Tomorrow I am going for a hydrogen breath test to check for a couple of food intolerances. Yes, this is a journey and I am not there yet. There is something else going on that has not yet been identified, hence this test. It takes 3 hours which is a bit of a pest because it means time off work. And it's necessary to have three sessions - the first is a control test, the second a fructose test after filling up on juice and the third is a lactose test (they are related) after filling up on milk (I think). Today I have been on a strict diet to make sure I am empty of certain food groups and I have had very peculiar meals. But I wanted to feed Dario and Adriano well despite my woes. These potato rosti pizzas worked well because I was able to eat everything except the cheese. They are simple to make, require few ingredients and got the approval of both male members of the family. Potato Rosti Pizza Print Prep time 10 mins Cook time 15 mins Total time 25 mins … [Read more...] about Potato Rosti Pizza
grain free dinner
Cauliflower Rice, Mushrooms and Pork – grain-free dinner
I've spent the day cooking up a storm for the e-cookbook - marshmallows, chocolate truffles, pineapple cake, caramel slice and jam cookies. I also made meringues and, for some foolish reason, thought I would change the recipe from the one I used on the lemon meringue tarts and they tasted terrible - like cardboard. So they all ended up in the bin. Some things can be redeemed with some coconut cream or chocolate ganache but these were inedible. Anyway, five out of six ain't bad. Then friends turned up with their teenage son who proceeded to demolish half of my baking, making suitable squeals of delight so I guess that meant he approved of my sugar and grain-free offerings. Last night, Adriano travelled to the middle of the island for a mountain biking race and I cooked a simple dinner for Dario and myself. Riced cauliflower is a great way to replace the grain as a base to soak up a sauce. On top of the cauliflower I layered a homemade tomato sauce, vegetables and pork fillets. I got … [Read more...] about Cauliflower Rice, Mushrooms and Pork – grain-free dinner
Pumpkin Chicken Chili – recipe from Caveman Feast E-Cookbook
Since starting this journey into grain-free cooking, I have found a whole community of people who believe in a more natural way of eating. The idea is to eat the way our ancestors did hundreds of thousands of years ago. Our digestive systems haven't changed much since then but our food has. It's far more processed, pumped full of chemicals, crops have been hybridized out of all recognition from what we used to eat and many of the animals we eat no longer run free across the land. My family has never eaten too much processed food because I have always been wary of those ingredient lists which are designed to confuse you. I tell my son, if you don't know where the food came from, don't buy or eat it. But now I have also eliminated grain, refined sugar, legumes and hydrogenated oils in line with the Paleo way of eating. One of the many blogs I have discovered is Civilized Caveman, a wonderful resource of Paleo recipes. George has now written this amazing cookbook of over 200 Paleo … [Read more...] about Pumpkin Chicken Chili – recipe from Caveman Feast E-Cookbook
Salmon Pizza – grain and nut-free
I was determined to make a pizza base which had the crispiness of the thin Italian bases I used to eat in Italy. They are the only bases I like. None of the fat, fluffy ones for me. I thought this tapioca recipe should work because it holds together brilliantly so I gave it a shot last week. This dough is similar to the bread rolls I made for the burgers we ate recently but with a few differences. Tapioca clumps up when heated with liquid and becomes like a gel. It is this gel which holds everything together to form a dough. I made it, rolled it out very proudly, covered it with my chosen toppings and popped it into a hot oven and waited. And waited and waited. In the end we had to eat – I am talking about after 8.30pm – so I took it out and served it. The edges were beautifully crisp but they rest was a doughy, uncooked mess. We ate what we could, scraping the toppings off and I slunk away to hide. But I was not defeated and tonight I precooked the base, actually turning it over … [Read more...] about Salmon Pizza – grain and nut-free
Smoked Salmon and Caper Tart – grain-free
Tarts always take longer to make than you think they will. First there's the pastry to prepare and bake and then the filling to prepare and bake. It adds up to ages. And so my family ate late amidst moans and groans about starvation. But the wait was worth it. The pastry is the one I have used for my sweet tarts but I left out the honey. As a shell, it holds together beautifully, even better than ones made with wheat flour and butter. Then I used a delicious filling which I found in a magazine with a few changes. It has a ton of vegetables and salmon for the daily hit of Omega-3. A complete meal in a tart. The pie crust has been adapted from the one Carol uses in her book, Indulge, which you can purchase on her blog, Ditch The Wheat. This is NOT a low Fodmap recipe. Smoked Salmon and Caper Tart Print Prep time 30 mins Cook time 40 mins Total time 1 hour 10 mins Ingredients For the pie crust: 2 eggs 30 ml coconut oil ¼ cup + 2 tbsp … [Read more...] about Smoked Salmon and Caper Tart – grain-free
Roasted Eggplant Stacks and Pan de Yuca – Grain-free
The changing of web hosts has happened, not without hiccups but it should all be smooth from now on. The great thing is the increased speed of my blog, in particular behind the scenes. I used to be able to go get a drink of water in between screens changing. And it kept going off line all the time. I spoke in a live chat with my previous host and they said they couldn't do anything about it. My new host costs about 5 times as much but it will be well worth it in the end if I can work faster. Time is precious. In the photo you can see a great food stack we had for dinner. Layers of eggplant, tomato, beef burger, poached egg and a sprinkling of parsley and sundried tomatoes. But anyone can make that or a version of it. What I am going to tell you about is that lonely little bread roll over on the side. As usual the photos were taken fast before the egg cooled down or slid off the stack so I didn't think to get a shot of the inside of the roll. But I will definitely be making these … [Read more...] about Roasted Eggplant Stacks and Pan de Yuca – Grain-free
