Pecan Bread (Grain Free)

I've been meaning to try pecan bread for a while now, ever since a friend who can't eat any grains told me about it. So last week when I got a big bag of local, organic pecans through my co-op, I decided the time had come. I made it and loved it! It has a lovely texture, with a crisp, almost buttery, crust.  Have I ever mentioned how much I love nuts? Yeah. I do. So I'm really sorry if you have a nut allergy, but I can't cover all bases at once, and this bread is gluten free, grain free, dairy free, sugar free, low salicylate (with tweaks), high protein, low carbs, and... okay, it's not egg free, but we're running out of ingredients here, guys! 

Anyway, I googled 'pecan bread' and found this amazing blog, "Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried" (the quirky title immediately catching my attention), which has delicious SCD recipes (which means 'grain free' for the uninitiated!). Naomi is a homeopath and nutritionist in London who is herself a coeliac and coaches people through "the process of healing their gut and learning how to eat without gluten". A worthy cause. So I decided to try her Gluten Free Pecan and Apple Bread because it looked so good, and I loved her blog title. :) And here it is, with a few Thermomixin' tweaks of my own. Enjoy!

P.S. Even though it has apple in it, that is more for moistness than sweetness - this is not a 'sweet' bread like banana bread - it's a bread that can be used for sandwiches or toast or just eaten happily on its' own.

P.P.S. This also has almonds in it. In fact it has more almonds than pecans. So I'm not really sure why it's called pecan bread without any allusion to almonds, but it is. And also, if you are on the *Failsafe diet, you can cut down the salicylates by using hazelnuts instead of pecans. Of course, then you might like to call it hazelnut bread or it could get confusing. Okay. On to the recipe...

* For more Failsafe tips, see the comment from Naomi below!

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C. Line a bread tin with baking paper and set aside.

1. First you need to make some coconut butter. (I loooove this stuff!) This is what gives the bread that buttery crispness. You could use creamed coconut (which is what the original recipe calls for), but if you have a Thermomix, coconut butter is much cheaper and so quick and easy. It only takes 4 minutes, and the only ingredient is shredded coconut. So just pop over to "Super Kitchen Machine" and get the recipe, then pop back here. Thanks. :)

2. Now, after you've scraped the coconut butter out of your Thermomix into a dish, place the almonds in the Thermomix bowl (no need to wash the bowl) and grind up on speed 8 for 10 seconds:

- 200g raw almonds

3. Add the pecans and chop on speed 5 for 6 seconds:

- 120g raw pecans (or use hazelnuts for a low salicylate version)

   Remove the ground nuts to a bowl and set aside.

4. Place in the Thermomix bowl the following ingredients, and mix on speed 6 for 10 seconds:

- 1 apple, quartered (no need to peel)

- 5 large free range eggs

- 50g macadamia oil (or grapeseed, or other light oil)

- 1 tbspn lemon juice (or 2 tsp apple cider vinegar)

- 3/4 tsp bicarb soda

- pinch of fine sea salt

- 60g coconut butter

5. Scrape down sides and add the ground nuts back in to the mixture, mixing for a few more seconds on speed 6.

6. Pour into the lined tin and bake for an hour or so, until risen and browned; a skewer poked down into the centre of the bread will come out clean when it's ready. (I know the original recipe says 40 mins, but mine took over an hour - may depend on the oven, or I may have used less nuts than she did - I was kind of guessing amounts. Never mind, it worked!)

7. Let the bread cool for 10 minutes before removing carefully from the tin. Pull it up with the paper so you don't break it. It will firm up as it cools.

We ate it warm with naturally sweetened apricot jam, then had it the next day toasted. It makes lovely toast! It's great for sandwiches too. I really wanted to try it with grilled strawberries and Rapadura, but the strawberries were all gone. Next time.

If you won't use it within a day or two, it can be sliced thinly, frozen in loose layers, then when completely frozen, wrapped and kept frozen to use a slice at a time.

Hope you like it!

And thanks Naomi. :)

Garlic Quinoa

We love quinoa! It's healthy, delicious, quick to cook, high in protein, contains all the amino acids (so is great for vegetarians), contains no gluten, is low G.I., high in fibre, packed with nutrients, is grown organically... what's not to love?

Quinoa is not a grain - it's actually a kind of grass seed from a leafy, green plant that's related to spinach and chard! There's a bit of argument over whether you should eat it if you're on a grain-free diet - personally, I would. But that's up to you. You really should soak it first, overnight if possible, to get rid of the saponins on the outside of the grain (which taste bitter and are not so good for you) then rinse it... but if you don't have time to soak it, at least rinse it really, really well under running water, or dry roast it in a dry frypan for a few minutes. That will get rid of most of the saponins. Soaking is best though.

