Tag Archives: baking

A Closer Look

Leave a comment

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about our new oven and induction cooktop. You can read about that in this post.

We have now had several opportunities to use the cooktop as well as the oven on a couple of occasions. I have used induction cooktops in accommodations that we have stayed in while travelling and I have to say that this particular one is as easy to use as any I have come across. I am still getting used to the instantaneous heat but I am very proud that I managed to cook brown rice without it boiling over at any point during the process.

The oven is another story. We do not use the oven a great deal apart from GMan’s sourdough bread baking adventures. Nevertheless, it has been refreshing to discover how simple the operation of the oven seems to be.

This shows the screen display which greets you when the oven is turned on initially.

The display is clear and easy to understand. In fact, I was able to navigate it for the first time without even referring to the instruction manual. The temperature selection is digital and can be selected in 5°C increments. Once the temperature is selected the digital display shows the exact temperature as it increases. The bread requires a starting temperature of 230°C and GMan was thrilled to find that the temperature was reached in barely 8 minutes from turning the oven on. This is a refreshing change from the 30 minutes required with the previous oven in addition to the accuracy being somewhat debatable.

The verdict on the first loaves made in the new oven was that they are probably the best ones he has made in about 8 years of baking sourdough bread.

Too Clever

Leave a comment

I have been meaning to write this post for ages but every time I think of it I am in the middle of serving dinner. You will understand why in a minute.

This is a jar lifter which I bought a few years ago. It is designed for lifting preserving jars out of a water bath or otherwise manipulating/moving hot jars. Who would have thought that it would have another use?

One of the challenges of the airfryer is extricating dishes of cooked food from the small space. Oven mitts are really not much use as they are too bulky. I often use these small dishes for making individual serves and they are perfect in the airfryer. I use them for making pot pies, individual baked desserts and mini quiches to name but a few.

So, back to the jar lifter. It is the perfect size to lift these small dishes from the airfryer. The lip on the edge of the dish means that it can be held securely to remove it.

I keep the jar lifter on the shelf in the pantry with the empty preserving jars and it is within easy reach of the airfryer on the bench opposite. Sometimes things just work perfectly and I actually smile to myself every time I use it to lift dishes of food from the airfryer.

It really is the simple things that make a difference.

A Mixed Day

Leave a comment

Like so many days, today was a mix of assorted small jobs that I managed to tick off my list.

The weather was overcast and we even had some very light rain but I had some handwashed items to dry. I used the very convenient extendable rack in the laundry to hang them up.

I also had a couple of cooking jobs. I had cooked some dried Great Northern beans some time ago and frozen them. I thawed them yesterday in preparation for turning them into my version of baked beans. We had some for lunch today and the remainder have been divided into single serve portions and are ready to be frozen. I ended up with 16 portions for relatively minimal effort. The recipe for my baked beans is here.

The other cooking job for the day was to make a slice for a conference we are attending tomorrow. This is the slice before I iced it this evening. It is easy to turn into a gluten-free option with a straight substitution of gluten-free flour for the regular wheat flour. The recipe is here. I added some cinnamon and ginger this time to spice it up and the icing was made with lime juice and the addition of more powdered ginger.

I am feeling rather accomplished because as well as things I have mentioned here, I have also taken up a new pair of trousers and mended a pair of jeans – both for GMan and ironed a few items from the washing of the past couple of days.

It is good to have everything pretty much up-to-date before we are in Melbourne over the weekend.

Making Our Own

Leave a comment

After my previous post it is back to the things we do ourselves.

Today I picked up a couple of large grapefruit at our local LETS market. I have sliced them finely and am soaking them overnight and I will make some marmalade tomorrow. Grapefruit marmalade is GMan’s favourite so another jar or two is always a welcome addition to the pantry.

In the past I would have draped a tea towel over the bowl to cover the soaking fruit but I am using this cute fabric bowl cover which is simply a circle of fabric with an elasticised edge. It was a gift from a friend in Maleny and was made by one of the members of WAM (Waste Action Maleny). I was part of the group when we lived there so it was lovely to receive this gift.

Marmalade goes on toast and GMan was particularly proud of his latest loaves of sourdough. We have been here for almost 12 months and in that time he has been unable to replicate his best efforts but we both think that these are as good as any he has made.

The satisfaction in cooking, doing, making, building or repairing something yourself is immeasurable.

