brazen's (mostly) gluten free adventures!

Satay Tofu and Veg (GF)

2013-04-11T19:57:00.001+10:00

surprisingly good, this looked like a disaster for a while (i didn't put enough coconut milk in at first and it was nearly solid!) LOL

use any veg, herbs, protein or nuts that take your fancy

about 1/3 cup almond butter (see recipe a few days ago)
1 tin coconut milk
about 10 drops stevia
about 1/2 tspn curry powder
1/2 tspn stock concentrate
juice of half a lime

heat, mixing frequently, until it thickens and gets slightly darker. let cool a bit while you prepare the rest

extra firm tofu, diced
brussels sprouts, quartered
handful of sugar snap peas, ends removed

cook lightly - steam, fry, whatever you want, cool slightly

handful of nuts, lightly toast - i used macadamias and cashews

small cucumber
half a red capsicum
fresh mint

dice / shred

mix the tofu, nuts and vegies, pour sauce over and serve

Quinoa and Tuna Salad (GF)

2013-04-11T13:05:00.000+10:00

This was DELICIOUS!!! Shame i've now discovered quinoa's not allowed, neither is fennel *sob*

all ingredients are to the amount you desire:

cooked quinoa (i used white)
1 tin tuna slices in pure olive oil or spring water
cucumber, diced
finely sliced fennel
handful of rocket
diced tomato
hommus (as a dressing)

mix together well and eat - nom!

Vietnamese Style Pork and Kale sour soup (GF)

2013-04-11T13:00:00.001+10:00

pork mince - around 300-400g
1 onion
2-3 tomatoes, roughly chopped (skins removed if you prefer)
bunch of kale, finely sliced, tough stems removed
stock concentrate or salt
ground black pepper (lots)
splash of balsalmic vinegar or lemon juice to taste
boiling water
2-3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

fry pork and onion over a medium high heat, breaking them up quite well
add tomato and kale and stir until it just starts to soften
add all other ingredients and simmer until the kale is tender

serve - you may like to sprinkle with some fresh coriander.

this is based on a soup my vietnamese boyfriend at uni used to make, though changed to fit the yeast free / anti-candida diet thing...

thai style vegies and quinoa (GF)

2013-04-07T14:55:00.004+10:00

another dish from my 'yeast control' (formerly 'anti-candida' lol) diet...

i pre-cooked a whole heap of quinoa so i had it ready to go. when i cook quinoa i am paranoid about losing the bitter taste after one time i forgot to pre-soak etc, disgusting! so when i do quinoa i soak in boiling water for 20 mins, then drain and rinse well, then cook in boiling / simmering water for about 15 mins. drain and rinse well and it's ready to go. i just cooked the rest of the dish in the same saucepan.

so to do the thai style dish:

1 tspn coconut oil
2-3 finely chopped garlic cloves
2cm finely chopped ginger (of course you can do this first part in the thermomix, i just happened not to)
1 red onion, sliced
1/2 stalk broccoli, cut into bite size pieces (i used the stalk too)
a handful of green beans, topped, tailed and cut into bite size pieces
1 medium zucchini, cut into pieces
2 tspn stock concentrate
1 can coconut milk
around 1/2 can water
6-9 drop stevia (or 3-4 tspns of a darker sugar)
juice of half a lime
chopped or dried chili to your taste
handful of chopped coriander
handful of vietnamese mint
about a cup or so of cooked quinoa

heat oil, add garlic, ginger and onion, cook stirring for a minute
add vegies and cook stirring for around 2 minutes.
add all other ingredients except quinoa, reserving 2/3 of the herbs
turn heat down to medium low and cook for around 10 mins until vegies are done.
add quinoa and herbs and cook a few more minutes until warmed through.

serve

this would be lovely with tofu, chicken or prawns in it too

Almond Coconut Balls (GF, TMX)

2013-04-01T13:29:00.002+11:00

These balls were actually a little too coconutty for me. but i think i'll try them again with some lemon and lime zest in them, or with some cacao nibs and cinnamon, or with hazelnut butter and cacao - yum!

