Gluten-Free Food,Kiwi Style

Gluten Free Gingerbread

125g semi-soft butter

2 T sugar

2 eggs

¾  cup golden syrup

2 1/4 cups GF baking flour

2 tsp guar gum

2 tsp GF baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

1 cup cold water

Preheat oven to 180oC.  Lightly grease a medium spring-form tin or large ring-tin. Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Beat in golden syrup and water.  Add sifted flour, guar gum, baking powder, cinnamon and ginger.

Bake for 45-60 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in tin before removing to a wire rack to cool.

Chocolate Chip Biscuits

Makes approx 26-28 biscuits

125g semisoft butter

¼ cup white sugar

¼  cup soft brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

2 cups GF baking flour

2 tsp GF baking powder

2 tsp guar gum

100g chocolate chips or drops

Preheat oven 10 200oC and lightly grease 2 oven trays. Cream butter, sugars and vanilla.  Add egg and beat well.  Sift in flour, baking powder, and guar gum, mixing thoroughly.  Add chocolate chips and beat well.  Roll teaspoon lots into balls using floured hands and place on oven trays. Lightly press each biscuit with a floured fork. Bake 10 minutes at 200C until firm and golden brown.

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.

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

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 

It is so refreshing to hear through friends, family and colleagues that people have been buying ‘Gluten-Free Food, Kiwi Style’ throughout NZ and loving it!  It is great to get this feedback about the book as it makes the whole process feel worthwhile.  I have heard about people who have been GF for many years through to the newly diagnosed purchasing the book and enjoying it, so thanks and I hope it gets lots of use.

The Autumn issue of Coeliac Link has a wee blurb and a couple of recipes and photos, free to those registered members of the Coeliac Society of NZ.  If you have been diagnosed as coeliac then it is worthwhile to join. If you are just gluten-intolerant like me then their website is worth a look too.

Bin Inn have placed their second book order as stores and people nationwide are hearing about the book and jumping on the bandwagon. I am still in the process of approaching organic/health stores nationwide to sell the book,especially were there are no Bin Inn stores.

My experimenting with new recipes and altering standard recipes has taken a back step due to the book and my busy first term at school, however it is now the holiday time which brings plenty of time for ‘playing’ in the kitchen…..

CURRENT STOCKISTS:

Bin Inn Nationwide

Paper Plus – Blenheim and Nelson stores

IE Produce, Takapuna, Auckland

Taste Nature, Dunedin

Commonsense Organics, Wellington

All Books, Halswell, Christchurch

University Book Shop, Dunedin

Academy Book Company, Auckland

www.publishme.co.nz  online bookstore

Emailing me directly at traceglen@kinect.co.nz.  Individual sales $24.75 each, postage and packaging included nationwide.

If you wish to stock this book please email me. ISBN number is 978-0-473-14683-2

Page 45: please replace milo with GF drinking chocolate

Please also note that on page 6 I have said to avoid maltodextrin (if derived from wheat).  Maltodextrin can be made from many different grains and generally is safe to eat.

Page 15: 1 1/2 tsp active dried yeast (Spiced Fruit Bread)

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.

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.