A collection of recipes and advices for the kitchen

1. Cookbook
A collection of
recipes and
advices for the
kitchen

2. This is a mini guide that offers useful advice
for cooking with lots of new ideas and fun
recipes to be savored with friends!
Happy reading and . . . good appetite!
We thank all blogs and friends who have
recommended these recipes and for all their
advice :)

3. Pears and chocolate
Ingredients (per person)
1 pear
50 gr of dark chocolate
½ glass of red wine, Nero d'Avola
Pearls Falanga (to taste)
Cinnamon (to taste)

4. Preparation:
Bake at high temperature the pears in a roasting pan by adding
the Nero d'Avola and turn them from time to time, (alternatively
wrap in aluminum foil). Keep in oven for 30/40 minutes.
Melt chocolate in double boiler, using a small pan over another
pan of water so that the chocolate melts with water vapor.
Leave the pears from the oven, place them on a plate and add the
beads. Grate the pears on top of the cinnamon and add the
pistachios for garnish.
Serve with hot chocolate for added pleasure.
Wait for the comments of the lucky diners. . .
Notes:
The recipe is very simple, but it is essential to choose the quality of
ripe pears, which are already very gentle so as not to add any
sugar added.

5. Chocolate brownie
Ingredients
210 g ground almonds (1¾ cups)
50 g raw cacao or unsweetened cocoa, sifted (½ cup)
30 g sliced almonds (1/3 cup)
50 g unsweetened chocolate, chopped into small pieces
(2 x 1oz squares)
½ tsp baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
pinch salt
2 tbsp flax seeds, ground (see note below)
6 tbsp boiling water
1 large egg
250 ml coconut milk (1 cup)
125 ml coconut oil, melted (½ cup)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon juice (optional: lime juice if you don't have lemon)
12-15 drops stevia liquid extract (we used Herbal Select, you
could also use chocolate flavoured liquid stevia)

6. Preparation
Line a 275mm x 175mm (11" x 7") baking tin with non-stick
baking paper. Put the ground almonds, cocoa/cacao, sliced
almonds, broken chocolate, baking soda and salt into a large bowl
and mix well. Add the boiling water to the ground flax seeds and
mix together, set aside. Note: if you don't have any flax seeds then
add another egg and 2tbsp of water instead of the flax seed and
water mix. Mix the coconut milk, melted coconut oil, vanilla,
lemon juice and stevia together, add the flax mix. Pour wet
ingredients onto dry ingredients and mix until all the ingredients
are combined thoroughly. Pour the brownie mix into the baking
tray and bake in the oven for 40-50 minutes. After 40 mins check
by poking a toothpick into the centre of the brownie. If it comes
out clean or is just a little sticky then the chocolate brownie is
done, if it's very sticky then leave in oven for another few minutes
before trying again. Don't overcook, it's better for the brownie to
be slightly sticky than dry. Remove from oven and leave in tray to
set for another 30 mins, then remove to a cooling rack and slice
into 16 pieces.
This chocolate brownie needs to be stored in an airtight container
and in the fridge to maintain it's freshness.

7. Chocolate and
pistachio
Ingredients
100 grams of dark chocolate
50 grams of sugar
1 egg yolk
70 g of butter
1 Tablespoon of Rum or Brandy
30 g of hazelnuts
100 g of pistachio

8. Preparation
Let it sit for a few minutes off the butter from the refrigerator, so
that it softens, and in the meantime, melt the chocolate in double
boiler * mixing not to leave lumps when melted let cool slightly.
In a separate bowl, knead the butter, which has been softened, to
the cream with a spatula (a spoon will do) adding by hand the
sugar and egg yolks, pour the melted chocolate and also 1
tablespoon Rum or Brandy ; mix together.
United have crumbled into the bowl where the crunchy biscuits
Falanga and the mixture and mix well, to get a better result a
council is to mix it well by hand chopping even more cookies and
crunchy. The dough is ready! Put the dough on a sheet of
aluminum foil and wrap it to give it a cylindrical shape resembling
that of a sausage, pressed far enough.
Keep your chocolate and pistachio sausage in the freezer for 2/3
hours. Removed from the freezer, sliced
like a salami and serve,
surprising your guests! If you were to advance you can keep in the
fridge.
Notes
* (You put a small pan over a larger pot with water, to melt the
chocolate with the water vapor and not by direct contact, the latter
method, it does not seem to be much loved by chocolate!)