270g almonds (i use the organic ones from costco)

you'll need to scrape down every so often as you make the almond butter

Grind on speed 8 until you can hear the change in sound - around 5 seconds

continue to grind on speed 6 until you can hear the sound of the engine change - around 5-10 minutes. as they grind the temperature will rise, that's normal :)

reduce the speed to speed 4 and keep going for another 5-10 minutes until it becomes almost runny and looks like peanut butter.

turn speed up to 8 for a few seconds and you're done.

add in:
80g coconut flour
35g shredded coconut
50g coconut milk
80g coconut oil
9 drops stevia

mix on speed 4 for a few seconds, roll into balls and refrigerate until firm.

homemade almond butter

Seeded Breakfast Yoghurt (GF)

2013-03-31T09:24:00.000+11:00

yum!

as much plain creamy yoghurt as you want (i'm using the Aldi organic one)
stevia to taste (6 drops for me)
then add: slivered almonds, cacao nibs, chia seeds and pepita seeds.
1 tspn coconut oil
mix well and eat!

surprisingly delicious for something so simple!

JO tweaked (GF)

2013-03-30T18:38:00.001+11:00

tonight i used one of our jamie oliver 15mm faves for dinner, with a few tweaks for the anti-candida thang...

i made the kofte with finely chopped macadamias, parsley, garlic and beef mince

instead of cous cous (which is gluten) i did basmati rice (which i'm not strictly supposed to have, but baby steps right) and quinoa

and the salad had lettuce, tomato, cucumber, red onions, fresh oregano and goats cheese, as well as some of the aldi organic plain yoghurt (which is delish i have to say)

quite yum, though it was definitely missing the olives :(

Kerala Curry (JO 15mm) (GF)

2013-03-29T13:04:00.000+11:00

just made this quick vegie curry from Jamie Oliver's 15 minute meals. I didn't put the pineapple in because i'm not supposed to eat it at the moment, and geoff wouldn't eat it. bit of a shame because it needed a touch of sweetness. other than that the only change i made was to add some brussels sprouts.

it was ok and i think it would definitely be delicious with the pineapple added.

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/keralan-veggie-curry-with-poppadoms-rice-minty-yoghurt

Chicken and beans with mint and basil (GF)

2013-03-28T18:20:00.000+11:00

our friend / natropath has suggested i go on an anti-candida diet and see if it helps. i'm easing onto it but made this for dinner for myself tonight, it's delicious!!!!!!!

this amount serves 2, especially if you have it with rice (which i'm not ;))

2 handfuls green beans, trimmed and chopped into bite size pieces
small red onion, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup macadamia nuts, roughly chopped
1 tspn coconut oil
1 chicken breast, trimmed and finely sliced
lots of ground black pepper
1 tspn stock concentrate (or whatever saltiness you prefer)
little water
juice of half a lime
4-6 stalks each of vietnamese mint and basil, roughly torn

melt oil over medium high heat, fry onions, beans and nuts until vegies are just softening, place in bowl
fry chicken until nearly cooked
add all other ingredients and keep stirring until chicken is cooked through and serve

Tuna, Rice, Cheese, Egg thingies with zucchini & semi-dried tomatoes (GF, TMX)

2013-03-24T11:54:00.001+11:00

we had a meeting with rora's teacher last week and apparently rora has been turning up to school every day hungry (she has a toasted cheese and ham sandwich for breakfast most days at around 7:30am). she then tells her teacher i haven't sent anything for fruit break (she refuses to have anything sent and tells me she won't eat it if i do) and then eats only the high carb recess snack (i generally also include something with protein etc) and complains of hunger all the way til lunch - another cheese and ham sandwich...

so i had 'operation cook second breakfast for school' today...!!

i made:

Magic Bean Cake, a chocolate cake with kidney beans in it
the Banana and Blueberry bread from the TMX GF book: she won't eat the blueberries so i added some choc chips to it. i had no buckwheat flour so used a mix of (for a double batch) 50g lupin flour, 30g besan flour, 50g flaxmeal, 80g brown rice flour and the rest plain flour
and these tuna and rice thingies... with a tad too much turmeric lol (the turmeric was to hide the zucchini ;))

1 large zucchini, chop ends and into pieces and place in tmx with 2 cloves garlic and some fresh parsley or other herbs and chop speed 7 for around 3 seconds or until as fine as you want.

put in as many semi-dried or sun-dried tomatoes as you want and chop on speed 5 for a few seconds

add in around 1.5 cups cooked basmati or brown rice, around 200g drained tuna, about a cup of grated cheese, 1/2-1 tspn turmeric and 4 eggs.

mix on speed 3 until well mixed.

