Reiver needed to take a plate to the office the other day. So, of course, I viewed this as an idea opportunity to try out yet another feijoa recipe.

These were lovely little socnes. And because the jam was just a "quick jam" thickened with chia seeds, it didn't require the normal amount of sugar and came out not-too-sweet and deliciously fruity! The low-sugar nature of it means that the jam won't keep the way a traditional jam will. But as long as you eat it relatively quickly, it makes for a delicious (and relatively healthy) way to use up a few feijoas.

Photo goes here.

Feijoa-Ginger Scones with Quick Feijoa-Strawberry Jam

Slightly adapted from NZ Woman's Weekly

Ingredients

Scones

• 375g soft (plain/standard/cake) flour
• 2 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 Tbsp. ginger
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 50g butter
• 3-4 feijoas
• 3/4 c. buttermilk
• 0-2 Tbsp. milk

Jam

• 250g feijoa pulp
• 1 c. frozen strawberries
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp. chia seeds
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

Scones

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, and ginger.
3. Add sugar and stir to mix.
4. Cut in the butter.
5. Scoop and chop the feijoas.
6. Stir in the feijoas and the buttermilk.
7. Mix to form a shaggy dough. If the dough won't quite come together, add a little milk until it does.
8. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and pat into a disc ~2-3cm thick.
9. Fold the dough into quarters and press flat again.
10. Use a biscuit cutter of your preferred size to cut out your scones and place them on a baking sheet.
11. Combine the scraps, press flat, and cut out a few more scones. Repeat until you can't make any more scones.
12. Bake at 200°C (400°F) until cooked through and just starting to colour on the outside (~15 minutes).

Jam

1. Combine the feijoas, strawberries, and maple syrup and cook over medium heat until very soft.
2. Remove from heat, purée, and stir in the chia seeds and vanilla.
3. Pour into a jar and allow to cool.

Assembly

1. Split scones and serve topped with whipped cream and jam.

So, full disclosure: I was in a bit of a hurry and kind of messed up this pudding. It still turned out reasonably tasty. It was just very lumpy. Since I just dumped the chia into the milk the night before and didn't both to mix it properly. Not the end of the world. Just not ideal either. So, I guess I should let that be a lesson to me to make sure to mix everything very well before I leave it to soak overnight if I'm ever making this again.

You can mix up the fruit to go with this. The original recipe calls for kiwi, blackberries, fresh apricots, pomegranate, and toasted coconut chips. I think I ended up using kiwi, blackberries, nectarines, raspberries, and toasted coconut. But you could try all sorts of things! I've included some ideas in the variations below.

Chia Pudding with Fresh Fruit

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 c. oat milk
• 1/4 c. chia seeds
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 150g blackberries
• 2 kiwis, peeled and sliced
• 4 apricots, sliced
• 75g pomegranate arils
• 20g toasted coconut chips

Directions

1. Combine oat milk, chia seeds, maple syrup, and vanilla and mix well.
2. Cover and chill for 4-24 hours.
3. Divide into four bowls, top each with 1/4 of the fresh fruit and coconut chips, and serve.

---

Variants

Strawberry-Banana

Ingredients

• 1 c. oat milk
• 2 Tbsp. peanut butter
• 1/4 c. chia seeds
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 150g strawberries
• 2 bananas, peeled and sliced
• 20g dark chocolate shavings

Kiwi-Mango

Ingredients

• 1 c. coconut milk
• 1/4 c. chia seeds
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 kiwis, peeled and sliced
• 2 mangoes, sliced
• 2 passionfruit
• 20g toasted coconut chips
• 20g macadamia nuts, chopped

Lemon-Blueberry

Ingredients

• 1 c. almond milk
• 1/4 c. chia seeds
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. culinary lavender
• 150g blueberries
• 1/2 c. lemon curd
• 20g slivered almonds, toasted

