Peppernuts (Gluten Free)

What are Peppernuts?  A delicious, crunchy, spicy miniature cookie, traditionally made at Christmas time in Russian Mennonite, German and Dutch homes.  They are "spicy little holiday sweets about the size of a nut. They may be dark and peppery, soft and light, or crisp and crunchy" (via).  They are also known as Pfefferneuse, Pebbnodder, Pepernoten, and who knows what else...  Whatever you call them, they're delicious by any name!  (Okay, I know they look a little like dog food, but they really are yummy!!!)

We love peppernuts - the kids love to stuff them in their pockets for snacks on the go, and the adults love to dunk them in their coffee :) They're very addictive - I bet you can't eat just one!

I have started using my gluten free gingerbread dough for these, because it's so spicy and such a perfect texture - even after days, they stay crispy.  They taste an awful lot like the crunchy gingernut biscuits you can buy, except a little more peppery, and a lot more healthy!

The traditional way of making them is to roll out pencil sized pieces of dough, and cut them into little circles and bake until crisp... but I found that very time-consuming, so now I just do it like this:

1.  Make your gingerbread dough with this recipe - and make sure it's really spicy and a bit peppery!

2.  Divide the dough into four pieces, wrap in plastic wrap (or baking paper) flatten to a rectangular shape, and refrigerate for a day or two (or three) to let the flavours develop.

3.  When you're ready to make them, preheat the oven to 180 degrees C, and roll one rectangle of dough out on a silicon mat (or piece of baking paper) until it's a bit less than a centimetre thick.  With a butter knife, cut 1 centimetre strips, then squares...

...place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper (make sure they're not touching), and bake for 10 to 15 minutes - until nicely browned and crunchy.

4.  Leave them to cool, then put them into jars.  You can store them in the fridge or freezer if you want them to last longer!

 But they probably won't last long anyway, 

once the kids get their hands on them!!

Happy Birthday to Quirky Cooking!!

 

Guess what?  My blog is two years old today!!!

"Happy Birthday!"

How time flies!  I started this blog because I've met so many people who knew that certain foods bothered them, but just found it too difficult to change the way they were eating.  They'd try avoiding dairy or wheat (or whatever it was) for a while, then give up. And so many people have the idea that healthy, allergy-friendly food is second-best, and really doesn't taste good at all.  I wanted to show people that you can make healthy, allergy friendly meals (and sweets) that are so delicious, everyone will want some!  There's no need to feel left out because your way of eating is not the norm.  I wanted to encourage people not to give up, that it's not as hard as it seems as first - you just need to be creative and willing to experiment with alternative ingredients!  So, two years ago, on Boxing Day, I decided to begin a blog.  I came up with the name "Quirky Cooking" because people had commented in the past on my 'quirkiness' and my different cooking style, and it seemed to fit. :)

So here I am, two years down the track, still having fun blogging... and I want to tell you how much I appreciate all you readers, and the lovely comments and emails you've sent, and the chats we've had - I love talking to you all!  Please keep leaving comments and questions, and stop by sometime and have a chat, either here (through my chat box) or on my Facebook page!

And just to let you know how much I love to hear from you, I'm going to do my first GIVE AWAY!!!  All you have to do to WIN is leave a comment on this post (just click on '... comments' at the bottom right of this post) about what recipe you like best on my site, or what you have found helpful, or even a question or a recipe request...  I like a challenge, so if you have a particular allergy, and would like some suitable recipes, let me know. :)  And the prize is...

A sample pack of Miessence products!

I believe that not only should you be putting healthy food into your body, but you also need to use only healthy products ON your body.  Your skin is your body's largest organ - whatever you put on your skin will end up inside of you.  That's why I love Miessence products - they stand in a class of their own by being independently certified to international food grade standards by some of the world's most respected organic certifying organisations, namely, Australian Certified Organic (ACO), the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and IFOAM (Europe).

As you may have noticed, I LOVE chocolate... so I thought it would be fitting to give away a sample bottle of my favourite perfume: 'Delicious' - by Miessence... an irresistable combination of chocolate, honey and vanilla with a floral hint of sweet jasmine.  



I also love coconut oil and coconut cream... so I love the smell and feel of Miessence's Tropical Body Milk... a light, certified organic body milk that soothes and moisturises skin, featuring raw coconut oil that creates a protective barrier against moisture loss, as well as aloe vera gel for nourishing and hydrating the skin, and jasmine essential oil.  I think you'll love it too!


