CHOCOLATE CARAMEL CAKE: INDULGENCE, butter-free batter,

Another scrumptious cake for political volunteers or a family gathering...

Nothing healthy about this: just rich moist chocolate cake, laced with caramel  
 flavours, covered with creamy caramel icing & bits of caramel chocolate bars
'True and luscious hit! People have helped themselves to repeated slices.' Taster

Everyone loves chocolate cake, especially dark rich yummy chocolate cakes like Grandma used to make. 

Every baker has a favourite chocolate cake recipe (or two) that can - with a few simple twists - be turned into a completely different taste sensation.

This Chocolate Caramel Cake is one of those recipes.

Based on the mother-of-the-florist-friend of tv chef Ina Garten, it is -- in its original iteration -- a beautiful tender-crumbed chocolate cake that serves many.  

But with 67's addition of natural caramel flavour, a rich decadent not-too-sweet caramel icing, and some chopped up currently-on-offer chocolate caramel bars*, it's a taste sensation.

OK, the cake does seem to have a shocking amount of sugar but the rest of the ingredients more than outweighs them.   Sugar also seems to help the cake retain its moist, tender texture for at least a week (if you're lucky!) and to taste better as time goes by.  

The original recipe is posted under Beatty's Chocolate Cake and was posted not long after the Blog started.  It was classed as a Cake for Busy Grannies because it's so easy to put together.  Some 7 years on, the simplicity of preparation is still a vote-winner.

Chocolate Caramel Cake does require light vegetable oil but only 120ml.  (Some Vegan bakers recommend melted vegan margarine but 67 has not tested this substitution.)

Cost: £4-5.00'ish

Portions: recommended 24

Ingred:
    150gm/5.3oz plain flour
      60gm/2.1oz wholemeal flour
    250gm/8.8oz white sugar 

      100gm/3.5oz soft brown sugar
      90gm/3.5oz cocoa powder(not drinking chocolate)
    2 tsp baking soda
    1 tsp baking powder
    1 tsp salt

    240 ml buttermilk, shaken
    120 ml light vegetable oil
    2 eggs at room temperature
    1 tsp good vanilla essence
    240 ml freshly brewed hot coffee (enhances chocolate flavour)

    

Icing:

75g/2.6oz very soft butter
3/4 cup icing sugar

3/4 tsp caramel flavouring (near the vanilla in the bakery section) 

1 tbsp milk

          1/2 x 120g/4.2oz chocolate caramel bar, chopped in small pieces

Method:

ULTRA-FRUGAL RICE CONGEE/STEW: triple duty; uses up leftovers; easy; prep ahead

Waiting-for-payday comfort food that costs pennies but is tasty, nutritious, filling and low-carb... 

Oriental version of ultra-frugal & nutritious thick Rice Congee/Stew

67goingon50 hesitated before posting this recipe, fearing that it is too frugal for most households even in these straightened times.  

But the Ultra-frugal Rice Congee (stew) is a favourite chez 67 and apparently amongst women needing to balance a tight budget, a low-carb diet and daily nutritional needs.

Congee is a thick porridge of mostly disintegrated rice cooked long and slow in water or stock.  It's popular in Asian countries, served for breakfast but is also served for lunch with side dishes.  

It can also be served - as with this 67 recipe - with added protein and flavouring to make it a meal on its own.  

While it is ideal for people who are ill, rice congee has a cult following amongst  aspiring businesswomen, models and actresses trying to surviving healthily on tight budgets.  

The great things about this congee are:

• it requires only 100g/3.5oz protein (meat, fish or tofu)
• it needs no more than 1/2 cup rice 
• it requires 7-8 cups of water or stock, making a large amount 
• this recipe simmers for a couple of hours, maximum, instead of the usual 8-10 hours or overnight
• it's versatile: eaten as is (the blogger's favourite), or with vegetables added or on the side

This congee is thick and unctuous, providing all the necessary amino acids for good health, carbohydrates for energy, fibre for gut health and a flavoursome stock.  

