Mango, Ginger and Lime ice cream

January 6, 2015January 6, 2015 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

Yesterday was hot in Perth. Really hot. Over 44C. Not very pleasant at all.

Thankfully, we were able to beat the heat because my very generous parents shared their delightful pool with us … and we took this sweet icy treat along.

600g frozen, very ripe mango
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tbsp lime juice

Allow mango to defrost for a few minutes, then add all ingredients into a high-powered processor or blender and blitz until well combined and creamy.

Eat immediately if you want a soft serve type ice-cream or return to the freezer until it is hard enough to scoop.

If you want to turn this into a sorbet, also add about 2 dozen ice cubes to the blender.

Makes about 10-12 scoops.

Enjoy!

Personally, I think it is best served whilst floating in the pool 😉

Banana ‘nut’ butter icecream

January 4, 2015April 21, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

Happy New Year!

New Year holidays in Australia are hot …. which, in our house, means the paddle pool in the backyard and icy treats!

This is a super simple dairy and refined sugar-free ice-cream that helps beat the heat.

8 frozen, very ripe, medium-sized bananas
2 tbsp Sunflower seed butter (or nut butter of choice)
2 tbsp honey/maple syrup
1 tsp ground cinnamon
sml pinch salt.

Allow the bananas to defrost for a few minutes then place all ingredients into a high-powered processor or blender and blitz until well combined and creamy.

Eat immediately if you want a ‘soft serve’ type ice cream or place in the freezer until more solid for a version that you can scoop into cones.

Makes about 16 scoops. Store in freezer … if there’s any left 😉

Enjoy!

Christmas pancakes

December 23, 2014December 4, 2018 ~ desertcook ~ 1 Comment

No pretending here …. chocolate chip, gingerbread pancakes are a sometimes food!! Definitely for special occasions … and what better occasion than the celebration of the birth of our Saviour?!

I have adapted these from My Whole Food Life and you can find the original here

1 3/4 cups GF SR flour (or 2 cups spelt)
1 tbsp coconut sugar
3 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp aquafaba OR 2 flax eggs OR 2 small eggs
1/4 cup pureed apple (or unsweetened apple sauce)
1 1/4 cups milk of choice
2 tbsp maple syrup
1/3 cup chopped dark choc of choice

Mix together the flour, sugar, spices and salt in one bowl. (Speed 4, 6 seconds, then set aside).

In another bowl combine the milk, syrup, apple and aquafaba (or eggs). Whisk until well combined. (Speed 5, 10 seconds).

Combine the dry and wet ingredients and then stir through the chocolate. (Add the dry mix back into the thermal cooker bowl that contains the wet mix and speed 4 for 10 seconds, then add choc and use speed 4 for 5 seconds).

Cook tablespoons of the mixture in a hot frying pan – turn when bubbles appear and cook until both sides are golden brown.

Serve warm … with some extra syrup if you want to be really decadent!

My preference for this recipe now is to use the Aquafaba because they give a lighter more ‘normal’ pancake. They also make the mix more liquid so it is easier to just pour into the hot pan.

Makes about 16-18.

Enjoy!

Sticky Chilli chicken wings

December 2, 2014November 14, 2014 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

These are one of our Summer favourites.

Only 2 ingredients required and last time I made them I did it one-handed in 5 minutes whilst I was holding a sad baby … so it gives you an idea of how easy they are!

You’ll need

chicken wings (or drumsticks)
a bottle of sweet chilli sauce.

Place the sauce in a bowl and roll the chicken in the sauce, making sure it is thickly coated.

Place the chicken into a large, lined baking tray and transfer to a preheated oven. Cook at 200C for about an hour, turning the pieces after about 40mins and spooning the sauce from the bottom of the dish back over the chicken.

Serve warm or cold with a fresh garden salad – enjoy 🙂

Lemon Salmon with herb oil dressing

November 25, 2014October 16, 2015 ~ desertcook ~ 2 Comments

Our big boys went to a school disco the other night so after making very simple dinners for the 2 little ones, Peter and I got to enjoy a grown up dinner. It was so quick to make and it was just delicious!

