Pumpkin-a-go-go

This week I have mostly been eating pumpkin. It's all Aunty C's fault, she gave me a large edible pumpkin grown by her own fair hands in her organic garden. I forgot to weigh it before chopping it all up but given that it was bigger that my darling husband's head (and he needs a pretty big head for that clever brain of his!) I'd estimate that it was about 4.5kg.

I know it's an often used phrase but pumpkins really are one of natures wonder-foods. They are an excellent source of vitamin E (good for healthy skin and hair), thiamine, niacin, vitamin B6 and  folic acid (all part of the vitamin B group, great for feeling energised) as well as iron, magnesium and phosphorus. They are also a very good source of dietary fibre, vitamin A, vitamin C, riboflavin, potassium, copper and manganese. In addition they are low in saturated fat, and very low in cholesterol and sodium. After taking off the top and scooping out the seeds my hands had absorbed lots of those lovely nutrients and were feeling very soft - shame my fingers were so orange it looked like I had a 60 a-day habit!


I decided straight off that I'd roast it first and decide what to do with the roasted chunks later. I could have steamed or boiled it but I love the flavour of it roasted so that was the way I was going. By the way, while pumpkins can very easily keep for 6 months from harvest before you eat them, once you pierce that skin the clock is ticking and even in the fridge you have only a couple of days before it goes off. You can keep the seeds, take all the skin off and roast them as well but I have a large bag of seeds already in the cupboard so I didn't bother.

So having taken off the top and de-seeded it (and taking a few moments out to admire my lovely soft hands!) I cut it into large sections, skinned it and chopped it again into bite size pieces. Again this was choice, you can easily roast the pumpkin whole (just stick it with a knife in a few places to let the steam out) or in large sections with the skin on (and then have the fun of eating it like melon!) My chopped pumpkin filled my two largest oven trays (9x13inches if you are interested), I gave them a little oil (about 1 tablespoon of good quality olive oil per tray) and stuck them in the oven at gas mark 5. I then promptly went out and forgot about them - well, there was a craft fair to go to! Don't worry, darling husband was left looking after them with the instruction to turn the pieces over (and swap the tray around on the shelves) in thirty minutes and turn the oven off after an hour.

When I came home the smell was delicious. To be honest I think they could have done with a little bit longer as the edges were only just starting to brown up but by then it was too late. So I popped the pumpkin into several plastic tubs with lids and stuck them in the fridge. I've done several things with them since, here come my best 3 recipes!

Hot Pumpkin Salad 

I'm not kidding, this was absolutely delicious and so simple. You will need a couple of hand fulls of rocket or spinach or (preferably) a mix of both. Don't take them straight out of the fridge or if you do give them chance to warm to room temperature. Pop this in an ovenproof bowl, on top of this add a few very finely cut slices of red onion (raw) and one cup of re-heated (or fresh) roasted pumpkin, on top of this crumble a large slice of Stilton cheese. Pop it under a low grill while quickly making croutons - toast your bread (gluten-free if necessary), rub one side with the cut surface of a clove of garlic, butter or brush with oil, toast again and chop into squares. Remove the salad from the grill just as the leaves start to wilt, dress with balsamic vinegar and lemon juice and garnish with the croutons. It was utterly delicious and I will be doing this one again. If you fancy changing it a bit try putting the salad in a warm pitta bread and leaving out the grilling and the croutons or swap the Stilton for Cheddar or a vegan cheese (follow this link to a great page on vegan cheese). Maybe a few chili flakes on top wouldn't go amiss either.

Roast Pumpkin Soup

The quick way is to take one portion of Simple Lentil Soup, add a cup of the roast pumpkin and blend. The less quick, lentil and tomato-free way is to gently fry in olive oil half a red onion, one clove of chopped garlic and a couple of slices of fresh ginger (finely chopped) until the onion goes very soft and glossy (3 or 4 minutes). Add 350ml of vegetable stock, 1 cup of the roasted pumpkin and a twist of pepper. Simmer for 5minutes then blend. Garnish with some finely chopped parsley, or chili flakes or sour cream, or like I did all 3!

Pumpkin and Pasta Bake.

I finely chopped one red onion and fried that in olive oil until it went soft and translucent. To this I added some finely chopped yellow and red peppers, 3 very finely chopped mushrooms (if the girls see mushroom they wont eat it so I tend to cut it so small they can't tell what it is!) and a good glug of sherry. Keep frying until all the pepper is soft. Then I added one family sized portion of slightly under-cooked gluten-free pasta (300g before cooking) 4 chopped Quorn frankfurters (watch out, while my gluten sensitive husband can tolerate them I'm not sure a true coelic could and these also contain egg, if it's a problem leave it out) and 2 cups of the roasted pumpkin and turned off the heat. 
Next I grated 250g of Cheshire cheese. I chose this over Cheddar for two very simple reasons, it's more lemony and I thought that would help the flavour and secondly because I couldn't see when else I was going to use it! You could use a strong Cheddar or vegan cheese instead. I added half of the cheese to the mix and after a gentle stir transferred the lot into an oven proof dish before covering with the rest of the cheese and what remained of the cream cheese from the fridge and then putting in a preheated oven at gas mark 6 for 30 minutes. I suggest serving it with a nice cold west country cider (though that is a glass of squash in the back-ground).

This is the only one of the three that's been family tested (you'll just have to take my word for it that the other two taste wonderful) and it passed with flying colours. Pretty astounding really because when I told my husband I was going to do this he pulled his "do we have to" worried face (where upon he was forced to practice his "a new dish? how exciting!" face to show the girls).  He didn't just go back for seconds, he had thirds as well! Both daughters proclaimed it delicious and big girl said she 'really liked that orange stuff', 'but pumpkin is yucky so please could I leave that out next time?' Which just goes to prove that like many kids her age it's the thought of eating something new (rather than the taste) that is the sticking point for her. And just in case you were wondering there was plenty left over, I could have fed another 2 adults from that lot so husband and I had it for lunch the next day too!

So there you have it. 4 recipes in one post - Roasted Pumpkin, Hot Pumpkin Salad, Pumpkin soup and Pasta and Pumpkin Bake. All vegetarian (and potentially vegan), all gluten free and all delicious. Now if you don't mind I'm off to admire the soft glowing skin all that vitamin E has given me!

More yummy cakes!

I'm a little bit cake obsessed at the moment (always?!) 

