thursday recipe: emily rose brott's chocolate pecan brownies

We're moving house this week.

I'm surrounded by brown cardboard boxes, a few filled, many empty waiting for the contents of our cupboards and shelves to be placed inside sealed with tape and transported to...our new home!

Our new home that we've waited almost ten years for.

When River was six weeks old we moved to our current little beach shack which is in a fantastic location between the ocean and the bay.

We've had what I think is possibly the cheapest rent in Australia while we've been here - believe me the antiquated kitchen and bathroom haven't deserved a dollar more - but the location is the drawcard.

It has been the perfect little nest to raise our babies into boys, and the easy to handle rent has given us freedom, freedom to travel each winter to remote communities for Peter's work and freedom to save.

For the past three months Pete has treated getting our new house ready like a job leaving home early each morning to go 'on site' and work through a long list of plastering, painting, laying new floors, designing and creating new bathrooms and kitchen and and and the list goes on. We've been blessed to have the help of my uncle with this work and a great young carpenter who has enjoyed honing his craft on Pete's creative design ideas.

I'm looking forward to showing you some photos soon!

But for now there's brownies. I thought you'd be ok with that. Personally I don't see what the fuss is about brownies I'd rather eat chocolate but I know a lot of people love them. My sons and husband included!

Thanks to mum of four and cookbook author Emily Rose Brott for sharing her brownie recipe here today. This recipe comes from Emily's most recent book My Secret Ingredient. If you don't eat wheat flour you can use spelt or your favorite gluten free option. I also don't use rice bran oil so I'd use almond oil or butter.

You can read more about Emily and get her recipe for apple, oat, cranberry and chocolate muffins here.

Ok I'm off to make school lunches and then pack some more boxes.

Enjoy the recipe x

Emily Rose Brott's Chocolate and Pecan Brownies

Ingredients

3 eggs

2/3 cup (165ml) rice bran oil

120g 70% dark chocolate

2/3 cup (190g) honey

¾ cup (120g) wholemeal (whole-wheat) plain (all-purpose) flour

¼ cup (25g) almond meal (ground almonds)

¼ cup (60ml) milk

½ cup (55g) chopped toasted pecans (refer to cooking tips)

To make
Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F) fan-forced.

Beat eggs and oil together. Melt chocolate, and mix honey into the chocolate until dissolved. Add chocolate mixture to egg mixture, and beat.

Mix in flour, almond meal and milk until combined.

Stir in toasted chopped pecans.

Grease a brownie tin (28cm × 18cm) with oil, and line base with baking paper. 

Pour mixture into tin, spreading it evenly, and bake for 25 minutes.

Leave to cool in tin for 20 minutes before removing and leaving to cool further on a cake rack. 

Slice and serve.

Makes 15

Cooking tip: As an alternative to pecans you can use toasted walnuts or macadamia nuts.

6 tips for loving your time in the kitchen

(this beautiful cauliflower salad was made by my friend Rachel who owns Feast Catering in Sorrento)

I'm not going to lie, cooking from scratch takes time. Yes there are short cuts you can take but there is a bit more to it than that. Here are some tips to help you fall in love with your time in the kitchen.

1. Change your mind

My nan always says 'attitude is everything' and she's right. Nan is a woman who pretty much single handedly raised four children and stayed up all night sewing to feed them. Lucky for them, processed food wasn't even invented in those days, cooking from scratch was the norm along with growing veggies in the backyard.

I hear you, it isn't the 1950's times have changed, women are in the workforce, life is busy but still we do have a choice about our attitude to cooking and nourishing ourselves and our family.

Switch off the moaning, groaning part of your brain and switch on the loving, creative side. Cooking is an act of love and creativity. Try it tonight. No matter how tired you are, no matter how much you are dreading your kids scrunching up their faces telling you they don't like carrots (when carrots were their favorite yesterday), cook with love and happiness.

**in the spirit of keeping things real and not sounding all Mary Poppins about it I have my 'I really can't be bothered cooking' days too! But by the next meal I have changed my mind and have my enthusiasm back.

