation resulting in a lower GI. The GI of food is important for those with insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes and low GI foods have been shown to improve these conditions. You can read more about the glycaemic index here.

• 2 cups of whole spelt flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ¾ cups of sugar
• 1 cup of unhomogenised whole milk
• 70 ml of grapeseed oil
• 1 egg
• 1 cup chopped mango (not overripe)
• 100 g crumbly whole milk ricotta

Combine flour with baking powder salt and sugar and in a separate bowl mix the egg with milk and oil. Add the wet to the dry ingredients but do not over mix. Add the chopped mango and crumbled ricotta and carefully fold into the mixture. Spoon into prepared muffin tins and bake for 17 minutes at 220^o.

Mushroom and Leek Barley Risotto

I know! I have completely neglected the blog. Study took over my life in May and June and then I took a lovely trip home to England in July. I am hoping to get a few recipes in before the 12 hour study days resume.


Europe was beautifully bright and sunny with lots of refreshing salads and summer fruits. I almost forgot it was winter in Sydney until I woke up to a black rainy sky at 6.30 am on my return. It’s a shock to the system being thrown back into winter fruit and vegetables. My body is still craving those lovely salads but it’s just too cold to eat them! At least we have blood oranges, the saviour of winter.

This risotto is rich and warming - perfect for winter - and uses pearl barley instead of rice. Arborio rice, commonly used in risottos, has a high glycaemic index. Some quick science behind the reason for this. White rices such as Arborio, Calrose, Jasmine and Japonica rice (such as that used in sushi) are mostly short grain varieties with a high level of amylopectin starch. Amylopectin is a starch made up of branched chains of glucose units. The branched structure allows water to penetrate the grain easily during cooking and gelatinise the starch. Gelatinised starch is broken down rapidly by our digestive system into glucose units which causes a sharp spike in blood glucose levels. Longer grain rices such as basmati have a lower level of amylopectin with increased amounts of amylose starch. Amylose consists of unbranched chains of glucose units which pack tightly together. This does not allow water to penetrate easily and the starch is not gelatinised to the same extent. Thus, amylose starch is broken down into glucose and released into the blood stream much more slowly. This makes sense when you think about what each rice variety is used for. Short grain rice is used for sushi and asian dishes because its sticky while basmati is a much drier rice when cooked. And remember that barley lowers cholesterol due to its beta-glucan content as discussed before.


Ok, back to the recipe! Serves approx 4
I have approximated in cups as I rarely cook using scales.

• Olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• Red onion finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 1 leek chopped
• 3 - 4 cups of chopped mushrooms – you can use a mixture of flat, portobello, oyster and shiitake
• 3 cups of baby spinach
• Handful of chopped parsley
• 5 cups of chicken stock plus more if needed (heated)
• 1 cup of pearl barley
• ¾ cup of labneh (yoghurt cheese – this is optional)
• 2 - 3 cups of baby spinach
• Salt and pepper

Sauté onion in olive oil until translucent, add leeks and half the garlic and cook until soft. Add barley, stir and then add two cups of warm chicken stock. Bring mixture to boil and then reduce heat and simmer until most of stock is absorbed, stirring frequently. Add remaining stock, about 1/2 cup at a time, allowing stock to be absorbed before adding more and stirring frequently until barley is tender.


Meanwhile, melt the butter and gently sauté the mushrooms. After about three minutes, add the remaining garlic and stir until mushrooms are golden. Add to risotto and when ready to serve stir in the spinach, labneh, parsley, salt and pepper.


I sometimes serve with a little parmesan or a drizzle of lemon olive oil or flaxseed oil.


P.s. Dave, send me a pic if you make this risotto, mine was taken with an Iphone...

Energy Cookies

I am often asked about snack foods that can be eaten on the run by busy people. There are lots of muesli bars, snack bars, energy bars and protein bars on the market but to be honest, I wouldn’t touch most of them so I know how hard it is sometimes to find a snack that is healthy and convenient. It’s rare to find a packeted product which has unprocessed organic ingredients, healthy good quality oils and is devoid of flavourings and excess salt and sugar so I would go for homemade snacks every time. And it’s good to know what you are eating.

Marcus is doing the Oxfam 100 km walk in August and he was given an energy cookie recipe by one of his team mates. I have been dutifully making the cookies for their training sessions and they are really quick and easy to make (which means he can start making them himself!). I have changed the recipe a little here and reduced the saturated fat and sugar content because we are not all walking 50km a day. However, these cookies are made from low GI grains and contain lots of soluble fibre along with protein and essential fatty acids. They should keep you going for quite a while…

Makes about 12

All ingredients organic where possible

• 1 cup of wholewheat flour
  
• 1 tbsp of baking powder
  
• 1 cup of rolled oats
  
• 1 cup of oat bran
  
• ½ cup of LSA mix (ground linseeds, sunflower seeds and almonds, found in the fridge in health stores)
  
• 1 cup of chopped up organic apricots
• 100mls of EV olive oil
•  ½ cup of honey
  
•  ¼ cup of boiling water
  

Mix the dry ingredients together. Mix the olive oil, honey and boiling water and then pour the liquid into the dry mix and beat it all together, moistening it with more water if needed. Make approx 12 cookies with the mixture and cook on a non stick baking tray in the oven for about 25 minutes at 150 degrees. When cooked, place on a wire rack until cool and firm.