Vegan

Choc Oat Slice

~ libbityl ~ 4 Comments
IMG_2815
Ready!

After a simple afternoon tea slice straight from the pantry? Here’s one I cooked up this week that was free of our allergens and delicious too.

(See below Libby’s recipe for a Coeliac Friendly version from Jess)

It made enough for a piece each for two afternoons with one or two left over (hmm, not sure where they went…?!) but it is easily doubled so that it lasts longer (or serves more people).

125g Nuttelex
1/2 cup sugar (I used raw sugar and just didn’t fuss that it wasn’t all dissolved)
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup cocoa
1 cup SR flour

1. Mix cocoa and oats together in a bowl (whilst preheating the oven to 180C)
2. Melt the Nuttelex and sugar together in a saucepan until sugar dissolved (or almost!)
3. Remove from heat and pour it over the cocoa and oats and mix them together.
4. Mix in self raising flour.
5. Press into a 20cm x 15cm baking dish (I used a small pyrex dish lined with baking paper)
6. Bake for 15min at 180 degrees Celsius. Cool in the dish.

Yum! For regular people, just change the Nuttelex to regular margarine or butter.

Verdict
5 thumbs up! Crumbs devoured.

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Yum. Love baked treats.

 

For a coeliac friendly option: replace the flour with a standard gluten free flour mix plus 1 tsp GF baking powder. Replace the oats with crushed GF weet-bix, shredded coconut, or rolled quinoa.

Ice if you like.

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Enjoy 🙂

Mulberry Jam

~ desertcook ~ 2 Comments

I should start this post by saying that I am a total jam novice …. this is my first ever go at making jam but it was much less scary than I thought and it tastes so yummy that I am inspired to make more.

I am very fortunate that my parents-in-law have a sprawling, very heavily laden mulberry tree in their backyard, so picking over 2kg of berries to have a go was very easy (and fun!).

I have made this one with quite ‘Christmassy’ flavours so it is another great gift to give for teachers  (or even those great Aunts and second cousins once removed that are really tricky to buy for 😉 )

  • 1.3kg Mulberries
  • 1.5kg jam setting sugar (made by CSR, it already has some pectin in it)
  • finely grated zest of 2 large oranges
  • 1 heaped tsp of ground cinnamon
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 8-10 glass jars, scrubbed clean

Wash berries and drain very well. Remove any obvious stems and place in a large saucepan.

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Crush with a potato masher. How much you crush depends on how smooth or lumpy you like your jam … I like some lumps so I didn’t mash too much.

Tip in the zest, juice and cinnamon and mix well.

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Turn on the stove to a low heat and add the sugar.

Stir continuously over low heat, until ALL of the sugar has dissolved.

Turn up the stove to a high heat and bring to a rolling boil. And continue the boil for 4 minutes.

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Remove from the heat.

During these 4 minutes boil the kettle and soak the jars and lids in the boiling water. Dry the outside of the jar with a clean tea towel.

As soon as you have removed the jam from the heat, use a jug, like a pyrex style measuring jug to scoop out the jam and pour it into the jars. Please be very careful with this part … it is a really hot mixture and you will need to protect your hands.

Fill the jars, place the lids on and immediately invert them. Allow them to stand upside down for an hour. This allows the jars to reseal and keeps them airtight.

Then turn the jars up the right way and wipe them … it is a messy process! Allow to cool and set overnight – don’t put them in the fridge as you might crack the glass. Only use jars with a plastic lid if you are going to use it straight away or if you have jam seals underneath.

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You can easily decorate the jars to give as gifts. We did a pretty label and some glossy red and green bows. They look great!

Delightful!
Delightful!
He has waited a looong time for this jam!
He has waited a looong time for this jam!

Stained Glass gingerbread

~ desertcook ~ 2 Comments

One of my favourite things to do leading up to Christmas is baking!! The kids enjoy helping and sharing their spoils too.

This year my William is in kindergarten and has asked to take in Christmas treats for all of his little friends, and I was on roster to do craft for the kids at our Bible study break up … so I made a (huge!) batch of Libby’s yummy gingerbread and we turned them into stained glass biscuits. Fun to make for the kids, yummy to eat and they make lovely presents with a bit of cellophane and bright ribbon!

Please note that the gingerbread recipe itself is soy free but there is a small amount of soy in the only boiled lollies I was able to find, so the stained glass part is not soy free.

You will need 2 packets of boiled lollies and gingerbread as per this recipe: https://itchinkitchen.com/2012/12/03/gingerbread-cookies/

Split the colours of the lollies up into bags then smash them up on a hard surface with a hammer. Best to have a tea towel folded around the bags so stop all spillage if you split the bags!

4-crushed lollies

Remove the gingerbread dough from the fridge and cut out the gingerbread shapes.

