A Recipe Blog

A while back, I made a mandarin, hazelnut, almond and coconut cake. After positive feedback (even from my bro who is notoriously picky!) I’ve made another variation using the same basic recipe with some changes. Basically, I’ve used chocolate and banana instead of the almond and mandarin. I’ve also used LSA meal (Linseed, Sunflower Seed and Almond Meal) instead of the hazelnut meal. Its available in health stores and the health food aisle of many supermarkets. See below for changed recipe (it has a tick of approval from hubby & family :-) :-D).

Ingredients (makes 12 slices)

Tags: blended, chocolate, coconut, fruit, gluten free, nuts, oven baked, vegetarian

Over the silly season, I went a bit bonkers and bought a whole lot of cookbooks (I already have heaps but… christmas!… :-P). This self-made recipe was enjoyed by & passed on to my mum-in-law, and draws on two recipes for inspiration (see notes below recipe).

Ingredients (Makes 12 serves of dip, can be frozen and thawed for later use)

• 1/2 cup yellowbox honey to taste
• 1 cup hot water
• 3 tbsp salt (& extra to taste)
• 2 tbsp pepper
• 3/4 cup lemon juice
• 500g canned, drained ready-to-eat chick peas
• 1 cup dry roasted cashews
• 1/2 cup peanut oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 200g canned, drained ready-to-eat artichokes
• 3 tsp minced garlic to taste

Directions

1. In a food processor, ground the cashews. Then blend together with peanut oil & 1 tbsp salt until smooth. Add extra peanut oil if needed to reach desired consistency.
2. Mix 1/4 cup honey with 1/2 cup of hot water. Briefly blend into cashew mixture.
3. Add the chickpeas, lemon juice, artichokes, cumin, pepper and remaining salt and blend all ingredients together on high. With the motor running, pour in extra virgin olive oil until a thick smooth mixture is formed.
4. Add and mix in extra salt, honey and garlic to taste.
5. Serve with rice crackers or plain grain crackers (gluten free if required for dietary reasons).

Notes on the two recipes that inspired this one…

Firstly there’s the Sesame “Butter” recipe on p. 221 of The Autism Cookbook by Susan K. Delaine. I made something similar to this with cashew nuts for the above dip, and used Aussie yellowbox honey as a sweetener. A side note though; whilst there is some useful info on autism, food intolerances and cooking in this book, it is laden with errors and I wouldn’t recommend it necessarily (completely misleading & incorrect pictures with recipes, and several errors in recipes; e.g., use of ingredients in directions that don’t appear in ingredient list). It has a good stuffed chicken recipe though on p. 37 (which I’ve made a similar version of and was well received by family).

Second source of inspiration is the amazing Aussie book Gluten free and easy by Robyn Russell (which I can HIGHLY recommend). On p.56 there’s a recipe for hummus. Whilst I modified it a lot, the method for using a food processor to make the dip was helpful for my creation. This book is very handy for those with gluten intolerance; it even has a list of recommended gluten free products & brands (which is kept up to date online).

A couple of notes; I highly recommend the original flavour Fantastic rice crackers for use with ANY dip. They are quite tasty, even on their own! Here in Oz they’re really easy to find too. In Coles, Woolies, Harris Farm, etc. etc. etc.

Tags: blended, food-processed, gluten free, nuts, quick, vegetarian

Last night, I’d defrosted some chicken sausages and was feeling lazy. I decided to try and find a recipe that called for the sausages to be cooked in the oven alone, a recipe only needing a casserole dish to complete. I found an Oven roasted sausage and sweet potato recipe and, inspired by this, made up my own! It’s pretty yummy and easy, you just bung all the ingredients in a casserole dish and stick it in the oven. The sausages require turning over, but only once.

