This recipe comes from Jo at Quirky Cooking and I love them.   I have experimented with numerous gluten free waffle and pancake batters in the Thermomix. If I put in too much buckwheat or amaranth then sometimes they have a slightly bitter taste and my son won’t eat them, he prefers batter made with white rice flour only!   I want a batter that has some nutrition and fibre as well.   This recipe is excellent as sugar free (until slather with maple syrup!), dairy free and gluten free.   It uses milled brown rice and almonds as the flour and you soak it overnight so requires so preparation!   I made them this morning into waffles and they are lovely and crispy!   Check out the recipe here.

I had the chance to try Slim Pasta and was a little apprehensive but since the Angel Hair pasta is gluten free thought I would give it a try.   I first used it cooked and cooled to make a smoked salmon and avocado salad and was surprised that it tasted great and was quite filling.   I also tried it with a tomato based sauce with chorizo and was equally delicious though think prefer it in the salads cold.   The latest Weight Watchers magazine has a recipe for Chargrilled Paprika Prawns with the Slim Pasta spaghetti but thought would give it a go with the angel hair pasta as this is the only one that is gluten free.   Slim Pasta can be found at Woolworths or order online from www.slimpasta.com.au

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.

Traveled into Baltimore today and made a detour to Sweet Sin a gluten free cafe I found online here. It is cupcake heaven! The cafe itself is nothing to write home about but the cupcakes where delicious including red velvet, chocolate cappuccino, caramel apple and chocolate cheesecake. Think I might have bought too many but at least they are very tasty so others can eat them and save me some calories!

A great gluten free brand in USA is Udi’s. Had some choc chip gluten free cookies with vanilla bean ice cream. Also found in the supermarket the gluten free granola with certified gluten free oats. Check out their website here.

Made the Vitarium gluten free fruit cake on the weekend.   Was easy to mix and bake in a loaf tin.   It has been cold and wintery so served it warm with delicious homemade  Thermomix custard.   Fruit cake was moist and rich and had good flavour.   I quite enjoyed it even though not a huge fan of fruit cake even when could eat gluten.    Check out the Vitarium product range here.   Might have to find where can buy the crumpet mix as they look delicious!

I sampled a Silly Yak gluten free chicken, leek and mushroom pie for dinner tonight.   It heated up from frozen very well nice browned top complete with poppy seeds.   The pastry is delicious with good texture and tasted.   The filling was also tasty with lots of chicken.   I am not usually a pie fan but this one is an exception!   Had it with a side salad and it made for an easy dinner when I don’t feel like cooking!   Check out Silly Yak website here and hopefully local store Rusticana might be stocking this product soon.

Silly Yak Pie!

I went into local produce store Rusticana today, check out the website here and was very excited as they have Bob’s Red Mill products in stock!   When I was diagnosed with Coeliac over 2 years ago Aubrey and I travelled to USA to spend time with his parents.   I discovered Bob’s Red Mill flours there and Nancy made me lots of gluten free goodies using the flours.   I also ate the uncontaminated wheat free oats which of course there is controversy over whether Coeliacs can tolerate oats or not.   It is hard to get uncontaminated oats in Australia and even then Coeliacs should take care as some still can not tolerate oats even if gluten free.   Check out the Bob’s Red Mill product range here.

GF rolled oats