Gluten free staffordshire oatcakes

It's snowing today, Ive got a stinking cold and a husband laid up with a bad back. The only sensible response to all of that is oatcakes with bacon and cheese for breakfast. Oatcakes freeze beautifully and make a very fast, filling meal. They can be quickly reheated and are a fantastic way to make leftovers into a treat.

 It's hard to say how many this recipe will make. I made around 15 last night, plus a few that went in the bin! It depends on how thick you make them, how wide, and how many go wrong before you get the hang of it.

8 oz/ 225 g gluten free oats
8 oz/ 225 g gluten free flour*
1 Tbsp/ 15g dried active yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 pint warm water
1 pint warm milk (you may need more to thin the batter)
1/2 pint / 284 ml buttermilk

Grind the oats into a fine meal in a blender or food processor. This only takes a minute or so and doesn't have to be perfect. Or you can buy oatmeal but I've never seen a gluten free one. Add the flour, yeast, salt and sugar. Stir to mix all the dry ingredients thoroughly. Add the warm water, milk and buttermilk and whisk until it's a smooth batter. Cover and leave for an hour in a warm spot.
 Wipe a frying pan with a little oil and heat it up.  I use a non stick chapatti pan I got from Wilkinson's. It's amazing for pancakes, tortillas, oatcakes... all sorts. Traditionally you should use a cast iron frying pan but mine has bacon in it! You need a medium high heat for these. If your batter seems to be a good consistency (thicker than pancake batter but you need to be able to spread it easily so not too much thicker) then great! You may need to add some extra milk. I find it best to try out an oat cake then adjust as necessary. Put some batter on your pan - how much depends on how big you're going to make your oatcakes. I suggest starting with a fairly small one - a few spoonfuls of mixture. For a full size oatcake a ladle full does the trick nicely. Use the back of a spoon to gently spread the mixture out into a circle - pushing the mixture outwards does this best. You want the mixture to be about 3mm thick while cooking and to have holes forming. While it's cooking, the oatcake is sticky and tricky to move. Wait until the top is set and dry looking (if the bottom is over cooking before this happens, reduce the heat) then flip it over and cook for 2-3 minutes more. Just like pancakes, they tend to get better as you go along!

 The traditional filling is bacon and cheese. However just about anything is great in an oatcake! Sausage, mushrooms, onions, leftover cooked chicken, roasted vegetables... If you insist, you can even have them sweet with pancake type fillings. I tend to fill mine with leftovers and cheese while still hot so the cheese melts.

 One of the best things about oatcakes is how well they freeze and how fast you can make a meal with them from frozen! Cool your oatcakes right down before freezing them with a piece of parchment between them so you can take out however many you want. Wrap them up tightly or put them in a big ziplock bag with the air sucked out to prevent freezer burn.
 When you want to cook them, you can defrost them if you are organized. If you are more like me, take them out and put one in the frying pan. Cook for a minute on the first side, then flip. I then add my filling and transfer it to a plate to roll and eat when the cheese starts to melt. You could also put them in the microwave (I don't have one), steam them between two plates over a pan of water (traditional) or warm them in the oven for a few minutes (just watch they don't dry out).

* I favour the mock better batter blend from the book 'gluten free on a shoestring - quick and easy'. It gives good all round results but sadly is quite pricy. Doves farm plain also works. I would suggest that tapioca starch makes up part of the gluten free flour as its great for making things bendy. If you are using flour with out it, I recommend adding a tsp of xanthan gum to the batter with the flours.

Pakoras

I made some vegetable pakoras to go with our curry this evening. They are a great way to use up leftovers of any type - vegetables, cooked meat - what ever is lurking in the fridge. Tonight I used some chopped chard, onion and sweetcorn.

For the batter
125g gram (chickpea) flour
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
125g water
Ghee or other oil for frying

For the filling
2 cups of chopped vegetables or meat. I recommend cooked chicken and spinach, or half slices of onion

Put the gram flour, spices and baking powder into a bowl and stir well to remove any lumps. Beat in the water to make a smooth batter. Fold in the filling of your choice. Heat the ghee in a frying pan over a medium heat. Put the batter into the oil in spoonfuls, forming rough patties. Try not to fry too many at once as is makes them hard to turn and greasier. Fry for 2-3 minutes, then turn and fry for 2-3 minutes more. Remove from the pan to a plate lined with kitchen paper. Serve with raitha or chutneys.

