Finally managed to get along to the Bunbury Markets this Saturday morning to sample some gluten free and vegan cup cakes from Devil’s Decadence. Lucky I did not go much later as these sweet cup cakes and slices sell out fast. I chose a selection of red velvet, blueberry and nutella flavour cup cakes.  They were delicious with my takeaway coffee, nice dense texture, not too dry or moist, but lets face it the best bit of cup cakes is the frosting and I was not disappointed.   I can definitely suggest checking them out at the Bunbury Markets the 1st Saturday of the month or at the various other locations and markets.  Devil’s Decadence also supply cup cakes to Bayside Barista in Safety Bay which is WA’s first Coeliac Society accredited cafe and everything is gluten free. I had the chance to have breakfast there a couple of weeks ago while on a yoga retreat and they did not disappoint. The popover bread is the best and was almost croissant like in its fluffiness with my scrambled eggs.  Next time will get a photo but was too eager to eat on my first visit!  Worth a trip to Safety Bay if you are driving by and can stop in a visit Penguin Island while you are there.

Checked out the new outdoor area and the summer menu.  The Bliss Bowl and Paleo Bowl are both gluten free.  I had the Bliss Bowl with sweet potato falafels, smokey corn, cherry tomatoes on wild rice salad with jalapeño ranch dressing and pomegranate gems.  On the brekky menu the Tropical Chia Pudding is gluten free and looks delish for summer.  The Townhouse also offer gluten free bread and I have had this with the Smashed Avocado and can still afford my mortgage repayments!

Happy New Year and apologies once again for the lack of posts!   I made this gluten free version of a Tiramisu twice over the holiday period as I loved it so much.  You can use different fruit like strawberries as well.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cream
1/2 cup espresso coffee
1/2 cup Kahlua
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 cup caster sugar
250g block of Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
250g gluten free sponge finger biscuits (Dr Schar)
250g raspberries
50g flaked almonds
Extra cream and crushed Flake for decorating

Method:
Beat together the cream cheese, cream and sugar until smooth.
Fold in the vanilla and almonds.
Dip the sponge fingers into the coffee/Kahlua quickly on each side.
Place a layer into the base of a baking paper lined 21cm x 10cm bar tin.
Top biscuits with half of strawberries and 1/2 of cream cheese mixture.
Repeat the layering process twice again finishing with layer of biscuits.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
To serve turn out onto a plate and decorate with extra piped cream, raspberries and crushed Flake.

When I first saw a post on Facebook for gluten free Weetbix I thought it was a hoax!   Before being diagnosed Weetbix was one product that would make me feel very unwell and give me indigestion, for obvious reasons!   So it was with some mixed feelings that bought a packet to try.   Well I am hooked.  I love them for a quick, easy breakfast with some chopped banana and greek yoghurt.   They are also considerably cheaper than other gluten free cereals.   Sanitarium’s website says they are made with sorghum and in a dedicated gluten free factory.   Check out the details here and they are available from Coles, on special they were $3.99 for a 375g box.   The website also says Coles will release a second mystery gluten free product on 1st September so watch this space!

I don’t find gluten free pastry the easiest thing to work with!  Give me challenge re gluten free bread or pizza dough and not a problem.   I was never any good with normal pastry before being diagnosed with Coeliac disease.   So it was with some trepidation that I was given the challenge to try out Simply Wize gluten free puff pastry sheets.   You can buy the sheets from Woolworths for about $9 for a pack of 4 sheets.   I followed the recipe below from Simply Wize but even after leaving the pastry out to defrost wrapped in plastic I still could not manage to roll out the pastry sheet to be 26cm square.

I am not going to put a photo up as they don’t look the best, not puffy and golden and filling spilled out a bit.   But will say they still tasted delicious – pastry crispy on the outside and soft (but not puffy) on inside and the filling tasted delicious – very nice warm but could take them to picnic lunch cold.   Feel free if have any tips on what went wrong for me and why don’t look like the picture.

Ingredients

2 x Simply Wize Puff Pastry Sheets

2 bunches spinach washed and roughly chopped

100g feta, crumbled

1 sliced onion

1 clove chopped garlic

1 egg

Egg wash: 1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon of water

1 pinch salt and pepper, to taste

Method

Separate Simply Wize Puff Pastry sheets while frozen and thaw for 40 minutes in a plastic bag at room temperature. Return unused sheets to freezer.

