Earlier this year I made it one of my goals to make sure I cook the gorgeous recipes I bookmark on Pinterest. Today I’m pleased to say I’m keeping that goal, and it feels really good. Turns out it tastes good too.

I’m currently holidaying at my in-laws, and with all the extra pairs of hands to watch Poppy, I’ve got mine free for a spot of baking.

I specifically bookmarked this slice on Pinterest because it’s gluten free and caters to my MILs dietary needs. Now that I’m staying at her place, I can use her as my GF taste tester as well as bake it as a thank you gift for her hospitality. Win, win.

The original recipe used apricots but I’ve switched it to pears and made a few other small adjustments – like glazing with a locally made fig, ginger and walnut jam. I just can’t help myself with tweaking recipes, it’s some sort of addiction, I’m telling you.

The end result is a super moist cake with a slight tang from the yoghurt and my official GF taste tester, Angela, was pleased with the fact that it wasn’t dry and crumbly like other GF cakes. It was moist, easy to slice and held together beautifully. I think I’ll give myself a pat on the back for this one.

Do you prefer moist or light and fluffy cakes?

Christie x

Gluten free pear and almond slice recipe

based on a recipe by the gluten free scallywag.

• 130g unsalted butter, softened
• 125g brown sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
• 2 large eggs
• 40g moist coconut flakes
• 85g plain gluten free flour
• 160g almond meal (ground almonds)
• 220g gluten free natural yoghurt
• 6 pear quarters, tinned or ripe fresh ones, peeled and cored
• 2 tablespoons fig and ginger jam (or apricot jam)

1.  Preheat the oven to 170C/340F and line a 30cm x 15cm rectangular slice tray with baking paper.

2. Beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla until thick and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each one.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut, gluten free flour and almond meal. Add the dry mixture to the wet batter in batches alternating with the yoghurt, folding the mixture using a large metal spoon until just combined. Try not to over mix.

4. Pour the batter into the slice tray and smooth out. Press the pears, core side up, gently into the batter. Bake for 40 – 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean, but a little moist.

5. Warm the jam in a small saucepan until runny and then brush over the cake. Allow to cool completely before serving with fresh cream, gluten free vanilla yoghurt or ice cream. Cake is pictured above with natural yoghurt.

I had a few pesky overripe bananas in my fruit bowl last weekend, and when that happens there is only one thing to do.

Make banana bread.

I’d also just received a jar of Beerenberg Blood Orange Marmalade. I’m not a marmalade fan at all, but this one is much sweeter than other ones I’ve tasted, so I decided to tweak my usual dense and moist banana bread recipe and top it with a sweet glaze.

I simply warmed three tablespoons of the marmalade in a saucepan and then poured it over the cooked cake and brushed it in with a silicone brush.

The marmalade added a lovely tang and a welcome sweet/sticky element when served in thin slices with a dollop of whipped cream. Just heavenly.

Grab the banana bread recipe here.

Do you like tweaking your own favourite recipes for a change?

Christie x

Some nights you just want to get dinner on the table quickly. I mean, really quickly. On night’s like those I always turn to stir fries. Especially vegetarian ones.

Stir fries, for me, are never boring. There are just so many combinations of vegetables, spices and herbs that can come together quickly to create dinner in minutes. A dinner that tastes great and is good for you too.

I’m always trying to reduce the amount of meat our family eats and love the challenge of going vegetarian for one whole day every week. It’s easier than you might think, but if a whole day is a bit daunting, then maybe try dinner or lunch to get you started.

This mushroom stir fry actually has quite a “meaty” texture, well, they obviously don’t call mushrooms meat for vegetarians for nothing! It helped me use up a few ingredients I had in my fridge (thai green curry paste, ginger) and was beautiful served over basmati rice, which I prefer because it has a lower GI than jasmine or short grain varieties. It also works well mixed with egg noodles or served in crisp lettuce cups, san choy bau-style.

When I’ve made it on other occasions I’ve also thrown in some marinated tofu chunks, broccoli, spinach or bean sprouts. Feel free to add your favourite vegetables too, it’s a very versatile recipe.

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!

How about you? Do you actively try to eat more vegetarian meals?

Christie x

Quick Thai-inspired mushroom stir fry

serves 2 (can be doubled or trebled)

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used sunflower)
• 1/2 red capsicum (red bell pepper), sliced into strips
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 kaffir lime leaves, thick centre stem removed, leaves finely sliced
• 250g mixed mushrooms (I used shiitake, enoki, oyster and king brown), cleaned and sliced
• 1 tablespoon Thai green curry paste
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (or tamari to make this gluten free)
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• steamed rice, to serve

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or large frying pan (skillet) over medium heat. Add the capsicum and cook for 5 minutes until softened.

2. Add the garlic, ginger and kaffir lime leaves and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the green curry paste and stir to coat all the ingredients in the paste.

3. Turn up the heat to high and add the mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes until browned and wilted. Splash in the sesame oil and soy sauce and stir well. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with steamed rice.

The minute I set eyes on this recipe I pinned it to my Things To Cook board and vowed to make it that weekend. No excuses.

I could barely believe my eyes: egg boats. Genius!

Why on earth haven’t I thought of this before?