The quinoa in these photos is a mixture of three types - red, white and black. White is the most common, and you see red fairly often too, but this mix I bought recently through my co-op also contained the rarer black quinoa, which I thought was pretty cool! By the way, it's pronounced 'keen-wah', in case you were wondering. :)

Here's an easy, tasty way to cook quinoa in your Thermomix. Garlic quinoa is a great side dish. Serve with curries, chilli or stew; use it instead of mashed potatoes, rice, couscous or pasta. It's delicious in salads too. (For example, you know that delicious 'Warm Chicken, Pumpkin & Couscous Salad' from the Thermomix Varoma demo? Try it with garlic quinoa instead of couscous! Yum!)

I usually cook my quinoa in the rice basket in my Thermomix, just the same way I cook rice - same timing, same amounts - easy. As you can see in the photo below, the slits in the rice basket are small enough that it shouldn't fall through.

Garlic Quinoa in the Thermomix

Prepare ahead: Soak 350g quinoa overnight first; drain & rinse. Or at least rinse really well before preparing.

1. Chop garlic on speed 7 for 3 seconds:
- 3 cloves of garlic (more if you like)

2. Add oil or ghee and saute for 3 minutes, Varoma temp, speed 4:
- 50g olive oil or ghee

3. Add water & salt:
- 900g water
- 1 tsp sea salt

4. Take pre-soaked or rinsed quinoa and place in rice basket, put basket into bowl, then fit on the lid.
- 350g dry quinoa, soaked or rinsed

5. Cook on Varoma temp for 15 minutes, speed 4. Remove lid, stir quinoa with a fork, and taste to make sure it's salty enough. Season to taste and replace lid.

6. Cook another 5 minutes on Varoma temp, speed 4 - or until quinoa is soft, translucent, and the little 'tail' is visible. (Only the white quinoa will look translucent - see photo below.)

7. Empty basket into Thermoserver and fluff quinoa with a fork.

Serve as a side dish. Feeds at least 6, probably more!

Strawberries on Toast

This isn't really a recipe... but I just wanted to share it because it's so yummy! It sounds very simple - 'strawberries on toast' - but it's so much better than plain old 'jam on toast' for breakfast... especially if it's on toasted Artisan bread!

First you'll need some Spelt Artisan Bread, or Gluten Free Artisan Bread. Slice some nice, thick slices and toast under a grill.

Spread with butter, or butter spread.

Add some sliced strawberries.

Sprinkle liberally with Rapadura.

Place back under the grill and toast it 'til the Rapadura starts to bubble.

Enjoy.

Getting lots of great Artisan bread recipes from this book!

Banana & Pomegranate Custard Crumble

I had two very exciting things happen today - my Quirky Cooking Facebook Page reached 1000 followers (thank you lovely people!!), and I received a special package in the mail - a gigantic, beautiful pomegranate from Royal Pom! 

I noticed a week or two ago that Royal Pom were offering free samples, so I eagerly took them up on it. I don't remember ever eating fresh pomegranate before - maybe I have, since my mum loves them - but I can't imagine that I'd forget that mouth-watering, tangy, juicy, burst of flavour! Wow!

I hadn't had time to check out pomegranate recipes yet, but I couldn't wait! I cut it open and tasted it, and decided to make a quick banana custard with crumble topping, with some pomegranate arils sprinkled over the top to jazz it up. The tart, juicy arils remind me of shiny, red jewels that 'pop' in your mouth. They are a perfect foil for creamy bananas and custard, and crunchy crumble topping. Such a simple dessert, yet very satisfying. :)

First make the crumble topping.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

1.  Mix together in the Thermomix on speed 5 for 10 seconds:
- 250g gluten free flour
- 2 tsps baking powder
- 110g butter or macadamia oil
- 100g Rapadura (or less if you like)
- a handful of raw almonds (optional)

(Or for a very simple crumble topping, mix equal amounts of flour, oats/quinoa flakes, and butter/macadamia oil, plus some Rapadura to sweeten.)

2. Crumble the mixture onto a baking paper lined tray and bake for 10-15 minutes at 180C, until lightly browned and crispy. Set aside to cool.


While the crumble is cooking, make the custard. You can use whatever custard recipe you prefer, but here's two options for dairy free, gluten free custards. The banana-chia custard is also egg-free.

Rice-Almond Milk Custard:

Place all ingredients in the Thermomix and cook at 90 degrees, 7 minutes, speed 4:
- 500g rice-almond milk
- 60g Rapadura
- 30g cornflour or arrowroot
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste)
- 1 egg yolk + 1 egg (or 1 or 2 eggs, depending on size)*
- You can also add a tablespoon or two of butter (if you can have it) to make it creamier

Egg-Free Banana Chia Custard:

Grind together for 15 seconds on speed 9:
- 100g raw cashews
- 30g white chia seeds
- 30g gf cornflour

Add and blend for 1 minute on speed 9:
- 550g water

Add and blend 20 seconds at speed 8:
- 50g honey
- 1 large banana quartered

Cook at 90C for 7 minutes, speed 4.


