Easy Brain-Healthy Pumpkin Pie with
Chocolate and Walnuts
eI created this healthy version of Pumpkin Pie to enter a competition at the Matakana Market. It came second...but the main point is that this is a dessert that is easy to make and good for your brain! The walnuts and chocolate are well known for brain healthy. It has no refined sugar and uses Filo pastry rather than the richer short crust. Try it!
Ingredients
1k roasted pumpkin (bake until soft and caramelised then cool and remove skin)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (+ an extra ½ tsp for basting the pastry)
1 tsp ground ginger (I used fresh but powdered is fine)¼ tsp ground nutmeg
3 large eggs
1 tbsp. corn starch
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt (optional – I find a bit works well with chocolate)
7 tbsps. coconut cream
1 packet filo pastry
¼ cup maple syrup (or less to taste)
300 grams 70%+ dark chocolate grated or chopped into small pieces.
5 tbsps. butter or oil melted with ¼ tsp cinnamon
100 grams chopped walnuts plus some whole for decorating
Chocolate shavings for decorating (do these yourself using a block and a potato peeler)
How to make it
- Put all ingredients in a large food processor and process until smooth (or do in two batches)
- Cool this mixture in the fridge. This can be made the day before…it must be cold.
- Heat oven to 200C
- Put a tray in the oven to heat while making the tart (the pie will sit on this in the oven)
- Line a pie tin with paper and brush with a mix of butter or oil and cinnamon
- On a board or work surface, brush 5 sheets of phyllo with butter mix. Transfer thesein one piece to the tin, leaving the edges hanging over the sides
- Do another 5 sheets and place them crossways over the first sheets.
- Fold the overhanging pastry edges into the pie to become the rustic crust.
- Pour the cooled mix into the pastry.
- Bake on the preheated sheet for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 150C and bake for about 30 minutes. Cool and serve decorated with walnuts and shaved chocolate. This pie is also nice warmed up with yogurt, ice cream or cream (yogurt = more brain friendly)!
Recipes
Gravadlax
A good brain friendly starter or lunch with salad. Easy to make.
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We have Gravadlax every Christmas - it lasts for days and is very versatile. It tastes like a softer version of smoked salmon. The 'cure' cooks the fish so it isn't raw.
Ingredients Fresh salmon (two identical fillets) Rough rock or sea salt Raw or coconut sugar About the same amount of salt and sugar. This will be wiped off before eating! Handful of dill Grain mustard |
DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH WALNUTS AND STRAWBERRIES
A delicious cake that has a number of brain enhancing foods in it. Chocolate, walnuts, strawberries. Be sure to use top quality chocolate with no sugar. The small amount of added raw or coconut sugar will sweeten it. This can easily substitute for the traditional fruit cake below. Cake:
Place chocolate and coconut cream in a saucepan over low heat. Cook stirring constantly for 3 to 4 minutes or until smooth. Spread over top and side of cake. Stand for 10 minutes or until icing has set. Decorate with strawberries |
Ingredients
Cake
Topping
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Easy to make, tasy to eat. Soak oats in the fridge over night and spare coconut oats can be kept in thr fridge for a few days. Make a big batch!
I often make this with Blueberries rather than strawberries. Frozen ones are fine. This can be served hot in winter - but in summer I make it the day before and serve it cold.
For an even more tasty breakfast - pop in a few squares of dark sugarless chocolate to create chocolate porridge - as featured in 'The Village Cookbook' an iconic community cookbook from Matakana, NZ |
CREAMY COCONUT OATS
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Gluten, dairy and sugar free fruit cake
This is a rich, fruity cake that can be laced with Brandy if you like that sort of thing (I do)! The icing is to make it look pretty - but not for eating! If you like, you can serve it topped with nuts rather than icing.
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Ingredients:
Cake: 600 g mixed dried fruit Brandy or orange juice for soaking 1tsp cinnamon 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 tsp nutmeg 4 eggs 3 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil (melted) Zest of an orange 200 g ground almonds 50 g walnut pieces Topping White water icing or nuts if you want to stay sugar free! |
This cake will keep for a few months in an airtight tin. In fact, if you use brandy, it will improve in flavour over a few months.
I like to make it at least a month before Christmas.
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Filo Christmas Mince rolls
Ingredients
1 Pack of Filo Pastry
A jar of Xmas mince
Glass of warm water with 1 tbsp. Maple syrup
I make my own mince but you needn't do this!
See the recipe below if you want to...
