I'm Gluten Free Baby

Gluten Free Ice Cream Toppings

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 09:40:00 +0000

I'm a massive ice cream addict. But ice cream can be tricky, fooling you into thinking no gluten could possibly be present, and then surprising you with an innocent sounding toffee ice cream that's packed full of nasties.

At home I keep us stocked with Kelly's Cornish Clotted Cream Ice Cream. Their recipes are gluten free, though they cannot guarantee no gluten in the supply chain, but it causes me no issues.

So, with just vanilla flavour in the freezer, toppings are necessary to jazz pudding up a bit. Here are a few of my favorite gluten free ice cream toppings: -

A teeny cup of hot espresso (with some booze too if you like, try amaretto)
Some crushed salted peanuts
A home made chocolate sauce made from melted dark (or milk) chocolate (25gms), butter (10 gms), golden syrup (1tbsp)and a pinch of salt
Grated chocolate
Dulce de leche (caramel sauce - Nestle do it in a tin, Merchant Gourmet in a jar)
Stem ginger from a jar, chopped with some of the syrup
Bashed up cinder toffee (honeycomb)
Golden or maple syrup (sets like toffee on the cold ice cream!)
Raspberry puree and chopped peaches (peach melba)
Homemade blackcurrant jam (make sure it's not too sugary)
Homemade praline, roast a few nuts in a dry frying pan, bash up, melt sugar in a pan till caramel forms (carefully, megga hot!), tip in the nuts, pour out onto baking paper, then bash up when set. I sometimes add salt to the caramel too (salted caramel is dead trendy at the mo)
The same nut praline but made with salted peanuts, incredible
Good quality lemon curd (mmmmmm!)
Rum soaked sultanas (I don't like raisins!)
Tinned morello cherries in syrup
Crumbled gluten free cookies, shortbread or biscuits
Cinnamon stewed apple
Crumbled meringue

Of course you can combo a couple of these items and make a yummy ice cream sundae. It's fun to think of a cake or dessert you like and make an ice cream sundae in its honour, or just match classic flavour combos, just like the 'jelly belly' jelly bean menu.

Dark chocolate + morello cherries = black forest gateaux
Cinnamon apple + crumbled shortbread = apple crumble
Coffee + amaretto + grated chocolate = tiramisu
Lemon curd + meringue = lemon meringue pie
Coffee + bashed walnuts = coffee cake
Marshmallows + chocolate sauce + bashed biscuits = rocky road
Rum soaked raisins + cinnamon apple = apple strudel
Cinder toffee + chocolate sauce = crunchie bar
Crushed peanuts + caramel + chocolate sauce = snickers bar
Caramel + pecans + crushed shortbread = pecan pie

I can't think of any more right now, if you have any ice cream sundae ideas that re-create classic puddings please let me know and I will add to the list!

I have seen for sale some marshmallow sort of spread from the USA, called fluff I think, which would be nice swirled in ice cream, possibly to make other meringue type sundaes, like a key lime pie.

I also have a thing for sorbets that are flavoured like my fave cocktails, you can make a mojito sorbet, magarita flavour, even champagne sorbet. But too much booze stops it freezing, so just a hint of booze is all that is needed, its not a frozen cocktail after all. More on this later perhaps.

On a totally different subject, I have some good news for 2010. Just before Xmas I had a little baby boy, hes super cute and a very good boy, so I'm not suffering from too much sleep deprivation. Hoping my time off work will mean I can blog much more this year!

Happy new year readers, hope you all had a lovely gluten free Xmas, lets all have a lovely gluten free 2010.

Gluten Free Scotch (or American) Pancakes

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:29:00 +0000

I just made some yummy pancakes for my brunch. This is my third go at making these and this time I think I have cracked it! Quite easy, just make sure you get your pan right and these will come out fluffy and golden. Sometimes in the UK these are called griddle cakes.

doves farm gluten free self raising flour 200gms sifted

runny honey 2tbsp (or caster sugar)

butter 2tbsp melted

salt a pinch

large free range egg 1 whisked

milk 300ml

Put all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk up by hand or with an electric whisk. The texture should be gloopy and your whisk should leave temporary swirly patterns in the batter. This should be much thicker than a french style crepe mix. Leave the mix to stand for 10 minutes.

Now heat up a NON STICK frying pan, don't even try these in a normal pan. Heat the pan slowly to a nice even medium heat and rub a little sunflower oil into the pan with a bit of kitchen towel, we are talking just a smear of oil here to coat the pan.

Using a ladle or a big spoon blob a little of the mixture in the pan, about a dessert spoon, it will spread slowly, aim for pancakes about the size of the bottom of a mug, don't go to big. You will get two or three in your pan without touching if you get good at the pouring out of the batter. They will end up about 5mm thick if you have your batter thick enough, if they are coming out of the pan too thin add more flour to your mix. Never press them down as they cook or you will squish the bubbles.

You can tell when its time to flip, with a spatula, as large bubbles will appear in the surface of the pancake and they will start to pop. This will take about 3 minutes. Also the uncooked batter on the top will start to loose its glossy look and go matt, starting at the edges. Flip carefully with a spatula, no crazy pancake tossing with two or three of these in the pan please!

The second side will only take you a minute or two, and you can take a peek at the bottom to check its golden brown. Don't despair if the first one goes wrong, it always does for me, and the last ones you make will be the best, that's just the way it goes with pancakes.

If you pile these up as you go they will stay warm to bring to the table, or just eat as they are made, which is how we had them as kids. Mum would keep making them until we stopped eating them.

I like mine with butter and jam, or runny honey, maple syrup, even bacon like they do in the USA. I do like to have butter and something sweet though, as I like the salt and sweet contrast. If you are feeling healthy why not have these with fruit and low fat yogurt, and just a drizzle of honey? You can also press fruit into the pancakes as you make them, a slice of banana or a few blueberries looks lovely.

If you make this batter without the honey it makes perfect blinis too for cocktail time.

Kiddies love these, and you can use a pastry cutter to cut into stars and funny shapes to add interest if you like, or if you are very clever you can drizzle the mix into the pan with a chefs squirty bottle, and make any shape you like right there in the pan!

Genuis Gluten Free Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:34:00 +0000

Have you tried this amazing new gf bread yet? It's a lovely gf loaf from genuis, and it's the best gf bread I have used so far. Gluten free bread is often more like cake, and if you try to do normal bready things with it, like make a sandwich, its texture is wrong and you are chewing it forever. Not Genius bread! I got some of the brown and white, it comes whole and you slice yourself.

The first thing I tried making with it was toast, slicing yourself means you can have nice white door-wedges of toast. A couple of thick slices, two mins in the toaster and the ultimate test; loaded with just butter. The result? The best toast I have had for ages, yummy caramelised outside, no crumbling, no overcooked crust and a lovely fluffy middle. Taste is so close to bread you don't need any jam.

So what about a sarni? Someone on the I'm Gluten Free Baby facebook group suggested a chicken salad sarni, so I bunged one together with the brown genius bread, just buttering the bread and including a bit of mayo. Perfect, no hours of chewing and the bread held together, in fact I think it held together enough for a packed lunch with no soggy or crumbly disasters. The loaves are mini ones, so you need 4 slices for a decent round of sarnis for lunch.

My next test was a bit more complicated. Have you ever got gluten free bread wet? It just seems to dissolve into mush, even if its been toasted. So I made some french onion soup and parmesan crutons. Chopped some white genuis bread into cubes, coated with a little oilve oil, and then rolled and pressed into finely grated parmesan cheese. Spread on a baking tray and bake at 180 degrees for 15-20 mins, turning over half way.

Did it hold up in the soup? Sure it did! the bottom absorbed soup but retained its breadyness, the tops remained crunchy. Brilliant!

I also froze some of the bread, and managed to slice and toast from frozen with no problems, though I think I would slice it first before freezing in the future. It defrosts pretty fast once in slices which is handy, with no change to its quality.

The bread itself tastes very bready, and has a sweet maltly flavour I like very much, but some people may not be keen on the sweetness. The brown bread is certainly the malty-er of the two.

You can pick this bread up at Tescos, Asda, Whole Foods and Waitrose. I would like Sainsburys to get in on the act as that's where I do my online shop every week! At Tescos a loaf is £2.49, expensive, as with most gf products. You can get it on prescription too now, how exciting!