Preheat oven to 210°C, and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.

Sauté sliced onion and chopped garlic in frying pan. Add spinach until tender.

Whisk 1 egg in bowl and stir in spinach, feta, sautéed onion and garlic, with salt and pepper to taste.

Dust bench with gluten free flour and roll out Simply Wize Puff Pastry sheets to 26 x 26 cm then cut into 4 equal squares.

Divide the filling among the 8 pastry squares and brush edges with egg wash (1 egg and 1 table spoon of water beaten). Fold in half diagonally to enclose filling and pinch edges to seal.

Place the turnovers on prepared tray and brush with egg. Bake for 20 minutes or until puffed and golden.

Happy gluten free Easter!   I love Easter as I love chocolate, it is a four day long weekend and the weather is generally good, not too hot but not winter.   But the best thing is the chocolate.   I love Lindt chocolate particularly the Lindt balls but alas I cannot have these as the contain barley malt extract.   In fact cannot have any of the milk chocolate generally.   However I love dark chocolate so my Easter treat is always a dark chocolate Lindt bunny.   I also love the Lindt hazelnut milk chocolate carrots which only come out in the stores at Easter.   So if you are gluten free you can still have some Lindt but just check the ingredient labels particularly to make sure don’t contain barley malt extract!

I am not a huge fan of hot cross buns but at this time of the year will crave one anyway when everyone else is eating them.   So I bought some hot cross buns from the Pure Bred range and was surprised they tasted pretty good when heated up in the oven and spread with butter while still warm.

It was Aubrey’s birthday and decided to go out for dinner and try somewhere new.   With having Coeliac disease I find that I tend to keep going back to places I know I can trust.   It does make it a bit boring and hard for a non-gluten free husband who wants to try new things.   So we called Josephine’s as it is an Italian restaurant and the online menu at their website did not mention gluten free options.   The owner was very friendly and assured me could alter some of the menu options to be gluten free however they don’t have gluten free pasta which is a shame.

Aubrey and I shared a grilled field mushrooms entree which was very yummy with tomato based sauce and cheese.   I had the Chicken Josephine which was gluten free with brie cheese, potato gratin, green runner beans and a white wine creamy sauce.   Dessert options not so great but I had the cassata which was lovely but still was green with envy watching Aubrey eat sticky date pudding.   Going to have to make my gluten free version of this soon!

It has been a busy year and not had much time to cook or blog!    I hope everyone is having a gluten free Merry Christmas.   I am celebrating with gluten free ham from Coles with potato salad and coleslaw so keeping it simple.   Making Gluten Free Nespresso Trifles from recipe you can find here.   Mine don’t look so pretty but sure they are going to taste delicious as have already taste tested the Dharkan brownie and ganache!   So while I relax time for a coffee with a gluten free gingerbread biscuit baked by the amazing Julie at St Aidan’s winery!

I am fortunate to have a staff member at my work that understands gluten free and also making food and treats that are healthy and nutritious.   Adrienne has started a new business Paleo Princess Clean Eating Treats.   Check out her Facebook page here.   I can highly recommend the tasty paleo granola which is delicious as a breakfast with some chopped fruit and light greek yoghurt.

I also had the chance to sample some of the Freelicious range of crackers recently including the Italian Herb, Original as well as the Crostini and Rosemary breadsticks.   The breadsticks were good addition to a dip and vegie stick platter though I found them a little hard.   The crackers as well were good with dips but a little dry if eaten alone or with hard cheese.   The Crostini would be good with cream cheese and toppings as a starter or finger food at a party.   Probably my favourite in the Freelicious range is the Corn Couscous.   I love couscous but of course it is made from wheat.   I have tried making a salad with quinoa instead however I am not a fan of the bitter after taste.   Last night for dinner had some steamed Tasmania salmon fillets with lime juice and cracked pepper and served with the Corn Couscous salad.   I followed the recipe on the back of the packet and topped it with some delicious goat’s cheese, cherry tomatoes and avocado.   Check out the Freelicious website here.