The Congee will last a singleton 3 days, and can be topped up with water or stock as it thickens.  A shot or two of hoisin or oyster sauce or chiu chow chilli oil will add oomph to the flavours. 

It's a great stop-gap when food budgets are strained and an interesting Oriental take on 67's other recent ultra-frugal dish, Splendid Split Yellow Pea Soup (with or without ham). 

This recipe does, however, require rice frozen in advance.  (67 packages up washed rinsed rice in 1/2 cup portions and stores them in the freezer.)

Costs:  depending on protein, about £2.00

Makes: 1 litre

Ingreds:

1/2 cup brown rice (preferred but white will be ok),  washed, drained and frozen at least overnight

3 tb peanut or light veg oil, divided

3-4 med dried shiitake mushrooms (opt but adds unique flavour) PLUS/OR fresh shitake OR oyster OR white mushrooms to make a total of 113g/4oz 

4 green onions, greens & white divided

113gm/4oz meat mince OR prawns, or fish, or tofu in small cubes

1 tb grated ginger

1/2 tb grated garlic

1/2 tb soy sauce

1/2 tb sherry or grape juice

Method:

1. If using dried mushrooms, place in a bowl and cover with boiling water; leave for 30 mins; save juices but strain through a clean j-cloth and set aside;  remove stems of mushrooms and and slice thinly
2. Slice fresh mushrooms thickly
3. Heat 2 tb oil in a large saucepan pan over medium high heat; add mushrooms, cook, stirring occasionally until golden & crisp (6-8 mins)
4. Thinly slice whites of spring onions, set aside greens 
5. Reduce heat to med-low; add white onions to mushrooms; cook stirring 1-2 mins until fragrant but not brown; push to one side; turn heat back up to med
6. Add 1 tb veg oil, stir in protein, breaking it up with the spoon; add with soy sauce, sherry, grated ginger and garlic; leave 1 min until light brown
7. Add 7 cups of water to pan; bring to a boil; add frozen rice; return to boil stirring to scrape up any brown bits
8. Turn heat down to med; cover pan leaving a small gap, bubble gently, min 20 mins, max 2 hours (an hour was about right for 67) or until rice is soft and close to disintegrating; about a third of the liquid will have been absorbed - feel free to replace with water or stock
9. Garnish with thinly sliced green shoots of spring onions and serve with soy, hoisin or oyster sauce and, if liked, chiu chow chilli oil or equivalent
10. Refrigerate leftovers; rice will continue to swell; when reheating add more water or stock to thin the congee plus any left over proteins.  Eat within 3 days.

Please leave a Comment in the box below 

                                              
This recipe  has been developed by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.  

REDUCING MEAT BILLS WITHOUT CUTTING FLAVOUR

Courtesy of Good Food Team: licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Updated April 2022

 

Supermarkets are pulling out the stops to meet the needs of shoppers looking for a choice of cheaper, less tender cuts of meat and offal.   Cheeks, necks, shins, shanks, hocks and liver may no longer be available at rock bottom prices (thanks to clever trendy restaurants) but they are still good value.  

The BBC has a great site on getting the best out of cheap cuts of meat including pork, beef and lamb; also the Mirror.  

Both are worth a look, as is a visit to Sainsbury's -- their meat counters have a good selection of non-run-of-the-mill cuts.  

Waitrose, too is in on the act -- their butcher's counter often has surprisingly good offers.  Last week skirt steak and shin of Angus Angus beef were well priced - both about £8 per kilo.  Cooked low and slow, either will  provide plenty of fork-tender beef and conversation-stopping glossy gravy.  Some of the pieces are large but can be cut and frozen.  A Waitrose card gets a 20% discount.

Chicken livers (try to get organic) are another good value meat; ounce for ounce they are almost pure meat.  If you love chicken liver,  the excellent Indian-style Spicy Chicken Livers with Figs* (or other fruit) is a real treat.   Also try sautéing chicken livers with bacon, onions and a tin of tomatoes -- served over pasta or rice, it goes down very well.

