Gluten-Free Food,Kiwi Style

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.

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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.

I had suffered from gluten-intolerance for many, many years before I knew much about it and did much about it – yes,  it took me a long time before I went cold-turkey. Unfortunately I found out about www.doctorgluten.co.nz and Dr Rodney Ford after I went cold-turkey, as he provides all the info I wish I had to ease the journey!  Before I hit the GF lifestyle at a sprint I was bloated and feeling uncomfortable for the majority of the day.  Starting at breakfast, through lunch and dinner and going to bed in the same state – it was not at all the way I wanted to live my life. Initially I blamed some of my symptoms  on my endometriosis but several years after a second  successful surgery I began to question these. I stumbled upon an endometriosis book that included information about the link between endometriosis and gluten-intolerance. When I experimented with my gluten intake I noticed huge improvements in a variety of things including my energy levels, bloating, immunity level,  and  my monthly cycle.  Other people also made positive comments about my skin and radiance – it is fantastic to get these comments isn’t it!  Although GF eating and cooking is more expensive, it is generally a healthier option and it has certainly worked for me and I will be keeping it up. Tracey

Hi all.  If you have a question about my experiences with GF recipes, cooking or about the recipes, ideas or tips in my book then write it in and I’ll get back to you…

Yes, sometimes favourite recipes are the ones we eat the most and sometimes the treat ones we eat the least.  These are my fave GF recipes in the recipe book… my breakfast fave is Fabulous Pancakes (plenty of variety with toppings too!)… snacks would be one of the chutneys and cheese as they are always in supply when you want a snack or have unexpected visitors… at lunch time I love having Quiche Cups with chutney as I feel I’m having a cafe lunch at work, or if I’m at home then Quick Lentil & Tomato Soup is always a starter!…  a dinner fave when I’m feeling low over winter is Macaroni Cheese but to be truthful I love them all! Hubbies fave is the Spaghetti and Meatballs!… my dessert fave was always and still is Lemon Meringue Pie, although we have Fruit Crumble and Self-Saucing Pudding more often…a baking fave in the biscuit line-up would certainly be the Chocolate Jam Biscuits, in slices the Louise Cake, the Orange Almond Cake in the cake section and as far as muffins go I make the Quick & Easy Banana Muffins the most but the Spinach and Corn stand out as a savoury choice… As far as Christmas treats go I’m not a Christmas Cake fan but this is fantastic.Once the book is for sale you can share with us your fave recipes from it or upload your own family favourite.  

Once Gluten-Free Food, Kiwi Style’ is published this will be the place for you to provide feedback.  Tell us what recipes you tried and what you thought about them, whether you tried any meal ideas, how easy you found your way around the book…

There are many ways to do this and it comes down to personal preference.  As a child we used to place the biscuits in a plastic bag and crunch them by rolling a rolling pin over top; you can place them in a food processor (but then you have to clean it!); or my personal fave is to place them in a large bowl and press down firmly with the end of a rolling pin (great while you watch t.v.!).  Do you have another way?

Tracey has been gluten-intolerant for many years and has spent the last few trialling, modifying and creating gluten-free recipes to suit her kiwi lifestyle and tastes. She is a primary school teacher and lives with her husband and two ‘kids’, cats Jess & Leppin in sunny Marlborough in the top of the south.Her book ‘Gluten-Free Food, Ideas & Recipes, Kiwi Style’ has been developed as part of this process and includes over 150 recipes including breakfast, snacks, lunch, dinner, dessert, baking, and Christmas. It also has many ideas for meals including snacks for entertaining; kids lunches; kids desserts, sweet treats, and party ideas.