Apple Flapjacks

Make

16 squares

Ingredients

• 2 large apples
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 100g unsalted butter
• 60g brown sugar
• 45g golden syrup
• 200g porridge oats (I used raw rolled oats)
• 25g sunflower seeds
• 25g pumpkin seeds
• Pinch of salt

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Line and grease the base and side of a 20cm square baking tin
3. Peel, core and slice the apples. Place them in a small saucepan together with the lemon juice and a little bit of water. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until the apple is soft. Stirring occasionally.
4. Mash the cooked apple mixture to a soft puree. When it has cool down, press through a sieve to squeeze out the excess juices. Set aside.
5. Mix oats, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds together in a bowl and set aside.
6. Melt butter, sugar, syrup and salt together in another saucepan over a low heat. But do not let the mixture boil.
7. Stir in the dry ingredients in step 5 and mix well.
8. Spread half the mixture (in step 7) into the bottom of the baking tin. Then, press down to level the layer using a potato masher.
9. Spread the apple puree over the oatly layer.
10. Press the remaining oaty mixture over the apple puree until it is fully covered.
11. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. (refer to note 1)
12. Remove the baking tin from the oven and mark the flapjack into squares. Leave the flapjacks to cool completely in the baking tin. Then transfer the flapjacks together with the baking tin to the fridge. Chill for at least 4 hours or overnight until the squares are hardened.
13. Then store these squares in an air tight container and continue to keep them in the fridge until serving.

Notes:

1. The longer it is cooked, the harder the texture. So, keep the baking time as brief as possible (ideally for 20 minutes) if you wish to retain a chewy texture.
2. Best to be consumed within a week.
3. During serving, remove these squares from the fridge and leave to warm slightly at room temperature before eating.
4. You can substitute both the seeds with dried fruits such as raisins, cranberries or blueberries for a variation.
5. For those who are concerned of choking hazards, serve the flapjack in a smaller bite size for younger kids.

With kind contribution from http://food-4tots.com/

Cherry Yoghurt Popsicles

For cherry puree:

• 250g cherries (pits removed and cut into pieces)
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp lemon juice

For yoghurt mixture:

• 180g (3/4 cup) Greek-style yoghurt (refer to note 2)
• 1/8 cup fresh milk
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Make roughly six 3-ounce popsicles (you may come out with 7-8 sticks with Ikea popsicle moulds)

Methods (for swirled pops):

1. Place cherries in a blender and puree. Pass through a fine sieve into a measuring cup. (You should have ¾ cup puree). Stir in honey and lemon juice. Adjust to taste. Set aside.
2. Scoop the yoghurt into a cup. Stir in the milk a little at a time until the yoghurt is thinned enough that it can be poured. Stir in the honey and lemon juice. Adjust to taste. Set aside. (refer to note 3).
3. Pour an inch of yoghurt into the popsicle moulds, then an inch of cherry puree, and repeat until the moulds are filled. Use a chopstick or skewer to gently swirl the liquids together. If your moulds don't come with their own sticks, insert wooden popsicle sticks after 1 hour of freezing. Freeze at least 8 hours or overnight, until the popsicles solidify.
4. Run the moulds under tap/ warm water and gently wiggle the sticks to free the popsicles from the moulds.

Methods (for layered pops):

1. Follow step 1 and 2 above.
2. Pour an inch or so of yoghurt into the bottom of each popsicle mould. Freeze this until the yoghurt is just set, about 45 minutes. Pour an inch of cherry puree on top and freeze until just set, another 45 minutes or so. Repeat in layers until the pops are filled. If your moulds don't come with their own sticks, insert wooden popsicle sticks along with the third layer. Freeze another 2-3 hours or overnight, until the popsicles solidify.

Methods (for normal pops):

1. Place cherries in a blender and puree. Pass through a fine sieve into a measuring cup. (You should have ¾ cup puree).
2. Add cherry puree and the rest of the ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth. Add extra honey if needed.
3. Pour into the moulds and freeze at least 8 hours or overnight, until the popsicles solidify. If your moulds don't come with their own sticks, insert wooden popsicle sticks after 1 hour of freezing.
4. Run the moulds under tap/ warm water and gently wiggle the sticks to free the popsicles from the moulds.

Notes:

1. If you do not have popsicle moulds, substitute with empty yoghurt pots. Or else, try out this method (http://andthenidothedishes.blogspot.com/2010/07/
   strawberry-watermelon-yogurt-ice-pops.html).
2. You can replace Greek-style yoghurt with plain yoghurt or vanilla yoghurt.
3. Alternatively, you can blend everything until smooth. But be careful not over-blend as the yoghurt mixture will be very watery.
4. Concentrated fruit juice can be used to substitute fresh fruit juice. But you need to adjust the sweetness accordingly.

With kind contribution from http://food-4tots.com/

Source: Inspired by Cherry yoghurt popsicles by Naturally Ella and Tie Dye Pops by Martha Stewart

Ensure^®Life Cappuccino of Mushroom

Ingredients

• 200g button mushroom
• 100g shitake mushroom
• 80g oyster mushrooom
• 50g unsalted butter or soft margarine
• a dash of white truffle oil
• 100g Ensure Life Vanilla Powder (mix with 80mL of water to dilute)
• 1.5 liters water
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Slice all the mushroom into thin strips
2. Bring water to a boil and add mushrooms and butter
3. Once boiled, remove from fire and add Ensure Life powder, mix well
4. Using a hand blender, blend mixture into a smooth soup consistency

(6 servings.)

ProSure^® Oat Meal

Ingredients

• 1 pack of ProSure^® Vanilla 240mL
• 3-4 tablespoon of quick cooking oats
• 1 egg (optional)

Method

1. Add some water to saucepan to cook the oats until soft and turn off the fire
2. Beat the egg, add into oats and mix well
3. Pour into the oats into a bowl
4. Add in ProSure^®, stir well
5. Top up with almost for a nutty and crunchy texture