Category Archives: gluten-free

Handmade

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As I sat down to write this post I was casting around in my mind for a suitable title. After close to 15 years of writing this blog it is inevitable that I end up reusing titles and that does not really matter. However, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the very simple one-word title of ‘Handmade’ had never featured. This is amazing since so much I what I write about is things that we have made or refashioned, whether it is cooking, sewing, gardening or various constructions.

Anyway, enough about the title and on to a couple of things that I have made recently which I want to share with you. The first is a recipe. This is a quick and easy no-bake sweet treat which is easy to have on hand for unexpected guests as well as a terrific option for times when you need to contribute something at the plethora of end-of-year events which will soon be upon us.

CHOC FRUIT AND NUT BALLS

Ingredients

1 cup raw almonds
1 cup sultanas
1 cup raisins
2 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 cup coconut + extra for rolling
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1 – 2 tablespoons fruit juice

Method

Place almonds in food processor and process until fairly finely chopped. Add sultanas and raisins and process a bit more. Add the remaining dry ingredients and finally the juice. Drizzle slowly until the mixture forms into a solid mass. Remove mixture and roll into small balls. Roll the balls in coconut and store in the freezer until ready to use.

NOTE: This ‘recipe’ is my own creation and the quantities are only approximate and very flexible. You can use any dried fruit of you choosing. The juice can be fresh orange or lemon juice or any type of bottled juice.

Additionally, it is gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan. Although I have not tried, if you need a nut-free version you could consider using pepitas or sunflower seeds instead of the almonds.

Meanwhile, I have also done some sewing recently. I had picked up some beautiful quilting fabric from an op shop some time ago with no real plans for how I would use it as they are not the colours I generally work with. I added it to my stash for a yet to be decided project. Last week I used some of it to make these blocks.

I then turned them into 2 patchwork tote bags which are fully lined with a contrasting internal pocket.

They are both being donated. One went to be part of a raffle at a Frocktober High Tea which a friend held yesterday. For those of you who don’t know, Frocktober is a focused month of fundraising for Ovarian Cancer Research. All cancer research is important but ovarian cancer is a particularly insidious disease which usually has very late diagnosis, and therefore, very poor outcomes and survival rates.

The other bag will also be part of a raffle next weekend but this time it will be at a fundraising fete for our local Community Pantry.

I am pleased to be able to share some of my handmade goods to benefit others in the wider community.

A Day Out – Part 2

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As promised, here is the second instalment of our day out in Shepparton.

We went to the SPC Factory shop and I had no real idea of what to expect apart from hoping to buy some tinned tomatoes.

Well it was an absolute eye-opener as they had all sorts of packaged food, drinks and some household goods.

I did buy 3 large tins (2.95kg each) of chopped tomatoes. You can see them on the top shelf as I had put some of our haul away before I thought to photograph it.

I also bought the 12 bottles of passata, 2 packs of gluten free gnocchi as well as a couple of other packs of gluten free pasta shown here.

Other items were 6 pairs of socks, 2 rolls of baking paper, a travel coffee plunger/mug, several tubes of toothpaste and facial scrub.

Everything that I bought was needed and well-priced. It would be easy to go overboard and be sucked into buying things that you do not need. You also need to know that you can successfully use and/or store various items as well as being aware of the pricing in regular supermarkets or other sources.

I am confident that the $114 that we spent was good value. I certainly would not need to shop here regularly nor would I make the 2 hour drive just to shop here. However, it is good to know what is available should we happen to be in the area in the future.

A Replacement

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We recently purchased a new pizza maker as our old one had finally ceased to work properly. I am not sure how old it was but we had definitely had it for more than 8 years. When we first bought the original pizza maker it took about 3-4 minutes to cook a pizza with toppings. Over time this gradually increased until it was taking 7-8 minutes and then finally was not cooking them properly at all. In fact, the dough tasted uncooked which was definitely not our preference.

So, we decided to replace the appliance as it gets well-used and is an efficient use of electricity rather than heating an entire oven. After a bit of research we chose one that is the same size as the original but with some slightly upgraded features.

Better positioned handles that minimise the risk of burns. Also, a glass window in the lid so that you can observe the cooking progress.

A removable pizza stone insert which makes cleaning a bit easier. However, it does not get washed – merely scraped or brushed to remove any debris.

A couple of stainless steel paddles which make it a breeze to lift the pizza in and out of the oven.

We have used the new pizza maker twice so far and I am very pleased to once again have a perfectly cooked pizza in 3-4 minutes.