Lamb Rogan Josh

This can be made with beef too - a very tasty dish. You can vary the heat by changing the proportions of chili and paprika. I made it this way tonight for my kids, but they love a bit of spice!

6 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
500g lamb + a few lamb bones
2 onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp ghee or dripping
6 cloves
6 green cardamom pods
2 bay leaves
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp paprika + 1 tsp chili powder
1/2 cup yogurt

Put the lamb, bones, garlic, salt and water in a large pan and simmer for 20 minutes. Skim off any scum that rises. Remove the meat to a plate, strain the water and set aside and discard the bones. Mix the paprika and chili with a splash of water to form a paste. Heat the ghee and gently fry the onions until they start to darken and become sweet (about 15 minutes). Add the, cloves, cardamom, fennel seeds and bay leave and fry for a minute. Then add the chili paste, cumin, ginger and turmeric and fry for another minute. Return the meat to the pan and fry for 5 minutes. Stir in the yogurt, coating the meat. Pour 4 cup of the water you set aside earlier. Simmer, covered, until the meat is tender. I like to cook this really slowly for an hour or more, so the meat is melting. Then remove the lid and raise the heat to reduce the sauce to where you like it. Taste and season.

Gluten free lemon drizzle cake

This cake is fairly heavy on the carbs but is light and delicious.

200g butter
20g powdered sucralose
50g milk powder
4 eggs
175g almond flour
250g mashed potatoes
zest of 3 lemons
2 tsp gluten free baking powder
juice of 1 lemon
4 tbsp sugar

Cream together the butter, sucralose and milk powder until soft and light. Gradually beat in the eggs. Mix the almond flour, potatoes, lemon zest and baking powder and fold into the egg mixture. Pour into a greased and lined cake tin and bake at 160 oC for 40 minutes. Leave to cool in tin for 10 minutes before turning out. Dissolve the sugar in the lemon juice and drizzle over the cake before serving.

Gluten free lemon meringue pie

I've had a bit of a sweet tooth of late, which isn't like me! My partner and children have not been complaining though... This pie was a great success - even with no gluten or added sugar.
The pastry case is based one from Elana's pantry.
The pastry and lemon filling also made some delicious jam tart style treats. Just press the pastry into a cup cake tin, add the filling and bake for 15 minutes. No need for blind baking with the little ones.

For the pastry case
2 cups almond flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter (or coconut oil)
1 tsp sweetener (I used Truvia)
1 egg

For the lemon filling
zest and juice of 2 lemons
3 level tbsp potato starch (or corn flour)
1/4 cup sweetener (if using truvia use less - I used about a quarter cup)
4 egg yolks
40g butter

For the meringue
4 egg whites
3/4 cup sweetener (I used half a cup of sucralose and 1/4 cup of truvia. Next time I'll just use the 1/4 cup of truvia)

Heat oven to 180 oC (160 for a fan oven). Put the almond flour in a food processor and add the salt and sweetener. Pulse to mix. Then add the 2 tbsp of butter (or coconut oil) in and blend until mixed well. Add the egg and process until it forms a smooth ball. Then press the dough into a loose bottomed pie dish. I found the easiest way to do this was the pull off small balls of dough and put them over the bottom of the dish, then press flat with the back of a spoon. Then form a lip around the edges in the same way. Take a piece of parchment paper and scrunch it a few times to soften it. Line the pastry case with it and fill with baking beans, or even better, loose change. Coins work best as they heat up quickly and transmit the heat well. Bake the pastry case for 10 minutes lined, then 5 minutes with out the coins and paper. Set aside and lower the oven temperature by 20 oC.
Next make the lemon filling. Fill a jug with 10 fl oz of cold water. Mix the sugar and cornflour/potato starch in a bowl and add enough of the water to make a paste. Put the remaining water and the lemon zest into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Gradually add to the flour mix, beating all the time. Return this mixture to the pan when all the water is added and carefully bring up to a simmer, stirring all the time in case it burns. Remove from the heat when it starts to simmer. Beat in the lemon juice, then the egg yolks and finally the butter. Pour the mixture into the pastry case. Put the egg whites into a large bowl and whisk until they form still peaks. Whisk in the sweetener, a little at a time. Spoon the meringue mixture over the lemon filling and use a palette knife to make sure it's totally covered. Put into the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Allow to settle for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Fried sprats

