Lots of recipes here – maybe you’d like to try some for our online coffee morning this Saturday (March 6th, 2021) Gingernuts, slightly adapted from The Pooh cook book by Katie Stewart, published by Methuen Children’s Books, 1971. Makes 16 4 oz plain flour ¼ level teaspoon salt 1 level teaspoon baking powder 1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 1 level teaspoon ground ginger 1 level teaspoon ground mixed spice 2 oz butter or margarine 2 oz castor sugar [I use golden granulated, Fairtrade from Lidl] 1 heaped tablespoon golden syrup Heat the oven to 350 °F (180°C) Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and mixed spice. Add the butter or margarine and rub into the mixture. Stir in the sugar. Measure the syrup into a saucepan and warm over a low heat until runny. Pour it all at once into the flour mixture, and mix with a wooden spoon to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out on to a clean working surface and shape into a long sausage. Cut the sausage in half and then each piece into half again. Now cut each portion into four and you should have 16 equal sized pieces of dough. Using the palms of your hands, roll each piece of dough into a ball. Place about 2 tablespoons sugar in a saucer and roll each ball of dough in the sugar to coat it. Then place well apart on the greased baking tray. Put only about 6 on the baking tray at once [I manage 8 on each of two large trays]…Flatten each gingernut with the base of a tumbler dipped in the sugar. Place the gingernuts in the centre of the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few moments before lifting them onto a cooling tray. Winifred Wilson Flapjacks Set oven to Gas 5, 190C In a heavy bottomed saucepan melt together 125g butter or margarine 125g brown sugar 1 tablespoon golden syrup or honey add 175g rolled oats 50g nuts, dried fruit or, my favourite, mixed seeds (for an extra treat, sprinkle with a very little sea salt) press into a shallow baking tray – about 30cm x 20cm – greased or lined. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, until browned, but take care not to burn, Cut into 24 (or less!) pieces while still hot, and leave in the tin to cool. We published these recipes during Fairtrade Fortnight 2013 and are delighted that some of them have been included in ‘Bake a Difference’ – a lovely recipe book recently published by Traidcraft. Sunday 10 March FRUIT SMOOTHIEMethod:Blend together one 120gm tub of fairtrade pineapple pieces with onesmall/medium fairtrade banana.Add 100ml fairtradeorange juice and 100ml fairtrade apple juice, mix well. For extra creaminess add 50ml fairly traded coconut milk. Serve chilled. Saturday 9 March Hannah’s fork biscuits – I bought some of these today – yummy! 200g (8oz) softened butter 100g (4oz) Fairtrade caster sugar 285g (9 1/2 oz) self raising flour 15g (1/2oz ) Fairtrade cocoa Fairtrade icing sugar to decorate 1) preheat the oven to 180°C / Fan 160°C/ gas mark 4 and lightly grease 2 largish baking trays 2) Put the butter in a bowl and beat to soften. Gradually beat in the sugar and then add the flour and cocoa together. 3) Bring the mixture together with your (clean) hands to form a dough – it may seem quite dry and crumbly at this stage. Form the dough into little balls about the size of a walnut and place well apart on the baking trays. Press then down with a fork (hence the name) 4) Bake in the oven for 15-20 mins. Lift off the baking tray and leave to cool We like to make some white icing with water and drizzle over them in random patterns These are not very strongly but you could swap flour for cocoa up to about 30g if you wanted to. Friday 8 March ‘Just a cup of tea’ loaf one cup each of oats, sugar ( the darker the better), dried fruit, soaked in one cup of black tea – as strong as you like. After one hour add one cup of self-raising flour and mix well. Bake in a loaf tin for about an hour at Gas 4 or 180C. (Fat free until you spread it thickly with butter…) Thursday 7 MarchBATTERED SWEET POTATOMethod:Make a batter the consistency of double cream by whisking together:2 tbsp plain flour, sieved1 tbsp Fairtrade caster sugar½ tsp salt1 tbsp sesame seeds1 local, free range egg3 tbsp fairly traded coconut milk Cut a peeled sweet potato into large chips & coat well in batterDeep fry in hot oil until golden brownDrain well before serving. Wednesday 6 