I managed seven recipes this weekend for my cookbook and I am very happy with the results. I thought I would give you another sample of one of the recipe which will be in the book. I am super pleased with this creamy lemon slice. It tastes delightful - everything you would expect from a lemon offering. It sets well, cuts well and keeps beautifully. I am in love with this recipe. In other news, I had the first part of my food intolerance test last Friday and I have found that I am in the 5% of the population who produce methane instead of hydrogen when I digest. No one knows why some people do this. I would have thought it very important but no one cares. We are more like cows than humans, it seems. I will have the second part this week. The result had better be illuminating because otherwise this is a gross waste of time. Three hours sitting and puffing into a machine every 15 minutes is overwhelmingly boring. This is NOT a low Fodmap recipe. Creamy Lemon Slice Print … [Read more...] about Creamy Lemon Slice – grain, sugar, nut & dairy-free
paleo diet
Potato Rosti Pizza
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
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
Custard Fruit Tarts – grain, nut, dairy and refined sugar-free and an announcement
I have spent all weekend baking and have produced 8 different afternoon tea foods - muffins, cakes, tarts, brownies and slices, including the custard fruit tarts you see here. The others you won't see just yet because I am preparing an e-book of afternoon tea foods which are grain, dairy, nut and refined sugar-free. I have a target of 50 recipes, the majority of which you will never see on this blog. I am having such fun doing this but it is damned hard work and the fridge and cake tins end up very full - not that my family are complaining. It is certainly a challenge to create the traditional fare but with no grain, dairy, nuts or refined sugar. It is a learning curve but only the successful recipes will find their way into the book so you can feel confident that if you attempt one of the recipes, it will work. Meanwhile this fruit tart is a sample of what will be in the book. The pie crust has been adapted from the one Carol uses in her book, Indulge, which you can purchase on her … [Read more...] about Custard Fruit Tarts – grain, nut, dairy and refined sugar-free and an announcement