I made my darling husband Aubrey some red velvet cupcakes with chocolate buttercream icing for our 1st Anniversary and Valentines Day. Thank you to Gluten Free Scallywag for the recipe which you can find here.
Red Velvet Cupcake
Interesting article on gluten intolerance on Cyndi O’Meara’s website, check out the link here. Visit the Changing Habits website by clicking on the link on my blog to find out more and buy products like rapadura sugar and seaweed salt which is great source of iodine. My thyroid levels are low again and since I don’t have iodised salt or bread or cereal with added iodine I have been having seaweed salt.
Mum made a gluten free sponge for her birthday today and decorated it with fresh fruit and cream. Delicious served with apricot sauce and extra Collie blueberries.
Gluten Free Sponge Cake
Aubrey and I took my Mum out for lunch at The Ridge in Collie, check out their website and menu here. I rang ahead to book and checked about the gluten free items on the menu and was told the Chef has Coeliac so that is always promising. I had the Salt & Pepper Baby Squid Salad which was delicious and tender with lots of salad vegies and a refreshing citrus dressing. The service was excellent with a very attentive young waitress and the choice of wines excellent.
Gluten Free Salt & Pepper Baby Squid Salad
Checked out the new coffee shop in Bunbury this morning. The coffee was lovely and they have a some gluten free treats such as friands and chocolate brownies. They also have gluten free creme brulee which they ‘torch’ to order, will be sampling that in the future. I asked the cafe staff and they said if brought in own gluten free bread they could do scrambled eggs or eggs benedict gluten free. Lovely atmosphere with nautical theme and lovely deck out the back with views of the inlet.
Gluten Free Chocolate Brownies
I have made this curry lots of times since the recipe was given to me at the Dru Yoga Spa at Gelorup and not sure where or who it came from so my apologies as can acknowledge the creator!
Curry in a hurry!
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 brown onion peeled and chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1/2 cauliflower, chopped
Pumpkin (or sweet potato), chopped, 1 large cup
200g baby spinach
1 tin organic chopped tomatoes
2 tins organic chick peas, drained and rinsed
1 vegetable stock cube (ensure gluten free)
3 tablespoons rogan josh curry paste
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Sea salt & juice of 1 lime
Method:
Heat oil and add onion and garlic and saute.
Add vegetables including tinned tomatoes and simmer 5 minutes.
Add chickpeas stirring constantly for 1 minute.
Add stock cube, curry paste and tomato paste, stir well.
Add pinch of salt, juice of lime and add spinach.
Stir, put on low heat and simmer for about 15 minutes while cook some basmati or brown rice in the Thermomix.
Serve with rice and dollop of natural or greek yoghurt and sprinkle with pine nuts.
Went down south today for a day trip to take Kyle to Amaze’n, check out their website here. They offered gluten free cakes and also gluten free bread for toasted sandwiches. The use the lovely Five Senses coffee.
Coffee and Chocolate Ice Cream
On the way home we stopped at Miller’s Ice Creamery in Cowaramup, check out their website here. They have a selection of ice creams and sorbets and can provide an allergen list for gluten and lactose free ice cream. Yes dairy free ice cream, I had the 70% dark chocolate dairy free ice cream that was decadent and teamed this with a scoop of coffee ice cream. Lovely playground and surrounding views of the dairy farm.
I decided to try making my own yoghurt as I eat a lot of it! Experimented with using the Thermomix and making from scratch with milk and yoghurt starter but all too much hassle! So have gone back to the Easiyo and made myself some vanilla yoghurt by adding 2 tablespoons of my vanilla sugar into the Easiyo mix. It set nice and firm and had a good blend of tang and sweetness. Had some for lunch with fresh Collie blueberries and a drizzle of pure, organic maple syrup, yum! I am going to try making Greek yoghurt next and try making it thicker by adding a tablespoon of milk powder to the Easiyo mix. Easiyo is available in Coles and other supermarkets or visit their website here.
Easiyo Vanilla Yoghurt with blueberries & maple syrup
Had a relaxing and rejuvenating weekend at Glenbrook in Margaret River for a Dru yoga retreat. I find yoga and meditation really help with my digestion issues as sure they are stress related. I urge you to check out the High Aspirations website here for Dru Yoga retreats or Dru Yoga Australia website for further information.
Yoga Art!
We also did some art with Chris Skeggs, check out her website here. Some of my thyroid issues can be related to stifled creativity so the art work focusing on the throat chakra and colour blue were very releasing!
Gluten Free Lemon & Almond Cake
Thank you also to Nirala for the wonderful, nourishing gluten free food over the weekend. Delicious Indian food, delectable Green Goddess salad dressing and my favourite a Lemon and Almond Cake which was delicious with a spoonful of greek yoghurt. Visit Nirala’s blog “From Potions to Pesto” here for the recipe. A wonderful blog that embraces all the philosophies that I would like to adopt for my health.
Yoga gals at Yahava!
On the way home from the retreat we stopped off for a coffee at Yahava in Margaret River and while there checked out Cookies Galore right next door. I sampled some very delicious and crisp gluten free biscuits and by far my favourite were the lemon yo-yo’s. Check out Cookies Galore website here.
Aubrey had the need for some lasagne and I am doing Weight Watchers so as a compromise made the Vegetarian Lasagne from Cyndi O’Meara cookbook using the Thermomix. It is delicious and makes plenty of leftovers!
Gluten Free Vegetarian Lasagne
150g Mozzarella
85g Parmesan
650g Ricotta
1 tbsp Butter
250g Mushrooms
1 Onion
4 Garlic cloves
1cm Ginger
1 Red Chilli deseeded
3 tbsp Olive Oil
2 x 400g Tinned Tomatoes
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 Sweet Potato
2 tsp mixed herbs
1 400g Tinned Kidney Beans drained & rinsed
400g Gluten Free Lasagne sheets
Peel and thinly slice the sweet potato and place on Varoma tray and set aside.
Place Mozzarella and Parmesan into TM bowl and grate for 10 seconds on speed 5. Set aside.
Place mushrooms in TM bowl and chop by pressing turbo button once or twice. Add butter and saute for 3 minutes on 90 degrees celsius on reverse + speed 1. Set aside.
Place onion, garlic, chilli and ginger in TM bowl and chop for 5 seconds on speed 7.
Add olive oil and saute for 3 minutes on 90 degrees celsius on speed 1.
Add tomatoes and salt to bowl and place the Varoma with sweet potato into position. Cook for 20 minutes at Varoma temperature on speed 3.
Add the mushrooms, kidney beans and herbs into the sauce and stir with spatula.
Assemble lasagne in layers in a baking dish begin with sauce followed by lasagne sheets, sauce, sweet potato and cheeses.
Bake in preheated oven at 160 degrees celsius for 30 minutes or until cheese is golden.