Dairy Free, Egg Free Aioli

This recipe has been a long while in the making. Over the last few months I've experimented a lot, determined to come up with a dairy free, egg free aioli that isn't runny. Sometimes I've had six or seven different batches lurking in my fridge at once... good thing I buy my macadamia oil in bulk*! 

I didn't give up because I wanted so badly to have this recipe in my book. Sadly, it just wasn't ready in time, so I've decided to post it here so all that hard work (and many litres of macadamia oil) doesn't go to waste. :)

This is not a traditional 'olive oil and garlic' aioli (which is of course dairy and egg free), but the flavour is more like an aioli than a mayonnaise so I call it aioli. I love it with fish, or on baked potatoes, or you can even add herbs and use it as a dip with crudites (see variation below). You can, of course, also use it instead of mayonnaise on sandwiches and wraps, or in a potato or chicken salad. 

I have tried making this with rice milk but it doesn't thicken like cashew milk does, so I stuck with cashew milk. If I come up with a nut free version I'll let you know! 

So here it is... I hope you like it. :)

Dairy Free, Egg Free Aioli

Makes 300g - lasts for 2-3 weeks in the fridge

Ingredients

100g raw cashews

500g water

2-3 garlic cloves
¼ tsp fine sea salt
150g macadamia oil
3 tsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed

Method

Place cashews into mixing bowl and mill for 8 sec/speed 9.

Add water and blend 1 min/speed 9. Pour into a separate container and wash and dry mixing bowl.

Place garlic into mixing bowl and chop 3 sec/speed 7. Scrape down sides of bowl with spatula.

Add salt and 150g of the cashew milk, and insert butterfly. Cook 5 mins/100C/speed 4. Scrape down lid and sides of bowl with spatula. (Place remaining cashew milk in fridge.)

Weigh macadamia oil into a small jug with a pouring spout.

With butterfly rotating on speed 4 and MC in place, drizzle oil very slowly onto lid, starting with just a few drops at a time, and progressing to a very thin stream. Take your time! With butterfly still rotating on speed 4, drizzle in lemon juice. This process should take approximately 6-7 mins.

Remove aioli carefully to small jug or jar, without mixing it with spatula so that it stays light and airy. Cover and store in fridge.

That's it! Very easy, just make sure you take your time while drizzling in the oil, as that will make all the difference.

Herb & garlic variation:

When chopping the garlic, add a few green shoots from spring onions, or some chives, and a sprig or two of parsley.

Notes:

- You will have cashew milk left over - store in fridge to use in cuppas or cooking. Makes great cappucinos!

- If you do try another kind of milk in the aioli, it needs to thicken in the cooking stage before the oil is added, or the aioli will be runny. I've found that soaked cashew milk doesn't work so well as it's thinner, so stick with this method.

- If you're wondering where I buy my macadamia oil in bulk (because I know I'll get that question!), I buy Pressed Purity (extra virgin cold pressed) in a 10 Lt container through my co-op, from Fitness Products. 

Chocolate-Cherry-Berry Dessert Pizzas

Last Saturday my niece came to visit from down south, so we got the kids' friends over for a pizza party to celebrate. There were at least 20 teenagers, plus a few other younger kids, and we all had a lot of fun!

To make the food side of things simpler, I got them to all bring pizza toppings to share. They chopped up the toppings while I made enough spelt pizza dough for about 20 pizzas (easy peasy in the Thermomix!), and then they all made their own pizzas. (In between soccer games, board games, remote control aeroplane flying, chatting, laughing, singing, and everything else!) So much more fun than buying pizzas, not to mention cheaper, healthier and yummier. Oh, and in case you're wondering, we used two ovens - mine and mum's - she just lives two doors down. :)

I also made mango sorbets with magic chocolate topping (see 'Day 7') for afternoon tea, which they loved, and no one complained about the lack of softdrink or junkfood, so they must be getting used to my strange ways! :D

After dinner I had a bit of a brainwave, and whipped up these dessert pizzas with the leftover pizza dough. I topped them with my homemade Chocolate Hazelnut Spread, some cherries and blueberries, zabliagone (a kind of egg yolk custard, no milk, a bit like sabayon), and flaked almonds. Delish!!

I used spelt bases for the kids, but if you're gluten free, don't despair. Use my recipe for Gluten Free Pizza Bases, adding 1 Tbspn of rapadura or coconut sugar to the batter. Blend it well so that the seeds are blended in. You could also use an almond meal pizza base recipe if you want a grain free, yeast free option. Try this one, leaving out the rosemary and garlic; swap the olive oil for macadamia oil, and add 2 tsp coconut sugar per base. See suggestions in recipe for a nut free version.

These pizzas are best served hot, so if you don't want to invite 20 hungry teenagers over for a party and your family won't eat three in one go, try this:

- Make the dough and divide into three portions; place remaining dough in bags and refrigerate or freeze dough for another day. (Dough can stay in fridge for up to a week.) 

- The chocolate spread will last in the fridge for a couple of weeks no problem, as will the cherries if left in the juice in the jar. The blueberries can be frozen. 