Gluten Free Chili Meatball Tacos

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:01:00 +0000

Tomatoes, I love them, and I love sauces made with them, especially Chili Con Carne. But the husband won’t eat mince in a sauce if its in its normal little bobbles form. Meatballs in chili sauce are the answer, squish up the bobbles into balls and he will eat em. So I experimented and made chili meatballs, they were yummy! We had them in gluten free corn taco trays (discovery make them), with sour cream, cheddar cheese and spring onions on top, messy but yum. You can make these any old size you like; I made mine about golf ball size so we had to hack each one in half to fit on the trays.

This recipe is very simple, I’m sure you could work it out, but here it is anyway. This recipe serves two greedy people. Add some more mince and another tin of tomatoes for more people. If you have loads of fresh tomatoes, skin them and use these for an amazing chili sauce.

For the balls
organic lamb mince, 400gms
red onion 1, finely chopped
red chili 1, finely chopped
salt and pepper

For the sauce
good quality tinned tomatoes 1 tin
tomato puree 1 tbsp
white onion 1, chopped
pre mixed chili powder 1 big tbsp (a good one with cayenne pepper, cumin and oregano in, if you get the taco tray ‘kit’ the discovery packet is more than yummy)
garlic 1 clove, chopped
red wine or wed wine vinegar, just a splish
salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg
more oregano if you like!

To serve
chopped spring onion
grated mild cheddar
sour cream
lime wedges

First make the balls, just squish all the mixture up together, season well and make into balls. Bung these in the fridge to firm up.

Now make the sauce, in a wide pan or but hob top pot, gently fry the onions till soft, add the garlic and chili powder and fry for a few more mins. Bung in the whole tin of tomatoes, half a tin of water, a tablespoon of tomato puree and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Bubble this gently for 20 mins or so till cooked and thickened.

While the sauce is thickening you can fry the balls. Fry them over a very hot heat, use a big non stick frying pan or fat will go everywhere! Look to make them brown and crunchy on the outside; don’t worry too much about cooking through yet.

When the balls are lovely and brown pop them in the sauce, DON’T STIR! Just leave them poking out the top of the sauce a bit, turn it right down, and pop the lid on for 10 mins. This will make sure the balls are cooked through without drying them out.

To serve I put a portion of balls and sauce each in a nice tapas style bowl, put this on a big plate each , put taco trays around the edge on the plate and all the toppings in bowls on the middle of the table to share. This is only due to being brought up in a family where the number of items of each type you ate would be monitored for fairness, and by fairness I mean the boys eat more but don’t admit it. Habit makes me serve things up in portions each person to avoid the counting malarkey. If you are all able to just eat your fair portion without a table monitor feel free to serve up the balls in the middle of the table for all to share! Hey even sprinkle them with some fresh parsley and lime zest if you want to be fancy!

On a different subject, I have a new job but at the same office, so prêt is still nice and near for lunch. Today they are finally stocking the ‘the amazing handmade wheat-free orange cake’ which says on the packaging that it is ‘inspired party by customers asking for wheat free goodies and partly by one of Nigella’s early books’, so that will be Nigella’s Clementine cake then. Rather similar method and ingredients to Starbucks new wheat free Valencian orange cake I have yet to get my hands on. Wonder if that was some ‘inspiration’ too?

The packet says 'wheat free', the website says 'gluten free', how confusing, this makes a difference in my eyes.

It also says on the packaging that ‘We think its one of the first amazing wheat-free cakes in the world’, which seems a bit over the top, but it is very nice. And at 1.95 for a piddly little slice of cake it needs to be nice. I’m sure though as choice is limited in delis and coffee shops it will sell pretty well. I have had a lot, lot worse; it doesn’t commit any of the usual commercial gluten free cake crimes (crimes=dry, too sweet, cheap and unnatural ingredients, nasty aftertaste). I am also pleased to see it’s made with free-range eggs. I think eating it at my desk is confusing my new team mates, as they think I’m on some healthy diet due to my constant salad consumption, turning down cakes and biscuits because I can’t eat them, and then scoffing what looks like a prêt cake at my desk.

Tastes exactly the same as the Clementine cake recipe on this site though, also ‘inspired’ by Nigella, so you could just make yourself a big one, cut into slices, freeze and then take to work as it defrosts. I am pleased to see the big chains offering something gluten free though, so I will no doubt be buying the occasional one as a treat. Along with my 'just a treat' can of fizzy cola, which I normally avoid, but now I'm 22 weeks pregnant seem to love. Strange eh? Can't drink too much, caffeine isn't great for me! Pregnancy just adds to my list of stuff I shouldn't eat but really want. Like a cornish pastie, slab of brie, juicy steak and a big glass of white wine. All at once please.

Gluten Free Lamb Koftas (Kebabs)

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:46:00 +0000

Watched some telli program on Sunday where they made these sorta lamb kofta things, didn’t remember the recipe exactly so made mine up as I went along. They turned out yummy and perfect for the bbq if the sun ever comes back again. We have a bbq evening planned this Friday at my parents in law, so I think these will be my contribution, a winning recipe! Though the weather doesn’t look amazing this Friday, so perhaps these will be going under the grill.

This recipe made 4 massive kebabs, which were too big really, so I think six or even eight mini ones would be better from this quantity of mince. You will need some wooden or metal skewers for these kebabs, if you use wooden ones check for splinters and soak in water for an hour first.

organic lamb mince 400gms
red onion 1, chopped finely
large free range egg 1
gluten free breadcrumbs (made mine from one gluten free muffin) a handful
fresh mint 20 leaves, chopped
red or green chilli half, chopped finely
ground cinnamon 1 level tsp
coriander seeds 1tsp
cumin seeds 1tsp
fennel seeds 1tsp
dried apricots 8, chopped smallish
dried oregano 1tsp
salt and pepper

For basting while cooking:
butter 25gms, melted
lemon 1, juiced

Mix together the melted butter and lemon juice and put to once side, this is for basting later. Now grind your whole spices (or use ready ground). Then, easy peasy, stick all the remaining ingredients except the breadcrumbs in a bowl and mush up with your hands till well mixed. Include a plenty of salt, about half to three quarters of a teaspoon, and a big grind of black pepper. The egg will have made this mixture a bit wet and sticky, so now add breadcrumbs till the mixture holds together well, I needed almost a whole gluten free muffins worth of crumbs as my egg was large.

Divide your mix up into six or eight balls and squish into sausage shapes, then spike onto the skewers. Give them an extra squish once on your sticks to make sure they are even and won’t fall off. This is harder with metal ones but you will get there in the end! If it’s really not working try adding some more breadcrumbs for a firmer mix. Oh and if you are worried about your seasoning then fry a bit of mix in a pan to taste it first, but I’m sure with all those flavours they will be lovely.

Depending on your kofta size and type of stick cooking times will vary. I cooked mine under a very hot preheated grill till crispy on the outside, turning once, and they were done through to the middle after 4 minutes each side, but they were massive ones! While they cook brush the lemon butter mix on the tops to keep them juicy and add flavour. Aim for lots of colour on the outside for a bbq flavour.

Serve these in gluten free pitta bread with the following extras, prep your salads first and do your pitas just before the kebabs are done so they are warm):

Tatziki (cucumber, yogurt, garlic, fresh mint, salt and pepper)
Chilli sauce (I bought a nice one at tesco, don’t get the sweet chilli Chinese one, look for a simple red chilli sauce)
Cucumber salad (chopped cucumber, tomato, red onion, olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt and dried oregano)
Finely sliced lettuce or cabbage (like kebab shop salad!)

Wet your pitta slightly under the tap then warm under the grill or on the bbq till they puff up, just about 30 seconds each side.

Stuff each pitta with the salads, drizzle on some tatziki, add your kofta off the stick, and then add more tatziki and some chilli sauce if you like things hot. Mmmmmmm so yummy and very filling! If you make mini koftas you can cut your pitas in half to make mini pockets.

I have read a few recipes for koftas that add feta to the recipe that sounds kinda nice, I would cut out the added salt though as feta is salty enough. I think if you had any left over you could warm these up, cut into pieces, in a simple curry sauce and have it with rice.

