Chili, Garlic and Chive Beer Bread.

I made this delicious beer bread as a mid week dinner treat last week, if you want a healthier version you can use soda water instead of beer. I used wholewheat flour but you can always use rye flour if you prefer. You could also mix up the herbs and spices, add nuts and seeds, or as I did sprinkle feta cheese on top before baking. 

Delicious served plain with butter or dipped in soup. YUM!

Ingredients : 

700ml Wholewheat Flour or Rye flour

15ml Baking Powder

2 Tablespoons Honey or Molases

Pinch Fine Salt

1 can/bottle Beer or Soda

1 Chili, Diced

3 Garlic Cloves, Crushed

1 Tablespoon Chives or Rosemary

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Place a bread loaf tin in the oven, before starting to bake the bread to get this nice and hot.

Mix the flour, baking powder, honey, chili, garlic, chives and salt together. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and pour in the beer, cut this to incorporate.

Knead this well together. Take the hot tray out the oven, oil and dust it with flour. Scoop the bread out into the hot tray and bake for 30 minutes.

An Array of Grey.

New linen's available at the garden open day, March 2014. 

A beautiful muted palette of greys and whites, designed to suite everyones home. From cushion covers, throws, baby blankets, muslin cloths, place mats and tablecloths.

Come and join us on the 13th and 14th of March 2014, at 19 Little Maritzburg Road, Salt Rock, KZN, South Africa. 

Delicious Brownies: Gluten, Dairy & Sugar Free.

I made these brownies last week using totally natural, totally unrefined, absolutely healthy ingredients!, with a few tweeks on a flourless chocolate cake recipe I came up with the following delicious brownie recipe. These brownies are as healthy as brownies can be, morishly gooey and the nuts add a delicious crunch! 

It is even vegan so you can lick the bowl clean and not even worry about raw eggs. 

Don’t forget that raw cacao is also a superfood as it is such an insanely rich source of antioxidants, one of the best in the world, as well as being packed with a number of other beneficial nutrients: manganese, which helps oxygenate the blood; magnesium, which helps maintain healthy bodily nerves, muscles and bones; and sulphur, which builds strong nails and hair, and promotes beautiful skin.

• INGREDIENTS:
• 2 cups white spelt flour (or almond flour).
• 1 cup raw cacoa powder.
• 1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder.
• 1 cup honey or pure maple syrup.
• A pinch of salt.
• 1/2 cup good vegetable oil (or coconut oil).
• 1/2 cup light agave nectar.
• 1/2 cup strong brewed coffee.
• 1/2 cup soya milk or almond milk.
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract.
• 1/2 tablespoon almond extract.
• 2 tablespoons unrefined oil.
• 1 cup hazelnuts or almonds, diced roughly
• 
  
• METHOD:
• Heat oven to 180°. Sift flour, cocao powder, baking powder and a pinch of salt into a bowl. 
• Whisk maple syrup, oil, agave nectar, coffee, soya milk and vanilla in another bowl. 
• Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Pour half the batter into a greased 9" x 11" baking dish; top with half the nuts. Pour remaining batter into dish and top with remaining nuts. 
• Bake until knife comes out with crumbs adhering to it but still gooey in centre, 30 minutes. 
• Let cool.

Easter Open Day

Join CT Organics and The Garden for another Open Day on the 13th and 14th March 2014!

The two days will be filled with live music and organic food being served for breakfast and lunch. Products on sale include:

organic meat
organic vegetables
a natural beauty range

interior decor/smalls

furniture

linen, cushions & throws

a bespoke pottery range

glassware

cushions

handmade wooden boards/crates/planters

kitchen goods

organic homemade cakes & biscuits

leather bags

baby bags & linen

clothing

easter eggs & treats

For more info visit ctorganicsonline.co.za & thegardenshop. 

New Lights

Amazing new lights just in! These unique chandelier lights consist of individual loops which hook onto each other. The frame is available in freestanding, sconce, and a 2 or 3 tier ceiling chandelier. (see images) 

Contact me for more info at thegardendeli@hotmail.com or on 0761777400.

Open Day Success

So the 3 day open day was an amazing success, we even had to close early on the Saturday as the stock was almost sold out. Our biggest seller was the Lazy Susan's, which ran out in the first 2 hours. So we had plenty of orders for more. These will be ready in about a weeks time. 

