Banana and Hazelnut Bread
Love the hazelnut meal in this Banana Bread recipe from Weight Watchers Gluten Free cookbook.
Banana Bread
Ingredients
2/3 cup gluten free plain flour
2/3 cup rice flour
2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup hazelnut meal
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup sunflower or canola oil
½ cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large ripe bananas (460g), mashed
Method
Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan forced). Line a 22 cm x 11 cm loaf tin with baking paper.
Sift flours and baking powder into a large bowl and add cinnamon, brown sugar and hazelnut meal. Stir to combine.
Whisk eggs, oil, buttermilk and vanilla in a small bowl. Stir in mashed banana.
Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture and stir until just combined.
Spoon mixture into prepared tin, smooth surface and bake for 45 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Set aside for 5 minutes before turning out.
(from Weight Watchers Gluten Free)
Oops… Complacency
Oops is an understatement
A member of our local Coeliac Queensland group, emailed through the details of a new product on the shelves: Kellogg’s Gluten Free Breakfast Biscuits.
I had checked my Coles supermarket, but they weren’t on the shelves but I did find them at Woolworths.
I quickly lined up the three different flavours, took a photo and then my husband and I deliberated over which packet we would buy for KJ for taste testing. We couldn’t decide so threw into the trolley the Cranberries… and the Apricot…..
KJ found the Breakfast Biscuits and brought the red packet to me with the questions “Are these gluten free?” I replied, “Yes, I thought we would give them a try”.
LUCKILY my KJ is gluten free savvy, and replied but “These ones (Cranberries…) have gluten in them!”
“No, they are gluten free, see here on the front of the packet…. “
OOPS!!!!!
How easily confused I was. I had taken the photo at the supermarket, just after I lined up the ‘three’ varieties on the shelf.
I did not see it then, I did not see it when I unpacked the boxes, I did not see it when I put the packets in prominent place in the kitchen.
How easily I thought that all the Kellogg’s Breakfast Biscuits on the same shelf were all gluten free.
How easily it is to ‘miss’ that the product contained gluten.
How easily it is to unknowingly consume gluten.
I thought I was gluten free savvy, but KJ taught me a few lessons today.
Check and recheck.
Don’t assume if one variety is gluten free that all varieties are gluten free.
Don’t trust your mother, because she isn’t the one who would suffer the consequences.
Always do your own due diligence.
ALWAYS be vigilant.
There is no room for error in KJ’s gluten free diet and thankfully, my error was noticed.
It is at times like this one could feel overwhelmed by the responsibility of eating gluten free, with no room for error.
I had let my guard down, I was excited that I have found this new product and didn’t see what was painfully obvious.
It used to be that I taught KJ about his gluten free needs. The roles are reversed now and he is teaching me.
What can I say. Maybe a humble few words to my son:
“KJ I promise I won’t nag and question and make a fuss anymore about where and what you are eating and whether foods are gluten free. You have more than proved your point that you can deal with your gluten free life.”
A Little Bit of Spice
Add a little bit of spice to the gluten free Christmas Stocking this year
Beerenberg is known for their jams and relishes and dressings but now they have added a few more tempting and tantalising reasons to love their range: slow cooker Spanish Chicken, Moroccan Lamb, Cuban Mojo Port and Hungarian Beef Goulash.
And another good reason to love Beerenberg is that their products are gluten free.
You can find Beerenberg in the supermarkets but gourmet pantries and delis will have a wider range.
VIP Gourmet Cellar next door to the Victoria Park Hotel on Boundary Street South Townsville is well stocked with this new range of slow cooker items as is Christo’s Deli at The Precinct Fairfield.
Xmas Present – Gluten Free
Comprehensive.Colourful.Coeliac
Can I afford another Gluten Free Recipe Book?
Can I find space on my bookcase for one more recipe book?
Do I really need another gluten free recipe book?
Will I make any of the recipes?
Yes. No. No. Maybe.
But my husband has already bookmarked a number of mains and I have taken note of a number of sweets. So I think that I really did need to have this book.
Perfect as a Christmas or special occasion gift, this Women’s Weekly recipe book lives up to its reputation.
There are lots of new ideas for produce already in your kitchen but also a few yummy recipes:
Raspberry and Chocolate Brownie
Almond, Coconut and Pineapple Slice
Orange and White Chocolate Blondie
Banana and Maple Syrup Loaf
Baked Ricotta with Caramelised Onions and Flatbreads
Pina Colada Smoothie
Xmas is Just Around the Corner
Gift.Ideas.Menu.Ideas.GlutenFree.Christmas
Xmas is just around the corner or literally just one more turn of the page on the calendar, so thoughts turn to the Christmas lunch or the Christmas gift…. gluten free of course. And all the extras that go with a family Christmas.
Gift Ideas
Springhill Farm has a gluten free hamper
Smoothie Makers are perfect for all age groups and there are many to choose from on the market.. Nutri Bullet, Magic Bullet. BlitznGo.
Jelly Belly Bean Boozled combines eating jelly beans with a game of chance.
Gingerbread Folk Gluten Free Gingerbread House Kit available online if you can’t buy one in your area or no doubt available in speciality stores in larger cities.