If the household's a bit iffy about livers, add them to meat pasta sauces; the liver cooks down and is unrecogniseable but adds depth and intensity.   Adding small cubes of liver to tomato-based soups adds texture and another level of flavour

Also consider supermarkets specials like beef roasts; they regularly have something like topside on offer at but you have to be fast.  Even if you're lucky enough to bag one at the bargain price, it's wise to be careful how they are cooked.  Some can be surprisingly tough if roasted and slow-cooking may be a better option.

This recipe for Beef Ragout - adapted from 60's celebrity chef Robert Carrier - is an old favourite.  The 67 cookbook is so battered the title page has long disappeared; sadly it is out of print.

Courtesy of Dreamstime:  © Copyright Paul Cowan and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
(Sorry for  stock photo; camera failed)

Cook a day ahead. 

Cost: about £6.00
Feeds: 6-8; leftovers freeze well

Ingred:
   500gm/17.6lb shin or casserole beef (which usually comes in chunks but you can cut up a 'bargain' joint) 

   50gm/2oz flour, seasoned lightly with salt & pepper
   3-4 slices back bacon, fat removed, cut in batons (opt)
   a large yellow or purple onion in med to large dice
   1 lb/500gm carrots, thickly sliced 
   1 tbsp butter
   1 tbsp olive oil
   1/2 pint/300ml dry red wine or red grape juice
   1/2pint/300 ml good stock*
   1/2 pint/300ml tomato juice or passata
   1 clove garlic, finely grated
   
   6oz/170gm mushrooms, quartered if large (opt)
   1 tsp flour
   
   1/4 bunch of fresh parsley, coarsely chopped 

Method:

1. Put flour into a bag, add beef; toss till all pieces coated
2. Over medium high heat, saute bacon until it starts to crisp; drain on paper towel; set aside
3. Reduce heat to med low; add onions and carrots to pan; partially cover with a lid & cook until until lightly coloured - about 15 mins; drain; set aside
4. Add  butter & olive oil; turn heat back up to med-high; add beef; saute until brown; drain off fat
5. Add bacon and veg, wine, stock, tomato juice and garlic; bring to the boil scraping at the bottom of the pan; bubble gently 5 minutes
6. Pour into slow cooker; cook on low 5-6 hours or until meat is nearly falling from the bone 
7. Remove meat with tongs; set aside; when cool separate meat from fat or gristle
8. Remove veg with slotted spoon; set aside
9. Pour juices into a flattish dish; cool one hour then refrigerate for a few hours or overnight; the fat solidifies and can be lifted off
10. When ready to serve, pour meat, veg & fat-free sauce into a heavy saucepan; 
11. The ragout will likely be quite thick.  If so, add 1 tsp butter; if not, mix butter with an equal amount of flour; mix into the ragout 
12. Add mushrooms if using; bring to a boil, reduce heat to a low simmer; leave 20-30 mins.  
13. Garnish with plenty of freshly chopped parsley
14. Serve with rice, potatoes (baked are easy-peasy) or noodles

Tips:

• for variety, replace half the carrots with swede 
• if there isn't stock in the freezer or time to make some, 67 uses Marigold Vegan granules

*Adapted from Anjum Anand

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       .

This recipe has been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.  It may not be reproduced without the author's written permission 

3-INGREDIENT BISCUIT CAKE IN A HURRY

If when baking you're after a life of ease a new cookbook might be the answer to your prayers.

Simple 3-ingredient Biscuit Cake (but not as we know it, Jim)
with 67's not-too-sweet fluffy buttercream icing

Eloise Head has gathered together a bunch of 3-ingredient recipes that are simplicity itself to put together in a Book called Baking It Easy.

The cakes, biscuits and puddings are not exactly 'from scratch' - many use a packet of biscuits or a jar of  spread as a base.  But they will appeal in an emergency...or if the kids want to bake and you want to just let them get on with it!

