Archive for RECIPES

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

Gluten-Free Crepes

DELICIOUS GLUTEN-FREE CREPES

Makes 4 small crepes

 

1 cup GF bread and pastry flour

1 tsp guar gum

1 tsp sugar

¼  tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1 T semisoft butter, melted

 

In a medium bowl combine sifted flour, guar gum, sugar, and salt. Whisk in eggs one at a time, and then the milk to make a thin batter. Whisk until smooth. Stir in melted butter and whisk again. Pour batter into a lightly greased frying pan. Flip over when it begins to bubble and cook briefly on the second side before removing from pan and placing on a plate.  Spread with a fruity jam or hot chocolate sauce, or fill with berry coulis, or sliced fruit. Roll up and sprinkle with icing sugar before serving.

Saturday, April 11th, 2009

Spicy Plum Sauce

SPICY PLUM SAUCE – Makes about 4 litres

 

3 kg plums (I use black doris)

3 onions, diced finely

1 ½ cup water

 

1 cup red wine vinegar

3 cups white vinegar

1.5kg sugar

3 cloves garlic, crushed

2 T salt

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp Chinese five spice

 

Weigh 3 kg plums and count out the plums. Combine the plums, onions and water in large preserving pan and bring to the boil. Simmer until the onions are soft (up to 15 minutes). Add the other ingredients to the pan, stirring until sugar is dissolved.  Simmer for 30 minutes.  Remove the plum stones (remember to count out), and puree in batches in a food processor.  Reheat the sauce and pour into hot sterilized bottles and seal.

 

Uses:

·      Use as a tomato sauce replacement ie for hot chips or in casseroles

·      Heat then pour over cooked meat as a dressing

·      Use as a marinade

·      Use as a dip for cooked chicken pieces

Saturday, April 11th, 2009

Gluten-Free Sweet Waffles

I must thank my brother as he gave me a Briscoes gift voucher for my birthday so two days ago I walked in as the Easter sale was starting and got myself a bargin on the Breville Waffle Creations waffle maker!  Thanks bro. Here is the recipe for the tasty sweet waffles my husband and I enjoyed this morning.

 

SWEET WAFFLES

Makes 5

 

250g  GF baking  flour

2 tsp guar gum

3 T caster sugar

300ml milk

2 eggs

60g semisoft butter, melted for 30 seconds in microwave

 

Sift flour and guar gum together into a large bowl.  Stir in the sugar, then make a well in the centre.  In a separate bowl whisk the milk and eggs together well.  Pour the milk and egg mix into the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.  Whisk in the melted butter and rest for 10-15 minutes.

Preheat the waffle maker.  I use the Breville Waffle Creations, set to the second highest darkness. Pour some of the mixture into a measuring cup, then pour half a cup of waffle batter into the waffle maker, using a spatula to spread mixture evenly. Cook the transfer to a wire rack or straight to the plate.  Repeat with remaining batter, reheating waffle maker between waffles.

 

Variations: Add to batter before cooking

·      1 medium apple, finely grated and ½ tsp cinnamon

·      1 medium banana, finely sliced and ½ tsp Chinese five spice

 

Toppings: With or without GF vanilla icecream, cream or plain yoghurt:

·      berry coulis (p99 of book) or berry topping (p148 of book)

·      dark chocolate sauce, strawberry syrup, butterscotch sauce (pp99-100 book)

·      berry frozen yoghurt (p100 of book)

·      maple or apple syrup

·      GF berry or apricot jam, heated in microwave

·      GF strawberry or passionfruit topping 

Monday, February 9th, 2009

Marshmallow Easter Eggs

As a primary teacher these marshmallow easter eggs are a compulsory make before Easter.  

 

MARSHMALLOW EASTER EGGS

 

1 T gelatine

¼ cup cold water

½ cup hot water

food colouring

1 cup sugar

½ tsp vanilla

1 tsp lemon juice

flour and whole eggs for moulds

 

Put cold water and gelatine in bowl, and stand for 5 minutes. Measure hot water and sugar into pot, stir over heat until it dissolves.  Add gelatine to the pot, mix, and bring to the boil.  Boil uncovered for 6 minutes. Cool until lukewarm, then add vanilla, lemon juice.  Beat until thick with electric beater. Add food colouring if desired.  Fill roasting dishes or other long shallow dishes with flour and make dents with an egg.  Spoon mixture into dents and let set a little. Put halves together while still sticky. Cover with coconut or chocolate if desired.

