Steamed Pud! GF DF

125 grams dairy free margarine

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup coconut cream

1 1/2 cups sultanas (or other dried fruit)

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 cups gluten free baking mix

1. Place margarine, sugar, milk, fruit and essence in a microwave bowl and microwave on high for 5 minutes.

2. Add the soda and stir in well. Mix in the baking mix, cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 5-6 minutes.

3. Invert onto a serving plate and eat with dairy free icecream or custard - YUM!

My hubby says that this pudding is comparable to the spotted dick of his childhood, it's not made with suet though... ;)

Delicious gluten free sugar cookies... GF DF

250 grams dairy free margarine (or butter if you're not dairy free)
1 cup sugar
pinch of salt
2 large eggs
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup tapioca flour
1 cup potato starch
1 cup ready made gluten free flour mix



Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

With your electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar and salt for around 5 minutes until really creamy.

Then add the eggs, lemon zest and vanilla essence, beat well.

On slow speed, beat in the flour one cup at a time until just combined.

Divide dough into four equal parts in plastic freezer bags, flatten into circles, and place in the freezer until firm, this can take 30 minutes to an hour.

Flour the work surface I use a cookie tray and your rolling pin with gluten free flour and roll out one bag of dough at a time to 1/2 cm thickness. The dough is not that easy to work with and you need to work quickly or it will soften and you'll have to put it back in the freezer.

Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters.

With a metal fish slice, transfer to a cookie sheet lined with baking paper.

Bake 10 – 12 minutes, until lightly golden. Cool on racks.

You get quite a lot of cookies from one batch,

but they won't last long because they're so delicious!

After the cookies have cooled, ice with different coloured icing and sprinkles... We made ours for easter, hence the egg shape! :D

Dee's Most Delicious Pavlova Recipe

I get many requests from friends for this recipe - so here it is in all it's simplicity!

Makes 1 large pavlova or 2 smaller ones:

6 Egg Whites (#7 eggs - large)
2 cups Castor Sugar
2 tsp Malt Vinegar
1 tsp Vanilla Essence

1. Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff enough to form a peak.

2. Add castor sugar gradually until the mixture is shiny and then add vinegar and essence.

3. Pile onto a non-stick baking sheet (3 1/2 inches), on tray, and bake at 150'C (300'F) for approximately 1 - 1 1/2 hours for 2 small and 2 hours for a large one.

4. Remove from sheet and cool on rack.

TIP
If you don't have a non-stick baking sheet, use waxed paper as follows:-
Cut paper to twice the size of the oven tray and sprinkle dull side with water and then fold over so the waxy dry side is now on the outside. Pile the egg white mixture onto this and cook as above but leave it on the tray for about two minutes before removing the paper.

french pancakes - crepes DF

Makes 14-16 five inch pancakes:

2 eggs
2/3 cup milk (tastes good dairy-free, using soy milk or coconut milk as a substitute)
1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar

1. Beat the eggs. Add to the beaten eggs, the milk, water and vanilla. In a larger bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the liquid ingredients. Combine with as few strokes as possible. The objective is to moisten all the dry ingredients and incorporate as little air as possible into the batter. Refrigerate the batter for at least 1 hour.

2. To make the crepes: Gently stir the batter. Grease the skillet using a small amount of oil or butter. Pour a small quantity of batter (about 1/4 cup) to the skillet and tip the skillet to let the batter spread over the bottom. Cook the pancake over moderate heat. When the surface looks dry, check the bottom. If it is brown underneath, reverse the crepe and brown the other side very slightly. Gently remove from the skillet. Add a little bit of fat before preparing each subsequent pancake. Spread each crepe with jelly or filling. Roll and add appropriate topping. We ate ours with icecream.

TIP
Crepes may be prepared ahead and frozen. To do so, put each crepe between layers of waxed paper, place in a plastic bag and seal tightly before freezing. Defrost in the refrigerator. Remove crepes from wrapping, lay singly on a cookie sheet and warm in a low to moderate oven.

