CHRISTMAS BREAK

Just letting you know that I will be taking a break from blogging over Christmas. Please feel free to send in your recipes for me to publish, or send me requests for what sort of recipes you would like to see in the new year. Happy holidays to you all! xx

MY MUM'S (ADAPTED) CHRISTMAS CAKE

I have always loved my families tradition of having a slice of Christmas cake and a cup of tea mid morning on the days leading up to and out of Christmas day. We've always had quite boozy cakes - which is really tasty when you get to the alcohol filled glace cherries! This year I decided to adapt my mum's Christmas cake recipe to make it gluten free, and using some different fruits and adding nuts (which my dad would never eat!).

INGREDIENTS
750g mixed dried fruit
300g glace cherries
100g flaked almonds
100g golden raisins
100g chopped dates
1tsp ground ginger
1tsp ground cinnamon
1tsp ground nutmeg
1tsp vanilla extract
1/2C brandy
1/2C rum
250g butter
250g brown sugar
5 eggs
1/4C golden syrup
1tbs jam
juice and rind of 1 lemon
300g gluten free self raising flour (I used White Wings)
2tbs cocoa
1tsp salt
1tsp bi-carb soda
blanched almonds to decorate
extra brandy and/or rum to soak the cake with after cooking

METHOD
1. Mix the fruit, nuts, spices, vanilla and alcohol together in a large bowl. Cover and leave to sit overnight.



2. Pre-heat oven to 150ºC. Cream together the butter and sugar with electric mixers until light and fluffy.



3. Add one egg at a time, beating in thoroughly. If the mixture curdles you can add a small bit of the flour in.



4. Mix in the golden syrup, jam, lemon juice and lemon rind.



5. Sift in the flour, cocoa, salt and bi-carb soda. Mix well.



6. Mix the fruit into the butter and flour mixture.



7. Line 1 large, or two regular sized baking tins with two layers of non-stick baking paper. Fill tin/s with mixture and tap on the bench to remove any air bubbles.



8. Decorate top/s of cake/s with blanched almonds. Bake for 3 hours, or until cooked. Remove from oven and poke holes over the top with a skewer. Pour over extra brandy and/or rum - depending on how boozy you like your cake! Leave to cool in tin, then remove, wrap in baking paper and newspaper and store in a cool dry place until you're ready to tuck in. You may like to check it during this process to make sure it is moist enough - you can add more alcohol to it if needed. It will keep for months.

FRUIT MINCE TARTS

The last few years I have bought gluten free fruit mince tarts from a variety of suppliers – and they've all been pretty ordinary. Now that there is the ready-made sweet shortcrust pastry available from The Pastry Pantry, I thought I would attempt making my own, yum!

INGREDIENTS
2-3 sheets of The Pastry Pantry sweet shortcrust pastry
1/2C grated apple (I used Granny Smith)
1/4C currants
1/4C slivered almonds
1/4C chopped, pitted dates
1/4C Craisins (dried cranberries)
1/4C mixed peel
1/4C glacé cherries
1tbs brandy
1tbs rum
1tbs marmalade
2tbs brown sugar
1/2tsp cinnamon
1/2tsp nutmeg
25g finely chopped butter
icing sugar to dust

*Note: you can use any dried fruits that you want, so add what you like, take out what you don't – as long as the final quantity of fruit is the same.

METHOD
1. Place all of the ingredients, except the pastry, into a bowl. Mix thoroughly and leave to sit for 1 hour. If you have time you can leave the mix to sit for 2 days, occasionally stirring.
2. Following the instructions on the pastry packet, thaw the pastry sheets.
3. Preheat oven to 160ºC.
4. Using a circular cookie/pastry cutter, cut out circles in the pastry and place into patty tins. You could also use mini muffin tins for smaller tarts.
5. Put fruit mix in food processor, and pulse a few times until you get the consistency you like in your fruit mince tarts.
6. Spoon the fruit mixture into the pastry, filling to the brim. Decorate the top of the tarts with a piece of pastry cut into whatever shape you desire.
7. Pop them in the oven for 25 minutes, or until pastry is lightly golden.
8. Cool on a wire rack, and dust with icing sugar before serving.

