Hot pear with gingerbread sauce

This was the 'accidental breakfast' I declared on my facebook page last Saturday...most worthy of its declaration, it was amazing, maybe even better than the original breakfast it was a spin off from (although that is pretty good too and will feature tomorrow!)  or maybe it was so good as it was unexpected...those moments are always the best!

So, I actually ended up having two breakfasts on Saturday...but it was around 11:30am when I ate this second one so that's pretty much lunch right?

The gingerbread sauce is the star..so good. yet so simple! Just three ingredients and depending on whether you freeze the yoghurt/banana beforehand determines whether you get a thicker frosting or cream consistency. Once blended you could also re-freeze for a short while if necessary. One sauce...two ways!  Yes the sauce does have a taste of banana, more so if your banana is very ripe (mine was quite green and still perfectly sweet enough) but the strength of the ginger does dominate and create a lovely flavour compliment.

You could use it on pretty much anything dessert like (or breakfast like) in nature. Or warm a brownie or muffins and drizzle the sauce over. I whipped up a simple 5 minute breakfast, hot pear chunks, gingerbread granola and gingerbread sauce. Don't skimp on the molasses if you can help it as this creates a lovely sweet caramelised puddle of juice at the bottom of the dish from the hot pear juice.  This really is more like dessert,  I would eat this as dessert any day of the week and still feel like i'm treating myself... i'm already planning more gingerbread sauce creations to get my fix!

Check out these recipes for inspiration to add the gingerbread sauce to. In particular this sticky jamaican ginger cake...mmmmm with at hot gingerbread custard version.




Recipe: Hot pear with gingerbread sauce

Serves 1
1 pear cut into chunks
1/2 tsp molasses
gingerbread granola as per this recipe (or any granola topping)
gingerbread sauce- see recipe below (for a single serving I used approx 1/3 the amount the recipe below makes)

sauce: serves 1-3
1 small frozen banana (approx 80g)
equal quantity of frozen yoghurt chunks
1/2 tsp ground ginger to taste(for a thicker frosting use frozen ingredients or freeze briefly before serving)

Method:

Chop the pear into fairly small chunks and add alongside a blob of molasses to a small bowl. Cook pear chunks in the microwave for 90 seconds.

Meanwhile blend the sauce ingredients together in a mini blender until well blended. 

Serve the hot pear and molasses mix topped with granola and drizzled with gingerbread sauce.

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Pear and black bean salad

Looking back at the last few posts i'm detecting a slight lack of cake and sweetness!

Ok I will stop with the salads soon…I promise…maybe! I am really enjoying salad experiments ( I also have another I want to share but maybe I will need to reign that back for now) and just want to share the best flavour combos and pretty platters with you.

There will definitely be much more cake and Christmas goodies over the next couple of weeks so maybe this little episode of savoury dishes is a subconscious statement to address the balance!

So back to the salad...

In previous years I was never big into salads, I was also never big into combining fruit with savoury dishes (I always struggled to get my head around apple sauce with pork and cranberry saice with turkey when I was a child)…but all that has since changed.

Apples and pears make great salad partners for this time of year, plus salads are a great way to use up some leftovers,  I happened to have a small amount of black beans needing using after making some brownie slices. Red cabbage is also one of my favourite ingredients simply because it so colourful and so quick and easy to add to a salad or stir fry for a great texture. I also find red cabbage stays fresh in the fridge for ages so I end up using it for so many meals.

Simple fresh and colourful lunch or side dish, so pretty and guaranteed to put a smile of your face and a swing in your step (hopefully!) Plus if you like, since you've been so virtuous, you can follow up with a cookie or two...

Recipe: Pear and black bean salad

Ingredients

serves 1

½ cup red cabbage- sliced thinly
1 pear cubed
½ cup cooked sweet corn
½ cup cooked black beans
Scant ¼ cup red onion- sliced thinly

Dressing: 1 tsp olive oil, 1 tbs lemon juice, ½ tsp wholegrain mustard.

Salt, pepper, chilli flakes and chia seeds (optional) to serve

Method

Prepare all veggies and toss together in the dressing.  Add a little salt and pepper to taste plus a few chia seeds to serve for an extra boost if desired.

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

or tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

DAY TWENTY SIX: Pumpkin granola

whoop whoop granola time.  Oh the excitement…! (time for a few explanation marks too, I just can’t help myself!!)

I had lots of pumpkin puree left after blending up this soup ‘bowl’ and I’ve been having fun using it up.  I froze it in silicone cupcake  trays and then popped them out once frozen for easy storage (and to save on using lots of freezer bags).

My go to granola recipe is usually this gingerbread granola or the fruity nutty variety, but you know what, I think I quite the autumnal spices going on here!  I baked the dried cranberries in with the mixture, which is ok but they do have a tendency to get a little burnt before the granola has crisped up since I like chunky granola clusters so it takes that bit longer to cook. You’d be fine if you went for a less chunky granola, otherwise maybe add them in afterwards.  There is not oil in this recipe which makes for a lovely chewy granola, feel free to add a couple of tablespoons of melted coconut oil if you fancy a little more bite.

My favourite way to serve this granola was as a breakfast bowl with soy yoghurt and fresh pear chunks. Sprinkle a little extra cinnamon or ginger over the top and you are good to go!

Recipe: pumpkin granola

Makes one large bowlful

Ingredients

½ cup pumpkin puree

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbs maple syrup and 1/6^th tsp stevia

1 ½ cup oats

½ cup pumpkin seeds

4 tbs flax or ground chia

¼ cup walnut pieces

¼ cups dates or dried cranberries –chopped

2 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp mixed spice

¼ tsp salt

Method:

Mix the pumpkin puree, vanilla, maple syrup and stevia together in a small bowl. Mix the remaining ingredients together in a large bowl and then add the wet mixing until everything is well coated. Spoon onto 2 lightly greased baking sheets making sure a thin even layer with some clumpy bits if preferred. Bake at 170C for 10-15 minutes until slightly golden. Allow to cool fully before storage. Stores in cupboard for a few weeks.

What Vegan MOFO means to me.

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.
For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.