Muesli Slice

Muesli Slice

Inspired by:

Golden Circle Kids Cookery Book Anzac biscuit Recipe

Why?

Some visitors left some non gluten free muesli and some dairy butter at our house and I didn’t want to waste them. As well as making this for the gluten and dairy tolerant friends and family around, I wanted to make some for me too!

I used:

1 cup gluten free muesli (of your choice, I used oat muesli because its allowed in my gluten free diet. I know oats aren't permissable for some)

1 cup desiccated coconut

¾ cup sugar

½ cup gluten free self raising flour

100g dairy free margarine OR 1/4 cup + 1 Tbs vegatable oil.

2 Tbs golden syrup

What I did:

Preheat oven to 160C, and line 20x30cm tray.

In a medium sized bowl combine gluten free muesli, coconut, sugar, and gluten free self raising flour and mix well with a wooden spoon, and set aside. 
In a small saucepan over low heat melt dairy free margarine or oil and golden syrup together. 
Once melted take off heat (turn off stove) and pour the margarine and syrup mixture over the muesli mixture. Mix thoroughly. 
Pour the mixture onto the tray when it is thoroughly combined. 
Press into the tray, making sure there is an even spread of mixture. 
Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown on top. 
The mixture may still be bubbling when it has browned and is cooked, but will set when it is cooling.

Comments after eating Muesli slice!

It is tasty, but probably has too much margerine and sugar in it to be too healthy! It's very filling, which is a bonus! And lasts for quite a while! If you are using oil it will end up being a bit crunchier than if using margerine. Random tip-I find it's much easier to break into pieces than to cut!

whoops!

Hi everyone!
I was writing up a recipe for something I have just made when I realised this whole time I have been getting the measurements of my pans wrong. Sometimes I am not the most precise of people, especially when it comes to baking, sometimes I just follow my senses, to my joy or tears! This mistake could have led to someones tears. So my apologies. I have (hopefully) corrected them all now to reflect more accurate pan/tray sizes, but to me, a few cm in pan size will not make or break a dish. But others may disagree.
Moving on. . .
I found this interesting article a few weeks ago. Ignore the advertising and ponder the statistics


http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/food/index/article/-/10197556/australians-stuck-in-food-rut/

Can you boil an egg? How many recipes are in your knowledge bank?
Eggs- yes, Recipes- no idea. Do they mean know the quantities from scratch?
I must admit I find food for the evening meal much less exciting than desserts, (you may have noticed), may be because they are very quickly eaten, while things of the sweet variety are eaten in smaller quantities and so your hard work lasts longer. That is not to say that I dont try and experiment with my evening meals. I do. I mean just last night I made an experimental sauce and it tasted more like pancake mix than what it was meant to, but that will not deter me. My lucky husband will get try number 2 tonight.
What was this supposed to achieve? I'm not sure.
Hopefully at least a smile.
xox

Lamingtons

Lamingtons

Inspired by:

About.coms recipe for Lamingtons although the recipe is very standard.

Why?

It was Australia Day and I had to celebrate somehow! (yes I am posting this recipe a bit late)

I used:

2 cups Gluten Free Self Raising Flour

¼ tsp salt

2 eggs

½ cup dairy free margarine

¾ cup white sugar

1 tsp vanilla powder/essence

½ cup dairy free rice milk

Icing-

2 cups icing sugar

1/3 cup cocoa

3 tbs dairy free margarine

½ cup dairy free rice milk

1-2 cups of desiccated coconut

What I did:

Preheat Oven 180C, and grease/line a cake tin 45cm x30xcm. 
In a medium sized bowl beat together ½ cup dairy free margerine and white sugar with an electric or hand beater, until fluffy and pale. 
Add in one egg at a time and beat in well. 
Mix in vanilla. 
Add the salt to the flour and add one cup of the gluten free self raising flour, and then combine with a wooden spoon. 
Next add ½ cup milk, and mix well, and then finally add the last cup of gluten free self raising flour. 
Once combined well, pour into tin, making sure batter is evenly spread and bake for 30 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Cool the cake in the tin for 5 minutes and then invert tin onto a cooling rack until cake is cool. 
When cake is cool, cut it into squares, sizes of your choosing.
Lamington sizes vary from 7cm square, to fingers of 7cm by 3cm, so have fun.
 Place your shapes of cake in an airtight container, and place the container in the refrigerator overnight (or for at least two hours).

To make the icing, place the icing sugar, cocoa, 3 tablespoons of margarine, and ½ cup rice milk in a bain-marie, stirring the mixture as it melts and until it becomes smooth but also slightly thick. 
If the icing is too thin it won’t absorb into the cake.

Take the icing off the heat, and prepare your  workstation. 
Have a cooling rack ready for the final product, perhaps with a drip tray or paper underneath to catch the mess. 
Pour the coconut into a bowl, and take your cake pieces out of the refrigerator. 
Take a piece of the cake, dip it into the icing (if the icing is too hot to handle, wait until it is cool enough) making sure it coats the cake on all sides, and then roll the cake in the coconut, and set it on the cooling rack. 
Repeat the process with the rest of the cake pieces.
Refrigerate and enjoy!

Comments after eating Lamingtons!

They taste so much like ones that have been store bought I could not believe it. They were so delicious. This is another recipe I really want to make again. Although I have to admit it is hard to wait until you can ice them, it really is worth it. Very easy to make!

Chocolate Fudge

Chocolate Fudge

Inspired by:

Godairyfree.org and recipe by Hannah Kaminsky

Why?

I had a craving!

I used:

200g dairy free dark chocolate, broken into small pieces.