Makes about 15 tarts, depending on their size.

GINGERBREAD BISCUITS

When I tried to make gingerbread men a couple of years ago as Christmas gifts it was a complete disaster. I used a standard recipe, just replacing the flour with a pre-mixed gluten free flour - but it didn't work as planned. The biscuits cracked and various arms, legs and heads fell! Unable to give my amputee gingerbread men as gifts I had to resort to making little bags of mixed lollies with a gift tag attached. This year I have worked on a 'sturdier' recipe creating a crunchy gingerbread biscuit that doesn't break. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
100g butter
1/3C brown sugar
1 egg
1/3C golden syrup
1C rice flour
1C tapioca flour
1/2t Xanthan gum
2t ginger (more if you love it really 'gingery')
1t cinnamon
1/2t nutmeg
1/4t bi-card soda
pinch salt

METHOD
1. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add syrup and egg and beat until mixed.
2. In a separate bowl mix all the dry ingredients together, then gradually sift the dry ingredients into the butter mix, mixing up with a spoon. Near the end it may get too hard to use a spoon, so get your hands dirty and knead it together.
3. Cover with cling wrap and place in the fridge until cooled (should take less than an hour).
4. Divide the mixture in half, place one portion of the mix between 2 sheets of non-stick baking paper and use a rolling pin to roll the mixture out to a few millimeters thick. Repeat with remaining half. Place both rolled out pieces, still in between the sheets of baking paper, into the fridge to cool for about 20 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 180ºC. Line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Using a cookie cutter in what ever shape you like, dip the cutter in some rice flour, then press into the biscuit mix. Place the shapes onto the baking trays with a little space in between.
5. Bake for 10-15 minutes, being careful to not overcook (as they will become too dry).

The mix will make about 24 biscuits - depending on the size of your cookie cutter. Wrap them up in bundles with some cellophane and ribbon for a cute Christmas gift, or just keep them for yourself or for when guests come over!

BAKING DISTASTERS

With gluten free baking you are bound to run into disasters every now and again - I sure do! But it's a shame to let all you time, effort and produce go to waste, so here are some simple ways to resurrect a baking disaster!

The cake has sunk: That doesn't mean your heart should too! The cake should still taste okay, but you will want to add height or fill the cavity. The easiest (and yummiest) thing to use is a mix of fresh berries. If they are tart you can mix them with a little icing sugar first. You may also like to add a layer of whipped cream or marscapone underneath.

The sides of the cake broke away when removing from the tin: Annoying hey? Never mind, this can be easily disguised with a thick layer of ganache. Mix up some dark chocolate with a little cream in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and smooth and creamy. Allow to cool a bit and then spread over the top and sides of the cake.

The cake is dry: Okay, no one wants to eat dry cake, so can you turn it into something else? Perhaps a trifle? Or tiramisu? Maybe a summer pudding? These desserts all add liquids to the 'cake' component which will combat the dryness.

The cake has broken into pieces: Ah, the joys of gluten free baking and binding issues! If the cake still tastes okay you could serve it to your guests already 'sliced' into pieces and topped with fruit/cream/icecream/sauce. If it is too crumbly you could turn it into a trifle.

Do you have any baking disasters that you have made a miraculous recovery from? Please share!

THE CUPCAKE BAKERY

I was in the city yesterday and walked past The Cupcake Bakery - the cupcakes looked so cute with their piped buttercream frostings in an array of colours. I hesitantly looked at the range, and bingo, I found a gluten free option on the bottom shelf! It was a chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream frosting. The cake was fluffy and moist, and the frosting was tasty - but a little bit grainy. Apart from that, a big tick from me!

JOIN MY FACEBOOK GROUP!

I've created a Facebook group for glutenfreelovelee. It will be for members to share information on anything gluten free. So come and join, and tell your friends!

YOU KNOW YOU HAVE COELIAC DISEASE IF...

I found this hilarious list on the Facebook group 'You know you have Celiac Disease if...' Enjoy!