I also need to let you know that I used my carrot cake recipe again this weekend, but instead of putting the mix in a muffin tin I just bunged it in a small square cake tin, about 18cms each side, but quite deep (it’s for brownies really). Turned out nice, needed 5 extra minutes in the oven, and I sliced into little squares after I iced the lot so it looks like those little squares you get at a bakers. Nice and traditional looking, I just need some teeny marzipan carrots to top each square now for the full effect. Carrot cake is my mother in laws favourite, so maybe I will make another batch for Friday also. Made twelve small squares, which will be perfect for six of us I think. I have four squares in the fridge at work waiting for me, such a shame the other girls here are on a diet, oh well, more cake for me and the expanding bump! (Did I tell you I’m making a baby?!)

Yellow Chicken (gluten free whole curried roast chicken)

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Fri, 15 May 2009 08:30:00 +0000

I kind of made this recipe up from lots of other recipes and bunged it in the oven, the results were yummy! It looks quite fancy, and involves skinning a whole chicken and then roasting it in a big pot of thick curry sauce which sticks to the whole chicken and bakes onto it, while also making some runny sauce at the bottom of the pot. I use a big iron casserole dish for this (my large le cruset). A large wide pot is good to enable the sauce to bake onto the chicken at the top, so the chicken isn't totally submerged in sauce, it needs a lid but you can use two layers of foil at a push. A little blender helps with this recipe too, or lots of chopping is needed! It's quite mild and will appeal to people that like korma, masala and butter chicken type curries. You can always bung in more chilli if you want things a bit hotter. I have a spice grinder, so use whole spices. If you don't have one of these then swap for ground spices and use a couple of teaspoons of garam masala instead of the cloves, cinnamon stick and cardamon pod seeds.

whole fresh free range chicken 1, skinned (this is possible!)

greek style yogurt 8 tbsp (a big pot!)

ground almonds 500gms

fresh ginger 5cm cube, skinned and roughly chopped
garlic 4 cloves, roughly chopped

red chilli 1, chopped

cumin seeds 3 tsp

corriander seeds 3 tsp

fennel seeds 1 tsp

cloves 2

whole black pepper 5 seeds
cardamon pods 4, black seeds removed from pods
cinnamon stick 1
ground tumeric 1 tsp
lime 1, juiced
salt

So, skinning this whole chicken isn't easy peasy, but is possible! Start with the breast skin, then work onto the thighs and legs. Don't bother trying to skin the wings. The skin really wont want to come off the ends of the drumsticks, so I just take some kitchen scissors and cut what I can off and then leave a bobble of skin on the end of the drumsticks. If you really yank it it will come off though. Also you wont get all the skin off the chickens back (the bit thats on the bottom when the breasts are facing upwards) so just cut off what you can with scissors and then leave the rest on. What with this skin left on the wings and the back the chicken will be left looking like its wearing a little chicken skin bollero jacket.

Make a few slashes in the breast, thighs and drumsticks and then rub the chicken allover with the lime juice and a teaspoon of salt, put to one side while you make the spice mix.

So, make up your spice mix, grind all your whole spices (except the cinnamon stick) and put these in a little blender, add the garlic, ginger, chilli, tumeric, a teaspoon of salt and a tablespoon of any oil. Blend this up into a paste. Give it a sniff and if you like bung in some garam masala if you feel it needs it, this will just add more aromatic spices.

Take half this mix and rub it all over the chicken, right into all the gaps and slashes in the meat. This does have blended chillies in it so use some little gloves or a spoon or something rather than marinating your hands in chilli.

Take the other half of the mix and add the yogurt and almonds, and a small cup of water to thin down, it will reduce in the oven anyway. This will make a yellow sauce.

Put the chicken in your big pot, and then gloop over the yogurt almond sauce. Some will stick to the chicken and some will pool at the bottom of the pot. Chuck in the cinnamon stick, bob the lid on and cook in the oven for 1.5 hours (at 180), take a peek every 30 mins. What will happen is first some juices will come out of the chicken and the sauce will go runny, then the sauce will thicken and stick to the sides of the pot and go a bit brown, when its thick you can spoon some over the top of the chicken so it has a nice coating of sauce, then the sauce will thicken more and stick to the chicken, have the lid off for the last 30 mins so it really bakes on and goes a bit brown. If it all starts to look too thick like you wont have any sauce, bung half a cup of water in the bottom and swish around. You are looking for the sauce to be baked onto the chicken breasts and drumsticks, but some thick sauce to still be swishing around the bottom of the pot. You can taste the sauce after an hour as the chicken will be cooked, check its salty enough.

To serve lift the whole chicken out of the sauce, it may fall apart, the thighs will drop off and all sorts, so lift carefully using two big spoons, and maybe some extra help is good. Pop the chicken on a board to rest for a mo covered in foil. Some bits of bones and stuff may be all in your sauce, so I sieve it and then put back in the pot with the lid on and bob back in the oven to stay warm. Oh, don't forget to fish out the cinnamon stick!

To deal with the chicken I just take the breasts off the bone whole and chop in half, then take off the drumsticks and thighs on the bone, I bung this all on a big plate and stick all the sauce all around it, or just stick the portions straight onto serving plates with a big blob of sauce.

Serve with rice, raita, mango chutney, popadoms, and while your oven is on you can make some spicy roast parsnips or something if you like, just cut up and cover with some oil and spices and roast for 30-40 mins.

Raita is easy, mix yogurt with salt, pepper and chopped mint (or cheat with a bit of mint sauce). You can put grated/chopped cucumber in too if you like.

Gluten Free Spicy Lamb Meatball Curry

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:41:00 +0000

This recipe is very easy and cheap to make, but tastes lovely, really warm and meaty! You can also make the sauce in advance, and have the raw meatballs in the fridge, so you can fry the balls and throw it all together when you are ready. I serve with plain boiled rice, popadums, some raita and mango chutney. Serves 4 people. If you buy whole spices you will need a grinder.

For the meatballs
lamb mince 800 gms (a big pack)
red onion 1, chopped finely

garlic cloves 2, chopped

red chilli 1, chopped

fresh corriander handful, chopped

large free range egg 1

cumin seeds 2tsp

corriander seeds 2tsp

fennel seeds 1tsp

cloves 2

cinnamon 1cm stick

cardamon pods 4 pods seeded

black peppercorns 5

For the sauce

tinned tomatoes 1tin

onion 1, chopped

garlic cloves 2, chopped

fresh ginger 5cm, grated

cumin 2tsp

corriander 1tsp

ground garam masala 3tsp

tumeric 1tsp

cayenne pepper 1/2tsp

Ok, make the balls first and put in the fridge to firm up. Grid up the spices, or use ready ground, but fresh ground spices are much better in these balls. Mix the spice mix with the lamb mince, onions, chilli, garlic and finally the egg till its all mixed up nice. Add a small teaspoon of salt too. Squish this mixture up into balls about the size of golf balls, or bigger if you like. Put on an oiled plate or tray, cover and bob in the fridge while you make the sauce.

The sauce is a basic curry sauce, feel free to mess with the spices however you like. So, the usual curry sauce method: Fry the onions till soft, next add garlic and ginger, fry for one minute, then add spices, fry for another minute. Next add your tin of tomatoes, fill the tin with water and chuck this in, and a big pinch of salt. Simmer for 15 mins, lid off, till the raw flavour has gone and the sauce has thickened. You can use a chilli instead of cayenne pepper if you prefer.

To assemble this dish I put the sauce in a big wide ovenproof dish that can go to the table, and put this in the oven waiting for the balls. (If you have made the sauce ahead wait for it to warm up in the oven before you start the balls). Fry the balls in batches in some sunflower oil in a non stick frying pan, fry them quickly on a high heat so they go dark and caramelised on the outside. When each batch of balls is done pop them in the sauce in the oven to finish cooking through. I like to use a wide dish so that half the ball pops out the sauce. So, cook all the balls, get them all sat in the sauce in the oven (at about 160) and do your rice. While your rice is cooking it gives the balls time to cook through in the oven, and they wont dry out cos they are half in the sauce.

Serve up the rice in one big dish and bring the balls and sauce to the table straight from the oven, sprinkle with some fresh corriander to make pretty if you like.

If you fancy it, you can add ground almonds or crushed pistashios to the balls for a more lamb kofta type meatball. Sometimes I add a couple of tablespoons of ground almonds to the sauce.

