Recipes

The ingredient that was picked for me this month by Bec was Hemp Oil by Hemp Foods Australia which is an oil that is virgin cold pressed and immediately packed on the premises. I have never used Hemp Oil, so I was curious to try it.

My research showed that hemp oil is a great source of Omega-6 and Omega-3 essential fatty acids. These are great for metabolizing fat, increasing the immune system and preventing a whole range of modern-day illnesses.

Lara Flanagan

Serves 4 Serves

Hemp Pesto Pasta

It had quite a pleasant nutty taste and can be used in ways like how you might use olive oil. It is important to note that it must be used raw or on a very low heat (no more than about 70 degrees Celsius). Hemp oil is also said to be good for the skin and hair!

10 minPrep Time

10 minCook Time

20 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

• ¼ cup hemp seeds
• 1 cup raw pistachios
• ¼ cup pinenuts
• 70-gram basil
• 5 cloves garlic – peeled
• 4 tablespoon lemon juice
• Salt
• 1 cup hemp oil
• Punnet of grape or cherry tomatoes
• Seeds from one pomegranate
• 500 grams of your favourite pasta

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients except the tomatoes, pomegranate and pasta in a food processor and process until smooth. Taste and add salt to taste.
2. Bring saucepan of water to boil and add pasta and cook to perfection
3. Before draining pasta, add ¼ cup of the hot pasta water to the pesto and process briefly
4. Drain pasta and then combine in saucepan with the pesto sauce.
5. Add tomatoes and pomegranate seeds and combine.
6. Serve in your favourite bowl or dish.

Notes

Vegan, dairy-free, vegetarian.

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https://tenterfieldhealth.com.au/what-you-can-do-with-hemp-oil-and-seeds/

The hemp that is available in edible forms is from the same species of plant as cannabis but is a different variety and is a very safe food with an endless list of benefits.

Hemp seeds are technically a nut, so they have all sorts of potential uses! They are great in sweet and savoury dishes, both raw and cooked, though remember to avoid the heat with the oil.

I have been dying to make a new pesto pasta and I am also currently in love with pomegranate seeds so I thought the hemp oil and hemp seeds would made a great pesto. This was scrummy, devoured by my two taste testers Archie and Rissie, and incredibly easy!

Courtesy of Lara Flanagan.

Lara is the author of My Notes from New England, a blog that takes a humorous look at the adventures of a single mum with two young twins who enjoys cooking, eating well, living in the country and travelling the world looking to inspire and be inspired.

When Bec chose dried figs as the ingredient of the month, I was super excited as I have meant to try a fig bread that would be ideal for a breakfast treat.

The reason I mention calories is that I am sure there is nothing low calorie about this bread or jam, but it is packed with nutrients like the potassium which is found in figs, and the recipe also has lots of fibre which will leave you feeling satisfied for hours.

I really enjoyed creating this recipe, and there was something incredibly satisfying about watching the dough rise and kneading the bread. The end result was amazing!

Lara Flanagan

Yields hearty sized loaf with perhaps a dozen slices

Fig Bread with Fig Jam

Vegan, dairy-free, vegetarian fig bread that would be ideal for a breakfast treat.

1 hr, 30 Prep Time

40 minCook Time

2 hr, 10 Total Time

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Ingredients

• 5 cups of flour + extra for kneading
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 2 x 7 gram sachets of dry yeast
• 2 ½ cups of warm water
• 300 grams of dried figs
• 200 grams of walnuts
• 100 grams of pistachios
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• ½ teaspoon of dried ginger
• ½ teaspoon of ground nutmeg
• Pinch of salt
• 2 fresh figs

Instructions

1. Combine the water, dry yeast and maple syrup in a bowl and let sit for 10 minutes until it is bubbling.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, spices and salt.
3. Add the yeast mixture and mix everything with either a dough hook on your mix master, or your hands until you have a sticky dough. Cover the bowl with a tea-towel and allow to rise for at least an hour.
4. Cut the dried figs into small pieces, ensuring you remove the central stalk.
5. Roughly chop the walnuts and pistachios.
6. Prepare a loaf tin with olive oil and flour.
7. Pre-heat your oven ot 180 degrees Celsius.
8. After an hour check the dough which hopefully should have doubled in size. Add the chopped figs and walnuts and combine until distributed throughout the dough.
9. If mixture remains sticky, add a tablespoon of flour at a time until able to knead.
10. Knead on a floured surface for at least 5 minutes.
11. Put in baking tin, decorate with slices of fresh figs.
12. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 160 degrees Celsius and bake for another 35 minutes.
13. Allow to cool for 30 minutes before removing from the tin

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https://tenterfieldhealth.com.au/fig-bread-with-and-easy-fig-jam/

People often ask me the calorie count of my recipes. To be honest, I have no idea, and I am not really interested. Rather than counting calories, I would rather focus on the nutrients and quality of ingredients.

I also think that it is really important that the food you eat is satisfying to the eye and to the tummy.

If you focus on all those things, rather than calories, you will find that you are eating well and don’t have to worry about them.

We all know people who have followed a calorie controlled diet for a certain period of time, and as soon as the period is over they rush out to find the biggest hamburger they can find!

Fig Jam

Serves: Enough condiment for one loaf of bread

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Vegan, dairy-free, vegetarian

Ingredients

• 270 grams of dried figs
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 ½ cups of water
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon of fennel seeds

Instructions

Combine the water, lemon juice and sugar, stir with a spoon.

• Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes or so.
• Chop figs into small pieces removing the central stem
• Add the fennel seeds and figs to water and allow to simmer for up to 20 minutes when the mixture should be thick and ‘jammy’.
• If the mixture is too thick, add water, one tablespoon at a time and stir until it has desired consistency

Serve jam on thick slices of the fig bread – it is beautifully toasted. A lovely breakfast treat!

Courtesy of Lara Flanagan.

Lara is the author of My Notes from New England, a blog that takes a humorous look at the adventures of a single mum with two young twins who enjoys cooking, eating well, living in the country and travelling the world looking to inspire and be inspired.