2. Clean up your cupboards & pantry

Cooking in chaos is never fun. Spending precious time looking for that spice you know is in the back of the cupboard somewhere only to find it was meant to be used by 2010 is annoying.

Set aside an afternoon and go through your cupboards and pantry. Be ruthless! Say goodbye to those containers without lids, get rid of those appliances/gadgets you haven't used in years and are taking up valuable bench space. If there are items that could do with replacing or fixing get it done.

Make a list of your regular ingredients and make sure your pantry is well stocked, that way you will have a list to work from and know you will always have those ingredients on hand. Running to the shops costs time and usually more money because most shoppers go in to buy one thing and come out with ten.

3. Turn on some tunes

The power of music to lift your spirits can't be denied. Just take a look at Mamacino in her kitchen.

4. Meal plan

Deciding what to cook is generally harder than the actual cooking. If you have at least a rough idea of what you will cook for the week you can save brain power and just get on with the cooking. Ask your family for ideas, get them involved in the meal planning and hopefully that will mean they are more likely to happily eat it! Don't just plan dinners either, plan school lunches and after school snacks while you're at it.

5. Batch cook

One of the best ways to save time in the kitchen is to cook once and eat twice. The Mamabakers are the queens of this, have you heard about Mamabake? You can read more about them here, but in a nutshell they are groups of mamas who get together and cook up big batches of family meals then divide them up so you can stock your freezer with home made meals and give yourself some nights off cooking. Even if you don't cook in a group, you can do this on your own and spend an afternoon making a soup, spaghetti bolognaise sauce, casserole, banana bread, whatever you can freeze and you will have home made food at the ready for those times when you really, really can't muster any cooking love.

6. Cook in company

Following on from the Mamabake theme, cooking with others can be much more fun than cooking on your own. Get your family involved. I know with younger children this can take longer and be messier but they have to learn and think of it this way, if you start teaching them from a very young age by the age of 10 you should be able to allocate them a night to cook dinner, giving you the night off!

wholefood mama: georgia harding from well nourished

A big warm welcome to Georgia Harding who is here for today's wholefood mama interview. Georgia is a wife and mother of two healthy, happy kids aged 9 years and 5 years, a lover of whole foods and creator of fine food memories. Professionally, Georgia is a naturopath with 18 years experience and has recently developed a 'simple recipes, whole foods, inspired health' based blog called Well Nourished.  I love Georgia's non preachy style and her beautiful recipes and photos. Non preachy, healthy, wholesome and delicious, sounds like just our cup of herbal tea don't you think?

1. You launched Well Nourished this year, can you tell us a bit about your blog and why you started it?

After my second child was born we moved to QLD and I became a full time mum (and studied a post grad to keep my brain functioning), whilst my husband developed a new business.  My youngest started school this year and whilst I toyed with the idea of developing a new naturopathic practice, I realised that with no family support and husband that works away a lot, it was a commitment I wasn't ready for.  Writing a blog seemed the obvious choice as I love writing, developing recipes and sharing my passion for food and healthy living.  I had very little experience with the 'online' world but I just sort of dove head first into developing Well Nourished.  It has been a very steep learning curve for me, right down to having to be shown how to use social media which I'd not even glanced sideways at.  I'm still coming to grips with technology and social media and wish I had learned to type at school rather than learning Japanese (which I subsequently can't speak a word of anyway)!

2. Who or what started you down your wholefood path? 

I think this path was inevitable for me really.  I was raised by a very health conscious mother and a nana that had me vege gardening, raising chooks, cooking and creating throughout my childhood.  We used to cook and bake all weekend and I still have my nans Golden Wattle cook book and her notebook where she wrote out her recipes.  Even then I had a thing for chocolate and coconut (we created a chocolate and coconut cake and she wrote it in her book).  Through my own health challenges and treating many unwell patients, I have further developed my health philosophy to where I am now - a good place I think!