- Make zabliagone with 2 egg yolks, 1 tsp maple syrup and 1/2 tsp vanilla, for 10 mins cooking time total. 




Chocolate-Cherry-Berry Dessert Pizzas
Dairy free, with gluten and grain free options, and nut free option

(Makes 3 large pizzas)

Ingredients

Bases:
500g unbleached, plain spelt flour
2 tsp instant yeast
1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 Tbspn Rapadura or coconut sugar
50g macadamia oil (or olive oil for nut free), plus extra for shaping dough
260g water

(or see gf options above)

Toppings:
1 batch of Chocolate Hazelnut Spread (or nut free chocolate spread/ganache, from this recipe)
  (freshly made - or use your own version of 'Nutella' or ganache)
1 800g jar of Morello cherries, drained
1 125g punnet fresh blueberries, rinsed
zabliagone (see below)
80g flaked almonds (or flaked coconut for nut free)

Zabliagone:
3 egg yolks
2 tsp pure maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp vanilla or almond extract

Method

Line 3 large pizza trays with baking paper, and set aside.

Place all base ingredients into mixing bowl and mix 6 sec/speed 6.

Knead on interval setting for 1 1/2 mins, then wrap dough loosely in Thermomat (or silicon bread mat, or place in oiled bowl and cover) and let it rest for 20 mins while you prepare the toppings.

Preheat oven to 200C, with pizza stones on racks if you have them.

After dough is risen, divide into three portions and press out into circles using a little more oil, and place on trays.

Divide chocolate hazelnut spread between the three pizzas and spread evenly over bases.

Scatter the cherries and blueberries over the pizzas, and set aside to rise while you make the zabliagone.

Zabliagone: Place egg yolks and maple syrup into mixing bowl, insert butterfly, and mix 6 mins/50C/speed 4. Add vanilla or almond extract and mix another 6 mins/50C/speed 4.

Drizzle pizzas with zabliagone and sprinkle over the flaked almonds.

Bake for approx 18-20 mins in hot oven on pizza stones (if you have them), until the zabliagone is lightly browned and the bases are cooked through.

Best served hot, while the base is crisp.

(Leftovers can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container, but they will get a bit soggy and the zabliagone will melt into the chocolate - although my kids don't complain! They still taste good.)

Paprika Chicken with Creamy Paprika Sauce (an easy all-in-one Thermomix dinner)

Last night I got home late after a busy day and didn't have dinner organised, so it was 'Thermomix to the rescue' once again! I had a quick think, and this is what I came up with. Nothing fancy, just an easy and tasty dinner with basic ingredients, that took all of 25 minutes to make. Sometimes that's just what we need when we can't be bothered, right? (It is really yummy though, and the chicken breasts are amazingly tender and juicy when steamed!)

This fed our family of six and there were plenty of leftovers, which is always a bonus since everyone generally wants dinner for breakfast at our house. :)

This recipe is gluten free, and egg free, and if you omit the butter is also dairy free. The sauce is blended with cashews to make it creamy, but if you can't have nuts, see the nut free variation below. I've added some tips for those of you without a Thermomix, so you don't miss out.

Paprika Chicken with Creamy Paprika Sauce

(Serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

Rice
900g water
380g basmati rice

Veges (these are just suggestions, use what you have)
3 carrots, peeled and sliced thinly
200g green beans, topped and tailed
1-2 zucchini, thinly sliced
150g frozen corn

Chicken
600-700g chicken breast fillets, sliced in 2cm thick pieces
smoked paprika powder (approx 1 tsp)
herb salt (eg. Herbamare)
garlic powder (approx 1/2 tsp)
1 Tbsp butter or ghee (optional)

Sauce
60g raw cashews
60g water
2 tsp chicken or vegetable stock paste (my chicken stock paste recipe here)
1 tsp smoked paprika powder

Method:

Pour water into mixing bowl.

Weigh rice into steaming basket and rinse well, then place basket inside mixing bowl.

Place chicken pieces onto Varoma tray and sprinkle with paprika, herb salt and garlic powder, and dot with butter or ghee if using.

Place Varoma into position with lid on.

Turn speed dial to speed 5 for a few seconds to wash the water through the rice. (That's my little trick to make sure the top of the rice cooks well and you don't end up with crunchy bits.)

Begin cooking for 20 mins/Varoma/speed 2 while you cut up the veges, adding them to the dish as you go. (It takes about 10 minutes for the steam to really start filling the Varoma, so it's easy enough to get the veges cut up in that time.)

At the end of the cooking time, check that the chicken is cooked; add a couple more minutes if not.

Remove chicken, vegetables and rice to Thermoservers or serving dishes. (Or if you're having an 
"I don't feel like doing heaps of dishes" night, just leave them in the Varoma and basket and set aside.)

Add all the sauce ingredients to the little bit of liquid left in the bowl. (There should only be about 3cm of water left as the rice has absorbed most of it.)

Blend 1 min/speed 9. Scrape down lid and sides of bowl with spatula and blend again if needed, until smooth. Season to taste.

