FLOWER POT KITCHEN: FLAXSEED AND PARMESAN CRACKERS

28 Aug 2017

FLAXSEED AND PARMESAN CRACKERS

These are so simple to make...

This is a brilliant super quick and easy gluten free cracker recipe that delivers 100% on the flavour and gives you a crisp snapping texture, great for when you miss having that crispy cracker bite...Those of you on a low carb lifestyle will be in the know of missing the crunch! Even better is that 4 crackers will give you a abundance of fiber and a whopping help up towards your daily allowance of omega 3.

Prep time 5 minutes / Cooking time 40 minutes

Ingredients

(Makes 20 crackers)

1 cup of milled organic flaxseed

1/4 to 1/3 cup of Parmesan grated

1 tbsp garlic grated

1 tsp Himalayan sea salt

1/3 cup water

Optional grating of Parmesan

At this point you can add any extra flavour you like, I often add some turmeric and chilli flakes or cumin and if I want to use these crackers for dipping with a lovely fresh bowl of salsa I will add fresh coriander and lime juice to compliment the salsa dip.

Pre heat your oven to 150 degrees C, combine all ingredients in a bowl, lay some baking paper on your work top enough to cover your baking sheet, cut a second sheet the same size, this is going to save clearing up! Take your ball of flaxseed dough and place in the centre of the baking sheet, place the second sheet on top and press down to flatten the dough out a little.

Take your rolling pin and roll the dough through the paper, hence no floury work top to clean down! Roll as thin as you dare, cracker thin. Peel off the top baking paper and using a knife or pizza cutter score the dough in to your crackers, this can be triangles for corn chips style or long and thin for more fancy presentation or just your standard squares.

Slide your baking sheet on to your baking tray and pop in the oven, these crackers will take 40 minutes to bake to perfection, if you feel they are not crisp enough leave for a further five minutes or so.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack and these are best enjoyed on the day, but they will keep for a week in a air tight tin, they just loose a little of their crispy cracker, but the flavour is still there. Enjoy.

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LIFE MY PASSION

Welcome to my daily life of cooking, one winters day many years ago my family and I were all inspired by a back to back rainy day of River Cottage this got us to stop talking about and start actually doing, suddenly three weeks later eight vegetable beds were dug, greenhouse erected and our first vegetables were propagating, this was the start to raising and growing our own food, our fabulous son Oscar changed our path in life which lead us to sell our small thriving restaurant of 10 yrs and to start our new life (Terrifying!) a life of the self sufficient in touch with nature and seasons, taking a step back and looking forward to a slower change of pace and making the most of every moment.

My passion for cooking was stronger than ever and having time at home with Oscar I found I had a new direction and I was no longer striving for perfection, I was suddenly very passionate for the enjoyment of the other side of food, something I had not realised, being the Chef/Cook and every other duty of your own small restaurant made me see that I never actually took time to cook what I wanted!

So there I was muddy boots and hands digging deep in more than one sense and I found myself transported back in time to where everyone grew some of their own food, it is a wonderful world with a real sense of achievement and loss, Slugs Snails and Caterpillars! But thats another story! Childhood memories of summers when I lived with my grand parents reminded me of so much that I had learnt about the make do and mend generation that I had forgotten.

Now as a family we love our free wild food days where we gather what nature has provided, have gone from being mini mini garden urban small holders, who did raised pigs at home because we could not wait to find land and supporting ourselves from our garden to now owning a very small farm that allows us to grow more vegetables for the whole of our family and neighbours, raise our own gorgeous Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs, (Sausages!) and pets! Dorset Down sheep, chickens for eggs and pet goats! Suddenly having large quantities of produce started to wake up the Cook in me!

The Cook was awake that part of me that wants to cook for the masses and I found myself setting up Flowerpot Kitchen, a Farmers Market Stall, I wanted to use our honest raised meats and make old fashioned pork pies, rabbit pies and game pies from the local game keeper along with old fashioned techniques and the best hot water crust pastry. This in turn grew to a small cottage industry from home weekly supplying three farm shops and a deli along with also attending three farmers markets A few years later there came a time when my son Oscar's health changed and it was an easy decision to stop.

I still hold the occasional pop up 40 seater restaurant or gourmet lunch which we do for local charities for the love of sharing food and to remind that Cook in me why I love our go slower self sufficient life!

So here I am sitting amoung the vegetables watching the chickens loving that every season nature teaches me something new and that nature is in charge! She has taught me to just go with it and grow. Give it a try from a tray of salad on your windowsill to a few tomato plants it all counts.