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Gluten-free banana choc muffins

On December 2, 2011 in Baking, brunch, cakes, comfort food, cooking, food, food sensitivities, gluten-free, recipes, snacks, wheat-free

Remember Goldilocks? The chick who broke into the home of three unsuspecting bears and ate their porridge, sat in their chair and slept in their bed? What exactly a young girl was doing walking into a stranger’s home unannounced and ransacking their stuff is another blog post altogether. But the point is, Goldilocks was quite a fussy lass. She liked things to be “just right”. While I can’t relate to gatecrashing a bear’s house, I can relate to her fussy tendencies. Take bananas, for instance. I won’t go near them unless they’re just right. And when I say “just right”, I mean not too ripe and not too green, but somewhere in between.

That’s not to say there isn’t a place in my kitchen for over-ripened bananas. The riper the bananas, the better the baked goods and the sweeter the smoothies. I whipped up some gorgeous gluten-free banana choc muffins last week with a sad old banana that looked ready for the scrap heap. Needless to say, just as you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, don’t judge a banana by its skin. Here’s the recipe.

Banana choc muffins

Makes 12

 

Banana choc muffins

Piece of cake to make

Dry ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup caster sugar
  • 2 cups gluten-free plain flour
  • 1 tsp xanthan gum
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 tsp gluten-free baking powder

Wet ingredients:

  • 11/4 cups soy milk (gluten-free)
  • 1 egg, lightly whisked
  • 3 tbs canola oil

Flavourings:

  • 1 large ripe banana, mashed
  • 1 tbs crushed walnuts
  • 1/4 cup dark chocolate, chopped (I used Lindt)

Toppings:

  • 1 tbs crushed walnuts

Method

  1. Sift the dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine.
  2. Mix the wet ingredients in a small bowl, and add to the dry ingredients.
  3. Add the chocolate, banana and walnuts and stir until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
  4. Fill a 12-hole muffin tray with cases (or lightly grease with oil) and fill with the mixture.
  5. Sprinkle with walnuts and bake at 180 degrees celsius for approximately 25 minutes.
  6. Remove from oven and allow to sit in tray for five minutes before placing on a cooling rack.
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Guacamole

On November 25, 2011 in allergy-free, celiac, cooking, dairy-free, dips, entertaining, food, food sensitivities, gluten-free, healthy recipes, raw food, snacks, vegetarian, wheat-free

Some things are best made from scratch. Like dips, for example. Apart from the frozen meals in aisle eight at the supermarket, packaged dips are the worst $4.95 you’ll ever spend. Like that extra vodka, lime and soda at the end of a big night, throwing a couple of tubs of dip in your trolley always seems like a good idea at the time. I challenge you to step away from the dip section during your next trip to the shops and whip up your own instead. It will save your wallet and your taste buds.

As far as dips go, guacamole gets my vote. It’s a cinch to make, it’s healthy and it happens to be my favourite colour (green). It’s versatile too – you can serve it with crudites, add it to nachos or team it with smoked salmon, tomatoes and cracked pepper for a light lunch. Like watermelon and mangoes, guacamole congers up feelings of summer and good times spent with friends. It’s one of those foolproof dips that you could probably make with my eyes shut if you had to, but try making it with your eyes open if you can.

guacamole

Goes down a treat with crudites

Guacamole

Makes a couple of cups worth.

Ingredients:

2 large ripe avocados, halved, stones removed and peeled
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, crushed (you can omit this if you don’t like the taste of raw garlic)
1 vine-ripened tomato, diced
1 red chilli, finely chopped (the smaller the chilli, the fiercer the heat)
1 tbs olive oil
1 handful chopped coriander leaves
paprika sprinkled on top and a drizzle of olive oil

Method:

Place avocado and lemon juice in a large bowl and mash with a fork. You can mash it until it’s completely smooth, but I like to leave some texture in it.

Add the red onion, garlic, tomato, chilli and olive oil and stir with a spoon until combined.

Season with sea salt and cracked pepper, a sprinkle of paprika and a drizzle of olive oil.

Serving suggestion:

Spoon into serving bowl and sprinkle with paprika. Serve with crudites, such as radishes, carrots and cucumbers.

Notes:

  • The guacamole is best eaten fresh, but will keep for up to a day in the fridge.
  • Lightly press the top of the avocados to test if they’re ripe.
  • Avocados turn brown unless you sprinkle them with lemon or lime juice.

If you’re in the mood for snacking, here’s some more yummy dip recipes.