spoon into a muffin tin and cook at around 150' for about 25-30 mins

JO's Chicken Tikka, Lentil, Spinach & Naan Salad

2013-02-17T19:21:00.000+11:00

from 15 minute meals.

this was..... soooooooo............ good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*drool*

http://www.aspirepersonaltraining.com.au/chicken-tikka-lentil-spinach-naan-salad/

Jamie Oliver's green curry, crispy chicken, kimchee and rice noodles (GF, DF, TMX)

2013-02-10T19:46:00.001+11:00

tonight I made a version of this recipe. It was nice enough though not wow. it was mild enough though that the girls quite liked it (despite initial whinges up the wazoo)

I overcooked the chicken a bit which spoiled it unfortunately. (i used breast)

with the kimchee i didn't have radishes or red or spring onions so i added grated carrot and finely sliced cucumber. i think the radishes would have been yummier even though i liked my additions and would include them next time.

the green curry was very nice, very mild in flavour. i cooked the whole thing in the thermomix - i had trouble making a 'paste' out of the herbs etc so i cooked it with the stock for 5 minutes on speed 6. i then added the beans and cooked them for 3 minutes on reverse speed soft then added a finely sliced zucchini and cooked 3 more minutes, all at 100' could have added even more vegies to this, and less stock - it was very watery (but nice)

won't be a number 1 but will definitely do it again :)

page 88 of 30 minute meals

Jamie's Golden Chicken (15 min)

2013-02-03T19:59:00.001+11:00

p 48

added a little wine to the potatoes and had to use snow peas and beans with the peas.

kids mostly liked it. i was a bit underwhelmed - it was nice but not great. would make it again though.

just a little inspiration from jamie...

2013-02-03T18:22:00.000+11:00

my cooking mojo disappeared into the ether years ago now but jamie oliver seems to be bringing it back - just a little!

after reading lots of people raving about his 15 minute cookbook i got myself a copy around christmas time. we have had fun trying different recipes and have found several already that we have repeated more than once! the kids aren't as keen as we are but geoff and i are loving most of the meals.

with that success i went looking for the 30 minute cookbook as well. let me tell you it was NOT easy to find - i think i went to at least 12-15 stores in 2 states and a handful of different towns and suburbs before finding it (at QBD belconnen if anyone else is looking!)

the things i love most about each book are:
15 minutes - the fresh flavours and ease of cooking (once you can decipher his recipes, which is for the most part quite difficult)
30 minutes - the instructions are much easier to follow!

we've found with both books that you need to allow about double the time to make them, but that's still OK for us. I do find the layout of the books, especially the photos, very overwhelming.

Here's what we've made so far:

15 minutes:

chicken dim sum, p 24 - bit of a disaster, chicken too bland, vegies way overcooked
spicy cajun chicken, p 28 - yum! we love it and have made it a number of times! i highly recommend trying the okra, it really is so good in this recipe!
chilli con carne meatballs, p 58 - we weren't keen at all. our garam masala has too much clove taste to suit and it just seemed bland and boring
beef kofta curry, p66 - not the best curry you'll ever had but definitely a hit in our house! flavours are just good enough to suit the grownups and the kids loved it. mind you, i made it with korma paste by accident and we have liked it that way each time!
Lamb kofte, p 108 - really easy and yum! we won't bother with the pitta next time (well, unless we find some superfresh homemade type ones) and i did rice rather than the gluten couscous. definitely on the menu again

30 minutes:

pregnant jools pasta, p30 - this was ok but we probably won't do it again. the frangipane tarts were nice though i'd use fresh berries next time rather than jam (i made my own gluten free shortcrust pastry)
chicken skewers, p 110 - yum! i did add extra flavours and vegies to the noodles (cucumber, grated carrot etc)

that's all from the 30 min book so far...

if you'd like to try some of the recipes, you can find some on his website http://www.jamieoliver.com/ and you can see photos of many of the meals i've made here http://bitethebook.com/2012/10/13/jamie-olivers-15-minute-meals/

the chilli con carne meatballs - i know they look good huh! was very disappointing :(

Kiama gluten free report

2013-01-03T12:28:00.001+11:00

we are home from our holiday in Kiama (unfortunately!) I'm glad to say that Kiama redeemed itself as i hated it last time i went there for a winter holiday as a pre-teen LOL

I'm so glad i did my gluten free research before we went, it really does make it easier to have a list of places to try!

so where did we go and how was it?