When I was little the only pancakes we ever made were the thin crepe ones. It wasn't until McDonalds came on the scene that I ever tried "american" pancakes. I love both a lot - too much :) Hehehehe! Still, it's been years since I have made crepes, so long ago that my kid's had never tried them. Last night, I was inspired to make them for dessert - and they were DELICIOUS! We had them with ice-cream (Lite-licks for Bree). I made a half batch for Briahna, changing the milk to soy. Everyone loved them.

Bohemian Sausage Casserole

For 5-6 Servings:

10 pork GF sausages, sliced
1 can tomato soup
2 x cans chopped tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 cup red lentils
1 cup bacon or chicken stock
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp dried rosemary

1. Cook the sausages in a non-stick frying pan until well browned on both sides. Transfer to a large casserole dish.
2. Add the tomato soup, tomatoes, garlic, onion, red lentils, stock, salt and pepper. Cover and cook for 45 minutes in a moderate oven. Throw in the rosemary, taste and season with additional salt and pepper if needed.

Serve on large plates with winter vegetables, like broccoli and brussel sprouts.

This recipe works well in a crockpot on low setting. :)

Dahl

serves 4-6:
Olive oil for frying
1 clove of garlic finely chopped or crushed
1 onion finely chopped
1 cup of red lentils, washed well and drained (I didn't have any red lentils, so I used brown and it was still good!)
3 cups of hot water
1 400g tin of diced tomatoes
1 potato cut into small cubes
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
1/2 teaspoon of garam masala
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil and then fry the onion and garlic until the onion is a golden brown. Add the turmeric and fry for a minute. Add lentils and fry for another couple of minutes. Add three cups of hot water, tinned tomatoes, potato and cinnamon. Bring to boil and then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add garam masala, salt and pepper after about 10-15 minutes. Cook until soft and mushy. If the dahl seems too wet, let it cook for a while without the lid on.

Serve on rice with pappadoms, natural yogurt and for the adults lashings of lime pickle.

This was yummy, although the kid's and Jonno didn't like it as much as I did. It would be great as a meatless meal, and it was adapted from a recipe I downloaded from kiddly.com. :)

Dee's Devilled Sausages in the Crockpot

For 4-6 servings:
8-12 gluten free sausages (about 500-600g)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp cornflour
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp soya sauce
1 Tbsp wine vinegar
1 can chopped tomatoes (400g)
1 stick celery (chopped)
1 large onion
1 can peaches (400g) - you usually use 1-2 green skinned apples, but my youngest daughter can't eat cooked apple, so I substituted them with peaches and it's YUMMY!

1. Seperate and chop the sausages into 1 cm chunks. Brown in a heavy-based frypan and throw into the crockpot with the sugar, cornflour and salt. Add the liquids and stir until smooth.

2. Chop the peeled onion length-wise and brown in the frypan you used previously. Add browned onion, celery and peaches to the crockpot, and stir into the mixture.

3. Cook for 8 hours on low setting.

Serve on rice, with baked or mashed potatoes, and beans or broccoli.

Whenever I have cooked this dish in the past I have used the Maggi Seasonings, but this time I tried cooking it from scratch. It was DELICIOUS, way better this way! As we were going out for a pot-luck tea, I made it stretch by topping the cooked sausages with mashed potatoes and cheese. Everyone loved it, it was SOOOO good! :) This is a recipe I will use again.

Stone Soup

There is no stone in this soup – but my kid’s called it that after reading the traditional story about the woman who had no food, but whose community shared what they had to produce a delicious soup. :) This is a very delicious, quick and easy to make soup.

For 4 servings:

4 cups hot water
2 tsp instant chicken stock
2 tsp instant beef or bacon stock
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp margarine
1/2 cup pasta (macaroni or any other kind of pasta)
1 small onion
1 stick celery
1 small carrot
1 small potato
1/2 (400gm) can chopped tomatoes

1. Put hot water in a medium sized pot over high heat. Add the stock powder and sugar and margarine. When this comes to the boil add the pasta.
2. Prepare and add the vegetables in the given order. Chop the onion, celery, carrot and potato into small cubes.
3. The soup should be cooked around 15-20 minutes after pasta is added.

Creamy Curried Sausages

I make this dairy free, because my youngest daughter is intolerant to cows-milk. I have learnt to be very adept at checking out the packaging on items, and to adjusting recipes. This dish is extremely delicious.

