Firstly my apologies for the lack of posts lately as has been a crazy time moving house and then Christmas and New Year.   Not much time for cooking let alone blogging!   I have found a new summer gluten free muesli I like, having run out of my supply of Bob’s Red Mill gluten free oats for my bircher I had to look at other options.   Tastefully Yours in Bunbury have started stocking this muesli which is free from additives and pre-soaked before toasting to make it more digestible.   Even in milk it stays nice and crunchy, who wants soggy cereal!   I like the brown rice cereal best and enjoy chopping up some summer fruits, topping with yoghurt and then having a serve of the cereal more as a crunchy sprinkle.   You can read more about Artisan Cereals here.

Had the chance to try The Vege Chip Company’s Vege Deli Rice Crisps which are 100% gluten free and delicious. They are also a healthy alternative to potato chips as lower in saturated fat. I loved snacking on them and had to share with my husband and son who also thought they were tasty! Check out Vege Deli Rice crisps at www.vegechips.com or buy them at Coles in the health food aisle.

Thank you to Deeks for my sample of gluten free bread which arrived yesterday by courier all the way from Canberra to Bunbury in Western Australia. As I posted previously I had the chance to taste some Deeks gluten free bread when over in Albury for a yoga event as was smitten. It has been nearly 3 years since I was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease and I really have not found a good bread. I have tried many commercially available breads and baked lots of mine own including trying gluten free sour dough. I have to say this is the best bread! I still like the Serafine sourdough from Denmark for toasting and French toast but Deeks bread can make a fresh sandwich! I was a bit worried having it couriered over as it left Tuesday and arrived Thursday but I missed the courier and could not pick it up till Friday. It arrived fine, not squashed and was still nice and fresh. Most gluten free breads are stale the day after baked and either need eating promptly or sliced and frozen which is never the same. Deeks website says that their product has a long shelf life without added preservatives.

I had already tried the Quinoa loaf and loved it so glad to have some at home. The pumpkin and pepita loaf is lovely and moist with great taste. I had some just with butter and took a piece today to my favourite spot Cafe 140 and had them toast it up to have with the spanish beans. The girls there even commented on on how “bread like” the bread was. My husband who has tasted other gluten free breads (or refused to taste them!) even commented he could eat the pumpkin loaf! So I will be having more couriered over very soon and maybe Deeks might get a WA distributor, that would be excellent! Check out Deeks website here.

I visited Albury-Wondonga for a Dru Yoga event on the weekend.   Found a lovely cafe called Simply Fed that had lots of gluten free offerings.   I had the chicken risotto balls which tasted delicious.   Also found a gluten free Mexican called Taco Bill’s that had a separate gluten free menu offered a gluten free tortilla stack.    Also had the chance to try Deek’s gluten free quinoa bread, hoping to get this in WA, check out the website here.

Had a weekend in Perth and went to breakfast at Zamia Cafe in Kings Park and they offer a range of gluten free options.   I had the poached eggs with vegetarian breakfast served on potato rosti.  Had a glorious walk and checked out all the wonderful wildflowers in bloom.   Check out the website here.

Sourdough part 2! Disheartened by the lack of rising of my buckwheat sourdough I decided to tackle the brown rice sourdough but was running out of time so tried baking it in the bread maker using a gluten/wheat free cycle. It actually did not turn out too bad, a little overcooked and dry/cracked crust. It tasted nice and toasted very well, actually toasting where as other “cake like” gluten free breads just warm up rather than toast. For more details on making gluten free sourdough check out Yoke Mardewi’s new book Sourdough here.

In anticipation of all this lovely bread I also used the Thermomix to make strawberry jam and lemon butter. My friend from yoga gave me some lovely juicy Meyer lemons and these are just perfect for making lemon butter with.

Juice of 1 large Meyer lemon
110g caster sugar (made in TM from raw organic sugar)
80g organic butter
2 free range eggs

Insert butterfly into TM bowl and add all ingredients.
Cook for 8 minutes at 80 degrees celsius on speed 3.
Check to see if mixture coats back of spoon, if not cook for a further 2-3 minutes or until desired consistency is achieved.
Place in sterilised jars and chill until thickened.

Yummy on fresh bread or can also use to make lemon tarts or lemon meringue pie if can master some gluten free pastry.

I have ventured into the world of sourdough! To continue to seek a decent and nutritious gluten free bread I bought Yoke Mardewi’s new book Sourdough which includes sections on gluten free sourdough. All week my kitchen bench has looked like a science lab with different gluten free starters bubbling away including buckwheat and brown rice flour. D-day was on the weekend and my patience and persistence was about to be tested! I think I might have overfed my buckwheat/sorghum sour dough starter as when used it to make the Everyday Sandwich Loaf recipe it did not rise much even after more the 5 hours. I baked it anyway and it took less time than in the recipe and was expecting a brick to come out the oven and go straight into the bin! Surprisingly while it came out a dense bread with chewy crust the taste was good with the hint of sour and the distinct buckwheat taste and nuttiness. But as you can see from the photo bread did not rise! Back to the drawing board and not sure if have killed my starter and if need to start again! My brown rice/linseed starter looks more promising!

To go with the sourdough, on what was not the best weather despite being spring, we had some chicken and brown rice soup. Thanks to Quirky Cooking for this gluten free and thermomix recipe which you can find here. It was delicious and very filling, more than enough for dinner with some bread. Next time think I will add some sweetcorn as goes so well with chicken and a little more tamari for flavour.

Thank you to Cafe 140 for the now Baci baked cheesecake, formerly known as the gluten Mars Bar baked cheesecake. Baci chocolates are gluten free, nutty and delicious so lovely baked into this delicious creamy cheesecake. There is no biscuit base so is totally gluten free. So now there are two cake choices with the orange & almond cake as well. Hmmmm now I am sure that the chocolate brownie can be gluten free, your next challenge 140!

Was happy to learn that Cafe Bianco offering gluten free pizza bases now so can enjoy gourmet pizza made with care, that is gluten free. The bases are made with chickpea flour (besan) and made a delicious crisp thin pizza base. We had the prawn and prosciutto pizza and it was very tasty and not at all greasy or too cheesy.

Cafe Bianco is BYO and also has some gluten free cakes including the blood orange cake I had with Yallingup Roasting Company coffee. The prices very reasonable and the staff friendly and attentive.

Went for a drive down south today and walked around the Cape Naturaliste lighthouse to do some whale watching. We had a late lunch at Eagle Bay Brewery and while of course I cannot drink the beer, there were lots of gluten free options on the menu and good selection of wine as well. I had a glass of the shiraz which was very smooth so bought a bottle to take home. I had the chicken kebabs with lentil and cherry tomato salad and a side of gluten free fries with garlic mayonnaise. For dessert I had the espresso pot with turkish coffee syrup and gluten free biscotti which was a good size for delectable sweet treat without being too much. The brewery uses Yallingup coffee which was good. Aubrey tells me the stout was a good beer as well and I was bit jealous cannot drink beer! Check out their website here.