Put it together: Slice up 2 or 3 bananas and layer them on the bottom of your dessert dishes. Pour the hot custard over the top so the bananas are completely covered, then crumble up some crumble mixture and sprinkle it over the top.

Top with fresh pomegranate arils.

That's it! So simple... enjoy!

Anzac Biscuits (Vegan)

It's Anzac Day today. We've been to the Anzac Day parade, and when we got home we decided to make some Anzac Biscuits in memory of the Anzacs! "Lest we forget!" (You can read about the history of Anzac Biscuits here.)


After all the treats at Easter, I wasn't actually going to do any more baking for a while, but I just couldn't help myself. :) I decided that if I was going to make bikkies, I'd better make them without butter - I've had enough of that in the last few days, what with Easter pull apart breads and all... So I'm happy to announce that these biscuits are dairy free, wheat free, egg free, vegan, nut free and naturally sweetened! And they could be made gluten free if you use gluten free flour instead of the spelt, and quinoa flakes (or gluten free oats) instead of the rolled oats.


This recipe makes about 20 - 25 biscuits, depending how big you make them.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius.

1. Mix in Thermomix on speed 3 until combined:
- 160g spelt flour (or gluten free flour)
- 100g Rapadura
- 100g rolled oats (or quinoa flakes)
- 70g dessicated coconut
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

2. Mix together in a cup:
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 Tbspns boiling water

3. Add remaining ingredients to Thermomix and mix on speed 3 until combined, and beginning to clump together:
- 140g coconut oil (slightly melted)
- 1 Tbspn black molasses
- water & soda
The mixture should be able to be pressed together with your hands, and not fall apart.

4. Form mixture into walnut sized balls and flatten (with your fingers) on the greased trays, to about 5mm in thickness. Bake in moderate oven for 15 to 20 minutes, then cool on the trays so they'll get nice and crisp.

These are great dunked in a cup of tea!

Spelt, Almond & Pistachio Cantucci

Here's a recipe I've been meaning to post for awhile... it's a bit of a favourite around here!  These are great dunked in a hot cuppa, are perfect for picnics (because they are kind of hard and don't crumble like a lot of biscuits do) and are not overly sweet - I find a lot of cookie recipes way too sweet for my taste.  I adapted these from a recipe in the Thermomix cookbook "My Way of Cooking," - I reduced the sugar drastically and used Rapadura and stevia instead, substituted spelt flour for the wheat flour (adding more, as spelt needs less liquid than wheat), and added pistachios because I love them!  If you want an aniseed flavour (also in the original recipe), you can grind up a star anise with the Rapadura at the start... I usually just use almond essence because I like the almond flavour.  Another idea would be to grind up a vanilla bean with the Rapadura and star anise - I think I'll try that next time! For a gluten free version, see the variation at the end.

It's a very easy recipe, but you need to work fast, as the dough gets really sticky the longer you take... so have your ingredients ready to go and keep the blades moving as much as possible so the dough doesn't 'gum up the works'.  If it does slow the blades down, just add an extra handful of flour and use your spatula to pull the dough off the blades, then spin them with the interval speed.  That should get it going again. 

Enjoy! :)

1.  Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

2.  Grind in dry Thermomix bowl on speed 9 for 30 seconds:

- 150g Rapadura

  (If adding a star anise and/or vanilla bean, you'll need to grind for about 1 minute)

3.  Add to bowl and mix on speed 5 for 40 - 60 seconds, until combined:

- 400g spelt flour

  (you can use part wholemeal, but it does get a bit crumbly)

- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp stevia powder

- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt

- 2 tsp baking powder

- 2 eggs

- 1 egg yolk

- 1 tsp almond essence (or vanilla extract)

4.  Quickly add nuts and mix on interval speed for 30 seconds to a minute, until dough is well mixed and nuts are roughly chopped.  If the dough gets too sticky, add another handful of flour to get it moving.
- 120g raw almonds (skin on)
- 80g raw unsalted pistachios

A very sticky dough!

5.  Place dough onto a lightly floured silicon mat and quickly shape into a couple of 3 cm thick logs.  Place onto a baking tray lined with baking paper, making sure there's some space between them.  Cook in preheated oven for about 30 - 40 minutes, or until golden brown.

6.  As soon as they're cooked, remove from oven and slice into diagonal slices - this must be done while they are hot and soft, or they'll crumble! Leave them to cool completely, then store in glass jars.  They also freeze well.

Gluten Free Variation:  You can use this gluten free baking mix instead of the spelt flour, although you may need to adjust the amounts a little if the dough is too sticky.