Little silver sprats are a wonderful thing. They are cheap (under £2 a kilo), tasty and as you eat the whole fish (more or less), full of goodness.
If your sprats are small, you can coat and fry them as they come. With larger ones, remove the intestines and my daughter insists that hers have the head removed. So it's up to you and how much time you have how much you prepare the fish.
Either way, give them a good wash and them dry them gently, as much as possible. I use a clean kitchen towel to pat them with after shaking them off in a sieve. Put some rice flour into a plastic bag with some salt and pepper. Add the sprats and shake to coat them. Heat some butter in a large frying pan and fry the sprats in batches, 2 minutes on each side, until they're golden and crispy.

Serve with butter sauce, garlic mayonnaise, ketchup, salad... what ever takes your fancy.

Butter Sauce

This recipe is really useful. It goes well with so many different things and is rich and delicious. I had it for lunch today over green beans and a poached egg. I tried Heston Blumenthal's method for making the egg and I'm impressed. Came out perfectly - the white soft but totally set and the yolk runny.
This sauce also works well over fried sprats (or tinned sardines), chicken, hard boiled eggs... what ever you have handy.

1 egg yolk
2 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp white wine vinegar

Put all the ingredients into a bowl over a pan of hot, steaming water. If you have a very thick bottomed pan you might just get away with making it straight in there (I have one that works) but it is much less likely to scramble over an indirect heat. Keep stirring while the butter melts and then until it begins to thicken. Serve immediatly.

Water kefir

I've been regularly making dairy kefir for a long time and made some non dairy kefirs using the grains. But last year I was given some water kefir crystals and they've been great! I tend to mostly use them in the summer to make cool fizzy drinks to go with the evening meal. And in cooler weather I have successfully frozen them. As these drinks are fermented you might want to give them a taste before serving them to children as they may become slightly alcoholic. Mine have not done that so far but if they do you can try reducing the sugar and the number of grains.

The basic recipe that I use is 1/2 cup of sugar, 6 cups of water, 1 cup of water kefir grains, 1 tbsp lemon juice and some dried fruit, generally a fig or a tbsp of raisins. I brew this in a big glass jar for 24 hours in a warm spot in my kitchen. Then I strain off the kefir grains and remove the fruit and transfer the liquid to another big glass jar to flavour it. The grains go back into the first jar with fresh fruit and sugar water. If you find your end result is too sweet then try either reducing the amount of sugar you start the liquid with or brew it for longer (or both). As all kefir colonies will work differently you will need to experiment a little. So think of these recipes as a starting point for your own kitchen science experiments!

Rosehip and hibiscus
This pink drink is my daughter's favorite. I think more due to the colour than anything else!
6 cups basic kefir liquid
1 tbsp dried hibiscus petals
1 tbsp dried rosehips (or 6-8 fresh rosehips if you have them)

Add the dried herbs to the liquid. If using fresh rosehips, mince them slightly. Allow to brew for a further 24 hours in a warm, preferably dark spot before straining out the herbs. Bottle into seal able bottles (I use ones with a wired cap rather than screw tops to help prevent explosions with very fizzy batches) then drink after a further 24 hours.

Lime and mint
6 cups basic kefir liquid
2 tbsp fresh mint leaves
2 tbsp lime juice
1 slice of lime

I like to use lime juice in place of lemon juice when making the basic kefir for this recipe but you don't have to. Add the mint leaves and lime juice to the kefir water and brews as for the previous recipe. This is also very tasty with basil in place of the mint.