Salmon fillet (ours was about 220g and shared between the 2 of us)
2 tbsp Olive oil
1 tsp fresh, finely chopped dill
1 tsp rinsed capers, chopped
pinch of salt
small pinch of ground pepper
lemon slices
steamed greens
cauliflower rice (cauliflower finely chopped in the food processor and steamed)

Heat a frying pan and place the salmon in the pan.

In a small saucepan, place the oil, then add the dill, capers and salt and pepper. Don’t allow to boil just keep warm over a very low heat.

Turn the salmon after a couple of minutes (depending on thickness) and fry for a further 2-3 minutes on the other side.

Lay the salmon on a bed of cauli-rice (or some crushed boiled ‘jacket’ potatoes), top with slices of lemon and drizzle the herb oil over the top. Serve with steamed greens.

Enjoy!

P.S. For a bit of variety, and if I’m being a bit lazy, instead of the lemon slices, I just add the juice and zest of 1 lemon to the Herb butter instead.

Tonight I serve the salon on a bed of steamed and crush sweet potato, together with blanched asparagus and roasted beetroot. Yum!

Summer jewel salad

November 24, 2014November 24, 2014 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

I love summer salads – fresh and juicy and bursting with flavour. The perfect accompaniment to Aussie bbq’s.

This is a super simple one and so pretty to look at … William thinks the seeds look like jewels and I tend to agree!

3 cups baby spinach leaves
2 small, ripe mangoes, diced
2 small, ripe avocados, diced
1 cup pomegranate seeds
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lime juice.

Mix all ingredients together and serve cold.

Yum!

Taco Steak with Mexican Bean Salad

November 18, 2014November 2, 2016 ~ desertcook ~ 5 Comments

This is a super-easy idea that I pinched from my Mum. Sadly the kids don’t enjoy it much but Peter and I have loved it … and its left overs for multiple days afterwards!

2 tbsp Mexican seasoning.
Steak of choice approx 100g per person (We used a thick scotch fillet)
1 ripe avocado, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, quartered (or 2 whole tomatoes)
1/2 large cucumber, chopped
1/2 tin corn kernels, drained and rinsed
1/2 tine kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 medium stalk celery, chopped
lime juice
fresh coriander.

Rub the seasoning into the steak on both sides, then either bbq or pan fry to your taste.

While the steak is cooking, mix together all the salad ingredients.

Allow the steak rest for a few minutes before carving in to strips and serving on top of the salad.

This quantity of salad was enough for about 4 adult serves.

Such a quick and fresh summer meal. Enjoy!

Banana Muffins

August 26, 2014February 24, 2024 ~ desertcook ~ 4 Comments

I may have gone slightly overboard in my excitement to see bananas for $1.50/kg at the markets the other day … I came home with 30 of them!!!! Eek … too many even for us, and we eat about 8 a day in this house!

So banana inspired baking it is!

These muffins are super easy to make, they are moist and sweet, lightly sweetened with honey, they freeze well for lunchboxes, and best of all – my little people love them!

See below the recipe for a Coeliac friendly option and a nutritionally boosted version too.

300g flour (I use like a half wholemeal mix with the white flour)
2tbsp chia seeds (black are great, but white are less obvious – hemp also works well here)
2.5 tsp GF baking powder
4 tbsp honey/maple syrup
4 tbsp melted butter/vegan butter
1 large, very ripe banana
220ml milk of choice (I love unsweetened vanilla almond)
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
Optional extras – 50g choc chip of choice and 1 cup frozen blueberries.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and chia seeds (Speed 4, 8 seconds) then set aside.

In the bowl of your blender/processor/bullet/thermal cooker, place together the butter, honey, milk, vanilla and banana. Blend/process until well combined and smooth (Speed 5, 10 seconds).

Pour the wet mix into the dry mix and fold together until just combined. Don’t over-mix. (Speed 4, 6 seconds, scrape down and repeat).

I often do a double batch and split the mix into 2 bowls – fold the berries through one and the choc chips through the other. (if you’re not going to add in any extras, a tsp of ground cinnamon gives a bit of a boost).

