Recipe Favourite – Zucchini Brownies

Zucchini Brownies

Mum’s and dad’s, if you have trouble getting your kids to eat their veggies, well here is a yummy recipe where you can hide them.

These Zucchini Brownies will be a hit with the kids and they have no idea they are full of nutritional vegetables.

You can do like I did and substitute some of the zucchini for carrots as well.

Because of the strong cocoa taste, this will be a hit for the sweet tooth in the family.

Or if you prefer a little less sweetness then reduce the sugar by half. I didn’t this time but you can add your own chocolate icing as well.

So give this quick and easy recipe a try.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

500 grams zucchini (or add a carrot or two in place of some of the zucchini)

100 grams olive oil

180 grams raw sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla essence

270 grams Self Raising Flour

50 grams cocoa

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Line a 26cm x 16cm slice tin with baking paper. If you don’t this size tray use a baking dish however the slice might be thin like mine.

Chop zucchini roughly and place in Thermomix (TM) bowl or food processor.

Add oil, sugar and vanilla essence.

Mix speed 7 for 15 seconds in TM or until combined and smooth in the processor.

Scrap down the sides of bowl.

Add flour and cocoa and mix speed 4 for 30 seconds in TM and keep mixing in 5-second intervals until mixture is fully combined.

Spread mixture into prepared slice tin and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Test by inserting a skewer and checking it is ready when it comes out relatively clean with a minute amount of moisture.

Once completely cooled in the tin, remove and slice with a sharp knife.

Hint: Dust with a little icing sugar before serving.

Great for slicing up and freezing for kids lunches.

Thanks to Julicious at the Thermomix recipe community.

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Other favourite recipes

Recipe Favourite – Rich Chocolate Bean Cake

Recipe Favourite – Homemade Autumn Vegetable Or Glacier Cake

Recipe Favourite – Double Bubble Slice

Recipe Favourite – Going Troppo Pineapple and Coconut Slice

Recipe Favourite – Going Banana with Chocolate Pudding

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How to stay up-to-date

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Recipe Favourite – Malibu Tropical Coconut Cake

Malibu Tropical Coconut Cake

This Malibu Tropical Coconut Cake has got to be my favourite. I just love coconut and the flavour comes out beautifully in this very tropical cake.

I cooked this for the first time when I had my parent-in-laws over for dinner.

This was our dessert with a scoop of low-fat ice cream. It turned out to be so delicious we all wanted more.

It’s hard to describe this one, it really is one you need to make and try for yourself.

So quick and easy to make in under an hour.

This is written for Thermomix (TM) users however it can easily be translated to use with a food processor or egg beaters and bowl.

Ingredients:

50 grams desiccated coconut

150 grams boiling water

225 grams butter

225 grams caster sugar (can reduce the quantity)

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

3 eggs

200 grams self raising flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

Icing:

25 grams butter

180 grams cream cheese

375 grams icing sugar

25 grams desiccated coconut

4 tablespoons Malibu Coconut Rum

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Soak the coconut in the boiling water and leave for about 5 minutes, until the coconut soaks up the water.

Put all remaining cake ingredients, including the soaked coconut, into the TM and mix, Speed 5 until you have a soft batter.

Wet baking paper and shake off excess water. Line loaf tin with baking paper.

Pour batter into loaf tin and cook in the oven for approximately 25 – 35 minutes.

Test to make sure baked all the way through.

Malibu Cream Cheese Frosting:

Beat the butter in the TM until soft and creamy.

Add the cream cheese and beat until smooth.

Add the icing sugar, coconut and Malibu. Mix until combined.

Once the cake has cooled ice with this frosting.

Options: Replace the Malibu Coconut Rum with Bailey’s Irish Cream or another alcohol.

Enjoy.

Source: Banchor

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Further reading:

Recipe Favourite – Homemade Autumn Vegetable Or Glacier Cake

Recipe Favourite – Double Bubble Slice

Recipe Favourite – Going Troppo Pineapple and Coconut Slice

Recipe Favourite – Going Banana with Chocolate Pudding

Guide to 22 knockout marketing tips to sell a home

How to stay up-to-date

Do you have an opinion or have a favourite recipe you wish to share? The TREN community wants to hear your story.

Submit your news here.

Become a subscriber to TREN and eMagazine and be the first to receive local breaking stories, analysis and opinions on the Townsville real estate market.

