Whiskey Soaked Fig & Apricot Banana Bread

I love it when I forget about my bananas and stumble upon them a week later deliciously brown and bursting with extra banana-y flavour. It means one thing - banana bread. It's great because it really is compulsory, otherwise the bananas will go to waste, so I have no choice but to bake a loaf. Banana bread is also wonderful for experimenting with. This time I had a bottle of whiskey that was taking up space in my booze cupboard but only had a couple of tablespoons left in it, so I decided I had better use that up too (to make more space for other things!). 

If you're a banana bread lover, make sure you check out my super special Chai Banana Bread.

Whiskey Soaked Fig & Apricot Banana Bread

Ingredients

1/4 cup chopped dried apricots

1/4 cup chopped dried figs

3 tbsp whiskey (you can also use brandy or rum)

1 banana, mashed well (should make about 1/2 cup, a bit more or a bit less is fine)

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup canola oil (to make a healthier loaf you can substitute 1/3 cup apple sauce and 1 tbsp canola oil)

2/3 cup soy milk

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 1/4 cups wholemeal flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarb soda

1/4 cup almonds, halved

To Make

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (if your oven is fan forced then reduce to 170).

2. Place the chopped apricots and figs in a bowl with the whiskey and let soak for about 20 minutes.

3. Combine the banana, sugar, oil, soy milk and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.

4. Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarb into the batter and mix well. You'll have lots of little wholemeal husks left in your strainer after sifting, but you can just throw those in too.

5. Stir in the soaked fruit and the almonds. If there is any whiskey left in the bottom of the bowl just throw that in too. 

6. Line a 22cm/9inch long loaf tin and line with greaseproof baking paper. Pour in the batter and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Makes 1 loaf.

I've entered this dish in the Vegan Virtual Linky Potluck.

Easy Vegan Fig Rolls

I think these are very cute, they remind me of a sweet version of a sausage roll. They're so easy to make, just a handful of ingredients, and they make a pretty healthy snack to satisfy your sweet tooth.

I hope you all had a great Xmas and new year period, I know I indulged a little too much and am now just getting back on track with my normal (slightly healthier) habits! I'm really excited about what 2014 has to offer though, there are some wonderful things in store for us and I've decided to make it one of my best years ever.

Vegan Fig Rolls

Ingredients
250g dried figs
3/4 cup water
1 tbsp agave nectar
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
2 sheets filo pastry
1 tbsp melted nuttelex (or other vegan margarine)
Sesame seeds, for garnish

To Make
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Chop up the figs and place in a small saucepan. Add the water, agave and spices. Place over a low heat and simmer, covered for 20 minutes. Then remove the lid and simmer until almost all of the liquid is gone and you have a thick paste.
3. Transfer to a food processor and process until you have a fairly smooth consistency.
4. Lay out one sheet of the filo and brush a little bit of melted margarine around the edges. Place the second sheet on top of the first.
5. Spread the fig paste in an even log along the pastry lengthwise and then roll it up into one big long roll. Brush melted margarine on the last inch of the pastry to help it stick better.
6. Cut the log in half and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Brush the tops with the remaining melted margarine and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
7. Bake for 10 minutes, until the pastry is just crisp and slightly golden. Once cooked, cool and then slice into bit sized pieces.

Makes about 10 pieces.

Khoshaf

I'll end this month of delicious spicy and Egyptian food with a simple but beautiful dish. This is Khushaf  or Khoshaf, a traditional Egyptian dish which is often made during Ramadan to break the fast. It's good for Ramadan because of the high amount of sugars to give you energy during the day and the protein from the nuts.

It's like a compote, but not cooked. Or perhaps like a fruit salad, but made with dried fruits and nuts. It's very quick and easy to make and makes a delicious dessert, breakfast or snack at any time of the day. It's a lot healthier than a lot of other things you could have for dessert and conveniently you make it the day before, so it is a stress free dessert to serve up to guests.

You can soak the fruit in apple juice instead of water if you want to make it sweeter - but in my opinion it is sweet enough! You can also substitute other types of nuts, if you like.

