Hi Ann. I love Halva! I used to work in a Health Food shop and tried it. Haven't seen any for years. Can I ask how you made it? xNeil did manage to get most of my shopping list today but can't do much prep so 2nd meal will be that pea stew that I made a week or so back - takes precious little prep and cooking time is short.
Going out tomorrow to my friend's son's house to see his sister and her family who are home today from Bristol. As it happens, as an experiment just before my arthritis kicked in I had made some Halva (Persian style) but using my own development of the recipe. My friend is Persian and her children half Persian. Her son-in-law is Indian. So it will be a good test of my recipe because I'm pretty sure they will be used to halva. I'll take that with me - I've tasted it and it is too good to be allowed to stay here where it will be demanding attention from me.
There are at least 3 kinds of halva. There's one made with sesame seeds, one made with flour and one made with semoliina. My one is made with semolina. The original recipe was:Hi Ann. I love Halva! I used to work in a Health Food shop and tried it. Haven't seen any for years. Can I ask how you made it? x
It is, isn't it!Well if that's the first time you've had an argument with Astrid and Tale @Antje77, that's pretty remarkable given the circumstances.
I appreciate the thought, but I do think they can become very happy together in the future, provided Astrid will fall in love with him again and be ready for a new relationship before he smothers her with his besottedness.@Antje77 am sure one day Tale will realise just who is the best partner for him (hint it won't be Astrid!)
Good luck with your physio appointment today. Hope it goes well.
Physio appointment today was useful. And I get to keep swimming.Swimming goes pretty well, although I do notice the arm functions less afterwards. You may cross fingers this doesn't mean the physio will tell me to stop swimming tomorrow...
Hi Ann. I love Halva! I used to work in a Health Food shop and tried it. Haven't seen any for years. Can I ask how you made it? x
The sesame seed one is very, very heavy on sugar and absolutely delicious but totally out of the question for diabetics. It actually tastes nothing like the flour or semolina versions. Even so, both of those are also carb heavy. I have cut mine into pieces about 1/2" x 3/4" so it's like a tray of sweets. Nobody will get a piece that elevates blood sugar very much - unless, like me, carbs make their BG spike dramatically. The original flour recipe that I adapted is very sweet and includes rose water, which makes it taste of marshmallows. Far too sweet, which is why I used orange juice and carrots. If I do make it again, I will use lemon as well.The halva once available from health food shops @RosemaryJackson was made with vanilla flavoured sesame seeds and was choc full of sugar. (I dread to think what it would do to blood glucose levels!) If memory serves, the brand I encountered was imported from Israel.
Of course nothing you can buy tastes half as good as things you make yourself.
There are at least 3 kinds of halva. There's one made with sesame seeds, one made with flour and one made with semoliina. My one is made with semolina. The original recipe was:
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup rose water
- 3 saffron threads
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
Directions
- Bring sugar and water to a boil in a saucepan; cook, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes.
- Stir rosewater and saffron into the sugar mixture; cover the saucepan and remove from the heat.
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat; stir flour into melted butter until mixture is a smooth paste. Continue to cook, stirring often, until paste turns golden, 5 to 10 more minutes.
- Slowly whisk sugar mixture into paste until smooth. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
- Spread halva evenly onto a plate or platter. Make a pattern on the top of halva using the back of a spoon or a knife. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, at least 1 hour.
My adaptation to try to recreate one I was served many years ago was:
Same method as above using ingredients -
1 cup sugar
¾ cup orange juice
1 carrot finely grated
3 saffron threads
1 cup unsalted butter
1½ cups fine semolina
chopped pistachio nuts to sprinkle over the top
I poured it onto rice paper to make sure it was manageable once set, but it really wasn't needed.Yes, the sesame one is delish confection @Annb. But alas, very bad for diabetics!
Thank you very much. Not sure I should but I will have a go! I could never leave any for another day it was sooo moreish! xThere are at least 3 kinds of halva. There's one made with sesame seeds, one made with flour and one made with semoliina. My one is made with semolina. The original recipe was:
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup rose water
- 3 saffron threads
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
Directions
- Bring sugar and water to a boil in a saucepan; cook, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes.
- Stir rosewater and saffron into the sugar mixture; cover the saucepan and remove from the heat.
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat; stir flour into melted butter until mixture is a smooth paste. Continue to cook, stirring often, until paste turns golden, 5 to 10 more minutes.
- Slowly whisk sugar mixture into paste until smooth. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
- Spread halva evenly onto a plate or platter. Make a pattern on the top of halva using the back of a spoon or a knife. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, at least 1 hour.
My adaptation to try to recreate one I was served many years ago was:
Same method as above using ingredients -
1 cup sugar
¾ cup orange juice
1 carrot finely grated
3 saffron threads
1 cup unsalted butter
1½ cups fine semolina
chopped pistachio nuts to sprinkle over the top
I poured it onto rice paper to make sure it was manageable once set, but it really wasn't needed.
We suffered a power cut here too @MrsA2, on two consecutive evenings. Coincidence? It's tempting to blame the weather, but in our case it was a fault in an underground cable.Not a good night's sleep: storms, power cut, heat, nightmares, woke early.
B: milled seeds with full fat greek and 3 strawberries
Mid morning 1 chocolate biscuit with visitors
L: 1 cold chicken thigh, cucumber. Mini ice cream
Gardening
D: 2 eggs omelette with courgette, ham and a little cheese. Hm coleslaw
Pre-diabetesI'm looking for a recipe for a nice, moist fruit cake. I have several fruit cake recipes but I'm not convinced that they are not too dry. Fruit cake is my brother's favourite and I want to have one available when they visit - not a Christmas type cake, you understand, but an afternoon tea kind of cake. Does anyone have a trusted recipe I could borrow?
That looks really good. I'll give that a go. Thanks @sueh21.Pre-diabetesI made this one a lot http://recipesfromacornishkitchen.blogspot.com/2013/09/pineapple-fruit-cake.html ,the pineapple makes it lovely and moist. It is sometimes difficult to find crushed pineapple but you can use,rings or pieces and whizz them in a blender(add the juice as well)
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