Ginger Beer
For this recipe I make a slightly different kefir water. It does leave your kefir grains with a brown tinge but this will do them no harm and will soon disappear.
6 cups water (5 cups cold, one cup hot)
1 cup kefir grains
1 tsp treacle
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 dried fig
1-2 cubic inches fresh ginger root

Dissolve the treacle in the hot water then add to the cold. Add the kefir grains, sugar, fig, lemon juice, baking soda and sugar. Allow to brew for 24 hours then remove the kefir grains and fig. Peel the ginger then either slice and add to the kefir water, or you can grate it and crush with some sugar to remove the juice then add that. When I'm making this for kids I tend to slice the ginger. Personally I like my ginger beer hot so I use plenty of ginger, grate and add the juice then put the grated ginger in a cloth infusing bag and add that to the jar. Just to get all the flavour possible! I also sometimes add a couple of cloves, a small piece of cinnamon stick and some black peppercorns. Allow to brew again for 24 hours before straining and bottling. I find that brews with ginger in tend to be more fizzy so open bottle with extreme caution!


A note on opening bottles.
As water kefir is a live drink the results can be quite varied. Some batches are more tingly than fizzy. Others are... enthusiastic! So I always open the first bottle of any batch over the sink. I also cover the top of the bottle with a tea towel to help stop truly over excited batches from decorating the ceiling. That only tends to happen in the height of summer when I've forgotten about a bottle for a few days, but be aware it can happen!

How to take high vitamin butter oil (chocolate truffles)

Every morning I torture my children with a dose of fermented cod liver oil and a dose of high vitamin butter oil. Why? Not (as my children occasionally wonder) because I hate them and want to make them sad. But for the fat-soluble vitamins that modern diets tend to be deficient in. More information can be found here.
My little troupers will take their cod liver oil (or skate liver oil as they currently have) without too much moaning, as long as it is orange flavoured and they have some milk or kefir to chase it with. Bless their little hearts! But the butter oil is another matter, one that I am inclined to agree on. None of us like the taste and as it's more solid we find it much harder to take. So yesterday I made some small chocolates containing a little butter oil and they are now clamouring for more! Each chocolate contains about a sixth of a teaspoon the way I made them. I might be a little braver and add some more butter oil next time but as it's so expensive and we do eat plenty of grass fed butter, I'm happy with this dose! How much is in each of your chocolates will depend on how big you make them but if you count up at the end it isn't too hard to work out. I made mine in a silicon ice cube tray, but this isn't necessary. Just easier!



Nutty Chocolates (with sneaky butter oil)
80g dark chocolate (I used one with 75% cocoa solids)
3 heaped tsps nut butter
3 tsp butter oil
1 tsp butter
In a small saucepan, heat some water to the boil. Put the chocolate, nut butter and butter into a bowl that will fit over the pan without touching the water. Turn off the heat under the pan and put the bowl over the pan to melt the chocolate. When it's melted take it off the pan. Add the butter oil and stir to mix. If you are using a silicon ice cube tray you can now put the chocolate mixture into that and then chill to set. If not, put the bowl of chocolate mixture into the fridge for 2 hours. After that, use two teaspoons to take out some of the mixture and quickly roll into balls. I find it helps to wash your hands in cold water before doing this to chill them. You can then roll the balls in some cocoa powder or shredded coconut if you like. Chill again until they're solid. This made 18 chocolates when I did it.



Black Pepper chocolates (with sneaky butter oil)
80g dark chocolate
1 tsp black peppercorns
2 tbsp cream
Tiny pinch of salt
1 tsp butter
1 1/2 tsp butter oil

Crush the peppercorns slightly then add to the cream. Leave for 2 hours to allow the pepper flavour to infuse. If you like you can then strain out the corns, or if you are living with a total pepper freak like I am, you can leave them in. As for the previous recipe, melt the chocolate, butter and cream gently over a steaming pan. Then remove from the heat and stir through the butter oil. Form into cubes or balls as above. This recipe made 9 servings for me.

This recipe could be adapted to all kinds of flavours. You could infuse the cream with basil, along with the pepper, use mint, chili, orange zest... whatever flavour of chocolate takes your fancy. The scent of butter oil is still there while warm but when cooled I found it was nicely hidden.

Edit. My pepper fanatic partner thinks that the pepper chocolates could use even more pepper! So if you want them hot you may want more than a tsp.

Gluten free chocolate brownies

We were in need of some chocolate a few nights ago so I decided to improvise a chocolate brownie. And as luck would have it it came out really well! This isn't sugar free (still working on getting the texture right without sugar) but it is very tasty.

