Food Bandits: Autumn Recipes

Now that the FOOD BANDITS have taken us on a tour through their home and told us about their passion for cooking and food styling, let's allow the food to do the talking.

Suzanne created recipes that are just right for this time of year: comfort food that warm you up on cold autumn days. We're talking hot chocolate with whiskey and apple muffins that refine the physical and chemical laws of flavour development.

recipe & photos FOOD BANDITS

Hot Chocolate with a Shot of Whiskey

I think that one of the best things about autumn is sitting on your couch with a blanket, a great book (or a really bad movie) and drinking a warm beverage. And sometimes tea or coffee is just not enough. You want that bit extra, that extra feel of indulgence. This hot chocolate is all about indulgence. Real chocolate that makes every rainy day perfect.

• 200 g chocolate preferably with more then 70% cacao

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 125 ml rice or almond milk

• pinch of salt

• splash of whiskey (optional)

Slowly melt the chocolate in a pan with a thick bottom. Or you can melt the chocolate au bain marie. It is always important with melting chocolate not to stir too much in the pan. When the chocolate is melted, add slowly the rice milk while stirring and then the vanilla extract and salt. Stir until well combined and warm. Add some whiskey if you are really having a bad day. And enjoy! “

Banana Bread Muffins with Caramelized Apples on Top

There are so many versions of banana bread, and for good reason. There is something so satisfying about using those old bananas from you fruit bowl in an easy and delicious recipe.

These banana bread muffins are ideal for breakfast or you can eat them as an afternoon snack. And the caramelized apples with blanched almonds on top just gives that bit extra.

This recipe is refined sugar free and can easily be converted into a gluten free recipe by replacing the spelt flour for oatmeal flour. I just love the nutty flavour of the spelt flour.

For the Top:

• 1 apple cored and cut into thin wedges

• some coconut butter for baking

• rice syrup or liquid sweetener of choice

• handful blanched almonds, crushed

• 1 cup spelt flour

• 1 cup almond flour

• 1 tsp mesquite powder or sweetener of choice

• 1 tsp baking powder

• pinch of cinnamon

• pinch of ginger

• pinch of cardamom

• pinch of salt

• 2 bananas, mashed

• 3 eggs, preferably organic

• muffin tin with 6 paper cups

Preheat the oven at 180 degrees and mash the bananas with a fork.

It is always good to get some excercise in the morning. Add the three eggs and stir. In another bowl mix all the dry ingredients together. Add the banana-egg mixture and stir until well combined. Fill the paper cups equally with the muffin batter. Place the tin in the middle of the oven for about 15 – 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Leave the muffins to cool.

In a frying pan, bake the apple wedges in some coconut butter until they are golden brown. Crush some almonds or other nuts, I think that pecans will taste pretty good too, and here you have more excercise. I think you already trained half a muffin of. Place the apples on the muffins and sprinkle the nuts, add some extra rice syrup on top and you are done. Enjoy!

Buckwheat Chocolate Granola

• 600 g oatmeal flakes

• 500 g buckwheat (raw)

• 125 g dried coconut

• 60 g chia seeds

• 100 g hazelnuts, crushed

• 100 g walnuts, crushed

• 100 g coconut butter

• pinch of salt

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 65 g raw cacoa powder

Preheat the oven at 175 degrees and mix all the dry ingredients together. So everything except the vanilla extract and coconut butter. Stir until well combined and then add the wet ingredients. Place the mixture in a large baking tray and place this in the oven for about 30 to 40 minutes while stirring the mixture every 5 minutes or so.

This recipe is vegan, gluten free and refined sugar free. And honestly highly addictive!

Raw Brownies

These raw brownies are the very, very, very best you'll ever have!! They are raw, vegan, gluten free and refined sugarfree. They make you want to eat organic food everyday, start a vegetable garden, hug trees and really go back to the good life. It's rather a shame that I am so bad at gardening and that I can't live without my iphone. Well, I can, I just don't want to.

• 250 g almonds, blanched

• 50 g walnuts

• 1 tbsp espresso

•150 g raw cocoa

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• a pinch of sea salt

• 4 big pinches rice syrup

• 550 g fresh dates, pitted

Note that this amount of brownies is enough to feed a whole army. So you can start by making half. Although I know you'll wish you didn't.

Blend the almonds and walnuts in a food processor until they are crumbly. Then add the other ingredients one by one and process until they form a big ball of dough. You can add some extra rice syrup to make it even more sticky. Place a sheet of parchment paper in an oven tray and place the ball of dough on the tray. Press down with your hands or the back of a spoon so the brownies cover the whole tray. Place the tray in the fridge for at least two hours. Cut in small pieces and enjoy these amazing - detox proof - brownies.