recipe – The Nourishing Hearthfire

Flapjacks is a bit of a confusing name for this delicious slice. Some people use that word for pancakes, and other people know all about this delicious crunchy oaty buttery treat.

oat flapjacks on wooden chopping board — Flapjacks

This has been a favourite recipe for many years. At picnics it disappears very quickly, at my market stall I get complaints if I do not bring it along. When I want to make something really quick and simple for a treat, this is often what I turn to. Just three ingredients and some very easy steps.

Ingredients

450g (16oz) oats (either rolled oats, quick oats, or oats milled on the medium setting of a grain mill)

350g (12oz) salted butter

250g (9oz) coconut sugar or rapadura

Method

Melt butter. Thoroughly mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.

Press mixture into a lined pan around 10”x15” (26x40cm) in size.

Bake for around half an hour at around 180ºC, until bubbling and caramelised.

Allow to fully cool, then cut into slices. Can be stored in a tin for a couple of weeks if needed.

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When growing garlic, the flower stalks (also called garlic scapes) are removed soon after they appear, to direct the plant’s energy towards growing a bigger bulb. These garlic scrapes are really tasty, and I use them in any recipe that normally calls for garlic. They can also be pickled or fermented to preserve them for later.

This recipe uses the ‘hot jar, hot lid, upside down’ method that is used in many parts of Europe and Australia. If you live at a high elevation or strictly follow USDA methods, then you would water bath can or pressure can this instead.

Ingredients:

2 parts vinegar***

1 part water***

salt, to taste

garlic scapes, as many as you want

Method:

Carefully sterilise some jars with boiling water or in a low oven. Keep them hot in the oven while you do everything else. Sterilise lids in boiling water.

Heat the vinegar, water and salt until boiling. Mix through the garlic scrapes and allow to boil for another minute or two.

Quickly transfer the hot garlic scapes and hot pickling liquid to the hot jars. Seal in the usual way, then turn your jars upside down for two minutes before putting the right way up again. Alternatively, water bath can your jars for 10 minutes.

These will store for a year or more at room temperature.

***the amount to use is all relative to how much garlic you are preserving – if you’re preserving just one pint jar of them, then 300ml vinegar (1 1/4 cups) to 150ml (2/3 cup) water would be the right amount to use, if you’re preserving a lot of garlic at once, just scale this up or down, and feel free to use this pickling liquid for other vegetables too.