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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.
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.
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!
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 SABORThis 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!
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.
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!
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