YOU KNOW YOU HAVE CELIAC DISEASE...
- If you dont remember what crackers are supposed to taste like.
- If you bring "special" beer to the party, and don't share.
- If you actually have nightmares about reading labels.
- If you compare all of your food to "normal-people-food."
- If you call all your relatives when you get sick. It MUST be because something you ate has been cross-contaminated.
- If you cry when you discover a new way to make gluten-free bread. And call all your relatives.
- If you know that Xantham Gum is not for chewing.
- If you don't lick stamps.
- If your mother is afraid to do the cooking
- If you sit on the phone with a pharmacy for an hour to find out what type of starch they use just so that you can take a generic Tylenol and be-rid of your headache.
- If you know that spelt is a distant cousin of wheat, but buckwheat is not related to wheat at all.
- If the construction workers working on the house next door to you can EASILY substitute your bread for one of their bricks.
- If your grandmother INSISTS that you don't have celiac, you're just “suffering from malabsorption”
- If you burst into tears of relief at the sight of the words "gluten free" stamped on the corner of the Nestle hot cocoa mix.
- If you actually KNOW what an anti-TTG and an IGA blood test are.
- If you forget to buy bun, rolls, bread, ect. at the store for all the gluten eaters of you family.
- If you sold your house to buy groceries
- If you sold your first child to buy groceries (even if you did not have one at the time)
- If you can find "hidden gluten" in food labels in the blink of an eye - if your family couldn't find them if they had a magnifying glass, dictionary, and Ph.D.
- If you've actually suggested cardboard for dinner.
- If you've actually eaten cardboard for dinner.
- If you wept the first time you tried to make gluten free sugar cookies
- If you accept that fact that cardboard probably taste better than gluten free sugar cookies anyway.
- If you have ever made a list of everything you would eat if a magical genie could cure you.
- If you keep this list with you at all times just incase you should come across a magical genie.
- If you have searched for a magical genie.
- If you now have a large collection of old lamps.
- If you get a medical exemption out of cooking class because they are baking bread.
- If you've had to give a doctor a crash course in Celiac 101.
- If you weep at picnics, parties, receptions and fast food joints.
- If you weep at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
- If you've "brown bagged it" to an elegant dinner engagement.
- If a 7 Course Meal is a 1 Course Meal for you. Lettuce.
- If you've installed floor-to-ceiling bookcases in your bathroom.
- If you've ever driven more than 40 miles to buy flour or a cookie.
- If it takes you 4 hours to grocery shop and your eyesight is ruined.
- If you hyperventilate when passing by the bakery counter.
- If you've ever deliberately rammed your cart into a Shredded Wheat display in a fit of rage.
- If you've ever had to take out a loan to pay the grocery bill.
- If you'd gladly pay any price for a pretzel that doesn't taste like sawdust, or bread that doesn't taste like an old shoe.
- If the centerpiece on your dining room table is a bread machine with memorial candles.
- If your bread looks like a moon rock and tastes like dried out Play Doh.
- If your bread weighs more than any moon rock could possibly weigh.
- If one of your primary goals in life is to create "Fake Oreo Cookies".
- If you've disinherited loved ones for putting their knife in your mayo.
- If you've brought a suitcase full of food with you on a cruise.
- If you pace and circle the store three or four times when deciding on a new product, pick it up look at the ingredients, each time. Only to leave without it, figuring why bother.
- If your family thinks you're crazy for not tasting their new chocolate chip cookie recipe, because surely a little nibble couldn't hurt right?
- If your financial portfolio consists of stock in two major toilet paper companies.
- If you are up late at night trying to develop a recipe for pizza without flour, cheese, yeast, tomatoes, beef, garlic and oregano.
- If you can spell transglutaminase and dermatitis herpetiformis.
- If you just discovered how to make flour out of turnips.
- If you show up at the annual church pancake breakfast with a mask and sardine lettuce rollups
- If having solid poop is the highlight of your day.
- If you have actually doodled a new cartoon dog on your notes named "Sprue"
- If you have a sign in your kitchen saying "Gluten free environment"
- If you have actually considered using a gluten-free bagel for a hockey puck
- If you've mastered saying "I actually enjoy MY food" without your face twitching
- If you know all about xanthan gum and its uses.
- If you have ever dreamt about Wonder Bread.
- If you hide the gluten-free cookies when guests come over, so they dont eat them.
- If you read the ingredient label on green tea - plain green tea.
- If you know exactly when Post added barley flavoring back to the Fruity Pebbles and you're ticked.
- If you pay relatives back east exorbitant shipping rates to send you a $12 six pack of Gluten-free beer.
- If you cried when you saw your usually careful husband brushing the crumbs off his hands (from making a gluten-containing sandwich) RIGHT OVER the open utensil drawer
- If you talk about your disease (not the unpleasant parts) so much to your friends and acquaintances that your husband tells you you need to get another hobby
- If you take a list of safe drinks to the bar with you. And actually consult it before you order a drink.
- If you see someone buying rice flour in the bulk section and you just have to ask them if they are gluten intolerant too!
- If it drives you crazy when someone says they completely understand your diet, they did Atkins.
- If people roll their eyes at you when you say "no thank you" to someone's gluten filled dessert
- If you've refused things as "simple" as gum or sucking candies because you don't know if they're safe.
- If you talk about endoscopy's and colonoscopy's like these are normal everyday occurences that everyone gets nearly every year.
- If you've ever watched your own -scopy, and asked the doc to point out anything cool.

