Creamy Cashew Nut Butter!

Whilst browsing various healthy living recipes I have found that a lot of them call for use of 'nut butters', and homemade ones. So I decided that I would give it a go, and make some Cashew butter. 

Cashews have one of the lowest fat contents of all nuts, and they are rich in Iron, Selenium, Magnesium and Zinc. They are also a great source of antioxidants and protein... So what is not to love about them! This nut butter couldnt have been easier to make either- all you need is a food processor and some Cashews!

Heres the recipe: (makes one medium-large sized jar)

-175g raw Cashew nuts

-1 tbsp Groundnut oil 

-Large pinch of Salt

-1 tbsp Agarve Nectar/ Honey

-Unswetened Cocoa powder (optional for Chocolate version)

How to make:

-First of all roast the Cashews in the oven on a baking tray until they are all slightly browned, and leave to cool.

-Then put them in the food processor and whizz up for about 2 minutes. They will start to look like fine crumbs, but keep going! Whizz for another 3-6 minutes and add the Groundnut oil to losen the mixture as it will start to form a big clump.

-Then add the salt and Agarve Nectar and keep whizzing until the mixture looks smooth and creamy. Make sure to keep tasting to see if it needs more salt/nectar (but that is down to your own preferences!)

-Then put it in to a sterilised jar and enjoy!

-For the Chocolate version, just add a tablespoon or so of the unsweetened Cocoa powder and whizz until combined!

Stage 1 - Roasting the raw Cashews until browned all over

Stage 2 - Put the roasted Cashews in to the food processor

Stage 3 - The Cashews will start to look like crumbs after a minute or so

Stage 4 - The natural oils will start to come out after a couple of minutes of whizzing and it will start to clump together

Stage 5 - Add the oil, Agarve nectar and salt

Stage 6 - The finished butter should look smooth and creamy

Stage 7 - Put the Cashew butter in to a suitable jar and enjoy!

This was a chocolate version that I made with some remaining Cashew butter that wouldn't fit in the jar! It wasn't particularly chocolatey, so perhaps adding more cocoa powder would have worked better. But still yummy!

Fresh Apricot Chutney!

I had some fresh apricots hanging around, so I decided to try making some fresh chutney with them. The recipe is very easy, all you do is mix the ingredients together and simmer them for 15 minutes and its ready! It has a spicy, aromatic flavour, which goes well with cold meats, curries, in sandwiches or anything you like.

Heres the recipe: (makes one large jar)

-Fresh pitted apricots (I used about 8, but depends on how many you have)

-1/2 chopped red onion

-1 tbsp cider vinegar

-1 tbsp light brown sugar

-Squidge of Agarve nectar/ Honey

-Good handfull of raisins

-1/2 tsp mustard seeds

-1/2 ground coriander

-1/2 tsp cumin

-Salt and pepper seasoning

How to make:

-Chop your apricots in to large chunks and place in a medium sized pan

-Then add all of the rest of the ingredients

-Bring the mixture to a steady simmer, making sure you keep stirring with a wooden spoon constantly to ensure it doesn't burn on the bottom

-After about 15 minutes the mixture should be thick and 'jam' like, taste to check seasoning and then its ready to put in to a sterilised jar!

-Then enjoy!

Stage one - chopping the apricots

Stage 2 - mix all the ingredients together in the pan

Stage 3 - cook, stirring continuously until it looks thick and 'jam' like

Stage 4 - Put it in to a sterilised jar and enjoy!