Spoon into lined muffin pans and place in to a preheated moderate oven for about 20 mins, or until well risen, golden brown and they spring back to a light touch.

All to cool before freezing.

Makes 12-14

Enjoy 🙂

For a Coeliac friendly option, replace the glutinous flours with 1.5 cups gluten free flour plus 2 heaped tbsp almond meal/seed meal.

To boost the nutritional content of these muffins, I often replace 1/2 a cup of flour with 1/2 a cup of my ‘Real Protein Powder‘.

Slow cooked Lamb Curry

August 5, 2014January 19, 2016 ~ desertcook ~ 3 Comments

I love lamb … but it is seriously pricey! So as I continue my search for filling and inexpensive meals for my growing family, my slow cooker and stewing bones are getting more and more of a work out!

This curry is delicious, easy to make in very large quantities and it freezes well … and best of all for the budget, the stewing bones I used cost me under $5. Awesome!

1 tbsp rice bran oil
1 brown onion, finely diced
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced ginger
2 tsp minced chilli
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 tsp sugar/honey/agave
lamb stewing bones/offcuts, about 800g-1kg
butternut pumpkin, about 1kg, diced into roughly 2cm cubes
green beans, about 600g cut into roughly 3cm peices
spinach, about 3 large handfuls, roughly chopped
800g tin of crushed tomatoes
200g coconut cream
Cauliflower rice/brown rice to serve.

Place the pumpkin in the bottom of the slow cooker and turn on to low.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and saute the onion until it is slightly translucent. Add in the dry spices and cook for another 2 minutes.

Add in the garlic, ginger and chilli and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Add the tomatoes to the pan and stir until well combined with the spices. Add sugar and stir.

(For a Thermal Cooker: Chop the onion on speed 5 for about 10 seconds,scrape down sides and add oil. Cook on steam temp, speed 1 for 5 minutes. Add in dry spices and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add in Garlic, ginger and chilli and cook on steam temp, speed 1 for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and stir on speed 4 for 10 seconds, then cook on steam temp, speed 2 for 3 minutes)

Place the stewing bones on top of the pumpkin and pour the tomato and spice mix over the top of the lamb.

Return the lid to the slow cooker and cook on low for about 5 hours.

Remove the bones from the slow cooker and strip the meat. Dice the meat and return it to the slow cooker along with the green beans and stir well. Discard the remainder of the bones.

Place the lid back on and cook for a further 2 hours.

About an hour before serving, stir in the spinach and coconut cream (don’t shake the can, but use the thickest part at the top of the tin for a creamier sauce). Turn the cooker up to high but leave the lid off the slow cooker to allow some of the liquid to evaporate, stirring occasionally.

Serve with cauliflower rice. To make this I simply place the cauliflower in the food processor and process until fine, then steam and use in place of rice.

This quantity of curry serves about 10-12. I make it in my 6L slow cooker.

Freezes and defrosts well.

Enjoy 🙂

Orange Weet-Bix slice

July 31, 2014April 24, 2025 ~ desertcook ~ 1 Comment

The original version on this slice was another childhood favourite of mine. It was a regular feature in our school lunchboxes. But until today it hasn’t been possible to pass it on to my kids. But we have discovered this new product:

It’s made with sorghum and although I’m not the biggest fan of the original as a cereal, it fits our allergy requirements, my kids are excited and I’m pleased to be able to use them in baking!

160g Nuttelex, melted
4 weetbix, crushed
1.5 cups SR GF flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup flaked quinoa or rolled oats
1 tbsp chia seeds
5 tbsp orange juice

Mix together the dry ingredients then pour in the Nuttelex and juice and mix well.

Press firmly into a lined baking tray (mine was 20x20cm).

Bake in a preheated 180C oven for 25 minutes.

Cool and then ice with orange icing, made with the finely grated rind of one orange, a tsp of melted Nuttelex, a couple of tbsp of orange juice and pure icing sugar.

Slice and store in airtight container in the fridge. Makes 16 slices.