The original recipe uses pancetta and gruyere cheese, both of which are great ingredients, however I had just roasted some fantastic local Australian garlic so decided to use that instead.

Baguettes always remind me of my dear friend Céline who is of Chinese/Vietnamese heritage. She grew up in France and now lives in the UK (oh, and speaks 6 languages!). Phew. Yes, she’s a very talented lady, but back to the story…

Every time I look at a baguette I am reminded of a trip she took me on to her home town of Toulouse in the south of France. Céline bought a gorgeously fresh baguette and loads of her favourite local goats cheese but then realised she couldn’t fit it all into her luggage to take back home to the UK with her.

So what did she do? Waste the food? No! She proceeded to load up the huge baguette with multiple logs of goats cheese and eat the whole lot. Right in front of us. In about 10 minutes.

Now, that’s a dedicated foodie (or a crazy woman), you decide!

So of course I had to top this awesome egg boat with goats cheese in a homage to Céline. Love you, girl! :)

My only tip? Make sure you don’t go too hard when removing the inner bread layer because even if there is the tiniest hole in the bottom, the pesky runny egg will find it’s way through and you’ll face a sticky, baked-on mess.

I’m speaking from experience. See picture below.

And the best bit? You can eat breakfast with one hand – very useful if you have a little one climbing all over you for a cuddle! Plus, it tastes great at room temperature so would be perfect as part of a buffet brunch.

Thanks to the guys at Spoon Fork Bacon for the inspiration for this! I seriously wish I’d thought of it first.

Have you ever done something crazy involving food?

Christie x

Egg boats with roasted garlic and goats cheese recipe

serves 2

1 half-size baguette
1 tablespoon butter
10 button mushrooms, quartered
4 large eggs
3 tablespoons double cream (heavy cream)
1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
4 cloves roasted garlic, mashed
100g goats cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Prepare the baguette by cutting a deep ‘V’ into it, without cutting all the way through. Use your fingers to pull out the fluffy bread and make a cavity. Place onto a baking tray lined with non-stick paper.

2. Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the mushrooms for 5 minutes until browned and tender. Set aside.

3. Whisk the eggs and cream together. Add the mushrooms, parsley and roasted garlic. Season with salt and pepper and whisk until well combined.

4. Pour into the baguette and crumble the goats cheese over the top. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until puffed and golden.

5. Allow to cool for 5 minutes to let it set and then slice and serve.

Not only is this the easiest salad in the world, but it can also be the tastiest if made with home grown vegetables.

I was lucky enough to score a beautifully crisp and slightly bitter home grown cucumber and knew this was the only way it could be served.

The fresh little cucumber was sliced and mingled with vine ripened tomato, splashed with a little olive oil and white balsamic vinegar, then finished with a luxurious sprinkling of truffle salt. Perfection.

Let the salad sit while you make the rest of your dinner (whatever that may be) and basque in the glory of freshly picked goodness.

Do you have a quick go-to salad?

Christie x

Tomato and cucumber salad

serves 2 as a side dish (easily doubled, trebled or more)

1 medium cucumber
1 large vine ripened tomato
1 teaspoon white balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
pinch truffle salt (or regular salt)

1. Slice the cucumber and tomato and place into a shallow bowl.

2. Splash over the vinegar and oil and sprinkle with truffle salt. Mix gently and allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

People always ask me “How do you work from home with a baby around?”.

My answer is always the same: “With much difficulty!”.

Today’s post will show you just how quickly an innocent carrot cake can become the target of chubby fingers and a lemon-sucking free-for-all. Don’t believe me? Scroll down for the proof.

Yes, she’s on her tippy toes.

You’d be forgiven for thinking she is going straight for a big finger-licking dollop of icing…

Nope. She only has eyes for lemons.

I thought once she tasted the lemon she would spit it out, however she sucked on it for a good five minutes. It wasn’t even a particularly juicy or sweet one. Go figure!

Anyway, back to the cake. I had hubby’s aunty and cousin visiting for afternoon tea and decided I wanted to make a carrot cake. I went straight to my friend’s blog: Not Quite Nigella, and low and behold there on the front page was a parsnip cake. Wow, now that’s some sort of psychic friendship thing, if I ever saw one!

I substituted carrots and made a few other small adjustments and out came this absolutely delicious cake. Perfect for afternoon tea with a cup of Earl Grey. Plus, Aunty Sally declared it 11 out of 10. Success!

Tell me, do you ever have psychic coincidences with your friends?

Christie x

Carrot cake with lemon cream cheese icing

adapted from Not Quite Nigella and Favourite Cakes by Julie Le Clerc

2 large eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1/4 cup olive oil
2 1/2 cups grated carrot, firmly packed
1/2 cup craisins
1/2 cup brazil nuts, roughly chopped
1 cup plain all purpose flour
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon bi-carb soda (baking soda)

Icing
250g cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 lemon, juiced and zested

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/250F. Line the base and sides of a 20cm x 20cm square cake tin (I used a 20cm round tin successfully) and set aside.

2. Beat together the eggs, sugar and both oils in a large bowl. Stir in the carrot, craisins and brazil nuts. Then add the flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder and bi carb soda and mix well.

3. Pour into the baking tin and smooth the surface. Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool completely in the tin and then remove.