What I Can and Can't Eat

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 09:28:00 +0000

I'm blogging this list for people who are cooking a yummy dinner for me and the husband, and have kindly asked what I can eat. The hubby can just refer the lovely people to this post, easy peasy.

On basic terms I cannot eat wheat or gluten. Some items will claim to be wheat free, but not gluten free, or visa versa. I cannot eat these as I cannot eat both wheat and gluten.

What I can't eat: The obvious stuff

Wheat flour
Spelt flour
Bread
Cake
Biscuits
Pastry
Breadcrumbs
Wheat pasta
Pastries
Barley extract and flour
Bulgar wheat (and tabulah)
Couscous
Durham wheat
Rye flour and wheat
Oats
Semolina
Bran
Rusk (in sausages)

Wheat noodles

What I can't eat: The not so obvious stuff

Normal soy sauce (and some other sauces, like teriyaki)
Most sausages
Gravy thickening
Most packet cereal, as they put barley on it (thanks kellogs)
Pre-made or packet sauces
Hams with breaded outside
Salamis and meats with breadcrumbs/rusk in
Some crisps and nachos
Some marinades
Some salad dressings
Some fishcakes
Some sauces, like american mustard
Ice cream with brownies in and things
Chocolates with wheaty bits in or fillings
Some caramel, toffee and fudge sauces

What I can eat

Well anything that's not on the lists above, so meat, fish, veg, fruit, dairy and....
Rice flour
Potato flour
Gluten free flour (dove farm is good - but behaves different to normal flour)
Gram flour (chick pea flour) (this means I can eat popadoms and onion bhajis if not contaminated)
Rice
Potatoes
Polenta
Gluten free soy sauce
Corn products (corn tortillas, nachos, tacos)
Corn flour (this is what I use as an alternative gravy and sauce thickener, or dove farm flour)
Buckwheat
Quinoa

Rice noodles

Also worth noting is I can't drink beer/larger, so drink cider instead, or wine.

Some people struggle with dessert for me, but I can eat meringues, ice cream, sorbet, panacotta, creme brulee, fruit, cream and chocolate, so there are things I can eat! One of my friends makes a lovely gluten free apple crumble :)

What happens if I eat something on the bad list? Well a couple of days later my stomach will be very poorly, and will remain that way for a few days. I also get a sort of wheat hangover, puffy face, headache and aches. On the inside my body is making antibodies to 'kill' the gluten, but these antibodies are eating my stomach villi too. Even a little bit causes my body to make these antibodies, so its very important to not contaminate the food by mixing spoons and things too. It takes about 2 months to fix itself again fully. So yes, even a little but can hurt. Good news is it takes a while to kick in, so I won't vomit over the dinner table if I sniff a breadstick.

Gluten Free Garden Pea and Prawn Risotto

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 19:00:00 +0000

Some people will tell you risotto is hard to make, and you have to add the water really slowly and stir it exactly every 2.3 minutes with a wooden spoon that has been blessed by a celebrity chef. This is not the case, its dead easy and just like a pasta dish you can bung all sorts of stuff in. The basic risotto is a white rice dish, then you add your flavours, and always finish by stirring in a load of parmesan.

So here is my recipe for pea and prawn risotto. It's like a children's dish in its colours and textures, but its a perfect comfort food for me. A lovely blob of white with bright pink and green accents. If you like prawns in a sauce, like fish pie or 60's prawn mornay, then this will be just your cup of tea. Makes plenty for 2, enough for 3 if you get an extra visitor.

small onion 1, finely chopped
white wine 1 small glass
garden peas, fresh or frozen, 2tbsp-ish (depends how much you like them!)
prawns, the normal sized ones, a small packet/box
arborio risotto rice 1 small cup
1 chicken or vegetable gluten free stock cube, made up as per the instructions
freshly grated parmesan cheese 1 big cup
garlic 1/2 clove grated
olive oil
butter
salt and pepper

In a heavy pan or le-cruset thingy slowly soften your onions in a bit of oilve oil and a nice blob of butter. Slooooooooly, so it just goes mushy and see through golden, not brown. Now add the garlic and cook for a moment before adding the rice. Cook the rice in the onion butter mix till it goes kinda seethrough on the outside, about two mins. Chuck in the glass of wine, and cook off till its all soaked in. Now for the stock, add about a third of the jug (a cube makes 500ml I think?), reduce to a simmer and cook slowly, stiring every 10 mins or so with your celebrity blessed wooden spoon. When it starts to stick and its gone in the rice, bung another third in, and then do the same stiring with that amazing spoon. All gone in the rice? Brill, bung in the rest of the stock. The starch from the rice will make a creamy sauce around the rice, perfect!

1 cup of rice takes about 500ml of stock, check the packet for exact quntities of you like. I just use the 500ml, and when thats all gone I taste the rice, if its too crunchy I just add boiling water in dribs and drabs, then cook and stir till the rice seems right. Its a good idea to have a risotto at a good restaurant so you know how the rice should feel in your mouth, it should be soft on the outside, but still have bite in the centre.

When your risotto is nearly done, add the peas, this will be after most of the 500ml of stock but when it still has about 4 mins cooking time to go. When the peas are done, bung in the prawns, a big blob of grated parmesan, a nice bob of butter and some fresh black pepper. Stir around for one min, then switch off and put the lid on, leave for a couple more mins, it will be all gloopy and the prawns will heat through.

Serve right away, sprinkled with some extra parmesan, and some chilli flakes if you like (we do!). Very nice with some pea shoots ontop if you can get them, or rocket salad on the side. Sometimes I make this with chopped sugar snaps instead. Wanna know what it should look like? Kinda like this.

Gluten Free Chicken and Bacon Taco Trays

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:24:00 +0000

As the strap line for the new Discovery Taco Trays says, I love tacos but hate the mess. These new little taco tracks rock my world, and we have been filling them will all sorts of yummyness. You can get the trays on their own, or with some chilli spice mix and salsa. The spice mix is excellent, much nicer than anything by old el paso. I'm not into the salsa, the husband is though.

The husband is only just starting to warm to minced meat, so I made a chilli with chicken and bacon instead! Here is the simple recipe. Feeds 3-4, add more bacon/chicken or some more beans to stretch it further depending on how hungy your guests will be. The trays just need 3 mins warm in the oven when you are ready with everything else.

chicken breast 2, chopped into small long pieces
smokey streaky bacon 8 rashers, chopped into thin fingers
kidney beans 1 small tin drained and rinsed
tinned tomatoes 1 tin
roasted red peppers 1 jar
chilli powder (1 discovery packet or 2 tbsp of another mix- if you buy a mix get a good one with cumin and add dried oregano if your mix doesn't have it in)
onion 1 chopped finely
nutmeg 1/4 tsp freshly grated
garlic 1 clove, crushed
tomato puree 2tbsp
balsamic vinegar a splish

Discovery taco trays (between 4 of us we ate two boxes in one night, so make sure you have a spare box to hand if there are more than just two of you!)

Chop chop up the chicken and bacon, I cut it into bits about as big as my little finger for the chicken, and half that for the bacon. Fry the bacon off in a big pan till the fat has all run out and it nice and crispy (not burnt though!). Now fry the onion in the bacon fat with the bacon till soft, over a low heat. Next add the chicken and fry that off, then the garlic and spices. Give these a quick fry then add the tin of tomatoes, tomato puree, nutmeg, and about half a cup of water. Drain and chop up the peppers into fingers and bob those in too. Add salt and pepper and a splish of balsamic vinegar. Cook for 30 minutes on a low heat until thick, red and yummy. Add the beans, and cook for another 10 mins.

To serve, I have the chilli in my le cruset, then the following things in more little bowls so everyone can build each taco as they like them: -

shredded iceberg lettuce
grated mild cheddar
sour cream
chopped spring onion
pickled jalapeno peppers
salsa

Pile you filling and toppings onto your tray and shove in your gob. Repeat, repeat again, say you are full, eat another one anyway, put more trays in the oven, eat just one more, and another. Lick dishes.

This is good buffet or party food, as its not too messy and people can add the toppings they like. Of course this recipe works just as well with any mince instead of the chicken, or even quorn mince and swap the bacon for some smoked paprika for the same smokey flavour.

