Monday, 12 December 2011
A big thankyou
Just a quick post to say a big thankyou to ledelicieux for winning the DeBortlio wine price! It made my day! For those of you who have read my accident post, you are aware of my injuries.
These lovely bottles of wine are going to the amazing friends and family, my support network who have helped me get through this hard time, driving me around, listening, being a shoulder to cry on!
I also want to give a big shout out to the chefs and staff at Tahmoor Inn, we had dinner there tonight, the chef made a gf sauce for me, they came out to tell me there was batter on the chips, so I had veggies! It made for a great dining experience and also proves it doesn't matter how fancy the restaurant is, it's about the willingness and knowledge of the chef to help you out!
I had a similar experience at Camden Bowling Club, the chef was very accomodating and kept on coming and checking I could eat certain things! Brilliant service and a place where you are guaranteed to have a gf meal and know with confidence that you won't have a reaction!
Keep an eye out on this blog for a delicious gf cherry ripe cake recipe!
Don't forget to follow me or get the blog posts by email, you can follow me on twitter too @MMOAGFL!
Thanks again LeDelicieux and DeBortlio for giving me a wonderful prize! Xxx
Saturday, 10 December 2011
Gf fruit n nut health bars!
One of the problems I find with being a coeliac is the lack of variety of snacks! I know there are some delicious biscuits and yummy chips, but when you are trying to be healthy and keep an eye on your weight, they aren't the most ideal snacks.
Also I love baking, obviously, as I wouldn't have started a food blog! But I have a habit of making delicious, sweet tasting treats! I end up eating way too much of this food! Again not so good for the waste line, particularly as my injuries very much limit my ability to exercise and burn off the calories I have digested.
So I set out to make a healthy snack bar, like a muesli bar, something that I can eat, without worrying too much on the calories. My first attempt was based on the popcorn pudding recipe that features on the deserts page, this was tasty but not a success for what I was after (I think the milk had something to do with it!).
My second attempt was a few days ago, inspired to create something delicious and healthy for my new readers and followers on twitter (which has been a large success, and given me amazing contacts!), I flicked through my gf cookbooks for inspiration.
What I created was based on a recipe from The Gluten Free Bible, but I made a few changes. Firstly the original recipe asked for a block of dark chocolate to be swirled across the top, sounds very delicious but didn't quite meeting the healthy treat I was aiming for.
To give the bars a bit extra flavour I added some golden syrup, which was the best decision, it really blended well with the rice flakes, chopped walnuts and cut up raisins, sultanas and dates, I also added some coconut! The only thing that I would change next time is the amount of butter. The original recipe, which I was using as a base called for 1/2 cup melted butter, it made the bars taste delicious and almost had the cornflake patty like taste that my gran used to make as a child, but it also gave it that buttery bottom, on each bar. So instead of 1/2 cup of butter, particularly if like me, your aim is for a healthy treat I would add 1/4 cup of butter, with the golden syrup it should still blend in quite well! I also cut the bars after they were set into long rectangles, you could also cut in half again and they would make great lunch box treats, which would look the same as all the other kids bars, but gluten free!
Without further ado here is the recipe,
GF Fruit & Nut Healthy Bars
Ingredients:
3 cups of crushed gf riceflakes or gf cornflakes (whatever is in the cupboard)
2/3 cups finely chopped dried fruit (I used sultanas, raisins and dates, that's what was in my cupboard, you could also use apricots, apples or cranberries, whatever is in your cupboard, if you have to buy something the remainder will get eaten)
2-3 tablespoons of finely chopped almonds (or other non salted nuts you have in your cupboard)
1/3 cup desiccated coconut (my addition)
1/3 cup icing sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
1 tablespoon of golden syrup (be generous, let it overflow a bit!)
Method:
Crush riceflakes or corn flakes (I put them in a bowl and used the back of the spoon, it worked quite well, don't blend as you don't want it too fine). Mix in finely chopped nuts fruit, nuts, icing sugar, coconut, melted butter and golden syrup, mix well.
Line a slice tray with baking paper and place mixture into the tray, use the back of a wooden spoon, to ensure that it is all flat and even.
Place bars in the fridge until set. Once set, cut bars into long rectangular shapes, then cut in half. This makes it easier for lunch box treats. Store in tray or airtight container in the fridge, depends how quickly they get devoured!
Note; if you are making these for your child to take to school, ensure that it is not a peanut free school, just ask their class teacher. If this is the case and your child can eat nuts, save them for afternoon tea treats! However if your child is allergic to nuts, simply add some pumpkin or sesame seeds to bulk it up, the same amount as the nuts. If you want to use the whole 1/2 cup of butter, these would also make great treats in patty or cup cake liners, refridgerate after putting them in their liners, for Christmas you could always use the Christmas cupcake liners! Let me know how it goes!
Also don't forget about the amazing competition at delicieux http://www.ledelicieux.com/ , the food blogger is running, you can win fantastic bottles of De Bortlio wines, it's also packaged in amazing Bohemia art boxes! Makes for great Christmas gifts!
