Peanut Butter Bliss Balls

Peanut Butter Bliss Balls - Vegan and Gluten Free

These are full of yummy goodness! I use Pic's Peanut Butter.

12 Medjool dates

1 ½ cups ground almonds

3 Tablespoons peanut butter

Splash of almond or soy milk

2 teaspoons Dutch cocoa powder

1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

1/3 cup desiccated coconut

Place the dates in a food processor and pulse until they form a smooth paste.

Add the almonds, peanut butter, milk and cocoa powder. Blend together 

for a minute.  Add the chocolate chips and combine until well mixed. Scoop

 out balls the size of teaspoons and roll in coconut.

Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to set.

Chickpea Flour Pancakes with Mushroom filling - Vegan and Gluten Free

Chickpea Flour Pancakes with Mushroom filling

Vegan and Gluten Free

Chickpea Flour Pancakes

300g chickpea flour

1/2 teaspoon coriander

1/4 tsp ground tumeric

red chilli powder to taste

Sunflower oil

Sift the flour into a bowl with the spices and add 150 to 220 ml cold water (until it is a thin batter). Stir to combine then season with sea salt, black pepper and chilli powder.

Grease a large non-stick pan with a little sunflower oil and cook one pancake at a time.

Mushroom filling

Mushrooms

GF Vege stock

Garlic

Olive Oil

Cornflour

Water

White wine - optional

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a pan and heat. Slice the mushrooms (amount depends on how many you are cooking for). Finely chop the garlic. Add the mushrooms and garlic to the pan and gently cook. Pour a cup of stock over the mushrooms and bring up to simmer. Mix 2 teaspoons of cornflour with about 4 tablespoons water - until a smooth paste. Add to the mushroom mixture, stirring until it thickens. You can add 2 tablespoons of white wine if you want.

Gf Kumara Coconut Pizza

Organic Gf Kumara Coconut Pizza

From Liberty Market

 

 

This pizza was quite nice, not amazing, but was gluten free and vegetarian so Pete was happy. Served with coleslaw and gluten free kumara rosti it made a pretty good weekend meal. It was pricey - $9.50 for a pizza about the size of a side plate so not a regular meal.

Oddfellows Cafe

Oddfellows Cafe

5 Disreali St

Addington

Christchurch

Gluten Free Louise Slice


Oddfellows is in a commercial area a little out of the way but a definite gem. I was pleased to take Pete there and have a number of gluten free slices for him to have: Florentine Slice $4.50, Louise Slice $4.20, Choc Brownie $4.20. Pete had the Louise Slice and enjoyed it. They also had gluten free vegetarian pumpkin and sage rissotto slice. The breakfast menu has a number of gluten free options.

Now for me, they have buttermilk date scones that are truly to die for - get in early as they go very quickly!

Coconut Cookies - Vegan and Gluten Free

Coconut Cookies

These are vegan and can be gluten free. They are moist and with the dark chocolate they become like a Bounty Bar! Simple to make and look pretty!

130g/ 1 cup plain flour or gluten free flour  - I use a white rice flour

¼ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla essence

160g/ 2 cups desiccated coconut

1/3 cup of coconut or soy milk

1/2 cup Demerara sugar

1/3 cup coconut or sunflower oil

50g/ 1/3 cup finely chopped vegan dark chocolate – I use Whittakers 72% Dark Choc

Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F) Line a tray with baking paper.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Then stir in the coconut.

Put the milk, sugar, vanilla and oil in a separate bowl and whisk vigorously until well combined. Pour into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix with a spatula until you get dough that is firm but a little sticky. It shouldn’t be dry or crumbly.

Wet your hands and pull off a tablespoon of the dough. Roll into a ball, flatten then shape into an oval. Continue with the rest of the dough, arranging each cookie 2 cm apart on the baking tray. 

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 8 – 10 minutes, no longer. Take them out as soon as the bottoms turn slightly golden. Don’t worry if they seem pale and a little soft – they will harden as they cool down.

Remove the cookies from the oven, transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Do not let the base of the bowl touch the water. Drizzle the chocolate over the cookies. I use a bottle to do it neatly.

Belgium Slice

Belgium Slice - Dairy and Gluten Free

This slice is so yummy - spicy, moist, raspberry jam and sweet icing. A real treat. When Mum and Pete have it, I always have to have a piece. I don't think you can tell it is dairy and gluten free.

It is made by Pavillion and available at most supermarkets. At New World it costs $6.29.

Product - Spinach and Feta Savouries

Spinach and Feta Savouries - Gluten free and Vegetarian

Party or snack food is often a bit trickier for gluten free and vegetarians so when I saw these savouries at the Merivale Fresh Choice, I grabbed them for Pete to try. Pastry is one of the hardest gluten free recipes to replicate - often it is dry and hard. The company is ALFF and based in Rangiora near Christchurch. They are expensive, as many gluten free products are: 6 savouries cost $11 but I imagine they would be cheaper from the bakery at 138 Percival St in Rangiora. Their website has a range of other products as well.