The prize will also include some other Miessence goodies - a geranium cleansing bar, sample sachets, and more!  For more information about Miessence, and why I love it, check out my Miessence site.  And leave a comment on this post before Sunday the 23rd of January to go in the draw to win!  


Oh, and here's my very first blog post for those who haven't read it... "Trying Something New"


Love from Jo :)

[Give away is now closed - congrats to the winner, Cornish Cream!]

Gluten Free Gingerbread Men

I made gluten free gingerbread men people this year based on Gluten Free Girl's recipe, with a few tweaks of my own, and they turned out great - so spicy and crispy, just how I like them!  I'm sure these would have been yummy with the usual pre-ground spices, but I decided to grind the fresh spices myself for a stronger flavour, and it made them soooo good!  

I know this recipe seems like a lot of bother, but it really is worth it :)  You don't have to do it all in one day - you can make the flour mix and dough one day, make the cookies another day, and ice them another day if you like.  And don't feel like this is just a Christmas recipe - use different shapes of cookie cutters and make them all year long!

Below is the gluten free flour mix I've developed (with a bit of inspiration from Gluten Free Girl) - it makes great biscuits and cakes! (Makes 1kg of baking mix.) If you don't have the time or the ingredients to make the mix, go ahead and use a bought pre-mix, it should work fine. They can also be made with spelt or wheat flour - you may just need to adjust the amount of flour to make the dough the right texture for rolling out.

Gluten Free Flour Mix:

1. Grind in Thermomix on speed 9 for 1 1/2 minutes:

- 200g raw brown rice

- 50g dry buckwheat (or dry chick peas)

- 50g chia seeds

(Tip: place a square of kitchen paper under the MC to stop bits spitting out while grinding.)

2. Add and mix on speed 6 until well combined, using TM spatula to help it along:

- 150g sorghum flour (also called 'Jowar Attah' in Indian stores)

- 150g potato starch or mung bean starch

- 250g sweet rice flour (also called glutinous rice flour)

- 200g arrowroot flour (or tapioca or corn starch)

Note: You can grind up the glutinous rice/dried arrowroot/tapioca/sorghum yourself - just make sure it's really fine, and grind in 250g batches for 1-2 mins/sp 9.

Pour into a storage container.

Now for the gingerbread men:

1. Grind the dry, whole spices and roasted almonds first, on speed 9 for 1 minute, until finely ground (don't worry if they're not perfect - they'll grind up more in the next step):

- 1 whole nutmeg

- 3 cloves

- 4 black peppercorns

- 1 vanilla bean, chopped in bits

- 1 cinnamon stick (or more if you like)

- a pinch of cardamom seeds

- 40g roasted almonds, unsalted (can leave out - just add 40g more flour mix)

Have a sniff of that...  Doesn't it smell good?!!

2. Add and grind on speed 9, scraping down now and then until everything is finely ground:

- 170g Rapadura or coconut sugar

- zest of 1 or 2 oranges (preferably organic)

- 1 inch of fresh ginger (peeled and cut in quarters)

3. Add and mix on speed 6 for 15 seconds using spatula to help combine mixture:

- 560g Gluten Free Flour Mix

- 1 1/2 tsp xanthum gum (or 2 Tbspns ground chia seeds)

- 2 tsp ground ginger powder (if you like it really gingery!)

- 3/4 tsp fine sea salt

- 1 tsp baking soda

Pour mixture into a bowl and set aside.

4. Place in Thermomix bowl and mix on speed 5-6 for 10 seconds:

- 230g unsalted butter or ghee or coconut oil

- 220g molasses

- 1 large egg

[Note: for egg free, leave out the egg, add 50g water mixed with 1 Tbspn ground chia seeds. Best to keep the xanthum gum in if leaving egg out.]

5. Scrape down sides, then with blades still running on speed 5, slowly add dry mixture through the hole in the lid, mixing until well combined.  Towards the end you'll need to use the spatula to help it along.  The dough will be a little bit sticky - that's okay.

6. Divide the dough into four pieces, wrapping each one in a piece of plastic wrap, flatten to a disc shape, and refrigerate.  Leave them in the fridge for a few hours, or up to three days - this makes the flavours stronger.  (Try not to eat all the raw dough - it's so yummy!!)