I love cake, chocolate cake, plain sponges, Christmas cake, apple cake - the list is endless. I want you to know that I selflessly test each and every recipe before I put it up and the whole family likes to give it a taste-test too! So I was a little disappointed when the cake my girls called 'the best cake EVER' wasn't actually one of my own.

OK I did bake it but it wasn't one of my recipes, it was a packet mix.

In general I don't like packet mixes. In my opinion you are just paying a whole lot of money for someone else to do the weighing for you and that's a job I think I'm actually quite good at, well I'd have to be, I'm a trained chemist (think laboratory not pharmacy) and used to have a job which involved selling high end balances. However I'm not so narrow minded not to realise that packet mixes do have their up sides, they are good if you are in a rush or if they contain an essential ingredient that you'd rather not have to buy in larger quantities. This second factor can really work in your favour if you are suddenly having to cater for an allergy that you don't normally have to worry about. If your family are more than happy eating gluten you probably don't want or need a box full of gluten free flours you are never going to use again. So for you lucky people a packet mix is possibly ideal when my family or someone equally intolerant comes to stay!

So where did this yummy packet cake mix come from? My local garden centre! I know, I went in there for some Christmas bulbs and suddenly I'm buying cake mix!! To be fair most garden centres have diversified in order to bring in more business and frankly my local one is so diversified it can be hard to find a really plant in the indoors bit. Next to the 'bird food' bit they have this lovely little bit selling dried fruits, nuts and dragées (which as far as I can tell is just a posh word for sweet). This section has it's self diversified and now has teas and a small range of gluten free foods (yippee!).

I was delighted when I picked this little packet up to read that I wasn't allergic to any of the ingredients. In fact I think this was possibly one of the most inclusive packets I have ever read! It was Gluten, Wheat, Dairy, Corn and Soya free and promised that it could be make with vegan margarine and egg replacement powder if so wished! In fact there were 3 similar mixes there, the girls rather predictably chose the chocolate flavour, so we added it to our basket and went home.

It was very quick and easy to do, though I was grateful my electric whisk was such high quality, I had been tempted to hand whisk to save on the washing up and that would never had worked, so thick was the mixture. Anyway we melted our butter, beat the eggs and whisked it all together, popped it in the lined tin and settled down to lick the bowl clean. 

Just so you know, as soon as I'd taken this shot she threw the bowl on the floor so she could see the photo. I now have one Mason Cash bowl less in my collection, luckily unconditional love means you can forgive your child for doing this. Delicious cake also helps to heal the pain.

By the time I'd cleaned up the mess the cake was more or less cooked (it said 25 minutes on gas mark 3 if you were doing it in one tin, in my opinion 35 minutes would have worked better, though I took it out at 30 and it sank a little).

It was very yummy.  "The best cake ever" apparently. A beautiful texture, so soft and moist and not a hint of grittiness or bitterness you can get with gluten free flours. 

Bet you'd like to know who made it wouldn't you? ME! No, I baked it. Glebe Farm made the mix. And it's not the only one they do. So far we've tried the carrot cake, to which I gave top marks (I even preferred it to the chocolate cake!)

And we've also got a ginger cake to make next.

Sadly this is all the mixes my local garden centre stock and I've not been able to find anyone else nearby who has them. I say 'sadly' because they have lots more to try including a scone mix. Luckily they have an on-line shop though with £5.99 p+p you might want to order quite a few in one go (though you don't have to limit yourself to the cake mixes they have many other things to buy).

Who is it suitable for?

Vegetarians, vegans, gluten intolerant and Coeliac, dairy intolerant, those with an egg allergy. Most people in fact.

Who is it not suitable for?

Those on a reducing diet (well it is cake!) and anyone sensitive to potatoes or sugar.

So there you go, a huge well done to Rebecca Rayner and her family for producing such scrumptious stuff !  By the way I don't know them, I've never met them and they are not paying me for this. I'm just letting you know about it because I like to share delicious inclusive food with you!

Chocolate cake inclusive style!!

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Just to prove I can do baking without the need to use diary or non-dairy margarine I thought I'd share the recipe I use for my chocolate cakes. 

The recipe originally came from my brilliant and talented cook of a sister-in-law as 'Never-fail Chocolate Cake'. It might have been 'never-fail' with wheat flour but let me tell you this has taken a fair bit of tweaking to get into a gluten-free cake that does rise and doesn't fall apart. It's my understanding that the original recipe comes from America and that explains why all the measurements are in cups and teaspoons. No weighing out? Suits me!! There's also no need to sieve the flour which is also a bonus.

Who's it suitable for?

Well it's egg free, it's nut free, it's yeast free, it's wheat free, it's vegetarian and also vegan and it's coeliac friendly. It's not high fibre but the high levels of cocoa may not be suitable for all sufferers of IBS and Crohns, best to check. And it does contain high levels of sugar and fat (oil) so it's not suitable for those on a reducing diet.

Ingredients:

3 Cups sugar, granulated will do but Castor works better.
3 Cups gluten free flour*

1/4 C cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons  sodium bicarbonate
1 Cup vegetable oil (Rape oil)
2 Cup cold water (from the fridge if possible)
1 1/2 teaspoons white (distilled) vinegar
3 teaspoons vanilla essence

*A word about the flour, the 'all purpose' blends I tried did not do well, although I suspect a 'bread blend' would. I use 2 cups rice flour, one cup maize starch (in the UK some, but NOT all 'cornflours' are maize starch). I also add 1 level teaspoon of xanthan gum powder. 

Rape oil - I've tried other oils, it did NOT go well, even sunflower oil was a bit off and olive oil was awful. Obviously I wont touch coconut oil with a barge pole because of the allergies but I do wonder if that wouldn't be a good flavour (though you will have to use warm water and reduce the sugar), I'd be interested to hear how you get on if anyone tries it.

Cocoa powder - take care which one you chose as many brands try to sneak wheat and milk in there. I use Green and Blacks Cocoa powder because it's organic and Fairtrade and most importantly it tastes nice!

Method

Pre-heat your oven to 175C or gas mark 3 to 4.

Get your cake tin ready. I tray bake this in a 9x13 inch tin but you could put it in two 8inch round sandwich tins. I always line the tins with greaseproof and grease the paper as well because as I've said before gluten free cakes stick and this inhibits rising.

Mix all dry ingredients well in large bowl, you don't need to sieve but do make sure they are well mixed, I just swizz it around with my hand whisk.  

In a separate jug mix all the liquids (I say mix, leave it one second and the oil will float to the top, it doesn't matter!)

Now remember that time is of the essence for the next bit so move with haste but not with speed or your cake wont rise. Add all liquids to dry mixture and mix thoroughly, mix it well but DO NOT beat.