Serve the rice onto plates, top with veges and chicken, and drizzle with sauce.

Easy peasy! :)

Variations:

Nut free version: I haven't tried this yet, but I think it would be simple to leave out the cashews and add a can of Ayam coconut cream instead, with the 2-3 tsp vege stock paste and 1 tsp paprika powder. Warm it up a bit, 1 min/90C/speed 4. Season to taste.

Non Thermomix version:  Pour 100ml boiling water over the raw cashews and allow to soak (covered) while the meal cooks. Cook the rice in a rice cooker or on the stovetop. Cook the chicken and vegetables in two layers in a steamer, or in a large frypan with a lid, over med-low heat, until done. Blend the soaked cashews with soaking water and remaining sauce ingredients in a powerful blender until smooth and creamy. Season to taste. (Massel stock powder can be used instead of stock paste.)

Christmas Breakfast Casserole

I often feel a bit overloaded with all the sweet stuff at Christmas, and the kids tend to dig into their Christmas stockings first thing and start in on the homemade sweets, so a savoury breakfast/brunch on Christmas day makes a lot of sense to me. (I prefer a savoury breakfast any day, actually.)

This year, we're having our traditional Christmas dinner of roast turkey and all the trimmings on Christmas Eve. Christmas day we're having a lazy breakfast after the kids open their presents, then getting together for dinner with friends on Christmas night. So this is the breakfast I'm making for Christmas day - a 'prepare ahead' brunch casserole. Oh, and mum is bringing Monkey Bread too, so that should keep everyone happy. :)

This casserole might not look like much (it was hard to photograph!) but the kids love it - it's very tasty. The bottom layer is homemade hashbrowns, made with a mixture of potato and orange sweet potato. Then there's a layer of egg, then a spicy American style turkey or beef mince layer, and egg and zucchini on top with a sprinkle of herbs and savoury yeast flakes. You can use grated parmesan instead of savoury yeast flakes if you don't need it to be dairy free.

You can prepare this the day before if you like, and bake it on Christmas morning while the family is opening presents. Easy.

P.S. This is obviously also just a great midweek dinner with a salad!

Christmas Brunch Casserole 
(Gluten Free, Grain Free, Dairy Free, Nut Free)

Serves 6

Preheat oven to 180°C.

1kg potatoes, roughly chopped (I use a mixture of potatoes and orange sweet potatoes)
1 brown onion, halved
2 garlic cloves
3 Tbsp ghee or coconut oil
2 tsp herb salt
Freshly ground black pepper
500g turkey or beef mince
1/8 tsp sage, ground
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
2 Tbsp tamari
2 Tbsp tomato sauce
10 eggs
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 zucchini, quartered
2 tsp savoury yeast flakes

1. Place potatoes, onion, garlic, 1 tsp of herb salt and some freshly ground pepper into mixing bowl and chop 30 sec/speed 4.
 
2. Melt ghee or oil in a large frypan and add potato mixture. Stir and fry until lightly browned and cooked through, approx. 10 mins. Spread over base of a 34 x 22 cm rectangular baking dish and set aside.

3. Meanwhile, place mince, sage, cayenne, 1/4 tsp oregano, tamari and tomato sauce into mixing bowl and mix 10 sec/reverse/speed 3. Cook 4 mins/Varoma/reverse/speed soft with MC off (until barely cooked). Remove to a bowl and set aside.

4. Place eggs, 1 tsp herb salt, garlic powder and onion powder and some freshly ground black pepper into mixing bowl. Mix 5 sec/speed 4, then drizzle half the mixture over the potatoes.

5. Sprinkle mince over the egg layer. 

6. Add zucchini to remaining egg mixture in mixing bowl and chop 3 sec/speed 5. Spread over mince layer and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp oregano and yeast flakes.

6. Cover with foil and bake in preheated 30 mins, then remove foil and bake a further 30 mins, or until set and browned.

OR

To Prepare Ahead:

Cover casserole with foil and place in fridge overnight. In the morning, place in preheated 180°C oven and cook 45 mins, then remove foil and cook 30 mins or until set and browned.

Quick & Easy Pancakes - 3 Ways

Someone mentioned to me the other day that they love my Blender Batter Pancakes recipe, but that sometimes they're in too much of a rush to do the whole 'prepare the night before' thing, and they needed a simple pancake recipe for times like that. I agree - I don't always soak the grains the night before, because pancakes are sometimes a spur of the moment thing. Like last night.

We arrived home from our road trip to Mackay in the afternoon, and I managed to scrounge through the fridge and freezer to find mince and veges for a quick dinner. But by 8pm I was hungry again. That's when it dawned on me that while I was away my mum had stocked up the big freezer with half a pig (homegrown by a friend and butchered locally). AND I had just bought a litre of organic pure maple syrup from Sprout in Townsville. Perfect. Pancakes, bacon and maple syrup, coming up! (Yes, I know, soup for breakfast and pancakes for supper... I'm weird like that.)