March MATRIMONIAL CAKE (you take the rough with the smooth … ) 100g porridge oats 75g wholewheat flour 50g Fairtrade muscovado sugar 75g butter or marg. Filling 250g stoned dates 25g Fairtrade muscovado sugar 100ml water Start with the filling: chop dates and cook gently with the sugar and water until like a paste, soft but not sloppy. Leave to cool. Mix oats, flour and sugar. Rub in butter until like a crumble mixture. Put half of this mixture in a greased tin, about 18cm square. Pat down firmly. Spread with the date paste. Cover with the rest of crumble mixture and pat down gently. Bake just above the middle of a moderately hot oven, Gas 4, 180degrees C for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Cut into squares while still hot, then leave to cool in tin. Lift slices out when cool. Tuesday March 5 CHANTRY CHOCOLATE CAKEIngredients:6oz plain flour¼ teaspoon salt1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda¼ teaspoon baking powder2 oz Fairtrade cocoa powder4 oz butter or margarine10 oz Fairtrade castor sugar2 beaten eggs8 fluid oz waterThe cake:Beat margarine and sugar together until paler in colour. Add eggs and beat. Mix cocoa and water together. Mix all ingredients. Place in a greased and lined tin and cook (gas mark 4/180 degrees C) for about 50 minutes. Leave to cool in the tin.The fudge icing:Melt 2 oz margarine. Add 1 tablespoon milk, i tablespoon cocoa and enough icing sugar to thicken (quite a lot). Pour over cake. Monday 4 March Orange and almond torte Line and grease a round cake tin. Best to use one with a removable base. Put a large Fairtrade orange in a pan, cover with water and boil for an hour. Drain, cool, cut in half and remove pips. Then put the whole thing, skin and all, in a food processor and whizz to a pulp. Add 225g Fairtrade caster sugar, 250g ground almonds, and half a teaspoon of baking powder. Mix ingredients and pour into prepared cake tin. Bake 40-50 mins at 180°C. Cool in the tin, then remove carefully and enjoy. – pretty foolproof and keeps for a few days. It’s also gluten free. Bonus recipe … Chocolate pudding, easy to make in advance and tastes like you’ve had to do something really complicated… 1 cup of plain flour 1 cup of sugar – divided 6 tablespoons of cocoa powder 2 teaspoons of baking powder ½ teaspoon of salt ½ cup of milk/soya milk ½ 3tablespoonsof vegetable oil 1 teaspoon of vanilla preheat oven to Gas 4, 180° Ccombine flour, ⅔ cup of flour, 4 tbsp cocoa, baking poder and salt in a bowl.mix together the oil, milk and vanillaadd to the dry ingredients and mix wellspoon in to a greased dish – I usually use a 20cm diameter pyrexmix together the remaining sugar and cocoa and sprinkle on top.just before you are ready to put in the oven, pour over 1 cup of boiling water.bake for 30 minutes – it will be springy to touch but with a delicious chocolaty sauce underneath.very good with vanilla icecreamserves 4 Sunday 3 March Banana Cake Liquidise the following ingredients together:- 1-2 ripe Fairtrade Bananas 1 egg ½ teaspoonful (2·5ml) vanilla essence 2 oz (60gms) soft margarine 5oz (150gms) Fairtrade Castor Sugar Sieve together:- 5oz (150gms) Wholemeal Self Raising Flour ¼ (1·25ml) Bicarbonate of Soda. Pour the liquidised mixture into the flour mixture and stir to mix well. If it is very stiff, add a bit of milk. Put the mixture into a cake tin – oblong, square or whatever you have. Bake for about 40 minutes in a pre-heated oven at about 375ºF, 190ºC, Gas mark 5. Freezes well. Can be cooked in the microwave – 600W for about 5 – 6 minutes, but the texture and the taste is different; pleasant, but in my opinion, not as nice. Saturday 2 March 4oz/125g butter or marg.4oz/125g Fairtrade brown sugar4oz125g Fairtrade golden syrup4 oz/125g SR flour2oz/60g Fairtrade cocoa1 eggAbout ¼/150ml pint milk½ teasp. Bicarbonate of Soda. Put fat, sugar and syrup into a saucepan and heat to melt fat, but do not boil.Sieve flour and cocoa into a bowl and add mixture from saucepan.Add egg, milk and bicarbonate of soda. The mixture should be like a batter. Cook at 325 – 330ºF, / 160ºC – or 150ºC in a fan oven / Gas Mark 4 for 30 – 45 minutes. Cream Filling. 