IKEA DOES GLUTEN FREE!

I was in IKEA recently and had my obligatory stop in the food section (just after the main checkouts) to stock up on some IKEA chocolate - if you haven't tried them, you really should! I thought I'd have a look at what other products they have, and was very happy when I found some gluten free salty licorice, yum! And then even more surprised when I looked in the freezer section and found a gluten free cheesecake and a chocolate torte! IKEA does gluten free! Not usually one to buy pre-made cakes, I thought I'd better bend a rules the bit, purely in the name of research of course. The cheesecake was a bit of a let down. It was quite flat, and the cheese section wasn't very 'cheesy'. The chocolate torte however was quite rich and tasty. Both weren't the prettiest things to look at, so if you were planning on serving them up to guests you would want to have some things to decorate them with to make them a bit more special, such as a pile of berries on top or some cream or ice cream to serve with the torte.

RICOTTA, BUTTERMILK AND RICE FLOUR PANCAKE

I woke up early this morning (so much for my sleep in!), so decided to walk down to the shops to grab a coffee, the Sunday papers and some salt to have on my avocado on toast. On my way to the shops the idea of pancakes popped into my head - I have no idea why! Then I remembered making ricotta pancakes as a kid (I've always loved being in the kitchen), that were fluffy and moist. So many gluten free pancakes that I have had have been dry or rubbery and left me feeling like I had swallowed a brick! As I walked around the isles of Franklins I thought about how I could try and create a gluten free ricotta pancake, and must say I was pretty impressed with myself when it worked first go! So here's the recipe for you to try for yourself...

INGREDIENTS
1/3C rice flour
pinch salt
1 tsp caster sugar
1 egg
1/4C ricotta
1/4C buttermilk
extra ricotta, frozen raspberries and maple syrup to serve

METHOD
1. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl with a fork until a smooth batter forms.
2. Heat a small, non-stick frypan over low/medium heat with a small piece of butter (you could use a vegetable oil). Once butter has melted, pour batter into frypan.
3. When bubbles form on the top side of the batter, flip the pancake over and keep on heat until cooked through - it should still be a bit moist inside though.
4. Serve with a dollop of ricotta, some thawed frozen raspberries and lashings of maple syrup.

Makes one pancake - which is enough to fill me up for breakfast. Multiply the mix by however many pancakes you want to make!

DELIKATESY

My dear friend, Viktor, from Slovakia produces an online food magazine, Delikatesy, and featured an article on my blog. For any of my Slovak readers it's definitely worth checking out this online magazine!

GRAIN FREE PASTA

Back a couple of months ago at the Gluten Free Expo I picked up a pack of pasta from the Pasta @ Home stand. I'm not usually a fan of trying other brands of gluten free pasta, as unfortunately so many of them are horrible, but I thought I would give this one a go because it sounded interesting - not only is it gluten free, it's also grain free - and cooks in under 2 minutes! It's made from a mix of potato, tapioca, quinoa and amaranth flours. The cooking instructions said to place in boiling water for one minute then drain well and stand for 30 seconds - I found that mine wasn't cooked enough after this time, so extended the boiling time by a couple of minutes. I then mixed it up with some tuna, lemon juice, salt, pepper and parsley. It was really quite delicious, the pasta has a nice flavour and the texture was good - not the same as 'regular' pasta, but still good. And quite a quick way to whip up a healthy meal.

