Graeme's Chiang Mai Pork Balls (GF, TMX)

my boss's partner shared this recipe with me and I finally got around to making them. a much milder flavour than i expected but definitely very yum and surprisingly quick and easy to make (especially when you don't need to run out half way through to buy whatever mangy coriander woollies has in stock after 2 public holidays...). anyway here's the recipe with a few minor changes from me

1 tspn coconut oil
1 tspn ground coriander
1 tspn ground cumin
1/2 tspn ground turmeric
1 stick lemon grass
2 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger
2 green shallots / spring onions
roots and stalks of 1/2 bunch coriander (washed well!)
chilli to taste
2 kaffir lime leaves, or one piece of lime peel
around 500g pork and veal mince
2 tspns coconut oil
satay sauce of your choice - Graeme recommended masterfoods
1 tin (400ml) coconut milk / cream
snowpeas or other vegies of your choice
chopped coriander leaves to serve

 melt coconut oil & heat bowl - 2 minutes, varoma speed soft
add spices and cook 3-4 minutes varoma speed soft
add in lemon grass, garlic, ginger, shallots, coriander roots / stalks, kaffir lime and chilli and chop on speed 6 until it stops hitting the sides. scrape down and repeat.
add mince and mix by turning knob to closed lid and pressing turbo several times until well mixed
melt 2 tspns coconut oil in fry pan then shape mince into large balls and add to pan. cook over med-med high until browned all over
add coconut cream and several large dollops of satay sauce to taste (you don't want a strong satay taste, just mild). turn heat down and simmer gently for about 5-10 mins
add vegies and cook just long enough for vegies to be slightly soft.

serve sprinkled with chopped coriander. serve over rice, or if carb free i think you could either eat it on its own, or eat over shredded wombuk (chinese cabbage)

photo soon!

Gluten Free Muffin Base (GF)

Gluten free muffins have been one of the hardest things I've found in the past 5 years!  they have either been like cupcakes, or way too dry for the most part. just generally unenjoyable.

I've finally found a recipe that works for us! not only that but it's easily exchangable flavour-wise.  based on this recipe I have tweaked it slightly to suit us.  I have had to add extra liquid because of the banana flour and chia seeds.

Gluten Free Muffin Base - makes 12
DRY 
1/2 cup banana or coconut flour
1 1/2 cups Gf plain flour
1 tspn bicarb soda
1 tspn baking powder
1 tspn xanthan gum ( this is probably optional though i haven't tried it without yet)
1/2 tspn salt
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup chia seeds
WET
1/2 cup rice bran oil
1 tspn apple cider vinegar in a cup measure, topped up with rice milk to fill
1 1/2 cups yoghurt (i used jalna vanilla)
2 eggs
1 tspn vanilla essence

plus whatever flavourings you like, around 1 cup-ish *


mix dry ingredients well - if you have lumps use your fingers to squish them out :)
most flavours are better mixed in with the dry ingredients

in a separate bowl mix wet ingredients well

pour wet ingredients over dry and mix with a large spoon until JUST BARELY mixed

place in muffin tin and cook for 25 minutes at around 17'c


* we tried 3 flavours using:
Triple Choc
1 heaped tablespoon cocoa
1/3 cup each dark and white choc chips

Berry
1 punnet (around 3/4 cup) fresh or frozen blueberries
either 5 strawberries, topped and chopped into blueberry-sized pieces OR around 1/3 cup white choc chips

Spiced Apple
grate one apple
1/4 cup of my nut and seed mix 
add about 1.5 tspn cinnamon, around 1/4 - 1/2 tspn cardamom and a pinch of nutmeg and cloves

Indian style grilled chicken & veg (GF)

you could easily do this in the thermomix but mine is in hospital at the moment... *sob*

this was based on a few of Jamie Oliver's recipes and is very quick and easy

2 chicken breasts, cut into 1cm slices
2 tab tandoori paste
4-6 tabs plain full fat yoghurt
1 tin coconut cream
1 red capsicum, cut into 2" pieces
3-400g pumpkin, peeled and thinly sliced
olive oil
salt to taste
basmati rice
frozen peas (around 1 cup)
vegies of your choice - we had cauliflower and snow peas
coriander, chopped to serve

mix tandoori paste and yoghurt and mix chicken through well. leave to marinade for up to 8 hours - i only did 5 minutes and that was fine though longer would be better!