I used to work at a roadside cafe for a Canadian lady when I was 18, and she found it very strange that I didn't know how to make pancakes just off the top of my head. It made her quite impatient when I'd ask her 'How much flour was that again? How much milk?' So I soon learnt, and nowadays I don't usually measure, just chuck in a bit of this and a bit of that until they look right. But just in case you are like my 18 year old self and need a recipe, I've written out the measurements for you. Feel free to tweak to taste - more milk for thinner pancakes, less milk for thicker. And I've added a few variations, so you can pick between spelt, gluten free and grain free coconut flour pancakes. If you need an egg free or nut free variation, check out the notes below the recipes.

Enjoy!

Quick & Easy Pancakes

250g spelt flour (white and/or wholemeal) or 220g plain gluten free flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
300g rice-almond milk or coconut milk (or alter amount depending on preferred thickness)
30g macadamia oil or soft butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg (optional - see notes)
coconut oil for cooking pancakes

Place dry ingredients into mixing bowl and blend 5 sec/speed 5.

Add remaining ingredients (except oil for cooking) and blend 10 sec/speed 5.

Heat a heavy based frying pan over medium-high heat and add 1-2 Tbsp coconut oil. Once it melts, pour in 10cm circles of pancake batter, and turn heat down slightly to make sure the pancakes don't burn.

Cook until bubbles are forming and popping in the batter, and edges are becoming crisp. Turn over and cook until lightly browned.

Remove pancakes to a plate, add another 1-2 Tbsp coconut oil, and continue cooking pancakes until batter is finished.

Serve hot with butter (opt) and pure maple syrup, or sprinkled with Rapadura or coconut sugar and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Leftover pancakes can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days and served with jam as pikelet, or reheated under the grill.

This batter also works well for waffles.

Notes:

To make these egg free you can use egg replacer, or chia eggs (1 Tbsp chia seeds + 3 Tbsp water), or half a mashed banana, or just add a little extra milk.

For nut free, use olive oil, coconut oil or butter, and coconut milk instead of rice almond milk.

Coconut Flour Pancakes

5 eggs
170g almond milk or coconut milk
70g coconut flour
30g macadamia oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp fine sea salt
2 tsp baking powder

Place all the ingredients into the mixing bowl and blend 10 sec/speed 6. Scrape down sides of bowl and reblend briefly on speed 3 if needed.

Cook as above.

Notes:

To make almond milk, just mill 100g raw almonds 10 sec/speed 9, add 500g water and blend 
1 min/speed 9. No need to strain the milk for this recipe.

Coconut flour really needs the eggs to work, although maybe banana would work instead. 
I haven't tried that yet - let me know if you do!

For nut free, use soft butter or coconut oil instead of the macadamia oil, and coconut milk instead of almond milk.

Coconut Vanilla Sorbet

Spring is here, and the weather is finally beginning to warm up, yippee! At least, it is here, up in the mountains in Far North Queensland. 

For the last couple of months I've been putting off testing ice cream recipes for my book, as it's just been too cold. But today was absolutely gorgeous, and the sunshine encouraged me to get started. I decided to begin with a coconut sorbet, and it turned out so delicious I just couldn't wait to share it. (Don't worry, I have way too many recipes to fit in my book anyway, so I can afford to pop one on the blog instead.) :)

Photo taken this evening on our street ~ Spring is here!

I got the idea for this recipe a few weeks ago, when I saw a coconut sorbet in the freezer section of the grocery store. The ingredients were: coconut water (60%), cane sugar, coconut cream and flavour, desiccated coconut, dextrose, natural stabilizers (xanthan, guar gum, carrageen, maltodextrine). I figured I could make my own with less ingredients, no highly processed sugar, no flavours, and no carrageen. For less money. So that was my challenge... I hope you'll let me know what you think of the outcome! I haven't actually tasted the one from the grocery store so I have no idea if mine is the same sort of flavour, but I love this one and am very happy knowing it's healthier and costs less.

This sorbet actually took me right back to my childhood, when mum would make ice cream for us from fresh snow. Have you ever eaten 'snow ice cream'? When I was 4-5, we were travelling around the USA in a camper van for a year. When it snowed we would go outside and scoop up the clean snow, take it back into our warm camper van, and Mum would mix in some sugar and vanilla. We thought it was the most amazing treat ever. It's funny, I haven't thought about snow ice cream for years, but with my first mouthful of this sorbet, that's all I could think of! So I popped some into a bowl and dashed down to mum's house to give her a taste, and mum and dad agreed - just like snow ice cream. Great memories.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. 

Coconut Vanilla Sorbet
(dairy, egg, nut, gluten, and cane sugar free)

Makes just under a litre.

800ml unsweetened coconut water (eg. Natural Raw C coconut water)
100g thick coconut cream, preservative free (eg. Ayam)
60-80g pure organic maple syrup
1/2 - 1 tsp pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (to taste)
dessicated coconut to serve (preservative free, available at health food shops) OR fresh coconut, grated

Freeze the coconut water in ice cube trays until frozen solid.

