Spicy vegetarian pasta (gluten-free)

My hubby has started growing chilli plants. I, in turn, have been trying to grow a tolerance for eating chillies so that when the harvest is ready, my taste buds will be up to the challenge. This recipe is born of that task :-)


Ingredients:

• 250g rice spirals (I used Orgran's vegetable rice spirals)
• 1 large green pepper
• 1/2 medium onion
• 6 green beans
• 1 tsp. dried mixed herbs (The blend I used incl. thyme, sage, origanum, marjoram, sweet basil)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. olive oil/butter
• 2 tsp. tomato paste
  
• 100ml cream
• 1 tsp. diced green chillies (incl. seeds)
• 1/2 tsp. crushed garlic
• parmesan cheese (optional)

Method:

1. Slice the green pepper, onion and green beans into bite-sized strips/pieces.
2. Add the pasta, green pepper, onions, green beans, salt, dried mixed herbs and olive oil/butter to a pot of boiling water. Follow packet instructions for cooking time.
3. Drain the pasta. stir through the tomato paste, cream, chillies and garlic.
4. Serve sprinkled with parmesan.
5. Recipe serves 2.
   

Homemade, gluten-free buttermilk rusks

When my then boyfriend/now hubby and I were in varsity, and money for dates was thin on the ground, we used to raid my parents' pantry for Ouma buttermilk rusks dipped in frothy, delicious cappuccinos (the flavoured packet mixes). We'd find a spot on the couch in the lounge or outside on the bench in the garden, and smul lekker !

Other than Nature's Choice gluten-free coconut & sesame rusks which are buttery with no nasty aftertaste (but are seriously on the pricey side), no bought gluten-free rusk I've tasted up to now comes close to Ouma buttermilk rusks. But this recipe is about as close as it's going to get.

It's adapted from a recipe which came printed in a little booklet with the Ideas Magazine a few months ago. Make it when you have some time on your hands and are craving a true, homegrown South African tradition - 'n lekker koppie koffie met beskuit op die stoep! (Translation: an enjoyable cup of coffee with rusks on the verandah.)

Buttermilk Rusks
(gluten-free)

Ingredients:

- 1kg gluten-free cake flour*
- 280g sugar
- 250g butter
- 3 eggs
- 333ml buttermilk

Method:

1) Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour* and sugar. * Note on the flour: Pick a well-balanced gluten-free flour blend with a taste you love. The quality of the flour will determine how fluffy and light your rusks turn out. If you use a single-source dense flour, the rusks will be dense and wont turn out looking like mine. I use my own mix of flours. Just like I had to, you will need to experiment with the recipe until you find the magic touch which works for YOUR tastebuds and visual appeal. The recipe, however, is a solid, no-flop base recipe open to variation.

2) Make a well in the centre and use a dough hook attachment on your mixer
to add the eggs and butttermilk (the consistensy will be like a thick scone batter).

3) Roll balls and put them next to eachother
in a loaf tin or a cake tin or something with edges.

4) Bake at 150 degrees Celsius for 30 - 40 mins (till golden)
BUT you have to start watching them after 20 mins already.

5) THEN you take them out, break them apart, eat a few
as delicious/rich/soft scones
with jam and double thick cream on




AND

put the rest on a wire rack on a baking sheet in the oven at 50 degrees Celsius
with a wooden spoon in the oven door for air flow
and bake it for a few hours (mine took 2 - 3 hours)
till it's the crispy texture of a rusk.

(See pic above post.)

Geniet dit!Enjoy it!

Nourishing butternut soup

My version of comfort food...

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion
• 1kg butternut chunks
• 1 tsp crushed garlic (fresh)
  
• 1 tsp crushed ginger (fresh)
• 1 tsp crushed green chilli (fresh)
• 1 large sprig of rosemary (fresh)
  
• 1 tsp salt crystals
• coconut oil for frying
• 2 Tbsp coconut flour (gives a creamy, thick texture)
  
• roasted, salted hemp seeds (garnish) (optional)

Method:

1. Fry onions in coconut oil over low heat until translucent.
2. Add butternut chunks, garlic, ginger, chilli, sprig of rosemary, salt and coconut flour to the pot.
   
3. Add enough boiling water to just cover the butternut chunks.
4. Bring to a boil then turn down the heat and simmer for 20 - 30 mins (depending on the initial size of the butternut chunks).
5. Remove the sprig of rosemary and zhoesh the soup with a stick blender.
6. Serve garnished with roasted, salted hemp seeds.
7. Enjoy!

Coconut Jam Tart

I have always adored coconut - the fresher the better!

Hubby has become remarkably good at calling upon his caveman instincts to crack open those peskily tough but oh-so-delish fresh coconut delights.

Fresh coconut was not always freely available in SA when I was little though, so my Mom used to rock the following recipe using dried desiccated coconut. This recipe assuaged my coconut gland on a regular basis growing up.