Monday, February 9th, 2009

Refreshing Lemon Drink

This concentrated lemon drink is very refreshing on these hot summer days:

 

REFRESHING LEMON DRINK – makes about 3 ¼ litres of concentrated lemon drink

Juice of 6 large lemons

rind of 4 lemons

30g  citric acid

1.3 kg  sugar

1800ml boiling water

 

Dissolve sugar in water.  Cool, add citric acid, rind and juice.  Bottle.

Wednesday, January 28th, 2009

Preserved Peaches

I am so lucky to have parents with fruit trees and it just so happened that this week a box of peaches arrived along with my mum and I didn’t even have to pick them!  Having never bottled peaches before (as I used to just rely on her to flick me some of the finished product) I was eager to get bottling.

 

Here is the basic recipe:

BOTTLED PEACHES

NB: 1 kg of sliced peaches makes just over 2 half sized preserving jars

 

1 kg ripe unblemished peaches

1 cup white sugar

3 cups water

preserving jars

seals and bands

 

Peel firm peaches with a potato feeler and softer peaches with a knife, before cutting slices off the stone. Weigh sliced fruit.  In a large preserving pan combine the desired amounts of sugar and water and bring to a gentle simmer. Carefully add peaches to the syrup and cook until just tender – this won’t take very long. Pack fruit into jars with a layer of syrup at the top.  Slip a long knife down the inside of the jar to release air bubbles and top up with syrup again. Place on a seal and screw the band in place before setting aside to cool.

Wednesday, January 21st, 2009

Abundant Summer Apricots?

Ever wondered what to do with those abundant summer apricots?  I am luckily enough to have plenty of apricots available for eating and preserving.  This year it has been apricot jam, apricot chutney, apricot sauce and stewed apricots. Recipes are included below. Essentials for preserving include jars with lids, preserving pan, long handled spoon and a funnel for sauces jars. If you have a favourite apricot recipe or tips then feel free to add.

APRICOT JAM

1 kilogram of apricots, stoned and halved

1 cup water

4 cups sugar

juice of 1 lemon (for pectin)

4 apricot kernals (crack apricot stone to get kernal)

3-4 jam jars with lids

 

Place the apricots and water into a large heavy pan and simmer gently until the apricots begin to soften. Place the jars in the oven at 120oC.  Place the lids in a small pot of boiling water and boil for 10 minutes.

Add sugar, kernals and lemon juice to apricots.  Stir continuously until sugar is dissolved.  Boil briskly for 20-30 minutes, stirring often.  While the jam is boiling place 3 small plates in the freezer.  Test the jam after 15 minutes by dropping a tsp of the jam onto one of the chilled plates.  Leave for one minute to cool then push with your fingertip.  The jam should wrinkle on the plate.  If it only wrinkles a little then continue to boil for another 2 minutes and test again.

When jam is set use tongs to remove a hot jar from the oven, place it into a heat proof dish (to catch spills) and fill to the top with hot jam.  Then use the tongs to pick up a hot lid from the pot and screw it on. When the jam is cooled it will be well set, the hot jars and lids will have formed a vaccum so the lids will invert slightly and give a satisfying pop when you come to open them.

 

APRICOT CHUTNEY

3 kg apricots, stones, coarsely chopped

1kg onions, peeled, finely chopped

750g white sugar

2 tsp table salt

1 tsp each ground cloves, ground mace, curry powder

½ tsp cayenne pepper

4 cups white vinegar

 

Grease bottom of preserving pan. Combine all ingredients in pan and boil slowly for 1 hour, stirring often. If needbe thicken with cornflour paste. Pour into sterilised jars and seal (see above for instructions).  Makes about 3.5 litres

 

APRICOT SAUCE

3 kg apricots, stoned, coarsely chopped

500g/4 onions, peeled, finely chopped

1kg apples, peeled, chopped

6 tsp salt

1 kg soft brown sugar

1 ½ litre white vinegar

3 T ground cloves

3 T all spice

2 T black pepper

1 tsp cayenne pepper

3 tsp ground ginger

 

Grease bottom of preserving pan.  Combine all ingredients in pan and simmer gently for 3 hours or until desired consistency.  Stir often.  Pour into sterilised jars and seal (see above for instructions).  Makes about 4 litres

 

STEWED APRICOTS      

Grease bottom of preserving pan.

For every 1kg of stoned and halved apricots add ½ cup sugar and 1 cup water. Simmer gently until stewed and right consistency.  Meanwhile sterilise preserving jars in oven at 120oC for at least 15 minutes, heat preserving seals and rings in a sink of hot tap water at the same time.  Pour into the sterilised jars and seal. Makes just over 2 half jars per kg of apricots.