I admit this post is a bit of a cheat, I've written this recipe before here (scroll to the bottom half) but it's been so popular, not just with you dear reader but with my own family however it wont show up on my smart phone, so I can't check the quantities on the move (I am terrible at remembering these things). So here it is again.
The microwave mug cake recipe
Who's it suitable for?
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.
It is extremely suitable for young children to make on their own (with a little supervision). Apart from the fact that they LOVE the result ("a whole cake, just for me?!!) it helps them with measuring and pouring skills as well as reading, maths and science (reversible and irreversible changes). The fact that the result is nice and quick is also a bonus in retaining their interest. Just watch the temperature when it comes out of the oven.
Ingredients
1/4 of a cup of rice flour (or other gluten free flour, but rice flour works best)
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 drop 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!
I wont lie, sometimes it's been a bit of a stretch to get my girls to try something 'new'. Unless I call it cake and stick candles on it, it is always met with an air of reluctance (and that's putting it mildly). They are not naturally adventurous eaters. However I decided it was time we did curry so I looked back through my scrap book of recipes (I've been collecting since my early 20's) and came up with this recipe for dahl by combining something clipped out of a Sainsbury's magazine and an article by Madhur Jaffrey.
Who can eat it?
Vegans, vegetarians, coeliacs, children (as curries go this is very, very mild, if it was just adults eating I'd double all the spices). It has no gluten, no wheat and no nuts either.
Who can't eat it?
Those allergic to lentils (or other legumes) and those allergic to onions will have to leave this dish out. Some with Crohns, ulcerative colitus and highly sensitive IBS may also have to avoid this dish due to it's relatively high fibre content. I know some can't eat 'spicy food' but as I've already said this dish is very, very mild, this may just be the curry you can eat but if it's for a guest check with them first.
Ingredients
My top tip for your
ingredients is to get really good quality herbs and spices, if possible
buy whole and grind your own and then you know they haven't been thinned
out with wheat flour or anything daft. Avoid using old spices as they
don't have the same taste and never use a 'ready made mix' as all sorts
of allergens can be hiding inside.
250g red split lentils
1 bay leaf
500mls of water
1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
1 bay leaf
1 cup of easy cook basmati rice plus 2 cups of water per person
A pinch of saffron
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon of finely chopped fresh raw ginger root
2 small cloves of finely chopped garlic (optional)
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
1/2 ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon chilli powder (optional)
A handful of raisins*
Salt and pepper to taste
Coriander leaves to garnish
*I'm allergic to palm
and coconut which is often used to coat raisins to make them look nice
so I tend to use one small packet of Sunmaid Californian Raisins because
these don't have any oil on.
Start by rinsing your lentils well to remove any grit then place them in a good sized pan with the water and bay leaf and half a teaspoon of turmeric. Stir well and bring gently to the boil then simmer for 40mins by which time you should have a yellow mush, don't let it burn to the bottom of the pan as it's a devil to get off!
Use the next 25 minutes profitably by getting the rest of the stuff ready because then you will need to get the rice on.
Rinse your basmati rice and 25 minutes after you put the lentils on pop it in twice the quantity of boiling water with a pinch of saffron. (e.g. if you are using 2 cups of rice you need 4 cups of water) Put the lid on the rice and leave on a low simmer for the next 15minutes.
Moments later (and in your third pan!) warm the oil (you could use ghee or butter instead of oil if it doesn't have to be dairy free) and very gently fry your onion for about 6 to 8 minutes. We are after very gently cooked onion, burning will not enhance your dish!
Next add the ginger and the garlic (if you are using it) and cook for two further minutes.
While you are doing this take a your handful of raisins and add them to the rice, giving it all a quick stir before you slam the lid back on.
Now add all the rest of the spices and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring well. Then remove the bay leaf from your cooked lentils and add them to the onion mixture.
Give everything a gentle stir and if it has gone too thick to stir easily add a little water until it is as runny as you desire (I like mine to have a little substance but I have a friend who prefers it like soup).
Add salt and pepper to taste and that's it, you can serve up.
