Happy New Year to you if it’s not too late to say it.  I can feel a tad ambivalent about New Year.  Having already broken one of my New Year’s resolutions I feel I am not off to the best start but perhaps things can only get better.  I do acknowledge that for some reason the change in year on the calendar does give me a little kick to change things I have been procrastinating about even if I don’t always follow through with said changes.  I’m thinking about them.  Surely that’s a good start?

Way back in the dim and distant past or a couple of weeks before Christmas I made this carrot cake found on Lottie + Doof.  I only had time to snap one picture and I’m going to link to the recipe because I followed it pretty much exactly.  It was delicious and hearty and the warming spices are just the thing at this time of year.

Recipe here

Predictably for New Year we are on a bit of a health kick around here and I have many recipes I am eager to share here in the (I hope) not too distant future.  I’m currently dealing with a toddler who is existing on a self imposed diet of peas, grapes and yoghurt.

In other news we’ve discovered an amazing gluten free and vegetarian cafe, Cafe Meon, which is absolute heaven as far as I am concerned.  The food is amazing and my carnivore hubby even loves it.  I cannot express how exciting it is to eat out somewhere and not have to think about checking everything with the chef.  The entire menu caters for people like me.  Added to this is the fact the cafe is housed in the beautiful Chesapeake Mill selling antiques and vintage wares so I get to combine two of my favourite things, food and antique browsing.  Website here.  Pictured above, their beetroot burger which so far is my favourite thing on the menu.  They also do fantastic cakes and hot chocolate.

Everything in a Bowl

Well this has been a sorry state of affairs, no blog post for nearly a month and then all I have to show you is soup, and more butternut squash at that.  I’ve also caught myself in an awkward time zone.  It’s far too late to be mentioning Christmas, New Year or any of those resolution things so let’s just skip it all, talk about soup and pretend I didn’t fail to blog about any of that stuff. 

Soup has featured heavily around here lately.  Since the UK has been battered with storms and relentless rain we’ve gone in to hibernation mode, abandoning our usual routines in favour of reading books and eating anything out of a bowl, which usually means soup or stew but can also stretch to a jacket potato and baked beans.  The civility of the dining table has been abandoned for the comfort of the sofa and the odd film.  Meal times have really gone to pot around here. 

I made this soup for my Dad when he visited for a few days recently and he said it was “wizard” which I choose to take as a compliment.  It requires very little effort to pull together and lets the flavour of the roasted squash take centre stage. 

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup Serves 2-3

600g butternut squash peeled and chopped in to chunks *you can make them smaller than the ones in the photo for speedier cooking time.

Approx 600ml stock

1 -2 tablespoons olive oil

Sprinkling of dried rosemary

1 garlic clove finely chopped

2 shallots finely sliced.

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6, 200°C, 400°F

Line a baking tray with parchment.  Place the chopped up butternut squash on the tray, toss in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with dried rosemary.  Roast for 40 minutes until the squash is nicely caramelised. 

About 5 minutes before the squash is ready place a splash of olive oil in a large pan and sauté the shallots for 5 minutes until soft.  Add the garlic and continue to cook for another minute.  Remove the squash from the oven and tip in to the pan.  Next add the stock and bring to a boil.  Turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Leave the soup in the pan to cool for a few minutes then blend until smooth.  Return the soup to the pan and heat through.  Serve with crusty toast and toasted almonds if you like.

Happy Christmas!

It’s never too late to make mince pies.  Recipe here.  Happy Christmas x

Christmas Granola



Breakfast gets a bit ignored at Christmas.  It’s all about the turkey, the roasted parsnips, the brussels sprouts and the Christmas pudding.  Who needs breakfast when there are boxes of Quality Street and mince pies to devour?  I am here to plead the case for eating a good breakfast on Christmas day.  To start with, it’s usually a day when lunch turns up late, I mean really late.  You need fuel to get through the wait. Mince pies are not the right type of fuel.  Perhaps more importantly, opening presents requires muscular strength.  It’s no good if you are hopped up on sugar, you will fade too fast.  Breakfast will protect you against tummy rumblings during the Vicar’s sermon.  It will soak up the port you are working your way through while you cook.  It will make you a more pleasant and patient human being.  Breakfast is your friend.

