recipe: apricot and muesli sesame balls

Welcome to my recipe review of the apricot balls!  I thought that I’d start to do this in a more organised fashion.  That is, actually outline what I did and didn’t like about recipes I try (whether they’re low GI or otherwise).

Link:  Apricot and muesli sesame balls, from Taste.com.au.

Taste:  Holy cardamom, Batman!  This spice was overwhelming.  I would strongly recommend either cutting it out altogether, or only adding a pinch, rather than the 1/8 teaspoon specified in the recipe.  It was clear that apricots were in there somewhere, but the strength of the cardamom essentially ruined the subtlety of the other flavours.  Very disappointing.

I also added a tablespoon of raw sugar and a dribble of golden syrup, so the recipe was amended on the sweet side (not that you could tell over the cardamom).

Difficulty:  Easy.  I made a number of mistakes (I prefer to call them ‘deviations from the recipe’) which the recipe accommodated.  These included:

• adding the hot apricot mix in with the rest, without letting it cool;
• over-grinding the muesli into a fine powder;
• not processing the whole lot together – I just did the muesli, then mixed in the apricot mix really well.

The mix held together well and appears to be relatively flexible in terms of ingredients, quantities, etc.

Approximate cost of ingredients:  $6.70.

Quickness or otherwise:  Eh, it was a little bit fiddly.  The main time consumers were chopping the apricots before boiling them, and then rolling the mix into balls, then in the sesame seeds.  And those little seeds got everywhere.  There are still some in my laptop (yes, I know, I know, bad me.)

Other comments:  While the recipe is ‘low GI’, you only need three to make up 1,000 kjs.  That’s not a lot.  SO could inhale three without even tasting them.  I could make three ‘do’ for a snack, but a 1,000 kj snack is relatively heavy on the calories (to mix my references) for not a whole lot of quantity.

Also, the recipe doesn’t state how to store them.  I’ve put them in a tupperware container and into the fridge, but I think that’s a glaring ommission.

I’d strongly recommend using disposable gloves when you get to the ball-rolling stage (or the kneading stage, which I omitted), unless you like ending up with incredibly sticky, orange hands.

Overall:  Very disappointing that the cardamom was so out of proportion.  Otherwise, it appears to be a reliable and adaptable recipe.  I’ll post an update when I’ve made it without the cardamom.

Score:  2/10.

good weekend

Yep, despite my cold-like symptoms, it’s been a great weekend.  SO is in a great mood, too.  He’s a funny bugger.  He got home yesterday from his mammoth bike ride very tired but happy.  He devoured a third of a chicken and a family-sized salad, had a shower, and was chasing me around the place making lewd suggestions.  That is, until he sat down on the couch, where he promptly fell asleep sitting up.  It was so cute.

SO and I are looking at a low GI diet.  We both find that not long after eating, we’re hungry again, so the doctor suggested low GI as sustaining us for longer, and helping to decrease the actual amount of calories we take in.  Anything’s worth a go, right?  SO particularly is looking for the magic solution to not feeling hungry – he gets feral when he is.  So I’ve been doing some research on the intermenets for some possible recipes to try out.  So far I like the look of apricot and muesli sesame balls, beef and borlotti bean stew, dairy-free tuna pasta bake, proscuitto and mushroom spaghetti, and slow-cooked beef with sweet potato mash.  I told SO if he did the food shopping necessary, that I would do the cooking.  I’m looking to try out the apricot balls and the beef and borlotti stew first.  I need to ease myself into cooking generally, and I usually hate trying new recipes.  For some reason they rarely work out the way they’re meant to.

If anyone has any good low GI recipes that are relatively quick and easy, I’d love to know about them.