I am so excited that I have reached 1,000 plus followers on Facebook. I have always vowed I would do my first GIVEAWAY when that happened. Well, the day has arrived!! I thought for some time about what to choose for the GIVEAWAY and have come up with my favourite kitchen appliance. I mention it often in posts because I use it all the time. I can’t imagine how I survived without it. It reduces my preparation time for dinners and baking alike and I feel like smiling when I use it. And here it is: the Cuisinart Mini Prep Plus 3-Cup Food Processor. It makes brilliant pesto, grinds nuts, chops vegetables, minces meat, even makes date puree and that’s a tough ask. I paid over $100 for mine in New Zealand but on Amazon, they are cheaper – you lucky people in the US who have free shipping! To enter this giveaway, please use the Rafflecopter widget below to answer a question – What is the first thing you would cook with the mini processor? Your answer must be in the comments. You may … [Read more...] about My First Giveaway – Cuisinart Mini Prep Food Processor!!
Lemon Curd & Chocolate Tartlets – gluten free and low FODMAP
I am very pleased to say that I have added both avocado and mushrooms back into my diet without any ill effects. They are both a part of the P (polyols) of the word FODMAP so it seems I don't have an intolerance to polyols, which is great because it widens the range of foods I can eat. The other thing I am excited about is that this morning I hit 1,000 likes on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/StrandsOfMyLife To celebrate this momentous event, I am going to do my very first giveaway in my next post. I'll tell you all about it then. This recipe is a mixture of techniques. I got the recipe for the crust from My New Roots. It's based on oat flour and brown rice flour and worked reasonably well. It took a long time to press the dough into the muffin tins and they are a bit crunchy but not too bad for a gluten-free crust. UPDATE: the recipe has disappeared from My New Roots so I now have the recipe written out below because the link stopped working. The filling is my own … [Read more...] about Lemon Curd & Chocolate Tartlets – gluten free and low FODMAP
Chocolate Caramel Marshmallow Bars – Grain-Free, Nut-Free, Dairy-Free
I have guest posted with this recipe at the blog of a very special lady, Kristen from The Food Renegade. Her tag line says, "challenging politically correct nutrition." She is one of the heroes of blogging who puts herself out there to try to increase an awareness of healthy nutrition that is unfortunately no longer mainstream. She advocates eating real food and has stepped forward to challenge the governments and the food producers of the world for their less than pure policies where our food and our health are concerned. Take a look at her blog, not just for the recipe for these bars but also to experience her passion for a cause. Subscribe to my mailing list … [Read more...] about Chocolate Caramel Marshmallow Bars – Grain-Free, Nut-Free, Dairy-Free
Banana Sour Cream Cheesecake
I keep seeing these beautiful desserts created in moulds around the food blogs at the moment so when I saw a kitchen shop with a half price sale, I bought 4 stainless steel round forms. You can buy them here, which is a lot cheaper than what they cost me in New Zealand even at half price. In the cooking programmes on television, taking the moulds off looks so simple, but in real life without the ability to edit out the clumsy bits, it's actually a pain. A warm knife works better than a cold one to run around the inside of the rings to release the cheesecake from the sides. In the end, they all came out but there were some fearful moments. I had some ginger crunch left over from last weekend's baking session so I placed them in a food processor and then added melted butter to make a great spicy base. I loved the sweet spiciness of it against the sharp tang of the sour cream. This is a recipe I have been using for years but with a gluten base in the past. I have always loved the … [Read more...] about Banana Sour Cream Cheesecake
Peanut Butter Banana Muffins – gluten, grain, dairy and sugar-free
This is the simplest recipe ever. It was given to me by my niece - thank you, Kirsty. It has a minimum of ingredients and no flour or sugar at all. And yet they turned out looking and tasting just like muffins should. Who would have thought it! I love making elaborate slices and tarts but sometimes a batch of quick muffins is just what's needed. I made some marshmallow, caramel, chocolate bars for a guest post last weekend and Adriano didn't like them. He prefers the simplicity of muffins or a piece of cake. I, on the other hand, loved the bars. If you are on the low Fodmap diet, do not use the cashew butter alternative. It is high Fodmap. Peanut Butter Banana Muffins Print Prep time 10 mins Cook time 10 mins Total time 20 mins Serves: 12 muffins Ingredients 1 cup nut butter - peanut, almond or cashew 2 small bananas 2 large eggs ½ tsp baking powder 1 tsp vinegar 1 cup blueberries Method Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Place … [Read more...] about Peanut Butter Banana Muffins – gluten, grain, dairy and sugar-free
Thai Pork in Rice Papers – gluten-free and low FODMAPs
This is what we had for dinner tonight. It is the first time I have used rice papers and they worked better than I expected. At the end of the day, they are just a vessel for whatever you want. I love Thai flavours so that's what I created but I have heaps of rice papers left over and will use them quite differently next time. Thai pork in Rice papers Print Ingredients Rice Papers 400g/14oz pork mince 1 red chilli ½ red pepper 1 courgette 1 carrot A small knob of ginger 1 tbsp soya sauce 1 tsp fish sauce Salt & pepper For the dipping sauce 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce 2 tsp fish sauce 2 tsp rice vinegar Method Chop finely the red chilli and red pepper. Grate the ginger. Peel and grate the carrot. Grate the courgette. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and add the red chilli and ginger. Cook for a few minutes. Add the red pepper and cook 1 minute. Add the mince and cook until browned. Add the soya and fish sauces and season to taste. Wet the rice papers as … [Read more...] about Thai Pork in Rice Papers – gluten-free and low FODMAPs