I’ve made you some granola.  I added spices to it, just to make it extra special and Christmassy.  It has oats for soluble fibre and slow release energy, nuts for protein, cranberries for vitamin C, coconut for a host of vitamins and minerals.  It will see you through.  You can thank me later.  Enjoy with natural yoghurt, milk or just to snack on during the day. 

 

150g (5oz) gluten free oats

25g (1oz) coconut flakes

50g (2oz) pecans

50g (2oz) whole almonds

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cocoa powder

Pinch of nutmeg (optional)

1 tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp unrefined brown sugar

1 ½ tbsp coconut oil, melted

Handful dried cranberries

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 5, 190°C, 375°F. Line a baking tray with baking parchment.  In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients apart from the cranberries. Add the oil, syrup and sugar last. Mix well and spread evenly across a baking tray. Bake in the middle shelf of the oven removing every ten minutes to toss granola ensuring all sides are evenly toasted. Bake until golden brown (about 25 minutes). Remove from the oven and add the cranberries. Let it sit on the hot tray until cool then transfer to an air tight container.  Keeps for about two weeks.

 

Brussels Sprouts 101

Brussels sprouts, one of those Christmas traditions that not everyone appreciates.  I’ve eaten my fair share of over cooked, sludgy green coloured sprouts that can also have a charming side effect which I’m sure I don’t need to explain here (you don’t want to be around my husband after he’s eaten too many).  Lately however I have come to appreciate the brussels sprout in a whole new light.  I’ve started to cook them in different ways and have discovered that they can actually taste good.  Who knew?  My current favourite way to cook brussels sprouts is to roast them as my recipe below shows but since sprouts seem to be so popular on food blogs at the moment I thought I would round up all the fantastic recipes I’ve seen as my Christmas present to you.  I’ve got your brussels sprout dilemmas covered.

Crispy Fried Brussels Sprouts at Shutterbean

Apple Pomegranate Brussels Sprout Salad at Joy the Baker

Golden Crusted Brussels Sprouts at 101 Cookbooks

I’ve been making this rice bowl for a few weeks now, its easy, healthy and is great for roasting up veggies loitering in the bottom of the fridge. More importantly its a great way to use up brussels sprouts.  Chuck in some turkey or chicken, some walnuts and cranberries and you have a lovely meal that uses all those Christmas flavours.  You can use any mix of roasted vegetables.  Carrots work really well too as does celeriac and beetroot.

Serves 2

50g (2oz) brown rice

50g (2oz) red camargue rice (wild rice would also work, or just more brown rice)

100g (4oz) brussels sprouts cut in half (I used a purple variety as I’m a sucker for a pretty looking vegetable but regular ones are good too)

100g (4oz) parsnip or 1 large parsnip peeled and diced

1 red onion cut in to wedges

50g (2oz) toasted walnuts

25g (1oz) dried cranberries

1 tbsp olive oil

Optional extras: bacon diced and fried, roast chicken or turkey, feta crumbled. I didn’t dress mine but if you want to try a dressing I think a little honey, olive oil and mustard would work well with these flavours.  Experiment and enjoy!

Preheat oven to gas mark 7 220°C

Bring a pan of water to the boil and blanch the parsnips for two minutes.  Drain and set aside.  In a roasting tray greased with olive oil add the parsnips, sprouts and red onion.  Roast in the oven until the vegetables are golden, approx 35 minutes.