Pour it quickly into the tins and slam it into the middle of your oven.

Bake for 40 minutes for 2 round tins, or 60 minutes for the large rectangular tin. You want the cake to 'bounce back' in the middle when it is ready, don’t over bake as it gets very bitter and don't open the oven in the first three quarters of the cooking time as a constant temperature is crucial to rising.

I'll be honest and say that this mix doesn't make the greatest fairy cakes, cup cakes or muffins, this is mostly because it doesn't support the weight of icing very well. However the large tray bake can cope with chocolate frosting and buttons on and because it is so large is super for kids parties.

So looking back at the previous post, how does this cake rise when it has just has oil and not solid fat? It's the sodium bicarbonate, reacting with the vinegar to produce nice little bubbles of carbon dioxide gas which will lift your cake up. You want to keep the reaction very slow until it gets cooking, hence using cold water from the refrigerator, once it starts getting hot the reaction goes full pelt but by then your cake is turning solid and the bubbles get stuck stopping your cake from being a solid lump. If you've got the chemistry all right all the vinegar eats up all the sodium bicarb, your cake is 'neutral' and delicious! If your cake does taste a little 'funny' try being more accurate with the measuring of the vinegar and bicarb or using a little less, also watch out that you haven't over baked it as burnt gluten-free flour is bitter. 

Over all this is the simplest cake I have ever made (now I've got the recipe sorted). It is so quick I can go from walking in the kitchen door to 'cake-in-the-oven-and-all-washed-up' in 15 minutes giving me at least three quarters of an hour to get on with other stuff before I have to take it out of the oven and fight the rest of the family off until it's cool enough to eat!

Hope you like it too. xxx

UPDATE!

It turns out that scaled down this works great as a microwave in the mug cake recipe.

1/4 of a cup of rice flour
1/4 of a cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of (diary and gluten free) coco-powder
a pinch of gluten free baking powder
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of oil
3 tablespoons of water
1 drip of vinegar (do not trust yourself to pour this out of the bottle, pop some on a spoon and from there add one drip!)

Add all the dry ingredients to the mug and mix, add all the wet ingredients, mix and pop in a microwave for about 2 minutes (mines a 700W, if yours is more powerful reduce the cooking time). And hey-presto one cake!! Eat from the mug while still warm, maybe add a blob of cream!

"Here Comes the Science" or "Where is that vegan christmas cake recipe?"

A few posts ago I promised you I'd work out a vegan version of my Christmas Cake recipe. I've been trying, really I have, but in fact I haven't got even close to baking a trial run and here's why - I can't find a vegan shortening (baking fat) that I'm not allergic to. 

Trust me, I've tried. I've stood in various supermarkets reading the back of all the dairy-free margarines and fats, I've tried health food shops, pestered vegan experts, heck I even went across to the other side of a neighbouring city to pick the brains behind a wholefood warehouse and still no luck, every one of them seems to contain either coconut oil or palm oil or both. For the packets that just said 'vegetable oil' I've taken a note of the customer helpline and either phoned or emailed them to see what the fat might be. Most of the brands I've contacted have been very helpful only a couple declined to tell me if their products actually contained coconut or palm but even then they did tell me that "it is not suitable to your dietary needs".

When I come across a problem such as this I like to ponder on the science of it before I come up with an answer, if there is one. Sometimes I'm sure the word 'science' runs through me as surely as the words through a stick of rock. In fact science is my rock. So here is my theory......

First off you need to understand that different fats have different melting points, in fact a high melting point is pretty much the definition of a fat because if it's already melted at room temperature we tend to call it an oil. For example, sunflower oil turns from a solid into a liquid (melts) at about -17ºC where as butter melts at 35ºC, in fact the only natural vegetable oils which are still solid at room temperature are coconut and palm (though both melt at about 25ºC so your room better not be too hot!)

So could we alter any natural plant fats to make them melt at a higher temperature? Yes, we can take them through a process called hydrogenation, where hydrogen gas is forced through the oil under very high pressure. This adds hydrogen atoms to the fat molecules making them in effect heavier and so have a higher melting point. (I know it's actually more complex than this but I'm trying to avoid an A-level chemistry lesson here).  Furthermore it has the added advantage of stopping the fat from going off (rancid) so it stays fresher for longer. So why don't we see hydrogenated fats on supermarket shelves? Well you used to see a lot of it, then in the 1990's scientists began to notice that the more hydrogenated fat a person consumed the higher their cholesterol was. This is NOT a good thing, higher cholesterol of this type has been linked to weight gain, heart disease and diabetes. Most food companies are therefor trying to reduce the amount of hydrogenated fat in their products (sometimes they needed a little pressure from the government to do it though).

OK, so if I can't get a room temperature fat that works then how about using an oil? Lets look at what the fat does in baking. Fat carries flavour, it tenderises, it makes the food feel nice in our mouth and it gives that quintessential element called 'crumb'. But most of all we need fat in baking to help trap the air bubbles that stop our cakes being like 'dwarf-bread', more weapon than food. 
When we whisk the butter and add sugar the purpose of our whisking is to trap air. This is why you need the butter gently softened but not melting, in fact better to start with the butter too cold and keep whisking until it goes 'plastic' and starts to hold air than risk it completely melting under the heat of the beaters. Use an oil and it just wont trap any air, so swapping the butter for sunflower oil just isn't going to work and if you are going to use coconut or palm to do the job you'd better be cooking in a cool room (remember it melts at about 25ºC).

So to put it plainly I can't get a vegan alternative to butter that I'm not allergic to because unless you get something that's hydrogenated (and I think we are all agreed that that would be very bad for our health) it's going to contain either coconut or palm and much as I love you and cooking I'm not prepared to spend days in a darkened room suffering for it!

IF you really want to make a vegan version of my Christmas Cake here's what I suggest; replace the eggs with egg replacement powder which you can get from some pharmacies and plenty of health food shops then replace the butter with vegetable shortening (not vegetable margarine which wont trap enough air and contain too much water), if you've never used that before I suggest you look for Trex which is easily available in most supermarkets and can be used as a direct replacement (do not reduce the fat by 10% as it suggests on the packet, it is working as shortening not margarine). And don't forget to keep the room cold while you are whisking.

Fear not though, I can and do bake vegan cakes on a regular basis without the need for a diary-free margarine, I will treat you to the recipe for the chocolate one shortly.

