Gluten free Christmas Menu

so what did you have to eat for christmas this year?  we had brunch with my in-laws, and dinner with my family, and did the usual with mine where we all bring a few dishes to share.  here's what we had:

Brunch
GF waffles
croissants (not GF sorry! from costco & very yum) & jam
bacon
eggs
banana cake
fruit - grapes and strawberries
coffee, juice and bubbly
and a chorizo tortilla (recipe from ryan's new jr masterchef book)

geoff was also supposed to make huevos rancheros but somehow got out of it!!!

Dinner
BBQ'd salmon
lamb cutlets (meant to do this but ran out of time)
prawns
GF sausages
my sister did bread (GF & gluten rolls) with a mix of olives, bacon, heaps of garlic and some other ingredients in it and baked - yum!)
potato bean and bacon salad made by mum
asian noodle salad
leftover greek salad
hmmm i can't remember what else! oh a roasted beetroot and baby spinach salad (i ran out of pumpkin)
also chorizo stuffed mini peppers
i didn't get time to make a green pea salad which was going to be steamed snow peas, sugar snap peas and frozen peas with a fresh mint dressing

then my sister made a pavlova and a chocolate roll for dessert for us all, both with fruit.

yum!

for our annual christmas eve party i had done a roast pumpkin and beetroot with baby spinach salad, the greek salad and asian noodle salad, plus had done a GF version of the honey soy chicken wings, and some meat patties (burgers / rissoles) made with onion, soy sauce, egg and fresh oregano from our garden.

we ate well :D

cookies for teachers... (GF, TMX)

IMAG0178, a photo by brazen20au on Flickr.

yesterday i attempted making Lana's gingerbread for teacher gifts but unfotunately put in 2 tablespoons on bicarb instead of 2 teaspoons - bleh!!!! as i was out of ginger i decided to make the German cookies instead

they worked quite well. turns out the conversions to metric i had on the original recipe are WAY out! (1kg flour??!!! should be 450g lol) and i had to add a little xanthan gum for the gluten free version to work properly.

heat oven to 180/190'. line trays with baking paper

450g self raising or plain gluten free flour
225g brown sugar
1 tspn xanthan gum
1 tspn bicarb
1/2 tspn cream of tartar - ONLY if plain flour used

mix on speed 4-5 for around 10 seconds until well mixed and 'sifted'

add 225g soft butter

mix for around 10 seconds on speed 4 until breadcrumb like

add 50g treacle and 1 egg

mix for 2 minutes, closed lid, knead setting.  you may need to give it a stir half way through.

using a well floured board and rolling pin, roll out to around 3mm and cut out shapes. place on trays and bake for 10-12 minutes.

with the original recipe you could join them with jam but i think these are a little fragile for that. you could definitely ice and decorate them like gingerbread though :)

How was your Christmas?

ours was quite nice :)

what was on your menu?

this year i did:

for teacher gifts:
sugared almonds
chocolate bark with christmas M&M's

and for a friend i also made choc-orange-hazelnut fudge :)

I also did a fruit cake for my dad and our neighbours

on christmas day we decided to take one course each to provide (in retrospect this wasn't the best idea as ryan ended up with nothing he wanted to eat) and I did antipasto for starters. after totally overcatering with cold meats and crackers, I also made
a cream cheese & herb roll (though it was too soft to roll properly, but very yum) i cna't find this recipe, can't remember where i got it :(
and a roasted beetroot dip

I also had made a gluten free asian noodle salad for our christmas eve party (which we did with our neighbours this year). our neighbour made the most divine gluten free strawberry torte *drool* it was so light, full of ground hazelnuts and almonds.

Happy Boxing Day!!

I've decided to set myself a challenge to blog every day for a month :D i figure dh will be home for most of that time so I will have a little more to myself and have no excuse ;) At least once he gets over the gastro Ryan shared with him for Christmas Day i will LOL

I just had this link come through on my blog reader and had to share it - for a gluten free gingerbread house. Not something i'd have the patience for but looks great! Speaking of gluten free lollies (sweets / candy) what ones do you know of / use and where do you buy them? Here's a list of gluten free lollies we know of / buy (NOTE: please always be sure to double check labels in case these products are no longer GF):

• the We Love Coles brand of smarties - in individual packs. From Coles obviously ;p
• Mr Mallow marshmallows, available in places like the reject shop and Toys R Us
• Natural Confectionary Company - check ingredients but about 4 of the fruit flavoured jellies are GF
• Jelly Belly jellybeans (mmmm)
• Minties
• some (most?) lifesavers
• most flavours of Chupachups (this is tricky as it's hard to read the label on individual ones - check on the mixed packets)

Chocolate:

• some Cadbury - the plain, and Snack are definitely
• some toblerone - the fruit and nut is - the regular one with nougat is NOT
• most cheap chocolate is
  

I'm having a total mind blank as to more!!! I will update as more come to mind :)

I know that I find the best places to buy GF lollies are the $2 shops - the Reject Shop, GoLo etc :) and also a lot of the homebrand lollies, especially in IGA





posted by Karen on http://brazen20au.blogspot.com/

Happy Christmas!!!!

