Tag: gluten free

Easy Butterscotch Pudding (Gluten free!)

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Easy butterscotch pudding

Ingredients

Sponge

  • 1c fine white rice flour / 1c plain flour
  • 1/2 tsp guar gum (or xanthan gum) / *not needed if using gluten containing flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2c sugar
  • pinch salt
  • 1/4c neutral oil (I used rice bran oil) / 60g margarine (i.e. Nuttelex) / 60g butter
  • 1/2c water / milk of choice (i.e. almond milk)
  • egg replacement i.e. 1T ground linseed + 3T warm water / 1 egg, whisked

Sauce

  • 1/2c brown sugar
  • 1c boiling water

Allergies: gluten free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, nut free.

NOTE: This is a delicious and easy self-saucing pudding that can be made free of all major allergens. I’ve included options so that you can tailor it to your needs; i.e. I made my batch gluten free, dairy free, soy free, and included the egg. You can also tailor the sugar to meet your sweet tooth; i.e. you can use less sugar in the sponge (and just have the sweet sauce), or make less sauce, or dissolve maple syrup in boiling water for the sauce.

I was thrilled when Mum sent this to me – gluten free and doesn’t require mixing several types of flour together! It’s also versatile; you could add cooking cocoa to the sponge and sauce to make this a chocolate pudding, or serve with spiced stewed apple, or with warm custard etc.

Mum mixed and cooked hers in a Pyrex dish; I cooked mine in five ceramic ramekins. It occurs to me that this would be a great gluten free option to serve at kids parties (especially winter birthdays!). It’s easy to make individual serves (if you don’t have enough ramekins consider using the large silicon muffin trays) and then kids could add to them with with things like custard, sliced fruit, fruit sauces, ice-cream, marshmellows, lemon curd, chocolate hazelnut spread etc.

Directions

  1. Mix all the ingredients together.
    • Choose whether you want to cook this in a single dish (i.e. Pyrex bowl) or individual serves; if the first option, you can mix it up in the dish it will be cooked in.
  2. Pour into cooking dish or ramekins.
  3. Sprinkle brown sugar over the top. Slowly pour on boiling water (you may want to pour over the back of a spoon to help disperse it more gently).
  4. Cook in pre-heated oven at 180’C. Takes approx. 25 mins in ramekins or 35-40 mins in pudding bowl.

How to make Teriyaki sauce (soy & gluten free)

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Teriyaki Pork stir fry

I posted recently about discovering Coconut Amino Acids as a soy replacement and they are the secret for making Teriyaki Sauce that is soy free. Miss 2 LOVED it 🙂

There are two recipes below, one for a small amount (i.e. for a stirfry) and one for a larger amount (i.e. for marinating chicken thighs).

Allergies: soy free, gluten free, dairy free, egg free, peanut free, tree nut free.

Ingredients (stir fry)

  • 2T coconut amino acids
  • 1 tsp crushed garlic
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • pinch cayenne pepper
  • pinch salt
  • pinch pepper
  • 1 T brown sugar
  • 1T rice vinegar

Ingredients (marinade)

  • 6T coconut amino acids
  • 3 tsp crushed garlic
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 3/8 tsp pepper
  • 3 T brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 T liquid honey
  • 3 T rice vinegar
  • 3 T dry sherry

 

Source: “Allergy-Free and Easy Cooking. 30-minute meals without gluten, wheat, dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, and sesame.” by Cybele Pascal

All-purpose Breading Mix (delicious, easy, and gluten free!)

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Gluten free breaded kumara chips & fried chicken

This gluten free breading mix is easy to make, stores for up to two months, and is really versatile.  Often food allergies mean that takeaways are a thing of the past, so it’s always nice to have a few recipes up your sleeve that allow you to make them at home.

You can use this for everything from breaded zucchini, to fried kumara (sweet potato) chips, chicken nuggets, and fried chicken. I’ve used it both in the oven and in a shallow oil fry and it works both ways.

Ingredients

  • 2c superfine white rice flour
  • 1/2c fine cornmeal (polenta)
  • 2T onion powder
  • 2T garlic powder (garlic granules also work)
  • 1T paprika
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper

Allergies: soy free, dairy free, egg free, gluten free, nut free.

Note: Gluten free ingredients are often sold at bulk food stores or Asian supermarkets if you’re having trouble finding them in your normal supermarket. Spices are also much cheaper and have a wider variety at bulk food stores!

Directions

  1. Whisk all ingredients together in a large bowl.
  2. Use immediately or store in an airtight container, refrigerated, for up to 3 months and use as needed.

Source: Elizabeth Gordon’s “The Complete Allergy-Free Comfort Foods Cookbook.”

Chocolate Avocado Mousse

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Chocolate avocado mousse

I’d been hearing about this as a paleo recipe and realized that it would be a great allergen friendly recipe to try with Miss 2 (who thought it was yum!). It’s a seasonal dish that’s wonderful to make when avocados are cheap. It’s creamy, chocolatey, and doesn’t taste like avocado at all.