So as one customer service agent said to me recently "thank you for your understanding". xxx

Mincemeat

This is the ideal recipe to follow the Christmas cake because if you are anything like me you have tonnes of dried fruit left over at this point (not to mention a fair bit of brandy).

It is vegan, vegetarian, nut free, gluten free and utterly delicious!

Ingredients

• 225g Bramley or other cooking apples, peeled and coarsely grated
• 125g candied peel, chopped
• 225g sultanas
• 225g raisins
• 225g currants
• 175g soft brown sugar
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1 orange, zest and juice (get an un-waxed organic one if you can)
• 150ml Brandy 
• 50ml Cointreau

It's almost laughable that I try to give you quantities for this because to be honest it is literally all the remains of my dried fruit plus a few extras. Make this recipe your own, tinker with it, change the proportions of Cointreau and brandy, add some ginger or some cranberries, anything goes!

Just put all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Sterilise your jars (to be honest I use kiln jars straight out of the hottest wash on the dishwasher) then bung it up and leave it for a year. It is that simple.

You will notice the lack of suet or vegetable shortening this is simply because I have not been able to find one without palm in. I don't see the point of messing around with butter because a) I'm not sure it would keep as long and b) it tastes great just as it is. This is possibly because the fruit is already covered in plenty of sunflower oil (notice I didn't wash the fruit this time!)

Word of warning though, it is highly alcoholic, don't let drivers eat it raw and for kids always cook it on a high temperature and never leave them alone with a spoon and an open jar, big mistake...........

Christmas Cake Part 2 - Getting sticky!

The Autumn Half-term break is over. The girls and I had a lovely week crafting, pumpkin carving and most importantly baking the Christmas cake, but now they are safely back at school and I can get onto the computer and type without interruption.

Here's a reminder of the ingredients:

510g Currants

225g Raisins

225g Sultanas

120g Dried ('ready to eat') Prunes

120g Glace Cherries

20g of Candied peel OR 60g of Peel and 60g of Crystallised Stem Ginger

Zest of 1 Lemon

280g Gluten free flour (I use 140g of Dove farm Plain White Gluten Free and 140g of Doves Farm Rice flour)

half a level teaspoon of Xanthan gum (unless you are using a flour blend that already contains it) 

half a level teaspoon each of ground cinnamon, mixed spice and ground ginger

A pinch of salt

280g of dark soft brown sugar

6 fresh eggs (large)

265g Pure Salted Butter (Don't use 'spreadable butter')

1 tablespoon of Black Treacle

3 tablespoons of Brandy plus more later

3 tablespoons of Cointreau plus more later!



I'm going to break this recipe into two halves, making this cake is going to take a couple of hours plus four and a half hours to cook and you may not be lucky enough to get it all done in one go. Stage 1 can be done the day before and sealed in freezer bags before you get on with Stage 2 the next day.

Stage 1 -  It's all in the preparation.

Let's start with the raisins, sultana, currants and prunes. Get a clean washing up bowl and half fill it with cold water, put the dried fruit in and gently give it a swoosh about, this will help to remove the oils used in it's preparation and give you a chance to pick out any less than perfect specimens, in particular look out for stalks that have been left on. If your fruit is particularly oily you may need to strain off the water and repeat the process. I have been known to do the first rinse with the tiniest spot of washing up liquid if the fruit have been very oily or in the days when all the fruit had palm oil on it (it was either that or no cake). When you are happy that you've removed as much oil as possible tip the bowl into a colander in the sink and dry by gently pouring out over a clean tea towel and patting dry or alternatively stick it in the salad spinner.

Now the cake tin. Having selected your tin (9inch round or 8 inch square) you need to cover the outside in a double layer of brown paper. With a square tin put an extra layer on the corners to reduce the risk of burning. My round tin has a double layer base so I don't bother covering that, if yours doesn't you've got some tricky wrapping to do! I secure the paper with the string but you could use staples to hold it together, just be careful later on. Experience has also taught me that if you are careful not to get any mixture on the paper later on then you can use the brown paper case for a couple of years! You also need to make a 'lid' of brown paper to go on later, so turn the tin over and draw around it then cut it out.

It's a little known fact that gluten-free baking likes to stick like glory to the tin, I ALWAYS line the tin with a double layer of greaseproof paper that I've completely smeared in butter/margarine. All this extra padding will help your cake not to get burnt edges. I also cover the brown paper lid in greaseproof so that if it touches the mixture that doesn't stick either. However DON'T grease until baking day - you don't want it going rancid over night.

You are now going to need a large bowl however if you are doing stage one and two on the same day save your very largest bowl for the next bit assuming you don't have two exactly the same size! Use the smaller of your large bowls first, placing into it your washed fruit chopping the prunes into quarters as you go. Chop the cherries and add them, add the lemon zest too and your peel (or mixed peel and stem ginger). 

Onto the fruit sift your flour, salt, the spices and half a teaspoon of xanthum gum if your flour does not contain it. Gently mix until all the fruit is evenly covered. 


If you need to stop here then bag up the fruit into freezer bags and put your cake tin somewhere where the kids wont take the paper to draw on!

Stage 2 - Ready, steady, bake!

Heat your oven to gas mark 1 or 140 C and grease the paper in the tin.

Take your very largest bowl (mine is original Cornish ware inherited from my husband's Granny - I know you are jealous!!) and cream the butter and and sugar together until they are light and fluffy.

In a jug whisk together the eggs and the treacle (top tip on treacle, warm the spoon, wipe the smallest amount of oil across the inside and outside of spoon end and move quick!) then add this mixture slowly to the creamed mixture whisking all the way.

It is traditional at this point to let the kids lick the whisks, two very important points you should note, 1) eject them from the mixer first! 2) this mixture contains raw egg which isn't great for vulnerable people, especially small children or the elderly (I selflessly take the risk for them and lick them myself!!)

Now carefully fold in all the flour and fruit mixture then add one and a half tablespoons of brandy and one and a half tablespoons of Cointreau and stir gently. (My tablespoons here tend to be a bit 'whoops, that was a bit over', it all adds to the individual flavour!) The rest of the alcohol will be used after baking and is not intended to be consumed by the cook just yet!

Pour the mixture carefully into your well prepared tin and place in the middle of a preheated oven at gas mark 2 for a VERY long time. 

Now settle down with the kids and watch them lick the mixing bowl and spatulas clean!

