Sunflower Seed Milk and Cookies recipes

Sunflower Seed Milk and Flour 

After another superb Kingskerswell gig last night, I am having a quiet cookery day today. We saw Charlie Dore at Kingskerswell Church where she was backed by the Totnes Pop-Up Choir. I love Charlie's music anyway, but the choir made it all the more magical! Take a look at CharlieDore.com for the rest of her tour dates and WorldUnlimited.co.uk for more great live music in South Devon.

Back to the kitchen! I'm cutting down of our dairy intake, partly for personal health reasons and partly for environmental reasons, which got me into trying various nut milks to make our breakfast porridge. Interestingly, in blind taste tests (because I didn't tell him!) Dave actually preferred non-dairy milks and my favourite was almond, but I wasn't so keen on the price. Having seen a few bloggers extolling the pros of homemade nut and seed milks, I decided to give it a go. NestAndGlow.com is a particularly good resource and I eventually settled on their Sunflower Seed Milk as being the best suited to us.

Milk Ingredients
140g sunflower seeds
Water for soaking

4-5 dates (optional)
700ml water

I put the sunflower seeds into a bowl with enough water to well cover them and leave them to soak all day (or overnight). I then drain the seeds, discarding the soaking water.
I put the soaked seeds into a high sided saucepan together with 700ml of fresh water and a few dates for sweetness. The dates are optional, but we both have a sweet tooth here! I use my handheld blender to liquidise the seeds and dates which usually takes a couple of minutes. Of course, if you have a food processor you could use this instead.
When all ingredients are blended I hang a jelly bag over a largish bowl and pour the seed-water mixture through it, squeezing at the end to make sure as little liquid as possible is retained with the seed pulp. This is pretty good exercise for hand strength!
The liquid is the finished milk which I decant into a fridge jug ready for the morning's porridge. It does separate as it stands, but a quick stir-up with a long spoon brings it back together again.

Oat And Date Cookies 

Cookie Ingredients
160g chopped dates
Hot water
1 ripe-ish banana
2 tbsp peanut butter
70g oats
175g sunflower seed pulp

In a great instance of Waste Not Want Not synchronicity it turns out that the leftover sunflower seed pulp from milk-making is a perfect flour substitute in Oat And Date Cookies. Any excuse for cookie baking!

I start to make these by soaking 160g of chopped dates in hot water for 5-10 minutes to soften them. I also set the oven to preheat to 180c although I need to look into whether these cookies would also bake in the slow cooker as I think this would be more economical and energy efficient.

I mash the banana into a large mixing bowl and mix in the peanut butter. I then drain the dates discarding the water and stirring the fruit into the banana mix.

I add the oats and seed pulp and mix everything well together with a wooden spoon. Once there is a sort of dough I use my hands to form it into small balls, lightly flatten them nd place them onto a baking tray. This size batch makes 16-18 cookies. I have found if I flatten them and then place them on a baking tray, they bake without sticking so the tray doesn't need additional greasing or flouring. If I press the cookies onto the tray to flatten them, they do stick!

I bake the cookies on a high oven shelf at 180c for about 15 minutes or until they start to brown on top. I remove the tray from the oven and let them stand for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.

Delicious with an afternoon cuppa or as an on-the-go snack!

Delighted with more fab giveaway prizes!

I'm not intending to make you all jealous, well not very jealous anyway(!), but today's post will be me talking about three more fabulous giveaway prizes I have received recently. You might already have read posts about a wooden 'home' jigsaw and some superb coffee that I won? Now I have got a satisfying pile of books and a stash of cookies! I enter lots of giveaways mostly on Twitter and sometimes on Facebook because it's just really good fun! Feel welcome to follow me on Twitter or friend me on Facebook if you're a giveaways fan too. We can point each other towards cool prizes.

I actually won the five books pictured above late last year, but we were away travelling at the time so it's taken them a while to catch up with me. The prize was for signing up to Penguin's Think Smarter emails which are a great resource for discovering their nonfiction books. The emails include interesting articles as well as links to new publications. I'll no doubt be reviewing all five over on Literary Flits in due course so you can look forward to a burst of educational reading suggestions!

The thought of all that learning is making me hungry though so it's great that Maryland sent me a selection box of their cookies as part of a #WinItWednesday promotion on Twitter. I love WinItWednesdays - and FreebieFridays! We've eaten most of the cookies already because they did arrive several days ago and I particularly liked the new Soft Baked type which are just like the large chewy cookies from supermarkets except a bit smaller. They're about half the size and there were eight in the pack. The standard crunchy cookies with chocolate and hazelnuts were very tasty too and Dave enjoys dunking them into his coffee. I prefer to crunch!