Khoshaf

Ingredients
1/2 cup raisins (I used golden)
1/2 cup whole prunes
1/2 cup halved dates
1/2 cup sliced dried apricots
1/2 cup halved dried figs
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup dry roasted almonds (you can just used blanched if you prefer)
Water, to cover

To Make
1. Place all the dried fruit and the nuts in a bowl.
2. Cover with about 6 cups water, the fruit should be covered by at least 2 inches.
3. Leave in the fridge over night to soak. Check to make sure that there is enough water - if the fruit has absorbed all of the water then you'll need to add more. There should be plenty of syrupy juice left in the bowl after the fruit have absorbed as much as they can.
4. Eat! We just ate it as it is, but you could also serve over ice cream or with yoghourt.

Serves 6.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from Egypt.

Check out my other Egyptian recipe posts:

Preserved Lemons

Limoonada (Egyptian Lemonade)

Mesa'a'ah (Spicy Eggplant)

Orange and Olive Salad with Cumin

'Ancient Egyptian Peasant' Beer Onions

Creamy Tahini Sauce

Ful Medames

Vegan Fig and Red Wine Ice Cream

Over summer all my local greengrocers were stocking the most beautiful ripe figs for great prices. As soon as I saw these beautiful figs I instantly bought six. Then I got home and I couldn't decide what to do with them. It was tempting just to eat them all fresh in all their delicious fresh figgy goodness. But I have never made anything with figs so I decided that I wanted to use them in something. The first thing I thought of was The Kitchen Crusader's wonderful looking No Bake Fig and Chocolate Tart. But I'm trying to cook less rich and decadent desserts to be honest. I live with my partner and there are only so many rich desserts we can handle - so I thought I would make something which didn't have to be eaten all at once. My solution was fig and red wine ice cream (vegan, of course).

This is also my first time participating in the Eat-the-Alphabet link up blog hop - which I think it such a great idea. This month the letters E and F are being featured so I'm using Figs! For this recipe you'll need chilled coconut cream so be nice and organised and put the coconut cream in the fridge a few days before hand - I just keep a couple of tins in the fridge at all times so that I can pull them out and use it whenever I want.

On the subject of blog hops - I've decided that I should have one of my own since I have been participating in so many others' hops. Just trying to give a bit back into the community. It's open right now! The Vegan Soup-Off Challenge Blog Hop - don't be put off if you're not a vegan, it's open to everyone and vegetable/grain/pulse/noodle/pasta soups are for everyone - not just vegans. Please check it out and enter here.

On another note - I've been nominated for the Best Australian Blogs 2012 People's Choice Award - you can vote for me by hitting up this link: http://www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au/bloggingcomp/peopleschoice.html

Ingredients
1 tin coconut cream, chilled for at least 24 hours (several days is even better)
1 cup red wine plus 3 tbsp
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 cup soy milk
175g silken tofu
1 tbsp vanilla extract
5-6 fresh figs, skins removed

To Make
1. Place the cinnamon stick and the 1 cup of red wine in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer until the liquid has reduced by half to 1/2 cup. Remove the cinnamon stick and allow to cool.
2. Open the can of coconut cream and scoop out the solid cream on the top. Set the liquid parts down the bottom of the can to use in another dish (I usually add mine to curries or soups).
3. Place the coconut cream, simmered red wine, soy milk, tofu, extra tbsp red wine, vanilla extract and the fresh figs in a blender. Blend to combine (don't over blend).
4. Pour the ice cream into an ice cream maker and process according to the instructions that come with your maker. If you don't have an ice cream maker - like me :( - pour the ice cream into a wide chilled dish. Then remove from the freezer every half hour and mix well - breaking up the frozen edges. I use a whisk or a large metal spoon, just make sure you break up all the frozen bits so that large ice crystals don't form. Do this at least 6 times, the more the better! Then leave to freeze overnight.
5. Once the ice cream is firm you can serve. I recommend removing it from the freezer 5-10 minutes before serving so that it's easier to scoop.

What is your favourite unusual ice cream flavour?