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Broad bean hummus

On September 25, 2011 in celiac, cooking, dairy-free, dips, food, food sensitivities, garlic, gluten-free, healthy recipes, Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, hummus, lunch, recipes, seasonal, snacks, wheat-free

Who’s your favourite chef? Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is fast becoming one of mine. He wasn’t on my radar until Paul introduced me to his cookbooks last year. His food philosophy is all about respecting the ingredients and sourcing the best possible produce. Hugh’s cookbook ‘River Cottage Every Day’ never fails to inspire me. I’m yet to get my hands on the TV series of the same name – I’ve heard it’s brilliant.

Broad bean hummus

Broad bean hummus

Today’s recipe comes from ‘River Cottage Every Day’. It’s a delicious broad bean hummus that won’t disappoint. With broad beans in season at the moment here in Australia, now is the perfect time to grab a couple of handfuls when you’re next at the grocer and whip them into a gorgeous, green, garlicky dip. That’s what Paul and I did yesterday. It took about 30 mins from start to finish and even less time for us to polish it off with some homemade tomato salsa, a couple of slices of ham, some marinated goat’s cheese and some homemade gluten-free seed bread. What a great lunch!

The hummus was the most verdant green colour – so green in fact that it could be mistaken for guacamole. Only problem was a severe case of garlic breath that plagued us Paul and I (and anyone who came into close proximity to us) for the rest of the day. We sprinkled the dip with lashings of cracked pepper and smoked paprika.

Without further ado, here’s Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s broad bean hummus.

So tell me, who’s your favourite chef and why?

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Cacao pudding recipe

On March 17, 2011 in breakfast, brunch, celiac, dairy-free, dessert, egg-free, food sensitivities, gluten-free, healthy recipes, raw food, recipes, snacks, wheat-free

Dessert is my favourite meal besides breakfast. And who would have thought that eliminating dairy, eggs and grains would give me the perfect excuse for eating dessert for breakfast? My idea of Nirvana. Introducing my latest creation – cacoa pudding. I whipped it up for brekky last week and topped it with fresh fruit and shredded coconut. Paul asked for seconds, so I’m thinking it must be good!

So, what on earth is cacoa pudding? Well, it’s basically blended nuts, dates, water and chocolate. I found the recipe in a cookbook by raw food crusader Ani Phyo. The book is called Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen. There’s no reason you couldn’t serve this dish as an actual dessert. I just think it’s better at breakfast as it’s nice and filling and full of protein.

Cacao pudding

Cacao pudding

Almondy goodness in a glass

Ingredients:

2 cups almonds (preferably soaked overnight in water)
1 cup water 1/4 cup pitted dates
1 tbs cacoa nibs or powder (I used 75% dark Lindt chocolate which contains no butterfat)
1 tbs carob powder

Method:

Blend the almonds and water in the blender until smooth.

Note, if you have a crapola blender like me, this can take ages, so I recommend buying a decent one.

Add the dates, cacao, and carob. Blend until smooth. Keeps up three to four days in the fridge. Makes 4 servings. I served it in small glasses topped with shredded coconut and blueberries.

I found the texture kind of weird, but trust me, when you eat a bowl of cornflakes every day for brekky, a change is as good as a holiday. If you like the sound of this recipe, you might also like cashew coconut pudding.

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Coconut water

On March 3, 2011 in allergy-free, dairy-free, food, gluten-free, healthy recipes, snacks, wheat-free

I made a new discovery recently whilst nursing the hangover from hell. It’s called young coconut water and it happens to work wonders for hangovers. Not only that, but it tastes divine and it’s good for you! Who needs a Berocca when you can sip on some coconut water and pretend you’re on a tropical island in Fiji?!

My friend, Yvette, who happens to know everything there is to know about the topic of health, tells me that during the war they used to hook up young green coconuts as a direct intravenous drip into soldier’s arms when they were out of medical saline. It’s an identical make up to our own blood plasma, hence the hydrating properties. It is naturally fat-free and low in food energy (16.7 calories or 70 kilojoules per 100 grams). It’s only as the coconut matures that they fat from the flesh gets sucked into the water, so when they’re young, that’s when the water is at it’s optimum.

Coconut water

Coconut water

You can buy young coconut water from health food stores, fruit and veg shops or supermarkets for around $2 to $5 a pop. Or, the thrifty types amongst you might prefer to buy a whole box load of them, but this would involve having to cut them yourself. Although, Yvette assures me that hacking into them yourself happens to be a good stress release.

If you like coconut, you might enjoy this cashew coconut pudding recipe.

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