After about 2 1/2 hours pop that lid over the top and if you're doing a square cake rotate the tin every half hour from here on. Keep baking until a skewer comes out clean which is ABOUT 4.5 hours however at such low temperatures this timing is VERY flexible and if you have a fan oven you may have to reduce this to 3.5 hours. (If you have the chance turn the fan off and throw an ice cube onto the floor of the oven every time you check the cake to keep the humidity up).

Once your cake has cooled spike the top over with a skewer and evenly pour on another one and a half tablespoons of Brandy and one and a half tablespoons of Cointreau. After this has soaked in remove the cake from the tin, peal off the greaseproof, wrap in a layer of clingfilm and place into an airtight tin or box. 

You should 'feed' the cake at least once more with the same amounts of brandy and Cointreau before you ice it. But for now put your feet up and relax, you've earned it!

Christmas Cake Part 1 - ingredients.

My daughters and I are getting ready to make the Christmas Cake next week. It is a bit of a mammoth task and frankly it would be much easier to do on my own but I really feel that in our family, or at least the sort family that my husband and I want to build, doing things together as a family is what Christmas is all about. And making the food together is as much "Inclusive Cooking" as eating it together is.

I have such happy memories of being able to help my own mum make our family cake. The smells, the arm aching mixing and the taste of licking the bowl afterwards evoke such strong and happy memories. Obviously I've had to adapt the recipe over the years as we discovered my allergy to nuts and my husband's gluten intolerance, so what I'm sharing with you is not my Mum's family recipe, it's my family recipe. Tried and tested and frankly bloomin' brilliant!

Who is it suitable for?

There are no nuts and no gluten, there is dairy and it does have egg, you could go with an 'egg replacement' powder mix if this is your allergy but this year I will trial a vegan version for you and let you know how I get on. My cake also contains plenty of alcohol (Napoleon brandy and Cointreau, which are both vegan), you could try and make it without but it will be dry, it wont have the same rich flavour and I'm not sure how well it would keep so maybe only make it a week in advance. Sadly if you have a citrus allergy your cake is going to lack some of the essential flavours, however if you are only mildly allergic it might be worth investigating whether or not you can tolerate Cointreau, in which case skip the peel (add a little extra crystallised ginger instead) decrease the brandy and increase the Cointreau. 

This cake contains LOTS of calories and is not suitable for a reducing diet!

I'm splitting the ingredients and method into two different blog posts (and the vegan one, if it works out into a third post) because I know some of you are waiting to get started and this will give you a chance to source your ingredients.

The alcohol

As I explained I use brandy and Cointreau. For me these spirits embody some of the strongest scents of Christmas and I will be using them a lot in other posts before the big day so if you can possibly splash out on both bottles then I promise to help you make good use of them (I'll even volunteer to finish the bottles off for you myself!!) If cost is an issue get one or two Cointreau miniature bottles and a half bottle of brandy. (Oh, OK you can have Grand Marnier instead of Cointreau if you want but it wont have my happy holiday memories attached to it!)
Cointreau is distilled after adding the orange flavour so it is possible that if you do have a mild citrus allergy then the chemicals which trigger the sensitivity may be destroyed in the process but you will have to work this one out VERY carefully, certainly don't try if you have anaphylaxis. 

The eggs and dairy

The freshest eggs work best in this so if you can, buy them only the day before you plan to make the cake. Your heart will be happier and so will the chickens if you buy organic free-range ones. You will also need 250g of salted butter. Do not use spreadable butter (even if you are not allergic to it like me), it's got too many other oils and water in for this recipe. The method I use is easier if the butter and the eggs are at room temperature when you need to use them. It would be possible to switch the eggs for an egg-replacement powder if you needed to avoid them.

The Sugars

You will need 280g of dark soft brown sugar. Please consider getting Fair Trade sugar as the growers themselves get more money helping them to have a better Christmas too.
You will also need 1 tablespoon of black treacle.

The Spices

Always buy the freshest, highest quality spices you can afford for the best aroma. You will need half a level teaspoon each of ground cinnamon, mixed spice and ginger. A little crystallised ginger is optional. I know salt isn't a spice but you will need a pinch and I've no other category to put it in!

The flour

I've tried various gluten free flours, maize flour was too course, potato flour too bitter, rice flour on it's own is a little gritty and it needs the 'grip' of the proprietary blends so I compromise with 140g of Dove farm Plain White Gluten Free and 140g of Doves Farm Rice flour, both of which have the advantage of being organic. (If you want to make this recipe with a plain white wheat flour you should note that gluten free flour does not absorb fat well so I've reduced the amount of butter, to get the same texture with wheat you will need an extra 40g of butter.) Half a level teaspoon of xanthan gum also helps but is not essential.

The Fruit

The zest of 1 lemon, make sure it's has an untreated skin, even the organic ones can have some wax smeared on the outside to make them look shiny and taste awful.

Glace cherries, much glace fruit has wheat in it so you have to be careful. I've chosen Crazy Jacks organic glace because they promise there's no wheat and they're organic. You will need 120g.

Candied peel, again Crazy jacks because they use cane sugar. 120g of peel OR 60g of peel and 60g of crystallised stem ginger. I prefer it with the ginger but my little girls find it a bit strong so I've use all peel for the past couple of years.

120g of dried ('ready to eat') prunes, again I like Crazy Jacks but my regular supplier isn't stocking them so I've had to turn to the supermarket own brand.

Currants 510g, raisins 225g and sultanas 225g, by now it wont surprise you that I like Crazy Jacks ones, they are organic but most importantly for me they are not coated in palm oil. 
(RANT WARNING!!)
Dried fruit like this has been a right pain for me over many years, so much dried fruit is covered in a horrid sticky layer of palm oil just so it looks nice and shiny and pours easily out of the bag.  I can't risk eating anything containing dried vine fruits that has been prepared outside of my home, not cake, not cookies not mince pies, not even muesli because the fruits are nearly always covered in palm oil. If I sound sore about it that's because I am and it's not just for me and the similarly afflicted it's because most if it isn't sustainably sourced, it's made by destroying large areas of jungle that also happens to be orangutans homes. If we want these beautiful primates to survive we need to cut our dependency on this oil. Now pass me a cold flannel and we'll move on.

The currents, raisins and sultanas will all still have some oil on them, (even if it is organic sunflower oil) I find I get much better result if I rinse all three in cool water a couple of times just before I use them. (Top tip to dry them, pop them in the salad spinner, but do it gently!)


Just one more word about all this lovely fruit so I can say a big thank you. Last year I had real problems getting Crazy Jack stuff particularly the currents, my local health food shop were brilliant at trying to get the stuff for me and helped me try to find an alternative. After a long Internet search I found a different brand stocked by place in Brighton. I'd like to thank the staff at both places for the help they gave me last year so that my family cake was ready in time. So here's to Elf Foods and Healthy Supplies.