Arrrrrrrriba!

Gluten Free Fish Curry (Boatman Curry)

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:12:00 +0000

The husband loves fish curry, this one is derived from another recipe, and we call it Boatman Curry. I like to imagine an Indian river fisherman cooking this up in a big pan on his boat, the smells wafting over the river at sunset. Perhaps an over romantic vision, but I'm that sorta girl. This recipe makes enough for 2 people. I make using white fish, though really this would be made with river fish like Tilapia which you can get in some places these days. You can also add prawns if you like, or a mix of fishes.

onion 1, sliced
coconut milk 1/2 tin
tomato puree 2 tbsp
garlic 2 cloves, crushed or grated
fresh ginger 1 inch, grated
red chilli 1 chopped, no seeds (add less if you prefer a mild curry)
lime 1/2 juiced
smoked paprika 1 tbsp
cumin 1/2 tsp
coriander 1/2 tsp
fennel 1/2 tsp
garam masala 1 tsp
(use ready ground spices or grind your own)

white fish 2 fillets, skinned and chopped into large chunks
(I like to use whatever cod alternative the supermarket is offering, as long as it is sustainable and cheapish)

First gently fry your onion slices in some oil or butter till soft, add the ginger, chilli and garlic and fry for two mins, then fry off all your spices in the oil for a moment, before adding the tomato puree and a small mug of water. Add salt and pepper (I add quite a bit of salt to any curry), and cook for 15 mins till this mixture has reduced by at least half. It will make a red sauce, add more spices at this point if it needs it, just have a taste and see. Don't worry if it blows your head off, the coconut milk will calm it down.

Now open up your tin of coconut milk. I like to use blue dragon organic coconut milk, and what I do is gently turn the tin upside down and open it that way up. Coconut milk often has water added to it, and this water separates out from the coconut in the tin, the thick stuff settles at the bottom with the water on top. So if you turn gently, and open upside down, all the thick stuff will be at the top for you to spoon into your curry and you can leave the water behind. I only use half a tin for a 2 person curry, so I would rather add the thick coconut than the water.

Anyway, back to the curry, so bung in half the tin, if you have done my upside down trick this will be the thick stuff. Whatever you have done, its half the tin in right now, and bubble this very gently for another 15 mins. Keep an eye on the thickness, you want a sauce that's a bit thicker than a thai green curry, but not all gloopy and claggy.

Do your rice or whatever while this is cooking, and when that's just done leave to one side while you plop your fish into the sauce. It will cook in very little time, depends on your chunk size, but about 5 mins should be ok for 5cm cubes. Gently stir or it will turn to mushy fish, and you can poke a chunk in half to make sure its done before you serve. Just make sure its a whiteish colour, not translucent. Add the lime juice and serve right away, this doesn't sit around.

You can also cook whole fishes on the bone in this curry, just wack into chunks but they will take longer, wait till they are flaking off the bone.

I serve with lime wedges, white rice, raitha and hot mango chutney. The boat and river are left to your imagination.

Vegetable Ragu

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:52:00 +0000

I'm sorry everyone, I have been very slack these past few months, getting myself a nice new job! So now I'm working in Leeds and neglecting my lovely blog. Well I'm going to make the effort to blog when I can in my lunch break, as I have a raft of recipes to share.

I need to blog my recipe for taco's, well not so much of a recipe really as they are so easy, pea and prawn risotto, spicy lamb meatball curry, Italian meatballs and spaghetti and my fish pilaf (this started as kedgeree but is so curried now its a pilaf).

So to get us all started again, here is my yummy vegetable ragu recipe that is a great way of eating loads of veg, and is very versatile. I make it like a vegetarian bolognaise, so thick and strong, you can eat it on pasta, or make lasagna with it.

onion 1 large

aubergine 1

chestnut mushrooms a handful

courgette 1

tinned chopped tomatoes 1 tin

tomato puree 2tbsp

garlic cloves 2, chopped finely

dried oregano 1 large teaspoon

fresh basil a handful, chopped

salt and pepper

fresh grated nutmeg 1/4 tsp

balsamic vinegar 1tbsp

chilli oil or chill flakes

olive oil

Chop the mushrooms, aubergine, courgette and onion into very fine dice, really small, but not mush! I go for about 5x10mm rough dice, ok that's rectangles really... but its easy to make. Fry this off in a large saucepan in the olive oil, I use the big le'cruset dish. Fry slowly at first, to make soft, then a bit harder at the end to get some colour of the aubergine and things.

Now bung in the garlic, fry for a minute and then add all other ingredients. It will need a big pinch of salt and a load of black pepper. If its a bit thick at the point put in half of cup of water, you can boil this off later if its too thin, but its hard to cook properly if its thick, it will gloop instead of simmerl.

Bubble gently on the hob for 30 mins or so, till the veg are cooked and the sauce a nice thick, taste for seasoning before you serve. If it looks too chunky I sometimes mash it up a bit with the potatoe masher! This freezes well so make loads if you like, some for pasta, some for lasagna. Serve on gluten free spaghetti, sprinkle with grated parmesan if you are not vegan.

Show me your Tong da Tong Tong Tongs

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:24:00 +0000

I love my tongs, why didn't I buy some sooner? I have some of these type which are brilliant, they have a thingy on the top which you push in while holding them together so they are smaller in the drawer and dishwasher.

I use them for everything, but they excel in a frying pan or under the grill. Turning bacon, griddling aubergine, grilling peppers, turning chops, poking meat to see if its done, flipping pancakes, grilling sausages, bbq'ing anything.

If you don't have any, get some now, I keep telling my mum to get some but she hasn't so I'm just going to get her some anyway.

Now I want some silicone ended tongs, as sometimes they break my fishcakes when I try t turn them with the metal ended ones. These ones look cool but what colour? Red and blue would both go with my kitchen.

As I'm typing this my tea is cooking, the husband is out so I can eat what I like. Tonight that is some smashed up new potatoes and some kippers from tescos. Not gourmet food, but something he would never eat and something I crave. I may add some sweetcorn on the side just to be good! Though kippers are packed full of omega 3 so that's sorta virtuous. It's a meal that reminds me of home as my mum would sometimes make us 'yellow dinner'. That would be smoked haddock, mash and sweetcorn.

My tongs will be helping me get the kippers out the hot water. Brilliant.

Strawberry Overload! Eton Mess is the Answer

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:43:00 +0000

Strawberries are cheap at the mo in the UK, supermarkets are overflowing with yummy british ones, but they don't last long so eat them up! The classic strawberries and cream is always a winner, but if you like things a bit sweeter or need to make them stretch a bit further then Eton Mess is a yummy pudding.

It's very easy, it's broken meringues, strawberries and softly whipped cream all bugged together and mixed up. But there is an art to getting it really nice.

The meringues need to be good ones, M&S are the best you can buy if you don't have a french patisserie nearby. Best of all you can make them. Meringues can turn out different in texture and form. For a pavalova I like a thin crispy shell on a foamy marshmallow middle. This is less likely to crack, is easy to cut, and wont sink, and requires a long gentle cooking time and cooling in the oven to prevent it sinking. For Eton Mess I like a thicker crispy shell, and a sunken inside that has gone very chewy, for this type of meringue I make them small and overcook them, cooling out of the oven so they sink. If you made meringues like this all the time they would be a failure really, but these sunken cracked and chewy wonders are perfect for Eton Mess.

To check at what your final meringue is going to turn out like give it a little press, if it feels wobbly in the middle like jelly its going to be foamy, if its firm, has cracked, and you can see the inside like a big cave, then its Eton Mess time!

Making meringues for Eton Mess is also a good way to practice your meringues, as you are going to bash them up anyway. You can also experiment with cooking times with each one, and cooling some in and some out the oven, like a science experiment. Here is my recipe, it makes enough for 4 people.

english strawberries 450gms
double cream 300ml

for the meringues

large egg whites 4
caster sugar 250gms
vanilla essence 1/2 tsp
cornflower 2tsp
white wine vinegar 1tsp

Ok, so lets make these chewy meringues. Preheat your oven to 180. Whip you egg whites with a pinch of salt till they form soft peaks. Now add the sugar a third at a time and whip till its shiny and stiff. Sprinkle on top the vinegar, vanilla and corn flower and give a gently whisk to combine. Blob onto some grease proof paper on a baking sheet, it will make five big meringues. Keep your blobs tall rather than wide as they will grow a little. Put in the oven and drop the temperature to 150 straight away. Cook for 1 hour and 15 mins, then check for texture. Give another 15 mins if still foamy then cool out of the oven (If you are using this recipe to make a pavalova base, make one big round blob and cook for just the 1 hour 15 mins, then switch the oven off and leave to cool in there for a foamy finish). Your five meringues will crack and sink, but thats what we want!