Replenishing Supplies

3 Comments

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.

Baking Day

2 Comments

It is over 2 weeks since my last post and I am not really sure why. It is partly because I have been occupied with personal aspects of my life which are not blog material but also I have been somewhat overwhelmed by national and global events which are out of my control.

Anyway, I am back and wanted to share a little of my day from yesterday.

As you may be aware, GMan has been the baker of bread in our house for probably close to 30 years. The breadmaker is an appliance that was a fad for some people and ended up relegated to a storage space to gather dust or the next garage sale. That was not the case here and it has been used consistently here for many years. Our current model is the second one we have owned.

Our bread needs have changed as our daughters left home and the demand for sandwiches diminished. Also, I eat a predominantly gluten-free diet, therefore, regular bread is off the menu.

In the early days GMan used various premixes, however as time has progressed so have his skills. He now makes bread in the breadmaker from scratch. This is mostly restricted to the occasional loaf of fruit loaf which he enjoys.

His main focus now is sourdough which he has researched, studied and perfected in the last 5 years. You can read about one of the earliest results here. Continuing research and a more mature starter have contributed to his current success of which he is justifiably proud.

I am still waiting for him to try a gluten-free starter. Maybe this year……..

Like most people, we are mindful of our power usage, and therefore, the oven is generally used for multiple items when it is turned on. Yesterday was a good example. I also made a loaf of gluten-free banana bread and a batch of gluten-free cheese scones. These are enjoyed by both of us. The scones are the perfect accompaniment to home-made vegetable soup and the recipe is here. I will add the recipe for the banana bread later as yesterday was the first time I had made it.

The last thing I put in the oven was a tray of eggplant slices. These were from our garden and I brush them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt before gently roasting them until soft. They were for the pizza I made for dinner last night. I do not use the oven when making pizza as I have a benchtop pizza maker.

A day in the kitchen was not only about baking but also other food prep (pineapples, bananas and tomatoes) but I will save those stories for another post.

A Berry Birthday

Leave a comment

Well, today is my birthday and has been quite unlike any other.  Not bad………..just different.  Thanks to the current coronavirus outbreak, we are mostly staying at home and today was no different.

We often celebrate birthdays by going out to dinner and a few days ago GMan found that a seafood restaurant near us is doing takeaways including grilled fish and chips.  However, they are closed on Mondays so we have decided to have that treat tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I planned and cooked my own birthday dinner.  A foray to the garden yielded snake beans (my new favourite variety), choy sum and raspberries.

2020-04-20 01

We had a vegetable stir-fry and followed it up with dessert of chocolate cake (gluten-free, of course) and fresh raspberries.  I really could not have asked for a more delicious meal despite having to prepare it myself.

2020-04-20 02

Tomorrow I will post the recipe for the cake for anyone who is interested.

A Golden Oldie

2 Comments

Prompts from several different sources inspired me to make a Lemon Delicious pudding yesterday.

First, a Facebook group post encouraged members to make a post recipes for a childhood favourite food.

Second, my brother, sister and brother-in-law were coming for dinner.  What better, than to share a dessert from our common childhood memories?

Third, another Facebook group discusses how our grandparents lived, including cooking and preparing food.

I had not made Lemon Delicious since 2012 when I began eating a gluten-free diet, however, I was not going to let that stop me.

I have posted the recipe for Lemon Delicious on the blog previously.  See here.  Unfortunately the photos have disappeared from the old post and I am unable to retrieve them.

So, here it is again – with the addition of the gluten-free option.

LEMON DELICIOUS

1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons plain flour (use gluten-free flour if required)
Juice and rind of 1 lemon
2 eggs
1 cup milk

Cream the butter and sugar.  Add flour, juice and rind.  Mix well.  Separate the eggs, add yolks and milk to mixture.  Place the whites in a separate bowl and beat until stiff.  Fold the beaten egg white into the mixture.  Pour into an ovenproof dish.  Stand the dish in a tray of water (about 2-3cm deep) and place in a moderate oven for about 30 minutes or until the top is firm to touch and golden.

2019-05-05 01

The finished product is like a lemon self-saucing pudding.  This can be served warm or cold with ice-cream, cream or custard.

NOTES:

As a nod to past generations, I did not use my Kitchen Aid mixer to cream the butter and sugar.  I used a bowl and tablespoon – hard but satisfying work.  I also beat the egg whites using a hand-held rotary beater.  The results were equally as good as any I have made previously using electric appliances.