67 adapted the recipe for a Chocolate Biscuit Cake when baking for political volunteers.  The result required one extra ingredient -- some 67 'buttercream' icing was thrown in for good measure.

Readers/bakers....it wasn't half bad!  And it went down well with volunteers.

Cost:£1.50

Makes: 12 large or 18-20 small portions

Ingreds:

350g/12.3oz chocolate covered digestives (or graham crackers)
2 tsp baking powder

350ml room temperature milk

1/4 tsp essence of peppermint (near the vanilla in the supermarket)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C/70fan/350F
2. Line 20cm/8in or square or equiv tin with greaseproof paper (67 used a 19x30cm/7.5in rectangle, which worked very well)
3. Place biscuits in strong plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin to a crumb...a few small bits of rubble are ok
4. Using a whisk, mix in baking powder till fully distributed
5. Add milk & peppermint essence, folding in with a spatula; the mix will be lumpy
6. Pour into tin and level out
7. Bake 15 min; cool 10 mins
8. Ice with Chocolate Peppermint Icing
9. Cut into squares

Chocolate Peppermint Icing (a variation on 67's buttercream icing)

50g very soft butter
1/2 cup icing sugar

1/2 tsp essence of peppermint

generous tablespoon cocoa powder

1 tbsp milk

Method: 

1. If you can, start with a hand whisk and add icing sugar gradually.  Don't use a portable mixer until the end or you will have icing sugar all over the kitchen and yourself.
2. Blend butter & icing sugar together; it will resist at first then soften into something more spreadable
3. Add essence of peppermint, whizz with electric beaters
4. Add cocoa, beat slowly
5. Add milk, beat until creamy
6. Spread over cake

Comments:

'Delicious!' Local Candidate 

Tip:

Mix in a handful of crumbled Mint Matchsticks OR peppermint wafers to amp up the minty flavours.

Please leave a Comment in the box below

This recipe has been adapted from Baking It Easy by Eloise Head by B  Lee/Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.

67GOINGON50'S FLUFFY, CREAMY BUTTERCREAM ICING with less butter

Foolproof, fluffy, creamy icing that's not too sweet... 

Looks pretty creamy & fluffy; tasters think its magnificent!

Election volunteers are beginning to flag as voting day (May 5) moves closer and closer and they desperately needed something not-too-healthy.

Where icing is concerned 67 is quite happy to melt a bit of chocolate or stir a few tablespoons of milk or other liquid into some icing sugar to drizzle over cakes or cookies in order to avoid using butter.

But a recent experiment to create a 'proper' icing that is lower-fat but creamy, smooth and gorgeously delicious was a huge hit.

It was layered thickly over a banana coconut bread and was stupendously wonderful.

67's tasters were over the moon and raved about its texture and flavour.

The recipe makes a generous half a cup, but is so spreadable, it looks a lot more.  And there's nothing stopping you doubling the recipe or multiplying it by half for the sweet-toothed in the household.   

The icing is not one for drizzling; it needs to be spread and the thicker the better.

This is the basic recipe but there are lots of variations.

Ingredients: 

50g very soft butter or vegan margarine
1/2 cup icing sugar

1/2 tsp essence of flavouring (liquid): vanilla, orange or peppermint essence (near the vanilla in the bakery section) or another of your choice

generous tablespoon (natural) flavouring: cocoa powder or zest of lemon, lime or orange or another of your choice 

1 tbsp water OR liquid like fruit juice OR plant/dairy milk

Method: 

1. If you can, start with a hand whisk; wait until step 3 before using  electric beaters  or you will have icing sugar all over the kitchen and yourself
2. Blend icing sugar gradually into the butter/fat with a hand whisk or wooden spoon: it will resist at first then soften into something more spreadable
3. Add liquid flavouring, whizz with electric beaters
4. Add natural flavouring; beat slowly
5. Add milk/water/juice; beat until creamy and fluffy; it should plop softly from the spoon
6. Spread over cake, swirling with a palette knife

 

Comments:

'Wow!  This is absolutely glorious!'  'I don't normally like icing but this is amazing!'