4. Make the icing by beating together the cream cheese, icing sugar, lemon juice and zest. This is easiest using a stand mixer or handheld electric stick mixer. Spread over the cake and decorate with more brazil nuts, if you like.

There was no greasy breakfast or hangover for hubby and I this year.

Just a 6am wake up (thanks Poppy!) with avocado and tomato on multigrain toast and a super-charged smoothie to kick-start 2012 with all the healthy energy we can muster.

Packed with seasonal bananas and apricots, high fibre soy milk, oatbran and then sweetened with maple syrup; it made us feel great about getting the year started.

Then we packed Poppy into the car and headed to Manly beach for a bit of sun and a delicious seafood platter at the pub overlooking the beach.

How was your start to 2012?

Christie x

2012 banana smoothie

serves 2

1 banana, peeled and sliced
2 apricots, seed removed and sliced
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup Vitasoy Hi-Fibre soy milk
2-3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon oatbran
handful of ice cubes

1. Place all ingredients into the blender and process until smooth. Serve immediately.

I’m naming this the ‘All-star breakfast’ because almost every ingredient is a famous gourmet brand. It features:

1. McLean’s Run Free Range Eggs
2. Pepe Saya Butter
3. Bourke St Bakery Personal Sourdough
4. My marinated mushrooms – OK, they’re not famous, but this blog kinda is :)

This dish turned a rainy weekend morning into quite a scrumptious affair and even baby Poppy gobbled up a portion, impressing me with her complex palate. The mushrooms were quite vinegary and covered in dill which is not something I would normally feed her, except she saw us eating it and wanted in on the action!

Once the mushrooms have been marinated, this takes only a few minutes from pan to plate, so even the most hung-over cook will easily whip it up. Just remember to pop the mushrooms into their marinade the night before and you’ll be livin’ on easy street.

Enjoy!

Christie x

Fig & Cherry received the eggs with compliments of McLean’s Run and One Green Bean (thanks Laura!) and the butter with compliments from Pepe Saya and Liquid Ideas (thanks Georgia!).

Marinated mushroom scrambled eggs recipe

serves 2

1 tablespoon butter
200g marinated mushrooms
4 eggs
splash of milk
salt and pepper
toasted sourdough, to serve

1. Melt the butter in a medium frying pan over high heat. Add the mushrooms and fry for 2-3 mins until lightly browned.

2. Whisk the eggs and milk together and season with salt and pepper. Pour into the pan and tilt the pan to coat. Drag the cooked egg from the edges to the centre until all the mixture is almost cooked to your liking. Take off the heat as it will continue to cook from residual heat.

3. Serve immediately on toasted sourdough that has been slathered with more butter.

Mushrooms are not usually a vegetable associated with the Aussie festive season during Summer time. Which is a shame, because they are such a versatile ingredient.

I’m the first to admit that mushrooms are in their element when braised in Winter stews, stroganoff, pasta sauces and slathered in butter and garlic for a stick-to-your-ribs hearty breakfast on a chilly morning, but there is so much more to mushrooms.

Summer mushroom dishes are quick and easy to prepare and most importantly, they are light and healthy, which is what we are all looking for at this gluttonous time of year (or is that just me?). Dare to be a little bit different with mushrooms!

Mushrooms are absolutely wonderful marinated as they soak up flavours and moisture quicker than a sponge. Once marinated they keep for a few days in the fridge and can be used in a myriad of ways; in salads (as seen above), on antipasto boards, next to cheese on a toothpick or skewered and BBQ’d.

Speaking of BBQ’s, have you tried mushrooms on yours? If not, you are really missing out. The combination of the meaty texture and juiciness of mushrooms coupled with chargrilled edges is completely intoxicating. Seriously. Put it on your must-cook bucket list.

This year I am helping the Australian Mushroom Growers Association spread the word to Aussies about eating delicious mushrooms during Summer time. I’ve recruited some fantastic bloggers who are going to knock your socks off with inspiration for Mushroom Salads, Mushroom Festive Dishes and Mushroom BBQ dishes.

There will be so many recipes you’re not going to know how you ever got through Summer before without eating mushrooms! Stay tuned as I’ll be posting a monthly round up of links to all the participating bloggers and their yummy mushroom recipes.

I’m the first cab off the rank with this festive salad offering that would be right at home next to turkey, ham, pork or duck. It is also a great salad to take with you to a festive event or BBQ as the mushrooms can be marinated ahead of time and then the salad quickly assembled once you arrive.

So, go on, head out to your local green grocer to pick up some mushies for this salad. I’m sure you’ve got an event coming up it will be perfect for!

Christie x

This recipe content is proudly sponsored by the Australian Mushroom Growers Association who compensated me for creating the recipe as part of the Summer Mushrooms campaign. For more details check out their My Mushrooms blog.

Marinated mushroom, watercress & pomegranate salad recipe

serves 6-8 as a side dish

125ml olive oil
50ml white balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons fresh dill, leaves only, finely chopped
1 blood orange, sliced in half
400g button mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
1/2 fresh pomegranate
1 large bunch watercress, thick stems discarded

1. Place the oil, vinegar and dill into a large bowl. Squeeze one half of the blood orange into the bowl (reserve the other half for garnish), season with salt and pepper, and then whisk until combined.