I know that single-purpose appliances generally get a bad rap as they are expensive to buy, a nuisance to store and only suitable for a very specific purpose. However, we really enjoy making our own pizzas, I have plenty of space to store the item, it is an efficient use of electricity and for me, this is definitely a worthwhile purchase.

More Vegetables

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I want to share a recipe that has evolved in my kitchen since I first discovered that I could use cooked cauliflower as the base for a savoury white sauce rather than the traditional flour and butter roux.

The quantities listed are very flexible and only intended as a guide. The seasoning depends very much on your palate and should be adjusted accordingly.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 large cauliflower, cut into pieces (including stalks)
500ml milk, dairy or plant-based
1&1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon smoky paprika

Cook cauliflower until tender – microwave or steamed. Puree the cooked cauliflower, gradually adding milk to create the required consistency.

At this stage it should be smooth but will taste like milky cauliflower. Gradually add seasoning of your choice. Other options include powdered onion or garlic.

The mixture freezes really well and is super versatile. Here are 4 jars ready to go in the freezer.

It can be used in any way you would normally use white sauce. I sometimes add to vegetables or use for a pancake filling with mushrooms and chicken. Tonight I used it for the base of a tuna pasta bake.

Here it is almost ready to go in the airfryer.

I will add some topping of flaxseed meal, nutritional yeast and a little grated cheese and serve with some sliced carrots and zucchini.

Christmas Crumble

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Fruit crumble is one of my favourite desserts but is not usually on the Christmas menu.

This year I am preparing lunch for 3 adults on what looks like being a cool and rainy day despite the fact that it is the middle of summer.

I have plenty of cooking apples and an abundance of frozen mulberries so we will be having apple and mulberry crumble with ice-cream for dessert on Christmas Day.

CRUMBLE TOPPING

Ingredients

1 cup coconut
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup plain flour (I use gluten-free flour)
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
2 teaspoons golden syrup
2 teaspoons powdered cinnamon
2 teaspoons powdered ginger
2 teaspoons powdered mixed spice
90g butter

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the syrup and mix through. Finely shave the butter and rub through the dry ingredients using your fingertips.

Spread the crumble mixture on top of your favourite stewed fruit and cook in oven or airfryer until the topping is lightly browned and crisp.

NOTES: This is a large quantity as I freeze any excess for future use so you may wish to halve the amounts. I only use real butter as it needs to be very firm (not spreadable) for this recipe.

Daily Stuff

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After writing this blog for over 12 years I sometimes wonder whether it has become a little stale or repetitive. However, I am reminded that there are new people popping in all the time so I will continue to share my activities here.

Since it is winter and I am struggling with a cold it is not a great time to be outdoors. There is plenty to do inside the house and most of it can be distilled down to cooking and sewing.

Cooking is essential for feeding ourselves and I try to build up a bit of a supply of meals as well as condiments. In the past few days I have made grapefruit marmalade (recipe here) from fruit which was in a giveaway box in the next block, a new batch of gluten-free pizza bases (recipe here), sourdough bread (GMan’s handiwork) as well as Eggplant Rolls and Pumpkin, Eggplant and Chickpea Curry. You can check our my vegetable curry recipe here.

The next blog post will be the full recipe for the Eggplant Rolls.

On the sewing front, I have completed a couple of mending jobs.

New elastic (salvaged from worn-out undies) to replace the elastic and drawstring in this pair of pyjama bottoms which were originally purchased 2 years ago from the $1 rack at the op shop.

This jacket is 11 years old and still in excellent condition but the zip had broken so I bought a new zip and replaced it.

I think that is the mending out of the way for the moment so I do need to set my mind to making a dress to wear to a family wedding in 7 weeks time. Watch this space as the saying goes.

Pumpkin Soup

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I cannot believe that despite writing this blog for over 12 years, growing pumpkins and there being several references to making pumpkin soup that I have never actually written an entire post about making it. Nor have I added a recipe to the index.

Well, I am about to remedy that oversight.

We are still living in temporary accommodation but that has not stopped me preparing meals. The weather is cold and a bowl of piping hot soup is a welcome addition to the menu. I made cauliflower soup a few days ago and now it is time for some pumpkin soup. I bought a whole pumpkin from a nearby roadside stall for $7.

Whilst this may sound expensive it works out to less than 50c for a generous serve and is one of the best flavoured pumpkins I have had in a long time.

There is only one saucepan in our current accommodation so I only used half of the pumpkin.

The following recipe and method are my preference, however, you can adjust and modify according to your own tastes and circumstances.

The quantities are what I used but they are quite variable according to taste.

