Category Archives: sweets

Eggless pikelets

May 7, 2020 The Captain & the Cook Leave a comment

What are pikelets? Pikelets are essentially mini pancakes made with flour, egg, milk and sugar. They are popular in the country I was born – New Zealand. I was recently in a position where I wanted to make pikelets but didn’t have eggs. We were sailing through Indonesia a few weeks ago, trying to get to Australia during this Coronavirus pandemic. As the fear of the virus spread through Indonesia, we found we were unable to go ashore to get groceries. In fact, in the end, we were unable to anchor anywhere, and things got a little scary. Read about our sailing nightmare here.

As our food supplies began to run low, we had to make do with what we had on board. Making pikelets as a filling treat for breakfast or lunch became a regular staple. Then came the day I had no eggs! The following recipe is what I came up with to overcome that particular obstacle. Seriously, I did not expect these pikelets to be all that nice and was pleasantly surprised. Dwayne loves them and says they are as good as the pikelets made with eggs. We definitely will continue to make these!

Ingredients

1 cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon of cold-pressed coconut oil
Approximately 330ml milk

Method

Mix dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add the oil and the milk and whisk well.

Pour the pikelet mix into pouring jug for ease (or use a large spoon to pour batter into the pan).

Heat a large pan to medium-high. When the pan is hot enough, spray with cooking oil spray and slowly pour a small amount of batter on the pan to form round pikelets (about 2.5 inches across). Repeat adding pikelet batter to the pan. Don’t let the pikelets touch each other.

Cook until the little bubbles on top of the pikelets start to pop.

Carefully flip the pikelets and cook for another minute. Remove the pikelets and then repeat until you have used all the batter.

Serve with jam and cream, honey, or sugar and lemon. For a savoury treat serve the pikelets with sour cream, smoked salmon and dill.

Also, use this mix –

* to make Blini (used for appetisers) make the pikelet rounds with a 1-inch diameter and top with sour cream, smoked salmon, dill or caviar.
* to make pancakes double the recipe and cook large pancakes.

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From the pantry, No-Cook Bliss Balls and Slices, sweets

High Fibre Fruit & Nut Bars

November 27, 2018 The Captain & the Cook 8 Comments

I am always trying to formulate ways of adding more fibre to my diet. Dietary fibre prevents constipation and is excellent for weight loss as it makes you feel fuller. However, the benefits are far more significant than that alone. Did you know that high fibre diets reduce blood pressure and inflammation and may prevent colorectal cancer?

Adults need 30g of fibre a day. So I set to work selecting high fibre ingredient to blend into a delicious fruit and nut bar.

I first made this recipe with 1/4 of a cup of dried fruit and I had a couple of people tell me it wasn’t sweet enough. I don’t have a sweet tooth so it was perfect for me. I made a second batch with more fruit and it was better received by the friends who have a sweet-tooth. I, on the other hand, found it a little too sweet and will go back to using only a 1/4 of dried fruit. So you may want to play around with the amount of fruit you use (ingredient six**). If you like very sweet start with 1/2 a cup of fruit etc. You can always add a little honey for sweetness also.

Ingredients

3/4 cup LSA*
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup chia seeds
1/4 cup roughly chopped walnuts
1/4 – 1/2 cup mixed dried fruit** (cranberries, blueberries, goji etc)
1/4 cup cocoa or cacao
2 Tbs psyllium
1/2 cup raisins
3/4 cup coconut milk
A little dark chocolate to melt to top the slices (optional).

Method

Add the first eight ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix until well blended.

Put the raisins and the coconut milk in a food processor and blend for a minute.

Mix the coconut and raisin into the dry ingredients until well blended.

Press into a tray, sprinkle with coconut and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Once it is firm slice it into bars. Drizzle with melted chocolate if desired.

Keep refrigerated.

*LSA is a ground mix of linseed, sunflower and almond.

Powerstart Fruit and Nut Bar #recipe #highfibre #nuts #seeds #almondmeal #superfood

About the ingredients

LSA (Linseed, Sunflower and Almond) – Healthy fats – omega’s 3 and 6, high fibre, vitamins and minerals and it is gluten-free.

Desiccated Coconut – High fibre, iron and minerals (gluten-free).

Raisins – High fibre, iron, calcium and anti-oxidants (gluten-free)

Psyllium – an excellent source of fibre and is gluten-free.

Chia seeds – high in fibre and good fats – omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, high protein (14% by weight) and gluten-free.

Goji berries – good source of fibre and protein, contains vitamins, minerals and antioxidants… and gluten-free.

Cocoa – high in fibre, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. It is also gluten-free.