2. Add the mushrooms to the marinade and stir until all the mushrooms are thoroughly coated. Cover and place in the fridge to marinate for 2-3 hours or overnight.

3. To easily remove the seeds from the pomegranate, slice it in half and hold it, cut-side down, over a bowl. Using a wooden spoon, hit the skin-side firmly several times. The seeds should fall into the bowl, ready for use. Set aside.

4. Wash the watercress, remove any tough stems and place into a mixing bowl. Drain the marinade from the mushrooms and pour over the watercress. Toss to coat and then arrange on a serving platter, leaving any excess marinade behind.

5. Arrange the mushrooms on top of the watercress and garnish with pomegranate seeds and slices of blood orange.

“I’ve made chocolate muffins. Would you like one?” I say to my hubby.

“Yes please” he replies.

I serve him one on a plate and watch his face as he sinks his teeth in.

“What do you think?”, I ask.

“Oh, these are good. They actually have the best texture of any you have made so far!”.

“And the taste?”

“Good. Very chocolatey”.

That’s when I drop the bombshell: “They have tofu in them, you know. Plus, they’re vegan”.

He hesitates for 1 second and then replies “I knew there was a reason why you offered them to me so enthusiastically”.

Ah, he knows me too well.

Christie x

This recipe content is proudly sponsored by Vitasoy.

Chocolate & Tofu Muffins

2 tablespoons dairy-free spread (I like the Nuttelex brand)
250g (2 cups) plain flour
50g (1/2 cup) ground almonds
2 teaspoons baking powder
35g (1/2 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspooon salt
220g (1 cup) caster sugar
150g (1 cup) silken tofu
250ml (1 cup) Vitasoy Soy Milky Vanilla (*see note below)
1 tablespoon white vinegar
60ml (1/4 cup) maple syrup
12 squares dark chocolate (I like Lindt 70%)

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Grease a twelve hole muffin tin with the dairy free spread.

2. In a large bowl mix together the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, cocoa powder, salt and sugar. Set aside.

3. Place the tofu, soy milk, vinegar and maple syrup into a blender. Process for 10 seconds until smooth. There may still be a few small tofu lumps but that’s fine.

4. Pour the tofu mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until just combined. Don’t over mix or the muffins will be chewy.

5. Spoon the batter into the muffin pan holes and place a piece of chocolate on top of each one. Bake on the center shelf for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack – they can be eaten warm or cold.

*You could also use any plain soy milk mixed with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or even cow’s vanilla milk, if you prefer.

When I think of couscous, images of piping hot Moroccan tagines with fall-off-the-bone lamb and tangy perserved lemon, fill my mind.

I don’t think about eating couscous at breakfast time.

However, here we are. Today I present you with a really interesting and satisfying combination I came up with after being challenged to create a recipe using Blueberry Flavoured Craisins.

When I opened the pack of craisins and tasted one, all the usual recipe suspects immediately flooded my mind – muffins, scones, compote etc –  but I was determined to create something sweet that was also unique. So I gave myself the extra challenge of creating a healthy breakfast recipe using unusual ingredients. Tough brief!

With that extra criteria in mind, my imagination wandered to more exotic grains like quinoa, barley and others, before I had a ‘Eureka!’ moment and decided on couscous.

Are you enjoying this little insight into my crazy brain?

You might be a little nervous about cooking couscous for breakfast but, trust me, it’s delicious and it’s even quicker than oats! That’s two very good reasons to give it a go.

I absolutely love the way Moroccan dishes blend sweet and savoury elements so I’ve tried to keep with that theme by including sweet cinnamon with a pinch of salt and crunchy nuts. Even though the blueberry craisins complement these particular flavours perfectly you could easily substitute fresh dates, dried figs or regular cranberry craisins if you don’t have blueberry available.

Would love to hear what you think of this recipe. Leave me a note in the comments.

Happy cooking!

Christie x

Disclosure: Fig & Cherry and Ocean Spray are working together as part of a paid sponsorship. This recipe content is proudly sponsored by Ocean Spray.

Blueberry breakfast couscous recipe

serves 2 generously (can be easily doubled or tripled)

250ml (1 cup) boiling water (from the kettle)
140g (3/4 cup) plain instant couscous
125ml (1/2 cup) milk*
50g (1/2 cup) walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
50g (1/2 cup) Ocean Spray Blueberry Craisins**
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons soft brown sugar
pinch of salt (optional)

1. Place a medium saucepan (that has a lid) on the stove over low heat. Add the boiling water (straight from the kettle) and then the couscous, milk, walnuts, craisins, cinnamon, sugar and salt, if using.

2. Stir constantly for 2-3 minutes until the couscous grains swell up and absorb a lot of the liquid. Take off the heat and cover with the lid. Leave for 5 minutes while the liquid finishes being absorbed.

3. Fluff with a fork and serve. You can also pour over extra milk if you like a runnier consistency.

*Use your favourite milk, both cows milk and soy milk work well.
**Regular craisins, raisins, dried apricots, figs or dates can be substituted for the blueberry craisins.

Today is the second part of my interview with KitchenAid’s home economist Jo Richardson. If you missed the first part yesterday then click here to read it.