Hope you are, or will all have a wonderful Christmas!

we had a rocky start to the morning with Ryan waking at 230am with gastro - he is slightly better now (930am) though I'm not convinced yet it's over. unfortunately that meant he missed out on his chosen breakfast of BLT's but the rest of us have eaten a scrumptious breakfast of buttermilk pancakes, maple syrup, bacon and scrambled eggs with cream and chives mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm (well, all except my IL's who slept through the lot and now there's not enough left, oops)

Last night for our Christmas eve party (a quiet one this year) I made Strawberry Foam and Apple & Mint sorbet for dessert. both yum though the sorbet was an interesting taste. i only had red apples so will try it again with green as i think the taste would be better.

Forgot to take any pics of our breakfast so will leave you with a pic of my kids in their presents Santa left them. His elves had some help with these costumes but I won't say who ;)


Thank you to everyone who reads my blog, I don't check Feedjit as often as I did a year ago but I still love seeing where everyone comes from and what they come here for. a special thanks to those who get here by googling for me especially :)

Enjoy your Christmas season! xxx




posted by Karen on http://brazen20au.blogspot.com/

Spiced Mixed Nuts (GF, TMX)

converted from this recipe on Taste

1-2 garlic cloves, peeled
25g honey
15g olive oil
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt flakes ( i used my ground salt and seaweedy stuff i made in the tmx ages ago)
560g mixed nuts of your choice - i used 140g peanuts, 140g mixed nuts & 280g cashews


1. Preheat oven 150°C. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.
2. Place garlic clove in Thermomix and chope for 5-10 seconds. scrape down sides of bowl.
3. Add honey, olive oil, garlic, chilli powder, paprika and salt flakes and nuts. Combine for 11 minutes 100'c reverse speed 1
4. Spread nut mixture on the prepared baking tray. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool completely before serving.

Sugared Cashews pictorial (GF, TMX)

The second batch before going in the oven.


The first batch after being in the oven.


They look - and taste :D - fantastic!!!


if you missed it the recipe is here :)

posted by Karen on http://brazen20au.blogspot.com/

Sugared Cashews (GF, TMX)

based on this recipe


50g water
100g sugar
250g cashews
1 tbsp sugar extra
1 tspn cinnamon or other spices to taste


1. Weigh 50ml water and 100g sugar into Thermomix jug.
2. Add 250 g cashews.
3. reverse, speed 2, 100C, for 9 minutes without the measuring cup in the lid. The cashews won't be dry but they will start to disintegrate if cooked for much longer
4. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp sugar (and the spices if used) over the cashews and distribute with only 3-4 stirs.
6. bake in an oven (around 120-150'c) for around 10-15 minutes until golden brown - when you can smell them it's time to take the out :)

Photos coming later!

off to try some savoury ones....


posted by Karen on http://brazen20au.blogspot.com/

Menu Plan for Christmas!

General Meals:
Pasta Fagiole
Spag Bol
Hamburgers
Tacos
Risotto

(simple simple meals or i can't cope!)

Christmas Eve:
(we have a pot luck party / open house :))
BBQ sausages & chicken
mexican rice
green salad
strawberry foam
campari & orange :D

Christmas Day:
(my sister in law will be here, not sure if dh's aunt & cousin might come too)
brunch:
BLT's
pancakes, bacon and maple syrup
scrambled eggs (with cream and chives)

lunch / dinner:
sundried tomato & cashew dip
crackers
corn chips
herb & garlic cream cheese dip
chips
tzatziki
chicken skewers / meatballs (?)
fruit
bean dip or hommus

wine (lol)

Boxing Day:
(celebrating with my family)
turkey breast roast & cranberry sauce
potato bean & bacon salad
asian noodle salad
strawberry foam
BBQ sausages
GF foccacia or bread
pesto pasta salad



For Geoff to buy at Choku Bai Jo:
1 red capsicum
1 green capsicum
2 lettuces
10 tomatoes
3 cucumbers
4 punnets strawberries
chat potatoes or small desirees
green beans
potatoes (larger ones)
onions
wombuk (half or whole)
shallots
carrots, bag
vegie/s for risotto
eggs x 2
blood oranges x 6 or a bag of oranges
bananas x 10
mandarins (if available) firm ones x 4

Follow the Leader...

