Rainy Mornings and Pancakes

I can hardly believe it has happened...

The constant cloudy days and drizzly sky have finally caused the temperature to plummet. The air is damp and cool, even by First Day of Autumn standards and my green smoothie run has come to an abrupt halt for want of a warmer breakfast.

What better way to celebrate our new season than with glorious, golden buckwheat pancakes. You may recall that I have shared a similar buckwheat pancake recipe in the past. Those pancakes were covered in sweet, ripe bananas, golden honey and flaked almonds. The recipe for those beauties can be found here.

I've since created a new recipe and these pancakes my dear, dear friends will. Blow. Your. Minds.

Buckwheat Pancakes with Cinnamon Apples
Gluten Free
Serves 4-5

For the Pancakes

3/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup gluten free self-raising flour
1/4 cup gluten free plain flour
1 tsp gluten free baking powder
2 free range eggs
1 cup whole milk (soy or rice milk can be substituted)
olive oil

For the Cinnamon Apples

3-4 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 Tbs unsalted butter
1/2 cup water
1/2 to 1 tsp ground cinnamon
1-2 Tbs maple syrup

Fresh blueberries and additional maple syrup to serve.

To make the pancakes, sift the flours and baking powder into a large bowl, make a well in the centre, add the eggs and mix. Pour in the milk in a slow stream and whisk the mixture until you have a uniform batter.

Heat a heavy based pan over medium heat. Pour in a generous amount of olive oil (glug, glug, glug!)and when the oil starts to move (it looks magical as it heats), ladle or pour roughly 1/2 cup of the batter into the pan. I love to make small, round, odd shaped pancakes that are oval in appearance; in a large pan you can easily fit three or more pancakes. Allow the pancakes to cook until small bubbles form on their creamy surfaces. As the bubbles begin to burst, flip the pancakes and continue cooking for another minute or less.

When making a large quantity of small pancakes, it's helpful to keep your growing mound in a warm oven as you finish cooking the batter. When they're ready to be served, rearrange the golden discs into an impressive stack to stand as a proud tower on your table.

To make the cinnamon apples, peel, core and slice the apples. Drop the butter into a hot pan and as it bubbles and hisses, add the apple slices and cinnamon. Lower the heat and cook the apples until the butter absorbs into the fruit, stirring occasionally. Pour in the water to soften the apples, add a splash of maple syrup to sweeten and reduce until the sauce thickens and becomes glossy. Serve hot over the golden buckwheat pancakes.

Sprinkle with fresh, sweet blueberries and highlight with a stream of honey-coloured maple syrup.

For me, there is nothing more comforting on a cold, dreary morning than biting into soft, warm pancakes, topped with sweet cinnamon apples and fresh violet pearls, bursting with blueberry sweetness.

How do you serve your pancakes?

Bella xx

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Final Breaths

During her final hours, Summer has delivered a bright burst of sunlight. The piercing white light penetrates the grey sky outside my bedroom window and I feel a strange sense of nostalgia thinking back over the past three months.

Autumn arrived early and patiently waited for Summer to gather her things and depart on her northern holiday. Autumn is generous in many ways and it is during this beautiful season that soft light filters through my windows, causing everything to glow differently.

I've been baking warm desserts lately with green granny smith apples, cinnamon and brown sugar. The urge to bake and share sticky, sweet dishes directly from my shiny oven with my loved ones is a feeling that is familiar to me during the Autumn months and like the light that shines through my windows, I feel warmth and a certain, special glow. As the leaves outside fade to hues of golden yellow and warm red I take comfort in the soft light. Autumn to me means countless cups of hot tea, adventures found within the dog-eared pages of my favorite books, and a kitchen that is constantly filled with the sweet, spicy aromas of cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and love.

Outside the flood waters continue to recede as I mentally note what ingredients I need to purchase this afternoon in order to bake a rhubarb pie.

On this, her final day I am saddened yet filled with happiness and hope simultaneously as Summer draws her final breaths.

Bella xx

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Going Green This Friday

Green smoothie goodness, inspired by Sash over at Inked in Colour and although I'm somewhat of a smoothie buff, I haven't actually made one with spinach before. Shocking, right?

There's something incredible about drinking a smoothie so green and full of the wonder of the earth that makes my heart beat stronger and my mood lift with bubbly happiness.

I made Sash's smoothie, on Tuesday as an afterthought when I remembered I should use a soft mango in the fridge, then a second time when my mother and grandmother came to visit on Wednesday. The third time I made a green smoothie was this morning, but as fate would have it, I had run out of mangoes. Super Mum was helpful by bringing me a fabric bag filled with organic mangoes freshly plucked from her very own mango tree but they're still too bitter green to use in a smoothie, so I made a new version.

Drink Your Spinach Smoothie

3 generous handfuls of baby spinach
2 large, ripe bananas
1 cup of freshly squeezed or cloudy apple juice
1-2 Tbs natural yoghurt (I love Bornhoffen natural yoghurt)
1 entire tray of ice (12 cubes)

Place all ingredients into a blender and pulse until the spinach has been pulverised. Pour a thick stream of the vibrant green smoothie into large cups or glasses and enjoy with your loved ones for breakfast or as an afternoon hunger buster (careful not to spoil your dinner appetite).