Hanoi on Manning
10 Manning Street
http://www.hanoionmanning.com.au/

we got takaway from Hanoi on Manning one night and it was very yum! even their spring rolls were gluten free (made with rice paper) so i'm guessing they have a coeliac in the family. would definitely recommend them - especially their beef salad.

Domino's Pizza
40 Terralong Street

we also grabbed a couple of pizzas for the kids one night. dominos is dominos, not world class but did the job without making her sick ;)

Cafe Parkview
82 Terralong Street

we went to cafe parkview ummmm 3 times i think LOL rora decided it was her fave and kept insisting we return. we had mixed service and food from so-so to great. i would recommend it though, mainly because our experience at short black was worse lol

Short Black Coffee cafe
88 Terralong St

we had brunch on our final day here and regretted it. the coffee was pretty good, the food was OK-ish, though i watched the chef toasting the gluten bread on the same grillplate used to cook all the bacon, fried eggs, tomatoes etc. i assume the gluten free bread was toasted on it also though that didn't occur to me til after we'd left so we spent the whole trip home waiting to see if rora would be sick or not :( luckily she'd selected poached eggs so they were safe :)
our meals took 40 minutes to arrive (we were STARVING by this time) and as we sat right across from the coffee machine and owner, we had an hour of listening to her berate her young staff. it seemed they were new and needed some guidance but a full hour of it was quite offputting.

other places we tried which were not on the list included:

Harbourview Thai Restaurant
48 Terralong Street Kiama NSW 2533‎
https://plus.google.com/100200849563187798217/about?gl=au&hl=en

we had takeaway from here one night (we don't usually buy so much food when we camp but we had food storage issues lol). it was nice though not as nice as we get from our faves in canberra.

My Chocolate Shoppe
Shop 13, 106 Terralong Street, Kiama
http://www.mychocolateshoppe.com.au/

we didn't actually eat here but we did buy handmade chocolates for my mum (to say thank you for looking after our menagerie) and they were all gluten free :)
they do have a full gluten free menu which i have just found and am now wishing we'd gone there to try it!

Photo of Cafe Parkview, by Emelia (8)

Sang Choy Bow (GF, TMX)

2012-12-31T19:20:00.000+11:00

Quick, easy meal that is still healthy and (supposedly) kid-friendly :)

of course in my family i was surprised by ryan eating one small filled leaf willingly and saying it tasted OK ("not good mummy, but OK") before making himself a pesto sandwich (pesto being one of his current 'things'). Rora ate heaps of the meat and tried the lettuce. Emelia on the other hand - usually my least fussy child - put up a huge fuss and barely tried and spat out a mouthful before almost being sent to bed for the fuss !!

on the other hand geoff and i loved it!

1 iceberg lettuce
1 large carrot
4 large firm mushrooms
1 medium red onion
2 tspn rice bran oil
1 tspn sesame oil
500g mince of any kind - i used beef but a friend recommends a veal / pork blend
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tbspn gluten free oyster sauce (i used ayam's brand)
1 tbspn gluten free black bean sauce (i used ayam's brand)
1/2 tspn sweetener of your choice (i used apple juice concentrate but considered maple syrup)
1 tspn cornflour? (optional, i didn't use it but was thinking i should have as the meat was quite wet and runny)
coriander, finely chopped, to serve

remove the heart / stem of the lettuce and carefully peel each leaf off, keeping it whole. remove the thicker part in the centre bottom of each leaf

wash carrot & cut ends off, cut into 3-4cm pieces. wash mushrooms. peel onion and cut in half. place vegetables into thermomix and chop for 5-10 seconds at speed 6 until finely chopped.

heat oils in frypan then add vegetables, fry, stirring for a few minutes then push to edges of frypan. add meat and break up in smaller pieces. add garlic and fry, stirring. add sauces and cook until mince is cooked through.

if using cornflour sprinkle over and stir for a couple more minutes to thicken.

place a few spoons of the meat / vegie mix inside a lettuce leaf, sprinkle with coriander and roll / fold the edges around it - and eat!

you can also add finely chopped water chestnuts with the other vegies, or chang's gluten free fried noodles to serve

Waffles (GF, DF, TMX)

2012-11-18T08:46:00.001+11:00

based on the recipe that came with our waffle maker.

makes a lot of waffles - around 20 small ones in our maker.