The ‘sauce’ of the pudding was somewhat thicker than other efforts and I think this was probably due to using gluten-free flour which does tend to absorb more moisture.  I would probably ad the juice of another half a lemon in order to rectify this.  Despite this, the pudding was extremely well-received by the dinner guests and I will definitely be making it again before too long – especially as the lemon trees are absolutely laden with fruit.

 

Scones? Yes, please.

1 Comment

I have never had a great deal of success baking scones but when you add the requirement to be gluten-free into the mix it really becomes a challenge.

A few years ago I acquired this book and I have mastered the scones.  I think the trick is the flour blend which is explained in the beginning of the book.

2019-04-28 01

I use the following to make 1kg of plain gluten-free flour and use the Kitchen Aid mixer to thoroughly blend the flours before storing in an airtight container.

340g brown rice flour
340g potato starch
200g arrowroot
120g quinoa flour

Here is the original scone recipe from the book.

2019-04-28 02

Please note that it has 900g of flour so makes a large batch.  I make a half mix because that is what will fit in my mixer.  I used a half mix for this batch of over 30 scones.

2019-04-28 03

As usual, I have adapted both the recipe and the method.  I make savoury cheese scones to serve with homemade soup but there is no reason that you could not make sweet scones.

CHEESE SCONES

400ml warm milk
40g psyllium husk

450g gluten-free flour blend (see recipe above)
8 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon smoky paprika
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon finely grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

2 eggs
20ml apple cider vinegar

130g butter

Combine milk and psyllium and set aside. Combine dry ingredients and cheese.  Grate/shred the cold butter into the flour mixture.  Add the eggs and vinegar to the psyllium mixture then add to the flour mixture.  Combine until you have a soft dough.  I use the Kitchen Aid stand mixer for this but can be done by hand.

Lightly knead and shape to a rectangle of the desired height.  Use a knife dipped in flour  to cut the pieces and then arrange on a baking tray or two.  Be sure to allow enough space between the scones for even cooking.  Brush with milk and bake at 180C for about 15-17 minutes.

Whilst this is far from a ‘traditional’ scone recipe, it does provide a very acceptable gluten-free alternative which most people who do not have any gluten retrictions are more than happy to eat.

A Couple of Classics

1 Comment

It is interesting see how meals and baking have evolved over time but every now and then it is lovely to drag out some tried and true recipes.  As well as the enjoyment of eating the actual food, the memories that they evoke can be a delight.

The other day there was some discussion in an online group regarding using breakfast cereals in baking which made me remember this one which my maternal grandmother used to make.

DATE LOGS

1 cup chopped dates
1/4 cup castor sugar
30g butter
1 egg, beaten
1 dessertspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1& 1/2 cups Rice Bubbles

Place all ingredients except the Rice Bubbles in a saucepan and cook gently for 10 minutes, stirring carefully.  Allow to cool.  Mix in Rice Bubbles.  Form into logs and roll in coconut.  Chill and store in the fridge.

I have not made this recipe recently but will do at some time.  I am not sure if Rice Bubbles are strictly gluten-free but you could used puffed rice which would ensure they are gluten free.

My memory of date logs is them being served for afternoon tea on a dainty oval china dish.

The second recipe I want to share with you is a simple melt and mix fruit slice which I successfully converted to a gluten-free version.  Here is the original recipe.

FRUIT SLICE

1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup mixed fruit
1 cup coconut
1/2 cup sugar
125g butter
2 teaspoons golden syrup

Combine dry ingredients.  Add melted butter and syrup.  Press into a shallow tin.  Bake in a moderate oven for 10-15 minutes.  Ice with lemon or orange icing when cool.

In order to make it gluten free I used a cup of gluten free plain flour and 2 teaspoons of baking powder.  Also, rather than mixed fruit I used 3/4 cup of sultanas and 1/4 cup of dried cranberries.  You can use any mixture of fruit that you choose.

2018-08-09 01

Since we have an abundance of passionfruit I decided to make passionfruit icing.

2018-08-09 02

They do not look overly pretty because I was racing against the clock and the icing had not completely set when I cut the slice.  However, it tasted amazing and adapted really well to the gluten free flour.

I hope you enjoy these and I will add the links to the recipe file on the front page of the blog.