FLOWER POT KITCHEN: FLAX AND CHIA SEED TURMERIC BLACK PEPPER CRACKERS

1 Oct 2020

FLAX AND CHIA SEED TURMERIC BLACK PEPPER CRACKERS

PALEO

Salmon Avocado Cream Cheese.

A cracking cracker ! Super tasty and soo good for you, there are not many paleo substitutes for a great cracker that I have loved as much as these crackers, loaded with flax, chia and sunflower seeds, brazil, hazel, almond and walnuts, psyllium husk, turmeric and black pepper which is essential to aid the absorption of curcumin from the turmeric, seasoned with Parmesan, sea salt and then depending on what I want to eat with them a choice of spices for example a savoury cracker for cheese would have nigella onion seeds, fennel seeds and maybe black mustard seeds to complement the cheddar cheese toppings.

The main ingredients for these crackers can be in any quantities providing you follow the magic formula! For example all flax, chia, psyllium and Parmesan and no nuts.

Recipe 360g of seeds and nuts including the psyllium husk to 500ml of water, then add spices.

Geeky Nutritional Science Bit...

Turmeric gives anti inflammatory protection, is an antioxidant, speeds up wound healing and relieves arthritis, diabetes support by lowering blood sugar reversing insulin resistance, helps with depression and cholesterol. Flaxseeds are loaded with omega 3 ALA fats, huge wallop of fiber and low in carbs, high protein along with vitamin B1, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus and selenium which gives you healthy skin and hair, lowers cholesterol, supports digestive health and are highly antioxidant and finally Chia seeds super high in fiber, supports digestive and heart health, supports diabetes because their rich in alpha-linolenic acid which helps lower excessive fat in the blood and supports strong bones and teeth.

Ingredients

(makes 40 crackers)

(can freeze spare dough)

The Magic Formula

100g flaxseed ground

50g chia seeds ground or whole

50g sunflower seeds

100g mixed nuts ground to powder made up of...

(1 brazil, 10 hazelnuts, 8 almond nuts, 6walnuts)

60g psyllium husk

1 cup Parmesan grated

1 tbsp turmeric

1 tbsp Himalayan sea salt

1 tbsp fresh ground black pepper

500ml water

Optional Spices

(roughly 1 tsp)

Nigella seeds

Fennel seeds bashed

Coriander seeds bashed

Cumin seeds bashed

Mustard seeds

Harissa spice mix

Fenugreek seeds bashed

Ground paprika/smoked

Dried chillies

Ground coriander

Ground ginger

Ground cinnamon

Mixed spice

Curry powder

Moroccan spice

Pre heat oven to 170 C / 338 F. Place all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and combine, add your extra choice of spices at this point if you want to, add the water and mix well, leave to stand for 30 minutes for the water to be absorbed into the seeds.

Place a sheet of baking paper twice the size as your baking tray on your work top. Take a quarter size ball of the dough and place in the centre of one half of the baking sheet, fold the other half of the baking paper on top of the dough and press down to flatten the dough out a little.

Take your rolling pin and roll the dough through the paper 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 paper on to your baking tray and pop in the oven, these crackers will take 40-60 minutes to bake to perfection, they are cooked when dry and crispy to touch.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the paper, these will keep for a week plus in a air tight tin.

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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.