Their range includes spirals, shells and macaroni. You can order on their website and they also have a range of stockists.

BAGUETTE HEAVEN!

About a month ago I was shopping in Harris Farm Markets and I came across a bigger range of gluten free breads than they used to stock. One in particular caught my eye - a baguette! There were two in a pack, and they were a decent size (especially for something that is gluten free!) and were just under $10. Having had so many bad-bread experiences in the past I am always hesitant about forking out the money to try a new brand. I put a pack in my trolley, walked around for a bit, then returned the pack to the shelf. The thought of the anticipation of biting through the crunchy crust of French baguette and it being an utter disappointment was too much to handle! The idea of the baguette however was hard to erase from my memory, and over the next few weeks it kept making an appearance in my mind. That initial crunch, then the soft, warm, fluffy bread inside... would I ever be able to experience this sensation in my gluten-free existence?!

I was driving home tonight with a container full of sliced ham left over from a Christmas photo shoot at work, trying to dream up a dinner I could make from it. The baguette popped back into my thoughts. I caved. I took a quick detour via Harris Farm Markets, picked up a pack of baguettes, an avocado and some vine ripened tomatoes. As soon as I got home I heated the oven to 200ºC, cut one of the baguettes in half, put it (impatiently) in the oven for 10 minutes while the house filled with the that wonderful bread aroma. Once my timer sounded I cautiously opened the oven and removed the baguette, nervous to touch it and it not feel crunchy. 'Tap, tap'... ooh, that is a good sound! I then cut into it with my bread knife, little flecks of crust flew off and the sound was just divine. I filled it with my ham, avocado and tomato and finished it off with a generous dose of ground pepper, took a quick snap of it, and then apprehensively bit in. YUM!! I don't know if it's because I have been deprived of gluten for so long that it tasted just like a 'normal' baguette, or if it was just really darn good! I will have to try it out on a non-GF soon and give you the verdict. In the mean time, if you are a baguette lover like me, find where your nearest Schar stockist is ASAP!!

DRY-IT

A great new gluten free food find of mine is Dry-It, who do a range of products using dehydrated fruit and vegetables. Now don't let the word 'dehydrated' scare you away, stick with me here, what they do is pretty darn clever...

As fruit and vegetables are seasonal, this often means that there is a surplus when they are in season that goes to waste. This has many negative effects such as unnecessary packaging and transportation costs, disposal issues, loss of income for farmers and a pet hate of mine - food waste.

The clever souls at Dry-It came up with a solution to this problem. By using energy efficient low temperature dryers, they can dry surplus fruit and vegetables to create some wonderful products. This method of drying means that the nutritional value is reserved, and no chemicals, preservatives, colourings or additives are required. This is particularly good for those with sulphur allergies who usually have to avoid dried fruits.

Some of their products that I have tried are:

Banana wattle seed mix
All the dried banana that I've ever had has been hard and chip like. But this banana is still chewy, and a very good snack for a sweet-tooth like myself. Plus the pack has little wattle seeds, almonds, sultanas, hazelnuts and bits of chocolate in it - yum!

Dried apple
They come in different varieties of apple!

Quick meals
Simply add water (and maybe a little cream), and voila, you have a sweet potato soup. Or just add some oil and water and you have a mushroom and garlic risotto! Now, those who know me are aware that I'm not a real fan of pre-packaged meals, but these are really good - and I guess they should be, there's no nasties added.

Some other products include; a steak rub, stir fry mixes, other dried fruits and much more.

They are currently available at Thomas Dux stores and Norton Street Grocer.

LEMON MERINGUE PIE

Continuing with my obsession of The Pastry Pantry pastry, I decided to make a lemon meringue pie. It was delicious! I even fed it to five non-gluten free people (the ultimate trial!) and they loved it, commenting that the pastry was great.