As a coastal defence, the Great Barrier Reef’s value to communities goes way beyond tourism

Image: Clown fish and coral on the Great Barrier Reef near Townsville Photo: Flickr

Great Barrier Reef

Rising sea levels are widely recognised as a threat to coastal communities worldwide. In Australia, the Climate Council estimates that at least A$226 billion of assets and infrastructure will be exposed to inundation if sea levels rise by 1.1 metres. Another report recommended that global mean sea level rise of up to 2.7 metres this century should be considered in planning processes.

The Queensland state government has commissioned the QCoast2100 program. This program aims to help with the development of coastal climate adaptation plans for Queensland communities exposed to sea-level rise.

Although the largest population centres in Queensland are in the state’s southeast, several of the most populous regional centres in Australia are located along the Great Barrier Reef coastline between Gladstone and Cape York. These include Townsville, Cairns, Gladstone, Mackay and Port Douglas.

A major task in developing coastal adaptation plans under the QCoast2100 program is to model inundation from a range of scenarios for sea-level rises and assess how assets will be inundated in the future. However, another threat is on the horizon.

Further Reading: What’s The Economic Value Of The Great Barrier Reef? It’s Priceless

How urban centres are protected

Urban centres along the reef’s coastline, which forms the majority of the Queensland coast, are protected from major ocean storms by natural deposits of coastal sediments. These include dunes and associated vegetation such as coastal forests, wetlands and mangrove systems.

These natural features continue to exist largely because the Great Barrier Reef’s outer reefs dampen incoming ocean waves. Although exposed to the occasional cyclone – which can lead to short-term erosion at specific locations – much of the coastal zone inside the reef is slowly growing out into the sea.

This increasing buffer zone can form a natural barrier to coastal recession.

A recently released report estimated the total economic, social and icon asset value of the Great Barrier Reef at A$56 billion. By design, this report did not include many of the ecosystem services the reef provides. One of these is its role in reducing the energy of waves that impact the coastline behind the reef.

However, an earlier assessment of the total economic value of ecosystem services delivered by the reef estimated the present coastal protection benefit is worth at least A$10 billion.

Despite the inherent uncertainties in such assessments, it is clear the reef acts to reduce incoming wave energy and its impacts on cities and towns along much of the Queensland coastline. The total economic value of these benefits is in the billions of dollars.

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Further reading: Coastal communities demand action on climate threats

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What role is bleaching playing?

The Great Barrier Reef’s ability to keep protecting the Queensland shoreline, and communities living along it, depends upon the ability of individual reefs in the system to grow vertically to “keep up” with rising sea level.

The jury is still out on whether the outer reefs will be able to keep up with predicted rises. This is an active area of research.

However, it is clear reefs that are extensively affected by coral bleaching will struggle to maintain the essential processes required for productive reef-building. Many reefs are now experiencing net erosion.

Predictions of ocean warming suggest that bleaching events will become even more common in coming decades. Increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide are also making the oceans more acidic, which makes it more difficult for organisms such as corals to maintain their skeletons, which are made of calcium carbonate. This mineral dissolves more rapidly with increasing acidification, reducing the reef’s capacity to recover from storm damage and coral bleaching.

Therefore, as bleaching events and acidification continue, the outer reefs that protect the Queensland coast from ocean waves will increasingly struggle to perform this function.

In turn, over time the Queensland coast will potentially suffer from more coastal erosion, which may increase the vulnerability of coastal infrastructure. This effect, combined with rising sea levels leading to more coastal inundation events, multiples the risks to coastal settlements and infrastructure.

Author: Mark Gibbs Director, Knowledge to Innovation; Chair, Green Cross Australia, Queensland University of Technology from

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Recipe Favourite – Rich Chocolate Bean Cake With Cream

Chocolate Cake

If you even have a craving for chocolate cake then this is the one.

This recipe invokes a warm memory for me and takes me back to when I started a new position with an employer. This was the cake my colleagues made to welcome me to the team.

I was so impressed when my colleague outlined the ingredients to me and explained how quick and simple it was to make and yet did not lack in taste or texture. I couldn’t believe it was based on a can of beans.

Beautiful and rich in flavour and taste, and able to be whipped up and ready to serve within 35 minutes.

This is one cake that needs a good dollop of fresh cream or ice cream as an accompaniment.

Full of richness and goodness, the cake is high in protein, free of nuts and gluten.