I'm also on twitter you can follow me @MMOAGFL, don't forget the Facebook page and click on like it if you enjoy the blog! It's fantastic to read my blog and it is amazing to follow, if you don't have a gmail account, you can get my posts directly by email, fuss free, no searching straight to your inbox!
Enjoy
xxxx
Also I love baking, obviously, as I wouldn't have started a food blog! But I have a habit of making delicious, sweet tasting treats! I end up eating way too much of this food! Again not so good for the waste line, particularly as my injuries very much limit my ability to exercise and burn off the calories I have digested.
So I set out to make a healthy snack bar, like a muesli bar, something that I can eat, without worrying too much on the calories. My first attempt was based on the popcorn pudding recipe that features on the deserts page, this was tasty but not a success for what I was after (I think the milk had something to do with it!).
My second attempt was a few days ago, inspired to create something delicious and healthy for my new readers and followers on twitter (which has been a large success, and given me amazing contacts!), I flicked through my gf cookbooks for inspiration.
What I created was based on a recipe from The Gluten Free Bible, but I made a few changes. Firstly the original recipe asked for a block of dark chocolate to be swirled across the top, sounds very delicious but didn't quite meeting the healthy treat I was aiming for.
To give the bars a bit extra flavour I added some golden syrup, which was the best decision, it really blended well with the rice flakes, chopped walnuts and cut up raisins, sultanas and dates, I also added some coconut! The only thing that I would change next time is the amount of butter. The original recipe, which I was using as a base called for 1/2 cup melted butter, it made the bars taste delicious and almost had the cornflake patty like taste that my gran used to make as a child, but it also gave it that buttery bottom, on each bar. So instead of 1/2 cup of butter, particularly if like me, your aim is for a healthy treat I would add 1/4 cup of butter, with the golden syrup it should still blend in quite well! I also cut the bars after they were set into long rectangles, you could also cut in half again and they would make great lunch box treats, which would look the same as all the other kids bars, but gluten free!
Without further ado here is the recipe,
GF Fruit & Nut Healthy Bars
Ingredients:
3 cups of crushed gf riceflakes or gf cornflakes (whatever is in the cupboard)
2/3 cups finely chopped dried fruit (I used sultanas, raisins and dates, that's what was in my cupboard, you could also use apricots, apples or cranberries, whatever is in your cupboard, if you have to buy something the remainder will get eaten)
2-3 tablespoons of finely chopped almonds (or other non salted nuts you have in your cupboard)
1/3 cup desiccated coconut (my addition)
1/3 cup icing sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
1 tablespoon of golden syrup (be generous, let it overflow a bit!)
Method:
Crush riceflakes or corn flakes (I put them in a bowl and used the back of the spoon, it worked quite well, don't blend as you don't want it too fine). Mix in finely chopped nuts fruit, nuts, icing sugar, coconut, melted butter and golden syrup, mix well.
Line a slice tray with baking paper and place mixture into the tray, use the back of a wooden spoon, to ensure that it is all flat and even.
Place bars in the fridge until set. Once set, cut bars into long rectangular shapes, then cut in half. This makes it easier for lunch box treats. Store in tray or airtight container in the fridge, depends how quickly they get devoured!
Note; if you are making these for your child to take to school, ensure that it is not a peanut free school, just ask their class teacher. If this is the case and your child can eat nuts, save them for afternoon tea treats! However if your child is allergic to nuts, simply add some pumpkin or sesame seeds to bulk it up, the same amount as the nuts. If you want to use the whole 1/2 cup of butter, these would also make great treats in patty or cup cake liners, refridgerate after putting them in their liners, for Christmas you could always use the Christmas cupcake liners! Let me know how it goes!
Also don't forget about the amazing competition at delicieux http://www.ledelicieux.com/ , the food blogger is running, you can win fantastic bottles of De Bortlio wines, it's also packaged in amazing Bohemia art boxes! Makes for great Christmas gifts!
I'm also on twitter you can follow me @MMOAGFL, don't forget the Facebook page and click on like it if you enjoy the blog! It's fantastic to read my blog and it is amazing to follow, if you don't have a gmail account, you can get my posts directly by email, fuss free, no searching straight to your inbox!
Enjoy
xxxx
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
Butterscotch Scnapps & White Flesh Nectarines Summer Cocktail!
I was over the moon yesterday, when I received an email from Nuffnang, personally inviting me to participate in a food blog competition! A chance to win an chance to attend the foodathon at the Stokehouse in Melbourne! I'm finally a real food blogger, being invited to events and participating in blog hops! Its taken nearly 6 months but it was well worth the wait!
The competition is in conjunction with Schwepps and to enter you have to create a cocktail using a Schwepps drink as one of the base ingredients!The amazing price is a paid flight to Melbourne and a nights accommodation! Wow!