Jo is particularly passionate about gluten free baking and many of my readers are looking for gluten free recipes and cooking tips, so I thought it would be a good idea to pick her brains all about it! Not to mention my mother-in-law is following a gluten free diet, so she had some great questions for me to ask Jo too.

Don’t scroll to the end just yet, but there is Jo’s fantastic gluten free brownie recipe down there that I have made three batches of, and each one turned out perfectly. That’s a picture of the gorgeous little things above.

Jo, how did you get into gluten free baking as one of your niche specialties?

Well it’s been a world of discovery for me. My boy was born very unwell and it became obvious that he was not digesting anything properly. We found out, from a very young age, that he was very allergic to wheat and gluten. We’ve come a long way now, but 14 years ago a diagnosis like that was quite new, so I started having a play around with recipes. I had to, because gluten free food back then was awful and I just had to come up with a way to make it better.

It was a huge challenge and I did think at first it was going to be easy by just substituting regular flour with rice flour or whatever, but the results were shocking! And I thought, this is disgusting, I can’t eat that, so I just got into the kitchen and played and played and played. Trial and error. By the time he was a toddler going to birthday parties I was much better and over the years I’ve refined my recipes even more.

So you can’t just substitute regular flour for gluten free flour in recipes? Damn, that would be too easy. Why not?

Everyone knows that wheat is very strong as a particle. In baking it adds colour, it adds flavour, it adds texture and it also tenderises. So when you take wheat out of something, it changes a hundred and one dynamics of it. I had to really experiment with lots of different ingredients to get similar results.

What’s an example of an unusual ingredient that works well for you?

I like to go back to lots of old fashioned techniques and did you know that during the war there was actually a time when potato was used in pastry? It was when there was a butter shortage and so that’s where the idea came from to make my gluten free potato pastry. The potato works to bind it as well as help with the flavour and texture.

Tell us about gluten free flour. What is it and are there ones that are better than others?

In the beginning I found it very difficult to take some rice flour then add some cornflour and tapioca or arrowroot flour – there was all these flours and it was so confusing! Then to top it all off just by adding 20g more or less of one or the other and you would totally change the end consistency. It was very frustrating and completely dumfounding to me and many others so I just searched for what was available commercially.

The secret to great gluten free baking and cooking is to really love the gluten free flour combination that you use and the brands vary a lot so it’s well worth buying a few and trying them out. The one I absolutely love is by a company called Vitarium and it’s found in health food stores. There’s nothing extraordinary in it, just rice flour, cornflour and tapioca but they have got the balance just right. That’s the secret.

Why do gluten free cakes and breads sometimes taste so dry (and inedible!)?

That’s because they have far too much rice flour in them. Again, it comes down to a delicate balance of the elements; rice flour is very drying and adds bulk, cornflour gives you a bouncy texture and tapioca or arrowroot gives you pull and stretchiness. These elements need to be kept in ind when you are deciding on quantities.

What is xanthan gum and how do you incorporate it into gluten free recipes?

You need to add xanthan gum or another product which is known as gluten substitute to mirror wheat protein. You see, wheat protein is the most remarkable glue, it’s like cement, and when you remove that cement (as in, the wheat) from recipes they just don’t have the structure and won’t set. Instead, they go all crumbly and dry. Xanthan gum is made from fermented corn syrup and has a rubber chemical reaction that provides the glue in place of wheat. It is actually twenty two times stronger than wheat flour and is so strong it’s like real cement! Therefore, you only need a tiny amount to add back that much needed structure in gluten free recipes. Without it your dishes will probably fall apart.

Are there any of your recipes that really stand out for you?

I’m really proud of my gluten free recipes and a lot of people that I get to taste them really can’t believe it’s gluten free. I recently did some recipe development for an article in a magazine making gluten free pizza and there were some real big hotshot food editors there and they were absolutely gobsmacked that what I served them was gluten free. I worked very hard at getting the texture and flavour just right. Unfortunately I can’t share the recipe yet because it’s going to be published exclusively on the KitchenAid website in the coming months.

Thanks Jo it has been absolutely fascinating learning about gluten free baking – I was especially interested to hear about xanthan gum and loved cooking with it in your brownie recipe (see below). Delicious!  

Christie x

Fig & Cherry received the KitchenAid Artisan Mixer with compliments of KitchenAid.

Fudgy Gluten Free Chocolate Brownies

Recipe by Jo Richardson on behalf of KitchenAid

250g butter, chopped
250g good quality dark chocolate (gluten free)
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup gluten free plain flour
1 teaspoon cocoa
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
3 large eggs, beaten
2 tablespoon caster sugar
100g toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
Extra cocoa and icing sugar, for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 190C. Grease and paper line 5cm deep x 18cm square pan.

2. Heat butter, chocolate, brown sugar and vanilla in a heavy based saucepan over a low heat, stirring constantly until smooth, melted and glossy. Set aside to cool.

3. Attach the flat beater to the standmixer with the pouring shield. Mix the flour, cocoa and gum on speed1 until well combined, remove from the mixing bowl.

4. Attach the whisk to the standmixer. Whisk eggs and sugar on speed 6 until thick and creamy. Reduce to speed 2, add the cooled chocolate mixture and flour and mix until combined. Add the nuts and fold through.

5. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes or until just set. Set aside to cool completely.

6. Dust with extra cocoa and icing sugar. Cut as desired.

Last week I was sent some Josephine pears and even though they were perfectly ripe and juicy, I needed a little inspiration to get into the kitchen.

So what did I do? I quickly took a snap on my iphone and uploaded it to my Facebook page and crowd sourced it! You guys are really great when it comes to responding on Facebook, so I of course got some great feedback (in fact, almost instantly!).

There were minted pears (SJ Smith), duck breast with pears (Celine) and pear ice cream (Nicole) among many others, but what caught my eye was the suggestion of pear tart (The Pickled Cumquat). I have been wanting to make something with puff pastry and a jar of Bonne Maman chestnut puree I received earlier this year and a tart sounded like just the perfect thing.

Even better, a French-style jalousie with two layers of pastry and a sweet fruit filling!

Jalousie gets it’s name from a type of French window shutter that has horizontal slats and they are usually made as long rectangles rather than a square as I have done here, however it was easier not to have to cut and fiddle with the puff pastry sheet. I’m lazy like that.

Feel free to substitute the pear for apples and the chestnut puree for your favourite jam, but the pear and chestnut combo is a real winner so I do hope you give it a try.

One last thing, this tastes even better at room temperature, so try your best to let it cool a little before devouring it. Good luck!

Christie x

Pear and chestnut jalousie recipe

makes one tart

200g frozen puff pastry (2 x 100g sheets 25cm x 25cm)
2 ripe pears*, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons sweetened chestnut puree**
20g unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon white sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/355F. Line a baking tray with non-stick paper. Place one sheet of puff pastry on the baking tray.

2. Spread the chestnut puree evenly over the pastry sheet, leaving a 2cm border around the edge. Place the pear slices on top, overlapping slightly, then dot with the butter and sprinkle over the cinnamon and brown sugar.

3. Brush beaten egg along the border and place the other sheet of puff pastry on top. Press down to seal and then fold over the edge and crimp with a fork to make sure it is well sealed. Brush all the pastry with beaten egg and sprinkle with the white sugar.

4. Using a sharp knife, make long slits in the top layer of pastry about 3cm apart. Bake for 20 minutes or until the pastry if puffed and golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. It tastes great warm or at room temperature.

*I used Josephine pears.
**I used Bonne Maman Chestnut Puree

Q: What is better than a chocolate muffin?

A: A chocolate muffin with a marshmallow surprise in the centre.

I am only halfway through the eight muffin recipes I am creating for Vitasoy. So far there have been coffee, turkish delight and savoury fetta and olive and now a fun marshmallow surprise.

Make sure you push the marshmallows deep into the batter and then cover well with more batter or they will burst out the top while baking – see first pic above (they still taste great though).

I should also mention that the marshmallows don’t remain whole in the centre, they melt and turn all jammy and sticky. It’s delicious!

These are probably a bit too sweet for kids lunch boxes, but would make a fantastic treat for the weekend or birthday party.

Happy baking and let me know how these turn out for you.

Christie x

This recipe content is proudly sponsored by Vitasoy.

Choc-marshmallow muffins recipe

makes 12 small muffins

2 1/2 cups (350g) self raising flour
1/3 cup (30g) cocoa powder
1 cup (160g) white chocolate chips
3/4 cup (110g) dark brown sugar
1 cup (250ml) Vitasoy rice milk
125g butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 egg, lightly beaten
12 marshmallows

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Grease a 12 hole muffin tin and add paper cases, if you like.

2. Put the flour, cocoa powder, chocolate chips and sugar into a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.

3. Make a well in the centre and pour in the rice milk, butter and egg. Mix gently to combine, but don’t over mix or the muffins will turn out chewy.

4. Spoon a few tablespoons of mixture into each muffin hole then top with a marshmallow and press down slightly. Spoon the rest of the mixture over each one, making sure to cover the marshmallow completely.

5. Bake for 20-22 minutes on the middle shelf. Cool slightly on a wire rack but try to eat as soon as possible. They are best enjoyed warm so that the marshmallow is still gooey in the centre.

This recipe was a challenge was to come up with a breakfast dish using button mushrooms and I think this burrito fits the bill perfectly. I competed against two American and Canadian bloggers in the Mushroom Masters Tournament and unfortunately came third (ie. last!). It was a popularity vote, so I guess I just don’t have enough online friends, hehe.

It’s quite difficult to photograph a burrito in a pretty way, let me tell you! How do you think I did? I can definitely see some areas for improvement.

Recipe below, enjoy!

Christie x

Mushroom Breakfast Burritos recipe

250g cherry tomatoes
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
200g white button mushrooms, quartered
200g Swiss brown mushrooms, quartered
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ bunch flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
200g tinned kidney beans, drained
¼ teaspoon ground chilli powder
4 eggs
4 wholewheat tortillas
sour cream and mashed avocado, to serve

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and place, cut side up, on a baking tray lined with non-stick paper. Drizzle with one tablespoon of olive oil and bake on the top shelf for 20 minutes until softened and starting to brown at the edges. Set aside.

