Monthly Archives: May 2016
Stem ginger biscuits
Latest round of recipe testing has resulted in these gluten-free stem ginger biscuits. They passed the work colleagues taste bud test today 🙂
Ingredients:
Preheat oven to 180c  / gas mark 4. Makes about 16 biscuits.
Ingredients:
200 g gluten-free self-raising flour
150 g light muscovado sugar
150 g butter
2 eggs (1 if using non gf fl)
1 tbsp ground ginger
35 g stem ginger chopped in to small pieces
Method:
Put the butter and sugar in to a pan on a low heat until butter melted. Remove from heat and add all remaining ingredients and mix well together. Place heaped desert spoonfuls of mixture evenly spaced on a greased baking sheet. Press each mound down with the palm of your hand until about 1/2 cm thick. Put in centre of oven for 12-15 minutes or untill golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before transferring to cooling rack.
Perfect served with a cup of tea.
Asparagus, Asparagus, Asparagus
Such a delicious addition / focus of many a dish. I find the quickest and easiest way to cook it is to pan fry it – in coconut oil. Stir occasionally to ensure coated in the oil. It takes 5 – 10 mins on a high heat. 
Here are several different ways we eat it:
With butter saut̩ed button mushrooms Рsprinkled with parmesan Рstarter or main.
Served with quail eggs and sprinkled with parmesan – a delicious combination of flavours. Perfect as a starter – 3 eggs and 5 stems or main dish.
Served with quail eggs, roasted salmon, tomatoes and a Greek yoghurt and chilli flake dip.
Cold in a salad – here with sprouted brown chick peas, tomatoes and mozzarella on a bed of watercress.
…and probably my favourite…
Served on gluten-free muffins with poached free range eggs and serves with a generous dollop of hollandaise sauce.
Well, four weeks have passed by…
Four weeks ago (my… how time flies) I decided I would trial removing meat completely from my diet. I have been really surprised at how I haven’t missed it at all – even when I cooked bacon for my husband. I thought that would make me drool and waver! I can not believe how much better I feel. I popped on the scales the other day (still can’t get over the fact that I no longer pop on them 6, 7 ,8+ times a day) and discovered I had lost a couple of pounds. In addition, when I got the dreaded tape measure out I discovered that my waist is now less than half my height which is a good indication that I’m not carrying too much visceral fat – all good for my overall health. As my weight seems to be recalibrating at a sensible rate I am content that my body fat is reducing with the preservation of my muscle mass (compared to the effect on my body each time I went on the latest fad diet).
Thinking back to all the various ‘diets’ I have been on made me think about…if the principle of energy balance is so simple why was it so hard for me to lose weight before and why, over a period of 2/3 yrs did the majority of weight lost go back on. I think it all boils down to the fact that in each case I felt restricted and also didn’t make real changes to my dietary habits.
I don’t want to ‘go on’ like some reformed individual but the dietary habits I follow now suit me. They suit my way of thinking and understanding of how my body processes the food I eat. I don’t feel restricted in any way, shape or form and I am now following a good diet in the true sense of the word.
Blackcurrant cake (gluten free)/redcurrant
Delicious on its own – hot or cold, or served with custard, Greek yoghurt, creme fraiche or vanilla ice-cream.
I don’t add additional sugar to the blackcurrants (only what is in the cake) as we like it quite ‘sharp’. You may want to add natural sweetener to the currants.
Ingredients:
Preheat oven to 180c  / gas mark 4
Ingredients:
170 g gluten-free self-raising flour
150 g light muscovado sugar
170 g softened butter
4 eggs (3 if using non gf fl)
1 cup of blackcurrants – topped if desired – I don’t!
Method:
Mix all ingredients (except blackcurrants) together until smooth.
Fold in blackcurrants.
Put in 20cm square tin. Bake in centre of oven for about 30 mins
Alternatively…use the same quantity of redcurrants instead and make a cake or muffins.
Quinoa tabbouleh topped with free range eggs
A simple one pan dish
Ingredients:
1 cup of quinoa well rinsed, cooked and drained
1 red onion – chopped
2 peppers – roughly chopped
Handful of kale
Tamari (soy sauce if not needing gf)
1 – 2 tsp Garam masala
Coconut oil
2 free range eggs per person
Method
In a large frying pan, saute the onions and peppers in coconut oil. Add Garam Masala and the kale. Cook until the veg is the desired crunch. Add the cooked quinoa and generous splash of Tamari. Once heated through, crack the eggs in to small wells and cook until desired consistency.
Cheese stuffed baked smoked cod
This is so simple to make and absolutely delicious.
Pre heat oven to Gas mark 5 / 190 c
Ingredients:
1 fillet of smoked cod per person
Gruyère cheese
Fresh dill
Method:
Simply mix some chopped dill with the Gruyère cheese. Spread a layer on to the underside of the cod fillet and roll up. Secure with a stick.
Wrap loosely in tin foil and place on a baking tray. Cook in the centre of the oven for 10 – 15 minutes.
I served this with in season new potatoes, quail eggs from my lovely ladies and pan-fried asparagus topped with parmesan.
Turmeric milk
A delicious drink that is packed full of goodness and very simple to make.
Ingredients:
Mug of full fat milk
1 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cinnamon / piece of cinnamon stick
1 tsp ground ginger / finely chopped cm piece of fresh ginger
Pinch of black pepper
Method:
Put all the ingredients in to a saucepan and heat gently bringing to the boil. Remove from the heat and if you have used fresh ginger and cinnamon stick – strain the liquid.
Drink and enjoy – I often have this with a piece of 85% dark chocolate.
Pea and feta fritter
Ingredients:
Cup full of frozen peas – cooked and cooled
1 red chilli – deseeded and finely chopped
3 spring onions finely chopped
Juice of half a lemon
100 ml of milk
Gluten free plain flour
3 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
Seasoning – salt, pepper, 1 tsp cayenne pepper
Small block of feta cheese cut in to small chunks
Method:
Put milk, eggs and lemon juice into a jug and mix well. Add onions, chilli, peas and seasoning and baking soda. Add a tbsp at a time of flour and mix well. Continue to add flour until a thick batter consistency achieved.
Heat and lightly oil (coconut oil or olive oil) a frying pan or griddle and spoon mixture on to the heated surface. Cook for a couple of minutes on each side until golden.
Serve with home-made dip of cucumber chopped in to small cubes and mixed with Greek yoghurt.
Salad – quail eggs, fresh figs, mozzarella and tomatoes
There is something so delicious about fresh figs in a salad. Quail eggs are little powerhouse packets of goodness – I am so lucky to have my own hardworking ladies.
I served this salad on a gluten free wrap and added shredded cabbage, onion and carrots- once rolled was difficult to eat but well worth the challenge!
Jo's food bites. 