Coconut Custard... My current obsession!

Wow! Over a year since my last post?! Say it ain't so... 

Since my last post I've:

- changed hairstyles

- travelled overseas

- experienced heartbreaking loss

- changed jobs

- made tons of silly decisions

- eaten tons of chocolate because of said silly decisions

- learnt to knit... much to hubby's dismay!

- and most importantly... Had another beautiful, amazing baby girl... Welcome MissE! Mama loves you!

Hmmm, guess I have been busy...

Ok, back to the important issues... FOOD!

Our family diet has switched gears for the next few weeks to Gluten Free. And honestly, it's a total pain in the butt... Yet somehow I'm enjoying it... Weirdo alert!

The sheer amount of intolerances and allergies out there is mind boggling. I know a lot of you are nodding your heads and I have a new found respect for you. I have planned every morsel that will enter our mouths for the next few weeks to ensure simplicity for all and no cheating. I cannot believe how many products contain hidden gluten, like our jar of strawberry jam in the fridge which contains wheat! Jam, in its purest form should be fruit, sugar and lemon juice - no wheat needed!!!

Let me re-iterate, unless you have a suspected or known gluten intolerance, you should not follow a gluten free diet. This is documented on all the official websites such as http://www.coeliac.org.au

There are no health benefits to following a gluten free diet (unless you have been diagnosed), you will not magically lose weight and research has proven you will do more harm then good to your body unless this diet is absolutely necessary.

Ok, ok, back to food!

Going gluten free can be hideously expensive so it's important to work with as much natural food as possible. Bearing this in mind, some of my recipes have been inspired by the Paleo diet, just because I love the minimal, natural ingredients.

Let's start with breakfast and my new obsession...  COCONUT CUSTARD!!!

Obsession is an understatement! I make s big batch of this every Sunday and have to stop myself from gobbling it the instant it's ready.

It's a very smooth, creamy custard with a mild taste of coconut. I'm using it instead of milk for cereal and making luscious breakfast trifles the night before. I always find it keeps me fuller for longer possibly due to the eggs.

Hope you enjoy as much as I do!

Ingredients

2 eggs

2 tbsp cornflour

1 tbsp sugar or agave syrup

1 can of coconut cream (mine are between 370-400ml depending on brand)

1 can of water (just fill the empty can)

1 tsp vanilla paste

Method

- Whisk the eggs, cornflour and sugar in a medium saucepan to make a smooth paste.

- Blend in the coconut cream and water. 

- Heat the custard on a medium low heat and stir slowly but constantly. You don't want it to stick and burn!

- After a few minutes the custard will thicken, don't let it boil but a bubble or two is fine.

- Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla.

- Pour the custard into a container and place cling film directly on the surface of the custard. This will stop a skin from forming.

- Keep in the fridge for up to 3 days

C is for cookie... Date and Walnut cookies to be exact!

It’s always been my opinion, that homes with kiddies should always smell like freshly baked cookies… yum! My mum baked cheesecakes, carrot cakes and chocolate cakes but I don’t really remember her as a cookie baker. Yet my fondest childhood memories come flooding back when I smell cookies baking in the oven… yeah, I’m weird, this is not news to me!

I’ve struggled for quite some time to find a cookie recipe that’s simple to make and also spreads well yet doesn’t over crisp.

Last night I had success!! So ladies, gents and kiddie-winkles, may I present… Date and Walnut cookies!

This recipe makes around 40 small cookies if you can keep husband/child/nonna from eating the raw cookie dough!

Ingredients

185g butter, at room temp

½ c caster sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg yolk

1 ½ c self raising flour

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

100g chopped dates

½ c walnuts

How to...

- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

- Using electric beaters, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla and egg yolks for a few minutes until pale and fluffy.

- Add all the remaining ingredients and stir well. I found the mixture a little hard to mix, so with clean hands, I scrunched and squished the dough into submission.

- Roll teaspoons of the dough into balls and place on a lined baking tray, about 4cm apart as these cookies will spread.

- Bake for 12 minutes or until just golden.

- Leave the cookies on the hot tray for a few minutes to firm up before you transfer to a wire rack to cool.

- Once completely cooled store in an airtight container for 3 days or freeze for 1 month.

The healthiest Banana Cake recipe I can come up with!

As I mentioned in my last post, my poor little poppet has been sick for weeks. Fever, chills, a cold... all the wonderful lurgies of winter have hit her all at once.

Nobody wants to eat when they feel unwell and even though my little champ is a great eater, she's really struggling to eat much of anything at the moment.

But no one says 'no' to cake, right? :) So, I've come up with a 'cake' that I think you'll agree fits into the 'healthy' category. Stay with me, I promise it's not your usual fat and sugar laden style of cake... not that there's anything wrong with that, hahahaha!