cook chicken on BBQ grill. toss capsicum and pumpkin in a splash of olive oil and grill

add remaining marinade to coconut cream in small saucepan. add salt to taste and stir well. bring to the boil and reduce ot simmer. cook until all other ingredients are done  and sauce has thickened

cook rice by absorption method, adding peas

steam vegies (i did mine over the rice, adding the cauli half way through and the snow peas when the rice was done and sitting)

serve with the sauce drizzled over and sprinkled with coriander

Thai Style Warm Spinach Salad (GF)

heat a medium saucepan and dry fry a few handfuls of cashews

add 2 tabs coconut oil and 1 small onion, sliced. cook stirring for a few minutes.

add 2 cloves roughly chopped garlic and stir for another minute.

add in a few cups of chopped vegies (i used eggplant, zucchini, broccoli and a whole red capsicum) and cook stirring until the vegies are cooked to your preference.

turn heat off and add in juice of one lime (or lemon), black pepper, good squeeze of stevia and some salt (or fish sauce). stir. add in lots of roughly chopped coriander and mint leaves

get a large bowl and put baby spinach in, top with vegies mix. gently mix so spinach has some dressing and some of it starts to wilt.  serve

we had ours with bbq'd pork cutlets and it was delish!

Super easy Chicken & Lentil Korma (GF, TMX)

enough for 2-4 depending on serving size, and whether you're eating it with rice or not.

1 heaped tspn coconut oil
1 large tablespoon full of korma paste
1 chicken breast, cut into 2cm dice
1 tin of coconut cream
1 tin of lentils, rinsed and drained
1/2 bunch coriander, chopped

place oil and paste into thermomix and heat for 4 minutes 100' speed 1

add chicken and cook  for 4 minutes 100' reverse speed soft

add coconut cream and cook for 13 minutes 100' reverse speed soft

add lentils and cook for 5 minutes 100' reverse speed soft

add coriander and stir through and serve :)


i think you could toss some baby spinach through at the end too - i meant to and forgot!

Quickest breakfast ever! (GF, TMX)

So I'm back on my carb-free diet. most of my past recipes don't strictly meet the diet i'm on unfortunately but i'm getting creative again.

breakfasts are a little boring because i can't do toast, cereal, bacon etc. so I vary between eggs in a variety of ways and then decided to go with yoghurt for something different - also for a quick breakfast at work when i haven't had time to eat before we leave for the day.

last week i went into supabarn to get nuts and seeds to put with the yoghurt and found a yummy mix already prepared! but at $10 a jar (the size of a pasta sauce jar) i realised it could only be cheaper to make it myself at home, which I've just done.

you could use this mix in anything - over salads, over the top of a casserole with cheese for a crunchy grilled topping etc

Mixed Nut and Seed Sprinkle
1 part raw almonds
1 part pepitas
1 part sunflower seeds
1 part linseeds
1/2 sesame seeds

place all in thermomix, turn to closed lid. press turbo button once or twice until your mix looks like mine - mostly chopped with a few larger pieces.

pour into jar/s.

i'm keeping mine in the fridge as i know linseeds can easily go rancid but i'm not sure if it's necessary.

Quickest Breakfast Ever!
Plain full fat organic yoghurt for one
3-4 spoonfuls of Mixed Nut and Seed Sprinkle
6 drops stevia (equivalent 2 tspns sweetener of your choice)

mix and eat!

Satay Tofu and Veg (GF)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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

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

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

Sang Choy Bow (GF, TMX)

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)

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)

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"

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 ;))

Chocolate Balls (yummo!) (GF, TMX)

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)

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)

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.

Amanda's Brownies (GF, TMX)

Emelia and I just made these brownies for vacation care next week.  Based on Amanda's Fudgey Brownies
(my recipe is doubled, converted to GF and less sugar though i suspect i could lower the sugar further next time...)

280g gluten free plain flour (or 90g brown rice flour, 90g maize / corn flour and 100g tapioca starch)
10g salt
300g brown sugar
300g castor sugar (or low GI raw sugar)
95g cocoa
1 tablespoon vanilla essence
420g rice bran oil
8 eggs
110g cold water

1. Heat oven to 140’c. Grease and line 1-2 slice pans (depending on size).

2. Place everything in thermomix and mix on speed 7 for about 20 seconds.

3. Scrape down sides and mix for another 20 seconds speed 7

4. Pour mix into pans and bake for around 30 minutes

5. Cool in pan then cut into squares.