Place 400g of the coconut water ice cubes into the Thermomix mixing bowl, and blend
5 sec/speed 9, or until it becomes 'snow'.

Add remaining 400g frozen coconut water and blend 10 sec/speed 9, until 'snow'.

Add coconut cream (the thickest part from top of tin), maple syrup and vanilla, and blend 
1 min/speed 9, using the spatula to help it along. Remove lid and scrape down sides, reblending until sorbet is smooth and creamy, approx. 30 sec/speed 9.

Serve immediately, sprinkled with a little dessicated coconut.

Note: If you need to freeze some for later, freeze in ice cube trays and reblend when ready to serve.

Variations:

If you have fresh coconuts on hand, freeze the coconut water, and grate up the flesh to make coconut cream (see this recipe for instructions), saving a little of the freshly grated coconut to sprinkle over the finished sorbet. Delicious! (And dirt cheap!) 

Sweetener can be reduced to taste, or changed to a 1/4 tsp green stevia powder for a sugar free version.

Gooey Flourless Fudge Brownies {with Video}

Okay, I'll keep this short and sweet.

You guys want brownies. Grain free, dairy free, nut free brownies. At least I'm pretty sure you do, because when I posted the above photo on my Facebook page it got 181 shares, 1014 likes, and 229 comments!

So here it is. Your weekend treat. Enjoy :D

[Note: This is a Thermomix recipe - see end of page for tips for making this without a Thermomix.]





Gooey Flourless Fudge Brownies

- 200g dark, dairy free chocolate (I use either Green & Black's 70% cocoa chocolate which 'may contain traces of dairy', or Loving Earth dark chocolate which is completely dairy free)
- 130g raw Medjool dates, pitted
- 180g organic cold-pressed coconut oil
- 30g coconut flour
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 190C. Line a 22cm square baking dish with baking paper. I use 'If You Care' baking paper, which is non-toxic.

Place the chocolate (broken into pieces) into the mixing bowl and mill for 10 sec/speed 9.

Add the dates to the bowl and chop 15 sec/speed 10.

Add the coconut oil and cook 5 mins/60C/speed 2.

Add remaining ingredients and mix 20 sec/speed 8. Scrape down lid and sides of bowl and mix another 10 sec/speed 6.

Scrape mixture into a lined, square baking dish. Bake in preheated 190C oven for 18-20 mins. Be careful not to overcook or they won't be gooey! Just until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Cool, cut into small squares, and refrigerate until cold.

Of course, you probably won't be able to wait, but they really do taste so much more AMAZING when they're cold and gooey and fudgey! Trust me.

Can be dusted with some raw cacao powder, or if you want to be really decadent, top with this dairy free ganache, or some dairy free dulce de leche!

PS It might be best to 'share the love' and invite a friend over for a cuppa and brownies... these are RICH, so don't eat them all yourself! Lol!!

Have a great weekend xx

This one was quite popular with the taste testers!!

* Note: If you don't have a Thermomix, you'll need to finely chop the chocolate and dates (in a food processor if you have one) and melt together over a double boiler with the coconut oil, whisking until smooth. Then stir in the remaining ingredients with a wooden spoon. 

Dairy Free Condensed Milk & Dulce de Leche

The other day I asked on my Facebook page, "What's something you reeeeaaallly wish you had an allergy-friendly recipe for (and what's the ingredient/s that is stopping you make the original recipe)?" Well. I got lots of comments. Like about 180 of them. And one that was mentioned a few times was dairy free condensed milk, so I thought it was about time I had a go at it.

There are a few dairy free condensed milk recipes online - I had a quick look for Thermomix versions and found this one over at The Thermomix Diaries, which linked back to this one on the Thermomix Recipe Community. Of course, I had to have a play with the recipe to reduce the sugar (too much for me!), change it to a sweetener I prefer, and start with a creamier (dairy free) base instead of milk. And this is what I came up with... So delicious!! 

I've made it a few times now, each time a little different, so here's two different versions - one is just a basic dairy free condensed milk made with bought coconut cream, and the other is a dairy free dulce de leche (caramel) made from homemade coconut cream, inspired by this recipe over at the UK Thermomix FB page. I'm thinking you could use the dulce de leche recipe and just cook it for less time to make a 'from scratch' version of the condensed milk - that will be my next experiment! (Thought I'd better just hurry up and get this posted!!) 

By the way, great news - not once has it boiled over, or even gotten close. I know that's the dreaded danger when you make condensed milk or dulce de leche with cow's milk. (I remember the horror stories my friend Bel told me about the sticky mess all over her countertop and under her Thermomix! Eek!) Cow's milk has a tendency to do this when boiled, but I have never had a problem with dairy free milks and creams. (Hopefully no one proves me wrong!) 

Dairy Free Condensed Milk

Place ingredients in the Thermomix bowl and cook at Varoma temperature for 45 minutes on speed 4, with the rice basket on the lid (instead of the MC) to let the steam out.