Hazelnut Version: You can use 100g almonds and 100g hazelnuts too, for a change. :)

Spicy Chicken & Vege Sausage Rolls with Spelt Rough Puff Pastry

I love to make homemade sausage rolls with spelt rough puff pastry - they're so easy, and really yummy! I use spelt as it's non-hybridized and easier to digest than wheat. It has a lower gluten content than wheat, and the germ contains the enzymes needed to digest the gluten. These are not gluten free - I'd like to try some gluten free rough puff pastry and have seen a few recipes online that look interesting - anyone tried making gf puff pastry? If so, let us know!


I usually make quite a big batch of these, using fresh meat so that they can be frozen uncooked (separated with baking paper), and I can get a few out of the freezer and pop them in the oven as I need them.  


The last time I made them I wanted to jazz them up a little, so instead of tamari and sweet chilli sauce (which I usually use to give them more flavour), I added some of my homemade tikka paste.  It really spiced them up and the kids loved them!  It's best to fry up a little 'taster' of the sausage mince before you assemble the sausage rolls so you can check the seasonings - you might like more or less tikka paste than I use - kind of depends on how spicy your paste is, and how hot you like it.  If you don't want them spicy, just use tamari (or soy sauce) to season them instead of tikka paste.

*     *     *     *     *

The Pastry...


1.  Make a batch of the rough puff pastry from the Thermomix Everyday Cookbook, and place in the fridge.  (I use spelt flour instead of wheat flour, and if you can't have butter, you can just use all lard.)  Don't overwork it - it should be quite rough at first...

 (ready to wrap and place in fridge...)

Chicken & Vege Filling:

2.  Grind up on speed 9 until fine:
- 120g spelt bread
- 2 cloves garlic
- handful of fresh parsley or coriander

3.  Add and chop veges in the Thermomix on speed 5 for 5 seconds:
- 1/2 an onion
- 1/2 a stick of celery
- 1 zucchini, quartered
- 1 carrot, quartered

4.  Add remaining ingredients and mix on speed 6-8 until finely minced and mixed together - you may need to use the spatula to help it along:
- 600g cubed chicken
- 1 egg
- 2 Tblspns vege stock concentrate (from Everyday Cookbook)
- 4 Tblspns tikka paste (from Indian cookbook)

5.  Fry a spoonfull of meat mixture in a hot frying pan and taste to check seasonings.  Add salt or more tikka paste if needed.

6.  Take pastry out of fridge and cut off a third of it in a rectangular shape, (replace remaining pastry in fridge to keep cold).  Roll it out on a floured silicon mat. It should be quite thin, about 2 mm.  Place a third of the sausage mixture down the centre of the pastry...

 Roll it up, seam side down, slice in desired lengths (carefully with butter knife so you don't cut the silicon mat)...

Cut slashes in the pastry with a sharp knife and place sausage rolls on a lined tray, or in a container to freeze (separating sausage rolls with baking paper).

7.  Repeat with remaining two thirds of pastry and sausage mixture.  When you're ready to cook them, preheat oven to 220 degrees Celsius, brush sausage rolls with an egg and water wash, and cook for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.  If you're cooking them from the freezer and they're not thawed, cook at 180 degrees until nicely browned, and check the centre to make sure it's cooked through!  Will take a bit longer, obviously, but I can't remember how long :)

Hope you like them!

Look at that yummy pastry!

Nut Butter Chocolate Swirl Brownies

Mmmmmm... Feel like something decadent and delicious?  I did, and this is what I came up with - rich, moist, chocolatey-nutty brownies, that are dairy-free, wheat-free and naturally sweetened.  The only problem with them is that they disappear too quickly!  Hope you like them :)

Note:  This recipe uses half unbleached plain spelt flour, half wholemeal spelt flour - you can use all wholemeal if you like, but it may end up a little less moist.  You can also use butter instead of the oils if you prefer.

1.  Prepare wholemeal spelt flour first - grind in dry Thermomix bowl on speed 9 for 1 minute:

- 100g spelt grain

     Remove to a bowl and set aside.  (You won't need all of it.)

2.  Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (350 F).  Line an 8-inch square baking pan with baking paper, and grease the paper with a little coconut oil (or butter).

3.  Nut batter: in Thermomix bowl, mix together on speed 5 for 10 seconds, or until well-mixed:

- 50g macadamia oil (or grapeseed oil)

- 75g Rapadura

- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

- 1 egg

- 20g spelt flour (part wholemeal spelt flour, part white)

- 1/8 tsp baking powder

- 1/8 tsp salt

- 150g nut butter (I make my own in the Thermomix using this recipe)

- 1 Tbspn rice/nut milk

    Tip batter into a bowl and set aside.