Today's post brought with it a Facebook giveaway prize which was hosted by a new crafting and mindfulness magazine, Project Calm. Their giveaway prize was a large format adult colouring book called Colour New York. The book consists of twenty incredibly detailed line drawings of famous New York scenes all of which were drawn by talented artist Emma Kelly. If that name rings a bell it's because she designed the badminton 50p coin for the 2012 Olympics. I've got my colouring pens at the ready and am looking forward to beginning my interpretations of the scenes. I can't decide whether to try and be as realistic with my colours as I can or whether to go psychedelic!

I am developing a compulsive habit of watching out for the postal staff! They usually get to our building about lunchtime and it's disappointing when there's nothing for me! I'm still awaiting two more books, a couple of DVDs, and a stationery set which is coming all the way from America. Fun times!

Have a very Happy Birthday with Biscuiteers biscuits!

I was excited to be asked to review a Happy Birthday gift box from London artisans Biscuiteers in September as, not only is it the company's birthday this week, but the timing ties in pretty perfectly with our lives too. Hopefully those of you who actually know us in the non-virtual world won't need reminding of the Big Birthday happening later this month? (Clue: it's not mine!)

My Biscuiteers parcel arrived on Saturday, a grey and rainy day in Torquay, and I didn't immediately realise what it was so experienced genuine delight on cutting open the cardboard box to reveal the brightly hand-illustrated tin with its accompanying Open Me card. The packaging is gorgeous in its own right even without any knowledge of the delights within!

I soon opened up the tin though and loved the vivid colours of the biscuits inside. Full marks to the Biscuiteers designers for such inventive creations! A birthday cake, a polkadot wrapped present and two stripy candles, all expertly iced by hand onto chocolate biscuits. And that was just the first layer! There are a generous four layers of biscuits in the Happy Birthday box which, having them all laid out together on our table, truly seemed to light up the room! Further designs include sprinkle-topped cupcakes, party hats, more presents, party blowers and, my absolute favourite, a delicately outlined bunch of blue and white balloons.

The whole presentation has been carefully thought out so there's no need to worry about anything getting damaged in transit. Each biscuit is cleverly held in position by a dab of icing on the back which adheres to the foodsafe packaging layer and secures it in place. Although it is darkly coloured, I checked with Biscuiteers and this packaging is recyclable. (Thanks Lauren!) So, assuming the recipient will want to keep the attractive tin - and who wouldn't! - there shouldn't be anything left at the end for landfill. Well done Biscuiteers!

Now, we definitely need to talk about the biscuits themselves. It's all very well that they look stunning, but a biscuit has got to taste good too. I am glad to report no problems on that score here! These biscuits were richly chocolatey with a similar flavour to a quality brownie, but, of course, without the gooiness. They have a firm texture with a rich butteriness that melts in the mouth. Delicious - and dangerously moreish! My partner did find the icing crumbled a bit too much so I'd recommend eating over crumb-catcher plates. These are biscuits to take your time over, not to wander around with!

Biscuiteers biscuits aren't just for birthdays though. Lauren kindly included a brochure illustrating the great variety of themes on offer. As a literary soul I was immediately drawn to the Beatrix Potter Biscuit Collection, and I could also choose designs suitable for celebrating weddings, new babies or new homes, and interest-themed collections for sports fans, travellers or superheroes. There's even a fashionista collection that Matthew Williamson thinks is 'divine' and, for the well-organised amongst us, the new Christmas collections have just been revealed.

Biscuiteers Happy Birthday Biscuit Box 

If you're tempted to send a Biscuiteers box for your next gift, then do take advantage of their introductory offer for new customers. Simply sign up for their email newsletter at biscuiteers.com and receive £5 off your first tin. Biscuiteers are happy to deliver worldwide. Next working day delivery is available within the UK and international delivery can be ordered via Fedex within 2-3 working days.

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Thank you so much to Biscuiteers for sharing their Birthday Week and Happy Birthday biscuit box with me! I did not receive any payment for this post, but all links are affiliate links so, should you choose to click through and make a purchase, I would receive a small percentage.

SmallSteps week 4 and finding BuyBritish toiletries

Week 4 of SmallSteps is going to feature BuyBritish bath and body products, but first I will recap my week's efforts.