280g self raising gluten free flour, or:
30g coconut flour,
20g besan / chickpea flour
30g flaxmeal
200g gluten free plain flour, and
1 tab baking powder
230g rice or other milk
90g nuttelex, melted (or you could probably use rice bran oil)
2 eggs
20g maple syrup
water as required

put everything except water in the tmx and mix on speed 4. scrape down and mix again. then, with tmx on speed 4, slowly add water until batter is just pouring consistency.

cook according to directions for your waffle maker...

HOWEVER: i found that if you wanted crispy crunchy waffles it was better not to spray the maker with cooking spray -if you wanted slightly softer ones, better to spray between EVERY waffle :)

we had ours with maple syrup and chopped fruit (strawberries, mango and watermelon). rora also had hers with nutella.

Quick Asian-inspired Cucumber Salad (GF)

2012-11-10T19:07:00.001+11:00

5 baby cucumbers (qukes) or 1-2 lebanese cucumbers, sliced finely
1 bunch asparagus, chopped and lightly steamed (remove woody ends)
1 carrot, grated
1/2 red onion, finely sliced
1/4 cup chopped cashews, lightly toasted
1/2-1 finely sliced green chilli
handful of chopped coriander or parsley

dressing
around 1 tab maple syrup
juice of 1/2 small lemon
2 tspns fish sauce
black pepper

mix all ingredients together well and serve (can chill if desired)

Gluten Free "Turkish Rice"

2012-10-25T19:39:00.000+11:00

you know that delicious rice you get from turkish restaurants, with the risoni pasta in it? obviously rora hasn't been able to eat it in the past 5 years...

i decided to try concocting a GF version and it was far more delicious than i expected! looked great too :)

only rough amounts as i didn't measure anything...

1 tablespoon red or black quinoa, placed in a 1/4 cup measure and filled up with
white quinoa
1 cup basmati rice
2 tspns vegie stock concentrate (or chicken, or 2 stock cubes)
finely chopped parsley, to taste
splash of olive oil

soak the quinoa in a bowl of boiling water for about 20-30 minutes. rinse well and place in rice cooker.

add rice, stock and required amount of water (i measure with my finger and thumb so no idea how much, is it 2 or 3 cups water to each cup rice?) and cook.

stir and leave to sit for 5 mins.

add parsley and oil and stir again, serve

we had ours with bbq'd chicken and lamb (with sumac sprinkled on), a tossed salad, dips and turkish bread (not for rora though next time i'm going to try making her a foccacia with kalonji seeds on it ;))

Kiama Gluten Free

2012-10-24T17:36:00.000+11:00

We will be camping in Kiama in the next few months so I thought I'd start a list of places we might be able to eat out. If you know of any others or have feedback on any of these please comment!

I'm actually pleasantly shocked at how many options there are, not used to so much choice!

oooh i just found this, great place to start! (after i've done all the work below lol)
http://illawarraglutenfree.blogspot.com.au/2009/09/illawarra-restaurants-with-gluten-free.html

Restaurant 1871
Sebel Harbourside, 31 Shoalhaven St (Cnr Minnamurra St)
http://www.mirvachotels.com/sebel-harbourside-kiama/restaurant-1871

Hanoi on Manning
10 Manning Street
http://www.hanoionmanning.com.au/

Burgers and More Takeaway
127A Queen St, Berry
Burgers, Fish and Chips

HedgeHogs Coffee Shop
4/98 Queen St, Berry
http://www.hedgehogscoffeeshop.com.au/

Minnamurra Cafe + General
1a Rangoon Rd
Breakfast/Brunch, Coffee, Modern Australian

Pippy's Seafood & Australian
68 Manning Street
Modern Australian, Seafood

Domino's Pizza
40 Terralong Street

Stonegrill Anchor Inn
Anchor Inn Gerringong Level 1, 139 Belinda St
http://www.anchorinn.com.au/restaurant.html

Seabreeze Dining
31 Shoalhaven St
http://www.seabreezedining.com.au/

Harbourside Brighton Restaurant
4-6 Terralong St
http://www.harboursidebrighton.com.au/index.php

