Last Wednesday I made a double batch of gluten free chocolate patty cakes (cupcakes) being one of the few things my whole family will eat (bar me ;))

quite a few got eaten but there were still a LOT left. we took them to a friend's on thursday morning where a handful more got eaten and then I didn't get home til 7pm that night, and they sat in the back of the car for hours before getting home. Gluten free cakes don't stay fresh at the best of times so i knew no one would want these after all that.

They sat in their container waiting to be thrown out. waiting. waiting. and waiting. Eventually today i decided that surely there must be something i could do with them instead of just tossing them (and bakerella's cake pops hadn't excited me all that much when we made them last). so after a bit of googling this is what i made. it was a huge hit :D

Stale Cake 'Stuff'

stale gluten free chocolate cakes - 1 whole cake or around 15 patty cakes
600g milk
40g white rice flour
60g brown sugar
2 eggs
20g butterscotch liqueur (plus extra for soaking if you are making an adult dessert)
strawberry sauce (optional *)

place the cakes in the thermomix, and chop on speed 5 until nicely crumbled, place in a bowl. if using extra liqueur add it now and mix well

place the rest of the ingredients (except strawberry sauce) into thermomix and cook 7 minutes 90' speed 4

place a layer of cake crumbs (around 6mm) on the bottom of a round glass dish (approx 20cm across). top with a gently poured layer of custard.
repeat crumbs, top with strawberry sauce if using, then repeat custard.
repeat crumbs and custard, then top with a final thinner layer of crumbs.

you could also top with grated chocolate or sifted cocoa

leave it to sit for around half an hour (or refridgerate if you want to have it cold) and serve.

* i didn't use the sauce as 2 of my family wouldn't have eaten it then, but i think it would go wonderfully.

just discovered i hadn't posted this to my blog yet, this is one i used to make a bit when i was younger and living at home (and had dad's cornflakes at hand lol). i think it might be originally from a 1980's women's weekly biscuits and cookies book...



125g (4oz) butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
2/3 cup sultanas (seedless / golden raisins)
1 cup self-raising flour
2 cups lightly crushed cornflakes

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, beat well.
Fold in sifted flour and sultanas, mix well.
Drop teaspoonfuls of mixture into
cornflakes, roll lightly.
Place on lightly greased oven trays.
Allow room for spreading.
Bake in a moderate oven
(190-200’c, 375-400’F) 20 minutes.
Makes about 30.

new menu, some repeats from last week as i didn't get them made

Brazillian Black Bean Stew
chickpea, potato and spinach curry
Spag Bol
Dahl & Rice
Indian spiced lentils with chicken (making this for tonight as i'm home sick)
pizza



Shopping List:
F&V
onions
1 red capsicum
1 green capsicum
1/2 bunch celery
spinach or greens of any kind
carrots

1 punnet of strawberries
6 bananas


Other
125g chorizo sausage
155g cooked ham
bacon

I discovered a container full of unopened packs of dried beans in our pantry while menu planning last week, and resolved to use some of them! I have never cooked with (or eaten that I know of) black eyed beans so I had no idea what to make with them! I googled and found this recipe which sounded good, and got my beans soaking overnight.

that was on monday and i didn't get to the supermarket to buy the meat part til today LOL (i did drain the beans and put them in the fridge though, they didn't soak til now!)

I made some minor changes to this recipe and it was SOOOOOOO tasty - we loved it! a definite hit in this house!

Black-Eyed Bean Jambalaya

1 Onion, chopped
2 sticks Celery, chopped
1 green and 1/2 red capsicum, seeded and chopped
5-6 shortcut pieces gluten free bacon (or 3 rashers)
Oil for sauteing
2 c Uncooked rice (i used jasmine but would rather use basmati if i had any)
2 1/2 cups water
2 heaped teaspoons chicken stock concentrate, or 2 gluten free stock cubes
1 can diced tomatoes
400g dried black eyed beans, soaked overnight and drained
6-8 sliced of gluten free salami, diced
6 mushrooms, sliced
2 chicken breasts, diced
chillis of your choice, optional (i would use a couple of jalapenos if i could)

Heat oil and add onion, celery and capsicum. fry for a few minutes then add bacon. fry for another 3-5 minutes then add rice. cook for another few minutes and then add water, stock, tomatoes, soaked beans, salami and mushrooms. stir well.
let it come to a boil, lower heat and cover, then leave for 30 minutes. stir well and let stif ro 5 mintues then serve.



so easy and sooooo tasty. i meant to boil the beans before inlcuding them but forgot, but they were the perfect texture - just slightly chewy.

based on a recipe from jacki passmore's curry in a hurry book

makes enough for 6 adults as the only dish, or halve the recipe to use as a side dish.

1 Large onion, sliced
oil
2 cloved garlic, peeled & chopped
1/2 tspn turmeric
4 tspns Thai Mussamun Curry Paste (check the label for gluten)
2 tspns vegetable stock concentrate (or 2 GF stock cubes, crumbled)
1/2 - 3/4 cup water
8-10 Desiree (pink skinned) chat potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
1 medium cauliflower, cut into pieces the same size as the potatoes
1 cup of frozen peas

chopped coriander and steamed basmati rice to serve

heat oil in a large wok or pan, add onion and fry over medium heat until translucent
Add garlic, turmeric, curry paste, stock and water and stir well. heat and add potatoes. cover and cook for about 5-8 minutes.
add cauliflower and peas, stir well, re-cover and cook for another 8-10 minutes until all vegies are tender.

sprinkle with coriander and serve with rice.

note: this is a very mild curry.

based on this recipe - yes I'm fete cooking again :) so far I've made a batch of vanilla cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes and this recipe. might do something else but hopefully it should be enough!

notes from the original recipe:

This cake is big (very big!) and beautiful and is, IMO, better the next day (or when cooled at least), as that gives the butterscotch flavour a chance to develop.