Blackberry-Melon

Ingredients

• 1 c. coconut milk
• 1/4 c. chia seeds
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1/2 tsp. lime zest
• 150g blackberries
• 1/4 cantaloupe, diced
• 1/4 honeydew melon, diced
• 20g pine nuts, toasted

Kiwi-Lychee

Ingredients

• 1 c. coconut milk
• 1/4 c. chia seeds
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp. rosewater
• 150g blackberries
• ~20 lycheefruit, peeled and halved
• 2 kiwis, peeled and sliced
• 20g slivered almonds, toasted

Cranberry-Quince

Ingredients

• 1 c. oat milk
• 1/4 c. chia seeds
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 quince, peeled and diced
• 1 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 c. apple juice
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 250g fresh cranberries
• 1/4 c. raisins
• 20g walnuts, toasted and chopped

Directions

1. Combine the oat milk, chia seeds, maple syrup, and vanilla extract as directed above, mixing, covering, and chilling for at least 4 hours.
2. Meanwhile, combine the quince, star anise, cinnamon stick, apple juice, and sugar and bring to a boil over medium heat.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for ~20 minutes.
4. Add the cranberries and raisins and simmer for another 20 minutes.
5. Divide pudding among four bowls, top with compote and walnuts and serve.

Chocolate-Cherry

Ingredients

• 1 c. almond milk
• 1/4 c. chia seeds
• 1 Tbsp. Dutched (alkalized) cocoa powder
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 400g fresh cherries, pitted and halved
• 20g slivered almonds, toasted
• 20g dark chocolate shavings

Chia Egg

Fair warning: I have never actually used a chia egg. I am including a post about it because it was recommended as a good addition when making pastry that is both vegan and gluten-free.

Chia Egg
From Minimalist Baker
1 Tbsp. chia seeds
2 1/2 to 3 Tbsp. water

1. Add chia seeds to a small dish and top with water.
2. Stir and let rest for 5 minutes to thicken. (It should become thick and gel-like.)
3. Use as an egg substitute in vegan baking.

Note: May not be an exact 1:1 substitution in all recipes. Also, chia eggs will not necessarily bind or stiffen the way chicken eggs do, so they may not work in all recipes.

Overnight Oatmeal

I can't remember exactly where I first heard about chia "pudding", but I know it's definitely not a new thing. Honestly, it never really appealed to me. Sure, it's easy and maybe I should've given it a chance, but it just didn't sound that good to me. I just felt like the texture would be off-putting. So I never tried it. And it never really occurred to me to use chia for anything else.

Then I came across a few "overnight oatmeal" recipes. I assumed it was some sort of slow cooked crockpot concoction like I'd seen once or twice before. But no! Uncooked oatmeal thickened with chia. Interesting... That I might actually be able to get behind.

I've tried a few similar versions so far. I'm still tweaking it, but I like the results so far!

Mixed Berry Oatmeal
1/2 c. quick oats
1/2 c. mixed berries
1 tsp. chia seeds
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. vanilla almond milk

Brownie Batter Oatmeal
1/2 c. quick oats
1 Tbsp. Nutella
1 tsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. chia seeds
1 tsp. maple syrup
2 cherries, chopped (next time I'd use 4)
1 Tbsp. chopped hazelnuts
1/2 Tbsp. chocolate chips
2/3 c. vanilla almond milk

Apple Blueberry Oatmeal
1/2 c. quick oats
~3/8 c. apple pie filling (preferably homemade)
~3/8 c. blueberries
1 tsp. chia seeds
1 tsp. maple syrup
1 Tbsp. wheat bran
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 c. vanilla almond milk

These all follow pretty much the same procedure. Just mix everything together in a mason jar or somesuch, stir it up, and pop it in the fridge overnight. The brownie batter one called for using the nuts, berries, and chocolate chips as a topping, but I think I'd just mix everything together next time.

The mixed berry one called for a whole cup of milk and was quite tasty, but a bit watery. The brownie batter one called for quite a bit less milk, but came out just a bit too thick. The latest attempt is just chilling in the fridge now, but I'm thinking that 3/4 c. is going to be just about right.