- 1000g organic coconut cream (I used 18+% fat Spiral brand)

- 200g pure organic maple syrup

Leave to cool for a bit in the bowl, blend gently again on speed 3-4 for a few seconds (as it sometimes separates a little), then carefully scrape into a glass jar. This recipe will make about 400g, so it can be used to replace a tin of condensed milk in recipes.

[Note: When it's cold in the fridge you may notice little bits of coconut cream flecked through it that have kind of solidified - don't stress, if you whiz it up they disappear. And for most recipes, it wouldn't matter anyway as it will be cooked or blended with other ingredients.]

Okay, and now for the amazing Dairy Free Dulce de Leche!

Dairy Free Dulce de Leche

First make the coconut cream. Because it's going to be cooked anyway, just make raw coconut cream, it's quicker. 

[Note: If you're thinking of making this raw coconut cream to go in your fridge to be used for other things, just be aware that it will separate quite drastically - when you cook it, it stays 'together'. If it's going to be added to a recipe straight away it doesn't matter, but if you like it in your coffee (like I do), cooked is best. (Recipe for cooked coconut cream is here.)]

1. Grind up the coconut for 20 seconds on speed 9.
- 300g organic dessicated or shredded coconut 
(you can buy preservative free coconut from the health food shop)

2. Add water and blend for 1 minute on speed 9.
- 1000g (1 Litre) water

3. Strain coconut milk through a nut milk bag into a bowl, squeezing it out really well to get as much cream as you can. 

[Set the cream aside and tip the coconut pulp back into the Thermomix. Add another 300g water, blend once more for a minute on speed 9, re-strain into a separate bowl, and you have milk for another recipe. Freeze the coconut pulp, and when you have enough you can dehydrate it then grind it up to make coconut flour.]

4. Measure the coconut cream back into the Thermomix bowl. Add other ingredients and cook at Varoma temperature for 55 minutes, speed 4, with the rice basket set on top of the lid (instead of the MC) to let the steam out.
- 1000g (1 litre) of coconut cream
- 200g organic pure maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (not essence)

That's it! Too easy. I was jumping around the kitchen in excitement when I opened the lid of the Thermomix after making this! And if you don't believe me, just ask my taste testers - they all agreed that it was totally amazing and exciting and were very happy they'd happened to stop by for a visit at just the right time!! ;)

This recipe results in about a little over a cup of dulce de leche. Sorry I can't be more definite than that - after eight people sampled it I realised I'd forgotten to weigh out the amount! Ah well, must make it again... :D

My taste testers... and the verdict was YUM!!

(You really should try dulce de leche on warm, freshly baked spelt bread rolls - mmmm!!)

Variations: 

- Try fresh grated coconut (brown skin removed) instead of dessicated coconut for the coconut cream.

- Try a different sweetener - honey, yacon syrup, rice malt syrup, rapadura, coconut sugar... different sweeteners will result in different colours, but they should all work fine. Adjust amount to taste.

- If you can't have coconut, you could use other dairy free milks, but make sure they're thick and creamy enough that you'll get a nice thick result, or just cook for longer if needed.

Mr I's "FAR Too Easy" Chocolate Cake

This afternoon was cold, wet and dreary, and Mr I (my 11 year old) was getting bored. I told him to go do something creative.

     "Like what, mum?"
"Build something out of lego."
     "Nah."
"Paint a picture, or do a drawing."
    "Nah."
"Start a new project... build something."
     "Nah."
"Bake a cake."
     "YEAH!!!!!!! What can I make? I'll make my chocolate cake! Do we have all the ingredients? YEAH!!!" (running for the kitchen...)

Mr I loves to cook. Especially chocolate cake. (Now I wonder where he got that from??) He tells me he needs to learn to cook so he can cook for his wife one day. I think that's a pretty good idea, and I know she'll thank me for encouraging that idea one day, so he pretty much has free rein in my little kitchen. And he loves our Thermie. He is slightly messy though. I must admit, I get rather nervous when he rings me from home while I'm out at a demo, and asks where a certain ingredient is... he always hangs up before I can say, 'Clean up your mess!!!' Sigh.

Another thing Mr I loves to do is tweak recipes. (Again, I wonder where he got that from??) He loves to make his own quirky version of the Too Easy Chocolate Cake from the Thermomix Everyday Cookbook, tweaked to suit our way of eating. He doesn't need my help with it, just dashes off and does it all himself. He says the hardest bit is tipping the cake batter into the pan whilst scraping out the Thermomix bowl with the spatula - he's still kind of short and has to hold the bowl up high, and he says it hurts his arms. But he manages it, and I leave him to it.

Far Too Easy Chocolate Cake with Cashew Cream

I'm actually amazed this cake even works when Mr I makes it! He changes it all over the place, whacks all of the ingredients into the Thermomix at once, puts the timer on for 30 seconds, whizzes it up, and goes off to bounce his ball while it mixes... I'm much more 'delicate' with cakes, only adding the baking powder at the end, and not mixing too long so I don't 'beat the fluff out of it'. But this one has never failed. Even though he checks it about twenty times in the oven, banging the oven door shut each time, poking it endlessly with toothpicks... Poor cake. It's very forgiving.