Walnuts – low Carbohydrates (and most carbs in the walnuts are fibre). High in good fats omega-6 and Omega-3, and contains huge amounts of antioxidants. Walnuts contain many vitamins and minerals and are gluten-free.

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High Fibre Fruit & Nut Bar #highfibre #superfood #recipe #LSA #chia #walnuts #coconut #gojiberries #raisins #healthfood #healthy

Want more yummy recipes like this?

CHOCO HIGH FIBRE SLICE

FRUIT AND NUT RUM BALLS

APRICOT AND COCONUT BLISS BALLS

TRIPPIN’ BLISS BALLS

CHRISTMAS PUDDING BLISS BALLS

RUM AND RAISIN BLISS BALLS

From the galley, sweets

Lime Panna Cotta

November 15, 2018 The Captain & the Cook 1 Comment

OMG! I love this dessert. Zesty and fresh, creamy and delectable! AND so easy to make. It really is a decadent indulgence which has been a hit at my dinner parties. On a boat? Believe me this is so easy to make as long as you can refrigerate the panna cotta. Another tip is make one large panna cotta instead of individual ones if it is easier for you to store in your fridge.

Ingredients

600ml cream
200ml milk
3/4 cup caster sugar
4 kaffir lime leaves, torn up*
1 teaspoon finely grated lime rind
1/4 cup lime juice
3 gelatine leaves or 10g powdered gelatine
Lime zest and lime slices, to serve

Method

I use small 85ml metal moulds and the mix fills six of them.

Place cream, milk, sugar, lime leaves and lime rind in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for seven to eight minutes. Do not allow it to boil or even simmer (just bring it close to a simmer). Keep a good eye on it and stir continually. Remove from heat. Add lime juice and gelatine (if using the leaf gelatine squeeze out excess water before adding it to the cream mix). Stir to combine. Set aside for ten minutes to help flavours to develop.

After ten minutes strain mixture through a sieve into a pouring jug and discard the solids. From the jug pour the mixture into prepared moulds and refrigerate overnight.

Run a knife around the edge of each metal mould and dip base of each mould briefly in hot water. Turn each panna cotta out onto a serving plate. Top with a slice of lime and a sprinkle of lime zest and serve.

*I think of one kaffir lime leaf as the entire leaf i.e. the double. I separate the two leaves from the stem, so in the end I have eight leaves. I wash the leaves then bunch them up and twist them to tear them, leaving them mostly intact.

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From the pantry, No-Cook Bliss Balls and Slices, sweets

Fruit and Nut Rum Balls

August 14, 2018 The Captain & the Cook 7 Comments

How these balls came about… I use prune a lot in my bliss balls because it is high in fibre. Dwayne’s favourite bliss balls (that I have made so far) are the rum and raisin. Since the rum and raisin balls are not as high in fibre as the prune balls, I decided to add rum to a prune-based bliss ball to see if Dwayne would like it a little better, thereby making a ball we both enjoy!

These are decadent, tasty little treats with lots of superfood goodness and a hint of the naughty rum!

So this is what I came up with…

Ingredients

3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup psyllium
1/2 cocoa
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1/4 cup hazelnuts, roughly chopped
1/4 cup goji
340g pitted prunes
1/2 cup rum
1/4 cup mixed dried fruit (blueberries, cranberries, cherries, raisin)

Method

Grind the oats in a food processor until fine. Add the oats to a large mixing bowl with the psyllium, cocoa, walnuts, hazelnuts and goji berries. Mix well and set aside.

Put the prunes and the rum in the food processor and blend until it is mushy.

Add the prune mix and the 1/4 cup mixed dried fruit to the bowl with the dry ingredients, and mix well using a large spoon. Once you have it well blended, roll the mix into small balls (25 – 30).

Will store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

About the Ingredients

Oats – High in fibre, helps lower cholesterol and is high in antioxidants.

Prunes – excellent source of fibre, vitamins and minerals.

Psyllium Husk – fibre! and can help manage cholesterol levels.

Cocoa – rich in minerals such as iron, magnesium and calcium. Has anti-inflammatory, anti-allergenic, anti-carcinogenic and antioxidant qualities. Can also aid in lowering blood pressure.

Goji Berries – a good source of protein, calcium, dietary fibre, vitamins A & C as well as iron, and high in antioxidants.

Walnuts – omega-3 fats and high amounts of copper, manganese, molybdenum, and biotin.

Hazelnuts – high in nutrients and antioxidants.

Rum – flavour… yum yum!

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Want more delicious recipes like this?

HIGH FIBRE BLISS BALLS

TRIPPIN’ BLISS BALLS

CHRISTMAS PUDDING BLISS BALLS