And finally...
Now you just need to find yourself a very big bowl, an electric whisk, a 9inch round or an 8inch square cake tin, some greaseproof paper, some brown paper and some string, some clingfilm, some baking foil, a large board to mount the cake on and a whole heap of icing!



Part 2 - Getting Sticky!

Mushroom Sauce

Here's a family favourite to go on top of our gluten free pasta.

Who can eat it?
Vegetarians and gluten intolerant. It also comes in an egg free version.

Who can't eat it?
Vegans, coeliacs, the dairy intolerant (it might just work with a creamy milk substitute but I suspect it would separate) and those sensitive to the onion family. As there is no specific diet for those with colitis and Crohns or intolerance of yeasts you are going to have to ask these people if it's OK with them, for some it will be, for others it wont and it may depend on how well they are managing at the time.

Ingredients 

1 red onion finely sliced
2 tablespoons of oil
either 500g of brown mushrooms or 250g of brown mushrooms and 300g of Quorn pieces
2 table spoons of brandy
2 teaspoons of smoked paprika
1 clove of very finely chopped garlic
1 cup of stock
3 heaped table spoons of creme fraiche
Lots of finely chopped parsley


Chop the mushrooms into sixth or quarters.
Heat the oil in a wok or skillet and gently fry the onion until it starts to loose it's colour (about 2minutes).
Add the mushrooms and continue frying for one minute then add the brandy. I've tried this without brandy or with other spirits, it kind of works with sherry but trust me that it needs brandy or if you can spare it, cognac. Continue to saute the mushrooms and onion for another 6 to 8 minutes.
If you are using Quorn add it now, stir and then add the smoked paprika. Stir the mixture until evenly coated with the paprika then add the garlic and the stock. 
Keep the mixture simmering until the fluid has reduced by half (about 10 minutes) then quickly add the creme fraiche (I use half-fat creme in a vain attempt to keep the calories down, but be careful some half fat stuff is thicken with 'cornflour' which may in fact come not from corn but from wheat!)
Bring the whole lot back up to a simmer then serve over your perfectly prepared gluten-free pasta. Give each dish a good sized garnish of parsley.

Quorn contains egg which isn't suitable for all, that why I've given you two versions, just in case. I've said at the beginning that we have it with pasta but I'm sure it would work well with rice, potatoes, millet or quinoa.

My youngest daughter swears she hates mushrooms and thinks that this dish is full of meat, I realise that it's a little deceitful but the rest of us love this dish so we haven't put her right yet, I think plenty of other meat eaters might also make the same mistake! 

Anyway, now I've put back on any calories I might have shaken off with that walk earlier it's time to settle down with my other passion, crochet. Night night. xx

Pasta - food of champions!

I have always been a big pasta fan so when we discovered that my darling husband couldn't eat wheat anymore I was worried how we'd do with out it.

I've tried vegetable substitutes, the uncurled skins of leeks make a really nice lasagna and courgette cut into fine ribbons tastes fine to me and is great for you if you are on a diet but to be honest my family didn't really take to it. (Actually that's an understatement, I think DH called courgette 'devils food' and the kids called it green worms).

Enter 'gluten-free pasta'. It looks like pasta and it tastes like pasta and as long as all you want out of pasta is sheets for lasagna or piped shapes to pour sauce on it is brilliant. Generally regular dried pasta is made just from Durum Wheat Semolina - do not be confused, that is just one ingredient however it is worth noting that the three parts to the name can be used on their own and some manufacturers of processed foods will use the durum or the semolina part to disguise the fact that their product is full of wheat. 
Gluten-free pasta is usually made from rice flour and/or maize flour possibly with the addition of an emulsifier. 

You can get gluten free pasta in a variety of shapes but the ones on supermarket shelves are usually either large sheets for lasagna or cannelloni, pene (quills) or fusilli (twists), you can even get tri-coloured, however 'fresh' gluten free pasta, egg g-f pasta and stuffed g-f pasta are a very rare find indeed. If you are desperate for fresh, or stuffed you might want to try making your own, search Google if you like or head straight to http://glutenfreegirl.com/gluten-free-fresh-pasta/ and scroll down a long way to find her recipe and technique.

Who is it suitable for?

Most people! It's vegetarian and vegan, has no egg (usually) and the ingredients of corn and rice are usually thought of as low allergy foods so it is tollerated by most people. Gluten free pasta is slightly less calorific than 'regular' (white) dried pasta but more calorific than wholewheat pasta and generally has less sugar and fat than either regular or wholewheat pasta. I wouldn't recommend changing to gluten-free pasta just to lose weight, lets face it 355kcal per 100g is still pretty calorific, if you have to keep the calories down head straight for the ribboned vegetables. If the g-f pasta has extra ingredients that might boost the fibre content (for example psyllium husk) then you should check this is OK before serving anyone with Crohn's or colitus to check it's not too much for them.

Gluten-free pasta is much more expensive than regular pasta, basically as well as making a tidy profit the companies are trying to claw back the investment they made in research to develop the product (trust me, only a few years back not only was it hard to find this product but it also had a tendency to either fall completely apart or go like leather). It is a great 'inclusive food' as almost everyone can eat it (even if some might have to keep the portion size small) and when it's cooked well most people can't tell the difference anyway. However it doesn't cook quite the same as your regular pasta...

Top tips for cooking gluten free pasta.

• Get a very BIG pan at least one size bigger than you might have used for the same amount of 'regular' pasta.
• Boil as much water in it as you safely can.
• Add your dried gluten-free pasta. Start your stop watch! (Each type of pasta has it's own cooking time, use it as a guide setting your stop-watch to 1minute less).
• Quickly add a little oil and watch it like a hawk.

Do NOT add any salt, salt latches on to the outside of the g-f pasta forming an almost in penetrable barrier to the water stopping the inside going soft and instead turning your pasta into edible leather.

