Ingredients:
1/2 cup drained sundried tomatoes
Handful fresh basil
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup pine nuts
1-2 cloves of garlic
1 red chilli pepper (optional)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Method:
Using a food processor blend tomatoes, basil and garlic in to a coarse paste.
Add all the remaining ingredients and blitz for 10 seconds.
Preheat oven to 180c / Gas 4
Ingredients:
1 cup of rinsed and cooked quinoa
1 cauliflower cut in to small florets
1 tin of chick peas – drained
Coconut oil
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsps cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
(or any combination of your favourite spices)
Method:
Arrange the cauliflower, chickpeas and quinoa on a baking tray and sprinkle with the spices. Dot the mixture with coconut oil. Place in oven. After 10 mins remove and gently turn the ingredients to ensure all coated with coconut oil. Return to oven and bake until cooked and – about 30 mins.
Perfect eaten on its own or served with a poached egg on top. Also a great alternative accompaniment for a curry. Delicious cold as well.
Preheat oven to 180c / gas mark 5
Ingredients:
Curry paste- 2tsp ginger puree, 2tsp garlic puree, tsp curry powder, 1tsp turmeric powder, 1tsp chilli powder and a splash of water.
1 onion chopped
1 pepper coarse chopped
1 potato diced into small cubes
3 carrots diced
1 courgette cubed
Small cauliflower
Tin of chopped tomatoes
Method:
Sauté onion, pepper and potato cubes in a casserole dish. Add curry paste and tomatoes. Add carrots and courgettes and stir. Place cauliflower in the centre and bake in oven until vegetables are cooked.
Ingredients:
50 g pine nuts
50 g parmesan
150 ml extra virgin olive oil
large handful of basil
1 clove of garlic (optional)
Method:
Dry fry the pine nuts until golden brown
Put all the ingredients in to a food processor,
and blitz until the desired consistency.
Preheat oven to 200c / gas 6. Prepare a 20cm loose bottom tin.
Ingredients:
Shortcrust pastry:
80 g rice flour, 140 g buckwheat or chestnut flour, 70 g ground almonds, 2 pinches of salt, 2 tsps ground linseed, 1/4 tsp xanthum gum, 100 g salted butter – chilled and diced, 2 eggs 3-4 tbsps cold water.
Method:
Mix all dry ingredients, rub in the butter with your fingertips until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
Stir in the beaten egg with a fork. Add small amounts of water as you toss the crumbs together. Continue until dough is formed. I find that a gluten free dough takes up more water than a wheat dough and is quite a sticky dough.Knead briefly to bring to a ball. Wrap
in parchment and chill for at least an hour.
Roll out and place in the flan tin. Prick the base with a fork ( I trim of the excess pastry after cooking to allow for shrinkage).Line pastry with parchment and baking beans. Bake blind for 10 – 15 mins.
Filling
Ingredients:
Carrots, peppers, parsnips and sweet potatoes prepared and roasted in olive oil
Halved mushrooms – sauteed
1 onion sliced in to rings – sauteed
Tomato sauce: chopped tomatoes, 1tsp of chilli, handful of chopped basil leaves and small carton of passata – simmered to reduce the water content
Cauliflower -cooked
Cheese sauce
Basil leaves
Assembly:
Finally put back in oven to heat through – 15-20 minutes (moderate temperature).
I have been contemplating for a while to try a meat free diet. Not just on a whim, more of an experiment to see the impact on my health. I have always thoroughly enjoyed meat dishes and do wonder how I will find this new diet approach. One thing I am very much aware of is that over the last couple of weeks I have felt my digestion processes to be much more sluggish (not wanting to be too graphic!) and over the last few weeks I have eaten more meat than I usually would. Is this related I wonder?
There are such a lot of conflicting views out there with everyone having strong opinions – some say to help us live longer then all animal products should be avoided; some state that red meat is harmful whilst others say as omnivores we are designed to eat meat and should.
For me, I want to feel healthier. Actions I have taken so far – being gf and eating miminum fructose have made me feel better.. and so for the next 4 weeks (miminum) this is the additional change I will try.
Here goes…
Ingredients:
Rolled oats – 2 cupfuls
1/2 cup each of cashew nuts, pistachio nuts, flaxseed, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds
Coconut oil – sufficient to lightly coat all the dry ingredients
Spread out on a baking tray and roast in a hot oven for 10 minutes or until the nuts turn golden brown
Allow to cool and store in an airtight jar. If it lasts this long, will stay fresh for a couple of weeks! Enjoy playing with different combinations.
I find avocado so versatile.This salad is so easy to prepare.
Ingredients: avocado, eggs, green leaves – rocket, watercress, spinach etc, and salad vegetables of your choice and feta cheese.
Method:
Cut an avocado in half and remove the stone. Crack an egg into each half – I used quail eggs. Pop in the oven to bake until the egg is the desired consistency. Prepare the salad base and top with the baked avocado/egg.
Watercress, tomatoes, pomegranate seeds and feta cheese was the base salad here
Ingredients: gluten free rolled oats, cashew and pecan nuts, chia and pumpkin seeds, unsweetened desiccated coconut, cinnamon and ground ginger and coconut oil.
Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl and then add melted coconut oil – sufficient to coat the ingredients. Spread out on a baking tray and pop in to a hot oven for 5-10 minutes.
Allow to cool and then put in to a storage jar. If not devoured, it will stay fresh for a couple of weeks.
Jo's food bites. 