Ingredients
1/4 c coconut oil - for good fats
1/4 cup vegetable oil - because too much coconut oil seems to dry out the batter
2 eggs - protein
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
200g plain Greek yoghurt - packed with protein
200g plain or wholemeal flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 c caster sugar - optional (my yoghurt is quite strong, and my bananas were a little under ripe so I needed a touch of sugar to balance out the flavor)

How to...
- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C and grease a round cake pan with oil or butter. I recommend lining the base with baking paper as this does seem to stick a little.
- Mix all your wet ingredients in a small bowl (oils, eggs, mashed bananas and yogurt)
- In a larger bowl, mix your flour, baking powder and sugar, if you need it.
- Pour your wet mix into your dry mix and stir until combined. You don't want to over mix or it will become tough once cooked. Once you can't see any flour, then you are done.
- Pour your batter into your pre-greased pan and smooth out.
- Bake for approx 30 mins until golden brown and the top bounces back when you gently push with your fingertip.
- Leave to sit in the pan for a few minutes, then flip onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Note: feel free to use all vegetable oil or experiment with other neutral flavored oils. Or melted butter if you're feeling naughty!

$2 for a bag of bananas - bargain!

Let's make Chicken Stock - it's easy, I promise!

Pot full of goodness!

My poor little poppet has been sick for weeks... It's that time of year unfortunately... Silly winter! Plus she's 18 months old so her little body is trying to build up an immune system, not much fun for anyone.

As much as I believe in Western medicine (to a point...) I also believe in nourishing your body with quality food and plenty of rest when the evil lurgies come around to knock you on you bum. (can I say bum?)

This is why I've started making my own chicken stock, so that I can make my East Meets West Chicken Noodle Soup for my little MissC. We all know chicken noodle soup just seems to make us feel better. By making my own stock, I know that my little one is getting as many nutrients as possible and she seems to love the stuff. Even when she's feeling absolutely rotten, she'll happily drink some plain stock with a handful of soba noodles.

The thought of making my own stock always scared me. Surely it must be laborious and complex? But I swear, it's not! It's so simple and ridiculously easy to make, now I can't stop making it.

Ingredients
1 whole raw chicken, washed under cold running water (cut into pieces is fine but keep the bones in and the skin on)
1 large brown onion, skin on, ends cut off
1-2 heads of garlic, skin on, root cut off
2 carrots, cut in half
2 sticks of celery, cut in thirds
2 tomatoes, cut in half (Roma are preferred)
10 peppercorns
1 tsp salt flakes
5 springs parsley
Optional - Bay leaf or bouquet garni

How to...
- first you will need a BIG pot! Large enough to fit in all the ingredients and a few liters of water.
- next simply throw everything into the pot and add enough cold water to just cover.
- bring the stock to the boil, then turn down low to simmer for an hour. You may like to turn the chicken after half an hour if you are worried about part of it sticking out of the water.
- once the hour is up, carefully lift out the chicken onto a board using tongs. (we'll strip the meat later to make  my East Meets West Chicken Noodle Soup and Sour Cream Enchiladas)
- strain the vegetables out of the stock and discard. They've done their job, all their goodness is now in the beautiful golden liquor in front of you... So many possibilities!
- you will need to add salt at this point, probably up to 2 tsps. Don't be afraid of this, there's a lot of liquid so this will require a fair amount if salt. Add 1/2 tsp at a time and taste.
- you're done! This will keep in your fridge for about 3 days, or pop into individual containers/ziplock bags and store in your freezer up to 6 months.

Note:
- leave the lid off! If you put the lid on, your stock will be cloudy.
- a 'bouquet garni' is a little bunch of mixed fresh herbs which will infuse the stock whilst it's brewing. Feel free to make your own, or you can buy ready made options in the fresh herb section of your local supermarket.

Green frosting... yep, it's avocado!

Wow, it's been so long since my last post! Sorry everyone, tech issues over here :( did you miss me? I missed you!

Just a short post today to finally reveal what the green goop was that I made in My shiny new toy!

It's avocado frosting! Don't leave, you know you're fascinated :)

I've been experimenting lately with vegan recipes, which has been lots of fun. I'm not into the vegan lifestyle myself, but some recipes are so interesting, I just can't resist. Also I have loads of friends who are dairy or egg free... it's crazy how many people have allergies these days!

This is a super quick and easy way to make frosting and it's the most fun brilliant green color. It does taste a little like avocado, but on a rich chocolate cupcake it really does work.

You can also easily add some cocoa and it becomes chocolate frosting - the kids will never know the difference! And they'll get a dose healthy fats, win, win!

Ingredients
2 ripe avocados
1 tsp vanilla extract
500g icing sugar (approx)

How to...
- Scoop the avocado flesh into the bowl of a cake mixer. Make sure to get rid of any brown spots.
- Add the vanilla and using a paddle attachment, beat the avocado until smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Slowly add the icing sugar until you get the desired consistency.

Note: the frosting will keep in the fridge for up to a week in an air tight container.