4 eggs
170g melted butter or coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup vanilla flavour whey protein powder
1/2 cup ground blanched almonds
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup dried milk powder (because I ran out of sugar!)
1 tsp baking powder (gluten free)

Mix together the eggs, vanilla extract and sugar. Sift in the dry ingredients and add the melted butter. Stir only as much as it takes to just get everything mixed together (no more than 50 times) then pour into a greased and lined baking tin. Bake at 170oC until it's just set in the centre. Takes about 12 minutes in my hyperactive fan oven. Take it out of the oven and cool in the tin. Try to wait until it won't burn you before eating it...

Pork and pear forcemeat stuffing (gluten free)

I made this stuffing as a variation on the traditional pork and apple as I was out of apples and none of us could face the thought of the supermarket on Christmas eve! I'll have to wait and comment on the success or otherwise after tomorrow.

900g pork mince (you can use sausage meat if you like - I bought a cheap joint and minced it)
4 slices gluten free bread
2 pears, peeled and chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tsps mixed dried herbs (I used sage, thyme and basil)
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper

Mince the meat if not already done (my cheap plastic hand mincer works fine for this). Mix with other ingredients and put into a buttered oven dish or roll into balls. Cook in the oven for 10-30 minutes, until cooked through.

Edit. This was a tasty, light and sweet stuffing. It was popular with every one, although I thought it needed a little extra something to give it some zing. Will experiment with it as no one will mind seeing it again!

Christmas ham

I'm making a glazed ham as part of a buffet on boxing day. This recipe does use quite a lot of sugar but the amount in each serving is small and it's very tasty. I'll also be making smoked salmon crust-less quiches, dips with crudites, king prawns with garlic mayonaise, a big salad, a trifle, Christmas pudding and Christmas cake.

A ham large enough for all your guests
About 10 cloves
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp whole grain mustard
2 tbsp brown sugar

Boil the ham for 25 minutes per pound, plus 20 minutes in a large pan of water. You can do this in advance to save time. When the ham is cooled, push the cloves into it, spread around all over it. Score any fat on the top. Mix the honey, sugar and mustard together. Put the ham into a roasting pan lined with foil (this is important - believe me!), and spread the honey mustard glaze over the top and sides. Roast the ham for about half an hour (keep an eye towards to end to make sure it doesn't burn). When cooled you can slice and enjoy.

Beef stroga-not with matchsticks

I read a recipe for beef stroganoff this morning and really fancied making it for tea. Unfortunately I was lacking some of the ingredients but I improvised and came up with something very tasty!

1 large potato
Beef dripping for deep frying
150g mushrooms
1 onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp paprika (hot or mild)
800g minced beef
1 cup stock (anything but fish - I had chicken)
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup soured cream/creme fraiche/Greek yogurt
1 tbsp butter

Cut the potato into matchsticks (this link is useful for this). Put them into a bowl of cold water and set them aside. Then finely chop the onion and fry that and the paprika in the butter over a low heat. When the onion is translucent, add the garlic and sliced mushrooms and fry gently for another 5 minutes. Switch off the heat and set aside.
Rinse and drain the potato matchsticks then dry them using a clean tea towel. Heat the beef dripping (or whatever fat you are most comfortable deep frying in) in a very deep pan until a cube of bread turns golden and floats quickly. Add the matchsticks in small batches and fry until golden brown and crispy. Put them on a plate lined with kitchen paper and keep them warm in the oven until you're ready to serve.
Take the onion and mushroom mixture out of the frying pan and set aside. Season the mince and form into meatballs. Heat some cooking oil in the pan and brown the meatballs, in batches if necessary. Pour off the excess oil in the pan if your meat was fatty and then de-glase it with the stock. Put the meatballs back in and cover and simmer for 10 minutes until the meatballs are done. Remove the lid and put the meatballs in a dish in the oven to keep warm. Reduce the stock until thick at the bottom of the pan. Add the onion and mushroom mix and turn off the heat. When it has come off the boil add the lemon juice and add the soured cream slowly, mixing into the sauce. Taste to check for seasoning.
Pour the sauce over the meatballs and serve topped with the potato matchsticks.

We all really liked this although I would have preferred the sauce a little sharper. You could also add a dash of brandy to the stock while making the sauce. Another thought I had was to do mixed root vegetable matchsticks instead of just potato. I can see this recipe being made a fair few more times and tinkered with! But as it is it's very tasty.