These tasted quite nice - the pastry was a little hard but a lot tastier than some of the gluten free pies we have sampled. Good to know they are available if you were having a function that had savouries etc and had to provide gluten free and vegetarian.

Mexican Stuffed Kumara Skins

Mexican Stuffed Kumara Skins - Vegan and Gluten Free

PREP TIME

15 mins

COOK TIME

1 hour 30 mins

TOTAL TIME

1 hour 45 mins

These Mexican Stuffed Sweet Potato Skins are the perfect blend of flavour. Hearty with a mild heat and a touch of sweet, 

INGREDIENTS

·         5 medium sweet potatoes

·         1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

·         ½ cup frozen corn

·         ¼ cup diced onion

·         ½ cup diced red pepper

·         1 cup chopped spinach

·         2 tsp finely diced fresh jalapeno pepper

·         ½ tsp chili powder

·         ¼ tsp cumin

·         ¼ tsp cinnamon

·         ¼ tsp paprika

·         ½ tsp olive oil

Guacamole:

2 avocado

2 cloves garlic

Juice of a lemon

1 tsp of ground coriander

INSTRUCTIONS

1.   Preheat oven to 350F

2.   Roast sweet potatoes on a parchment lined cookie tray for 1 hour, or until a fork inserted into the flesh comes out easily. Remove sweet potatoes from oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.

3.   Carefully sliced sweet potatoes in half. Scoop out flesh and place into a large mixing bowl. Try to leave a thin layer around the skin so that it can stand up on its own. Place skins back onto tray and lightly spritz with olive oil. Return to oven and bake for 8 minutes, allowing the skins to get nice and crispy.

4.   While the skins are baking, mash up the scooped out sweet potato flesh. Add the black beans, frozen corn, red peppers, onion, jalapeno pepper and spices. Stir to mix until well combined.

5.   Remove skins from oven after 8 minutes and fill each skin with black bean mixture.

6.   Bake again for 20-25 minutes, or until filling is heated through and tops are starting to get crispy.

Serve with guacamole and basil or coriander!

Lamington Bliss Balls - Vegan and Gluten Free

Lamington Bliss Balls - Vegan and Gluten Free

These bliss balls are super moist and chocolatey. Made with macadamia nuts makes them rather expensive so great for a special treat.

Makes 14-16

Ingredients

·      3/4 cup macadamias

·      1 + 1/2 cups shredded coconut

·      1/4 cup coconut oil

·      1/4 cup pure maple syrup 

·      2 teaspoons vanilla paste (or extract)

Chocolate Coating

·      1/4 cup coconut oil

·      1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

·      1/4 raw cacao powder

Rest

·      Shredded coconut, for coating

Method

Add macadamias, shredded coconut, coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla paste to high speed blender and process until completely combined. Next, roll into small balls then place on a lined baking tray in the freezer to firm up for 20-30 minutes.

To make the chocolate coating, melt the coconut oil in a saucepan on low heat. Once melted, remove from heat, add the maple syrup, whisking briskly until well combined. Then add the cacao powder, stirring until well mixed through.

Once the bliss balls are ready, coat in the chocolate mixture and then in the shredded coconut. Then place back in the freezer for a minimum of 10 minutes to set.

Packaged nicely into a recycled sushi pack to give as a gift.

Super yummy vegan chocolate icecream

Super yummy vegan chocolate icecream

My mother, brother and partner are dairy free and I have quite a few vegan friends. I saw this on Facebook from a friend of a friend so I went hunting for it in our local New World hoping for a treat for Pete who doesn't really like the other dairy free icecreams available.

I found it alongside the other dairy free icecreams, costing $6.99 for a 475 mL tub. It is made with almond butter and pieces of almond.

As it was Pete's birthday weekend we had a few treats! I teamed this up with a chocolate sauce made of dark chocolate melted then coconut cream added to make it thick and creamy. Yum! To be fair to the Almond Icecream (or frozen dessert as it is called) it did not need the sauce!

Chocolate Truffles - Gluten and Dairy Free

Chocolate Truffles - Gluten and Dairy Free

These truffles are so yum and pretty - great for special functions. Keep in the fridge as long as you can before serving and keep some of the freeze dried powder to do a last minute coating as it does soak into the truffle when left for a while.

250 gram Whittakers Dark Chocolate

250 ml coconut cream

1 cup dessicated coconut

¾ cup ground almonds

Coatings: Coconut with icing sugar

Cocoa

Pistachios

Raspberry/Plum powder

Chop the chocolate finely and add to a bowl. Heat the cream in a saucepan. When it’s simmering, pour over the chocolate. Leave it to sit a few minutes. Whisk. Stir through the almonds and coconut and leave in the fridge for a few hours. Roll in balls then put back in the fridge. Re-roll till round and sticky. Roll in various coatings. The raspberry or plum powder will probably need to be recoated if you are making them ahead of time.