3. Can you tell us about your approach to feeding a growing family?

My kids love food.  The first two things they ask me after school is whats for afternoon tea and what's for dinner.  Unbeknown to them they have a real connection with food because my husband and I have made an concerted effort to make it so.  Like you need to teach your kids to use the toilet or a knife and fork, you need to teach them to eat well and develop a palate and appreciation for whole food.  We role model healthy eating, always sit down together to eat and have lots of variety in our diet.  I prioritise our health as I believe without good health, there not much else and I just don't have the time or money for any of us to be sick.  I could write pages here but I'll leave it at that.  I try to share as many healthy family tips as I can on my blog.

4. What do you find challenging when it comes to following a wholefood path?

Maintaining a well stocked pantry within our budget is a little time consuming and requires me to be very organised.  To manage, I do buy in bulk and have a developed a routine for shopping for supplies.  Also finding the balance between this processed world we live in and not letting eating well become stressful.  So we limit all refined foods and, as much as I'd love to, don't ban them all together, rather give the kids choice with treat days and teach them to try to self limit (doesn't always work but they will live and learn what makes them feel good or not). 

5. What are your top 3 tips for people wanting to make a change to their family's diet but feel overwhelmed?

Do the majority of your shopping at a farmers market (as a family) and get the kids involved in what you buy for the week.  It's amazing how getting kids involved can spark their desire to eat whole foods.  If most of what you eat is from the market, then you're off to a great start nutritionally.

Keep it simple - meat and salad or vegetables is a perfect start for a meal.  Eating whole foods is not hard!

If time is an issue, then double up on meals to have for lunch the next day eg; roast two chickens, one for dinner and the other for the next few days lunches.

6. What is your go to family meal when you are short on time?

Oh this is a hard one as much of what I cook is generally easy and quick to assemble, but often takes a while to cook (like a slow cooked casserole).  But for those days where I haven't thought ahead and need something ready to eat in 10 minutes with limited pantry stocks,  but still wholesome and a complete meal - Eggs (boiled, baked or poached) with salad or steamed veges (or an omelette or fritatta).

7. Who are your wholefood heroes and why?

Jamie Oliver and Stephanie Alexander for their work with developing food awareness in children.  Jude Blereau for her grounding, wholesome recipes and for making my lunch for many years (her cafe was around the corner from my practice).  She is an amazing baker too - something I'm not disciplined enough in the kitchen for!

8. Your two favorite ingredients and why? 

Only two? Eggs, because I always have them in the fridge, they are so versatile and a powerhouse of nutrition.  Anything coconut - oil, dried, water, milk, cream, flour - because I love the taste and it makes me feel full and good.

9. Sugar or salt, which do you crave? And when you do what satisfies you?

Sugar, probably because I largely avoid it and I think it's human nature to want what you can't have.  I stopped eating fructose all together in April, as an experiment to see what the hype was about and surprised myself how much better I felt for doing so.  I underestimated the addictive nature of fructose and as with any addiction the propensity is always there.  To satisfy - one of my fructose free chocolates or slices normally does the trick.  I occasionally need to remind myself how crap it makes me feel when I'm tempted by an ice cream at a local artisan ice cream shop or dessert at a nice restaurant.

10. Favorite cookbooks and food blogs you'd like to share...

The only blog I had followed prior to starting Well Nourished was Sarah Wilson and now I have no time or inclination after spending much of my day in-front of a screen working on WN (I suffer with a serious case of screen aversion which has been resolved a little by investing in a lap top that I can take outside to work).  I hope that as I come to grips with my own website I can spend more time exploring the cyber world.  I have to say I am a Jamie Oliver fan and own two of his cook books. I also love Stephanie Alexanders Kitchen Garden Companion (helps me in my vege garden a lot).  I also often buy food magazines like Delicious or Gourmet traveller for food inspiration - though I'm very much a freestyle cook and never follow recipes.  Lots of baking disasters as a result!

