You may remember in my previous post I was asked what I ate if I couldn’t have anything ‘naughty’ (see here). Well, that day, our neighbour gave us some plums from his garden and as our teenage friend was coming to visit again the next day – this time with his dad and dad’s partner – we decided to make a huge plum crumble. If you read the earlier post, you’ll understand why it had to be huge: teenage boy/growing/neverstopseating!
Here’s the recipe: no refined sugar, just a little maple syrup and a lot of natural flavour! Unfortunately, we didn’t weigh the plums, there were enough to fill a supermarket ice-cream box.
The topping can also be used for an apple or any other fruit crumble.
Ingredients
(Organic where possible, all quantities are approximate)
Plums, washed, stoned and cut in half
Cinnamon to taste
1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
A Few Tbsps of Apple Juice, but don’t drown them
Topping
4 oz Gluten-Free Oats – if you prefer a finer texture, grind the oats and buckwheat flakes into flour
2 oz Buckwheat Flakes
2 oz Almonds, finely ground
(You could replace the almonds with desiccated coconut for an alternative flavour)
Approx. 2 oz Raw Virgin Coconut Oil, gently melted over warm water
1-2 Tbsps Maple Syrup
If you want a little more sweetness, you could add a small handful of raisins, either to the plum base or to the crumble topping.
Method
Place the plums cut side up in an ovenproof dish
Add Apple Juice
Sprinkle with Cinnamon
Add Maple Syrup
To make the topping:
Place all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix together
Stir in the coconut oil and maple syrup (and raisins if using)
Mix together well with a round-bladed knife and then through your fingers to create the crumble effect
Cover the plums
Place dish in oven at 170C for a Fan oven for about 40-45 minutes. Keep your eye on it, it needs to be golden, not dark brown!
Serve hot or cold with custard or plain yogurt, or Nana Rhys Cream with Mango, Cacao & Peanut Butter – the men had custard, I had CoYo plain coconut yogurt. I think it’s even better the next day when the crumble has soaked up some of plum juice.
Makes enough for about 6 or 7 servings.
Our teenage friend gave it the thumbs up and had his two servings as per normal!
Copyright: Chris McGowan
This dessert is named after our 13 year old friend, Rhys, who has been visiting while his military dad is away ‘on manouevres’ (we all think he’s having a whale of a time in the sun, really).
So, I thunk and I thunk and thought, aha! I have Chufa di Valencia flour, we can make pancakes. My husband makes the traditional pancakes so beloved by our grandsons – they can demolish a baker’s dozen without blinking an eye – but I don’t pay much attention. So does our son, all sorts of weird and wonderful concoctions. Again, I don’t give them a glance. I’ve never been a pancake lover, all that smoke and fumes and alarms going off, no thanks. I like peace and quiet and clean air.
Put everything except the Flour in a food processor and keep pulsing until it comes together enough to make a ball. You don’t want it smooth and mushy, but still with some bite.
I haven’t had home-baked scones – or any scones for that matter – for soooo long! Many moons ago, before I became vegan, gluten-free, juicer and raw foodie, they were my favourite comfort food. They were so quick and easy to make.
Sift the flour, baking powder, ground almonds and coconut palm sugar into a large bowl.
Gently roll it to out to just over an inch in depth. They won’t rise much so bear that in mind.
pearsnotparsnipsdotcom 
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