Election Volunteers

'I love that it's buttery but not over the top.  Is it meant to be healthier?  Because it tastes like it might be.' Retired writer

Please leave a Comment in the box below

This recipe has been created by B  Lee/Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.

WALLET-FRIENDLY EXOTIC ASIAN BEEF: easy meal in minutes after some prep ahead, alcohol

Don't forget to have a look at

Welcome to the Blog, with more tips and recipes

Taste the plains of Mongolia and the 'Stans in this rich, exotic cross between a stir-fry and a casserole...

Great for dinner with friends: rich, aromatic and exotic,
slices of ultra-tender beef in a thick unctuous gravy

We're all worried about the cost of food and it's a delight to discover a supermarket bargain that doesn't involve chicken.

Approaching Easter holiday, at least 2 supermarkets were focusing on beef in addition to classic lamb and other traditional proteins.  And it was beef in steak form rather than cuts for casseroles.

In search of an advertised special on rump steaks in Sainsbury's, 67 stumbled on a very good looking slab of skirt steak.  Cleaned of fat & gristle, lean and plump, it was only £4 for 450gm/15.8oz.    

Skirt steak is one of the tougher cuts of steak;  it comes from the belly of a cow and is flat and long in shape.  It requires careful cooking but has fabulous flavour.

Normally, long slow cooking is the key to tenderising skirt steak.  But 67's recipe involves marinading the meat for a few hours; once cooking starts, it's ready for the table in just 20 minutes.   

Served with wholemeal noodles (as in the photo), rice or potatoes plus a few colourful quick cooking veg, it becomes a mouthwatering colourful feast.  

Note: the dish is strongly flavoured and is probably not for kids; maybe they could just be given the meat without the gravy?

Cost: £6.50

Feeds: 4-5

Ingred:
   1 x 500-750 gm/18-26 oz skirt or hanger steak

Marinade: 

   2 inch/4cm piece of ginger, finely grated or 1.5 tsp powdered ginger

   2 garlic cloves, peeled & grated
   4 tbsp 25-30% salt-reduced soy sauce
   1 tbsp 5-spice powder
   150 ml rice wine/dry sherry/white wine or grape juice OR
   100 ml good meat stock plus 50 ml rice wine/dry sherry/white wine/white grape juice ((67 used stock & sherry) 
   1 small red chilli, de-seeded, or 1/3 tsp chilli flakes or dash of **Chiu Chow Chilli oil
   1/2 tsp cinnamon
   1 star anise (opt)

   2 dried Chinese mushrooms reconstituted in water (opt)

1 tbsp corn or rice flour

1 tbsp cold water

1 noodle nest or equiv per person

easy cook vegetables: tenderstem broccoli, carrot matchsticks, thinly sliced red pepper, water chestnuts (opt)

Garnish: thinly sliced spring onions, green & white

             sesame seeds

             served on the side Chiu Chow Chilli Oil 

Method:

4-INGREDIENT CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CUPS: egg-free, vegan opt, great for a crowd

Fabulous way both to end Lent and reward political volunteers...

Crunchy, crumbly, chocolate-y treat: delicious memorable mouthful
'Astonishingly good!' 

67 was going to hold this recipe back until it could be fine tuned but Easter and the election are coming up fast.

Families want something chocolatey to celebrate the end of lent; political associations are looking for tasty treats for volunteers.  

The Chocolate Peanut Butter Biscuit combo tastes absolutely incredible as it is.  But in their current state, they are crumbly.

Hence, they need to be served in small cupcake liners.  Maybe with a portable spoon! 

But the recipe is being posted now with its flawed methodology  - though definitely not flawed taste - and will be updated later.  

The bars are very rich; if you can find foil-lined cupcake liners instead of paper ones, they'll look prettier.  