• The moment it starts to boil turn the heat down to maintain a very gentle boil. If you're not cooking on gas you may need to lift the pan off the heat for a moment. Failure to prevent boiling over will result in a glue-like substance spreading quickly across you cooker top and setting like, well like glue really.
• A quarter of the way through your cooking time give it a gentle but thorough stir to stop it sticking together.
• Keep watching it, keep it boiling gently but never let it boil over...
• As soon as your timer goes off test a piece by biting it. It should be slightly 'al dente', do not let your pasta go soft or over cook, g-f pasta is very unforgiving and will just fall to pieces. If it's not ready keep the boil going and check every 30 seconds.
• If you just HAVE to have salty pasta add your salt now and gently stir.
• Drain. As I said g-f pasta is rather unforgiving and does not have the structural integrity of it glutenous brother so if you can drain it in the pan (our pans have deep lids with holes in the sides to allow for this) without tipping it into a colander then so much the better. (Don't bother with rinsing, unless you just want to gently pour freshly boiled water through the colander or sieve.)
• Serve!

 

Would you like a sauce to go with it?

Believe it or not I've already given you one simple sauce - Simple Lentil Soup!  Just reduce the amount of stock from 450ml down to about 75ml and hey presto, Simple Lentil Pasta Sauce! If tomatoes will cause a problem one solution is to grate a few carrots and add some carrot juice or other (tomato free) vegetable juice and use these instead of tinned tomatoes.

Want another one?

Really, really simple pasta sauce.

1 finely chopped onion
A small splodge of oil
1 can of chopped tomatoes
A pinch of dried oregano (cilantro) 

Gently fry your onion in the oil (I've said this before but do buy fresh onion and cut your own to reduce the amounts of sulphates you might be sensitive to.)
Add your can of chopped tomatoes and dried oregano and continue to gently simmer for about 10 minutes. (Again to reduce other contaminants as well as stomach irritating sulphates try an organic sulphate free brand like Suma.)

It's really easy to add veg and other flavourings to this sauce, add them to the onions and continue frying until they start to turn soft then add your tomatoes and oregano. A splash of sherry before the toms will make a nice sweet sauce, a splash of red wine will add to the richness (but do keep an eye out for those pesky sulphates and if serving vegans or vegetarians check it is suitable for them too). If you want to add garlic chop it really fine and add it with the tomatoes to preserve the health benefits which frying will remove. 


So why is pasta the food of champions? Because my good friend and 'oh-my-god!'-parent to my girls eats it when carb-loading before a big cycle race and to quote my eldest daughter,

"Aunty Ca-waul always wins doesn't she Mummy?!"

Yes she does (nearly). Aunty C hasn't yet developed a gluten intolerance but if she did she wouldn't be out of place, lots of athletes are finding that by cutting gluten out of their diet they actually perform better. Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are both now reported to be following gluten free diets, the Garmin-Transitions pro-cycling team apparently did the Tour de France on a gluten free diet and a number of gold medal winning Olympians including American swimmer Dana Vollmer were also gluten free. Maybe my girls will be medal winning gymnasts or swimmers too one day? And if they are then I know a gluten free diet wont be a change or a challenge for them.

Off now for a healthy 'championship' walk around the block! xx

Guess who's coming to tea?

"Excuse me but someone told me you used to be vegan. Can you tell me what to put in vegan sandwiches because I've got some coming to tea"

This has not happened to me just once you understand, somehow the word got out and now I have people that I never talked to before stopping me in the school play-ground to ask me this. Strangely the vegan in question is very often the same lady and she used to run the most brilliant fast-food veggie restaurants that I have ever been to. No pressure then.

What do you need to know about the vegan diet?

Veganism is a way of living entirely on the products of plants (and for many that extends beyond food and drink). So meat, fish, shell fish, dairy (from any animal), eggs and honey are all out of the picture. Once upon a time it also excluded refined sugar because the act of refining used to involve the burning of animal bones but these days it's not usually the case however many vegans have adopted veganism as a positive health choice and may not want to eat lots of sugar anyway. Vegans never eat Quorn because it contains egg.

Other ingredients often hidden in store bought food that are not vegan include: lactose, whey, ghee, Vitamin D3 (and if it just says Vitamin D assume it is D3), shellac (E904), gelatine, L-Cysteine (E920), casein, butterfat or milk, Beeswax (E901) and beware anything that says 'omega 3 enriched' as this may be fish oil. 

Vegans do not need 'feeding up' or special vitamins, it is perfectly possible to live a healthy lifestyle even as a small child provided the diet is well constructed. It is true that iron and vitamin B12 can be low on a vegan diet but this is easily remedied with iron cooking pots and plenty of yeast extract or fortified plant milk.

So what will you have in your sandwiches?

Lets start with the bread.

Most bread is suitable for vegans but it's worth looking at the ingredients to check that there is no milk, butter, lactose or egg added to it. Of course 'normal' bread is off the menu if you are not eating wheat or gluten and here is where it get's complicated. 

Gluten free bread has come a long way in the last 20 years, hell it's come a long way in the last 2 years! It is no longer the stuff that was so 'doinky' it bared more resemblance to a large bathroom sponge than a loaf of bread (and if doinky is not a real word then it should be). No, gluten free bread is so bread-like these days that it could pretty much pass for 'normal' bread but this has come at a price. First it is often highly calorific, high in fat and frequently high in sugar and salt too. But more noticabley for the vegans amongst us it now contains egg as well as dairy.  If your bread also has to be nut free you should be OK but if it has to be yeast free you may as well give up and make your own or opt not to have sandwiches and switch to something else all together.  Check your bread very carefully,  you may not find what you are after on a supermarket shelf and be prepared that you may either have to buy a mix to make, buy crackers or buy the original 'doinky' type of g-f bread.

The yellow stuff

I love plain butter (that spreadable stuff nearly always has palm oil in which will make me very poorly) and that is fine for a vegetarian but clearly butter is not an option for vegans. You can get pure sunflower or soya 'margarine' but to be honest even the ones you might think will be pure often have coconut or palm in. Frankly if this is not something you are going to eat frequently yourself save some money and skip the spread, a tastey moist filling will more than make up for it.

Stuck in the middle

Easy-peasy fillings

• Jam.
• Yeast extract (beware the celery often added to this if you are allergic).
• Peanut butter and jelly - I know, I know, peanuts are a big no-no for those with allergies but if no-one around your table has this allergy then this is a classic, just check the ingredients on the jar first.
• Any salad - lettuce, tomato,  cucumber etc.

From the shops

• Hummus (do check ingredients).
• Miso spread.
• Vegan pate - often available from your local friendly healthfood shop.
• Soya cheese and pickles.

Easy and home made

• Grated carrot and apple.
• Grated carrot with raisins and sunflower seeds.
• Mashed banana - add a tiny drip of lemon juice to stop it going brown.
• Mashed avocado - sometimes nice to add a little vegan salad dressing or add some mashed pear.
• Mashed roasted pumpkin or squash
• Minced dates, raisins or prunes added to some finely chopped sunflower seeds.
• Nut butter or seed butter - now easily available on the high street, I love ones made with sunflower seeds.