Meanwhile bring a large pan of water to the boil.  Rinse your rice thoroughly in a sieve then add to the boiling water.  Simmer for 35 minutes.  Once your rice is cooked drain and rinse.  Add the rice to the roasted vegetables and combine.  Add the walnuts and cranberries.  Serve in bowls with the toppings of your choice.  I used fried bacon and crumbled feta cheese.

Happy Christmas xx

Mince Pies

I promised more Christmas baking and here it is... my favourite mince pie recipe.  These are the ultimate mince pies.  Strong words I know but trust me, you will love these.  I think I may actually like these mince pies better than my pre coeliac days but maybe the fact I didn’t bake back then might explain this.  These have been a Christmas staple in our house for the last few years.  As soon as November appears I start to think is it too early?  Can I get away with mince pies yet?  I didn’t always feel this way.  When I was a child I hated mince pies and Christmas pudding.  My uncle would make me jam tarts to have on Christmas day instead.  With maturity I got over that, my dislike for Brussels sprouts (which will also be making an appearance here soon) and the need to open my presents at 6am, well almost. 

Adapted from BBC Good Food

Makes 12 – 15 depending on your pastry cutter.

125g (4.5oz) butter, diced

200g (7oz) gluten free flour (I used Doves Farm plain flour)

1 tbsp icing sugar

Zest of 1 orange

200g (7oz) gluten free mincemeat (I used Meridian organic mince pie filling)

4 tbsp water

1 egg for glazing

In a large bowl rub the butter in to the flour to form fine breadcrumbs.  Add the icing sugar and orange zest.  Add the water and mix with a knife until the dough starts to form.  Knead the dough lightly and flatten in to a disc.  Wrap the disc in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to gas mark 4, 180°C.  Flour your work surface and roll out the pastry to 2-3mm thickness.  Cut out your bases and lids using fluted cutters.  I used a 7.5cm cutter for the base and a 5.5cm for the lid.  (Ideally it should have been 6.5cm but I lost my middle sized cutter who knows where).  Grease a muffin tin and line with the pastry bases.  Fill each base with a teaspoon of mincemeat then place your pastry lids on top.  Brush each pie with egg wash.  Place in the oven for 25 minutes until golden brown.  Remove from the oven and cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then eat warm or cool completely on a wire rack.  Store in an air tight container for up to 4 days.

Christmas Shortbread

It’s about to get Christmassy around here.  Only ten days away, there is no escape.  I’ve been doing a fair bit of Christmas baking lately.  Just because I can’t eat gluten doesn’t mean I’m going to miss out on all the delicious food and general face stuffing that goes on this time of year.  First off, this shortbread.  It’s so easy to make and all you need is a Christmas cookie cutter to make it festive.  The texture is very light and a bit crumbly, sweet with a hint of orange but most importantly when my friend dunked one of these shortbread in his cup of tea it didn’t disintegrate.  If you wanted to spruce these up a bit (and if I’d had more time) I think they could be iced or dipped in melted dark chocolate.  They are very good just as they are.

Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food

100g (4oz) butter softened

50g (2oz) golden caster sugar

Grated zest of one orange

Juice of half an orange

175g (6oz) gluten free flour (I used Doves Farm Plain Flour)

½ teaspoon gluten free baking powder

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 5, 190°C

Line a baking sheet with baking parchment or lightly oil.  In a bowl cream together the butter and caster sugar until light then add the orange zest and beat in.  Add the baking powder to the flour then begin to add the flour to the zest mixture and combine (I found I had to do this in stages).  If the dough is dry add the orange juice and combine until the dough comes together.  Flatten in to a round disc, wrap in cling film and chill for 15 minutes.

Flour a work surface and roll out the dough to required thickness.  Begin cutting out your biscuits with a cookie cutter.  I managed to make 12 Christmas Trees from my dough.  Place biscuits on the baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes until golden.  Remove the cookies from the oven, leave on the baking sheet for 2 minutes then move to a wire rack using a pallet knife.  Once cooled store in an air tight container for up to a week.