My mission was to make a gluten, dairy and sugar-free muffins. Last week, I made some muffins which were close so I used that base recipe and replaced the normal flour with a mixture of gluten-free flour and almond meal. I added strawberries because I had them in the fridge and the muffins turned out wonderfully. Then I decided I wanted to try a coconut cream frosting and I know muffins don't usually have frosting but these ones do. Again, I was determined to make this frosting without added sugar and I managed it. I whipped up the coconut cream until it was stiff, then, separately I pureed strawberries and dates in my trusty Cuisinart Mini Processor and added them to the cream. You could certainly add a little Stevia (made from the South American sweetleaf plant) if you want it sweeter but I don't think it is needed. Both Dario and Adriano have eaten some and they approve wholeheartedly. I set up the muffins, pre-frosting, in front of our lounge window looking out over the ocean and … [Read more...] about Banana Strawberry Muffins – gluten, dairy and sugar-free
Fried Agnolotti with Spinach and Cream Cheese Filling
As you know, we had ravioli made from wonton wrappers for dinner the other night but I had 8 left over and decided to continue the new tradition around here of making our own nibbles to go with a glass of wine on Saturday night. I mixed together cooked spinach and cream cheese for the filling and made the wrappers into agnolotti. I then fried them quickly in olive oil. I can assure you they were far superior to the usual bag of crisps. I did overfill them a little so the filling oozed out a bit while I was folding them over and pinching them shut. But it meant they were good and plump. I am in love with these wrappers and you will see me use them again in various different ways. I think I love them as much as chocolate - well almost. This recipe is not low Fodmap. Fried Agnolotti with Spinach and Cream Cheese Filling Print Prep time 10 mins Cook time 4 mins Total time 14 mins Serves: 10 Ingredients 10 wonton wrappers 150g frozen spinach - … [Read more...] about Fried Agnolotti with Spinach and Cream Cheese Filling
Cranberry, Chocolate and Date Truffles
The muffins I made on Saturday were disappearing at a rapid pace so on Sunday I decided I had to make something else to get us through the week but I wanted to stay on my sugarless path. Dates are one of the best foods to use as a sweetener and I had quite a few in the fridge. But they were rather on the hard side and I didn't think my dear little Cuisinart Mini Processor would manage, as fabulous as it is at chopping almost anything up finely. So I soaked them for an hour before blending them with the other ingredients and that worked well. I added cocoa to make them chocolatey, coconut to make them coconutty, walnuts to make them nutty... Anyway, you get the idea - I added whatever was in my fridge, Including a bit of thickened cream to make them a little richer. But no sugar and they are definitely sweet enough. So thank you dates! This is not a low Fodmap recipe. Cranberry, Chocolate and Date Truffles Print Prep time 15 mins Total time 15 mins … [Read more...] about Cranberry, Chocolate and Date Truffles
Banana, Chocolate, Cranberry & Coconut Muffins
I have just joined the Chocolate Party! It is a great group of food bloggers who bake with chocolate and each month they decide on an extra compulsory ingredient. This month, it is cranberries. I am on a mission to reduce my intake of sugar and that might seem a little contradictory with joining the Chocolate Party but I did say 'reduce' not 'eliminate'. These muffins I made are completely without added sugar except for what is in the chocolate. I found the recipe at The Life of Clare blog and thought they mightn't be sweet enough but was willing to give them a try. In fact, the bananas are enough and that makes these muffins sugarless apart from the chocolate content. How amazing is that? And they taste good! You might have noticed that I am using a new recipe set up, Ziplist. If you click on Save in the recipe, you then create a free account. After that, each time you click on the save button, you add the recipe to your personal recipe box. You can also create a shopping list … [Read more...] about Banana, Chocolate, Cranberry & Coconut Muffins
Ravioli with Goat’s Cheese
You might remember a while back I got some wonton wrappers, broke them up into three lots and froze them. I used one lot to make the mini lasagna recently and tonight I decided to make ravioli with them. At the last minute, Adriano decided to go down country to a race and I was left alone with Dario after having expected to go out for dinner. So I had to use what I had in the house and that was the frozen wonton wrappers. I went on the net looking for ravioli recipes and found a video with the chef, Yotam Ottolenghi making this recipe. It was simple with few ingredients so I knew this was it. Summer is moving towards us here in New Zealand and I am excited, not for the warmth and all that goes with it (though that is great), but for the longer evenings which means more natural light. However, by the time I dragged myself away from the computer, the sun was rapidly disappearing. In the first couple of preparation photos you can see the low light slanting in the window but by the … [Read more...] about Ravioli with Goat’s Cheese
Baked Ricotta with Sauteed Vegetables
I saw a recipe for baked ricotta on the My Kitchen Stories blog and decided to make it tonight. The ingredients were great and it tasted fine but I had to cook it much longer to get it to set. Again this could be my loopy oven but I have added to the cooking time in the instructions. Tania placed a massive mushroom on top of each of her baked ricottas but I forgot to put them on the shopping list and so Adriano didn't buy them. The inventiveness of someone who has cooked for many years came into play and I scoured the fridge for an alternative. I had one measly courgette and a jar of roasted peppers under oil so I chopped them all up together with one green chili and threw them in a frying pan with a little olive oil. I cooked them quickly and then drizzled them with a good truffle balsamic vinegar to finish off. Dario said that the ricotta round was a little too big and the puff pastry circle too small. But, as I explained to him, puff pastry shrinks and the ricotta went into the … [Read more...] about Baked Ricotta with Sauteed Vegetables