While the meringues are cooling take the stalks of your strawberries and cut them in half. Put in a non metal bowl, sprinkle with a teaspoon of icing sugar, and leave in the fridge, they will go a bit juicy, some red will leak out, and they will taste better.

When you are ready, make this just before you serve it. Whip your cream till it makes very SOFT peaks, it should still slowly pour. DON'T whip it till its all hard and grainy, yack! Crack 3 meringues into big pieces and drop into your cream, followed by the strawberries and any juices. Stir to combine, be gentle so you don't mash the berries or turn the meringue to powder. The cream will continue to stiffen as you stir so don't over work this mixture, thats why we did it very soft, or by now it would be buttery and grainy and not nice.

Blob this into 4 nice bowls, sundae dishes, big wine glasses, whatever looks pretty really. You can save a few strawberries to put on top if you like, a small one with the stalk still on looks pretty. Or if its lost its stalk, replace that with a sprig of mint, fancy pansy.

You can make this with other berries, or cherries, or just made with passionfruit is divine. If you use a mix of berries the sharp ones like black currants work brilliantly. Of course these all make a good pavalova too, just make one big round meringue, cook till foamy in the middle, then turn it over so the crunchy top is on the bottom. Then spread the chewy bottom with softly whipped cream and top with your fruit. I once made a raspberry one and served it with dark chocolate sauce (just warm some double cream and then stir in some green and blacks dark chocolate), its a great combo!

Gluten Free Spicy Lamb Burgers

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:28:00 +0000

It's BBQ time again, well it is if you can find a long enough sunny spell amongst our crappy rainy weather to get your bbq lit. We have given up for now, and are doing our burgers under the grill. Home made burgers are yummy, you know whats in them, and they are easy peasy. Here is my recipe for some spicy Moroccan style lamb burgers. This makes 4 burgers, two of which make a main meal for one person.

organic lamb mince 400gms
red onion 1, chopped finely
red chili 1/2, chopped finely
fresh coriander a handful, chopped
fresh mint 2tsp, chopped
cumin seeds 2tsps
fenugreek seeds 1/4 tsp
fennel seeds 1/4 tsp
coriander seeds 1/2 tsp
free range egg 1/2 beaten
garlic 1 clove, grated
lemon 1/2 zested
salt and pepper

Grind up your whole seeds in a pestle and mortar or in a spice grinder. I got this one by Oliver Hemming in red for xmas which is lovely. Then put your mince and everything else in a big bowl, add a good pinch of salt and pepper and squish it up with your hands till its all mixed up and sticking together.

If you are worried about the seasoning, make a little mini ball of the mix and fry in a pan to taste it. I would just go for it, you cant really go wrong, and people can always add more salt if they want it. So, divide the mix into 4 even balls and squish with your hands into patties, don't make too thick or you wont cook them through.

Preheat your grill really nice and hot and cook quickly for about 4 minutes on each side, they will be nice and brown and crispy on the outside and squishy in the middle. Don't be tempted to cook slowly on a low heat or they will just dry out, fast and hot will give you a juicy burger. As my husband said, don't be scared of a little pink in the middle, as long as its hot in the middle its good to go. Rest for a few mins while you prep your gluten free buns and things, and then enjoy!

I serve this with a salsa made from tomatoes, coriander, mint, chili, olive oil, wine vinegar and a bit of garlic. Tatziki is nice with them too, but if I don't have any yogurt I just bung some chopped cucumber in the salsa and serve with some mayo instead.

I personally don't eat these in buns anyway, I just have the burgers, some salad, salsa and home made chips on the side. Nom nom nom nom.

While eating your burgers and thinking of me, why not join my new google groups thingy? It's a discussion forum, and I'm hoping people can post food ideas and reviews and things on it. Its over here and there is a link to it over there in the right hand column of this site. I'm wondering if I could run some sort of request thing on it, where you ask me to make something you miss, like apple crumble, and I see what I can bash up in the kitchen!

Gluten and Dairy Free Raspberry Choc Chip Polenta Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 13:49:00 +0000

Phew, thats a long title! I just made these lovelies, its an adapted recipe, and it uses rapeseed oil. In last months 'Delicious' magazine there is a whole article about this lovely oil from Farrington Oils Limited, so I bought a bottle from Sainsburys and I'm very happy with it. I have roasted veg, roasted potatoes, fried courgettes, made salad dressing and baked with it, all with success. It's a lovely yellow colour, slightly nutty in flavour and quite thick like olive oil. The yellow colour makes your roasties or cakes a great colour too.

Anyway, the recipe in the magazine was for polenta and blueberry cakes, but I didn't have those, so I made mine with raspberries. I didn't have any apple juice either....and of course had to use gluten free flour, but after a few changes they came out lovely! This recipe makes enough mix for a 12 hole muffin tin. These are not super sweet muffins, the polenta gives them a crunchy savory edge.

mellow yellow rapeseed oil 125ml
orange juice 125ml
vanilla extract 1tsp
large free range eggs 2
golden caster sugar 150gms
polenta 60gms
dove farm gluten free flour 140gms
baking powder 1tsp
raspberries 150gms
green and blacks dark chocolate 50gms

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C/Fan 160 or gas mark 4. Line your muffin tin with muffin cases, or I used some silicone ones I got from Habitat. Chop your chocolate up into chips. Wisk your eggs, sugar for five minutes till pale and thick. Next mix in the oil and orange juice. Now sift in your flour, polenta and baking powder, and fold in, along with the choc chips.

Divide this mixture between your cases, then plop on the raspberries. Some will sink, don't worry about this. Cook for 25-30 minutes till the tops are golden brown. If you try to skewer test these, you made hit a raspberry so don't be fooled.

Once done, cool in the tin a bit and then pop out onto a wire rack to cool down. You can eat them warm, give them 10 mins though for the raspberries to not be like lava inside. They will also keep for 5 days in a cake tin.

The silicone bun cases are brilliant, as I'm rather messy with my mix, and this leads to messy bun cases with drips down the side. The silicone ones shrug off any drips with ease, and then you can just dishwasher them for next time. I got mine from Habitat, but you can get silicone bun cases and muffin cases on Ebay now very cheaply. www.cookshops.com have some nice ones too. Just make sure they are a good quality food grade silicone.

Gluten Free Onion Bhajis

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Tue, 20 May 2008 14:15:00 +0000

Onion bhajis don't traditionally have any wheat flour in them, just gram (chick pea) and rice flour. But the ones at the supermarket do have wheat flour in them, and you can't be sure at the takeaway, especially if they have been in the deep fat fryer with floury things.

They are easy to make though, and the gram flour is sold at Morrisons, and sometimes the special section at Sainsburys. I can't be sure there is no cross contamination though, so I'm going to look into that.

On to the recipe! Before you start these, decide how you are going to fry them. I shallow fried them in corn oil (its all I had) but a deep fat fryer would be good too. This recipe makes about 15 bhajis, depending on the size and how many it takes to get right!

large white onions 2, sliced in half and then into thin slices
gram (chick pea) flour 200 gms
rice flour (or dove farm flour) 1 tbsp
garam masala 1 tsp
turmeric 1 tsp
chili flakes 1/4 tsp
coriander 1 tsp chopped fresh or dried
salt 1 tsp
bicarbonate of soda 1/4 tsp
cold water 200ml

Sift all the dried ingredients into a big bowl, then add the onions and herbs and mix through. Now add the water bit by bit till you have a gloopy sticky batter, leave to thicken for a few mins while you get your oil hot, you know its hot enough when a drop of batter rises instantly, but doesn't go brown right away.