Following in Tenina's footsteps of "Gourmet Gifts Made Easy" here are some ideas from me :)

• Mandarin & Macadamia Fudge (GF)
  
• Cherry Slice (do it with green cherries too for a great christmas look!)
• Whisky Truffles (GF)
• Mum's Boiled Fruit Cake and the Thermomix conversion, thanks to CarolineW
• Lana's Gingerbread
• Christmas Cookies (regular & Thermomix versions)
• Sunflower & Parmesan Biscuits and French Onion Crackers
• Lemon Curd
• Strawberry Sauce
• Shortbread
• White Chocolate Rocky Road, our favourite version and the Tupperware version
• German Cookies
• Lemon Cookies (GF & Dairy free)
• Gingernut Biscuits (GF)
• Coffee Choc Friands & Lime Pistachio Friands
• Peanut Brittle & Toffees (GF)
  
• Marshmallows, French Jellies, Coconut Ice, Chocolate Roughs (GF)

"Snap" punch!

another from a friend ;)

The punch I make is a *SNAP*

1 - 2 ltr bottle of lemonade
1 - large tin tropical mixed fruits - I sometimes add extra pineapple too
1 - contaner of concentrated fruit juice (I use tropical)
Chuck in some ice to keep cool
and stir

Add alcohol as required - ours is usually a PG punch

Voila punch

The other thing I do is put all the ingredients into the freezer for 1/2 hour or so and they stay colder for a lot longer!

"Snap" punch!

another from a friend ;)

The punch I make is a *SNAP*

1 - 2 ltr bottle of lemonade
1 - large tin tropical mixed fruits - I sometimes add extra pineapple too
1 - contaner of concentrated fruit juice (I use tropical)
Chuck in some ice to keep cool
and stir

Add alcohol as required - ours is usually a PG punch

Voila punch

The other thing I do is put all the ingredients into the freezer for 1/2 hour or so and they stay colder for a lot longer!

Lana's Gingerbread

Gingerbread
250g butter (can use unsalted)
2/3 cup (125g) brown sugar
1/2 cup (175mL) golden syrup
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups (500g) plain flour
1/2 cup (60g) self raising flour
2T ground ginger
2t bicarbonate of soda

Preheat oven to 180C. Line baking trays with baking paper.
Beat butter, sugar and syrup until light and creamy.
Add eggs gradually, beating thoroughly after each addition.
Sift dry ingredients into the bowl and stir to combine.
Bring the dough together with your hands, and turn out onto a well floured worksurface. Knead until smooth.*
Roll out to 5mm thickness on well floured surface, and cut shapes.**
Bake for 12 minutes, then cool.

Protein 1g, Fat 7g, carbohydrate 19.5g, dietary fibre 0g, cholesterol 33mg, 595kJ (142cal) for 1 gingerbread man (makes 30)

* recipe says refrigerate for 30 minutes.
** recipe says refrigerate for 20 minutes. I didn't bother with either refrigeration, and they turned out ok wink.gif

From The Tastes of Christmas, Family Circle step-by-step cookbook.

Merry Christmas to everyone!

I hope you all have a
safe and fun-filled christmas!

Our Menu for Christmas Day

what's yours?

here's what's on ours...

Brunch:
(at home, probably just us but possibly also my sister in law and / or my parents)

gluten free pancakes - blueberry for us and plain for the kids
served with maple syrup and bacon

i'd like to make something else but no idea what - has to be quick & easy! or make ahead & freezable. (i'm thinking maybe something like this)

Dinner:
(a BBQ at my sister's place with my family)

we will be taking
the lentil, beetroot & feta salad
the bbq lamb cutlets
probably a gluten free version of the asian noodle salad

rocky road plus some GF rocky road (i think i just need to use cadburys choc and take out the toblerone)
im also hoping to make a gluten free cheesecake

Lentil, Vegie & Feta Salad

a brand new recipe from the weightwatchers satisfaction plan, this looks utterly delicious!

this quantity serves 1

1/2 cup canned brown lentils
2 tabs canned baby beets, chopped
1/2 lebanese cucumber, diced
3 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tabs red onion, finely diced
1 tab balsalmic dressing (i will have to check this for gluten and substitute if necessary)
30g reduced fat feta
small handful baby rocket leaves

combine
serve with multigrain roll. can also add chicken breast or shaved ham



(quantity for 6
2 cans brown lentils, drained
1 can baby beets, chopped
2 lebanese cucumbers, diced
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
1 red onion, finely diced
6 tab balsalmic dressing (i will have to check this for gluten and substitute if necessary)
180g reduced fat feta
1 packet baby rocket leaves

Lemon Curd (thermomix)

another great idea for christmas gifts.

originally posted on forumthermomix by caroline

Lemon Curd
makes 1 jar

75 g caster sugar
juice and finely grated zest of large, juicy lemon (i used 2 medium)
2 large eggs
50 g unsalted butter
i also added a small amount cornflour but not sure it was necessary

1. Put all the ingredients in the TM bowl. Mix 15 seconds on Speed 6.
2. Scrape down the sides with the spatula
3. Insert the whisk. Cook 4 minutes at 80'C on Speed 4
4. If it hasn't thickened enough, continue to cook for 1 to 2 minutes more.
5. Pour into sterilised jars and seal.