Out of the blue a few weeks ago, the memory of this tart jumped into my head. I found my Mom's recipe, de-glutenised it and let the smell of this tart baking conjure up lovely childhood memories.

And the taste? Let's just say, even sans gluten,
it still turns a girl's head!

Mommle, I love you AND all your scrummy baked goods. Thank you for rocking the gluten-free scones and carrot cake every so often now that wheat is so very behind me!

Epic Coconut Tart
(gluten-free)

Base Ingredients:

• 1 cup gluten-free flour (straight rice flour or a good gf cake flour)
• pinch of salt
• 113g butter
• 1 egg
• 1/2 (125ml) cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp bicarb
  
• 1/2 tsp creme of tartar

Method:

1) Beat butter, sugar, salt.

2) Add in egg and beat lightly.

3) Mix in dry ingredients.

4) Flatten into a buttered baking dish.

Topping ingredients:

• St Dalfour sugar-free berry jam of your choice (I like the four fruits mix)
• 1/4 cup sugar (1/2 cup in original recipe for if you've got a major sweet tooth or 20!)
  
• 1 cup coconut, dessicated (I prefer using coconut flakes)
• 1 egg
  

Method:

1) Spread a thin layer of jam over the raw dough base.


2) Mix the sugar with one cup of coconut.

3) Beat the egg and then mix it into the sugar + coconut mix.

4) Spread it evenly over the jam/base.


5) Bake for 20 mins at 175 - 180 degrees Celsius till golden brown.

Gluten-Free Coconut Flour Truffles

I found this fantastic gluten-free product at a health shop last week, and have been making batches of these little truffles for visitors ever since!

I contacted the distributor, Yussuf, to make sure that the flour doesn't contain any corn flour or other fillers, and was happy to find out that it is just pure, finely-milled coconut.

It's a lovely product to bake with, adding not only a delicious taste, but also fibre. As an added bonus, each bag of flour comes with a booklet of tasty recipes using the flour. Please note, it is a liquid absorbing flour of note, so use less in recipes (as in 3/4 cup of coconut flour instead of 1 cup of gf flour)

Now, onto the truffles! My recipe is a raw modification of the chocolate charm cookies I posted about in February, but based on coconut oil/flour not butter/gf cake flour. You can, however, also bake it (see variation below at step 4 of method), with the end-product tasting like shortbread.

Ingredients:

• 113g coconut oil
• 100ml agave syrup
• 175ml coconut flour
• 30ml cocoa powder

Method:

1. Beat the coconut oil (room temp, not liquid) and agave syrup till lighter and fluffier.
2. Use a dough hook to add in the coconut flour and cocoa powder.
3. Roll into balls and refrigerate till ready to serve.
   
4. IF YOU'D LIKE A BAKED PRODUCT then add an egg at step 2, as well as 1 tsp of vanilla essence. Refrigerate for 1 hour, roll into balls, bake in the oven at 160 degrees Celsius for 8 minutes. These taste like shortbread when baked!
   

If you would like to order the flour
from the distributor directly
to avoid shop mark-ups
visit
cocopure

Vanilla Spring Cupcakes (gluten-free)

HaPPy SpRiNG DaY, SA!

The weather has turned it's back on Winter, and the past few days have been beautifully sunny and warm.

Our garden is blooming, vegetables planted as seedlings in my greenhouse over Winter are ready for harvest, and I am finally over a nasty-ass respiratory tract infection that hovered for four weeks.

Man, who wouldn't be inspired to bake cupcakes on a day like today? :-)

Spring Cupcakes
(Made 18)

Ingredients for cupcakes:

• 169.5 g (1.5 US sticks) butter (room temp.)
  
• 175 ml castor sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 375 ml gluten-free cake flour (I used Nature's Choice)
• 1 tsp. vanilla essence
• 1/2 tsp. bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp. creme of tartar
• 125 ml sour cream
  

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 175 degrees Celsius.
2. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
3. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together till light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs and mix well.
5. Add the flour, vanilla, bicarb, creme of tartar and sour cream all at once, and then mix together till lump-free and well-combined (don't over-mix else they won't rise properly).
6. Divide the batter into the cupcake liners using a dessert spoon (the cups should be filled roughly three-quarters full).
7. Bake until a toothpick/cake skewer comes out clean (which is around 20 minutes).
8. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer the cakes to a wire rack to cool completely. Frost/Ice them only once fully cooled.
9. These cupcakes have an exterior which holds-its-own nicely against icing, while having a lovely moist, light interior crumb.
10. This recipe is my make-shift vanilla version of these chocolate cupcakes.
    

