Last year Hubby planted Rhubarb and this year we had a bumper crop. I wanted to experiment with it and I’ve always wanted to have a go at making fruit leathers, so I decided to make rhubarb ones. Fruit Leathers are basically pureed fruit that is dehydrated until it’s dry, but not brittle, then cut… Continue reading Rhubarb Leathers
Category: Cooking Adventures
Trying out new and old recipes from popular chefs and cook books
Another Gluten Free Cook Book
Greetings to anyone who reads this blog. I have to say that I haven’t posted for a while as I have been off my game and wanting a social media break. That’s not to say that I’ve stopped cooking lots of lovely gluten free goodies, I just haven’t been so obsessed with taking photographs of everything that I cook. This did get on hubbies nerves a bit!!
I nabbed this new gluten free cook book (the one in the picture) from my Mum, she is always buying new cook books so that she can make me goodies when I go to visit her. I read this one and really liked the look of the recipes, the ingredients were run of the mill and they looked simple enough. So Mum said I could have it as I’m more likely to use it than she is. … Continue reading
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Sunday Brunch
On Sunday my son Brad and his wife Faye came round for brunch. They are both into healthy eating and so I thought I would do an alternative to the usual cooked breakfast. Inspired by a couple of recipes from my Eat Healthy magazine I did roasted sweet potato, butternut squash and red pepper frittata, homemade ‘baked’ beans and grilled gluten free sausages by Heck. It went down really well and was surprisingly filling.
The baked beans were a combination of two recipes, I just took the flavours I like and the ingredients I had and a little bit of hey presto!
Here is the recipe if you fancy having a go yourselves:
- coconut oil for frying
- 1 red onion finely chopped
- 1 tin of cannellini beans
- 1 tin of mixed beans
- 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
- 200ml passata
- a large tablespoon of tomato puree
- 1 tbsp Tamari
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp coarse-grain mustard
- In a small frying pan, gently fry the onions in the coconut oil for about 10 minutes until they are nice and soft
- drain and rinse the beans and add to a large saucepan
- add everything else and the cooked onions
- bring to the boil and simmer for at least 30 minutes, the longer you simmer the thicker the sauce.
They were very simple to make and a lot healthier than the usual tinned baked beans.
They also bought me a beautiful flower arrangement for the table, it’s from their favourite florist Penny Jane Flowers in Leigh-on-sea.
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Cakes for birthday pressies!
Tomorrow it’s one of my colleague’s birthday. He will be 60 years old, although he doesn’t look or act like 60! He’s having a little shindig and as I have no idea what to buy him I decided to make it personal and make him a cake. This cake is one of my favourites and I’ve been making it for years, it’s called ‘Venetian carrot cake’ and it’s from the book ‘Kitchen’ by Nigella Lawson. The great thing about this cake is that it is naturally gluten free and dairy free, although Nigella does suggest you accompany a slice with a dollop of mascarpone cream, which is yummy! So Happy Birthday Dave, here’s looking at you kid!
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New book, New Enthusiasm!
Hello everyone out there in the big wide blogging world. I’m afraid I have been a little off my blogging game of late. I haven’t blogged for weeks!
I think there are a number of reasons, one being that Spring has sprung and I have a renewed vigour for road cycling, I have got a bit obsessive for cycling the hills around town. Also, I haven’t had the enthusiasm to bake new things, not that I haven’t been baking, I’m always cooking up something or other but I just haven’t blogged about them.
So, when I was visiting my Mum the other weekend, we were in town and I was perusing the cook books in WHSmith and came across this little number
I flicked through it and thought, yes, I like a lot of these recipes and I fancy giving them a go. The book is a traditional baking book, in that it uses good old fashioned ingredients like sugar and golden syrup, so it’s not for those ‘sugar free’ fans out there! I also like the fact that she uses Dove Farm flours, which are easy to buy in the supermarkets.
I made my first bake from the book today – Muesli cookies and they came out perfect. They were delicious, didn’t taste ‘gluten-free’ and I substituted the butter for Pure vegetable spread so that they are suitable for Vegan. They made loads, so I took a small pile round to my daughter, who is vegan, and she woofed them down. I shall be trying out many more of the recipes, so watch this space ♥
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Spice Girly night in!
Last night the men in our lives were out and about in town with their respective amigos, so my daughter, Faye, came round and we decided to have a cook off and then settle down to watch the film The Dressmaker. A proper girls night in! … Continue reading
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Healthy Lunch Week – Well I Tried!
On Sunday evenings I generally spend half an hour or so thinking about what we will have for dinner for the week so that I can create a shopping list on the Monday. I find this helps me save money and food waste as I am only buying what I need. … Continue reading
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I have a Spiralizer – and I know how to use it!
I bought my Spiralizer ages ago from Lakeland, I can’t remember why, I think it must have been an idea I got from the latest batch of ‘healthy eating’ cook books I bought! Anyway, it sat in the cupboard until just recently when I was reviewing a recipe using butternut squash to make ‘squashetti’. … Continue reading
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Review – The new Eat Healthy Mag
I was browsing in WHSmith the other week and came across this magazine. I’d never seen it before and that was because it was brand new and I was actually looking at the first issue. … Continue reading
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Healthy Swaps -Turkey Bolognese
I always get excited when my new edition of Women’s Health comes through the letter box. It inspires me to keep healthy and I look forward to the recipes. This edition didn’t disappoint! … Continue reading
GlutenfreeSally 