7. Now for the tricky bit: cutting out the cookies and getting them onto the baking trays without mangling them!  I found the easiest way to do this is to roll out one disc of well-chilled dough on a silicon mat, with a piece of baking paper on top of the dough so it doesn't stick to the rolling pin.  Roll it to about 5mm thick, or thicker if you like thick cookies, or if you're in a hurry! ;)  Cut out the cookies (I used a plastic cutter - if you are using metal cutters, do it gently so you don't damage the silicon mat!).  Don't even bother trying to pick up the gingerbread men at this stage - you'll only get frustrated!  Just pull away any leftover bits of dough (from around the cut-out g.b.men), wrap bits in plastic and re-refrigerate; then pick up the whole mat and place it on a baking tray and pop it in the freezer for about 10 minutes... Then you can easily peel them off the silicon mat because they're nice and firm, and place them on trays ready to cook!

I have two silicon mats, so this worked for me - one mat in the freezer, one mat being used, swapping them back and forth.  If you don't have silicon mats, just roll them out between two pieces of baking paper, using the same method.

8. Bake the cookies in a pre-heated 180 degree oven, until the centres are firm to the touch.  Be careful not to burn them - if they're thin they cook in 10 minutes or less.  Cool on racks before icing.  

I just keep gathering the bits of dough together in balls, chilling them, and re-rolling and cutting them - they all seem to taste the same and not get too tough, probably because you don't need any flour to roll them out with, if you use the baking paper.

Now for the icing!  I didn't want to use refined white sugar, so I decided to use xylitol so I'd still get white icing, instead of Rapadura, which I usually use.  It worked great!  This icing hardens as it dries.

Royal icing made with xylitol:

1. Grind on speed 9, scraping down now and then, until very fine:

- 100g xylitol

- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

- 2 tblspns cornflour

2. Insert butterfly and add egg white, mixing on speed 4 for about 4 or 5 minutes, until thick:

- 1 egg white

3. Sit a zip-loc sandwich bag in a glass and drape the edges over the sides.  Pour the icing into the bag, squeeze the air out, and seal.  Snip a TINY hole in one corner of the bag.  Voila!  A little piping bag, ready to decorate your gingerbread people!

We made gingerbread stars too...

As you can see, my kids wanted to add some dark chocolate chips and craisins to theirs... 

...and one of them made a skeleton gingerbread man!

Have fun! :)

Merry Christmas...

... from my kitchen to yours!

Christmas is upon us, and I'm sure you've all been cooking up a storm... I'd love to hear what you've been making!  I had an unfortunate incident with my oven, and it didn't work for a week, but it's up and running again now and I'm trying to catch up on all the baking I'd planned!  

I love baking different types of breads for Christmas gifts - there's so many interesting variations, and who doesn't love homemade bread hot out of the oven?  Here's some of the things I've been making to give away as gifts (when the family doesn't get to them first!)...

Christmas Wreath Bread: I use my Spelt Challah recipe, divide the dough into three (after the first rising) and braid, then form into a wreath shape, rise, and bake.  You can brush it with an egg wash if you want a shiny, golden finish (1 egg beaten with 1 tbspn of milk).  Variation: make a red, white and green wreath by adding finely chopped red capsicum/sun dried tomato/raw beetroot to one strand, and finely chopped green capsicum/spinach/green olives to the other strand!  Or, make a sweet version with sweet brioche dough, and decorate with red and green glace cherries.

Filled Brioche Tea Rings:  Make a batch of brioche dough (you can use the one from the Thermomix Everyday Cookbook with these variations...)  I use spelt grain and flour instead of wheat flour, macadamia oil instead of butter and cold rice-almond milk, and mix all the ingredients at once.  Don't warm the milk - it actually tastes better if you rise it slowly, in the fridge for four hours or even overnight if possible. After rising the dough, roll it out on your breadmat to about 5mm thick, and sprinkle it with chopped hazelnuts and chocolate (dark, dairy free - you can make your own), form it into a ring, and cut it like this with a sharp knife . . .

(Tip: after forming it into the ring shape, pop it in the freezer for 10 minutes or so, and it will be a lot easier to slice!  Brioche dough needs to be kept cold so it's not too sticky to work with.)

Next, take each section and lay it over on it's side, like this...

(This is when it really helps for the dough to be chilled, as it gets stickier the more you work with it.)

At this stage, you can wrap the brioche carefully (on its' tray) in plastic bags, and freeze it to bake later.  I like to prepare this ahead and bake it on Christmas morning for a yummy brunch!