On a lined baking tray (it must be lined with baking paper and not just greased as the boiled lollies will stick like rocks without the baking paper!) place the shapes and then use an apple corer (or similar) to cut out holes.

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Fill the holes with the crushed lollies – careful not to overfill them as they will turn to liquid and overflow during baking!

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Bake in a moderate oven for about 10-15 mins or until golden brown.

Leave them to cool for at least 15 minutes on the tray before attempting to remove them to a wire rack – the liquid ‘glass’ centre needs time to harden and stick to the biscuit.

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Allow to cool completely before wrapping and sharing as gifts … or enjoying at Christmas parties 🙂

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Chocolate mousse cake

~ desertcook ~ 1 Comment

Last night we had a get together with a group of friends that had been months in the planning. A few sets of friends were visiting from all over the world … what better reason to get together and share a whole lot of yummy deserts?! I was asked to bring along an allergy friendly desert … and this cake what I came up with – it is almost a replacement for cheesecake.

Just before he tasted it, I was having a conversation with a friend who was telling me how it is really awful when people try to pass off ‘that avocado stuff as chocolate mousse’ … and then he ate it and loved it … so I’m counting that as a win 😀

To make the base you’ll need1-October 2013 379

  • 2 packets of Macro gingernuts
  • 3tbsp Nuttelex

Place in a food processor and process until the crumbs resemble damp sand.

Press the crumb down firmly with a fork into a greased springform pan.

Then make the mousse.

I used a double quantity of this recipe for the chocolate mousse

Tip the mousse on to the top of the crumb base and spread out evenly.

Place in the freezer until solid. This is a cold dessert so it is best left in the freezer until almost ready to serve.

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Makes quite a large cake – serves probably 12-16.

I really enjoy the ginger flavour, but I think next time I make this I might have a go at using  Rowies Anzac Biscuits so that the chocolate flavour is the more dominant one.

Hope you enjoy!3-Blog 067

 

Update: I have recently been making this cake with a different base and have enjoyed it even more than the original.

  • 2 packets of Leda’s Arrowroot biscuitsOctober 2014 1398
  • 1 tbsp flaked quinoa
  • 1 tbsp almond meal
  • 8 fresh dates, pitted
  • 1 1/2 tbsp tasteless coconut oil.

 

Super Salmon patties

~ desertcook ~ 1 Comment

Simple salmon patties were another standard in my house while we were growing up. Sadly, when we got married, Peter wasn’t such a fan – he thought they were too bland.

But they are such a great way to get some good fish oils into kids, and they are also  great because they are the perfect finger food for little hands, super transportable for picnics and lunchboxes and they’re a very inexpensive meal option!

So I have worked at adapting them, making them allergy friendly and increasing their nutritional value and now they are a resounding success with everyone in our family. Yay!

Hope you and your little people (or just the big ones!) enjoy them too 🙂

  • 1 400g tin pink salmon (drained and skin and large bones removed)
  • 1 medium sweet potato (4-5 cups when chopped)
  • 400g tin chick peas/butter beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 tsp fresh finely chopped dill
  • 3/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • 4 tbsp hemp seeds
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • oil for cooking
  • Optional: a 1/2 cup corn kernels and 1/2 a grated zucchini

Peel and dice the potatoes. Place into a saucepan of boiling water and cook until soft.

Drain and rinse the chic peas, the soak them in boiling water for about 10 minutes minutes, before draining again and mashing well.

If using zucchini – grate then squeeze out all the liquid between paper towels (might take a few lots of towels). Set aside.

Drain the salmon and remove any large bones before mashing

Roughly mash the potato, then mix through the mashed chick peas, followed by the salmon (plus corn and zucchini if using).

Add in the dill, salt and pepper then mix.

Add in the nutritional yeast and hemp and mix well until evenly combined.

If the mixture is still too wet, then add in more of the nutritional yeast and seeds until you get a consistency that allows you to form balls, then squash down into patties – i do mine about palm sized.

Place mixture in the fridge for an hour .

Remove from fridge (roll in some breadcrumbs or almond meal if you like more of a crispy coating), then place in a hot frying pan with some oil.

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Cook until golden and then turn. About 3 minutes on each side. (You can also spray them with a little oil and bake in a preheated moderate oven for about 20 minutes per side).

Drain on some kitchen paper; allow to cool a little and then serve, on their own, in a burger or with some extra salad or veggies.

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Makes about 24

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These don’t freeze well, but they last a few days in the fridge and are great for easy, healthy lunches.

I think they are particularly great for lunch with some slices of avocado on top and drizzled with sweet chilli sauce 🙂

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**To make these into veggie patties which as great vegan option we simply leave out the salmon. The work brilliantly on their own or in a burger.