I followed the instructions on the back of the sweet shortcrust pastry pack to cook the pastry. It will look a little soft when it comes out of the oven, but it firms right up once it cools, so don't be tempted to cook it for longer.

For the filling I used a lemon curd recipe from donna hay magazine that you can get here. Just ensure that the cornflour is made from corn and not wheat!

Once you have put the filling in the pastry shell and refrigerated for at least 2 hours, beat up 4 egg whites until soft peaks form, then gradually add 1 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of vinegar (gluten free - I used white wine vinegar) until the mixture is thick and stiff peaks form. Pile the mixture on top of the lemon curd then pop under a medium grill until the meringue is golden and has firmed up. Pop it back in the fridge for a while and then it's ready to serve.

CHICKEN & LEEK POT PIES

I've been a bit busy lately and slack on updating the blog - I am working on new recipes though (I'm up to trial number seven of a light and fluffy sponge cake, hopefully number eight will be a winner so I can share it with you!), so keep checking back.

I thought I'd share with you a dish I made the other night. I'd been wanting to try The Pastry Pantry Rough Puff pastry, but didn't have time to create a recipe, so adapted one from donna hay magazine. You can get the recipe here.

I used gluten free plain flour in place of the regular plain flour, and made sure the stock was gluten free, and of course used The Pastry Pantry Rough Puff pastry. I didn't want one large pie, so separated the mixture into four ramekins and then placed 1/4 sheet of pastry over each pie, sealing the edges with the back of a fork. I brushed the pastry with a lightly beaten egg, and pierced a couple of holes in the top, then popped them in the oven at 200ºC for 25 minutes.

The pastry didn't 'puff' like regular puff pastry, it was kind of like a mix of puff pastry and savoury shortcrust - but it was crunchy and really tasty. I will definitely be making this again!

GLUTEN FREE EXPO FOLLOW UP, PART ONE

THE PASTRY PANTRY
This was the highlight of the expo for me. I had heard about this range of ready made frozen pastry sheets a few weeks ago and have been waiting (impatiently) to try them. On the morning of the expo I was telling my man-friend how excited I was that for Christmas I might be able to make some decent fruit mince pies, so imagine my excitement when that was in fact what they had as their sample dish at the stand! The pastry was impeccible, and the non-GF man-friend agreed. I purchased some of the rough puff pastry to try over the next couple of weeks, perhaps on a chicken and leek pie. I am also going to try a lemon meringue pie with some of the sweet shortcrust - will let you know how they go and share my recipes.




THE BEER FACTORY
I was hoping there would be a selection of GF beers at the expo, but there was only one, The Beer Factory. They have quite a clever idea where you can go and brew your own beer on their premises in Seven Hills or Unanderra using their equipment, making it an economical (and fun) way to get your beer. They have a large selection on non-GF beers, and one GF beer, one cider and one ginger beer. Personally I didn't like the GF beer, it was quite weak and watery. The ginger beer however was spectacular. It had a perfect mix of sweetness against the bite of the ginger. I think a batch will be necessary for this upcoming summer!




GOLDEN FALAFEL
I love a good falafel, and boy are these good! They are crunchy on the outside, soft and moist on the inside and packed with plenty of flavour. The have no trans fat and make for a healthy and easy lunch or dinner. I simply heated mine up in a pan and served with a side salad of finely chopped red cabbage, snow pea sprouts, olive oil, lemon juice and salt.



CASA DE SABOR
This Portuguese mousse is amazing. It's light and fluffy but rich at the same time. It's cream and gluten free and made from all natural ingredients. It's available in four flavours; traditional, orange (my favourite), hazelnut and mocha. You can even serve it like an ice cream straight from the freezer. I took a tub to the man-friends parents place for dinner and served it with strawberries and blueberries - delish!


I've still got lots more products to try out, so stay tuned for more updates!