(I made some mini ones for presents - you can make two from one batch of dough - they look really cute!)

When you're ready to bake the brioche, just thaw it for a while until it starts to rise a little, brush with an egg wash, then place in a cold oven and turn it on to 180 degrees C and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the brioche.  (Make sure you check underneath that it's cooked.)

If you're baking it without freezing it, just rise it until doubled in size and bake in 180 degree oven, 30-40 mins.

Oops, someone already nicked a bit before I could take the photo!

I also made a fruit and nut filled brioche with cinnamon and rapadura, and sprinkled some more cinnamon and rapadura on top - 

that was yummy too!

Herb and Garlic Pull Apart Bread: I just use my usual spelt bread recipe, roll out the dough (after the first rise) and spread it with herb and garlic butter, cut it into strips, roll them up and place them into a baking paper lined springform tin.  Easy!

We had a lot of fun making Gluten Gree Gingerbread People too, with icing made from xylitol... I'll be posting the recipe for that one tonight, hopefully!

My ds (9) made this one into a 'skeleton' gingerbread man 

- pretty funny!

Rapadura-maple syrup toffee:  This is soooo delicious - I used this recipe, from the wonderful website 'Deliciously Organic'.  I cooked it the traditional way on the stove, since it needs to reach 180 degrees (hard crack stage), which is too hot for the Thermomix.  But I chopped the roasted nuts in the Thermomix, as well as using it to melt the dark chocolate.  This is a must-try recipe!!!

Almond Addiction: This is another favourite from the Festive Flavours (Thermomix) cookbook - but I used rapadura instead of refined sugar, and added 2 tsp of cinnamon - YUM!  So quick and easy...

Well, that's about all I have photos for at the moment... I'll be back with some more Christmas cooking ideas later! :)  

Happy holidays,

Jo xx

Do you like my Hydrochloric Acid bottle?  My Grandma sent it to my last Christmas because I collect antique glassware.  Love it!

Christmas Cooking - Torte Caprese

Here's an idea for dessert for your Christmas party... 

Bake a Torte Caprese, 

top it with Berry Nougat with Cacao Nibs, 

and drizzle it with chocolate!

You can find the Torte Caprese recipe in the 
Thermomix Everyday Cookbook.

It's a delicious, gluten free, flourless cake made with 
almonds and chocolate,

and it only takes about five minutes to throw together!

I used my Thermomix to grate the chocolate, 

grind the nuts, and mix the batter for the cake; 

to make the nut butter and chop the almonds for the berry nougat, 

and mix it together;

and to melt the chocolate for drizzling over the top.

Yum!

Berry Nougat with Raw Cacao Nibs

This recipe is an old favourite of ours from the raw food cookbook "Rejuvenate Your Life" by Serene Allison, except with a couple of tweaks of my own. I've added raw cacao nibs, for a delicious, chocolatey crunch, and I use my homemade nut butter. I make this quite often for snacks, desserts, cake toppings, and even for breakfast... it's delicious. The amounts can vary to taste, so don't stress too much about measuring. I make my own nut butter first in the Thermomix - it's very quick and easy.  Otherwise you can use bought almond butter if you like.

You can let the berry nougat thaw a little before eating, or have it still frozen - I like it about halfway in between frozen and thawed, as it's juicier and has more flavour. You can keep it in the freezer and just thaw it out a little when you want some. It's delicious on it's own, or on top of a raw cheesecake or a chocolate gateau or torte caprese - especially with chocolate drizzled over the top!

Recipe makes a little over 4 cups.

1. In Thermomix bowl, chop almonds on speed 6 for about 5 seconds, or until roughly chopped:

- 100g raw almonds

2.  Add and mix on speed 3 for a few seconds, until combined:

- a couple of heaped tablespoons of almond butter (or mixed nut butter) (to 'glue' it together)

- a handful or two of raisins or sultanas (for chewiness)
- 30g pure maple syrup (to taste - make sure it's still tangy, not too sweet)

- a handful of raw cacao nibs

3.  Add and mix in on reverse speed 2 for a few seconds:

- about 400g of frozen mixed berries

 

Menu Plan Monday - 6th December

I had a great week last week, with two big Christmas cooking classes (about 100 people came all together!), which was a lot of fun.  We worked really hard to feed and inspire everyone, and I think we did a good job :)  If any of you are waiting for the Thermomix Festive cookbook, they're on their way and will be here in a few days.  There's some really good recipes in there... although I do think I'll have a little break from the Chicken and Potato Salad (with sun-dried tomato dressing) - four big batches in two days is enough for a while, no matter how delicious it is!