Lemon Drizzle Cake

~ libbityl ~ Leave a comment
Lemon Drizzle
Retro Mummy inspired me to go the rustic look with the baking paper and I love it!

I enjoy reading Retro Mummy’s blog and we have been loving her recent cake recipes. I adapt them to be dairy and egg (and nut when required) free and usually they turn out really well. The best so far has been the Lemon Drizzle Cake. You can see Corrie’s recipe here. I made my cake in my KitchenAid and loved using fresh lemons from our tree, saving them from ending up as balls for my kids to play with in the garden! I have a feeling that this cake would even cope with being gluten free as well – the flavours are so good.

Ingredients
  • 1 cup caster sugar
  • grated lemon rind from 2 lemons
  • 125g Nuttelex
  • 1tsp vanilla essence/extract
  • 2 eggs equivalent of No Egg, made up with water and mixed well.
  • 3/4-1 cup soy milk (or whatever milk you can have – coconut milk might work really well) I had a juicy lemon so didn’t need as much milk.
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • ½ cup or 55g desiccated coconut (I used shredded and it was good!)
  • 1½ cups/250g SR flour

Drizzle icing

  • juice of 3 lemons (2 would be enough if they were as big/juicy as the ones off my tree)
  • 1½ cups icing sugar
Method
  1. Cream the butter, lemon rind and sugar until thick and creamy.
  2. Add in vanilla and combine.
  3. Add in No Egg mixture, milk and juice of 1 lemon and mix until creamy.
  4. Add in flour and coconut and mix until well combined and creamy and fluffy. I’m not sure why mine went super fluffy but I did leave it for a little bit to attend to children so I think the No Egg really got working like eggs. Worth being distracted for!
  5. Pour into a lined cake tin and bake for about 40 minutes in a 170C/340F oven.
  6. While cake is cooking combine the icing sugar and juice of two lemons in a bowl. Leaving it for a while ensures any icing sugar lumps are dealt with by the juice.
  7. When cake is cooked, remove from tin and leave to cool
  8. Drizzle icing over the cake. I drizzled the icing over while the cake was still warm, like Corrie suggested. I think it absorbs it better too.
  9. Enjoy while still warm – mmm mmm!

Results

5 thumbs up and lots of ‘more’ signing from Miss Emmalyn!

Rich mud cake

~ desertcook ~ 1 Comment

This is the cake mix that I keep at the back of the pantry for emergencies! I find it in the alternative section at Woollies.

It is very simple to make and delicious – even for those without allergies … my Dad polished off 3 for arvo tea while we were working on the house 😉

The instructions on the back tell you to add 1/2 a cup of water, 1/2 cup oil and 2 eggs. I have found this to be too oily.

So instead I add1-July 2013 037-001

  • 1/3 cup rice bran oil
  • 1/2 a cup, plus a splash more water, and
  • 2 tsp no egg powder.

I divide in to 12 muffin pans and cook for about 20-25mins in a 160C fan forced oven.

They freeze and defrost perfectly and are wonderful to take to parties for Ellie so that she (or I ;)) don’t miss out.

Enjoy 🙂

Banana Custard

~ desertcook ~ 2 Comments

We have recently been offered and accepted a job back in Perth, so we are in the midst of packing to leave Roxby Downs. It is a time of very mixed emotions – we are very sad to be leaving behind our lovely friends and small town lifestyle here but also very excited to be moving closer to family and friends …. and not to mention the excitement of being able to have loads more choice for our foods!!

One of the things I like least about moving is the process of running down the pantry and fridge/freezer. I discovered heaps frozen overripe bananas in the back of my freezer the other day (that I had totally forgotten about!) so I have been experimenting with ways to use them up. Custard was the best of the bunch 😉

Banana Custard

  • 3 defrosted overripe bananas1-May 2013 086
  • 500ml oat milk
  • 2 heaped tsp of No Egg powder
  • 50g coconut sugar
  • 30g pure Cornflour
  • good pinch of cinnamon

Place the Bananas, sugar and cornflour in the food processor and process until smooth. (Speed 6 for 10 seconds for a thermal cooker, then scrape down).

Add in the No egg, milk and cinnamon and process again until well mixed and very smooth. (Start low and gradually build up to speed 6 for 20 seconds in a thermal cooker).

Transfer mix to a saucepan and place over medium heat, stirring for about 12 minutes until the mixture thickens. (for a thermal cooker, mix on speed 1, 100C for about 20 mins).

Serve warm or cold, topped with extra sliced banana or sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

Makes about 6 serves.

I kept the left overs for a couple of days in the fridge in reusable squeezy containers.

If you want to make a chocolate variety, just add 1 tbsp of cocoa when you are adding the cinnamon.

If you don’t have frozen bananas just use fresh overripe ones.

🙂

Hope you enjoy your baking – I’ll be back in a few weeks from Perth!