Use small blobs so they can cook all the way through, about a heaped dessert spoon full each time. If you are shallow frying then they will make flat patties rather than balls. Make sure they don't stick to the bottom if shallow frying, I use a non stick pan. Don't rush this, don't croud them in the pan, don't splash yourself with hot oil while turning them. If the oil smokes its too hot, take off the heat right away. Turn half way through cooking. Use a good low taste oil like sunflower or corn oil.

When they are done they will be golden brown, crack one of your first ones open to check they are doing all the way through, and make smaller if they are not. You can eat these right away, with mango chutney and raita. Or you can drain on a rack and then warm later in a hot oven for 4 mins (This also fixes any runny middles!). If you like you can sprinkle them with a little salt and lime juice before you eat them.

I have made a few today, I ate a couple (just to check!) and I'm going to warm the rest in the oven and serve with fish curry later.

In Mauritius we had these little appetiser things the size of marballs, also made of gram flour, called chili bites. They were made of gram flour, and herbs and spices, but were crunchy too, like they had more knobbly gram flour in them or something. They were served with a vicious dip of pure blended green chilies, but were very addictive! I'm gonna ferret out a recipe for those next.

Truffles Restaurant, Kippax

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Wed, 14 May 2008 09:27:00 +0000

Being gluten free and eating out can be an issue, but I'm reassured by a restaurant that cooks from scratch and has a proper chef, as this makes things easier and more reliable. Truffles in Kippax, Leeds, is a restaurant that takes this one step further. My parents in law booked us all in a while back, and on the day of our booking (maybe a little too late!) I called and left a message on the phone saying I'm gluten free and need to avoid wheat and gluten.

On arrival they knew who I was, and said that it was no problem, most courses were fine and if it wasn't the chef would alter it. I ordered asparagus to start, then the platter of three fish for mains, with confidence. I was reassured when asked that all the food was organic and free range, even the chicken which pleased me as we don't eat battery chicken anymore.

The waitress brought some little nibbles to start with, parma ham and something on bits of bread, but mine came on a little slice of new potato. A brilliant start, followed by some teeny gluten free rolls cooked just for me, fresh from the oven. These were the best bread I have tasted for a long while, to the extent that felt like I should not have even been eating them. My asparagus and hollandaise starter would have come on some ciabatta if I could eat it, but the chef had kindly replaced mine with a crispy potato rosti, which was excellent.

My main required no changes to be suitable, and was very lovely, a trio of prawns, seabass and salmon on a blob of spring onion mash, with a drizzle of different sauce for each one. Cooked to perfection and presented beautifully too.

Dessert was a difficult choice, so I asked the waitress if my friend and I could share the five mini desserts selection, if they were mostly suitable for me, and she went back to the chef to check for me. It turned out that a couple were ok, but the chef could make up a selection of mini desserts that would all be suitable, so very pleased we opted for that.

When the long plate of desserts came over other dinners stopped eating to hear what we had been presented with. We had a square of dense flour-less chocolate and orange cake, a crunchy and chewy meringue topped with mascarpone and raspberry sauce, a creamy mini creme-brulle, a summery medley of plums and strawberries with mint and a spun sugar cage, and finally some divine espresso ice cream topped with pumpkin seed praline. All were fantastic, especially the chocolate orange cake which is also on the main menu called 'Chocolate Nemeis'!

We retired to the conservatory after our meal, and they brought us coffee and home made truffles, the recipe for them is here, and they were very nice too. Truffles is a excellent restaurant, and I feel very lucky to have it almost on my doorstop. No doubt we will be back soon, as there were plenty of other things on the menu I could have chosen. Their attention to my special diet was exemplary and something that other restaurants could do well to learn from.

Dinner at Truffles is around £25-30 a head and very much worth the money, I can't wait to go back, and would love to take my gluten free mum.

Fifteen Events at Grand Designs Live

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:25:00 +0000

Last weekend me and the husband went to Grand Designs Live at Excel in London. I won an online interior design competition, so we went down to see my winning room design in the flesh! Down at the event there were various restaurants setup including the Gourmet Builders Cafe, a Seafood and Champagne Bar, and Fifteen (Jamie Oliver's restaurant). We love the Oliver, so we opted for Fifteen.

The menu was a fixed £20.95 for a main and a dessert. My husband opted for roasted free range chicken, wilted leeks and some sort of barley thing, followed by Eaton mess. I had the pea risotto and then the lavender panacotta with spiced plums (I asked them to leave off the gingerbread). All the food was fantastic, loads of it, piping hot and perfect timing.

My risotto was a white one, with fresh peas, asparagus and broad beans in it, a dash of fresh mint, and then some sort of goats cheese and chilli on top, finished with some pea shoots! Amazing flavours and textures, I'm gonna make it at home some time as I think I can guess the recipe easy peasy.

The lavender panacotta was the winner though, the best panacotta I have ever had (and I have eaten a lot!), the lavender flavour was subtle but glorious, and the plums that came with it just brilliant. The whole menu was a taste of summer, though i guess plums are autumn fruits really.

There is an article here about how Jamie does a panacotta, I just need to work out the lavender bit? I think I saw some essence at Salts Mill the other day, it seems someone is making it.

Gluten Free Roasted Beetroot, Squash and Goats cheese Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:15:00 +0000

This weekend I had a go at a nice tasty warm salad, and wanted it to involve beetroot as I have never cooked them before. We made up this recipe, involving things we like, with the aim of it being sorta healthy and full of vegetables. It's a warm salad. This makes enough salad for two people, who really like beetroot! Use that soft goats cheese that is like Philadelphia.

butternut squash 1/2, sliced into 1 cm thick slices (peel it if the skin seems thick)
fresh beetroot 4 washed and topped and tailed
salad leaves (we used a rocket mix)
soft goats cheese one little tub
lemon 1, juiced
olive oil
chili flakes ground coriander thyme sprigs
red onion 1, chopped into chunks
salt and pepper
optional parma ham and sage leaves

Ok, beetroot takes yonks to cook, so put your whole beetroot, thyme sprigs and onion into a snug baking dish, drizzle in oil and put in the oven for 2 hours at 180 degrees c, cover your dish lightly with foil, with some holes in, to stop them burning and turn every half hour or so. Put your butternut squash slices in a bowl and cover with a slick of oil, then sprinkle with chili flakes (go easy!), salt and ground coriander, mix around and lay on a non stick baking tray. When your beetroot have 45 mins left put the squash in, and turn half way through.

While thats cooking make a salad dressing with the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Go for half and half oil to lemon juice as its nice quite tart.

So the oven beeps and your veg are cooked, turn it off and leave the squash in there while you peel the beetroot. If you scrape with a knife the skin will just peel off, its only thin. Chop them into rough chunks, sprinkle with a little salt and put to keep warm in the oven with the squash till you are ready.

To serve make a ring of salad leaves, pile the squash in the middle, put the beetroot on top, and then blob on bits of goats cheese with a spoon. Drizzle everything with your salad dressing.

We also topped our salad with some strips of parma ham crisped up in a frying pan, and some fried sage leaves, squash loves sage.

You could serve this as a nice starter, in little portions or in the middle as a big shared dish, or it makes a lovely main. Leave out the cheese for a vegan option. I'm not sure what meat it would go with if you wanted it as a side dish, maybe chicken without the goats cheese? We were happy with just a nice big bowl of salad!

Gluten Free Imam Bayaldi (Yummy Aubergine Dish!)

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:27:00 +0000

The other day my brother in law brought a vegetarian friend over for dinner, so I did a big greek/turkish mezze type thing. We had falafel, breaded fried feta, salad, humus, tatziki, bread and couscous (not for me!), and a big dish of Imam Bayladi. Apparently this translates as priest (imam) fainted. Why he fainted is another matter, maybe cos its so yummy, possibly as it uses loads of olive oil, an expensive commodity at one time. It's a nice gutsy tomato sauce that the aubergines are cooked in whole or in halves, with so much oil it all goes meltingly soft, but the dish still holds its overall shape. Here is how I make mine, it serves 4 as the main part of the meal.

red onion 1, roughly chopped
black olives 10, pitted and sliced
garlic cloves 4, thinly sliced
aubergines 4
chopped tomatoes 2 tins
nutmeg
flat leaf parsley chopped (1 tbsp)
fresh mint chopped (1tsp)
salt and pepper
garam masala 1/2 tsp
lime 1, juiced
greek virgin olive oil 150ml

To make this you will need a deep oven proof dish that the aubergines fit in side by side whole, or in half. I used the whopping le cruset I got for my birthday, but as its round had to chop the aubergines in half to get them in.