For 4-5 servings:

1 Tbsp dairy-free margarine
2-3 tsp mild curry powder
1 onion
1 carrot
2 stalks of celery
1 cup water
400-500g precooked sausages
1 cup frozen peas
2 Tbsp cornflour
1 1/2 tsp instant chicken stock (check it's gluten free)
1/2 tsp sugar
1 cup rice or soy milk

1. Melt the margarine in a medium to large pot. Stir in the curry powder and cook gently, without browning, while you prepare the vegetables.
2. Cut the onion, carrot and celery into small (5mm) cubes. As each is prepared, stir it into the curry and margarine. (Make sure that you have at lease a cup of each prepared vegetable.) After the celery is chopped, add the water, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. While the vegetables simmer, skin the precooked sausages and slice them 5mm thick. Add them with the frozen peas, and cook 5 minutes longer. By this time, all the vegetables should be tender.
4. Remembering to use absolutely level measures, mix the cornflour, instant stock and sugar together, then add the milk and stir until smooth. Add to the curried vegetables and sausages and stir gently until the mixture thickens.

Serve in large bowls, on plain cooked rice or on spirals or other pasta.

Provencale Chicken

For 5 servings:

5 pieces chicken
corn flour
black pepper
ground cinnamon
3 cloves garlic
3 medium onions, peeled and quartered lengthwise
400gm can tomatoes
400gm can tomato soup
1/4 cup wine vinegar
2 tsp dried herbs (I use an Italian blend)

1. Remove the skin and fat from the chicken.
2. Mix the flour, pepper and cinnamon together in a plastic bag. Put the chicken in the bag and coat the chicken.
3. Brown the chicken in a non-stick frying pan.
4. Combine all the ingredients in the crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours or until the chicken is very tender.

Serve with pasta or rice and salad.

This was extremely delicious, although my husband and children didn’t like the onion. At least with this dish they can easily remove the large pieces. YUMMY!

Dairy Free Lasagne

Yes, I have altered my favourite lasagne dish to be dairy-free! It was extra delicious - surprise, surprise!!! Instead of making a white sauce with cows milk, I used Coconut Cream and added a teaspoon of Turmeric to make it a little cheesy looking. Gotta work on those visuals to make food at least a little appetising.

So here it is, off the top of my head, cos' thats how I make lasagne.

For 5-6 servings:

Meat Sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
500gm minced beef
1 can tomato pasta sauce
1 can chopped whole peeled tomatoes
2-3 tsp mixed dried herbs

* Brown onions and garlic together, then add mince and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring so meat doesn't stick to pot. Add the rest of ingredients and cook another 15 minutes or so.

White Sauce
1 can Coconut Cream
1 can water with 2 tbsp cornflour added
1 tsp turmeric

* Heat all the ingredients together in a pot for about 15-20 minutes, until thickened, stirring every now and then.

Lasagne Pasta
At least 1 bag of dried gluten free Lasagne

* Cook the pasta in a large stock pot filled with water, a tsp of salt and a tbsp of olive oil.

When all the above ingredients are cooked, place in layers into a oven dish and cook for 20-30 minutes in a moderate oven.

Shrove Tuesday - Crepe's

Using the crepe recipe and yummy ice cream recipe on this blog created a wonderful Shrove Tuesday experience for our family!

By way of explanation;
Shrove Tuesday is a great day for pancake lovers, but Shrove Tuesday also has a special religious significance for Christians, and provides a valuable message for people all over the world.

Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day as it is often called, is the last day before the Christian festival of Lent begins. Lent is the time when Christians prepare for Easter by giving up something special for 40 days. Traditionally Christians would fast (give up food) as a way of remembering the 40 days that Jesus spent alone in the desert, but nowadays people give up all sorts of things for the 40 day period. Television, meat, wine and chocolate are common sacrifices, but people can choose to forgo anything in recognition of the festival.

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday. Traditionally Christians would rub ashes on their forehead on this day, as a way of showing they were sorry for their sins. The ashes are made from the palm crosses from last year’s Palm Sunday celebrations, and symbolise the death and resurrection of Christ.

Scones made the dairy-free way!