2. Make the mushrooms: Place a large frying pan or skillet over high heat on the stove top and melt one tablespoon of butter and two tablespoons of olive oil. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until tender. Add the garlic and parsley and cook for 2 minutes more until fragrant. Season with salt and pepper, then set aside in a bowl and keep warm.

3. Make the salsa: Place the kidney beans and chilli powder into a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until warmed through then add the cherry tomatoes and gently stir to combine. Set aside and keep warm.

4. Make the scrambled eggs: Wipe out the frying pan or skillet and melt the remaining tablespoon of butter and olive oil over medium heat. Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper and then pour into the pan and cook for 2 minutes or until done to your liking.

5. Assemble to serve: Place tortillas on serving plates. Top with some scrambled egg, then salsa, then mushrooms. Serve with sour cream and avocado on the side.

 

Quinoa flakes. There is something you don’t see everyday. That’s them sprinkled about in the photo above.

When I spotted a box at my local health food store I immediately popped them into my shopping basket. I just can’t resist cooking with a new and exciting ingredient.

The box sat patiently in my pantry for almost a month before I worked up the courage (and found the time) to give them a burl. The instructions on the box say to make the flakes into a breakfast porridge, but that’s far too obvious. There is also a choc-chip cookie recipe on the back which sounds pretty good, but I like to make up my own recipes.

I have been wanting to make my own muesli slice for a while now. I love the endless possibilities for flavours, however, that’s been the problem for my procrastination – there’s too many options! As with many of my recipes, my pantry solved my problem for me.

After pottering around my pantry and fridge for a few minutes I discovered an almost empty jar of peanut butter, some leftover dried apricots and a few dregs at the bottom of a tahini jar. Ah, ha! A flavour combination was born.

I really believe in loving food, not wasting it, so making a frugal and tasty snack like this is really satisfying for me. All I have to do now is work out how to use up the rest of the quinoa flakes. Perhaps I’ll try the boring porridge after all.

What do you like to make with leftover bits and bobs in the fridge or pantry?

Christie x

This recipe content is proudly sponsored by Vitasoy.

Sticky quinoa and peanut muesli squares recipe

makes approximately 15 bite size squares

75g (3/4 cup) rolled oats
75g (3/4 cup) quinoa flakes*
75g (1/2 cup) dried apricots, roughly chopped
75g (1/2 cup) roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
15g unsalted butter
125ml (1/2 cup) honey
2 tablespoons peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
1 tablespoon tahini
60ml (1/4 cup) soy milk**

1. Place the oats, quinoa flakes, dried apricots and peanuts into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat then add the honey and stir to combine. Add the peanut butter, tahini and soy milk and whisk thoroughly. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix well.

3. Line a slice pan or shallow cake tin with enough baking paper to cover the bottom and hang over the sides. Press the muesli mixture into the tin and cover with the baking paper (see second picture above for reference). Press down firmly. It’s best to use another tin the same size to press down evenly, but just do the best you can with your hands or whatever you have on hand (a tin of tomatoes rolled firmly over the surface works well).

4. Refrigerate for at least one hour. You can slice into small squares and serve right away, but the squares will hold together even better if you slice and layer in between baking paper on a plate, then refrigerate again for at least another hour.

*Available at health food stores or the health section of the supermarket. See first picture above for a visual reference.
**I used Vitasoy Original.

I’m really quite partial to a savoury muffin. They’re much better than a boring slice of toast for dunking into soup and they soak up gravy with gusto.

However, the best way to eat them is warm, sliced in half and slathered with good butter. No accompanying meal required.

These feature polenta which provides a lovely flavour and texture, plus the addition of sour cream makes them very rich and moreish. They are one of the muffins I’ve recently created for Vitasoy and are actually a nice change from the sweet turkish delight muffins I’ve been experimenting with.

If you move quickly you can have these all mixed up, oven baked and in your mouth in less than half an hour. So what are you waiting for? Get in the kitchen and enjoy!

Christie x

This recipe content is proudly sponsored by Vitasoy.

Savoury fetta and olive muffins recipe

makes 10 small muffins

1 cup (180g) fine-grain instant polenta
1/2 cup (60g) gluten free plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon bi-carb soda / baking soda
1 1/2 cups (300g) sour cream
1/4 cup (80ml) Vitasoy original soymilk*
2 eggs, lightly beaten
12 olives, pitted and chopped (I used a mixture of green and black)
6 semi-dried tomato quarters, chopped
50g fetta cheese
freshly cracked pepper
flat leaf parsley sprigs, to garnish (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 190C/375F. Grease a 12-hole muffin tin.

2. Place the polenta, flour, bi-carb soda and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, add the sour cream, soy milk, eggs, olives, tomatoes, fetta and pepper and mix until well combined.

4. Pour the polenta mixture into the sour cream mixture and stir until just combined. Don’t over mix or the muffins will turn out chewy.

5. Spoon into the muffin holes and garnish with parsley, if using. Bake on the middle shelf for 16-18 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool slightly on a wire rack and enjoy warm. They can also be reheated the next day in a low oven.

*Regular cows milk may be substituted, if you prefer.

This is such an amazing combination for muffins! If you’re a Turkish delight lover then you are in for a treat and a half, let me tell you.