If you're new to this theme, I am blogging a series of Monday posts about ideas I think might help our disUnited Kingdom communities to get through the post-Brexit turmoil ahead. You can read the first post here. SmallSteps lifestyle changes, if embraced by enough of us, could help to keep our towns and communities afloat through the uncertain months ahead.

I've decided to keep a track of my attempts to practice what I preach! My initial three SmallSteps were:

1) to CheckTheLabel and BuyBritish whenever possible
2) to ShopLocal and spend at least £5 each week in independent local shops
3) to eat healthily and walk or cycle short distances
and last week I added
4) Not to use self-service checkouts or Pay At Pump.

So how did I do this week?

My ShopLocal spend was just a £1.30 loaf of multiseed bread from Truffles Bakery in Hailsham, although I realised that I didn't include our £30ish spend at last week's festivals in my roundup. Can I allocate it to this week?! We began to ShopLocal for events in our Devon to-be-home as well and now have tickets booked for NTlive broadcast of The Deep Blue Sea at Torquay's Central Cinema and for the Lauren Housley gig at Kingskerswell Parish Church. I've heard rumours of a Richard Shindell gig at the Pig And Pallet in Topsham too, but tickets aren't on sale yet.
The apple and courgettes for my BBQ salad were BuyBritish as was the Borderfields rapeseed oil for the dressing. I also bought Borders and McVitie's biscuits - both brands baked in the UK - and British strawberries and free range chicken.

photo from Ora 

The Ora kitchen roll I mentioned last week is great and I can't see myself ever wanting to return to regular rolls. The cone tower is surprisingly elegant and fits on a low caravan shelf. I think it will be even more convenient on the kitchen worktop once we are in our new flat (Wednesday, eeek!). The sheets are circular and just as absorbent as other brands we have used in the past. I was concerned that two rolls' worth of paper taking up the space of a single roll would turn out to mean cheap, thin paper, but this is most definitely not the case. A good buy!

I walked for at least half an hour on five days, mostly to Hailsham for a spot of shopping and, once to post a Literary Flits giveaway prize. (Have you entered this week's giveaway?)


Now let's talk pampering!

My favourite bath and body products for years have been Lush solid shampoos and conditioner bars which are absolutely ideal for my travelling lifestyle because there's no chance of loosening caps and accidental spills. I can take a whole bar on aeroplanes too without needing to attempt decanting into silly mini bottles or paying way over the odds for travel-sized products. Once we're based in Torquay though I'd need to traipse to Exeter to visit a Lush store, so if I'll be resorting to mail order, I thought I might as well check out other BuyBritish alternatives.

Faith In Nature 

In a spooky coincidence, just as I was starting to write this post another company I like emailed about their latest promotion. Faith In Nature are offering their summery Tropical Range at half price for a limited time and the last day is TODAY so do all rush at once! And if you've found this post later than the 25th July, sorry you missed out, but I think their products are easily worth full price anyway. Faith In Nature don't make solid bar shampoos, but who could resist layering the chocolate shampoo scent with that of the coconut conditioner and, if you wash your hair a lot or set up a co-op with a few friends, splashing out on the 5 litre bottles (yes, really!) makes good economic sense.

While researching what will become my Torquay ShopLocal businesses, I was delighted to discover that I can actually purchase natural soaps and shampoos made within walking distance of my new home. Green Wyse is run by medical herbalist Dawn just three miles away and I am looking forward to sampling the various scents of vegetable soap/shampoo that she creates. I might give the toothpaste a try too. I also want to visit The Soap Stall in Torquay's Indoor Market which apparently is at The Market Forum. I've 'borrowed' the photo below from The Soap Stall's Facebook page - doesn't that display look fabulous?!

The Soap Stall, Torquay Indoor Market 

Please do feel welcome to link to your favourite / your own BuyBritish and ShopLocal businesses in the Comments. Make sure to say in which town they are so other nearby folks will know to look out for them!

Finally I have made a blog badge from my SmallSteps logo image. If you would like to join in this Monday (or any day) blog theme, feel welcome to display the badge and let me know about your post so we can link up.

SmallSteps @ Stephanie Jane

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#ThrowbackThursday - where we were on this date in Junes past

My first throwback for the 30th of June is a simple and

Delicious crumbly biscuits 

reliable biscuit recipe which I posted in 2013 having baked a batch in our Polegate kitchen. I had been baking these crumbly biscuits every once in a while for many years beforehand and the original go-to recipe is probably buried somewhere in my Good Housekeeping Cookery Compendium - either that or I saw it on Blue Peter!