By the way, he calls it the 'FAR Too Easy Chocolate Cake', because with his version you don't have the extra step of melting butter first, you just use oil and toss it in with everything else. Awesome.

Here's a video of Mr I making his cake, just to prove how easy it is... Be prepared for some kid stuff, like spatula licking and mess making!!

Far Too Easy Chocolate Cake

Preheat oven to 180C.
(Mr I usually forgets to do this until he's pretty much finished mixing. It still never fails.)

Weigh all the ingredients into the Thermomix bowl and mix on speed 5 for 30 seconds.
- 120g macadamia oil (or other light flavoured oil)
- 2 eggs
- 100g coconut or almond milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 100-120g Rapadura (or coconut sugar)
- 130g unbleached white spelt flour (or plain gluten free flour or almond flour)
- 2 tsps baking powder
- 25g raw cacao powder (or 30g cocoa)

Pour mixture into a lined (or greased) 20cm round cake tin. Bake in 180 degree oven for about 40-50 minutes (depending on whether you remember to preheat the oven or not!), or until a toothpick/skewer inserted in centre of cake comes out clean.

Serve warm with cashew cream or coconut cream, sprinkled with a little cinnamon. Preferably with hot chocolate with cinnamon and a blob of coconut cream. (Well that's how Mr I likes it anyway!) :)

Don't you love my gorgeous jars? They are Anna Gare Blackboard Spice Jars. Cute huh.

If you'd like to see some more of Mr I's amazing recipes, just let me know. But don't ask for his Caramel Custard with Licorice Allsorts recipe, because it wasn't at all nice. Just saying.

He thought it was pretty funny though.

(Oh, and blame Grandma for the licorice allsorts - I don't buy those vile things!)

:)

Creamy Quinoa & Chia Porridge

Autumn is here, and it's getting too cool for cold breakfasts of raw chia pudding and green smoothies. The other morning I was trying to think of something warm and comforting for breakfast while browsing through food photos on Instagram (as you do), and I noticed a photo of banana chia quinoa porridge that was posted by Jessica Cox (a nutritionist with lots of great recipes), and I was inspired! I couldn't find a recipe, so I just made up my own. (Thanks for the idea, Jessica!)

I love quinoa, but whenever I've tried to make quinoa flakes into porridge it's usually ended up kind of sludgey, and I didn't really enjoy it. Until now. Adding chia made all the difference for me, as well as cooking it very lightly, not overcooking it. And I'm sure all the coconut cream, banana, cinnamon and nuts helped as well!

You could cook it in the Thermomix like I do, or in a pan on the stovetop if you keep the heat really low and stir until done. Or use the soak overnight method (below the recipe).

Note: The addition of mesquite powder is optional. I love to use it in my breakfast porridge as it's low GI and great for stablising blood sugar levels, plus it's high in minerals and protein. So when you combine that with chia and quinoa, you have a breakfast that keeps you from getting the blood sugar 'lows' all morning. (It's also slightly sweet, and has a caramelly flavour that goes well with the bananas and cinnamon.) Mesquite flour and chia are both traditional foods of native Americans, and it's really interesting to see these ancient 'health foods' making a comeback! My Cherokee great great grandma would be pleased to know I'm using them. :)

Quinoa & Chia Porridge

Serves 4

Weigh almonds into Thermomix bowl, and grind for 10 seconds on speed 9.
- 100g raw almonds

Add water and blend on speed 9 for 1 minute.
- 500g water

[Note: if you can't have nuts, you could use 600g of your preferred milk in place of the almond milk. Coconut milk is nice, and since it's so creamy you can reduce it to 300g milk plus 300g water.]

Add the quinoa flakes, chia seeds, honey, spices, vanilla, mesquite powder & salt, and cook at 50C for 5 minutes, reverse speed 2. (Gently blend it up for a few seconds first on speed 3 to mix together.)
- 50g quinoa flakes
- 50g chia seeds
- 2 Tbspns raw honey (or preferred sweetener)
- 2 tps ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 3 Tbspns mesquite powder (opt)
- a pinch of Himalayan salt

Spoon into bowls and serve topped with:
- coconut milk or yoghurt
- sliced bananas (or whatever fruit you like)
- chopped walnuts (opt)
- a drizzle of pure maple syrup
- a sprinkle of cinnamon


Overnight soak method:

Make almond milk, mix with other ingredients apart from toppings, and refrigerate overnight. Next morning, warm gently then serve topped with fruit, nuts, etc.

Raw Macadamia Lime 'Cheesecake' (dairy free)

One thing I love about living in tropical Far North Queensland is the abundance of delicious produce grown here. I love that I can go to the local markets and buy locally grown coconuts (and coconut oil), locally grown vanilla beans and cacao nibs and cacaco beans, luscious limes, macadamias, avocadoes, pineapples, lychees, passionfruit, mangoes, and I've even bought sugar cane juice that's juiced while you wait! Even better, lots of these yummy things are given to you by friends, family and acquaintances who just have too much and need to share. Love that.