4.  Chocolate batter: without washing bowl, add following ingredients and mix on speed 6 for 20 seconds:

- 60g macadamia oil (or grapeseed oil)

- 90g coconut oil (no need to soften if hard)

- 100g Rapadura

- 1/4 tsp stevia powder

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 2 eggs

5.  Add and mix on speed 5 for 10 seconds, or just until mixed in:

- 70g spelt flour (part wholemeal, part white)

- 30g cacao powder (or organic cocoa powder)

- 1/4 tsp baking powder

- 1/4 tsp salt

6.  Pour half the chocolate batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly with spatula.  Place nine dollops of nut batter (a heaped tablespoon each) in three rows on top of the batter (see photo).  

With a skewer, (or long sharp knife), gently swirl the two batters together, running skewer lengthwise and crosswise through the batter.  

Pour remaining chocolate batter on top of the nut batter layer, add another nine dollops of nut batter using the rest of the batter, and repeat swirling.

7.  Bake until a skewer inserted in brownies comes out clean (just a few crumbs, not wet), about 35 minutes. Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then lift out brownies with the paper and cool completely on wire rack before cutting.  (I know it's hard to wait, but it will be a bit too gooey if cut while warm.)

Don't eat it all at once!

Salmon Salad Pizza

Salmon Salad Pizza

We had a great time at the 'Master Thermy Chef Challenge' last night - we had teams cooking against each other from a mystery box of ingredients, and we had 30 minutes (and two Thermomixes) to prepare/cook three dishes.  My team had in our box: a turnip, a piece of pumpkin, an orange, some soy sauce, some golden syrup, garlic, a tin of lemon salmon and a sprig of rosemary.  Our theme was 'Celebrate', and we had to make a sorbet, a bread and a main!  (Thankfully, we were allowed to add a few ingredients to the ones in our box!)  It was a lot of fun, and our team WON!!  Yay!  If any of you locals would like to have a go at the next cooking class, let me know.

It was a bit of a challenge making a bread, a main, and a sorbet, from scratch in 30 minutes, but we managed it - with 30 seconds to spare!  The quickest bread we could think of was a pizza bread, so we decided to use the salmon and garlic for that, and added raw salad greens to make it a kind of entree.  It turned out really yummy.  Here it is, a great, quick meal for when you're running out of time but want something healthy and delicious!

Note: Our other recipes were Meatballs in Turnip and Pumpkin Sauce, and Chocolate Orange Sorbet... you knew I had to get chocolate in there somewhere, didn't you!! :D  Recipes coming soon for those...

If you have them, place 2 pizza stones in oven and preheat oven to 250 degrees.  (If not, it will still work - pizza stones just help make a crisper crust.)

1. Base: Mix all ingredients in Thermomix, 6 seconds, speed 6:


- 500g spelt flour
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 60g oil
- 2 tsp of yeast
- 270g water

  Knead for 1 ½ mins on interval setting.  Wrap in thermomat (or in an oiled bowl and cover) and set aside until sauce is ready. OR, cook base on it's own and top with raw sauce & other toppings once it's done.

2. Sauce: Mix all ingredients in Thermomix, 4 seconds, speed 6:

- 2 Italian tomatoes (quartered)
- 2 cloves of garlic
- small handful of fresh basil
- small handful fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp dried)
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp rapadura
- Pinch of sea salt
- 80g tomato paste
- 1/2 a fresh chilli, deseeded (optional)

  Remove to a large bowl, set aside.

3. Divide dough in two, roll out into two circles and place on lined or oiled pizza trays. Drizzle with oil.

- 2 Tblspns extra virgin olive oil (optional)

4. Spread sauce over pizzas, leaving about 3 tablespoons in bowl for salad; flake salmon over, and sprinkle with grated mozzarella.  (Mozarella is optional - if you can't have dairy it tastes fine without it.)

- 2 x 95g tins of lemon salmon, drained & flaked
- 100g mozzarella cheese, grated roughly

5. Place pizzas in oven on pizza stones and bake until crisp, about 15 mins.

6. Salad Topping: While pizzas are baking, chop in Thermomix, 3 seconds, sp 5:

- ½ red onion
- Handful Italian parsley
- handful fresh basil
- 2 Tblspns extra virgin olive oil
- juice of half a lemon
- Salt and pepper

7. Toss salad topping ingredients together with olives & greens in bowl with reserved sauce:

- 100g of sliced Kalamata olives
- a few handfuls of salad greens (rocket, mizuna, tatsoi, baby spinach, etc)

8. Sprinkle salad topping over pizza, slice, and serve.

Fruit Pizza

Our oldest daughter turned 13 the other day (I can't believe I have a teenager!!), and she requested Fruit Pizza for breakfast.  We love to make this for breakfast on special occasions - although it's so quick and easy you don't really need to wait for a special occasion!  And you don't have to have it at breakfast time, either...  We've had this instead of a birthday cake a couple of times, because the kids really love it.  The base is more like a pancake than a pizza crust, and needs to be cooked in a very hot oven so it puffs up.  Top your pizza with whatever fruit you like, and drizzle with either pure maple syrup for breakfast, or melted chocolate for a delicious dessert!  Makes two pizzas.