The bars will definitely go down well with North American kidults, peanut butter being embedded in their DNA, but it's pretty certain these will also be popular with sweet-loving Brits, too.  

There are a few simple steps but the bars are easy to put together; probably by older kids.  Little ones can contribute by helping bash the biscuits to a rubble; if dexterous enough and you're trying the peanut butter'n jam version below, they can help there.

By the way, the ultra nutty peanut butter*** in 67's cupboard provided exceptional taste and texture. 

Cost: £5'ish

Makes: depending on size - between 30-50

Ingreds:

200g/7oz dairy or plant butter

minimum 300g/10.5oz Digestive biscuits (graham crackers across the pond) own brand are fine, plus extra standing by

360g/12.6oz chunky peanut butter (smooth will do but add a few chopped peanuts for textural contrast)

200g/7.5oz dark chocolate (or for kids, milk chocolate) from a bar, or chocolate chips

Method:

(2-stages; first stage stops at step 8) 

LOW CHOLESTEROL LIVER PATE: Guilt-free Indulgence, Low-Fat & Cholesterol, Make-Ahead

Punchy, tangy Liver Pate that won't send cholesterol soaring ... 

1st posted 2015; updated 3/2022

Liver Pate for Passover that's gutsy & flavourful without lashings of chicken fat

Food in the Middle East is wonderful - both simple and exotic.   Hot bread - fresh from an oven at a tiny downtown stall - slathered with unsalted butter and dripping with fresh honey. Or, over a border, delicate 'tablecloth' flatbread cooked on an upturned oval of thinly beaten metal, passed down from generation to generation.   And, in the foothills of purple Iranian mountains, a tiny bus-stop cafe with unadorned but unforgettable chicken and saffron rice.  

What strikes a visitor to the Middle East is the similarities in cuisine, not the differences.  Flavours are strong and gutsy, casseroles and stews are distinctive and assertive - even aggressive - and the recipes are steeped in traditions and prohibitions eons old.  The food could not reflect the peoples of the Middle East more.  

Chopped Liver (or Liver Pate) is almost an essential in parts of the Middle East.  It is greatly loved, and as one lovely gentleman told me, is nothing without lashings of chicken fat.  

Not for 67goingon50, it isn't.

This version of chopped liver is a combination of a traditional-ish recipe (adapted from Ina Garten) and a Western creamy liver pate.  It was developed for the fat and cholesterol phobic.  There is no chicken fat though there is some butter.  But it still packs a punch, flavourwise, and the yoghurt makes for an appealing layer of tanginess. 

For the Festive season, it's easy on the budget and packed full of iron. It looks good on a festive buffet table or makes a good starter course with toast or hot rolls. 

It's also easy to prepare and can sit in the fridge for a day or two before serving.  

Cost: depending on livers & the cupboard - from £2.50'ish to £4.50'ish
Makes: 5 cups; halves easily

Ingred:
   500 gms/16 oz chicken livers, pref. organic, trimmed & free of green spots
   5 tbsp butter or olive oil or a mix
   2 teacups med diced onions (about 2 whole onions)
   1/3 cup madeira/sherry/grape juice
   4 eggs, hard boiled
   1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
   2 tsp fresh thyme (fresh) or 1/3 rounded tsp dried
   2 tsp salt
   pinch cayenne

   3/4 cup strained fat-free yoghurt or Greek yoghurt

Method:

BLOGGER'S FAVOURITE EASTER LAMB RECIPES

HAVE A LOOK AT WELCOME TO THE BLOGs (on the Nav Bar above)

With extra Tips and photos

These terrifically tasty and satisfying lamb recipes are the Blogger's choice from the Archive.  Whether singleton, pensioner twosome, familuy gathering ot a crowd, there's something wallet-friendly and easy prep for everyone. 