9. Carrot cake
Ingredients
175 g light muscovado sugar
175 ml olive oil
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
140 g carrot, grated
100 g raisins
1 large orange, grated zest only
125 g rice flour
50 g fine cornmeal (polenta flour)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
¾ tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg

10. Preparation
Line a baking tin approximately 17.5cm x 27.5cm (7" x 11") with
baking paper. Put the muscovado sugar, olive oil and eggs into a
large mixing bowl and gently mix together with a wooden spoon
until well combined.
Stir in the grated carrots, raisins and grated orange zest. Gently
mix together. Sieve the rice flour, cornmeal, bicarbonate of soda,
baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg into the bowl, and lightly
mix all the ingredients together until all the particles are
moistened. Do not over mix. The mixture will be quite runny.
Pour the mixture into the prepared baking tin and bake in the
oven for 40-45 minutes. Check after 40 minutes to see if it's
cooked by inserting a metal skewer into the centre of the cake. If it
comes out clean then the cake is done. The cake will also feel firm
and springy on top. Remove cake from oven, and leave to stand in
the tin for 5 minutes, then remove and leave to cool on a cooling
tray. To make the frosting, mix together the icing sugar and orange
juice to make a smooth mixture, the frosting needs to be able to be
drizzled over the cake rather than spooned on, so it shouldn't be
too thick or too runny. When the cake is completely cool drizzle
the frosting over it and let it drip down the sides of the cake. Leave
to set, then cut into pieces.
This cake will keep in an airtight container for 2-3 days, however it
also freezes well, but must be frozen without the frosting on top.

11. Banana muffins
Ingredients
70 g brown rice flour
45 g tapioca flour
45 g potato flour
1¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp xanthan gum
½ tsp unflavoured vegetarian gelatine
30 g sugar
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp grated lemon peel
1 dessert apple, cooked with 1 tbsp water and mashed to a puree
1 large egg, beaten
4 tsp light olive oil or flavourless oil
6½ tbsp milk
¼ tsp vanilla extract
1 firm banana, chopped
6 paper muffin cases

12. Preparation
Mix together the rice, tapioca and potato flours, gelatine, xanthan
gum, baking powder, sugar, salt and lemon peel.
Mix the apple puree with the egg, oil, milk and vanilla. Mix this
into the dry ingredients so that you get a lumpy batter.
Gently fold the banana into the mixture, then divide equally into
the 6 muffin cases in a muffin tray. Bake for 25 minutes. Leave to
cool on a baking tray.
These muffins are delicious either hot or cold, and will keep in an
airtight tin for a couple of days.

13. Apple cake
Ingredients
110 g all purpose wheat free flour
25 g porridge oats
25 g unrefined sugar
25 g raisins
25 g hazlenuts, whole
25 g almonds, 50% chopped, 50% left whole
1 apple, cored and chopped roughly
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp xanthan gum
½ tsp mixed spice
pinch salt
25 g low fat spread, marg or butter, melted
100 g greek yogurt or set natural yogurt
75 ml milk
2 tbsp honey (rice syrup can be substituted)
½ large egg, beaten (or use 1 small egg and only 60ml milk)
1½ tsp porridge oats (to sprinkle on top of cake)

14. Preparation
In a large mixing bowl place the flour, oats, sugar, raisins, half the
hazlenuts, the chopped almonds, apple, baking powder,
bicarbonate of soda, xanthan gum, mixed spice and salt. Stir to
mix. In a separate bowl mix together the melted butter, egg, milk,
honey and yogurt. Then pour onto the dry ingredients. Gently mix
the wet and dry ingredients together, leaving the mix lumpy but
with no dry patches. Drop the mixture into the cake tin in
spoonfuls, leaving it very uneven on the surface. (The mix will
spread to fill the gaps during cooking). Scatter the remaining
hazlenuts and whole almonds over the top, and then sprinkle 1½
teaspoonfuls of porridge oats on the top. Cook on the centre shelf
of the oven for 45 minutes. The cake should be covered loosely
with foil after the first 25 minutes to stop the nuts burning. To
check whether the cake is cooked completely, insert a metal skewer
into the centre of the cake, if it comes out clean the cake is
cooked. Leave the cake to cool in its tin for about 15 minutes
before turning out onto a wire rack, removing the baking
parchment and leaving to cool completely.

15. Thanks
for your
attention
and…
GOOD APPETITE!!!