First prep your aubergines, Pull back the green leaf stuff at the stalk till they snap off, then cut off each stalk as close to the purple as possible. Now with a potato peeler or knife peel strips off longways till they are stripy purple and white. Cut a wedge length ways out of the aubergine, about a third of it cut out, as you will be stuffing the sauce in the aubergines. So now you will have 4 aubergine boats, and 4 wedges of aubergine. Sprinkle the lot with the lime juice and pop to one side.

In a big pan fry your onions in some of the olive oil till soft with the garam masala, then chop the spare aubergine flesh up and add this with the garlic, fry till its starting to go mushy. Add the tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper, olives, a grating of nutmeg and simmer for 20 mins till thickened. I sometimes add a dash of cayenne pepper, chilli oil or a teaspoon of harissa too.

Put half the sauce in your oven proof dish, bung in the aubergine boats, and stuff the other half of the sauce in the aubergines. Now gloop over all that olive oil, cover with foil or a lid and cook in the oven for 1 and a half to two hours at 170 degrees C. Check after an hour and take the lid off to brown for the last half hour of cooking so it thickens some more and the aubergines go a nice colour.

This bit is important, take it out of the oven 30 mins before you want to eat it and loosely cover with foil, then leave to go room temp. It's much nicer at room temperature, and very good cold too.

It's a lovely main dish for veggies, or you can serve as a side, with my Moroccan chicken, or with a spiced leg of roast lamb, which is what I fancy cooking next!

Tonights dinner is smoked haddock fishcakes, that I have just knocked together with some line caught smoked haddock, some pre-made mash from M&S, spring onions and chopped chillis. I'm going to gf breadcrumb and fry them later, so the breadcrumbs stay crispy, and serve with some nice green veggies.

Oh and a word on salting aubergines, there is no need these days to cover the raw aubergines in salt and leave for the water to drip out, modern varieties are not bitter like the old days, though if you are buying at market ask them to cut one open so you can check they are not very pippy, as these ones can be bitter and the pips are small and annoying.

Gluten Free Birthday Dinner

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:33:00 +0000

It's my Birthday tomorrow. On Saturday I'm off to my mums for dinner, and its a tradition that you can pick your dinner, and its ok to pick something time consuming. A traditional choice would be my mums 'yellow chicken', its an Indian recipe where the chicken is baked in a thick yellow sauce made of ground almonds and spices.

This year I'm breaking the tradition and going for 'breaded everything'. This means mum uses gluten free breadcrumbs and Cajun spice mix to coat chicken breasts, mushrooms, courgette slices and jalapeño peppers stuffed with cream cheese. We have this with potato wedges, salsa, guacamole and a nice green salad. Yum yum! I have explained the breading malarkey, and how to make the jalapeño peppers before.

Once mum was short of breadcrumbs and bulked up with polenta and that was lovely and crispy, and some friends of mine who are non gluten free people changed to the GF breadcrumbs from sainsbury's as they were more crispy! yay for gluten free breadcrumbs!

It will be certain my mum will make a gluten free cake for pudding too, I will take some pictures on Saturday to show you my Birthday dinner :)

If you are subscribed to my blog, it would be lovely to know who you people are, so feel free to comment on this post using the link below and wish me happy gluten free birthday!

Chicken and Red Pepper Spanish Stew

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:12:00 +0000

I just made this stew as I'm off babysitting tonight, with a terrible cold, and taking my dinner with me. Here is the recipe, its dead simple and uses a load of store cupboard basics.

free range chicken breasts 2 (or equivalent in boned and skinned thighs)
tomato puree 1/4 a tube
sun dried tomatoes (ones in a jar with oil) a handful
black olives 10, sliced in half
red peppers 2, sliced
small white onions 2, chopped
panchetta cubes a handful
smoked sweet paprika 1tsp
dove farm GF flour 1tsp
dried/fresh oregano 1tsp

Fry the onions slowly till soft in a casserole dish on the hob, fry in a mix of olive oil and butter for flavour. While that's doing fry the panchetta cubes till very crispy in a frying pan, and when done flip into the onions while they cook, leaving the oil in the frying pan. Slice you chicken into finger slices bits and roll in dove farm flour and some smoked sweet paprika. Heat up the oil from the panchetta till very hot (with some extra oil from the tin of sundried tomatoes of you are short), then pop in the chicken with some tongs. Bob in a blob of butter for colour and fry the chicken fast till crispy and brown. The browner the better! Flip the chicken out into your onion casserole mix, drain of the oil from the pan and de-glaze with a little water, pop this gravy in the casserole too. Add the sliced peppers, oregano, tomato puree, olives and a mug full of water. Stir it all up and cook on the hob or in the oven for at least 40 mins, longer of you like but you will have to add some water if its getting too gloopy. Salt and pepper to taste.

I'm thinking of adding some beans to this when I heat it up, borlotti beans from a tin, or maybe serving with new potatoes and a salad? It's bright orangey red this stew due to the smoked sweet paprika. We get ours from sainsbury's in the specialist section and its worth every sweet smokey penny!

Banana Mikshake

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:54:00 +0000

Ok, giving you a recipe for this is a bit much, but I really love banana milkshake. It means I can eat two bananas, a load of milk, and some ice cream in a few moments. Fast food! It's not very healthy I guess, but its not like I make one everyday and if you eat healthily most of the time you can have the odd treat! Gives me an initial energy boost, and then longer lasting energy from the nanas.

So, I get two bananas, 250ml of milk, and two big scoops of vanilla ice cream, bung it all in my smoothie maker, wizz up, and that makes one pint of milkshake. To get the best milkshake use squishy very ripe bananas and a good quality ice cream.

Nom nom nom.

When I was younger my brother and I would make banana milkshake when we came in from playing out, a huge vat of the stuff. We used to always make sure we used white straws with a yellow stripe to drink it, and the cat would harass you for the last bit that would never quite come out the glass.

Other fruit milkshakes can be harder, as the acid in the fruit will split your milk. With strawberries you need to cook them with some sugar to make a jammy syrup, and then use this to wizz things up. Raspberries need quite a bit of cooking and never use uncooked as they always split the milk.

I wonder if I could put rum in a banana milkshake and make some sort of tropical cocktail thing? Like a white russian, but with a banana kick?

Gluten Free Chicken Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:18:00 +0000

Due to Jamie Oliver and Hugh highlighting chicken welfare to the nation, I'm struggling to get hold of free range chicken breasts at the supermarket. This week I had to buy a whole chicken, when really I just wanted a couple of breasts. Well I took the breasts off the chicken, which left me with a carcass with just its legs and wings intact. So today I have had a go at chicken soup! It's yummy, very healthy and perfect for this manky wintery day we are having. You can cook this with a chicken that has no breasts on, or a whole bird, it doesn't matter, but it was only one pound more for a whole bird, so why not buy one next time and make this soup once you have used the breasts.

free range organic whole chicken
baby carrots 15, topped and tailed
parsnip 1, peeled and halved
celery stalks 2, roughly chopped
flat leaf parsley large handful
marjoram/thyme small handful
bay leaves 2
peppercorns 10
onions 2, peeled and roughly chopped

Put all the veg, the parsley with its stalks, other herbs, the bay, peppercorns and chicken in a big pot. Add a good big pinch of salt and cover with boiling water from the kettle till your chicken is submerged. Bring up to the boil then reduce down to a very low simmer, as low as your hob will go, and cook for two hours.

After 2 hours remove the chicken and shred the meat from it. Drain the stock, keep the veg, skim any fat off the stock and reduce down if its rather pale, I reduced it in half. Slice the carrots and the parsnips, and add these back to the stock with the shredded chicken and some fresh chopped parsley. Season to taste.

When I made this it made enough soup for 2/3 big bowls, and also a pint of stock left for something else! If your chicken had breasts on you can put these in the soup to make more, using the additional stock, or they make a nice chicken salad or something.

Two hours may seem like a long while, but you don't need to do much while its doing, so you can get on with other things and come back to brilliant winter warming soup. It's super healthy, and apparently contains something that helps fight the winter sniffles!