Note: This recipe is best made with a food processor (or possibly an electric beater). I tried using a smoothie blender but the mixture was too thick and I ended up beating it with a fork (which is why it ended up a little lumpy).

Ingredients

  • 240g flesh of ripe avocados
  • 40g cocoa powder
  • 1/4 – 1/2c coconut milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • pinch salt
  • 3-6T brown sugar.

Directions

  1. Blend until smooth.
  2. Serve immediately or chill.

Five Spice Chicken Tenderloin

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Five Spice Chicken Tenderloin

Ingredients

  • 300g chicken tenderloins
  • 2 tsp Chinese Five Spice
  • 2 tsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1T balsamic vinegar
  • 3T neutral oil (i.e. rice bran oil)
  • Optional: Chilli flakes, fresh coriander.

Allergy: soy free, dairy free, gluten free, egg free, peanut free, tree nut free.

Directions

  1. Mix the marinade together and place the chicken tenderloins in it. Refridgerate for 1-2 hours.
    • Note: Using a pyrex dish is ideal as it can go from marinading to the oven.
  2. Place in a preheated oven and cook at 180’C for 30 mins. Flip the tenderloins halfway through and check periodically to see if they need basting. (Alternatively, you can pan fry these).
  3. Once the chicken is cooked and still moist, grill briefly to brown.
  4. After removing the chicken, add a little cornflour and whisk to create a dipping sauce.

Feijoa Cheesecake

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Feijoa cheesecake

Malt biscuit base for the feijoa cheesecake
Feijoa Cheesecake

Ingredients

Base

  • 250g biscuits
    • Gingernuts pair well with feijoa but aren’t necessarily allergy friendly. I used malt biscuits that were soy free so feel free to sub in something that works for you; i.e. you could use gluten free cookies.
  • 100g melted butter
    • Do melt it; I put butter in straight from the fridge and the crumbs stayed too dry so I had to dash in some rice bran oil.
  • Optional: generous pinches of cinnamon and ginger.

Filling

  • 400g scooped feijoas (after squeezing out excess liquid)
  • 1 – 2T lemon juice
  • 250g cream cheese (at room temperature)
  • 1c greek yoghurt
  • 2T mild liquid honey
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 3tsp powdered gelatin
  • 2T boiling water

Allergies: Soy free, gluten free*, egg free, peanut free, tree nut free.

Directions

  1. Lightly butter the sides and base of a 20cm springform cake pan. Line the base with baking paper.
  2. Crush the biscuits very finely. Combine with the butter.
    • (I used a food processor.)
  3. Press biscuit mix onto the base of the pan. Chill.
  4. Blend the feijoa flesh and lemon juice in a food processor, until smooth. Add the cream cheese, yoghurt, honey, vanilla essence and blend until smooth. Dissolve the gelatine in the boiling water and add to the filling. Mix well.
  5. Pour onto the biscuit base. Cover and chill for 3 hours or overnight.

 

Egg in a hole

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Eggs in a hole. Such an easy recipe but one I’ve only discovered recently.

Ingredients

  • Egg (can be gluten free bread)
  • Butter (or dairy-free spread)
  • Bread
  • Optional: Salt & Pepper to taste. Chopped chives. Grated cheese.

Allergies: soy free, dairy free*, peanut free, tree nut free.

Directions

  1. Butter the bread and cut a rectangular window out of the middle.
  2. Heat frying pan (or skillet) and pop both pieces of bread in butter side down. Add a little butter into the ‘window’ and wait for it melt.
  3. Crack an egg into the ‘window’.
  4. Let it cook until the egg white has firmed up and then flip. Also flip your little cut out bread.
  5. Cook for a bit longer so the egg white is firm (you may want the yolk runny).
  6. Serve with any seasonings that you want. The cut out bit of bread is delicious and crunchy and can also be dipped into runny egg yolk.

 

Cracking the egg
Flipping it over
Serving egg in a hole

The busy mum’s guide to making quick & easy gnocchi

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Potato gnocchi with basil pesto

I’ve never made gnocchi before and was keen to give it a try. I read about ten different recipes / blogs / tips & tricks posts and soon realized that it’s easy to make gnocchi but hard to make good gnocchi. Gnocchi should apparently be light fluffy clouds of joy that practically melt in your mouth rather than dense like they often are. If you’re making them using traditional methods then top tips seem to be: Use russet potatoes (or one’s generally dry & starchy), never use a blender / stick / food processor, use a ricer not a masher, add only just enough flour, and don’t over mix.

My favourite photo-blog by someone truly passionate about gnocchi and experimenting to make perfect gnocchi was by Daniel Gritzer.

This is a cheat’s way of making quick gnocchi for busy mums (apologies to any Italians reading this)! You can also make an egg free version and fry them as a tasty snack!

Ingredients

  • 1c potato flakes
  • Optional: 2 tsp parmesan powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2c boiling water
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2c – 3/4c plain flour

Note: Makes dinner for one adult. Double (or increase) recipe as needed. You can also lay gnocchi flat (single layer) and freeze for a couple of months.

Allergies: soy free, gluten free, dairy free, tree nut free, peanut free.