2oz/60g butter and 2oz60g Fair Trade castor sugar creamed together and then add 2 tablespoons single cream and 1 tablespoon boiling water. Whisk together. Friday March 1 FRUIT SLICE – egg free, fat free and sugar free 8 oz (227gm) Pitted Dates 3 tsps baking powder 1 lb (454gm) Mixed Fruit 1 teasp. mixed spice 6 oz (170gm) plain Whole Wheat Flour 4 tbsp. orange juice 2 oz ( 57gm) Ground Almonds 10 fl oz water Grated rind of an orange or lemon Flaked almonds for topping (optional) Roughly chop dates and put into a saucepan with water. Heat gently until the dates are soft. Remove from heat and mash… Add dried fruit, flour and all other ingredients. Spoon into a tin and sprinkle with almonds You can cook it in a 2lb loaf tin, in which case cook for about 1½hrs at 160°C (fan oven 130/ 140°C), or a “Swiss Roll tin” i.e. 10” x 7” (18 x 26 cm) for about 45 – 50 mins at 130°C. it can also be made using Spelt Flour, and different types of dried fruit. 28 February BISCOTTI (A BISCUIT MADE FOR DUNKING IN YOUR FAIRTRADE COFFEE!) Preheat oven to 180°C/ 160°C fan/ Gas 4 Mix together in a large bowl the following ingredients: 200g plain flour 1tsp baking powder 80gm Fairtrade golden caster sugar 50gm desiccated coconut (or ground almonds) 100gm Fairtrade mixed fruit 80g glacé cherries, halved 30gm Fairtrade nuts such as macadamia, almonds, brazils or cashewsroughly chopped. Gradually add 2 local, free range eggs, lightly beaten and mix until adough forms (use hands to combine if necessary) If dough is too wet add a little more flour. Shape dough into a log & place on a lined baking sheet, flattening alittle to around 4cm thick & 20-25cm long. Bake for 25minutes. Remove from oven and reduce temperature to 160°C/ 140°C fan/ Gas 3. Let the dough cool for about 10 minutes then cut at an angle into 3cmslices. Place on 2 lined trays and return to the oven for 20 minutes to dryout. Allow to cool completely. Wednesday 27 February COUSCOUS PUDDING Serves 4 Ingredients: 600ml/1pint Fairtrade apple juice 115gm/4ozs Fairtrade couscous 40gm/1 ½ozs Fairtrade sultanas ½ tsp Fairtrade mixed spice 2 tbsp Fairtrade Demerara sugar Peeled & sliced Fairtrade fruit Depending on season & availability – 2 apples or 2 pears or 2 bananasor 1 fresh pineapple (or tinned pineapple) or dried apricots pre soakedin Fairtrade orange juice. Method: Preheat oven to 200°C/Gas 6 Place the apple juice, couscous, sultanas & spice in a pan & bring toboil, stirring Cover & simmer for 10-12 minutes until all the free liquid is absorbed Spoon half the couscous mixture into a 1.2lt/2pint ovenproof dish andtop with half the fruit, cover with remaining couscous. Arrange remaining fruit slices overlapping on top & sprinkle withDemerara sugar Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot with Fairtrade ice cream Tuesday 26 February PORK WITH QUINOA & DATES Serves 2-3 Ingredients: 1 tbsp. Fairtrade olive oil 300-400g pork tenderloin 1 medium onion chopped 100g Fairtrade quinoa 80g Fairtrade dried dates roughly chopped 3 large, ripe tomatoes roughly chopped 400ml hot chicken stock 4 tbsp. chopped flat leaf parsley Sea salt & freshly ground Fairtrade black pepper Method: Preheat oven to 180°C/Gas 4 Heat oil in the base of a shallow ovenproof pot over a high heat Season the meat & using tongs, sear the pork on all sides till golden,remove from the pot & set aside to rest. Fry onion until translucent, add quinoa, dates, tomatoes, & 300mlstock. Stir well, season to taste & simmer for 10 minutes. Stir through the remaining stock & half the parsley Place the pork fillet on top of the quinoa mixture & put the pot in theoven for 20 minutes until the quinoa is plump & the pork cookedthrough. Remove from the oven & allow to rest for 5-7 minutes. Serve the pork sliced on a bed of quinoa sprinkled with remainingparsley Monday 25 February FUSILLI WITH COFFEE RAGOUT (yes, really) Serves 6 Ingredients: 500g lean pork or turkey roughly minced OR chopped chestnut mushrooms for vegetarian version 2 tbsp. Butter 100ml Fairtrade red wine Salt & Fairtrade pepper 500g Fairtrade fusilli pasta 2 onions finely chopped 2 tbsp. Fairtrade olive oil 100ml Fairtrade coffee, medium brewed Pinch dried mint or sweet marjoram Method: Melt butter & oil in large frying pan, add onions, cooked on a low heatuntil soft but not coloured. Add the minced meat (or mushrooms) and a pinch of salt & pepper, let itcolour, turning now & then until gravy begins to dry. Add the wine in successive stages, when wine is finished, continue withcoffee. Add herb, stir to amalgamate all the ingredients. Serve with cooked pasta.