PUMPKIN SOUP

Ingredients

Half a large pumpkin
2 teaspoons oil
2 teaspoons balsamic syrup
2 medium onions, finely diced
Salt
Pepper
3 teaspoons vegetable stock powder
1/2 teaspoon smoky paprika
750ml water

Peel pumpkin, remove seeds and cut into large wedges. Place pumpkin in a large bowl. Combine a couple of teaspoons of oil and balsamic syrup and pour over the pumpkin. Toss until it is all coated with the mixture. There shouldn’t really be any excess – just enough to coat the pumpkin.

Place the pumpkin wedges in a single layer in the air-fryer and cook for 30 minutes at 190C. You may need to do several batches depending on the size of the air-fryer.

Finely dice 2 medium onions. Add a small amount of oil to a large saucepan or stockpot and saute the onions until soft. Add the pre-cooked pumpkin, water and seasoning. Simmer for 10 minutes then puree and adjust seasoning/liquid as required.

I use a stick blender to puree the soup, however, you could use a blender or food processor.

**WARNING** Whatever method you use to blend the soup you need to be very careful to avoids burns or scalding.

NOTE: The recipe for balsamic syrup is here.

Countdown – Cooking

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Removalist day (17th March) is fast approaching and it is time I gave some serious consideration to the kitchen and food.

It will be almost 8 weeks between the date that everything is moved and when we actually move into our new home in Victoria. In that time we will be housesitting near our existing home, spending a few days with family and then house-sitting for a week in Brisbane before spending 5 days driving to Victoria and another 10 days in an Air BnB before our final relocation. All of this means that although I will have the capacity to cook meals, my access to a full range of ingredients and implements will be somewhat limited.

So, this morning a made a list of some of the major ingredients I have. The next step is to create as many meals as possible that can be frozen and fairly easily reheated or finished off with the minimum of ingredients.

The first cab off the rank was a batch of chilli con carne using up diced onion, mince, kidney beans and refried beans from the freezer. It made 5 serves.

Ingredients

1 large onion, diced
250g mince
500g kidney beans
1 cup refried beans
1 can crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup water
2 teaspoons beef stock powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons smoky paprika
1 teaspoon powdered chilli
Tabasco sauce – to taste

Method

Gently saute the onion in a little olive oil, add the mince and stir until fully browned. Add the remining ingredients, combine and simmer gently for about 30 minutes. This will allow the flavours to combine and thicken slightly to a spicy, rich sauce.

NOTE: Adjust seasonings to suit your taste.

Replenishing Supplies

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We arrived home from holidays last Friday afternoon and in next to no time we were back into building up our food supplies.

Our kitchen overlooks the vegetable garden and I could a sea of red cherry tomatoes rambling everywhere. This, coupled with the fact that we had almost entirely depleted our stock of tomato sauce (ketchup) meant that this was a high priority on my ‘to do’ list.

The recipe for the sauce is here.

I made another batch of gluten free pizza bases. I make 6 at a time and freeze them ready for an easy meal.

Recipe for the pizza bases is here.

GMan got in on the act and restocked his homemade sourdough bread.

Finally, I picked a bucketful of Davidson plums from our tree (indigenous tropical fruit) and made what I regard as the best jam in the world.

I have included links to the recipes for the tomato sauce and pizza bases.

I will do full posts about the jam and sourdough in the not too distant future.

Also, don’t forget to check the recipe index on the blog. The link to the page is ‘Recipes – Food’ at the top of the blog.

Functional or Fad?

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It is now about 2 months since I capitulated and bought an airfryer.

I had not really investigated what an airfryer was or how they worked but when I heard them being mentioned in a couple of Facebook groups I dismissed them as another unnecessary kitchen gadget. My first real-life experience of them was when we were invited to dinner a couple of months ago. The potatoes cooked in the airfryer were absolutely divine.

GMan came home and started researching various options. Coincidentally, Aldi had them in their special buys the following week so we decided to bite the bullet and see whether all of the hype was worth it. For us it has certainly proven to be $70 well-spent.

Apart from the rather obvious benefit of being able to replicate at least some deep-fried food with minimal oil there are also considerable energy savings from using the airfryer rather than a conventional oven. Food cooks more quickly and it does not heat the entire kitchen.

The airfryer is also quick and easy to clean.

My first attempt was chips which were an absolute winner. Since then I have cooked salmon, arancini balls, marinated chicken pieces, garlic and eggplant slices as well as nachos.

For the nachos, I lined the cooking tray with baking paper and assembled the nachos as per my ‘recipe’ here. 8 minutes at 190C in the airfryer and dinner was ready.

I served these with a side salad of coleslaw.