3 ½ cups icing sugar

½ cup cocoa

2 tablespoons dairy free margarine

½ cup coconut milk (naturally dairy free)

½ teaspoon vanilla powder/essence

What I did:

Line a 20cm x30cm baking pan.

Place chocolate, sugar and cocoa in a medium sized bowl and mix together. 
In a saucepan heat margarine and coconut milk over a low to medium heat, stirring continually. 
When margarine has melted and mixture is just bubbling, remove from heat (turn off element) and pour over the ingredients in the bowl. 
Let the mixture rest for two minutes, and then stir with a wooden spoon to combine it together, mixing in the vanilla. 
Once the chocolate has melted into the mixture, and the mixture's consistency is smooth, pour it into the baking pan and let cool completely before attempting to cut it.

Comments after eating Chocolate Fudge!

I’m typing this up quite a while after making this, but I remember it being really rich and really delicious! It was something that we just wanted to keep eating which was a bit naughty! It’s tempting me to make it again. I hope I can hold out until Christmas! I saw a photo of a variation someone had made of this fudge that had crushed candy canes pressed into the top, and was mint flavored! What a perfect present!

Watermelon Cake

Watermelon Cake

Inspired by:

About.coms recipe for Lamingtons and Watermelon Cake

Why?

We had half a watermelon frozen in the freezer that I needed to do something with, and this was what I chose!

I used:

2 cups Gluten Free Self Raising Flour

2 eggs

½ cup dairy free margarine

¾ cup white sugar

1 tsp vanilla powder/essence

2 cups seedless watermelon puree

Pinch of salt.

What I did:

Preheat Oven 180C, and grease/line a cake tin 40cm x 30cm, or a round tin with volume equivalent.

In a medium sized bowl beat together dairy free margerine and sugar with an electric or hand beater, until the mixture is fluffy and pale. 
Add in one egg at a time and beat in well. 
Mix in vanilla. 
Add one cup of the gluten free self raising flour, and then combine mixture with a wooden spoon. 
Next add the watermelon puree, and mix well, and then finally add the last cup of gluten free self raising flour. Stir in a pinch of salt at the end. 
Once the batter is thoroughly mixed, pour into the tin and bake for 40 minutes or until slightly browned on top and a tester comes out clean.

Tastes good with icing or without.

Comments after eating Watermelon Cake!

You can slightly taste the watermelon if you know what you are trying to taste, and it is surprisingly pleasing. I paired this cake with mint icing, and it was delicious and fresh tasting. A successful experiment! 

You can add chocolate chips, and red food colouring to the batter so that it looks more watermelonish (with bright green icing). But I didn't have any of that on hand- alas!

The hardest part about this recipe was deseeding my non seedless watermelon, but it was easier than I thought. A fork does the trick!

Hello!

Well if you are one of those people who have subscribed to the email feed. . .then sorry about the mistakes in my typing!! The biscuit recipe should have read tablespoons not teaspoons worth of dough being put on the tray to bake! They are fixed now!
I am back in Rome! For another 8 months at least. The last 6 weeks has just reminded me how depressing it can be sometimes travelling being gluten and dairy free sometimes. Potato chips and tea, chicken and rice. Not necessarily from this trip, but I have come back from trips craving vegatables. It's nice to be back in the land of gelato again too. 
Every time I visit Australia and New Zealand (not so much NZ cause they have Whitakers) I get so annoyed at their chocolate companies which put milk in DARK DARK chocolate and wheat in there too sometimes. . .can't a girl get a break? I just want chocolate!!!!!
I was happy to see that Weis brought out a new flavour of sorbet. Bliss!! and I always love cooking with the fake cream cheese- toffutti.
My lovely mother in law introduced me to some great gluten and dairy free breads in NZ, it was such a luxury having toast for breakfast!
In sad news it seems a lot more of my friends are having to eat gluten and or dairy free now. It's not an easy road, or cheap, but I hope it helps your health!!
Thats all for me for now. Thanks for listening. xoL

Chocolate Caramel Banana Meringue Pie (Cheaters Version)

Chocolate Caramel Banana Meringue Pie (Cheaters Version)

Inspired by: eep. . .can’t find the link now but it was a multitude of recipes for Banana pies of all sorts.

Why? I don’t usually do this, make things as a mash up of actual food I have in the cupboard or things I have made before, but I had two bananas to use and I’ve baked banana cake and bread so many times, so I was looking for something different and fast!

I used:

Left over Blondie slice (gluten free, dairy free)

15cm x10cm cut in half, to make two 15cmx10cm pieces. (if this is confusing see below the two pieces of blondie were one piece which sat on top of eachother)

Left over Brownie slice (gluten free, dairy free) 15cm x10cm.

2 bananas

½ cup brown sugar

2 tsps gluten free flour.

10 mini meringues (gluten free)

What I did:

In 15x30cm dish (my dish measurements aren't exact-I'm estimating- my apologies) place Blondie slice, Brownie slice, Blondie slice, on the bottom of the dish, tightly together so there are no gaps. 
Press together if necessary. 
In a small bowl, mix bananas and brown sugar, mashing with a fork until creamy, add gluten free flour and mix well. 
Pour on top of slice base. 
Arrange meringues on the top evenly on the top to your liking. 
Refrigerate until cold, then eat and enjoy.

Comments after eating Caramel, chocolate, banana, meringue pie!

It’s quite an odd experience having such strong flavours altogether and still being able to taste them each individually, while being combined. I enjoyed it a lot.

You could use cake, or a combination of crushed biscuits, sugar and margerine to make the base if you wanted a quick dessert and you didn't happen to have left over slice around.