Gluten Free Bagels

Gluten Free Bagels

Pete loved having bagels for breakfast so when he was diagnosed as gluten intolerant he needed to try something else. We found these Abe's Bagels at the New World Supermarket with the bagels, pikelets and crumpets. There is a choice of plain and six-seed. Both are nice but Pete prefers the plain. They are nice toasted or fresh with a variety of fillings. Peanut butter and banana is yummy or savoury with tomatoes and avocado. They cost $5.50 for three.

Fattoush with Fried Haloumi

Fattoush with Fried Haloumi

The salt draws the moisture out of the vegetables then mixes with the oil and lemon. Toasted bread soaks up the juices. Together with the warm haloumi this is an amazing summer lunch.

1 quantity of Arab Israeli Salad

½ cup Kalamata olives, pitted and roughly chopped

The equivalent of 2 slices of good-quality bread (eg pita, Turkish pide, baguette, ciabatta)

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

10 g haloumi

Arab Israeli Salad

2 large ripe red tomatoes

2 x 12 cm Lebanese cucumbers

2 medium-sized radishes

1 spring onion

A bunch of flat-leaf parsley

A bunch fresh mint

1 small hot chilli (optional)

4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

Juice of ½ lemon

1 tsp flaky salt

Chop the first four salad ingredients into very small dice, finely chopping the parsley, mint and chilli. Toss everything together.

Toast or grill the bread until golden brown on both sides with some light charring. Tear into bite-bite sized pieces and toss with the olives into the salad, stirring to allow the bread to soak up the salad juices.

Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized pan over a medium-high heat until the oil shimmers, Cut the haloumi into just under 1cm thick pieces and fry to a dark golden colour, flipping the pieces to brown on both sides. Top the salad with the haloumi and serve immediately.

Gluten Free Tempura Batter

Gluten Free Tempura Batter

This is so yummy! Crispy batter with chunks of white fish!

You can buy this at most supermarkets. I pick mine up at New World.

Mix a measure of tempura batter with iced water until the consistency of runny cream. It should fall completely off your whisk. Place your vegetables, fish or seafood into the batter. Test the oil with a littlebatter to ensure very hot.

Chocolate Afghans - Gluten Free

Chocolate Afghans - Gluten Free

Afghans are a Kiwi favourite and these are easy. I have taken them to quite a few staff morning teas and had people comment that they can't believe they are gluten free! I make them reasonable small and use an icing bag to get the icing even.

                                          

180g butter, softened
½ cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla essence
1½ cups gluten-free flour, sifted
3 tablespoons cocoa, sifted
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 cups corn flakes, roughly broken into smaller pieces

Icing
3 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons cocoa, sifted
1½ cups icing sugar, sifted
½ teaspoon vanilla essence
1-2 tablespoons warm water (optional)

70g whole walnuts

·         Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

·         Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla essence with an electric beater until the mixture is light and fluffy.

·         Sift over the flour, cocoa and baking powder. Add the corn flakes and mix until combined.

·         Place tablespoons of the mixture onto the prepared tray. Flatten slightly with your fingers. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

·         Leave the afghans to cool on the tray, as they may crumble if they are removed while still hot.

·         To make the icing, place the butter, cocoa, icing sugar and vanilla essence into a bowl. Mix until combined. If the icing is a little stiff, add the water a little at a time until the correct consistency is achieved. The icing should be quite thick.

·         Place a teaspoonful of the icing on top of each biscuit and press a walnut into the icing.

Makes about 18.

Frangipanes - Gluten free

Frangipanes

Gluten Free

These remind me of Christmas! I remember Mum making them for our regular Christmas Eve party with neighbours. They are so pretty and definitely a festive treat!

Beat together:

4 oz  butter                     

4 oz  caster sugar

Add 2 eggs and beat together

Add 4 oz ground almonds and 1 oz white rice flour (or plain flour) and 1 teaspoon vanilla essence.

Bake in small patty cases for around 15 minutes until golden brown.

Glaze with heated apricot jam. Add a glace cherry to the middle of each bun. 

Ice with thin white icing  made with icing sugar, water and Olivani,  on top.

Banana Muffins - Gluten-free

Banana Muffins – Gluten Free

These are so yoummy stratight out of the oven!

1 ¾ cup gluten free flour (use Edmonds GF plain flour or a blend )

2 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

½ tsp xanthum gum

½ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

4oz (115g) unsalted butter, softened

¼ cup packed light-brown sugar

¼ cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 ½ cups overripe bananas (about 3)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthum gum, salt and cinnamon for 20 seconds and set aside.

In a separate large bowl, using an electric mixer, whip together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until creamy and fluffy. Mix in eggs one at a time, mixing until combined after each addition. Working in three separate batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture, add 1/3 of the flour mixture alternating with ½ the mashed bananas, mixing until blended after each addition.

Divide the batter among 12 paper lined muffin trays. An option is to sprinkle each muffin with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon. Bake in oven 17 – 20 mins until a toothpick inserted into centres comes out clean (or a few moist crumbs. If you feel they are browning too much near the end you can cover with tin foil).Cool in the muffin tin several minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

You can use a gluten-free flour blend:  1 ½ cups white rice flour, ½ cup potato starch,  ¼ cup tapioca flour.