It looks nice if you can serve it with some Mango Chutney and possibly some plain yoghurt if you don't have to keep dairy free. If you'd like a nan bread to go with it Tesco do a nice gluten free one (but it's not vegan). It looks even better if you have a little fresh coriander to go on top but sadly I didn't. (Note to self - must get better at presenting and photographing food!)
Ringing the changes.
Adding some steamed/boiled veg such as carrot, cauliflower, sweetcorn and potato together with some fresh skinned and chopped tomatoes and a bit of extra water turns this into a nice vegetable curry.
Try adding a few handfuls of (gluten free) breadcrumbs to the dahl, roll it up into balls and press flat for burger shapes and you have an indian flavour rissole you can shallow fry later (this is great for using up the left-overs if you have any). This goes really well with a salad.
If you want something a little lower in carbs then skip the rice and go for lightly steamed cauliflower pushed through a potato ricer and 'thin out' the dahl with a tin of chopped tomatoes and heat through.
If you'd like to up the calorie content and don't have a problem with coconut then I suspect that grating in some creamed coconut would be really nice, (but not for me).
The verdict
At first the girls took a look and declared they would eat the rice but wouldn't touch "that other stuff", however with a little Mummy-know-how I got them to taste it and was rewarded with
"Actually that's really nice"
Daddy has now explained that it's better to say such sentences without such a sound of surprise in your voice. But 'really nice' from a really picky eater? I'll settle for that!
'Project bread', where I try to make a great gluten free loaf for less than a store bought one has not been going well. Aside from the Sun Dried Tomato Corn Cakes my bread has had a tendency to turn out like dwarf bread, a little short (or unrisen) and more like a weapon than a food stuff, Captain Carrot might have been pleased but I am not. (And it fails in my chosen criteria of being cheaper than the shop bought.) I am glum. What to do with lots of bread that has to be eaten quickly? The answer as always is make soup to dunk it in!
I've been experimenting with leek and potato soup. It was nice but without a a good few spoonfuls of dairy it lacked a certain something. So tried leek and sweet potato soup. To be honest the early ones were not fab and again without a half pint of cream they were a bit flat. But I am pleased to announce that I have cracked it. A super creamy soup without a trace of dairy!
Who can eat it?
Vegans, vegetarians, coeliacs, wheat/gluten intolerant. It's egg free, nut free and yeast free.
Who can't eat it?
Some with IBS or Crohn's disease may find it a little fibrous and anyone allergic to alliums should steer clear.
Ingredients
About 300g of finely sliced leeks (use only the white stuff, no green)
About 400g of cooked sweet potato flesh
400g can of butter beans, rinsed
Olive oil
750ml water
Use enough olive oil to gently fry the leeks in. Do NOT fry on full blast, we are not after caramelised or even burn leeks, just really soft ones. Add the sweet potato flesh and the rinsed butter beans. Add 750ml of water and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat then blend in your chosen manner. I use a stick blender and keep going until all the large lumps have gone but it's not completely smooth. Add salt a pepper to taste.
This makes about 4 good sized portions.
It's soooo easy. No messing around trying to find the right stock, you can bake your sweet
potato (I do mine in the microwave) while you are chopping the leeks and
then rinsing them (a pesky bit of grit has spoilt many a leek dish) and
your soup can be ready in next to no time.
So now I have fresh soup in the fridge to feed me lunch all this week and no one to share it with but Teddy.
I love my soups. I pretty much live on soup every day for lunch. I think I may have been a Soup Dragon in a previous life (less Scottish alternative rock, more Clangers)
Soup is great on it's own but sometimes it's nice to have a bit of bread to dip in it. This recipe makes 6 beautifully sized corn cakes that are just right for dunking!
Who can eat them?
These are wheat, gluten, nut, yeast and egg free. They are also vegetarian.
Who can't eat them?
These are not suitable for vegans as they contain cheese, which means they are also not suitable for Coeliacs. Anyone allergic/intolerant to tomato should also avoid them.
Ingredients
75g of cornmeal or instant polenta powder
50g of rice flour
1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of gluten free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of xantham gum (now available in larger supermarkets in either the home baking isle or 'free-from' section)
1/2 teaspoon of castor sugar
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 heaped tablespoon of sundried tomato purée (you could use regular tomato pure but it's not quite as rich or as sweet)
60g grated high quality cheddar cheese
110ml milk
20g butter
1 tablespoon of milled/ground flaxseed
Grease a backing tray and set your oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4
Sift together the cornmeal, rice flour, baking powder, xantham gum, sugar and salt.