So with Christmas holidays almost here, we're working hard to get school work finished up and Christmas presents made, and I've been trying to work out my Christmas menu.  I've decided to try Helene's Slow Baked Ribs for Christmas dinner - they just look so good!  What are you planning in the way of Christmas cooking?  Come on over to the Quirky Cooking Facebook page and share your ideas!


Here's my menu plan for this week - as you can see we often have our main meal at lunch time, especially when my dh is working nights.  Sometimes our meals are a little mixed up - like today... the neighbour boy came over and wanted to do some cooking, and decided on crepes and plum jam (after seeing a lovely photo in the "My Way of Cooking" cookbook) and I thought that would be fun, so we cooked up a big batch of both and they were delicious!  By the time we finished it was 6pm, so we had crepes and jam for dinner, and steak and veges for dessert - lol!  As the saying goes, 'Life is uncertain, so eat dessert first!'  :D


If you'd like some more menu planning ideas and recipes, have a look at Menu Plan Monday on "I'm an Organizing Junkie", and also the wonderful Thermomix Forum!  Have a great week :)

[tmx = prepared and/or cooked in my Thermomix]

Gluten free crepes with plum jam

Monday:
(lunch) Spelt spaghetti carbonara (mushrooms, garlic, shallots, baby spinach, sun-dried tomatos, no bacon) (tmx)
(dinner) Gluten free crepes (tmx) with hot plum jam (tmx - based on this recipe)... and steak & veges (tmx) for dessert!

Tuesday:
(lunch) Salmon fishcakes (tmx) & salad
(dinner) Cacciatore chicken risotto (tmx - from Thermomix Forum)

Wednesday:
(lunch) Quinoa chicken & vege curry (tmx - recipe coming - it's soooo yummy!)
(dinner) Leftovers & pasta salad (tmx)

Thursday:
(lunch) Salmon tikka (tmx - from Thermomix Forum)
(dinner) Pumpkin soup (tmx) & Cyndi's gluten free bread (tmx)

Friday:

(lunch) Potato salad (tmx) & green salad

(dinner) BBQ Christmas party - taking spicy-salty nuts, and a torte caprese with berry nougat topping :)

Saturday:

(lunch) 

Marinated lamb chops & salad (tmx & crockpot)

(dinner) Leftovers & gluten free crepes (tmx)

Sunday:

(lunch) Tuna pasta salad with gf noodles (tmx)

(dinner) Omelettes with salad

Beautiful Food

I just had to share this recipe for perfect poached eggs, created by Trissalicious, because they're just so gorgeous!

This may seem like the long way round to making poached eggs for breakfast (they cook in their shells at a very low heat for 43 minutes), but believe me, they're worth it!  Start them cooking and go have a long, lazy bath... or if you're energetic in the mornings, go for a jog... and when you get back, your perfect poached eggs will be ready.  When you crack the top off your egg and slide it out onto your toast, it seems kind of magical...

Isn't that beautiful?

And if you want hollandaise sauce on top, that only takes 8 minutes - just leave the eggs in their shells to stay warm while you make it.

(Yes, I did have butter with these - sometimes I give in to my butter craving!)

I had these for breakfast with a great big glass of fresh orange juice - 2 peeled oranges and a handful of ice whizzed up in the Thermomix on speed 10 for 1 minute... yum :)

*     *     *     *     *

Here's a couple of other links to food (and photos) that make my mouth water...


Super Kitchen Machine's Succulent Slow Baked Ribs!  (Make sure you watch the YouTube clip!!)

The British Larder - a recipe diary with lots of Thermomix recipes, and amazing photos (oh, and don't miss the post explaining how to temper chocolate in the Thermomix!)

What Katie Ate - a foodie photography blog by Katie from Sydney

Tartelette - gluten free, French-Southern-American style recipe blog with beautiful photography

Kapture Studio - food photos to drool over

"Enchant, stay beautiful and graceful, 

but do this, eat well. 

Bring the same consideration 

to the preparation of your food 

as you devote to your appearance. 

Let your dinner be a poem, 

like your dress." 

Charles Pierre Monselet, French author (1825-1888)

'Letters to Emily'