GLUTEN FREE EXPO

The Gluten Free Expo was on over the weekend in Sydney. It was great to see how popular the event was - just look at the photo of the queue to get in!! There was more than 10,000 visitors over the 2 days. It was well worth the 40 minute wait, with lots of exhibitors and plenty of samples and great new products. For people on a gluten free diet it was like being a child in a candy store. Everything there was 'safe', although out of force of habit I still found that I would ask myself "I wonder if I can eat that?"! Some of the highlights were sampling the new ready made pastries by The Pastry Pantry, the DIY ginger beer, the range of great breads and the heavenly chocolate mousse from Casa De Sabor. I've got lots and lots of samples to try out over the next few weeks and will keep you updated with my favourite products.

GLUTEN FREE FLOUR: TAPIOCA

TAPIOCA FLOUR
Tapioca flour is made from the cassava root (picture above), and is commonly grown in Central and South America and South East Asia. The root can be used to make chips, flat bread, jellies, tapioca pearls (similar to sago) and it is also used commercially as a thickener in foods and a binder in pharmaceuticals. Tapioca flour is naturally gluten free and is great for making light and crispy batters (like salt and pepper squid), waffles, breads, pizza bases and cookies. I buy mine from the local Asian supermarket (along with my potato flour) and it's super cheap!

SOME OF MY FAVOURITE PLACES TO EAT...

ENVY CAFE & GALLERY
Most mornings I head into Envy Cafe & Gallery for my daily soy latte - they make the best coffee. They also stock my favourite brand of gluten free toast, so I sometimes order that with lashings of peanut butter. On the weekends I order my favourite dish, gluten free toast with scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, rocket and dill creme fraiche. It's amazing. I always plan to order something else when I go there, as I really like to try new things, but when it comes time to place my order that just tumbles out of my mouth! It's a great dish, and it can keep me going all day long. They also do a housemade rice muesli and often have a brown rice porridge on the specials board.

Envy Cafe & Gallery, 109 Smith Street, Summer Hill, NSW





LONGRAIN
For special occasions I LOVE to go to Longrain in Sydney. They serve modern thai/asian cuisine and the waitstaff have a good knowledge of all the dishes and what gluten is. They predominantly use tapioca and rice flours in their cooking, so generally most dishes are gluten free, except for any that use soy sauce or another sauce containing gluten. Those who are gluten free should really try their salt and pepper squid when it is on the specials list. The batter, made with tapioca flour, is light, crunchy and oh so tasty. Some other favourites are the betel leaf (sounds weird, but everyone loves it), the caremelised pork hock, and the coconut caramel custard. Actually, all of the dishes I have had there (and there have been a lot) have been incredible. Make sure you get there early to have a cocktail or two from their extensive list!

Longrain, 85 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills, NSW

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER!

Follow me on twitter for regular updates on my day-to-day living a gluten free life. There's products I find, links to cool sites, hints and tips and so much more!

EVENT: GLUTEN FREE EXPO

I am really looking forward to the Gluten Free Expo on in Sydney on the 21st and 22nd August 2009. It is free entry, and if it's anything like the expo's I have been to before there will be lots of new and exciting GF foods to sample. I will do a review of any new and great products I discover after the expo - stay tuned!

MY PICK: CHOCOLATE BISCUITS

I often find it hard to get gluten free products with an adequate amount of 'crunch'. They are often soft or crumbly, and that's no fun when you really want an amazing crunchy gluten free biscuit. Luckily I have discovered D'Lush Double Choc Biscuits which are a wonderfully crunchy biscuit covered in lashings of chocolate. Yum! They are particularly good dipped in a cup of tea, or if you want a complete chocolate hit then go ahead and dunk them in your hot chocolate! I buy mine at my local Coles supermarket.

JAFFA CAKE

This jaffa cake is sooooo easy to make! I took it to the football and it was a big hit, especially with the boys (and they are all non-GF too!). I also did another version of this cake in the shape of a pirates treasure chest for my friends pirate themed party.