Waves at the Beach ???
87 Manning St

Cafe Parkview
82 Terralong Street

Short Black Coffee cafe
88 Terralong St

Out Of The Blue Cafe
Terralong St

from http://www.coeliac.org.au/nsw-act/Content/NSWRestaurantLists/Illawarra.pdf
COUNTRY ILLAWARRA
BULLI
Sea Salt on Bulli Beach Lot 68 Trinity Row 4284 8808
DAPTO
Dapto Bowling Club 70 Marshall Street 4261 1652 Gluten free lasagne and other dishes
GERRINGONG
Gerringong Pizza 123 Fern Street 4234 2454 Gluten free pizza bases available in small size only. Good knowledge of suitable toppings
JAMBEROO
Jamberoo Pub 12 Allowrie Street 4236 0270 Range of gluten free options including pasta, bread, chips etc and items marked on menu
KIAMA
Manning Street Café 14 Manning Street 4232 4030
Cafe Parkview Kiama 82 Terralong Street 4232 1152 Gluten free items marked on the menu
Dolphins Diner & Deli 38 Terralong Street 4233 2333 A range of gluten free options
SHELLHARBOUR
Muffin Break Shellharbour Square Shopping Centre
UNANDERRA
Unanderra Thai Restaurant 127 Princess Highway 4271 3844
WARRAWONG
Muffin Break Westfield Shoppingtown
WOLLONGONG
Lorenzo’s Diner Keira Street 4229 5633 (Professional Member)
Piato Coffee & Fine Food Shop 322, Level 3 Crown Street Mall, Wollongong Central 4229 4499
Cold Rock Icecreamery Shop 3, 22 Market Street 4227 3143
Zweefers Great Cakes 43-45 Princes Highway 4285 4155 Gluten free cakes and savoury items
Muffin Break Wollongong Central Shopping Centre
Crust Gourmet Pizza Bar Shop 105, 53 – 61 Crown Street 4226 4479 (Professional Member)
WOONONA
Lucy & Bears Café Shop 3/373 Princes Highway 4285 7060 (Professional Member)
Domino's Pizza 413-415 Princes Highway (Cnr Cambell Street) 4251 3633
Pai-Tong Thai Restaurant Shop 5/409 Princes Highway 4284 0321 Separate gluten free menu
available - please advise staff of requirement

trying to get motivated for dinner...

2012-10-12T17:40:00.001+11:00

where's your favourite place to look for dinner ideas? especially if you have a thermomix?

even though I don't hang out there so much now, i still head straight for forum thermomix every time I want thermomix recipes :D

not sure if it's because i'm a creature of habit or it's just the best place to look! i love all the blogs and other sites around now but i just can't be bothered to look in a heap of different places. i will quite often google if i'm not sure where i might find a recipe, and often end up on a blog or on taste.com.au, but if i know i'll find a thermomix recipe there, i go straight there :)

so tonight i've got chicken and i'm thinking about..............

Honey Soy Chicken?

Salt and Pepper Chicken with a Thai Dipping Sauce? (could i make this without frying do you think?)

or maybe Chicken Moolie...

Chocolate Balls (yummo!) (GF, TMX)

2012-07-23T16:20:00.000+10:00

Based on this recipe...

150g almonds

place in thermomix and grind on speed 8 for 10 seconds

add the remaining ingredients and chop / mix on speed 6 for 30 seconds:

120g pitted dates
1 tspn vanilla
good sprinkle salt
25g cocoa *
35g shredded coconut
15 coconut oil

roll into balls - or you can flatten into a tray, refridgerate and cut into pieces.

* I've tried grinding cacao nibs and using them but they had very little taste - i'd suggest using more if you want to try them.

quick butterscotch custard (GF, DF, TMX)

2012-05-06T20:20:00.000+10:00

i wanted a quick dessert tonight, kids had already had icecream so i only made half the usual custard. unfortunatley (?!) they all loved it and tomorrow i'll have to make more LOL this will make a really thick custard

butterscotch custard for 2
30g brown sugar
1 egg
30g gluten free cornflour
250g soy milk (or any milk you like)
splosh of butterscotch liqueur

put all in the bowl, cook for 7 minutes 90' speed 4

i had mine with sliced banana, yum!

Potato and Spinach Soup (GF)

2012-01-23T13:19:00.003+11:00

based on this original recipe, it's evolved to this now....

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion
4 cloves of garlic
2 bunches English spinach or a large bag of baby spinach
4 large potatoes
1.5L boiling water
3 vegetable stock cubes or stock concentrate (GF)

Peel onion and dice. Peel the garlic and chop or crush.

