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.

Cold weather means hearty soups and my favourite is minestrone.   This is my first time trying minestrone in the Thermomix.   I substituted rice for pasta shells and it came out like a risotto, delicious with some shaved parmesan and toasted gluten free sour dough bread.

Gluten Free Minestrone with Rice

Ingredients:

Handful Italian Parsely
Handful Basil
1 Onion peeled & quartered
3 cloves of Garlic
50g Olive Oil
400g diced Mushrooms, Celery, Zucchini & Carrot
400g tin diced Tomatoes
400g soaked Italian soup mix (beans & lentils)
1 Massell vegetable stock cube
750g water
50g Tomato paste
1 tablespoon raw sugar
Pinch of sea salt
130g Arborio rice

Method

Place parsley and basil into TM bowl and chop for 3 seconds on speed 7, set aside. Place onion, garlic and olive oil into TM bowl and chop for 4 seconds on speed 6. Saute for 5 minutes at Varoma temperature on speed 1. Add all remaining ingredients except rice and cook for 15 minutes at 100 degrees celsius on Reverse + speed soft. Add rice and cook for a further 10 minutes at 100 degrees celsius on Reverse + speed soft. Put into Thermo server when cooked.   Serve with shaved parmesan.

I felt the need for something sweet and baked but trying to eat well so avoiding baking cakes. So instead made a date loaf based on Cyndi O’Meara’s recipe in the Changing Lives cookbook and just substituted gluten free flour mix.

Ingredients
170g pitted dates
80g macadamia nuts
80g sultanas
220g filtered water
160g honey
2 tsp baking powder
320g gluten free flour mix (brown rice, besan & buckwheat)
1 free range eggs

Method
Preheat oven to 160 degrees celsius (fan forced)
Place dates and nuts into TM bowl and chop for 8 seconds on speed 8
Add sultanas and water and cook for 3 minutes at 80 degrees celsius on reverse speed soft
Allow mixture to cool before proceeding
Add the remaining ingredients and mix for 10 seconds on speed 5
Pour into large, lined loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes.

The weather has finally got cooler in the south west and so it is soup weather! This pumpkin soup recipe comes from the Everyday cookbook. I made it with the Asian style soup variation for some spice. Also used some of the Serafine gluten free bread to make some crunchy croutons.

Ingredients

1 onion peeled and quartered
1 garlic clove
2cm ginger
1 red chilli
1 tablespoon butter
250g butternut pumpkin peeled and roughly chopped
250g sweet potato peeled and chopped
1 carrot washed and chopped
Massel vegetable stock cube dissolved in 500ml water
Pinch rapadura sugar
2 tablespoons light coconut cream

Place onion, garlic, ginger and chilli into the TM bowl and chop for 5 seconds on speed 7
Add butter and sauté for 3 minutes at 100 degrees C on speed 1
Add pumpkin, sweet potato and carrot, chop for 15 seconds on speed 7
Add stock and sugar and cook for 20 minutes at 100 degrees C on speed 1
Add coconut cream and blend for 15-20 seconds by slowly going from speed 1 to speed 9
Garnish with gluten free croutons, dollop of natural yoghurt and sprinkle of paprika

Thanks to Sarah from High Aspirations for the recipe for Chocolate Nut Balls  which make a yummy healthy snack and great alternative to chocolate easter eggs!    They have raw cacao in them which David Wolfe lists as one of his 10 superfoods.   Find out more about the food of the Aztec gods here.

Ingredients:

1 cup nuts (almonds, pecans, cashews, walnuts)

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup pitted fresh dates

1/2 cup coconut

1 tablespoon nut butter

4 teaspoons cacao powder (organic pure raw chocolate powder)

extra coconut for rolling in.

Method:

Process nuts in food processor or Thermomix.

Add remaining ingredients, binding with approximately 1 tablespoon water until mixture becomes lumpy.

Roll into small balls and roll in extra coconut.  Store in fridge.

Chocolate Bliss Balls

It is Aub’s birthday today so to celebrate we had lunch at Mash Brewery. I had cider and Aub can still have his beer! Lunch was crispy pan fried salmon with potatoes and vegetables.

Crispy Gluten Free Salmon

When we got home had gluten free Torta Caprese the flourless almond cake from the Everyday Thermomix Cookbook. I made mine with hazlenuts insteads made a heavier and nuttier tasting cake.

Ingredients:
250g Dark Chocolate broken into pieces
250g Hazelnuts
150g Rapadura sugar (milled to caster sugar)
150g Butter, room temperature
6 eggs
1 tbsp Baking Powder
1 tbsp Cocoa
1 tbsp Amaretto

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius
Place chocolate in TM bowl and grate for 5-10 seconds on speed 8. Set aside.
Place hazelnuts in TM bowl and mill for 4-6 seconds on speed 6. Add to chocolate.
Place remaining ingredients into TM bowl and mix for 20 seconds on speed 7.
Add chocolate and hazelnuts and continue to mix for 30 seconds on speed 6.
Put mixture into a lightly greased spring form pan lined with baking paper.
Bake in preheated oven for approximately 1 hour, if hot oven reduce to 160 degrees celsius.
Cool cake and ice with chocolate ganache icing made with melted dark chocolate and cream.
Delicious served warm or cold and serve with cream or ice cream.

Birthday & Easter Torta Caprese (Flourless Cake)

Made these delicious and easy cookies in the Thermomix for our afternoon tea at the yoga and drumming afternoon.   They don’t look perfect but taste fantastic!   Find the recipe at Quirky Cooking here

Brownie Cookies & Coffee

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.

Thank goodness coffee is gluten free!   We bought a new Nespresso machine this weekend.   Made myself an iced coffee as too hot for cappuccino today.   Nespresso has some new flavours, check out the website here, so made a couple of shots of vanilla and caramel coffee and put in fridge too cool.   Added ice cubes, coffee and 250ml of skim milk to the Thermomix and made a coffee slushy!    Tasted delicious and cold.   If like iced coffee sweeter added some organic raw sugar when blending.

Weight Watchers ProPoints = 2 (without the sugar!)

New Nespresso CitiZ machine