Sourdough Success

1 Comment

Posted on April 11, 2017

I am pleased to report that in a little under 2 months since his first attempt GMan has baked a very respectable sourdough loaf.

In this post from February I mentioned that the first effort was a failure. In fact, unmitigated disaster might be an accurate description. Since then he has persevered and tweaked the technique with a few more loaves which have been edible – best toasted. I have been watching from the sidelines as this is not gluten-free.

The loaf which GMan baked tonight is the most impressive so far and he is justifiably rather proud of it.

2017-04-11 01

I think a couple of things contributed to the success. Firstly, the ‘starter’ is maturing with time and secondly, he cooked it in an enamel cast-iron lidded pot rather than on a tray.

This is about as ‘cooked from scratch’ as you can get with only 3 ingredients used – flour, salt and water.

My next challenge for GMan is to create a gluten-free ‘starter’. Watch this space for more details in the future.

Delicious Dinner

1 Comment

Posted on April 8, 2017

Yesterday I worked from home so I had a larger window of opportunity for preparing dinner than I normally do on a weekday. I even had time to take some step-by-step photographs.

As with many of the meals I make, there is no specific recipe, however, my inspiration came from this video which was posted on Facebook. I did plan to make the enchiladas but had no way to satisfactorily slice the zucchini thinly enough to be able to roll it easily. So, I made a lasagne.

This is the remainder of the last of the giant zucchini.

2017-04-08 01

I sliced the flesh as thinly as possible and discarded the seeds. Some have been saved for next year’s crop.

2017-04-08 02

Next, I sliced one chicken breast fillet. It was still mostly frozen which is useful because I find it easier to slice when semi-frozen. When I need cooked chicken for a recipe, I steam it by placing the chicken on a cake rack over a large frying pan of boiling water. I then place the domed lid over the top and it cooks quite quickly.

One onion (diced), 1/2 capsicum (diced), 3 birdseye chillies and a lime were the next things I prepared.

2017-04-08 05

Saute the onion and chopped chillies then add the capsicum and cook until softened. Add the lime juice. I only used half a lime as they were large and very juicy.

Add the shredded, cooked chicken and 1/2 can crushed tomatoes.

2017-04-08 08

Line the base of a small, rectangular dish with zucchini slices then add layers of chicken mixture, grated cheeses (I used parmesan and cheddar) and zucchini. I also added the remainder of the can of tomatoes as I layered the dish.

2017-04-08 09

The topping is parmesan and cheddar cheese mixed with flaxseed meal for some added crunch and keep the dish gluten-free. If this is not an issue you could use dry breadcrumbs with the cheese.

Bake in the oven until heated through and browned on top. Alternatively, you could microwave for 10 minutes and then crisp the top under the griller. This is what I did to avoid turning on the oven.

The meal made 3 generous adult serves from one chicken breast fillet and part of a giant zucchini which would otherwise have gone to waste.

A Family Favourite

Leave a comment

Posted on November 21, 2016

**This post has been updated from 2016 in December 2020. I have made a couple of amendments to correct errors in the recipe and added photos taken today while making this dish in preparation for our Christmas holiday menu.**

As promised yesterday, here is the recipe for cold curried chicken.

Cold Curried Chicken

3 – 4 chicken breast fillets (around 800g)
1 onion, finely diced
3 tablespoons butter
6 teaspoons curry powder (adjust for personal taste as required)
3 – 4 tablespoons flour
900ml chicken stock
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons red currant jelly
150ml cream
Salt and pepper

Cold cooked rice
French dressing

Steam the chicken and shred into bite-sized pieces.

Melt butter, add onion and cook until soft. Add curry powder and cook for 5 minutes. Add flour and cook for another 2 – 3 minutes.

Gradually add the stock and stir until blended well. Bring to the boil while stirring then simmer gently for 10 minutes. Blend until smooth.

Add lemon juice and red currant jelly. Mix well and allow to cool. Stir in cream and season to taste.

Combine the chicken and curry sauce in a shallow dish and chill before serving.

Toss the rice in a little French dressing before serving.

I have successfully made this gluten-free by using gluten free flour to thicken it. You may need a bit more flour if using gluten free. I also substituted evaporated skim milk instead of the cream. You can make your own evaporated milk using equal parts of milk powder and water. If you want it a bit creamier just add more milk powder.

Something Different

Leave a comment

Posted on October 31, 2016

We usually eat salmon once every fortnight. It is cooked the same way each time – GMan grills it on the barbecue. I vary the accompaniments – sometimes it is kale salad or coleslaw and sweet potato fries, other times it is a a bed of sweet potato mash or wilted bok choy plus other vegetables on the side.

The other day I came across this link on Facebook. So, I decided that I would try one for a change from our normal grilled salmon.

