I used to live in a house with a beautiful garden when I was up until 8 years old. I have great childhood memories there, helping my parents with gardening, riding a bicycle, playing with my dog and rabbits, having a little picnic lunch with friends when the sun was out, etc. There was an giant acasia tree, an orange tree, a jujube tree and all sorts. Fresh juicy fruits straight from the trees were delicious. Then we moved to an apartment. I’ve been living in an apartment with no garden or backyard pretty much since then. Well, good thing was that my parents didn’t have to spend every weekend looking after the garden as they both worked full-time. I felt safer and more convenient when I was home after school looking after my little brother. Oh, I miss my childhood when I could run around the garden in bare feet and be closer to the nature. We need more of that these days, don’t you agree? 🙂
You might have tried jujube either fresh or dried. Jujube (Korean date) is called Daechu in Korea. Fresh ones taste like a mini apple, crunchy, sweet and slightly sour. Dried ones are commonly used in Korean herbal medicine since they are anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, antioxidant and are believed to alleviate stress. How to use dried jujube? You can make a jam or tea with dried jujube, cinnamon and honey, which I used to drink when I have coughing and flu symptoms. Add into a chicken soup to add more flavour or use in baking muffins and cakes. Korean jujube is definitely not as sweet as the dates you normally use, so add more of them or other sweeteners like honey, maple syrup or stevia.
Ingredients
1 cup of dried jujube
1/2 cup of strongly brewed chai tea
1 carrot, grated
1 large ripe banana
2 tbsp tahini
a pinch of salt
2 eggs
1 tbsp raw honey
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
100g almond meal
Soak dried jujube in chai tea for 10-15 minutes to rehydrate them. In the mean time, mix grated carrot, meshed banana, tahini, eggs and honey in a large bowl. Drain, (preserve some of the tea), deseed and roughly chop the jujube. Add them into a bowl along with chia seeds, cinnamon, baking powder and almond meal. If the mixture is too dry, add a little bit of preserved tea. Combine well with a spatula and transfer to a loaf pan. Bake in the preheated oven (180) for 30-40 minutes or until cooked. Allow to cool and enjoy.