For the more adventurous

• Home made hummus.
• Mashed beans - it is possible to do this with almost any bean but I've always liked draining a can of baked beans of juice and blitzing them in a coffee grinder. Add a little salad dressing to other beans to make them more moist.
• Scrambled tofu - chop a little onion and garlic, fry gently, add a little yeast extract then add your crumbled tofu and fry until it goes brown.
• Aubergine pate - rub an aubergine with oil and wrap in greaseproof paper, bake at gm4/180C for about 30 minutes, scape out the pulp and mash well, add 1/2 a grated onion (you may want to do all this in a food processor), a pinch of sugar, a pinch of salt and the juice of half a lemon. This also tastes nice with added 'curry flavour' try adding some fresh green chilli (minced) 1 clove of crushed garlic and 1/4 teaspoon of crushed cumin seeds.

All of these will work as well for an open sandwich on a cracker as they will on bread.

There's more?

Of course there is much more to 'tea' than just sandwiches! I'm hoping you wont need help selecting a soft drink (avoid drinks sweetened with honey) but if you want something a little stronger gin, vodka, Scotch, whiskey and brandy are (unless flavoured) always vegan. If it's beer you are after I suggest you check CAMRA's excellent list www.camra.org.uk/veganbeers and for wines check www.veggiewines.co.uk/wine.htm . If you are wondering what it is in alcohol that makes it non-vegan I can tell you it's the stuff they use to make it go clear, its usually isinglass, an extract from the swim bladder of the sturgeon fish.

For desert just go with fruit or soya deserts from your local supermarket but you might want to try some cake....I'm working on that for the next post! 

For more information on veganism the vegan society is a great place to start www.vegansociety.com/

Leek Paella

I love this dish, it's my regular  'go to' dish when I have any vegans or coeliacs coming. It's delicious, and very easy to cook.  Furthermore it's quite quick make and only uses one pan both of which are a bonus when you have guests you want to spend time with.

Who can eat it?

A lot of people! It's friendly to vegans, vegetarians, diabetics and coeliacs, it contains no egg, nuts or gluten (if you are careful with your stock). Rice is a universal low allergy food and it's rare (but not impossible!) to find anyone who is allergic to it however do be careful with the tomatoes as people can be allergic to those (though often not when skinned and cooked) and leeks are an allium so have to be avoided by anyone sensitive to onion. If there is an allergy to celery be careful on your choice of stock. Finally those who need a low fibre diet may find it a little hard to handle, swapping to white rice may help (if in doubt, ask!)

Pans at the ready!

For about 4 portions you will need:

350g of leeks
2 tablespoons of olive oil
4 medium tomatoes
225g  'easy cook' brown rice
500ml of gluten free vegetable stock or water

Trim the leeks taking off the base and the tough leaves at the top. Slit them length ways down the middle and give them a good wash then slice width ways into sections about 1cm across. (Or trim them, slice them then wash them, it's up to you!)

Heat the olive oil in the pan (I like to use my wok) and add the leeks. Cook gently (we don't want any burning!) for about 3 to 4 minutes. 

Add the rice and fry for another minute while stirring. I use 'easy cook brown rice' because it means that the final stage only needs 20 minutes, 'regular' brown rice tends to take about 45minutes to cook and will require more stock, about 600mls instead of 500mls.

Next add the tomatoes. Ideally you will have skinned and quartered these but frankly I have better things to do with my time so I either quarter and stick them in as they are OR I use 2 beefsteak tomatoes, cut each in half and starting with the flat side, grate them into the mixture. If you are careful the flesh will all come away and you will be left holding the skin of the tomato (and if you are really lucky you wont have taken off your skin either!)

Now add the stock. It's better to go for vegan stock if you can then you know that there wont be any hidden milk or egg products for either the vegans or coeliacs or anyone else allergic to that stuff. (Watch out for gluten and that sneaky veg celery which could be in either of these options and if that is a problem you may have to make the stock from first principles.) If you can't get any then plain water will work OK but you may want to add extra salt and pepper at the end.

Now bring the pan to a simmer, stick a lid on it and leave until the stock is absorbed and the rice is cooked.

Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Ringing the changes

If you have romantic memories of a bright yellow paella from a restaurant or even from a holiday in Spain (it's considered to be a traditional Spanish dish) then you might be interested to know that this is often achieved by adding a good portion of artificial colouring - not something I'd like to suggest you serve to someone with a sensitive tummy or a small child! However if you really like that bright yellow look then swap the stock for boiling water and soak a pinch or two of saffron strands in it for a couple of minutes before adding it too the pan. Alternatively add half a teaspoon of turmeric when you add the rice. To be honest I don't think either add much to the taste or do very much for the colour of the leeks and not everyone can tolerate them either and that's why I've always left them out of the main recipe.

Sometimes I like to substitute the rice in the dish for Quinoa. Quinoa is a seed not a grain and is also low allergy but unlike rice it is a 'complete' food meaning that it contains all the essential amino acids and can pretty much be considered to be a protein. It also has a lower glycemic index than rice which makes it more suitable for diabetics and it's lower in calories though proportionally it does contain more fat than rice. If you want to do this keep the amount of quinoa the same as the rice (100g) but before you add it to the pan measure it's volume in a jug then adjust your stock to twice the volume of the quinoa.

If it wont cause a problem for anyone at the table I like to add a splash of pale sherry at the end of frying the leeks. (I'll add sherry to any dish but it's not strictly vegan and others may just prefer you leave it out).

I do like this dish when it has added mushroom or butterbeans in. Just add roughly chopped mushroom at the same time as the leeks. For the beans add drained canned beans with the tomato.

You can increase the creaminess and the protein in this dish by stirring in tahini.

Garnish - 

Apparently it tastes nice with a garnish of flaked almonds, I wouldn't know being allergic to them, I use sunflower seeds instead. 
Watercress or a little parsley looks lovely and tastes nice. 
My littlest girl likes it with a sliced boiled egg on top but obviously that's not suitable for everyone.
I like a good strong vegetarian cheddar grated over the top (though clearly that's not vegan or coeliac friendly)
Believe it or not 'long life' ready grated 'parmesan' is available in the supermarkets and it doesn't actually contain any animal products (hate to think what it does contain though!)
And finally why not try a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of chilli flakes?



So there you go, one nice quick and easy recipe for the weekend! xx