We had such amazing feed back from all our customers and everyone loved 'the garden', asking us when the next open day will be. So we will definitely keep you updated on the next one or (fingers crossed) if we find a permanent retail premises. 

Blueberry, Lemon and Almond Cake (gf) (df) (sf)

I baked this delicious cake yesterday to try out for my open day, it is so delicious and moist, with a crunch from the poppy seeds and a tang from the lemons. This cake is surprisingly spongy and sweet for a gluten, dairy (depending on the icing) and sugar free version. 
It's my ultimate dessert at the moment and I will definitely be making it many times over the christmas season!   

Ingredients:

4 cups (400 g) almond flour

3 tbsp poppy seeds

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup (120 ml) rapeseed oil/ mild olive oil

1/2 cup (120 ml) local honey

2 small organic lemons

3 large eggs (replace with chia seeds* if you are vegan)

2 cups (300 g) blueberries ( half for topping)

Glazing (or side dollop for each slice):

1 cup/240 ml (250 g) Greek yogurt,

2 tbsp local honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C. Combine almond flour, poppy seeds, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl and set aside. Heat oil and honey in a sauce pan on very low heat until combined. Grate the zest from the 2 lemons and add it to the honey/oil batter. Divide lemons in half and squeeze the juice from three of the halves into the mixture, saving one half for the glazing. Add the batter to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Beat the eggs and then fold them into the batter together with 1 cup of the blueberries. Stir gently around with a wooden spoon until combined. Grease a 8-inch spring form cake tin, and add the batter to it.

Bake for about 40-50 minutes (depending on size of the pan and oven), or until golden on the outside and baked all way through (you can cover the cake with tin foil during the last 15 minutes if it starts looking burned). Remove from oven and let cool for at least 30 minutes before removing the sides. 

Meanwhile, start making the glazing. Drain yogurt in a milk cloth or coffee filter for about 10 minutes. This is to make the yogurt less runny. Discard the water and combine the thick yogurt with honey, vanilla extract and the juice from the remaining lemon half. Leave to chill in the fridge. When the cake has cooled completely, cover it with glazing, top with the remaining blueberries and serve. You could also just serve the cake with blueberries and yogurt on the side.

A Healthier Carrot Cake (Gluten, Dairy & Sugar Free)

I love carrot cake it's my favorite cake, well to be honest i'm not really a 'cake' fan, I think it has something to do with a dry sponge phobia. But chocolate brownies (new sweet potato chocolate brownie recipe coming soon!, gluten,dairy and sugar free of course)and carrot cakes are my vices. So I thought why not make them healthy?

So here it is my 'healthy', deliciously moist carrot cake... and you won't even taste the difference! 

If you feel like a christmas treat use my cream cheese icing instead of the dairy free one.

one cake to serve 10

3 eggs

1-2 bananas

10-15 fresh dates (without seeds)

6 tbsp sunflower oil

1 cup spelt or buckwheat flour (both gluten free)

1 ½ tsp baking powder

3 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp cardamom

3-4 carrots (medium size, grated)

½ cup coconut flakes

½ cup walnuts (roughly chopped)

1/2 cup raisins

Dairy Free Icing (use my cream cheese icing for a treat)

- 1 ripe banana

- 1 avocado

- 3 tablespoons of maple syrup

- 6 medjool dates

- 1 tablespoon of coconut oil

- 1 tablespoon of nut butter

- 1 heaped teaspoon of cinnamon

- a handful of hazelnuts to sprinkle on the top

Cream Cheese Icing

200 g cream cheese

3 tbsp honey

1/2 lime (juice)

1/2 cup hazelnuts

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Whisk the eggs in a medium sized bowl. Use a hand blender or a blender to mix bananas, dates and oil into a thick cream in another bowl. Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom and stir it together with the eggs and the banana-cream. Add grated carrots, coconut flakes, walnuts and raisins and stir it until it all comes together.

Pour it into a cake pan and bake for about 40 minutes. Try to stick a toothpick in the centre of the cake, when nothing sticks on it the cake is ready. Let it cool.

Whip together the cream cheese and the honey (bananas or dates would probably also work as sweeteners for the frosting). Add the frosting when the cake is completely cooled of. Serve with roughly chopped hazelnuts or walnuts on the top.