Replenishing Supplies

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Posted on January 11, 2023

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

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Posted on April 1, 2022

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

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Posted on April 20, 2020

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.

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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.

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

A Golden Oldie

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Posted on May 5, 2019

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.

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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.

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Posted on April 28, 2019

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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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Posted on August 9, 2018

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.

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

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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.

A Perfect Loaf

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Posted on July 17, 2017

I thought the sourdough loaf that GMan managed to produce 3 months ago was good and you can see it here. He has continued to work on fine-tuning the method and I think his most recent effort is pretty well perfect.

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It must be about time he tried making that gluten-free starter for me. 🙂

Sourdough Success

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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.

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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.

An Easter Recipe

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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.

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

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Ready to eat.

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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.

Bulk Cooking

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Posted on September 27, 2015

Since there are only 2 of us to cook for, I do not prepare huge quantities of food but it is nice to have a few meals planned and prepared. The other factor that influences my decision is that I prefer to use the oven efficiently when it is turned on.

Yesterday I sorted out what was lurking in the freezer and decided that this week we would eat what I could make using freezer and pantry ingredients. I should really only need to buy some fresh fruit and vegetables.

I started by making gluten-free pizza bases. I par-cook these in the oven then freeze them for later use.

Here they are ready to freeze. I have some old cereal packets which I use to separate the bases when they go in the freezer.

It is simply a matter of adding the toppings and cooking in the bench-top pizza-maker.

Next, I decided to make some gluten-free muffins which turned out to quite acceptable using a standard recipe and simply substituting gluten-free flour. I made 2 batches – orange, walnut and sultanas in one and the other were banana, walnut and mixed spice. The catalyst for these were the sad looking banana that I rescued from the fridge at work on Friday and some orange pulp I found in my freezer.

At the same time I made some gluten-free wraps for lunches.

These are cooked in a hot, dry frying pan and can be stored in the fridge for a few days.

A pack of sausages which had been left in the freezer by our house-sitters were grilled and sliced then made into a sausage casserole which made 4 serves.

I usually cook a bulk amount of dried red kidney beans in the slowcooker and freeze them in portions ready to use. I found a pack in the freezer as well as a pack of diced beef so I put them in the slowcooker with frozen cherry tomatoes from last season, frozen diced onion and some spices to make 4 serves of chilli beef. That bubbled along all day while I was doing the other cooking.