1.  Preheat oven to 230 degrees C (450 F) and melt butter or ghee in two 9-inch pie plates, then remove from oven:

- 2 Tblspns butter/ghee (1 for each pie plate)

(If you can't have butter or ghee, just grease pie plates with preferred oil.)

2.  Beat together in Thermomix on speed 5 for 20 seconds (or by hand):

- 6 eggs

- 250g rice-almond milk (or other milk)

- 100g plain spelt flour or gf flour (or use coconut flour or tapioca flour for a grain free option)

- 2 Tblspns Rapadura or 1 Tblspn honey

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

3.  Pour into greased pie plates and bake for 8 minutes.  Reduce heat to 190 degrees C (475 F) and bake about 8 minutes longer - until golden brown with puffy sides.

4.  Immediately top with sliced fruit, sprinkle with coconut (opt.) and drizzle with syrup (or chocolate), then slice and serve.

- 1 punnet strawberries, washed and sliced

- sliced bananas

- whatever other fruit you like (kiwi fruit, passionfruit, rockmelon, etc) - optional

- shredded coconut - optional

- pure maple syrup (or melted chocolate)

(Optional: If you like, you can top with a dollop of cashew cream - if you can handle dairy, you can use whipped cream or yoghurt.)

Sausage Casserole with Dumplings

When I was a kid I always loved my mum's delicious dumplings on top of stews and chicken soup - they're such a warm and cozy comfort food-ish kind of thing. 

I think they taste great on casseroles too, especially rich, tomatoey ones like this one.  I like to use my Thermomix to prepare casseroles - the baking time is greatly reduced, which saves electricity (or gas), and the preparation time is much shorter too. 

I made up this casserole a couple of days ago using sausages, and we all loved it. (You could use meat balls, diced steak, etc, instead of sausages, but it may change the cooking times.)  The sauce is prepared and cooked in the Thermomix bowl, while the sausages steam on top in the Varoma, then it's placed in a casserole dish, the dumplings are prepared in the Thermomix, dropped on top, and it goes in the oven and cooks in no time.  Hope ya like it :)

1.  Place in Thermomix and chop on speed 5 for 3 seconds:
- 1 onion, halved
- 1 or 2 garlic cloves
- 2 carrots, quartered
- 1 celery stick, quartered
- 1 red capsicum, halved

2.  Add and cook at 100 degrees, 4 minutes, speed 1:
- 1 Tblspn sweet paprika, ground
- 30g olive oil or butter

3.  Add to bowl & chop on speed 5 for 5 seconds:
- 400g tomatoes, halved
- 2 Tblspns (or so) tomato paste
- 1 Tblspn vege stock paste
- 2 Tblspns balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tblspn Rapadura
- 200g water

4. Place Varoma on lid of bowl and place sausages inside:
- 700g thin beef sausages
(Space sausages apart to let steam through - see photo below - and place lid on top.)

5.  Cook on Varoma temperature for 20 minutes, reverse speed 1, or until sausages are cooked through.

6.  Cut sausages in quarters and remove to a large casserole dish.  Pour sauce over sausages and cover with lid or foil.  (Casserole shouldn't come above halfway up sides of dish, or it may overflow, like mine did!)  Turn on oven to 200 degrees C and place casserole dish in oven while you make the dumplings.  (Rinse and dry Thermomix bowl.)

Dumplings:

1. Grind grain in Thermomix bowl for 1 minute, speed 9:
- 200g spelt grain

2.  Add and process on speed 9 for 10 seconds:
- a large handful of fresh parsley

3.  Add and mix for 5 seconds, speed 5:
- 100g white spelt flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp fine sea salt

4.  Add and mix on speed 5 until just mixed:
- 180g rice-almond milk (or other milk)
- 60g oil (olive/macadamia/grapeseed)

5.  Take casserole out of oven and drop heaped tablespoonfuls of dough onto top (using a tablespoon and butter knife), cover with lid (or loosely with foil), making sure there's room for dumplings to rise, and return to oven. 

6.  Cook for 20 minutes then remove lid/foil and cook until done and lightly browned on top.  (Pull two dumplings apart in centre with forks to check if done.)

Enjoy!

(Oops, a little too full!)

Chocolate Pecan Self-Saucing Pudding

Yum!  I love chocolate self-saucing pudding, but I haven't made it for ages because of the amount of sugar in it... so I was very happy to find a healthy version in Cyndi O'Meara's cookbook, "Changing Habits Changing Lives"!  I've changed it slightly to make it dairy-free, and it's also wheat free and naturally sweetened.  You could easily make it gluten free by using gluten free flour.  It's rich and decadent, and I know you'll love it!  Enjoy!