For my readers my last year and a bit hasn't been filled with the best of luck (aside from marrying the man of my dreams almost a year ago!), I haven't had the best of luck to say the least (I don't want to go into details, lets just say it involves numerous injuries, not being able to work, two surgeries and another hospital stay). But I think of myself as lucky, things could have been worse and so many people have worse injuries or conditions then mine, I'm grateful I'm alive and not worse off. But to win, to change my luck would be truely amazing, encouraging and inspiring, it would tell us all that there is light at the end if the tunnel, my luck can change!
I got this email on Tuesday and immediately got started thinking about what cocktail I would create. I did a quick mental note of the cocktails I've drunk and liked in the past! But the key that I wanted to do with my cocktail creation was to make it original, something that you wouldn't go to your local bar and ask for. My inspiration was seasonal (though the weather at the moment suggests otherwise), with particular focus on the fruits of summer. I then thought of what Schwepps drinks I like the most, find the most refreshing in summer. The conclusion I came to was the fruit I was going to use is white flesh nectarine (with skin on), I then thought of what spirits would taste nice with nectarine, I already had Butterscotch Schnapps, actually I think the spirit was were I first started. The Schewepps lemonade was the most obivious choice with my combination, I wanted the two flavors to come through not be overwhelmed by the mixing drink.
The next addition to my delicious summer cocktail was lots and lots of ice, ice is the key to any refreshing summer cocktail! The best thing about a summer cocktail, is to taste the lovely flavours but without being hit with the overwhelming alcohol flavor! When blending, leave little chunks of ice, it makes the cocktail that more refreshing, chewing on the mini chunks of ice, absorbed by the cocktail flavor, is pure heaven! Guaranteed to have you wanting some more of the Schwepervesence of this delightful refreshing cocktail! The best thing about this cocktail is that it doesn't overwhelm you with the flavor of alcohol, but they refreshing and delightful blend of white flesh nectarines and Butterscotch Shnapps, complimented by the Schwepps Lemonade! I hope you enjoy this cocktail as much as I did! To make more for a party, simply double the mixture!
After much thought the name of this delicious cocktail is:
Serves 2 Cocktail glasses
Ingredients:
2 chopped white flesh nectarines with the skin on
45ml of Butterscotch Schnapps
2 cups of lemonade
2 handfuls of ice.
Method: Place all ingredients in blender, mix on high until ingredients is blended through. The cocktail will give a fluffy fuzz like texture, this is how it is meant to be! Place in a pre chilled cocktail glass and serve with a colorful straw. Enjoy Xx
The competition is in conjunction with Schwepps and to enter you have to create a cocktail using a Schwepps drink as one of the base ingredients!The amazing price is a paid flight to Melbourne and a nights accommodation! Wow!
For my readers my last year and a bit hasn't been filled with the best of luck (aside from marrying the man of my dreams almost a year ago!), I haven't had the best of luck to say the least (I don't want to go into details, lets just say it involves numerous injuries, not being able to work, two surgeries and another hospital stay). But I think of myself as lucky, things could have been worse and so many people have worse injuries or conditions then mine, I'm grateful I'm alive and not worse off. But to win, to change my luck would be truely amazing, encouraging and inspiring, it would tell us all that there is light at the end if the tunnel, my luck can change!
I got this email on Tuesday and immediately got started thinking about what cocktail I would create. I did a quick mental note of the cocktails I've drunk and liked in the past! But the key that I wanted to do with my cocktail creation was to make it original, something that you wouldn't go to your local bar and ask for. My inspiration was seasonal (though the weather at the moment suggests otherwise), with particular focus on the fruits of summer. I then thought of what Schwepps drinks I like the most, find the most refreshing in summer. The conclusion I came to was the fruit I was going to use is white flesh nectarine (with skin on), I then thought of what spirits would taste nice with nectarine, I already had Butterscotch Schnapps, actually I think the spirit was were I first started. The Schewepps lemonade was the most obivious choice with my combination, I wanted the two flavors to come through not be overwhelmed by the mixing drink.
The next addition to my delicious summer cocktail was lots and lots of ice, ice is the key to any refreshing summer cocktail! The best thing about a summer cocktail, is to taste the lovely flavours but without being hit with the overwhelming alcohol flavor! When blending, leave little chunks of ice, it makes the cocktail that more refreshing, chewing on the mini chunks of ice, absorbed by the cocktail flavor, is pure heaven! Guaranteed to have you wanting some more of the Schwepervesence of this delightful refreshing cocktail! The best thing about this cocktail is that it doesn't overwhelm you with the flavor of alcohol, but they refreshing and delightful blend of white flesh nectarines and Butterscotch Shnapps, complimented by the Schwepps Lemonade! I hope you enjoy this cocktail as much as I did! To make more for a party, simply double the mixture!
After much thought the name of this delicious cocktail is:
Serves 2 Cocktail glasses
2 chopped white flesh nectarines with the skin on
45ml of Butterscotch Schnapps
2 cups of lemonade
2 handfuls of ice.
Method: Place all ingredients in blender, mix on high until ingredients is blended through. The cocktail will give a fluffy fuzz like texture, this is how it is meant to be! Place in a pre chilled cocktail glass and serve with a colorful straw. Enjoy Xx
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