Tips/Hints: I got this recipe from the UK Fast and Easy Cooking book. I made a double batch, and it took an extra 3 minutes of cooking time. Great recipe if you like to really taste the lemon. If you prefer a sweeter lemon curd, use the Australian recipe

according to the google i did lemon curd is good on scones or with gingerbread :)

Strawberry Sauce (thermomix)

brilliant christmas gift idea!

posted on forumthermomix

500g Strawberries, washed & hulled
250g sugar
1 lemon, peeled, seeded & quartered
optional - 1/4 cup alcohol such as brandy or vodka or
optional - flavours such as vanilla essence

Preparation:
cook for 35 mins on 100'c speed 1.
placing the varoma over the top instead of the measuring cup will prevent splattering (thanks pam!)
pour carefully into sterilised jars or bottles and refridgerate

serve over icecream or crepes

source:
originally in the everyday cooking for every family cookbook as strawberry jam

Cookies (yes more!)

made this afternoon - 2 batches of the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever...

one batch with green and red M&M's (i bribed ryan and emelia to pick them all out for me lol) and the other batch, inspired by Tara from Should you eat that was made with the mint / green M&M's and some cocoa in the mix (not really enough, i ran out)

we'll use some for gifts and the rest will be for our christmas eve party and christmas day.

i cooked one lot on baking paper and used my silpat silicone mat for the other - won't do that again! it's too big for my oven and all the cookies on the end all slipped down it and squashed into huge cookies.

Christmas Cookies (basic & TMX)

I wanted to bake some cookies today to try to get a photo for our christmas cards done. Ryan also had his friend I coming over, along with I's mum & sister. so I decided to combine the two and let the kids decorate some cookies. (i decorated the ones for the photo shoot though lol)

I used this recipe, which had pretty good feedback.

by the way, i've decided to post all recipes on my blog, even though i'll link to the original. someone else reminded me that when i was cleaning out my links a few weeks ago i lost a LOT of them as the sites were no longer there. safer to keep them here, but will always give credit to where they came from, when that is still possible!

Basic Biscuit Dough

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Makes: 40 (we got about 25-30 larger cookies)

Ingredients:
* 250g butter, softened
* 1/2 cup icing sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 egg, at room temperature
* 2 1/2 cups plain flour
* 1/2 cup cornflour

Method:
1. Using an electric hand mixer, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy. Add egg. Beat until well combined.
2. Sift flour and cornflour over butter mixture. Mix well. Divide in half. Press each half into a disc. Wrap each disc in baking paper. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 160°C. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Roll each disc out between 2 sheets of baking paper to 3mm-thick.
4. Using letter-shaped biscuit cutters, cut letters out of dough. Place onto trays. Roll leftover dough together and repeat. Refrigerate biscuits until firm. Bake for 15 minutes or until light golden. Stand on trays for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Notes & tips

* Hint: Dip cookie cutters into flour in between cutting each biscuit to prevent dough from sticking.


and the Thermomix version
Ingredients:
* 250g butter, softened
* 65g icing sugar (or make your own as per the instructions in the tmx book)
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 egg, at room temperature
* 440g plain flour
* 75g cornflour

Method:
1. mix butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy. speed 4, 40-60 seconds. you might need to scrape down the bowl half way through.

2. Add egg and mix on speed 5 for 5 seconds.

3. Add flour and cornflour to butter mixture. Mix for approximately 60 seconds on the knead setting .

4. Divide in half. Press each half into a disc. Wrap each disc in baking paper. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

5. Preheat oven to 160°C. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Roll each disc out between 2 sheets of baking paper to 3mm-thick.

6. Using biscuit cutters, cut dough. Place onto trays. Roll leftover dough together and repeat. Bake for 15 minutes or until light golden. Stand on trays for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

7. decorate with icing (approximately 1 cup sifted icing sugar, 1 tspn butter or marg and a tiny bit of hot water, plus drops of food colouring until you get the colour you want) and desired decorations - we used sprinkles / 100's & 1000's, some little candy hearts and silver cachous