1.  Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.  Grease a 2 litre baking dish.

2.  In Thermomix, mix together on speed 4 for 10 seconds:

- 150g wholemeal spelt flour (can grind spelt grain first)

- 50g Rapadura

- 2 tablespoons organic cocoa powder

- 2 teaspoons baking powder

- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

- 1 egg

- 100g rice-almond milk

- 2 tablespoons macadamia oil (or grapeseed/light olive oil)

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 50g whole pecans

3.  Scrape mixture into baking dish, and add sauce ingredients to Thermomix, mixing on speed 4 for 10 seconds:

- 25g organic cocoa powder

- 80g Rapadura

- 350g boiling water

4.  Carefully pour sauce mixture over cake batter, pouring over the back of a spoon so it doesn't make a hole in the batter.  Bake for about 30 minutes, until done.

Banana Fritters

These banana fritters are great for breakfast when you've got lots of ripe bananas you need to use up.  A friend of ours has a roadside fruit stall, and we get about half a box of bananas most weeks for free... so we eat lots of banana ice-cream, smoothies and banana fritters!  Sometimes I use spelt flour, sometimes buckwheat - like pancakes, they're pretty versatile.  We also like them with half banana, half berries - delicious with a little pure maple syrup drizzled over!  The kids eat any leftovers cold for a snack at morning tea time.

1.  Grind grain in Thermomix on speed 9 for 1 minute, or until fine (buckwheat takes about 30 seconds):
- 120g spelt grain, or hulled buckwheat

2.  Add and mix on speed 5 for 20 seconds, and scrape down:
- 3 eggs
- 1 tablespoon raw honey
- 110g water

3.  Place a bowl on top of Thermomix lid, reset scales, and weigh in bananas, chopping them as you go:
- 500g ripe bananas (about 4 or 5 bananas), chopped in small pieces (or part bananas, part mixed berries)

4.  Tip bananas into Thermomix and mix on reverse, speed 3, until mixed in.

5.  Heat oil in medium-hot frying pan:
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil (or butter/ghee)
     Drop large spoonfuls of batter into hot pan and cook until golden brown on both sides.

6.  Serve with a little honey or pure maple syrup drizzled over.

Variations: Try adding some berries, or replacing the banana with blueberries - so good!

Breakfast Sorbet

Mmmm... sorbet for breakfast!

Here's a different version of sorbet that's a lot more filling, and perfect for breakfast or an energizing morning tea snack!  My friend Nancy came up with the idea (inspired by the muesli and protein shakes in Cyndi O'Meara's cookbook Changing Habits Changing Lives),and I've changed it a little to make it dairy free and a bit more 'chewy'.  Nancy's version has a good dollop of natural yoghurt in it, which is nice if you can handle yoghurt - or if you want to you can use coconut cream instead.  I add sultanas at the end for a bit of sweet chewiness, and sprinkle some chopped nuts on top. If you can't be bothered you can add them all at once with everything else. Feel free to play with the ingredients and amounts, but don't fill the bowl too full, as it makes it difficult to mix.

1.  Toss into your Thermomix bowl (weighing them if you want to be particular!), and grind on speed 9 for about 30 seconds, using the spatula to assist:

- 40g raw almonds/macadamias/cashews

- 30g rolled oats or quinoa flakes

- 25g seeds - pepitas, sunflower, linseeds, chia seeds

- 30g tahini

- 30g sultanas
- 250g ice

2.  Next add the berries and grind them up on speed 9 for about 15 seconds:
- 250g frozen mixed berries

3.  Then add the remaining ingredients and mix on speed 9 for about 2 minutes, using spatula, mixing until creamy:

- 250g frozen bananas, chopped in 1 inch pieces

- 40g pure maple syrup or raw honey (or to taste)

- 50g yoghurt or coconut cream (optional)

4.  For extra yumminess, add some extra sultanas and/or chopped nuts and stir on speed 3 until mixed in, or sprinkle them on top:

- 30g sultanas
- 30g chopped nuts (I like pecans)

[Note: For a smoother version, grind up the dry ingredients first (seeds, nuts, oats/quinoa) until fine; add ice and grind; add frozen berries and grind; then add remaining ingredients.] 

Enjoy!

P.S. Freeze any leftovers in a sealed container or ice cube trays.  When you're ready to use it, thaw for a few minutes and remix in Thermomix to whip it up again.

Kedgeree

Kedgeree - a sunshiney, lemony rice and fish dish.

Kedgeree is great for an Easter Brunch, or a light meal. Add some steamed veges or salad, and you've got a full meal. This is my easy Thermomix version - the rice, eggs, fish and veges can steam all at once, saving time, power and dishes!