Last week I did a Thermomix demo for a lady who sent me home with a big bag full of limes and bunches of fresh herbs and rocket from her garden. At other times I've come home with a box of vine ripened tomatoes, pumpkin, avocadoes, lychees and mangoes. I get given bags of passionfruit, boxes of black sapotes, chokos and lettuces. I always say to my husband, 'There's really no way you could starve living here. Why would anyone want to live in the city??' Besides, where in the city can you walk around the corner from your house and see views like this...



But I digress... back to the cheesecake.

So the other day I thought I should make something with some of the limes filling my fruit basket, and the avocados from mum's tree. I really wanted something a bit special, as I had a photo shoot with an online magazine on Friday (Confetti Mag - 1st issue, coming out in May, stay tuned!), and I thought something made with local ingredients would be a good thing to photograph. (We ended up choosing something else to make, and we had lots of fun cooking and taking photos! Two of my favourite things to do.)

{Photo taken by Karen of Confetti Mag}

I remembered a lime and avocado tart I'd made last year and really enjoyed, but I felt it needed to be creamier and less... well... tart! Okay, I know 'raw lime cheesecakes' are all over the internet and I didn't really need to make up another recipe, but I just like to play. I did get some inspiration from this lovely raw lime tart from Fragrant Vanilla Cake (a blog you really should visit if you're into raw food, vegan food, or just delicious desserts) - but I ended up changing it to make the most of some of our lovely local produce, plus whatever I had on hand.

It turned out amaaaaazing!!

My husband is very partial to a good cheesecake, and was very sceptical that my dairy free version would be something he'd want to eat... But after one bite he changed his tune and begged for more. :)

I had a lot of 'drop-ins' that day, and each one had to taste my cheesecake. I made them. (They didn't argue.) They all agreed it was a gem of a recipe, and they all told me I should save it for my book. But being the kind and generous blogger that I am, I dedided to go ahead and share it. And besides, I was a bit worried that after getting 235 comments on the photo I posted on Facebook, plus many private messages, asking for the recipe, I might have a riot if I didn't share!! (But I will have to start being a bit more secretive with new recipes I think, or there won't be any surprises left for the book!)

Consider this your Easter present from me. I think it would make a great Easter Sunday treat... because as much as I love chocolate, it can get a little 'overdone' at Easter time. I'm thinking lime will be a good change.

So here it is, the long-awaited recipe...

Oh, and just a couple of tips: buy the macadamia pieces, they're heaps cheaper than whole nuts and you don't need whole nuts for this recipe. And use organic or homegrown limes if possible, as you don't really want to be eating the zest from limes sprayed with pesticides. Just my opinion.

Raw Macadamia Lime 'Cheesecake'

(Makes one 20cm cheesecake)

Base:

Grind all the base ingredients up together in the Thermomix on speed 9 for 20 seconds, or until finely ground.

- 130g raw macadamia nuts (either unsoaked, or soaked and dehydrated)

- 70g organic shredded or flaked coconut (additive free)

- 8 fresh dates (eg. Medjool), pitted

- a pinch of fine Himalayan salt

   Grease the inside of a 20cm springform cake tin with coconut oil. Press the base mixture firmly into the base of the tin, and up the sides if you like. Set aside.

Filling:

Blitz vanilla beans and lime zest on speed 10 for 10 seconds.

- 2 vanilla beans, snipped into 4 pieces (can use 1 bean in a pinch)

- zest from 2 limes (just peel off with a sharp potato peeler)

Add cashews and grind on speed 10 for 8 seconds.

- 150g raw cashews*

Add remaining ingredients and blend on speed 9 for 1 minute, scraping down as needed, until lovely and smooth.

- flesh of 1 lime

- 320g fresh avocados (or frozen, cut in 1-2cm cubes)

- 100g pure maple syrup

- 55g coconut oil

- a pinch of fine Himalayan salt

Pour filling into springform tin, spreading over the base. Place in freezer for at least half an hour.

* If using soaked raw cashews, only soak for up to 6 hours, drain well and pat dry with tea towel, then mix with the other ingredients (lime, avocado, etc) all at once, blending until smooth.

Just look at those lovely little vanilla bean seeds in the filling.... Mmmm!

Topping:

Mix together until smooth on speed 9:

- 150g raw macadamias (soaked for a few hours, then drained and dried off a bit)

- 150g Ayam coconut cream (or other thick coconut cream)

- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

- juice of 1 lime

- 30g pure maple syrup

Pour over filling and smooth with spatula.

Decoration:

While topping is still soft, before freezing, add extra macadamia nuts and lime zest for decoration, sprinkling first the nuts, then the zest, around the edge of the cheesecake. (See photos)

- a good sized handful of macadamia nuts, roughly chopped (if you haven't bought them already in pieces)

- zest of one lime, grated with a zester

Place the finished cheesecake, covered with a plastic bag, in the freezer and leave it alone for at least 2 hours, preferably more. It's best eaten semi-frozen. It will last for weeks in the freezer... but we all know that's not going to happen. ;)

Enjoy!