I made the Tomato Pesto Salmon and this is what it looked like once I had assembled it.

2016-10-31-01

Cooked, served and ready to eat.

2016-10-31-02

Even better, was the fact that the basil, tomatoes, zucchini and sweet potato were all from the garden.

I know that fresh salmon is not exactly a budget meal but with almost everything else home-grown it means that we can splash out a little on good quality meat and fish.

My Favourite Salad

1 Comment

Posted on October 20, 2016

Does anyone else take notes on the ingredients and structure of dishes which you enjoy when dining out?

During our recent trip to the USA and Canada we ate at ‘Antique Taco’ in Wicker Park, Chicago. We discovered it because it was rated as one of the 10 best tacos in the USA by Fodor’s Travel. After reading the email containing this information, it was an absolute must-do when we were in Chicago and we were not disappointed.

The kale salad was amazing and I have managed to create something similar at home.

2016-10-20-01

This is what was left in the bowl after dinner tonight and using some for lunch tomorrow.

There are no specific quantities for the ingredients.

Curly kale (thick vein removed and finely chopped)
Finely chopped red onion
Diced capsicum
Dried cranberries (chopped)
Spiced peanuts (I buy raw peanuts and toss them in a bit of oil, chilli powder, cumin and sea salt)
Dressing

Lime juice
Red wine vinegar
Pomegranate molasses
Olive oil
Herb salt
Black pepper

Use the dressing sparingly. Tos salad well to ensure that all surfaces are coated.

Unlike most salads, I think this improves after standing for 6 – 12 hours.

If you decide to try this, please let me know what you think.

A Bumper Crop

2 Comments

Posted on April 5, 2016

It is just as well we like sweet potatoes. Here is what we dug up on Sunday. i Have not weighed them but there would have to be at least 20kg.

2016-04-05 01 We dug these up from where they had become established in one of the cut down water tanks that we use for the compost. The sweet potato vines were entwined with the raspberry canes so we decided it was time to pull them out and this was the result.

Sweet potato mash, fries, curry and soup – the options are endless.

I will definitely be trying this one, too. Thanks, Julia.

An Easter Recipe

Leave a comment

Posted on March 27, 2016

Happy Easter!

The desktop computer will not be back in action until the middle of the week so I am struggling with and old laptop which is very slow and not responsive. However, I am determined to persevere and bring you a recipe for gluten-free hot cross buns.

Here is the original recipe which I used for the first batch which I made on Tuesday. The only alteration I made was to add another teaspoon of psyllium husk instead of the teaspoon of xanthum gum.

The initial prototype was acceptable but I felt I could improve on the recipe a little.

The instructions said that the recipe made 8 buns so I followed this and they were much too large for my liking. The buns also tended to spread on the tray rather than rise. Additionally, we prefer more spice and fruit. I made a note of this for my second attempt.

Here is my amended recipe with method and photos. Do not be put off by the long list of ingredients. I have divided the ingredients into separate sections accoring to the method.

GLUTEN-FREE HOT CROSS BUNS

Ingredients

1 cup sultanas
1 cup boiling water

7g dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
120ml warm water

24g psyllium husk
3 eggs
250ml hot water

3 cups gluten-free flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons bicarb soda
1 & 1/2 teaspoons salt
75g sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons mixed spice
Zest of 1 orange

2 tablespoons sugar
Juice of 1 orange

1 egg
1 tablespoon water

3 tablespoons gluten-free flour
Water

Method

Place sulatanas in a small bowl and cover with boiling water and allow to stand.

076

Combine yeast, sugar and warm water in a small bowl and set aside to activate.

077
In a another bowl combine the eggs and psyllium then add the add hot water and set aside to thicken.

078
Place a large bowl of hot water in the oven and turn oven to 100C. Set timer for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes turn the oven off and remove the bowl. This means the oven will be perfect for the dough to rise.

Place the flour, baking powder, bicarb, salt, sugar, spices and orange zest in a bowl and combine. Add the yeast mixture and egg mixture and mix thoroughly. Finally, drain the excess water from the sultanas and stir them into the dough. This step could be done by hand but I use my Kitchen Aid mixer.

079

Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface. Although kneading is not required for gluten-free baking (no gluten to stretch) you can gently roll and fold the dough a few times before dividing it into suitable sized portions. I weighed my balls of dough and chose to make them 75g each which yielded 17 buns.

Place balls of dough into muffin pans or on a tray and set the tray in the pre-warmed oven for 45 minutes.

083
While the dough is rising prepare the egg wash to brush the top of the buns by whisking the egg and water together. Make the mixture for the crosses. Blend together the flour and enough water to make a smooth paste which can be piped onto the buns. Place the flour paste into a plastic bag and snip a tiny piece off one corner.