Paleo friendly breaded chicken

Today's lunch is baked 'breaded' chicken from Everyday Paleo by Sarah Fragoso. I can highly recommend this book - we've enjoyed every recipe we've tried so far and the exercise tips are great - the whole family has used them.

12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 cup almond flour
1 cup coconut flour
1 tbsp garlic powder
Pinch of salt and pepper
2 eggs *

Mix the flours, garlic powder and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Dip the chicken in the egg mixture, let the excess drip off, then press into the flour mixture. Turn over and press in again, making sure that it's well covered. If I have any mixture left over I tend to press it onto the tops of the chicken before baking as it's so tasty! Put the chicken pieces onto a greased baking tray and cook in the oven at 180 oC for 35 - 40 minutes (until the chicken is cooked through and juices are clear).

* to make this recipe egg free you can use melted butter instead. It tastes amazing and sticks just as well but isn't strictly paleo.

Custard

Homemade custard is nice and easy and very tasty. You can make it without the flour but it's slightly tricker and you need to cook it over a double boiler. I tend to make this cheaters version!

10 fl oz cream
3 egg yolks
1 tbsp splenda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cornflour or arrowroot

Put the yolks, cornflour and sweetener in a bowl and mix. Heat the cream and vanilla to near boiling. Pour a little of the hot cream into the yolk mixture and stir quickly in. Keep adding the cream a little at a time until it's all combined. Pour the custard back into the saucepan and gently heat until thickened.

Gluten free banana bread

This recipe is slightly adapted from the paleo banana bread recipe here. We had it for a Solstice breakfast with hot custard. It was easy to make and really tasty! Mine isn't so paleo as I used sweetener instead of honey and butter, but still lovely and much healthier than standard grain based cake. My eldest son made this more or less by himself - it's quite a kid friendly recipe.

3 ripe bananas (riper the better)
4 eggs
2 tsp vanillla extract
60g butter or coconut oil (1/4 cup)
1 tbsp splenda
2 cups almond flour
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt

Line a loaf tin (I love those nifty premade loaf cases that are like cupcake liners) and preheat oven to 160oC. Slice the banana and put into a food processor. Crack in the eggs and add the butter/oil and vanilla extract. Blend until smooth. Add the sweetener, almond flour, baking soda and salt. Briefly blend to mix. Pour batter into tin and bake for 50 - 60 minutes - until a skewer comes out clean.

I think next time I'll add some dark chocolate chips just to make this extra indulgent! But it was sweet, moist and very tasty.

Spicy Stuffed Chicken

We had these for dinner last night. They were delicious but not perfectly shaped - you need to wrap them extremely tightly and use plenty of clingfilm. I served them with salad and raitha.
Makes 5.

6 chicken breasts or boneless thighs- skin on.
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
2 tsp fennel seeds
1 small onion
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp passata
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp coconut flour or dessicated coconut
salt and pepper
coconut oil or ghee for frying

Remove the skin from one of the pieces of chicken and cook (either fry, microwave, steam - whatever's easiest). Chop the onion and fry until translucent in the oil. Add the spices and fry for a minute. Then add garlic, ginger, passata, lime juice and chicken and cook for another minute. Add the coconut. Set aside to cool a little. Put the mixture into a food processor and pulse into a rough paste.
Put the chicken pieces one at a time between two pieces of clingfilm and hit with a pan or rolling pin until about 4mm thick. Divide the mixture between them, putting it in a line along the middle of the meat side. Using a large piece of cling film, roll each chicken piece into a sausage, skin side out, wrapping tightly in cling film and twisting the ends to form a sealed package. Put the wrapped sausages into the fridge to cool for at least two hours. Heat a pan of water to the boil and add the sausages. Simmer them for 20 minutes. Take out of the water. Carefully unwrap then packages and put the rolls into a pan with a little coconut oil to crisp up the skin. Serve sliced thickly.

Edit - you can also use 5 chicken pieces and left over cooked chicken or turkey. I did this with a small amount of left over turkey after all the curries and soups for some variety!