And for more ideas, go to Yum Gluten Free for their Christmas Gluten Free Gift Guide.
Also visit my Christmas posts from previous years for a few more ideas.
Menu Ideas
We love our food. We love our food traditions. We love sharing food with our family. And every year we, family members discuss for many weeks, the answers to the question : WHAT ARE WE GOING TO HAVE FOR CHRISTMAS? Reality is, that we haven’t had to make too many changes to accommodate a ‘gluten free’ Christmas: gf Worcestershire sauce, gf crackers, gf lasagne sheets, gf cereals for rum balls and Bumble Bees. Below is a menu from 2013 but I am sure we won’t stray too much from this list. The phone calls haven’t started yet, but I am looking forward to all that goes with Christmas including the discussions back and forth, the making of lists, the shopping, the planning and then sitting down and enjoying.
Merry Christmas Bon Nadal Buon Natale Joyeux Noël
Starters
Robert’s Signature Dip and Bagel Chips
Pesto and Hand Crafted Corn Chips
Devils on Horseback
The Main Event
Savoury Beef de Brendan
Cape Grimm Rib Eye Roast with Cafe de Paris Butter
On the Side
A Touch of Snow (side of rice)
Fatoush Salad
Something Sweet
Surprise de Terese
Velia’s Plum Pudding and Custard (contains gluten)
Crème Caramel and Balsamic Strawberries
Afters
Turron Jijona
Rum Truffle Balls
Sweet and Salty Crunchy Chocolate
Oven Baked Tomato and Chicken Risotto
I cook a lot with chicken followed closely by mince. Both are versatile and can become a Mexican or Thai or Italian meal without too much effort.
I found this chicken recipe on the back of the tetra pack of chicken stock, also another important staple in my kitchen. The bonus is that not only is it a one pot recipe but also that once the preliminary preparations are made it is then baked in the oven. Remember for many of the supermarket products we buy, you can find recipes on their websites.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
100 g bacon rashers, thinly slice
500 g chicken thighs, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon lemon zest finely grated
1 tablespoon rosemary finely chopped
2 cups Arborio rice
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cups chicken stock
Finely grated parmesan, to serve
Method
Preheat oven to 180C.
Heat the oil in a large flameproof ovenproof dish over medium heat.
Cool the onion and bacon in olive oil until golden brown about 2 minutes.
Add the chicken and cook, stirring for 3 – 4 minutes or until golden.
Add garlic, lemon zest and rosemary and cook for a further 2 minutes.
Add the rice and cook, stirring for 1 minute to coat the grains.
Mix the tomato paste and stock n a jug and pour over rice. Stir.
Bake covered for 35 minutes or until rice is just tender and the liquid has almost been absorbed.
Stir through parmesan. Serve.
Tri-Colour Gluten Free Pasta
Rainbow.TriColour.Vibrant
The Source is a bulk foods store with an outlet in North Ward Townsville offering a range of pulses, single origin flours, gluten free flours, gluten free pastas, honey, nuts, nut mixes and teas to name a few.
The tri-colour pasta is made from quinoa, rice, spinach and beetroot and while I know my teenager will realise that the colour comes from something he doesn’t like and therefore will not eat it, I think children will find it fun and enticing.
Gluten Free Pizza Bases
Pizza.Teenager.Food
Teenagers love their pizzas and while there are a variety of gluten free pizza bases out their in the supermarkets, I came across Julian’s Gluten Free Pizza Base recently.
Found in the fridge section of Woolworths Supermarket it makes a good pizza. As my son says, “it doesn’t fall apart and it doesn’t feel like cardboard”.
Texas Chicken Wing Nibbles
Sticky.Spicy.Zingy
Found in the supermarket recently were these Texan Chicken Wing Nibbles. Perfect for a Sunday lunch served with a salad or a Footie night snack.
Spicy and sticky and full of flavour, a great standby for the freezer.
Gluten Free Packet Cakes
Quick.Easy.TimeSaver
In the beginning, I found gluten free baking very confronting. I had always prided myself in baking my own cakes and slices. I wanted my sons to know that people really do make meals and cakes from scratch. I wanted my sons to know that pasta sauce doesn’t come out of a bottle. I wanted my sons to appreciate family favourites and the stories behind these recipes.
So when I started gluten free baking I resisted making a packet cake. I was stubborn and thought that I wanted to do things my way… the old fashioned way. So I baked my way through hundreds of recipes which I found both frustrating and calming.
But what I have accepted is that there is nothing wrong with a gluten free packet cake. You can dress it up with layering of cream and strawberries. You can decorate it with sprinkles. You can make it into decorative cupcakes. The possibilities are endless. For even more decadent recipes just go to Betty Crocker’s website.
I was speaking with a local restaurateur recently about his predominately gluten free menu and asking about the gluten free bread served with the soup. We talked a lot about gluten free and then he produced a Betty Crocker Devil’s Food Gluten Free Cake Mix from under the counter…his standby gluten free cake for when a ‘booking’ asks if he can do a gluten free dessert cake for a special celebration.
I keep a packet mix in the cupboard. It is my standby for the ‘just in case’ times when I have run out of plain flour or almond meal or special ingredients.
Lesson to myself is: it is okay to use a packet cake mix.