3 cups flour
6 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
50 gm dairy free margarine
1 1/4 cups coconut cream (slightly less than a can)

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Rub the margarine into the flour mix until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add coconut cream and mix quickly into a soft dough. Lightly knead. Lightly dust an oven tray with flour. Press scone dough out onto this. Cut into even sizes. Leave a 2 cm space between scones. Brush tops with left over coconut cream. Bake at 220 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

homemade hamburger patties

Makes around 30 patties.

2kg minced beef
2 cups soft bread crumbs
1 cup homemade tomato sauce
4 eggs, lightly beaten

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and then shape mixture into patties, and snap-freeze on trays in freezer. Store in freezer bags until required.

Homemade Tomato Sauce

Makes 2-3 cups.

2 tbsp oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, chopped
2 x 400gm can's of chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp mixed herbs - optional
1/2 glass of wine - optional

Brown the garlic and onion in the oil, then add the other ingredients and boil until desired consistency.

Can be used to add to bolognaise sauce or as is.

Mayonnaise Dressing

1/4 cup Maize cornflour
3 tsp Citric Acid
1 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 cup Sugar
1 1/4 cups Water
2 eggs
175ml Oil

Cook together cornflour, citric acid, salt, sugar and water in a saucepan. When thickened, pour into a blender and while whizzing, add eggs and drizzle oil. Keeps well in the refrigerator for approximately 2 weeks.

DELICIOUS Dairy Free Ice Cream

1 can Coconut Cream
1 can Fruit (Any Kind will do)
2 Banana's (optional - is more sorbet-ish without)

Puree all of the above in a blender. Pour into prepared icecream maker and waa-lah!



The easiest and tastiest dairy free icecream option.

Some variations I've tried; Apricot and chocolate chip, Fruit Salad, Peppermint (just add 1 tsp Peppermint Essence).

dairyfree carrot cupcakes

1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
salt, pinch
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
2 cups grated carrots

1. Blend all ingredients and mix very well.

2. Put in spoonful amounts into a prepared patty tin.

3. Bake until cooked (20 minutes) at 170 degrees Celcius.

Dairy Free Chocolate Cupcakes

This recipe is based on a very moist chocolate cake. I've also known it to be called Wacky Cake or Crazy Cake. It is delicious and similar to the other chocolate cake I have on this blog.

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
6 tablespoons cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vinegar
3/4 cup canola oil (almost any kind of cooking oil will do)
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
1 cup soy milk
1 cup water

1. Sift first 6 ingredients together in mixing bowl.

2. Make 3 wells and in each hole place the next 3 ingredients.

3. Pour 1 cup of water and 1 cup of soy milk over top and mix with a fork or wire whisk.

4. Put spoonfuls into patty tin.

5. Bake at 170 degrees Celcius for 20 minutes.

Sugar Cookies

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup dairy free margarine (or butter)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Assorted candies, sprinkles, or coloured sugars, for decorating (optional)

1. In large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture; beat until combined. Divide dough in half; flatten into disks. Wrap each in plastic; freeze until firm, at least 20 minutes, or place in a resealable plastic bag, and freeze up to 3 months (thaw in refrigerator overnight).

2. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line baking sheets with parchment. Remove one dough disk; let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Roll out 1/8 inch thick between two sheets of floured parchment, dusting dough with flour as needed. Cut shapes with cookie cutters. Using a spatula, transfer to prepared baking sheets. (If dough gets soft, chill 10 minutes.) Re-roll scraps; cut shapes. Repeat with remaining dough.

3. Bake, rotating halfway through, until edges are golden, 10 to 18 minutes (depending on size). Cool completely on wire racks. To ice cookies, spread with the back of a spoon. Let the icing harden, about 20 minutes. Decorate as desired.


Note: To make icing, sift 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar into a small bowl. Whisk in 3 to 4 tablespoons milk, water, or lemon juice, 1 tablespoon at a time, until smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If too thin, whisk in more sugar; if too thick, add more liquid.


TIPS: Use flour on utensils to keep dough from sticking: Dip the cookie cutters, and dust the spatula before transferring uncooked dough to a sheet. Rolling dough between two sheets of floured parchment will keep it from sticking to the rolling pin.
You can store cookies in airtight containers at room temperature, up to 1 week.