I am so glad that I have had the opportunity to work with Vitasoy this year and even more so when it involves cooking up gorgeous muffins like these.

This fabulous flavour combo is the brainchild of one very clever Vitasoy fan who submitted it as part of competition. There were hundreds of entries, but only eight lucky little muffin flavours were handed over to yours truly, to develop into full-blown recipes.

The Coffee Muffins with Mascarpone Icing from last month were the first cab off the rank, but I think today’s little beauties blow them out of the water taste-wise.

Don’t take my word for it though, get into the kitchen and whip a batch up for yourself. Please do remember to drop back here once you’ve tasted them – I’d love to hear what you think.

Christie x

This recipe content is proudly sponsored by Vitasoy.

Turkish delight and walnut muffins recipe

makes 10 small muffins

350g (2 1/2 cups) self raising flour
100g (1 cup) walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
120g (2/3 cup) dark brown sugar
200g turkish delight, cut into 1 cm cubes
250ml (1 cup) soy milk*
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon orange blossom water (or rose water)
125g butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Grease the holes of a muffin tin.

2. In a large bowl mix together the flour, walnuts, sugar and turkish delight. The turkish delight might stick together but just gently separate it and roll each piece in the flour. Stir well to combine everything thoroughly.

3. Whisk together the milk, eggs and orange blossom water in a jug. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour the milk mixture in. Pour in the melted butter and fold together with a large metal spoon until just combined.

4. Spoon into the muffin pan holes and bake on the centre shelf for 20-22 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack  - they can be eaten warm or cold.

*I used Vitasoy Calci Plus. You can also substitute regular cows milk if preferred.

Even though we’ve had some sunny Winter days, there is still a chill in the morning air, which means porridge is a very enticing breakfast option.

If you’re in the northern hemisphere then muesli will be a more likely choice, but everyone is in luck, because this compote goes equally well with both!

It can even masquerade as a dessert over ice cream, if you’re so inclined, although we’ll be eating it with porridge this week.

Believe it or not, it took me quite a few years to convince my hubby to start eating porridge. He was, understandably, turned off it after working in a cafe that made theirs in the microwave (they also scrambled eggs in the microwave!). Luckily, he finally found out that my stovetop version is much nicer and even better with a spoonful or two of this compote.

Compote is essentially fruit poached in a sugar syrup. This one uses Ocean Spray juices and a mix of dried fruit to create a sweet, yet substantial breakfast topper. The picture above shows it served with muesli and yoghurt.

If you have any leftover syrup it is lovely whizzed up in the blender with some ice cubes and milk. Enjoy!

Christie x

This recipe was developed by Fig & Cherry for Ocean Spray as sponsored content.

Cranberry dried fruit compote recipe

serves 4

60g (1/2 cup) dried apricots
150g (about 6) dried figs
60g (1/2 cup) Ocean Spray Craisins
60g (about 10) prunes
250ml (1 cup) Ocean Spray Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice
250ml (1 cup) Ocean Spray Cranberry Classic Juice

1. Place all the dried fruit in a large, wide saucepan. Pour over both the juices and bring to the boil over high heat.

2. Boil for 15-20 minutes until the fruit is plumped up and soft and the liquid is reduced by half. It should thicken slightly and become syrupy. Skim off any foamy bits, if necessary.

3. Serve with muesli, porridge or thick yoghurt.

When I saw this recipe for peanut butter biscuits on Eating Out Loud I got very excited.

Why? Biscuits. 3 ingredients. Gluten free. See?

Allen‘s recipes always work a treat, but only three ingredients in a biscuit recipe sounded outrageously undoable (a word?), and then also gluten free – that was just too much for my curious mind. I had to bake them.

A little too dark, a little too light, ahhh, just right.

Being a pretty average baker, and only having made biscuits once before, I needed three batches to get them right and they still didn’t look as beautiful as Allen’s (see here).

Never mind, they tasted great. And only three ingredients; sugar, peanut butter, egg. Amazing. They weren’t crumbly and shortbread-y because there was no butter, but the texture was really lovely and crunchy and strong with the taste of yummy peanut butter. Thanks Allen!

I thought I would get a little fancy with these simple biscuits and jazz them up with a drizzle of icing.

I was recently sent a new product by Queen – a packet of pre-mixed Royal Icing. You simply add water then whisk and it’s ready to use for decorating. I don’t like using artificial colours so I coloured it with two tablespoons of beetroot water (water that beetroot had been boiled in, you can also use the canned stuff) and it turned a delightful pink.

If you are really in the mood for peanut butter now, and don’t fancy biscuits, then my chocolate and ANZAC ice cream sandwiches or my peanut butter and jelly smoothie should satisfy your craving instead.

On a side note, I bookmarked this recipe on my Pinterest account and it has been re-pinned 14 times! I guess there are lots of people out there looking for GF biscuits.

Until next time, happy cooking!

Christie x

Peanut butter cookies

recipe by Eating Out Loud

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
Royal icing, optional

1. Blend all the ingredients and shape into walnut sized balls.

2. Place on a cookie sheet and squish down with the back side of a fork (I found that using three fingers placed flat over the ball worked well too).

3. Bake in a 180C/350F oven for 8-10 minutes then cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate with royal icing, if desired.