Melt the butter and add to the milk, then whisk in the flax powder and the sun-dried tomato purée.
Reserve a little of the grated cheese for a garnish and add the rest to the dry mix, then gently beat in the wet mix until you have an even consistency.
My mixture is then usually dry enough to roll into 6 equally sized balls which I place on the baking sheet and squash flat a little however sometimes the mixture is a little runny in which case I use a muffin tin.
Bake in the center of your pre-heated oven for about 20 minutes then add the reserved cheese on top and return to the oven for 5 more minutes. Allow to cool before scoffing with your soup of choice!
My freezer had a defrost this week. It wasn't intentional, the door got left open over night. Fortunately the stuff I keep in my freezer isn't hugely expensive stuff, lets face it vegetables are heck of a lot cheaper than steak and meat isn't something I keep in there what with being veggie and all. What was defrosting was a lot of Quorn mince, so in the name of food safety I went into bulk cook mode and made 6 portions of spaghetti bolognese. (Except that I don't serve it with spaghetti, just twists and no one from Bologna would ever recognise it as their regional dish as it is meat free and has a tonne of vegetables in besides the tomato).
A quick word about Quorn and who can eat it. First off it contains egg so vegans or anyone with an egg allergy can't eat it. Secondly the mince does contain barley extract so coeliacs, this dish is not for you. Many with wheat intolerance will also find the barley extract an issue, luckily my husband is OK with it so long as we only have it once or twice a week. Finally it is a low fat food, great for those on a diet but not really suitable for the under-twos who need plenty of fat for brain development, this may also make it unsuitable for those with Crohns, ulcerative colitis and in some cases those with IBS as the fibre content is a bit high. This dish also contains onion, garlic and tomato which may be unsuitable for some. (You could just leave out the garlic).
It is perfectly possible to cook this with out the Quorn, it still tastes lovely but remember it wont make as many portions, it wont have the look and feel of a 'meaty' dish (which may be important to some diners who wouldn't normally eat veggie) and it will still be high fibre and low fat but now it will be low protein as well and you will need to catch that dietary requirement up later.
Who can eat it?
ME! The kids, hubby and most vegetarians.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 very large (or 2 regular sized) red onion, very finely chopped
about 1 finely chopped pepper, what ever colours are available, get a range if you can
2 finely chopped cloves of garlic
6 finely chopped mushrooms
about 800g of Quorn mince
3 tins of chopped tomatoes (if you have to deal with a sulphate allergy try Suma's own brand which is very nice and sulphate free)
1 small carrot, finely grated
1 cup of vegetarian, gluten free stock (I use Knorr)
2 tablespoons of sun dried tomato puree
1 teaspoon of oregano
a dash of vegetarian, gluten free 'worcestershire' sauce (like this one by Life)
a dash of Angostura Bitters if you have them.
You are going to need a very big wok or skillet. Gently fry the onion in the oil. Keeping the heat at medium rather than high will let the sweet flavours of the red onion out. When it goes soft and translucent (about 3 to 4 minutes) add the mushrooms and peppers. Keep the heat at medium, keep stirring and when these get soft (another 4 minutes or so) add the quorn. After stirring for one minute add the tins of chopped tomatoes and the grated carrot. (The carrot is here for two reasons, the first is to add sweetness and the second is to sneak more veg into the kids!) Now stir in all the other ingredients and leave to bubble gently for 20 minutes for the flavours to develop.
Serve with your gluten free pasta of choice or layer with lasagna sheets and and gluten free cheese sauce. OR do what I did and divide it into 6 family sized portions, allow to cool and then refreeze, while resolving to check the freezer door more often!!
After Christmas I often find I have a lot of left over vegetables. The thing is I find Christmas day dinner the most wonderful chance to have a whole host of different veg on offer, for example this year we had Brussels sprouts, swede, carrot, parsnip, roast potato, boiled potato, sweetcorn, roast pumpkin and braised red cabbage. Nine veg heaven and not bad for a girl who only made it out of bed from the flu the day before (I admit my darling husband was a GREAT help - love you honey!) I always over-buy I just can't seem to help it so then I have this lovely selection of veg begging me to do something with it and this is that thing.