Ingredients for butter frosting/icing:

• 50 g butter
• 2 tsp. (10 ml) sour cream
• 100 ml castor sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla essence
• 1 tsp. matcha powder (or a little food colouring of your choice)

Method:

1. Cream the butter, sour cream and sugar till light and fluffy.
2. Mix through the vanilla essence and matcha powder.
3. Refrigerate till your cupcakes are ready for icing!

I found these pretty sugar decorations
to make my cupcakes speak
Springlish!

Dinosaur egg cookies

My hubby and I had a lot of fun making these! Figuring out how to roll the chocolate dough around the matcha dough without it breaking or sticking too much was a fun challenge :-) The end result was cute to look at and deliciously buttery to eat. Should you try this recipe, I hope you'll get as much enjoyment from making them as we did!

Ingredients for chocolate dough:

• 2 cups gluten-free flour (I used potato starch)
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 226g butter
• 200ml agave syrup
• 1 egg

Ingredients for matcha dough:

• 2 & 1/4 cups gluten-free flour (I used potato starch)
• 1 - 2 tsp matcha (green tea) powder
• 226g butter
• 200ml agave syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

Method for the matcha dough:

1. Beat butter and agave syrup together.
2. Add the vanilla, flour and matcha powder; using the dough hooks on an electric mixer to mix till just incorporated (i.e. the dough sticks together).
3. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour.
4. Use your hands and some cling wrap to roll the dough lightly into long, thick "worms"; forming the inside of the dinosaur egg.
5. Refrigerate again till the chocolate dough is ready.

Method for the chocolate dough:

1. Beat butter and agave syrup together.
2. Beat in the egg.
   
3. Add the cocoa powder and flour; using the dough hooks on an electric mixer to mix till just incorporated (i.e. the dough sticks together).
4. Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.
5. Roll the dough out between two pieces of baking paper till it is just long/wide enough to be shaped and closed around the green matcha dough "worms".
6. Wrap in cling wrap tightly to "round-off' the shape, and refrigerate for another hour.

Method for baking:

1. Slice off 1.5 cm pieces of the finished dough "worms", laying them out on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
2. Bake for 15 - 16 mins at 175 - 180 degree celsius on the middle rung of the oven.
3. Bon appetit!

Falafel to you too!

In my pre-coeliac diagnosis varsity days, one of my (now) hubby's and mine's fave (read: tasty and affordable) dates was chowing down on massive, hand-held falafels from a franchise here in SA called Anat's Falafel & Shwarma.

Since that's no longer an option, I was crazy-mad delighted to come across Orgran's Falafel Mix, which is not only gluten-free but corn-free too. I practically skipped home (well, in my heart anyway since I was driving) with joy, knowing that there was a tub of Woolies hummus sitting in our fridge - and we all know hummus goes together with falafel balls like bread to butter, right?

So, the magic falafel powder gets mixed with water.

Then I ignored the instructions on the box about 2cm of oil, and instead used a drizzle of olive oil on my non-stick pan (yes, there's that pan again); forming the falafel mix into approximations of patties. These took max. 2 mins on
each side (so almost instant gratification).


Rice cakes were liberally schmeered with hummus and
cucumber slices, before being topped by
falafel patties for my hubby.


And pour moi, funny sausage-shaped falafels using
lettuce leaves as wraps.

I don't often feature pre-made gluten-free mixes on my blog, as I'm a do-it-from-scratch-when-baking/making kinda gal, but this one really is worth trying to get your hands on!

Scotch pancakes with a twist

After walking past it for weeks, I finally bought myself a non-stick pancake pan the other day. Good thing too since two days later, they were gone off the shelf.

Its inaugural use was actually for an omelette while I was sick and avoiding sugar, but today they served their true purpose - and what a grand and far easier purpose it was!

Gluten-free Scotch pancakes

Ingredients:

• 240ml potato starch
• 5ml hemp protein powder
• 5ml cocoa powder
• 125ml buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 0.5ml bicarbonate of soda
• 0.5ml creme of tartar
• coconut oil (for the pan/griddle)
• For the variation: coconut flakes and agave syrup
  

Method:

1. Mix the ingredients together very lightly...
really, just enought to get rid of any flour lumps.

2. Oil the non-stick pan lightly and pour the desired
amount of batter into the pan on medium heat.


3. When it bubbles on the top, it is ready for flipping over,
and then it just needs about 30 - 40 seconds depending on the heat.


4. Variation: Once the batter has been poured into the pan,
sprinkle the batter with coconut flakes and drizzle with agave syrup.
Once flipped, watch it carefully else the coconut/agave will burn.


5. Enjoy with the jam/fruit preserve/syrup of your choice.

These aren't the prettiest looking pancakes but they shape well, they're quick to make and they sure do taste nice!

Yes!

The Ahern's have their own beautiful, gluten-free recipe book coming out, and it looks gorgeous!

Check-out their post at Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef
AND
Pre-order the book at Amazon.com