Method
Take a sheet of pastry and brush it lightly with water
Put a spoonful of mince in the middle
Fold the pastry in from each side and then roll
Repeat the process until all the pastry and mince is used up
Ingredients
1 Pack of Filo Pastry
A jar of Xmas mince
Glass of warm water with 1 tbsp. Maple syrup
I make my own mince but you needn't do this!
See the recipe below if you want to...
Method
Take a sheet of pastry and brush it lightly with water
Put a spoonful of mince in the middle
Fold the pastry in from each side and then roll
Repeat the process until all the pastry and mince is used up
Easy home made Xmas mince
100gms raisins
100 gms currants
10 finely chopped dates
100 gms sultanas
50 gms mixed peel
100 gms almond meal
50 gms of slivered almonds
2 tsp each of cinnamon, and nutmeg
1 can of apples (or two sweet, whole fruit peeled and grated)
Juice of ½ lemon
1 cup of brandy, rum or orange juice
Mix all together and bottle. Leave for at least two days. Can last for up to a year if the bottles are sterilised and filled to the top.
100gms raisins
100 gms currants
10 finely chopped dates
100 gms sultanas
50 gms mixed peel
100 gms almond meal
50 gms of slivered almonds
2 tsp each of cinnamon, and nutmeg
1 can of apples (or two sweet, whole fruit peeled and grated)
Juice of ½ lemon
1 cup of brandy, rum or orange juice
Mix all together and bottle. Leave for at least two days. Can last for up to a year if the bottles are sterilised and filled to the top.
Brain / Gut Health
(Pro-biotic) Kingfisher Cottage Kimchi
Fermented foods are great for maintaining and building the right gut bacteria. They can be expensive to buy, but they are relatively easy to make. To me, Kimchi is a more varied and interesting (and spicy) version of Sauerkraut.
There are many variations of this Korean recipe for fermented vegetables. The process is the same. Cabbage is a normal base for any other veg you might have (I use broccoli, green beans, kale, beetroot and beetroot greens etc.). Korean families eat this at every meal – I have it every day. Eat with rice dishes, pastas, salads – virtually everything! Along with Kefir, this food has been shown to encourage better gut bacteria and long term mental and physical health. Here is the basic recipe:
Ingredients
1 whole cabbage
1 whole Daikon radish (those large, white ones)
4 spring onions
I tbsp coconut sugar
Paste
Thumb size piece of ginger, turmeric and 4 cloves of garlic
Chili flakes to taste – I use about a teaspoon
3 tablespoons of fish sauce and 1 tablespoon of cornflour
¼ cup of Kosher or Sea salt (not treated with iodine which prevents fermentation)
Water to cover the cabbage (filtered – chemicals in tap water may kill the good as well as bad bacterial growth)
Method
Stage 1 prepare the cabbage
Stage 2 make the paste
NB I am not too fussy about exact ingredients or measurements. This is a forgiving recipe! I find it best to get a feel for your own preferred taste as long as the basic rules are followed. If a white mould grows on the top – simply scrape it off and make sure the cabbage has brine covering it (this stops the mould).
ere to edit.
Stage 1 prepare the cabbage
- Use a large food safe bucket
- Chop the cabbage into pieces and remove the core
- Use gloves to massage the salt into the cabbage then cover with water
- Put a plate with a weight on it for 1-2 hours until it is soft and dangerous bacteria killed
- Wash cabbage three times but retain some of the brine
- Drain for about 20 minutes
Stage 2 make the paste
- Combine garlic, turmeric, ginger and chili
- Mix the fish sauce with the cornflour into a paste and the add the combined spices above
- Trim other veg – radish, spring onions in this case (other veg can also be added here, but reduce the amount of cabbage to compensate or there won’t be enough sauce!
- Toss all the vegetables together in the bucket with the cabbage and the sauce. Mix by hand – use gloves for this. Mix thoroughly
- Pack the kimchi into large jars (I recycle old yogurt jars)
- Top up each jar where necessary with some of the left-over brine
- Make sure the veg is covered but leave about an inch gap to allow for fermentation
- Stand at room temperature for up to 5 days where it will ferment. Bubbles and overflow are normal – make sure the jars are on a tray!
- Check daily and push the veg down below the brine. Put into the fridge when you like the taste.
- This can be eaten straight away or kept in the fridge for another week or two to fully mature. It should last for up to 3 months after that as long as the liquid covers the contents. If not, just top up with some more brine
NB I am not too fussy about exact ingredients or measurements. This is a forgiving recipe! I find it best to get a feel for your own preferred taste as long as the basic rules are followed. If a white mould grows on the top – simply scrape it off and make sure the cabbage has brine covering it (this stops the mould).
ere to edit.