Directions

  1. Put the potato flakes, parmesan, and salt, in a bowl. Add approx. 1/2c boiling water and stir.
    • Normally I’d add about 3/4c water to make mashed potato but adding less water means that you don’t need to add as much flour to balance it out.
  2. Add flour and stir / knead to combine into a dough. The mixture should be smooth, pliable, and not sticky. Don’t over knead.
  3. Roll mixture into 4 balls (or more depending on if you’ve doubled / tripled the recipe etc.).
  4. Using a floured bench, roll each ball out into thumb width ‘wriggly worms’ (as Miss 2 deems them).
  5. Chop them into 1/2″ – 3/4″ pieces.
  6. If you have a gnocchi board then you can use that to do the ridges. I don’t and used the alternative method which is to press and roll them off a fork and indent the back with your thumb.
  7. Bring salted water to the boil in a large wide pot.
  8. Drop in gnocchi in batches (so they’re not touching). They’ll need about 2 minutes to rise to the surface and 1-2 minutes at the top.
  9. Pull out with a slotted spoon.
  10. Serve with sauce.

 

Gnocchi dough
‘Wriggly worms’
Pressing gnocchi
Prepared gnocchi
Gnocchi with basil pesto & fresh rocket

 

How to make quick & easy fried gnocchi (a.k.a. rapid roastini)

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Pan fried quick & easy gnocchi – so much yum!

So I was trying to make gnocchi for the first time this afternoon and decided to make a mini batch that excluded egg. I could tell (from the many blogs / tips & tricks / recipes that I’d read prior) that this batch would not make good gnocchi. It was much denser then the first batch that I’d made. On the other hand, being a frugal mumma means experimenting in the kitchen so I proceeded to roll it out and make little gnocchi. I was pretty sure that they were just the right texture to pan fry and they turned out as a delicious gluten-free snack that Miss 2 thought was delicious!

Ingredients

  • 1/2c potato flakes
  • 1 tsp parmesan powder
  • 1/4-1/2 tsp smoked garlic salt
  • 1/4 – 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/4c boiling water
  • 1/4c plain flour

Note: This makes a snack for one adult (to share between adult & toddler) just multiple the ingredients by the number of serves you want to make.

Allergies: gluten free, soy free, egg free, peanut free, tree nut free. Can be made dairy free.

Directions

  1. Put the potato flakes, parmesan, garlic salt, and onion powder in a bowl. Add approx. 1/4c boiling water and stir.
  2. Add flour and stir / knead to combine into a thick dough. The mixture should be smooth, thick, and not sticky. Don’t over knead.
  3. Roll mixture into 2 balls (or more depending on if you’ve doubled / tripled the recipe etc.).
  4. Using a floured bench, roll each ball out into thumb width ‘wriggly worms’ (as Miss 2 deems them).
  5. Chop them into 1/2″ – 3/4″ pieces.
  6. If you have a gnocchi board then you can use that to do the ridges. I don’t and used the alternative method which is to press and roll them off a fork and indent the back with your thumb.
  7. Heat a frying pan and cover the bottom in a thin layer of oil (I use rice bran). Once the oil is hot drop in the gnocchi.
  8. It only takes 1-2 mins to fry them on each side (you can turn using silicon tongs or a spatula).
  9. Place them on a paper towel and lightly pat off the oil.
  10. Serve with chili mayo or your choice of dips.

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Making your own gourmet nut butter – it’s easy!

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Home-made Tree nut butter

Ingredients

  • Raw unsalted nuts.
    • I used a 150g blend that was cashew nuts (51%), almonds (26%), brazil nuts (11%), hazel nuts (6%), macadamia nuts (6%).
  • Oil (I use Rice Bran oil).
  • Salt

Allergies: soy free, dairy free, gluten free, egg free, peanut free.

I posted recently about how easy it is to make peanut butter and wanted to try my hand with tree nuts.

Making your own nut butter can be great if you have a food allergy in your family. It’s handy because you can customize it and experiment with different nuts. It can also be a cost effective way of making nut butter. Often tree nut butters are really expensive but if you’re able to pick up the nuts cheaply then it’s quick to make your own!

Directions

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  1. Roasting gives the nut butter more flavour. You can choose whether you want to buy roasted nuts or roast them yourself (if purchasing pre-roasted, check the type of oil that has been used if you have a soy allergy). Roasting gives the peanut butter more flavour and helps to loosen the oils inside the nuts to blend into a smoother butter.
    • Heat the oven to 180’C / 350’F and toast the nuts till they are golden and glossy with oil. This will take about 10 mins.
  2. Put nuts, a pinch of salt, and a teaspoon of oil into a food processor.
  3. Blend on 10-20 second bursts and scrape down the sides with a plastic spatula as needed. You’ll find it starts off looking a bit like crumbly breadcrumbs – this is normal!
    • I found the tree nuts were a lot tougher than the peanuts and took longer to blend. You don’t want to overheat the motor on your food processor so be kind to it and aim for short bursts on/off!
  4. Continue blending  until shiny and smooth.
    • Add a teaspoon of oil at a time if you’re finding it dry.
  5. Add salt to taste.