It's very good as a dessert cake (with a dollop of cream), also freezes well. Keeps well for a few days due to the amount of butter.

BUTTERSCOTCH ALMOND CAKE

Serves 16

140g almonds
375g softened butter, chopped
410g Gluten free SR flour
320g brown sugar (light brown sugar, not dark brown sugar)
6 eggs
55g honey
320g milk

Preheat oven to 140C. You'll need one large cake tin, or several smaller ones.

Place almonds in the tmx bowl. Make into meal by chopping for 30 seconds speed 8

Add all other ingredients and mix by starting on speed 4 and turning up to speed 5 over 30 seconds. scrape sides down and mix on speed 5 for another 5 seconds.

Pour into tins and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour, 15 minutes or until skewer inserted in middle comes out clean (cover cake with foil if over-browning during cooking.) Check after 1 hour

Let cake cool before cutting it or turning it out.

Serve with thickened cream.

Enjoy!

Recipe is from SuperFood Ideas, August 08.

I just made these for dinner and they were sooooo delicious! i was shocked to find nothing left at the end of the meal! i wanted to record what i put on the pork so I didn't forget ;)

1 pork fillet
3-4 chopped garlic cloves
juice of half a lemon
ground black pepper
around 2 tabs fish sauce
1 tab brown sugar
around 1+ tspn five spice powder

mix all ingredients and marinade from 30 mins to overnight
BBQ fillet until cooked to your preference
let rest 5 minutes then slice

1/2 cup raw peanuts
1/2 bottle gluten free hoisin sauce (we used Ayams brand)
around 1 tspn sesame oil
rice paper
1/2 packet rice vermicelli
1 large cucumber, julienned
1 carrot, grated (optional, i don't like this but my family do)
shredded lettuce
fresh coriander
fresh vietnamese mint leaves
fresh mint leaves

dry fry the peanut over a medium heat. let cool then rub the skins off and chop coarsely
place in a small bowl, add hoisin sauce and sesame oil and mix well

dip 2 rice papers into a bowl of boiling water (obviously don't let small children do this part!)
place on a plate and top with small amounts of each filling inlcuding the sauce mix, fold the bottom side over, fold the ends in and then tightly roll up. eat :)

NB usually you woud have a dipping sauce with the rolls, but we find this the easiest way to eat them with children :)

video on how to roll ;)

Web site for kids (have not checked it out myself yet)

Freezing Gluten free Food - ideas, recipes, tips

Pumpkin Coffee Cake
Golden Chalice Carrot Cake
Carrot Banana Muffins
Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Sugar Plum Vol au Vents
Mixed Berry & Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
Cherry Blueberry Vodka Strudel
Banana Nut Cake
Quinoa Breakfast Brownies
Blueberry Corn Muffins
Blueberry Crumb Cake
Almond Pie Crust


Peanut Butter Cookies
Chocolate Macaroons with Godiva Buttercream Filling
Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
Gingerbread
Spicy Molasses Cookies


Garlic & Sesame Crackers


English Muffins
Almond Buckwheat Batard
Millet & Sunflower Naan
Pizza Base
Brioche
Proscuitto & Provolone Bread
Millet & White Bean Bread
English Muffins
Herbed Flatbread
Multigrain Sandwich Bread
Karina's Delicious Gluten free Bread
Yeasted Quinoa Cornbread
Butternut Pumpkin Bread

Potato Gnocchi
Lasagne (homemade pasta)
Gnocchi

Coconut Chicken Soup
Chinese Chicken Salad
Asian Salad Dressing
Homemade Ranch dressing (also dairy-free)
Quinoa with Summer Vegetables
Salad Dressings & Vinaigrettes

Thermomix owners take note - important reminders for you!!!

learned the hard way by me ;p

1. don't overfill your thermomix, or remove the lid too quickly after fast speeds, or keep putting the bowl in the base while still wet. overflows in the machine are NOT GOOD

2. crush ice at least once a month (make sorbet or if no one will eat it just crush ice and chuck) or more to sharpen your blades

3. as soon as any weird noises start call your country's head office (see website) and ask to speak to someone in their service department. don't keep putting it off!

and don't forget you will need to replace the seal every 18-24 months. you can order them from your demonstrator or direct from head office (i think) and they are around $20 each

I can't wait til my Thermomix arrives home safely!!!!!!!

Cooking has been even less enjoyable lately, as my thermomix had to go and have a stay at Thermomix hospital :( it had been making funny noises for a while and when Tenina used it at the home show it performed less than admirably :( so I had to send it off to Perth to be serviced (under warranty thank goodness). It was only in Perth for a day which is great but has taken a whole week each way travelling :( I have SO missed it, i just have no desire to cook if it means doing stuff by hand...

anyway, a menu for the week, assuming it won't be here for most of it...

Brazillian Black Bean Stew
cauliflower fritters or curry
Black Eyed Pea Jambalaya (based on that recipe though)
Spag Bol
Dahl & Rice

Fruit Salad


Shopping List:
F&V
onions
garlic
3 medium sweet potatoes
2 red capsicums
1 green capsicum
2 mangoes
zucchinis
lettuce
10 tomatoes
cucumbers
english or baby spinach

2 punnets of strawberries
10 bananas
1 apple (golden delciious if possible, or any)
1 orange
2 kiwifuit

Other
125g chorizo sausage
155g cooked ham
bacon