Apologies - I know I'm a day late, but we don't celebrate it here. But happy Thanksgiving to all of you in the US. Anyone manage to catch the rickroll in the Macy's Parade? :D
Well it's Friday again. I've been a lazy blogger because I've been sewing! More Christmas outfits for some friends. So tonight was an easy meal.
Spiral Pasta with spinach, pine nuts and bacon 1 packet of pasta, cooked according to directions 2 rashes or bacon 1/2 cup pine nuts 2 cloves garlic, crushed 2 handfuls spinach leaves Olive oil
Gently toast pine nuts, toss in garlic and bacon. When bacon is tender, stir through spinach leaves. Drain pasta and stir through, drizzle with olive oil and serve immediately. Easy!
And would you believe it only took One Single Litre of Soy Milk to do it?
I have learned, yet again, to read EVERYTHING. Even read it twice. Freedom Foods, which makes so many foods we can usually eat, makes Soy Milk which contains gluten.
I did wonder why I was itchy as hell. And why Bridie's "output" was a little pale.
I am SO utterly bored with food right now. And to top it off, tonight we were GOING to have meat. But alas! I forgot to take it out of the freezer so last minute eeeek! what shall we have for dinner!!!
So time to scan the pantry (yes, it's becoming a habit) and I spot potatoes and lentils. Then I *sigh* because how utterly boring can you get? Resigned to my fate of cooking the most boring dinner in the entire universe, I wander over to tidy up the bench from lunchtime and spot the peanut butter.
And then one of those weird little light bulbs appeared above my head. LOL!
Potato and Lentil Patties
4 medium potatoes, cooked, mashed and cooled 1 cup red lentils, cooked in two cups water 2 tablespoons No Egg beaten into 1/4 cup cold water OR 1-2 eggs lightly beaten
Scrunch it all together. Form into patties and shallow fry. Easy!
Satay Sauce 1/2 cup peanut butter 1 large tablespoon oil (I use rice bran oil) 1 generous teaspoon ground coriander] 1 clove garlic, crushed
Pop the lot in a small pan. Stir until mixed and runny.
I am grateful it is Friday. I plan to ignore the dishes and put my feet up!
This is my second attempt at california rolls. I bought all the right stuff and then panicked when I read that the rice vinegar was made from "glutenous rice". Thankfully I found this site, which makes buying groceries a lot less worrying.
We're still all suffering coughs and colds so I'm not adding my recipe. Directions should be on the back of the packet of seaweed/yaki nori.
For ours the filling was simple - cucumber, avocado and tuna (for kids)/smoked salmon (for me). Served with gluten free soy sauce.
Tip! If you don't own a bamboo mat for rolling the sushi, use a sheet of waxed paper.
These are one of the things I always wanted to try and I am so glad I did!
I bought a packet of Vietnamese rice paper rounds. Followed the directions on the packet. Filled them with cooked rice noodles, shaved ham or chicken from deli (I was pressed for time), julienned carrots and splodges of avocado with a sprinkling of sesame seeds.
They were awesome. Next time I will remember to have GF Soy or some other dipping sauce on hand though.
I am looking forward to trying a few different fillings and possibly adding them to Torin's lunchbox.
Torin had a wonderful day out with my Aunt today. And we're both quite shocked with something amazing he did. She took him to a play centre. There was one of those machines you put a dollar in and the try and pick up a toy with the claw. I've never let him play them before truly believing they were rigged. But my aunty let him have just one turn.
Not only did he win a toy, he actually won the toy he wanted! He is now the very proud owner of a Yoshi toy. I told you he was obsessed with Super Mario Brothers & friends.
I'm really getting into this baking thing and had plucked up the courage to give gluten free crumpets a whirl. It hadn't actually occurred to me to make them, except I spotted the recipe in a cookbook in the waiting room at the paediatrician. So I quickly read it and thought I had remembered correctly, but evidently hadn't. So why am I about to write down the recipe and method? Because it didn't go to waste, and after a little more research I discovered I hadn't gone totally wrong. I also live in hope that another gluten free blogger will spot this and leave a comment so I can know where I went wrong.
Ingredients:Stage 1. 3 cups gluten free all purpose flour (I used Orgran's) 1 tablespoon of sugar 1 teaspoon of salt 1 sachet (7g) of dry yeast 1.75 cups low fat soy milk
Stage 2. 80 mLs tepid water 0.5 teaspoons baking soda
Method: Stage 1. Mix flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and add soy milk. I used a hand-mixer and mixed on low for about 5 minutes until a thick dough was formed. (Was the hand-mixer my mistake?). Leave for half an hour to allow the dough to rise.
Stage 2. Mix baking soda into water and mix into dough to form a batter. (Again I used the hand-mixer...I'm starting to think I should have whisked it by hand).
Set aside while you get everything ready for cooking. Preheat non-stick pan, and lubricate egg rings to help your batter stay nicely formed. TIP! - Pour a little oil into a small ramekin, and roll the egg ring through the oil! This is where I realised something was wrong. I am sure the recipe I glanced over in the paed's waiting room said to pour the batter into the egg rings. Mine wasn't runny enough. It certainly wasn't being poured in. In fact, I pretty much plopped or dolloped the batter into the egg rings. And then I waited patiently for the bubbles to form. I was armed with a knitting needle (it's ok, it was clean. I still can't knit!) waiting to pop the bubbles to create the "holes" in my crumpets. And they never came. *sob*
I was pressed for time at this stage with two hungry children sitting at the table waiting for their lunch. So I flipped the buggers of things over and bolted to the freezer for some berries. I raced back to the kitchen and ransacked the pantry and pulled out a jar of golden syrup. I finished cooking the unholy crumpets, flipped them onto plates, topped them with berries and drizzled with golden syrup. Voila! Lunch was served.
So then it was time to work out what I did wrong. And then I discovered a blog by KitchenMage which talked about all the ins and outs of crumpets and after reading that I went on to find more information at Cakebaker.co.uk.
Neither of these sites are gluten free. And from their recipes it's hard to tell where I went wrong.
Anyway, all I can say is Thank the Gods it's Friday. It's been an interesting week. I've had really bad back pain until this morning when I got to my chiropractor. It's starting to get difficult having Torin at school for only 3 days a week. With the constant rain, it's hard to keep the kids out of each others' faces and entertained. We need the rain, and I am grateful for it, don't get me wrong.
TGIF&GF Trivia.
Did you know: * Bundaberg Rum, which is made in sunny Queensland, Australia is gluten free? * The Bundaberg Rum emblem - a polar bear - was to represent the rum would ward of the chills?! * Bundaberg Rum is made from molasses?
Solo mother to Torin aged 6, Bridie aged 2 and Edan aged 8 months.
Torin has autism and I have coeliac disease. We are all on a low allergy diet and are gluten and casein free.
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