July's Feel Good Food Round Up: Maple Syrup

I have to admit, I wasn't expecting July's Feel Good Food to be quite so controversial as it was, but there did seem to be some resistance in terms of cost and availability. That being said, there are some really fantastic recipes here that just go to show the range and versatility of maple syrup in all types of cooking, from baking, to sauces, glazes and marinades. There are five recipes here, and we have a cookie, a cake, a veggie dish, a meat dish, and a versatile sauce - varied indeed!

Banana, Maple Syrup, Bacon and Whiskey Cookies

The lovely Jen at Blue Kitchen Bakes was first in, with a Heston inspired Banana, Maple Syrup, Bacon and Whisky Cookie recipe. Nothing controversial there then! Personally the sound of these cookies gets my tastebuds tingling, plus, the mashed banana in the cookie dough cuts out a lot of the butter content, and similarly, the sweetness comes from the maple syrup, so a great healthy alternative cookie recipe - thanks Jen! 

Quick and Easy Chinese Style BBQ Sauce

Next up I experimented with using maple syrup in a Chinese Style BBQ Sauce. This was a quick and easy blend of maple syrup, teriyaki sauce and some spices to create a quick marinade, which could also be reduced down to make a sticky sauce. Perfect quick and easy mid-week food. 

Baked Butternut

Our next entry came from Angela over at My Golden Pear, in the form of this glorious Baked Butternut, glazed with maple syrup, cinnamon and paprika. This was a South African inspired dish, and looks just divine, definitely one I will be trying myself at home. 

You could use maple syrup as a glaze to replace sugar or honey in other vegetable dishes similar to this to get the same result, with all those added antioxidants and health benefits. 

Banana, Almond and Maple Syrup Cake

A beautiful looking cake now from Ness at Jibber Jabber. Ness found some bananas that needed using up, and put then to incredibly good use in this Banana, Almond and Maple Syrup Cake. Perfect for accompanying an afternoon cup of tea methinks!

Maple and Lemon Chicken with Sunshine Rice

The last entry was another of my recipes, this time Maple and Lemon Chicken with Sunshine Rice. This time, I used lemon juice and maple syrup to marinade chicken, which was then grilled, with the remaining marinade used to flavour a tomato cooked rice side dish. It was absolutely delicious I promise! 

Thank you to everyone who took the time out of their sunshine soaked July to create a maple syrup dish this month, the ingredient for August will be posted shortly!