Santa is on his way...

As the autumn leaves fall, are you wondering where the year has gone?... we are too. And we known that this only means one thing is around the is on it's way... Christmas! With 64 sleeps left, why not treat your family to some delicious home cooked food.

So here is one of the traditional favourites... the mighty apple crumble.

All you need is..

300g plain flour, make sure you sieve it and add a pinch of salt
1 pot of cane sugar porridge oats, or 60g plain oats
175g unrefined brown sugar
200g unsalted butter and a knob of butter to grease the ovenproof bowl


450g cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into small pieces
50g unrefined brown sugar
1tbsp plain flour

What to do...

You should start by preheating the oven to 18C/350F/Gas 4.

Then place the flour, oats and sugar into a bowl and mix well. Take a few cubes of butte at a time and rub them into the mixture. Use the tips of your fingers to mix together, you should keep rubbing until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Then you should place the fruit into a large bowl and sprinkle over the sugar and flour. Make sure you stir well but be careful not to break the fruit.

Use the knob of butter to grease a medium size ovenproof bowl, spoon the fruit mixture into the bottom of the bowl, then you should sprinkle the crumble mixture on the top.

Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until the crumble topping is a golden brown and you can see the fruit mixture bubbling. Of course, I don't need to say what's next but just incase.. serve with custard and watch the family enjoy!

Crunchy Granola!

What is it they say about the simple things in life being the best? In this case it's definitely true...

This happens to be the best granola you'll ever taste and the actual making is incredibly easy. You can have it with milk for breakfast; over yogurt; drizzled with honey late at night; or just grab a handful as you pass the jar for an on-the-go snack.

INGREDIENTS:
65g brazil nuts, crushed
35g whole almonds, crushed
25g macadamia nuts, crushed
25g hazelnuts, crushed
2 pots of Grasshopper Coconut & Date porridge
75g unrefined sugar
7 tbsp maple syrup
50g unsalted butter
6 tbsp hazelnut oil (from supermarkets)

METHOD:
1. Preheat oven to 160 C (fan - 140 C).
2. Crush each type of nut and roast on a baking tray separately until they turn golden. Do the same with the oats - bake until golden.
3. Turn the oven down to 120 C and mix the roasted ingredients in a bowl. Put the sugar, maple syrup, butter and hazelnut oil into a pan, melt and then add to the dry ingredients, mix well.
4. Place mixture back onto the backing tray and bake for 15-20 minutes.
5. All to cool, then break into large crunchy pieces.

And enjoy!