Very impressed to see the range of gluten free sweet treats at Benesse Cafe.   I gave the passionfruit baked cheesecake a try and it was yummy and the coffee is excellent as well.   Nothing to do with being gluten free  but would like to add that my son Kyle who is 12 took this awesome photo with great perspective with his new birthday gift a Go Pro camera!

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.

I will admit it I am a bit of a gluten free bread snob.   I am not a fan of most commercially available gluten free bread as most as white and bland.   When I could or did eat bread I always ate rye bread or grainy bread not white sliced bread.   I still think the Deek’s bakery quinoa loaf if the best bread have found but it is expensive and not easy to source.   So I was pleasantly surprised to sample the new Lifestyle Bakery range and particularly like the Chia & Quinoa bread and the Soy & Linseed is good as well.   Both breads are still best toasted in my opinion but on the day the bread arrived the Chia & Quinoa was good fresh with some Nuttlex on it.   The Lifestyle Bakery range is available at Woolworths and IGA – check out the website here.

Hope you are all having a lovely gluten free Christmas wherever in the world you are.   Here it is very hot, getting up to 36 degrees celsius so while I have a lovely gluten free hamper with cake, pudding and brandy butter I don’t feel much like eating it!   Might just stick to fresh fruit and nuts – love the cherries and berries in season at Christmas!   I got this gluten free Christmas hamper from Innovations catalogue that my Mum saw, find the link here.   The shortbread biscuits were OK though a little hard and the cake a bit crumbly so overall would not buy again as not really a big fan of these products when I did eat gluten.   Whatever gluten free food you have today I hope is it delicious!

We took a drive out to the Ferguson Valley yesterday to stock up on some wine for the holidays.   First stop was Bonking Frog wines to buy some Summer Merlot to make some summer sangria – click here for the website.   Then onto lunch at the Moody Cow Brewery, of course cannot drink the beer but they have wine on the menu and gluten free meals.   I had tasty pan fried salmon with grilled prawns and the chef made me some hand cut chips – click here for the website.  Finally finished off the day with some wine tasting at St Aidan’s and coffee and cake.   The Xmas Pudding Baked Cheesecake was delicious and something different to the traditional Xmas Pudding but with all the taste of cinnamon and nutmeg.  Picked up some sparkling chardonnay and rose and head home very full and satisifed  – click here for the website.

Last day of work for 2012 so decided Friday night was pizza night!   Been loving Bianco’s gluten free pizza bases with a range of toppings for a quick and inexpensive dinner out with a BYO bottle of Shiraz!   I had seen the Facebook post for the Xmas pizza and needed to try it.   With the ham and chicken on pesto base with some brie and cranberry sauce it was just the right blend of Xmas tastes!   Get in and try it before Xmas!

Thank you very much to Adrienne at my work for the gluten free birthday cake she made for one of our staff this week!   I was very impressed and the presentation made the cake extra delicious.   I am very impressed to have employed someone who loves to bake and can bake gluten free.   Birthdays only though or will be piling on the kilos!

Gluten Free Chocolate Loaf

• 180g butter, softened
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 4 eggs, separated
• 100g 85% cocoa dark chocolate (Lindt brand), grated
• 1/2 cup almond meal (ground almonds)
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup gluten free cocoa powder
• 1 cup gluten free plain flour
• 1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder

Chocolate Icing

• 1 ½ cups of gluten free icing mixture
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 125g butter (softened)
• 2 tablespoon gluten free cocoa powder

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line base and sides of a 7cm-deep, 10.5cm x 20.5cm (base) loaf pan with baking paper, allowing a 2cm overhang at both long ends.
2. Using electric beaters, cream butter and sugar for 5 minutes or until pale and creamy. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Using a large metal spoon, fold in grated chocolate, almond meal and milk. Sift cocoa and flour together over chocolate mixture. Gently fold to combine.
4. Using electric beaters, beat egg whites in a bowl until soft peaks form. Stir one-quarter of the egg whites into batter. Gently fold in remaining egg whites. Spoon into prepared pan. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool loaf in pan for 10 minutes. Lift onto a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Make icing. Beat butter until it is a pale colour. Add icing mixture, cocoa and milk until light and fluffy. Spread over a well cake and decorate.

Thank you to Pure Bred for giving me the chance to sample their new range of gluten free breads.   I had already tried the grain bread rolls and was very impressed particularly since first time have had a sausage (gluten free of course) in a bin since being diagnosed with Coeliac.   The grain and white bread loaves were very good and could even be eaten fresh though I did toast mine and have it with the delicious jams sent to go with the bread.   I was impressed to read that the breads are also a bit healthier than the average gluten free bread as it is high fibre and low fat.   The bread is available from Coles but you do need to be aware that it has been frozen and defrosted so not suitable to refreeze.   This is a bit of any issue for me as not a big bread eater anyway so prefer to be able to freeze and get a slice out to toast as required.

I have been over in Melbourne for holiday and work and as we all know eating gluten free can be tricky when travelling and eating out. We stayed at the Jasper Hotel and they had gluten free bread to have with the poached eggs and vego breakfast. The food hall near by in Melbourne Central has a number of gluten free options including Mad Mex, Nando’s and Grill’d. I thought Jus Burgers in WA had the best gluten free burgers and chips but Grill’d is just as good. I had the Moroccan Lamb Burger with the chips that had a herb sprinkle, very tasty. For our final night in Melbourne we went to Taco Bill’s which was tasty but tricky as while website said to ask the wait staff what was gluten free they seemed less than confident in telling what I could eat, I went with the potato skins to be on the safe side!