Roast Lamb with Savoury Mint Gravy

 Minty gravy elevates this delicious half shoulder roast, just the right size for a small household

Lamb Koftas with Sensational Tahini Sauce

Easy. Prepare the night before. Suitable for barbie and grill.  Even if the weather's horrible, these Mediterranean style koftas warm body and soul. 

Slow-Roasted Crispy Lamb Ribs 

Easy Crispy Meaty Lamb ribs with a crusty brown surface and much lower fat

Flash Fried Lamb Steaks with Sherry Soy Sauce 

Please leave a comment         .

These recipes have been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced without the author's written permission. 

SPRING ORANGE CAKE: fat-free, wallet friendly

Deliciously scented, subtle flavours that pack a punch...

Rustic but light; gorgeous texture despite lack of fat

This lovely cake, adapted from Sky McAlpine, is easy to make, high in good fibre and more importantly, when sunflower oil is disappearing fast from supermarket shelves, FAT-FREE!

The texture is just right: with enough heft to make it a substantial mouthful and enough air-iness to make it slightly dreamy. 

And the flavour!  The orange is just sublime, enhanced by essence of orange along with the fresh fruit.  Tasters stop in their tracks and marvel after the first bite.  

It's the kind of thing that guys like and women enjoy because it's so different from the usual.  It's sturdy enough to pack in a tin to slice at will during a long journey OR serve on arrival as the first holiday treat.

And it's also good for volunteers for local elections.

67 prefers a loaf tin - it's easier to serve in slices - but a 9in/23cm will also do.

But wherever and whenever it's eaten, 67 promises the cake will be unforgettable.  In the best way.  

Cost: £2.50'ish (3/24)

Makes: 1 good-sized loaf

Ingreds:

3 eggs

120g/4.2 oz sugar

zest & juice of 1 orange 

1 tsp orange essence (near the vanilla)

100g/3.6oz self-raising flour (80g white; 20g brown*)

  90g/3.2oz ground almonds

  10g/1/3oz shredded unsweetened coconut 

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cardamum (or ginger)

generous pinch of salt

Decorate with:

generous dusting of icing sugar OR

orange flavoured buttercream with or without finely chopped orange bits

 

Method:

PROTEINS & HEART HEALTH - SUMMARY TIMES 30/3/22 BY PETA BEE

67goingon50 summarises the  article on Proteins & Heart Health by Peta Bee in the Times on 30 Mar.
Notes from the Blogger

• There are two aspects to Peta Bee's article  

i. how a variety of proteins, not the type of proteins, reduces the risk of hypertension (high blood pressure)

ii. why minimum protein requirements rise after middle age 

• The Blogger has divided the article ,into section isolated the main points and simplified the language 
• Items in bold are the Blogger's emphasis, aimed at the blog's reader base of people of any age practicing graceful ageing

***
MAIN POINTS: ACCORDING TO RECENT RESEARCH, PROTEIN CHOICE CAN IMPROVE HEART HEALTH

• changing diet can cut the risk of hypertension
• a greater variety of protein is better for all-round health
• for best health, we need to vary types of protein as well as fruit and veg
• pea, hemp & other fashionable plant proteins may curb cravings and accelerate workouts but it's not enough for all round health

LATEST PUBLISHED RESEARCH: Southern Medical University China publ 3/22

• 18 year study of 12,200 men & women in their 40's
• assessed the links between the variety and quality of proteins from 8 major food sources and new-onset hypertension 
• the proteins were: unprocessed meat, processed red meat, poultry, fish, eggs, pulses, whole and refined grains

Results

•  findings published in the journal Hypertension showed more than a third of the total developed high blood pressure for the first time, including those who ate the most OR least amount of protein 
• but it also showed that those with the most varied intake, consuming at least 4 different types of protein, had a 66% percent lower risk of hypertension
• it isn't the amount of protein but the range that made the difference 
• Professor Xianhui Qin of Southern Medical University’s Nanfang Hospital's concluded: “... consuming a balanced diet with proteins from different sources, rather than focusing on a single source..., may help prevent the development of high blood pressure."