Pesto style salad dressing (GF, DF, TMX)

For more info and links on thermomix, gluten free, eating out in canberra come over and like the facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/glutenfreecanberra

 Needed a quick salad dressing for lunch so threw half a bunch of fresh basil in the thermomix. added maybe 1/4 cup pine nuts (or almonds or cashews), good sprinkle salt and a few tabs of olive oil. I used a blood orange flavoured one. chop on speed 6 for maybe 5 seconds.

i found that this wasn't enough ingredients to get a smooth dressing happening but it was a nice chunky dressing.

I served mine over mixed leaves, cooked chicken and avocado, but i think something to add a little sweetness - some cranberries, or roast pumpkin or sweet potato, would have added to it.

Dairy-free Cauliflower Pizza Base - tested

 I made the Dairy-free cauliflower pizza base last night. mine is green because i put parsley and basil in it lol

 I didn't mind it and would definitely have it again. however there is no way I'd sneak this past any of my family. I think perhaps the dairy version with cheese would be more successful for sneaking ;)

I did learn that making one big base is not a good idea, as the edges were nice and crispy, but the middle was thick and soggy. I will make small individual "pieces" instead.

I also steamed my cauliflower in the tmx basket (lined with baking paper) and i suspect that was an error as it made it much wetter than it should have been.

For more info and links on thermomix, gluten free, eating out in canberra come over and like the facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/glutenfreecanberra

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!

Mango, Lime and Coconut Muffins (GF)

I used the recipe base and used coconut flour, coconut milk, lime zest and 2 chopped mangoes.

delish!

shredded coconut would have been great too if you're a fan,

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

First trial - Gluten Free Turkish Bread (GF, TMX)

I thought this was so-so and plan to play around with it more but both the girls loved it and ate almost the lot with beetroot dip!

here's my VERY rough "recipe"

i used 500g plain GF flour (orgran brand). i added in around 2-3 tabs each of:
coconut flour, potato starch, lupin flour, tapioca starch and flaxmeal
about 1 tab coconut sugar, 1 tspn salt, 1-2 tabs plain yoghurt, yeast (around 1 sachet) and 1 egg.
i mixed it in my thermomix and just added enough warm water to get the dough i needed. i did 3 minutes on the knead setting
kneaded it a little til smooth and pressed out to shape. let it rise for 30 mins then topped with beaten egg, nigella and sesame seeds and baked at 200'c for 25 mins 

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

Chicken and beans with mint and basil (GF)

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)

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

Kiama gluten free report

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)

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)