As it is sooooo nice, I have included instructions for both the conventional method and for Thermomix lovers.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

420 gram can kidney beans or butter beans

1 tablespoon water or coffee

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

70 grams raw cacao or cocoa powder

1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

¼ teaspoon salt

125 grams butter at room temperature

5 eggs

140 grams rapadura or coconut sugar

Conventional method

Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees celcius.

In your food processor puree the beans, water/coffee, 1 egg and vanilla until smooth. Set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar until mixed.

Add the remaining 4 eggs and beat until blended.

Add the bean mixture and beat until blended.

Add the cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt and beat until blended.

Use baking paper to line a round cake tin. Hint is to wet the baking paper and shake out the surface water. This makes the paper easier to mould to the cake tin.

Pour the batter into the lined cake tin and bake in a moderate oven for 30 minutes or until it is cooked all the way through.

Thermomix (TM) Preparation

Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees celcius.

In your TM puree the beans, water/coffee, 1 egg and vanilla until smooth. Speed 7. Set aside.

Without washing the TM bowl, add the butter and sugar and blend. Speed 5, 30 seconds.

Add the remaining 4 eggs and blend. Speed 4, 20 seconds.

Add the bean mixture and blend. Speed 4, 5 seconds.

Add the cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt and beat until blended. Speed 4, 10 seconds.

Use baking paper to line a round cake tin. Hint is to wet the baking paper and shake out the surface water. This makes the paper easier to mould to the cake tin.

Pour the batter into the lined cake tin and bake in a moderate oven for 30 minutes or until it is cooked all the way through.

Hints: Can substitute the butter and replace with olive oil.

Recipe source: www.recipecommunity.com.au

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Further reading:

Recipe Favourite – Double Bubble Slice

Recipe Favourite – Going Troppo Pineapple and Coconut Slice

Recipe Favourite – Going Banana with Chocolate Pudding

Recipe Favourite – Chocolate and Carmel Give it a Crack!

Recipe Favourite – Easy Peasy Strawberry Jam

Durie is out! Gay and green thumb poster-boy snapped duplicity of Premier on Townsville Water Security

Guide to 22 knockout marketing tips to sell a home

How to stay up-to-date

Do you have an opinion or have a favourite recipe you wish to share? The TREN community wants to hear your story.

Submit your news here.

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Recipe Favourite - Healthy Nuts and Seed Bread

Healthy Nuts and Seed Bread

Have you ever decided you wanted to go on a diet and were going to radically change what you eat? Well, that’s what this healthy recipe is about.

My plan is to eat healthier because my partner and I are walking each day so we have got to make our healthy food choices count.

The thing is there is those times when you want to munch on something and the fruit or veges are just not hitting the mark. So I found this very tasty and versatile Nuts and Seeds bread.

So surprisingly easy to make and a different way of eating those nuts and seeds we get told to snack on to ward off the hunger pains. This tastes great with cheese or deli meats and even better when toasted.

This tastes great with cheese or deli meats and even better when toasted.

Enjoy.

Ingredients

1 cup raw almonds

1 cup raw walnuts

1 cup whole flax seeds

1 cup raw sunflower seeds

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1 cup sesame seeds

5 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

Method

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees (not fan forced).

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients.

Mix thoroughly with a spatula or spoon.

Wet some baking paper and shake off the excess water. Mould to the loaf tin.

Pour the mixture into the pan and level out the top with your spatula or spoon.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Note that this is a very dense bread that won’t rise.

When finished baking, the loaf should sound hollow when tapped.

Note: Option to change what nuts and seeds you use as long as you stick to the ratios of nuts vs seeds. Eg. I added a mixed cup of sesame seeds and chia seeds that was 1 cup.

Source: Maya Martin

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Further reading:

Recipe Favourite – Double Bubble Slice

Recipe Favourite – Going Troppo Pineapple and Coconut Slice

Recipe Favourite – Going Banana with Chocolate Pudding

Recipe Favourite – Chocolate and Carmel Give it a Crack!

Recipe Favourite – Easy Peasy Strawberry Jam

Durie is out! Gay and green thumb poster-boy snapped duplicity of Premier on Townsville Water Security

Guide to 22 knockout marketing tips to sell a home

How to stay up-to-date

Do you have an opinion or have a favourite recipe you wish to share? The TREN community wants to hear your story.

Submit your news here.

Become a subscriber to TREN and eMagazine and be the first to receive local breaking stories, analysis and opinions on the Townsville real estate market.