It feels like literally forever since I’ve been able to sit down and properly get into the zone to write a blog post. I’ve mentioned this a handful of times on Instagram, that I’ve recently moved house, for the third time in about a month and a half. I first moved to London almost three years ago now (literally can’t believe that it’s been that long) and since doing so, I’ve now lived in five different places. Yep, five homes in under three years. On the one hand, I do enjoy moving house because you get that sense of a fresh start and all the excitement surrounding buying new bits and bobs to make the new place look all pretty. The house hunting can sometimes be quite fun too, looking round lots of beautiful new places with random features that you never knew you needed.
However, as you will probably know, with moving house, comes an awful lot of work and stress. I find moving to be really unsettling and it does take me a very long time to feel properly at home and comfortable in a new place. I’m also an incredibly sentimental person and each home that I’ve lived in has housed so many memories. I find it really sad moving on to new things and remembering everything that happened in my last home. Funnily enough, I actually live down the hall from the last apartment I was living in now, which is slightly strange, but then also quite nice because this building really feels like home.
SO.. on to the actual food I suppose then.
Whilst I was renting somewhere for the last month, I didn’t have all of my kitchen equipment with me, so had to get creative with more simple recipes that can be made without all of my food processors and blenders. These jam crumble bars have been tried and tested countless times to get to this current stage and I’m pretty happy with the result. I’m also quite excited to try out some more different flavour combinations in the future as well.
These are fairly easy to make and I usually have pretty much all of the ingredients already stored in my kitchen most of the time. They’re the ideal sweet treat for a little afternoon pick me up or something to take to work with you in a lunchbox. I’m obsessed with crumble (it’s one of my favourite things to make) and I consider these a slightly more portable version.
Ingredients
Jam:
- 2 cups berries ( I used blueberries and raspberries)
- 2 heaped tbsp chia seeds
- Water
- 2 Tbsp liquid sweetener of choice
- 2 heaped Tsp Good Guru Good Berries
Crumble:
- 2 Tbsp liquid sweetener of choice
- 1 cup gluten free flour
- 1 cup oats Heaped Tbsp coconut oil (can add more if needed)
Method
Preheat the oven to 180c and line a baking dish with grease proof paper.
To make the jam, add the berries to a saucepan with a splash of water and heat these over medium to low heat until they start to break down and form a berry coyote. Stir through the chia seeds and sweetener of choice and continue to cook until you’re left with a thick, jam like mixture.
For the crumble, in a mixing bowl, combing the dry ingredients, then stir through the coconut oil and sweetener until everything sticks together.
Take 3/4 of this mixture and press into the base of your lined tin and flatted to create a smooth base.
Spread over the jam in a nice thick layer, then top with the rest of the crumble.
Pop these into the oven for around 20 minutes to bake, until golden and the jam is oozing slightly.
Allow to cool before slicing into portions.
