Happy Australia Day! This morning, at 8am, it was a lovely 32 degrees celcius and we decided that cooking traditional lamingtons was out of the question. My 3yr old had his heart set on having lamingtons for Australia Day so we put these yummy raw ones together. This recipe has been adapted from the on the raw lamingtons from The Raw Food Kitchen. I hope you enjoy :-)

Raw Cake
1 1/2 cups of raw cashews (soaked for at least 30min)
1 cup desiccated coconut
1 tablespoon raw honey
1/3 cup coconut cream
1 vanilla bean scraped
Strawberry jam (homemade or store bought. We made some strawberry chia jam)

Chocolate (you can use a good quality store bought one or this one)
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup raw cocao
1 cup shredded coconut

Blend together the cashews, desiccated coconut, raw honey, coconut cream and vanilla bean in a high speed blender or thermomix. Press half of the mixture into a greased small square dish.  Spread some strawberry jam on top and then press the other half of the mixture on top. Place in the freezer to firm up. 

To make the chocolate blend the coconut oil, maple syrup and cocoa together. If the weather is cool, you may need to warm  it slightly over a bowl of warm water.

Remove the raw cakes from the freezer and cut into small squares. Dip the cakes into chocolate and then into the shredded coconut. Place on a plate and pop in the freezer to set.

Easy Raw Licorice
150g Dried Dates
100ml hot water
2 Whole Star Anise

Place dates in hot water and leave to soak for 20-30 minutes or until nice and soft. While they are soaking, prepare star anise by grinding  the whole star in a coffee grinder or high speed blender. Place date mixture into a blender and blend up. Add star anise a little bit at a time until you have reached your desired taste. Use a piping bag or a plastic sandwich bag with the corner snipped to pipe lengths of licorice onto a silicone dehydrator mat. Place in the dehydrator* for 8-12hrs or until firm but  slightly soft and sticky still.

*Note... If you don't have a dehydrator, you can use a oven instead. Start by turning the oven on the lowest possible setting. Place whatever you are wanting to dehydrate  in a non-stick baking dish or a pan lined with baking paper. Place the dish in the oven and keep the door open. Turn the oven fan on to keep air flowing so that there is no condensation. The time will vary quite a bit from a dyhydrator and may only take half of the time.

Saturday evenings have always been a chilled out time in the cottage. A time when we would have more time to play in the kitchen and cook nice meals together, a time where we would grab some takeaway and set up a picnic and let Henry play until the sun went down or a time when we would just put a platter together, eat, chat and be merry......that was until we had a baby #2. Four months ago, we welcomed our beautiful Maggie into the world. She is the most beautiful and loved little soul but is incredibly talented at consuming our time, attention, energy and conversations most nights. Like most people with a baby, our evenings are usually a whirlwind of chaos and whilst I love this stage of my life and am well aware that it's short lived, I sometimes miss normality and time to enjoy food with my family.

Last night, I was on a mission to cook a nice meal for us to share. I wanted something that reminded me of the nights when we were able to go out for a nice relaxed dinner together. I wanted something that would replenish my body after feeding Maggie nonstop for the previous 36hrs thanks to a growth spurt  and  I also wanted something that would be easy and stress free.

The dish I chose to put together, was a sweet garlic chicken.  This dish is super easy and will leave your kitchen smelling like a gorgeous Italian restaurant. Although it may not be the healthiest dish that I've ever put together, it really is delightful and perfect for a relaxing Saturday evening spent with family. Enjoy xo

Garlic and Coconut Sugar Chicken
4-8 chicken thighs (we love Inglewood Farms organic chicken thighs)
3 tablespoons butter, divided
4 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons of Italian herbs (basil, oregano, rosemary ect)

Preheat oven 160 degrees Celcius. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large oven-proof pan or dish over medium heat. Add chicken, and brown both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side. Set aside on a clean plate. Melt the remaining butter and add the crushed garlic, and cook for about 1-2 minutes. Turn off heat and add the coconut sugar, honey and Italian herbs. Return chicken to the pan or dish, stir through and place in the oven for 20-30min or until cooked through. Serve chicken immediately with steamed vegetables and mash.

 * Note. I added some zuchinni towards the end of the cooking time so that they could absorb some of the sweet garlic sauce but you could add other vegetables such as eggplant, capsicum ect