Mum’s minestrone

~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

We have just returned home from an 8 day family camping trip through the interior of Australia. It was just amazing …. but after 8 days of camping food I have been hanging out for some serious serves of veggies!

And since the weather is finally getting a little cooler, soups are back on the menu- Hooray!

This is my mum’s minestrone, the one that I have eaten since childhood and I still adore it … I am just sad that I can no longer sprinkle it with cheese while it’s hot!

  • 1tbsp garlic olive oil
  • 1 brown onion, finely diced
  • 4 rashers of short cut bacon, diced1-Blog 005
  • 10 cups Masssel chicken stock made with boiling water
  • 4 celery sticks, finely sliced
  • 4 carrots, finely sliced
  • 2 tins corn kernels
  • 2 tins kidney beans
  • 4 ripe tomatoes, finely diced (or 2 tins diced tomatoes)
  • spiral pasta of choice (we use a GF one)
  • 2tsp fresh ‘Italian’ herbs*, finely chopped

* I use whatever is growing in my garden; rosemary, thyme, oregano, parsley etc. You could also use a tsp of a dried Italian herb mix.

Heat oil in the base of a large saucepan (I am luck enough to own an 11L saucepan so I love making a huge batches) and fry the onion and bacon.

Add the herbs.

Add the stock and bring to the boil

Add the veggies and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add a few handfuls of pasta and cook until it is soft.

Serve hot (and sprinkle it with grated cheese if you can!).

This makes enough for about 10-12 serves and keeps in the fridge for about a week.

This one can easily be made vegan by removing the bacon

If you make huge batches of soup like I do, it’s helpful to refrigerate them individually. If you want to freeze, it is best to stop the recipe before you add the pasta as it tends to absorb too much water and get quite soggy on defrosting. Just add the pasta part when reheating.

Enjoy 🙂

Macaroni ‘Cheese’

~ desertcook ~ 3 Comments

Mmmm …. pasta and creamy sauce – so many memories from my childhood and the ultimate comfort food.

I know that most of you would be horrified – but I’m pretty sure that if I could, I’d still be happy to attack a box of the scarily orange Kraft stuff!

But sadly, not a very allergy friendly meal (or one that’s very helpful when you are caring for your body! ) … until now!!

I saw this idea on the Stay at Home Mum site and have adapted it  from there.

See below the recipe for a more simple cheese sauce idea. UPDATE: this is the one I use most of the time now, simply because it is quick!

In a large saucepan, cook

  • 2 cups of GF pasta until al dente (I used a rice and quinoa blend pasta for a bit more protein)

Then drain, rinse with cold water and place into a large bowl.

Then in the same saucepan add

  • 1 small potato, peeled and diced1-Blog 003-004
  • 1 large carrot, diced
  • 2 celery sticks, diced
  • 1 brown onion, finely diced
  • 4 cups of water.

Bring to the boil and simmer for about 15 minutes until the veggies are soft.

Drain the veggies and set aside, but retain about 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

In a food processor blitz together, until smooth;

  • 1 heaped tbsp Nuttelex
  • 1 heaped tbsp tahini
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp dried mild chilli powder
  • 1/4 tsp dried paprika
  • 1/2 tsp minced garlic
  • pinch of black pepper
  • 1 heaped tsp of nutritional yeast flakes’
  • 4 tsp nutritional yeast flakes’

When this mix is smooth, add the vegetables and then about 1/2 a cup of the cooking liquid. Process until smooth. You want this mixture to be a thick sauce so add a little more water if necessary. I used almost 3/4 of a cup in the end.

Add this sauce to the pasta and mix well. Then transfer to a baking dish.

Cover the top of the pasta mix with,

  • 3/4 of a punnet of cherry tomatoes cut into eighths.

In the now empty food processor add the following and process until it turns to a crumbs;

  • 1 heaped tbsp Nuttelex
  • 1 heaped tsp of Nutritional yeast flakes
  • 2/3 cup cornflake crumbs

Sprinkle the crumb mix over the top and then bake in a pre-heated moderate oven for about 25 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling hot.

I grew up with Mac cheese being served with bacon so there is no way I could serve this without it! I diced 5 rashes of shortcut bacon and fried them, then added to the pasta at the same time as the sauce.

This made enough for all 5 of us for dinner and 2 extra lunch serves.

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This is one meal that I make into 2 versions – I usually add some extra veggies, like mushrooms and asparagus for the grown ups.

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For a quicker, more simple cheese sauce recipe, but one that still hides veg, I now use this one from my lasagne.

It freezes and re-heats well.

Enjoy 🙂

P.S. Next time you make a roast, have a go at using this ‘sauce’ mix to top your broccoli and cauliflower to make a ‘Cauliflower cheese’.