Ingredients
1tbsp olive oil (other vegetable oils work well too)
2 medium sized leeks finely sliced OR half an onion finely chopped and 5 shredded Brussels sprouts
4 sticks of celery finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
2 carrots diced
2 parsnips diced
1/4 of a swede diced
1 sweet potato, finely grate half and dice the other half
1/2 cup of red split lentils (washed)
1/2 cup of Puy lentils (the dark green ones, also washed)
About 800ml of vegetable gluten-free stock
1 tsp of marjoram (if you haven't got any you could sub in 1/4 oregano)
2 tomatoes cut into quarters (skin them only if you have time)
To be honest like most of my cooking the relative quantities of the veg are quite flexible, I tend to aim for one medium sized freezer bag jammed full of chopped vegetables which I prepare when making Sunday lunch and then hold in the fridge (or freezer) until I'm ready to use them.
There is also a variety of ways to cook it. I usually do it in a large pot on the hob, if I'm pushed for time I tend to use the pressure cooker, if I have plenty of time I do it in the oven (180ºC/Gas mark 4) and I've done it at other peoples houses in a slow cooker (I don't have one but if I go back to work ever then it will be the first thing on my shopping list, those things are so useful for the working mum!) However if you are using sprouts and not leeks then it makes most sense to do it on the hob.
Start by heating your oil in your chosen cooking device (BIG French hotpot in my case yesterday) add the onion or the leeks depending on what you are using (do NOT add the sprouts yet if you are using them) and the celery. Fry on a moderate heat for about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for a moment then add all the other ingredients except the sprouts. Stir the mixture well and bring to a simmer. If you are using a pressure cooker make sure the liquid covers all the veg well (if it doesn't then add more) and put the lid on and cook for about 10 minutes. If you are just doing it in a hot pot like me it takes about half an hour but the smaller your bits of vegetable are the quicker it will cook. If you are cooking in the oven transfer it to a suitable dish. Pop it in at gas mark 4 or 180ºC and it will take about 50minutes. And in a slow cooker go away and forget about it, come back when you are hungry!
Agh - Almost forgot the sprouts!! Pop them in half way through cooking and take the chance to give everything a quick stir.
The grated sweet potato and the red lentils should make the liquid nice and thick but if yours is a little watery then take 1tsp of maize starch and in a cup add about 3tbspns of water. (This is called 'slaking') Stir until it forms an even, white fluid then add it to the hotpot. Stir well then return the whole lot to the heat until it gets close to a boil where upon it should have thickened.
Serve with some gluten free bread as this meal is much more fun if you get to soak up all the juices at the end with some moppers!
Who is it suitable for?
This dish is vegetarian, it's vegan, it's nut-free, it's egg-free, it's yeast free (but check the stock!) furthermore it is safe for coeliacs. It's fine for a low calorie or reducing diet and if you keep the veg a little on the crunchy side it's even better because the energy inside all the plant cells will be harder for your body to reach.
Who can't eat it ?
If you are serving it to those who need a higher calorie intake then serve with lots of buttered g-f bread or even garlic bread. If anyone is allergic to alliums (onions, leeks and garlic) or tomatoes then leave them out (but take GREAT care choosing your stock to make sure that doesn't have any in). It will not be suitable for most people with Crohns or colitus as it is rather high in fibre.
What to do if you have any left overs?
I have three suggestions
1) Soup!! You don't need to blend it unless you want to, just add a little more stock.
2) Pie. (When come back bring pie!) Using gluten free pastry of course. You might need to add a little more slaked maize starch to stop the pie being too runny and you might like to add a handful of plain Quorn pieces or even some chicken if it's acceptable to all who will be eating it.
3) Fry some onion, add some curry powder and then stir in the hotpot and hey presto - veggie curry! (OK it's a bit of a cheat and it may not be the worlds best ever curry but I've not had any complaints.)
Wonder which one I'll do for my lunch.....?
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!