Creamy chicken crepes (Gluten free)

This was today's lunch made with left over roast chicken and went down a treat. It's very rich and filling with a nice salad. It served two adults and two kids who were all really hungry!

6 eggs
1 + 1/3 Cups cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
30g butter + a little more for frying
1-2 cloves of garlic (I used two but then I adore garlic!)
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
Salt and pepper
Chopped fresh parsley to serve

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add 1 cup of the cream. Simmer very gently for about 5 minutes to reduce it and make it thick. Add the Parmesan, crushed garlic cloves, and season with salt and pepper. Stir over a low flame until the cheese is combined. Add the chicken and set aside for a few minutes (you might want to heat the chicken separately until it's hot through if it isn't freshly cooked).
Beat the eggs with the remaining 1/3 C of cream and season the mixture. Heat a little butter in a frying pan and when hot, pour in a small amount of egg mix - just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Swirl it around to cover the pan evenly and leave until set on top. Then up-end the pan over a plate and let the pancake drop out (flipping them tends not to go too well...). Continue until mixture is used up. Then divide the chicken sauce between the pancakes, sprinkle with chopped parsley and roll up.

Almond flour waffles

The blogger who posted this recipe for waffles has earned a place forever in the hearts of my children who are all in favour of sweet things. And also breakfast. These, topped with a pat of butter and some crisp bacon are the current best thing that can happen to them before 9am apparently!

1 1/2 cups almond flour (I get mine here)
2 tbsp xylitol
2 tbsp vanilla flavoured whey powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp salt
5 eggs
6 oz Greek yogurt
3 tbsp melted butter or coconut oil
1/4 cup milk

Grease a waffle iron and heat up. I found this works best with my iron set to about a third of the possible heat but they're all different! Separate two of the eggs and beat the whites to stiff peaks. Mix the almond flour, xylitol, whey powder, baking powder and soda, xanthan gum and salt in a bowl. Beat the egg yolks, remaining eggs. yogurt, milk and butter/oil together. Mix into the dry ingredients and then gently fold in the beaten egg whites. Spread onto your waffle iron roughly two spoonfuls at a time (doesn't spread out like thinner wheat batters I've used) and cook for 3-4 minutes. Makes about 10 in my waffle maker.

Gluten-free trifle

I made this for a big family buffet yesterday and it was very popular. The texture of the sponge fingers was fine in the jelly and they taste rather good out of it too!

1 pack of sugar-free jelly (or you could make your own with fruit and gelatin which would be even better!)
250 ml whipping cream (or double cream)
3 egg yolks
250 ml double cream
1 tsp corn flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp splenda (or other sweetener)
5 egg whites
1/2 cup vanilla flavoured whey protein powder
1 tsp cream of tarter
1 banana and any other fruit you like
2 tbsp chopped mixed nuts
1 tbsp grated dark chocolate

I got the recipe for the sponge fingers from this tiramisu recipe which is next on my list of things to make! Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks (tip the bowl and if they don't start to fall out then you're good) then fold in the cream of tarter and whey powder. My whey powder needed sieving before hand. It is also quite sweet but you might want to add a little sweetener here. Pour the mixture into a greased 9 inch pan and then bake at 160 oC for about 25 - 30 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Make up your jelly according to instructions and then leave to cool for a while, until luke warm but not yet setting.

Slice the sponge fingers into strips about 2cm wide and arrange in your trifle dish. Pour over the jelly mixture. One problem I had with these fingers over cake was that they float so you might want to weigh them down with something while the jelly sets. You can also add other fruit like raspberries or strawberries to the jelly (but not kiwi, pineapple or papaya or it won't set). Put the dish in the fridge to set.

In a bowl, mix the egg yolks, corn flour, vanilla extract and sweetener. Heat 250 ml of double cream in a saucepan until almost simmering then pour a little into the mixture in the bowl. Whisk it smooth then add a little more of the hot cream. Repeat until it's all combined then pour back into the saucepan and heat very gently until it starts to thicken. Take off the heat and keep stirring for a few minutes to keep it lump free. Set aside to cool.

Whip the cream with a pinch of sweetener if you like. Then assemble the trifle. I put a layer of sliced banana, then the custard, then whipped cream and top it all with the nuts and grated chocolate. If there are any kids in the kitchen then hundreds and thousands tend to happen too...