banana and cardamom loaf

we had too many overripe bananas sitting in the pantry & had to use them up somehow! try this rustic yet exotically flavoured loaf!

makes 1 loaf
ingredients:
1/4 cup warm water
1 tsp dry active yeast
pinch of brown sugar
1 Tbsp whole cardamom pods
1 cup wholemeal flour
2 1/2 cups strong white flour
4 pinches of sea salt
2 Tbsp vanilla essence
2 large, slightly overripe bananas (mashed)
sesame seeds, to adorn

directions:
1. in a small bowl, mix water, yeast, and sugar, & let set for 10 minutes
2. in the meantime, mash up bananas into a pureed consistency. also, break your cardamom pods & mash up finely
3. sift flour into a big bowl & make a well in the middle. pour in yeast, cardamom, bananas, vanilla extract, & sea salt. slowly combine all ingredients into a dough, adding more water or flour accordingly
4. with your hands, form a ball with the dough. then place on a floured surface & knead for 5 minutes, until elastic and smooth
5. place back into the big bowl & cover with a damp cloth. leave to rise in a warm place for 2 hours
6. preheat oven to 190 C
7. get the dough & knead again for a few minutes. then split dough into three parts & plait. then cover in plastic wrap & let sit for another 20 minutes
8. place the plait on a lightly oiled baking tray. brush with a little water & sprinkle with sesame seeds
9. bake at 190 C for 10 minutes, then turn the heat down to 170 C and bake for another 15 minutes

pink pussy white bean dip with curried bread fingers

here is a delicious feline-inspired snack! 

for dip:

ingredients:

1 can of white beans (or you can use dried ones and soak them overnight)

1 small beetroot

a splash or two of sweet chili sauce

3 Tbsp tahini

1 tsp of agave nectar (or any desired sweetener)

a splash of tamari soy sauce 

1 tsp of olive oil

directions:

1. drain the brine out of the can of white beans and rinse 

2. grate the beetroot

3. then combine all ingredients in a food processor (you can use a slender blender or even a fork if you dont  have a processor) 

4. do so until smooth or whichever consistency you like

adorn with some pumpkin seeds and a little more oil

bread:

(this is a recipe we got from our awesome friend tilly that we added curry powder to<3)

ingredients:

2 tsp of brown sugar

1/2 cup of hot water

1/2 cup of cold water

3 cups of flour (although white flour was used for this bread, wholemeal works really nicely too)

half a teaspoon of yeast

1 tsp of baking powder

pinch of sea salt

dash of mixed dried herbs

sprinkle of lemon pepper

pinch curry powder

directions:

1. whisk the brown sugar and hot water together

2. gradually adding in the cold water, flour, yeast and baking powder as you whisk

3. then knead in the sea salt, herbs, lemon pepper, and curry powder

4. this recipe requires no setting of the dough! so as soon as its a nice mixture of dry and wet, pour it into a bread tin

5. sprinkle some more dried herbs on top

6.  put it in the oven at 200 C

7. and 15-20 minutes later take it out!

8. allow bread to cool for a few minutes if you can resist the urge to commence eating immediately

cut into strips

then add it to your bean dip, and serve with whatever else you like

here we used pan fried onions and garlic with olives