By the end of June 2014, I had graduated to baking bread and we treated ourselves to a week of varied theatre trips, the 30th of June event being a performance of Shakespeare's The Tempest broadcast to Eastbourne's Cineworld cinema from The Globe Theatre. From the sublime to the ridiculous, the next night saw us at The Devonshire Park Theatre for a live performance of The Play That Goes Wrong. Our friend Linda had recommended this to us and it truly is hilarious. We loved every minute! If you haven't seen it yet, I think the play is still on in London and there's now a Peter Pan Goes Wrong play from the same team.

Another year goes by and we spent the last day of June

Dave walking in Northumberland 

2015 on a ten mile walk around Harthope Burn and Broadstruther in Northumberland. It's such a gorgeous part of the country and, although the sky looks cloudy in this photograph, was a gloriously hot summer's day. The walk was a mixture of quiet roads, burnside grass and narrow peat footpaths across bracken and heather moorland. We spotted our first oystercatcher which we were very pleased about, but still hadn't seen a red squirel although there were signs 'promising' that we would!

That's all for this month's reminiscing. If you want to share your own #ThrowbackThursday posts, feel welcome to drop a link in the Comments. Next month I'll be remembering 28th of Julys.

Biscuits for cheese - Scottish oatcakes recipe

We are doing very well for interesting and tasty cheeses from the farm

Scottish oatcakes with apple slices and cheeses 

shop in Hope - cheeses that warrant more than just brown bread to accompany them - so I thought I would try to make a batch of Scottish oatcakes instead. There are lots of different versions around, but my recipe here was basically decided by the weight of oats I had left in the cupboard! I make porridge for myself most mornings. Scottish oatcakes look very different to Derbyshire oatcakes. The latter are sold locally and look like crepes or pancakes. We haven't had an opportunity to eat them though so I don't know for sure. Scottish oatcakes are crisp and crunchy.

Ingredients:
205g porridge oats
80g wholemeal flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp demerera sugar
60g salted butter, cut into small pieces
8-10 tbsp just-boiled-and-still-hot water

Pre-heat the oven to about 200c.

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

Rub in the butter pieces until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Add the hot water, 1 tbsp at a time, and mix in well with a palette knife. Stop adding water when you have a sturdy, but not sticky, dough.

Sprinkle flour over a worksurface and rolling pin. Roll the dough out to about 1/2 cm thick then press out circles using pastry cutters or whatever comes to hand. I used one of our plastic picnic wineglasses!

Lay out the oatcakes on a greased or floured baking tray and bake for 20 - 30 minutes until they are golden. Allow to cool before serving.

Scottish oatcakes will last several days in an airtight container. I made 21 from the dough batch and these did us for two lunches as they are quite dense and filling. Dave liked them warm with butter and they also paired well with these cheeses: Bowland which is a cheddary-type cheese, rolled in cinnamon and containing chopped apple and raisin pieces; Pendle Forrest which is a delicious smoked cheese; and Caramelised Onion Cheddar which is exactly what its name describes!

Quick biscuit recipe

This is a simple, versatile recipe that's very easy to make and also dangerously quick so perfect for those times when an emergency sugar fix is needed! We used to make these biscuits when I was child and I think the original version of the recipe is probably from the ancient Good Housekeeping Cookery Compendium that was my Mum's favourite. She made sure that my sister and both got our own suitably dated copies too although, now I come to think about it, I'm not sure what has happened to Mum's?

Ingredients:
6oz plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground mixed spice
4oz butter
2oz sugar
small handful sultanas or any other dried fruit

Grease a baking tray and preheat the oven to about 180C.

Cream the butter and sugar together either by hand or with an electric mixer. When combined add the flour, baking powder and spice and mix again. When the mixture gets to the sort-of breadcrumb stage, throw in the sultanas and continue mixing. Eventually it will form one large ball and when it does you can stop. If you're mixing by hand, this is great exercise for bingo wings!

Take ping pong ball size pieces of the dough and roll them in your hands to smooth the edges. Flatten them slightly as you put them onto the baking tray. Leave a gap between the dough discs as they will expand a little during cooking.

When all the dough discs are on the baking tray, bake them in the preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes. I currently have a fan oven which I set to 180C and the biscuits only take 15 mins as we like them quite lightly baked and crumbly. The biscuits are very delicate while hot so be careful transferring them to a wire cooling sheet or they may disintegrate. Also, try not to eat them straight from the oven as the sultanas will blister your mouth!

Enjoy x