You can make Kedgeree with either basmati rice or brown rice, and with either tinned fish or fresh/smoked fish. If using tinned tuna or salmon, or smoked salmon, you stir it in at the end. If using fresh fish, you can steam it in the Varoma at the same time as you're cooking the rice and eggs in the rice basket. If you're using tinned tuna or salmon, the ingredients are just things you usually have in the fridge and cupboard all the time... It's nice to have some simple, standby recipes like this for when you need a spur-of-the-moment meal! But for something a bit more special, like Easter, try fresh smoked salmon - it's so good.

1. Pour water into TMX bowl, add the rice basket, weigh rice into basket and carefully place eggs onto the rice. Cook at Varoma temperature for 18 minutes, (35 minutes for brown rice), speed 4.

- 900g water (1200g water for brown rice)

- 350g basmati rice (or 300g brown rice)

- 3 or 4 eggs (make sure shells are clean)

2. Remove eggs, rinse under cold water, and peel. Remove rice basket and empty into Thermoserver or serving bowl - cover to keep warm. Empty water out of TMX bowl, rinse and dry.

3. Chop peel & parsley in TMX for 10 seconds, speed 8 and set aside in a small bowl.

- peel of half a lemon (peel thin strips with peeler)

- handful of fresh parsley

4. Chop garlic in TMX for 5 seconds, speed 7, then add onion and chop for 3 seconds, speed 5. Add oil or butter and saute on 100 degrees, 2 minutes, speed 1.

- 1 onion, quartered

- 1 clove garlic

- 30g olive oil or butter

5. Add spices and lemon juice; cook at 100 degrees, 1 minute, speed 1.

- 1 tsp ground turmeric

- 1 tsp curry powder

- juice of half a lemon

6. Add boiled eggs and chop on speed 3 for 3 seconds.

7. Tip rice into a large serving bowl, add the tuna and all the rest of the ingredients, and fold in. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

- 425g can tuna in spring water, drained and flaked (or red salmon)

- sea salt & freshly ground pepper

[Optional extra: if you can eat cream, drizzle about 3 tablespoons of cream in before folding ingredients together. If you want a little more moisture and can't have dairy, you could use some coconut cream or cashew cream, or just a little nut milk.]

Lamb Mince & Salad Pizza

A bite of Lamb Mince & Salad Pizza with 'Poor Man's Parmesan'

I've been so busy this week that I haven't had time to post a menu plan, or much of anything... so I'm sitting down to quickly type up this recipe I made last week.  It's a new family favourite!  We all loved it.  We don't have pizza too often these days, as the boys and I can't have cheese, so I was excited to find a recipe for 'Poor Man's Parmesan' in my new pizza cookbook - it's dairy free!!!  (The recipe for this pizza is my version of one in 'Pizza Modo Mio', by John Lanzafame.)

I used the Spelt Artisan Bread dough to make the pizza base, but you could use any pizza dough recipe - just make sure you roll it nice and thin so it's crispy - if it's too thick the juices from the meat may make it soggy.  And if you have one, cook it on a pizza stone, or at least on a thick, preheated oven tray.

Recipe makes 1 pizza.

1.  Place pizza stone (or heavy oven tray) in oven and preheat to 250 degrees C for about 20 minutes.  While it's heating, pull off a grapefruit sized piece of Artisan Bread dough, flouring it with some spelt flour so it doesn't stick to your hands.  Pat it onto a greased pizza tray, spreading it out so it's about 5mm thick.  (You may need more if you are using a large rectangular tray.)  Brush dough with olive oil.

2.  When the 20 minutes is up, place the pizza tray in the oven for 5 minutes (on the pizza stone) to prebake.

3.  Place in Thermomix bowl and chop on speed 7 for 5 seconds:

- 1 large handful of fresh parsley

- *1 clove of garlic

- *1/2 an onion

- chilli to taste

4.  Add to bowl and mix on reverse, speed 3 until combined:

- 300g raw lamb mince (or beef mince)

- sea salt & freshly ground pepper

(or you can mince your own meat by placing cubed meat in Thermomix and pulsing on Turbo 3 or 4 times until the desired texture)

5.  Remove pizza base from oven and spread meat mixture over it, not quite to the edges.  Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until cooked through and nicely browned.  (Edges of crust should be browned and crispy.)  Drizzle lamb mince with a little lemon juice.  (Omit for beef mince.)

6.  Top hot pizza with mixed salad greens, vine-ripened tomatoes, sun-dried tomato strips, sliced olives (opt) and sprinkle with 'poor man's parmesan'.

*Note: I used garlic and onion confits instead of raw garlic and onion, as per the original recipe - they're lovely and mild when baked in olive oil.  For onion confit, bake 2 brown onions (chopped) in 150ml EVOO for 2 hours at 120 degrees C.  For garlic confit, bake 200g peeled garlic cloves , a few parsley leaves and 150ml EVOO for 2 hrs at 120 degrees C.  They can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 months.