In a large saucepan heat the oil over medium low heat. Add onion and fry, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, stir and cook for another 3 minutes.

Peel potatoes if desired (i don't bother, geoff does) and wash. Cut into 2cm pieces. Add to the saucepan with the water and stock cubes.

Wash the spinach or silverbeet very well. Drain well in strainer and remove any thick stalks. Roughly chop into large pieces and add.

Simmer for 30 minutes.

When the potatoes are soft, use a stick blender (blender or food processor) to process the soup until smooth. Don’t overblend or the potatoes will become like glue!

Serve with cracked pepper and crusty bread.

Blog Stat update

2012-01-22T12:56:00.000+11:00

ohhh, 2 years since I last looked at my blog stats! I'd imagine they've changed a bit as I'm now getting significant hits on my blog (and youtube and other blogs) giving me a nice income from adsense - yes, click on those ads lol

here is the post from 2010 and 2009. As i've skipped 2 years I might do a report for each of the last 2 years so I can see how it's changed.

~~~~~~~~~
from jan1 2011 to jan 21 2012 i had 25,571 visitors with 52524 page views

where do people go first up 2011-2012?
14.45% go to the page to find more Thermomix recipes
11.16% of all my hits come straight to the front page

4.87% go to my thermomix review
3.77% go to my very out of date list of MY thermomix recipes
and 2.5% go to the cyndi o'meara gluten free bread page (which is just a review of it, i'm sure they're disappointed when they get there)

the next 5 are my thermomix carrot cake recipe, my thermomix tag (so ALL my thermomix recipes), the pumpkin risotto for the thermomix recipe (the original EDC terrible one!), my low fat butter chicken recipe and one called "my recipes" i have no idea what that is lol

so how do people get here 2011 - 2012?
* 43.18% Search Traffic 11,042 Visits

* 44.57% Referral Traffic 11,397 Visits

* 11.40% Direct Traffic 2,915 Visits

the top traffic sources (2011-2012):
1. google / organic 10,183
2. (direct) / (none) 2,915
3. forumthermomix.com / referral 2,518
4. thermomixmagic.blogspot.com / referral 1,817
5. superkitchenmachine.com / referral 1,387
6. essentialbaby.com.au / referral 1,038
7. thermorecipes.blogspot.com / referral 908
8. bing / organic 436
9. facebook.com / referral 431
10. blogger.com / referral 324

top keywords people use to get here 2011-2012:
1. thermomix review 355
2. brazen butter chicken thermomix 270
3. thermomix reviews 201
4. costco canberra 158
5. low fat thermomix recipes 134
6. thermomix carrot cake 129
7. thermomix pumpkin risotto 111
8. carrot cake thermomix 104
9. pumpkin risotto thermomix 100
10. gluten free canberra 98

~~~~~~~~~
from jan1 2010 to jan 1 2011 i had 16015 visitors with 55524 page views

where do people go first up 2010 - 2011?
12.42% go to the page to find more Thermomix recipes
11.57% of all my hits come straight to the front page
9.27% go to my thermomix review
2.31% go to my very out of date list of MY thermomix recipes
and 1.11% go to my carrot cake recipe

the next 5 are the cyndi o'mear GF bread review, the pumpkin risotto for the thermomix recipe (the original EDC terrible one!), my gluten free tag and then my low fat butter chicken recip

so how do people get here 2010 - 2011?
* 32.45% Search Traffic 7,679 Visits
* 59.41% Referral Traffic 14,061 Visits
* 7.99% Direct Traffic 1,890 Visits

the top traffic sources (2010-2011):
1. google / organic 7,211
2. superkitchenmachine.com / referral 3,081
3. forumthermomix.com / referral 2,247
4. essentialbaby.com.au / referral 2,162
5. (direct) / (none) 1,890
6. thermomixmagic.blogspot.com / referral 1,578
7. thermorecipes.blogspot.com / referral 1,353
8. blogger.com / referral 533
9. yahoo / organic 241
10. google.com.au / referral 225

top keywords people use to get here 2011-2012:
1. thermomix review 639
2. thermomix reviews 328
3. honey roast parsnip soup 96
4. carrot cake thermomix 87
5. thermomix carrot cake 70
6. honey roasted parsnip soup 59
7. foolproof scones 56
8. brazen butter chicken thermomix 50
9. neapolitan cake 47
10. thermomix recipes 47