We drank ours in our bedroom loft, early in the morning before a barefoot walk on the beach.

Thanks again to Sash for inspiring me to drink green. We've never met in person but I love your blog and I'm so pleased you shared this recipe with us because now I can pass it on.

Now I can drink my spinach.

Love Bella xx

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Apple Plum and Nectarine Galette

A sweet gluten free crust with a sharp but sweet warm apple, plum and nectarine filling, covered in crunchy green pieces of finely chopped pistachio nuts.

My mother and grandmother came to visit us last week. Grandma had a medical appointment and decided to stay with us for one night to break the trip up. We loved having the family together to share stories and laughter, because it is these types of gatherings that form the best memories. Byron and I cooked up a storm, which was quite fitting because now the monsoon is here (I have never before in my short life witnessed such heavy rain fall for so long without interruption, take that destructive bush fires!). Roast chicken with thyme and sage, butternut squash and golden potatoes roasted with rosemary and olive oil, and my sweet apple, plum and nectarine galette.

After Grandma and Mum left, a busy weekend ensued with the Australia Day celebrations in full swing and crowds of families flocking to the seaside. It is unfortunate that many have experienced heavy rain this long weekend as most people are camping but I'm grateful for the cool, wet change in the weather that has broken the dry spell. With the rain driving against my windows, my formerly slightly damp washing now completely soaked and dripping outside and my puppy and cat curled up together to share body heat, I have found the time to sit down and share this lovely recipe with you.

Regardless of whether it's a cool summer's day where you are or perhaps a wintry cold evening, this versatile little recipe can be assembled and baked with love to share on any occasion.

Apple Plum and Nectarine Galette

Pastry

This pastry recipe will provide ample pastry to make two large galettes, I actually made two large and one smaller one. As the pastry recipe does not contain sugar, the second galette can be savoury!

3 cups Gluten Free Plain Flour, plus more to roll dough on bench
1 cup sweet white sorghum flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 tsp xanthan gum
225g chilled unsalted butter, chopped
1/2 cup of strained full fat natural or greek yoghurt
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
2 Tbs chilled ice water
1 egg yolk (to brush the edges)
1 Tbs pistachio nuts, finely chopped to sprinkle

Pastry: In a large bowl, combine the flours, salt and xanthan gum. Add the cold butter cubes and use a pastry blender or flat edge beater in a stand mixer to break up the butter until the pastry resembles coarse bread crumbs. If you don't have a pastry blender or stand mixer, then you can grate the butter into the flours and mix by hand, by rubbing the butter and flours together with your fingertips.
In a separate bowl, add the yoghurt, apple cider vinegar and iced water. Whisk the wet ingredients together, then pour into the flour-butter mixture. Stir together with a metal spoon, knead the dough a couple of times if it does not stick together. Form a ball, then wrap the pastry with plastic and refrigerate for one hour to chill. This pastry will keep for two days in the fridge if you want to make a savoury galette later (who wouldn't want to?)

Fruit Filling

3 large green apples, peeled, cored, roughly chopped
1/2 cup dark brown sugar (more may be added if you prefer a sweeter filling)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3 black plums, stone removed, roughly chopped
5 nectarines, stone removed, roughly chopped

Filling: In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook the apples with the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Liquid will come out of the apples, try to reduce this a little then add the plums and nectarines. Taste the stewing fruit, if the flavour is too tart in flavour, add more brown sugar. I opted to add one generous tablespoon of my mother's gorgeous homemade plum jam because it enhances the flavour of the plums with a delicate sweetness that can only come from homemade plum jam (Thanks Mum!).
Once the fruit has softened, allow the filling to cool.

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit).

Galette assembly: Sprinkle gluten free plain flour over your work surface, using roughly half of the pastry ball, roll the dough until it is approximately 1/4 inch thick and 15 inches in diameter. Carefully transfer the pastry round to a baking tray lined with greaseproof baking paper.

Spread the delicious apple, plum and nectarine fruit filling in the centre of the pastry leaving a border of two inches. Fold the pastry border over the fruit, creasing the pastry over itself gently to make a round pie shape with an open fruit centre.

Brush the border with the egg yolk and bake for 30 minutes, or until the pastry edge has turned a gorgeous glossy golden brown. Allow to cool for several minutes, during which time you can finely chop your pistachio nuts and sprinkle over the top to give a burst of green to your rich plum coloured galette. Serve warm with family or friends. This galette should yield eight slices and is perfect by itself or with a dollop of double cream and sprig of fresh mint from the herb garden.

If it happens to be raining where you are too, I hope you are snuggled and warm inside with your treasured loved ones. I have my favourite Carole King record crackling in the background as the raindrops continue to fall outside in the whistling wind.

Love Bella xx

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