Remove dough from the oven and turn oven on to 200C to heat while you finish the buns. Brush with egg wash. Pipe crosses onto the buns.

Return buns to the oven set at 200C and cook for 20 – 25 minutes.

Place the sugar and orange juice in a saucepan and simmer gently until reduced and thickened.

When the buns are cooked remove from the oven and drizzle with the orange glaze.

085

Ready to eat.

002

I was very pleased with the result and the final word comes from my friend who said that it was just like the commercially produced fruit loaf. This has inspired me to try baking this recipe as a loaf which could be sliced and toasted.

NOTE: The other variation is the type of flour used. The original rice uses tapioca and brown rice flour. I use my own mixture which includes both of these as well as potato and quinoa flours. You can choose a commercial gluten-free flour or you own combination as long as it totals 3 cups.

Dinner – Gluten Free Quiche

4 Comments

Posted on February 28, 2016

Although you can buy gluten-free pastry and it is possible to make it from scratch there is an easier option for the base of a quiche or savoury pie.

Quiche Base

1.5 cups cooked rice
1 egg
1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs
Freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients, press mixture into a dish, chill for 30 – 60 minutes then add filling and proceed as for regular pastry case.

2016-02-28 01

Like pizza, quiche is great for using up small amounts of various ingredients for the fillings. The combinations are limited only by your imagination. Remember, that you do not need huge amounts of filling.

Today, I used bacon, mushroom and broccolini. 1 rasher of bacon, 1 mushroom, 1/2 onion and about half of a small bunch of broccolini.

2016-02-28 02

Here it is chopped up and ready. I kept the stalks and florets of the broccolini separate. The onion is frozen as I have about 7 kgs of diced frozen onion in my freezer. You can read about it here.

2016-02-28 03

I sauteed the onion and bacon before adding the chopped stalks and finally the mushroom and florets of the broccolini.

2016-02-28 04

I allowed the mixture to cool for about 5 minutes before spreading over the base of the quiche.

2016-02-28 05

I then covered this with 1 cup and grated cheese.

The final step is to make the custard, for that is essentially what a quiche is – savoury custard. I never follow a specific recipe for this but it is a mixture of milk and eggs.

2016-02-28 06

Today I used:

3 eggs (they are extra large from our chickens)
1/4 cup double cream
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon skim milk powder
Pinch of salt
Ground black pepper

Beat the ingredients thoroughly.

2016-02-28 07

Carefully pour the egg mixture over the filling.

2016-02-28 08

Don’t worry if the egg mixture does not cover the cheese. It is best not to overfill the dish or you will find that it overflows during cooking.

Bake at 180C for 35 – 40 minutes or until firm to touch and golden.

2016-02-28 09

The rice crust can be made using whatever rice you prefer. I use brown rice as it works equally as well as white. Make sure the rice is well-cooked to help it stick together.

The filling can be any combination of whatever you choose.

The custard mixture is milk and/or cream and eggs. I happened to have the cream as it was bought to have with dessert last week when we had guests. I generally do not have cream and tend to use skim milk powder blended with a smaller amount of water than normal to mimic evaporated milk. From memory, I think it is about 1 cup of milk powder to 1/2 cup of water.

Dinner – Mexican Quinoa

Leave a comment

Posted on February 13, 2016

The blog post tonight was not going to be another meal but I was not sufficiently organised to take the appropriate photos, so here we are with tonight’s dinner.

Another night and another one pan meal – One Pan Mexican Quinoa and here is the link to the original recipe which I found on Facebook.

As always, mine has been adapted slightly so this is my version.

1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 birdseye chilli, chopped
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 can corn kernels
1 cup black beans (soaked and pre-cooked) – measured after cooking
4 slices hot salami, diced
15 olives, pitted and chopped
1 cup quinoa
3 cups water
1 teaspoon vegetable stock powder
300g cherry tomatoes
1 teaspoon powdered tomatoes

Lightly fry the onion, chilli and spices. Add all other ingredients except salami and olives. Simmer gently until the quinoa is cooked. Add more water as required. Stir in salami and olives. Serve topped with a little grated cheese.

Dinner – Tumeric Chicken

Leave a comment

Posted on February 8, 2016

This was on the menu plan for last week but got bumped as I did not have time to marinate the chicken.

The original recipe is for chicken skewers cooked on a barbecue. Here is the recipe.

As with most recipes, I have adapted this to suit our own requirements. Since I am cooking 1 chicken breast fillet to serve 2 of us this is what I do.

I make up a bulk amount of the spice mixture (dry ingredients) using the proportions in the original recipe. I use considerably more of this mixture than the recipe as I found it very light on flavour if you use the quantity stated for 2.5kg of chicken.