INGREDIENTS FOR CAKE
2 navel oranges
6 eggs
2 1/2C almond meal
1C sugar
INGREDIENTS FOR GANACHE
200g dark chocolate
1/2C cream

METHOD
1. Boil whole oranges for 1-2 hours, until they are soft and you can easily pierce them with a skewer. (They will fill your house with the most gorgeous aroma!). Allow them to cool a bit. You can leave them overnight in an airtight container if you wish.
2. Preheat oven to 190ºC, grease and line cake tin of your shape of choice.
3. Place oranges in a food processor and mix until smooth.
4. Add remaining ingredients and mix until combined.
5. Pour into cake tin and cook for about an hour - sometimes it needs a little bit longer. The cake should be quite moist, but cake should be pulling away from the edges of the tin and a skewer should come out fairly clean.
6. Allow cake to cool a bit, then tip out of tin to completely cool.
7. To make ganache - melt chocolate and cream in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water until melted, smooth and glossy. You may need to add a little more cream to get consistency right.
8. Allow to cool a bit and thicken, then smear over the cooled cake.
9. Once ganache has had a bit of time to set the cake is ready to serve.

Enjoy!

MY PICK: GLUTEN FREE BREADS

Gluten free breads have come a long way since I first tasted them in 2002. I remember being appalled by the heavy, crumbly and almost inedible loaves. Now there are plenty of decent breads on the market, phew! After trialling most of them I have decided that Naturally Gluten Free is definitely my favourite brand. The loaves are a decent size (don't you just hate how some brands are miniature?! Mini cupcakes might be cute, but not loaves of bread!), and the textures and flavours are fantastic. They have a large and increasing range of products, and I am totally hooked on the Crunch savoury loaf as well as the Banana Bread. Have a look at their website to find your nearest stockist.

DOUBLE CHOC PECAN BROWNIES

Yum! These brownies are rich and fudgy. Perfect as a gift or for an afternoon treat for the office.

INGREDIENTS
200g dark chocolate
250g butter
1 1/2C brown sugar
4 eggs
1/3C cocoa
1 1/4C gluten free plain flour (I use White Wings)
1/2tsp gluten free baking powder
200g white chocolate, roughly chopped
120g pecans, roughly chopped

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 160ºC. Grease and line your tin.
2. Melt butter and dark chocolate in bowl over a saucepan on simmering water.
3. Once melted, remove from heat and add sugar and eggs and mix in well. Then mix in flour, baking powder and cocoa. The mixture should be quite thick now.
4. Fold in the pecans and white chocolate, then press the mixture evenly into the tin.
5. Pop in the oven for about 50 minutes. Once completely cool, turn out onto a chopping board, dust with icing sugar and cut into squares.

Makes about 20 squares - depending how big you like them!

DARK CHOCOLATE SOUFFLES

I'd always heard that souffles were tricky to make, so thought it would take a few goes to get them right, but these were very easy! I think the key is to have a well greased ramekin, and make sure that you pour the mixture into the ramekin evenly, not spilling any drops onto the rim or down the sides. I served mine with a chocolate cream, simply made by whipping cream with a little sugar and grated chocolate. If you don't like dark chocolate I would imagine this recipe would also work well with milk chocolate.

INGREDIENTS
Soft butter, to grease ramekins
Caster sugar, to dust ramekins
100g dark chocolate
4 eggs, separated

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 200ºC. Generously grease ramekins, including rims. Pop in the fridge for about 5 minutes and grease again. Pour a little caster sugar into each ramekin and tip and rotate so that the base and sides are lightly covered. Tip out any left over loose sugar. Place ramekins on a baking tray.
2. Melt chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Once smooth remove from heat and stir in the egg yolks.
3. In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add about 1/3 of the egg whites to the chocolate and mix in well. Then add the rest of the egg whites and fold in gently.
4. Pour or spoon the mixture evenly among the ramekins, being careful not to spill any drops down the sides or on the rims (as this will stop them rising evenly).
5. Pop in the oven for 8-10 minutes. They are ready when they have puffed up nicely. Dust with some icing sugar and serve immediately!

Makes 4 x 150ml ramekins

MY PICK: GLUTEN FREE PASTA

Over the years I have tried many brands of gluten free pasta - some awful, some okay, but the best that I have found is (surprisingly) San Remo gluten free pastas. My favourites are the Spaghetti, Penne and Spirals. Just make sure you cook them in plenty of water!

HOW CUTE ARE THESE?!

These delicious treats were created by my friend, the talented Miss Grace Lee - aren't they just gorgeous?!