Ingredients (Serves 2)

• 4 chicken sausages
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1 cup of warm chicken stock
• 1 heaped teaspoon of honey
• 1 tsp each of Masterfoods Garlic & Herb Salt, Thyme Leaves
• 1 red onion, cut into 8-10 segments
• 2 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks about 2cm wide
• 1 cup mixed frozen vegetables, e.g., corn, carrot & beans (optional)
• 1 tsp Cracked pepper
• Olive oil spray

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C.
2. Lightly spray a deep casserole dish with oil.
3. Add sausages, potato and onions to dish. Coat all with the diced tomato.
4. Mix the thyme, honey and chicken stock together in a jug or bowl. Coat ingredients in casserole dish with this mixture.
5. Toss everything together with a spoon to make sure everything is coated with liquid.
6. Season with garlic & herb salt and pepper and toss again.
7. Roast in the oven for 55 minutes, ensuring you turn over the sausages about 30 min in so they cook through. If using frozen vegetables, add these in at 45 min in.
8. Slice up the sausages in the casserole dish and serve, making sure to spoon over any remaining juices.

Tags: chicken, gluten free, oven baked, quick, sausage

I finally managed to find some nice fresh shitake mushrooms today. I LOVE them, they have a different texture to button mushrooms and go very well in pasta dishes in my experience. I decided to whip up a light pesto pasta with them tonight, recipe follows! It’s based on this pesto pasta recipe. The hubby chowed it all down with compliments to the chef :-)

Note that whilst I need to use gluten free pasta, any pasta would be fine.

Ingredients (Serves 3)

• 3 serves of uncooked gluten free pasta (My favourite brand currently is “Leila Pharma Food” pasta)
• A couple of dashes of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp of butter
• 3/4 cup of pine nuts
• 170g prepared pesto (I used a combo of basil pesto and roasted red capsicum, basil & cashew pesto – both Leggo’s brand)
• 12 semi-sundried tomatoes (I recommend San Remo brand)
• 3/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
• 100g of coarsely chopped shitake mushrooms
• Masterfoods Garlic & Herb Salt, Thyme Leaves and Season-All

Directions

1. Heat a dash of oil and the butter in a large saucepan on low/medium heat. Cook shitake mushrooms for about 2 minutes, seasoning to your liking with season-all and thyme leaves. Stir occasionally.
2. In the meantime, cook pasta in a saucepan of boiling water with a dash of oil and Garlic and Herb Salt until al dente.
3. Add pine nuts to the saucepan and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add all of the pesto, parmesan cheese and sun-dried tomatoes. Stir all ingredients together.
4. Drain cooked pasta and add to saucepan.
5. Stir all ingredients together over low/medium heat until heated through.

Tags: boiled, gluten free, nuts, pan fried, pasta, quick, vegetarian

I made this salad for friends and family this week, and it went down quite well! My aunt even asked for the recipe. It’s a modification of this awesome quinoa salad recipe.

Also, just so you know, quinoa has a weird pronunciation; ‘keen-wa’. More about this yummy seed at the quinoa wikipedia entry. You can buy it at Coles & health food stores.

Ingredients

• 3 Tbs. cranberries
• 2 Tbs. dried apricots, thinly sliced
• 1 cup red & white quinoa, rinsed well
• 1 large lemon
• 3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp. ground cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp. sweet paprika
• 2 medium firm-ripe avocados (6 to 7 oz. each), pitted, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 2 medium scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
• 2 to 3 Tbs. coarsely chopped dry roasted cashews
• Salt & pepper for boiling quinoa & to taste

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, soak the cranberries and apricots in hot water for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. In a 2-litre saucepan, bring 2 cups water, the quinoa, and 1/2 tsp. salt to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to medium low, and simmer until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is translucent and tender, 10 to 15 minutes. (The outer germ rings of the grain will remain chewy and white. Some germ rings may separate from the grain and will look like white squiggles). Immediately fluff the quinoa with a fork and place in a bowl lined with baking paper. Let cool to room temperature.
3. Finely grate the zest from the lemon and squeeze 1 Tbs. juice into a small bowl. Whisk together with the olive oil, coriander, cumin, paprika, and salt and pepper to taste. In a large bowl, toss this dressing with the quinoa, cranberries, apricots, avocado, scallions, and cashews.

Tags: boiled, fruit, gluten free, nuts, quick, salad, vegetarian