11. What are you loving about your life right now?

Lots! Watching my kids grow into independent, unique little people, living in a place with access to abundant, fresh, whole foods and the endless possibilities of creating delicious dishes (yes I love food).  I cherish being in good health and I feel after searching for most of my life for a healthy, balanced way to exist - I'm nearly there and generally in a very happy place.  Timing in life is so important and I think now is the perfect time for me to share what I have learned with the cyber-world.  

Try some of Georgia's recipes:

Healthy Grain Salad

Nourishing Anzac biscuits

Strawberry chia pudding

Thanks Georgia! It is so great to have you in the blogosphere sharing your wholefood knowledge and passion. I'm looking forward to reading more Well Nourished. Visit Georgia on facebook too.

More from the wholefood mama interview series:

     Jay Black from and the trees

      Kellie from dear olive

      Robin from Transition Farm

      Rachel Pitts from Hungry Girls

      Vanessa from slow heart sing

      Farmer Liz from eight acres

      Catherine from A Time To Create

      Renee from ki flow yoga

in my kitchen

When I started this blog I didn't want it to be 'just another recipe' site and as I haven't posted a recipe in quite a while I am living up to that aim!

Once I have my new camera I will get back to some recipe posting but for now I thought I'd share some  notes about dishes that my family have been enjoying. It is Springtime here but we are still waiting for warm weather so our meals have been more like winter fare...

- into an oven proof pot I place a whole chicken, chunks of potato, sweet potato, carrot and onion 1 litre of chicken stock and some dried herbs. Put the lid on and place in the oven at 180 degrees for 1-1.5 hours depending on the weight of your chicken (1 hour for every kilo is the rule of thumb) you could turn the oven down to 160 degrees and cook it slower. The end result is a delicious broth, moist tender meat and flavoursome vegetables. So easy and so delicious. It was Pete's idea to do this, it is similar but different to this by Michelle.

- leftover rice? I decided to use up some rice by gently frying chopped onion in butter adding the rice and over a medium heat, heating the rice through and then adding chopped preserved lemon and silverbeet (or spinach) you could add some chopped almonds too. This is heavenly served with fish which I am lucky enough to have in ready supply - king george whiting or flathead - thanks to my fisherman husband and eldest son.

- my favorite breakfast lately has been a very simple green smoothie made with one frozen banana, a handful of baby spinach leaves and about a cup of filtered water all blended until smooth. If you are new to green smoothies this may be a bit too plain, you can add a handful of berries, you could also replace the filtered water with coconut water or for a sweeter version freshly squeezed orange juice, better still thrown in the whole orange (peeled).

-Pete came home from the local market on the weekend with a jar of black olive tapenade after we enjoyed it spread simply on a piece of toast for an afternoon snack I decided to use the rest in a pasta dish. I cooked gluten free spirals and while that was happening I pan fried some red onion, broccoli florets, garlic, silverbeet and parsley and then once the pasta was cooked I added the vegetables and tapenade and dinner was ready.

-home made pasties were a hit with everyone, they take a bit of work but it is a labor of love knowing every ingredient that goes into them is wholesome and organic.

- I stumbled upon a super quick and nutritious snack for the boys one afternoon on the holidays when River told me for the 15th time in an hour that he was hungry (?!!) I looked in the cupboard and saw some rice noodles, boiled the kettle, chopped up an avocado, opened a tin of dolphin friendly tuna, poured boiling water over the noodles, cut a seaweed sheet into shreds with the scissors, drained the noodles and then assembled all in bowls, splashed over some ponzu sauce and there you have it an 'instant' winner.

I hope there are some little morsels of inspiration for you in that list.

On a side note, I am planning to buy my new camera on Saturday (fujifinepix S4900 for those interested!) so next week we will back on track with some visuals. I had the very annoying experience of being ripped off shopping online for a camera, I ordered and paid for the camera three weeks ago, the camera hasn't arrived and the website has disappeared without a trace. I am going to attempt to get my money back through my bank or theirs...buyers beware!

Happy cooking xx