This is the second recipe I baked over the weekend and I am happy with it. The mini-loaves were light and moist but I didn't trust them to to stay that way so I froze most of them in individual plastic bags to be microwaved when needed. In fact, the ones I left out were more dense the next day so I popped one in the microwave for 30 seconds and it came out light and moist again and the cream cheese didn't have time to melt. I think the microwave is pretty essential for gluten-free baking which is not eaten immediately. But having said that, the lemon cake I made at the same time is still good today because of the syrup. I think I am finally getting the hang of this. Tonight I made some bread rolls by throwing into a food processor different flours and starches to make up the gluten-free flour part, butter, plain yogurt and cheese. They turned out really well and now I can't remember what I did. Quite stupid. I will have to try again and hope that my instincts kick in again. I even … [Read more...] about Mini Carrot Cake loaves – Gluten-Free & Low FODMAP
Lemon Potato Cake – gluten-free & low FODMAP
This cake has been a eureka moment! It is moist, delicate and delicious. I have baked with many different vegetables as a base for sweet dishes including pumpkin, zucchini, white beans and avocado but I have never used potato. And yet it is such an obvious choice because it is a starch just like flour. I made absolutely sure I didn't overcook it, and that lemon syrup took it over the top. This has to be my biggest low FODMAP triumph yet. I finished it off with a little icing made of icing sugar and lemon juice just to kick it up a notch. This recipe has almond meal in it but I have kept it to a small amount because the Monash University, which researches the FODMAP diet, says we can only have less than 10 almonds at a time. I have already discovered this and so do limit them. I still find it amazing that everything that is considered healthy to eat can be suspect for us. It has been an interesting journey so far. Lemon Potato Cake Print Author: Suzanne Perazzini … [Read more...] about Lemon Potato Cake – gluten-free & low FODMAP
Chocolate Banana Tarts – gluten-free and low FODMAP
I am back to tarts again. Don't ask me what it is about them because I really don't know. They take longer to make than muffins or a cake so why do I insist on making them? Maybe it is some deep memory of childhood that calls me to them, maybe it's the creativity of being able to fill them with an endless variety of goodness. Who knows? For this tart, I used the pastry recipe for blueberry almond tarts. And then I made a delightful, simple and healthy chocolate banana filling which takes all of 5 minutes to prepare and doesn't require cooking. You will thank me for this idea. This post will be short and sweet because time is short tonight after taking one and a half hours to get home - a trip which usually takes 10 minutes in non-rush hour and 30 minutes in rush hour. Our one and only motorway going north over the Harbour Bridge to the North Shore of Auckland where we live was closed for 14 hours. Yes, the north bound side was completely closed for 14 hours because the police shot … [Read more...] about Chocolate Banana Tarts – gluten-free and low FODMAP
Flourless Chocolate Cakes – Gluten-free and low FODMAP
Once again, we ran out of baking halfway through the week and I had to whip up something else to keep us going. I found these little chocolate cakes in Donna Hay's cookbook, Modern Classics 2. I had to adjust the sugar and cooked them for a lot less because my cakes were smaller. These cakes are rich so I had to make sure they were small enough to not cause me problems. I am being extra specially careful this week because last weekend I made a big mistake. On Saturday night, Adriano made pasta with pesto and there were leftovers of both the wheat-free version and the wheat version. On Sunday, I decided to eat the leftover for lunch. When Adriano got home from his usual mountain biking session, he asked about the empty dish where the pasta had been and I said I had eaten it. He asked since when I had decided to eat wheat again. My mouth dropped open at the realisation of what I had done and at the sudden understanding of why my stomach hurt so much. Well, I have suffered for my … [Read more...] about Flourless Chocolate Cakes – Gluten-free and low FODMAP
Salmon & Egg with gluten free pancakes – low FODMAP
Winter has well and truly set in and I am surrounded by sick people at work. I am breathing the same air that they cough and sneeze into a thousand times a day. The chances of me escaping this winter illness-free are decreasing by the day. I haven't been sick since I got the swine flu in Peru three or four years ago and don't want to break my rather impressive record for staying bug-free. I could suggest they all wear face masks or I could wear a gas mask myself. It might start a trend - a healthy trend. Some suggest munching on Vitamin C, others say drink heaps of water and still others say squirt your throat with antiseptic spray. My method for staying healthy is to eat well, sleep enough and drink a little - yep, alcohol kills bugs. I am not saying this always works but it helps. Keep your immune system strong and hope for the best. Following that line of thought, I cooked this dish for dinner. I made these fabulous pancakes made with oats and rice flour, which I found on the blog, … [Read more...] about Salmon & Egg with gluten free pancakes – low FODMAP
Mini Banana Chocolate Loaves – Gluten-Free & low FODMAP
These days my life is divided into four compartments - my job, my family, this food blog and my novel writing. Work is easy. I get up in the morning and leave for work. I get home a bit after 5pm and work is done for the day. Family is pretty clear too - I travel to and from work with Adriano, dinner is always together with Dario and Adriano. and we spend some time together in the weekends. But the rest of my waking hours are divided between my blog and my writing. This is where the dilemma lies. There is always a to-do list on my study desk and it is a question of what I do first. This weekend, Friday evening actually, I decided to get one of my e-published novels into print using Createspace (Amazon). I thought, a few hours and I will be able to move on to the next item on my list. It is now Sunday night and I have stopped only to sleep, eat and bake this dish on Saturday afternoon. I finally think I might have cracked it but it's almost 9pm and I have done nothing else. Anyway, … [Read more...] about Mini Banana Chocolate Loaves – Gluten-Free & low FODMAP
