When was the last time you....?

This question is one that I ask myself when trying a new gluten free food. Today was no exception.  For the first time in I don't know how long, I ate a doughnut. And not only one, several in fact and it was good!

I recently discovered that my local Woolies had a few new items in their Macro Gluten Free range of baking mixes.  The new addition that I tried today was a cinnamon doughnut mix.

Whilst the doughnuts themselves were very easy to make, by mixing all of the ingredients together, deep fry in small batches, dredge in the cinnamon sugar whilst still warm then devour.
I did find that ensuring they were properly cooked through was a bit more of a challenge.  The total time of cooking according to the directions was two and a half minutes.
When I tried one of the doughnuts from the first batch, they were a little on the doughy side and needed more cooking.  So I cooked the second batch a little longer.  Still did not seem quite right.
Then the third batch a little smaller in size, despite the instruction telling me to use a dessert spoon to drop the little amounts of dough mixture into the hot oil and cooked for a bit longer again.  These were great  however I was certain that they could be better if really small.  So I halved the amount of the mixture that I was dropping into the oil. These small doughnuts were just as cooked as the third batch but still appeared to be too moist.  Maybe it was just me?  The oil was not the right temperature, who knows?  My husband and I still enjoyed eating them.

Now they have cooled and when breaking each doughnut open to see what they are like on the inside, they a prefectly cooked through and have a really light, fluffy texture, unlike the traditional type of doughnut I remember from Donut King as a child.  This is why I did not think they were right!  They just needed to cool down a little.

So all in all, these doughnuts are delicious and encredibly more-ish as I have nearly eaten the whole lot.  They will make a perfect breakfast tomorrow morning for the public holiday Monday that all Sydney-siders are enjoying this spring.  Now off for a run......

Hello NYC!

I love going to New York City - this I cannot deny.  It is the city the never sleeps and there is always something happening somewhere, whether it be a bar in the Village at 11:30pm or buying an iPad at 1am the choice is yours.  And these we indulged in whilst we were there.

Another thing that I really love about the city is that the leaps and bounds in the knowledge and awareness around coeliac disease (or celiac disease in American).  The waitstaff at restaurants are always very friendly and are more than happy to find out what options are GF on a menu.  And yes they probably are working that little bit harder to get a good tip but the willingness to go the extra mile really does make eating out an absolute pleasure.


We visited restaurants, friend's houses, supermarkets and delis and everything was really easy.  There is always great GF options on hand.  A breakfast favourite on this trip was to go the local Wholefoods for GF muffins, yoghurt and coffee each morning.


Wholefoods have a great range of GF bakery products, GF crackers, GF yoghurt, GF ready made soups/salads/curries and the list goes on.  The number of gluten free items does vary from store to store mainly due to the size of the shop but there is always a number of options.  This place is a go-to for me.  I always love to go to Wholefoods when I am in the States.

The restaurants we visited were varied from pubs to gluten free restaurants.  The highlight would be and always will be where we have our first meal each time we visit NYC:  a very delicious restaurant, Risottoria in the Village.
This is a must for all coeliac visitors to the City.  This restaurant is one of the few that you will find that is has a gluten free menu.  The plus is that it is so delicious and the freshly prepared  GF pizzas and GF risottos are fantastic - gotta love the GF carbs!  They even have GF beers and on the table when you sit down are GF breadsticks - they are to die for!
I must get the recipe - can anyone help??  I know that most of the flour mixes that they sell through the restaurant have tapioca and corn flour as the main GF flours but what else do they do that makes them so delicious to eat, especially with a GF beer?  If anyone knows, please tell me!

This is only the start of our NYC adventure - stay tuned for more.....to be continued.....

Salad Anyone?

Spring brings with it so many special fruits and vegetables that are unique to this time of the year.  One that I do enjoy staining my hands with is blood orange.

Underneath the dark orange mottled skin hides a rich, deep red flesh that whilst not too sweet, makes the most delicious desserts, beverages and salads.  

I find that salads can become incredibly boring when you get into the habit of making a salad to accompany your main meal.  I remember that when I was a child we always had salad with dinner:  lettuce, tomato, carrot, cucumber, celery, onion and the option extras of pineapple, beetroot and cottage cheese - yes this was the combination.  

The salad dressing that my mother used then was a dressing that her own mother made.  

It was a heaped teaspoon of sugar, we used raw sugar, a good grind of pepper and a pinch of salt all put into a glass.  Add to this enough Cornwalls white vinegar to get the sugar wet, but be careful to not be too heavy handed.  Add to this a little splash of water and mix it all together, enabling the sugar to dissolve.  Taste to ensure that it is not too sweet or too tart.  Even though I never met my grandmother the taste of this dressing brings her alive to me - it always has.

A salad that I experimented with the other day was a blood orange, roast veg, feta and pine nut salad.  To be honest, I would have been rather content to have this on its own as it is a rather substantial dish.

The measurements are very rough - total honesty here!  But find the right balance of ingredients for yourself.

Blood Orange, Roast Veg, Feta and Pine Nut Salad

two good handfuls of baby spinach washed

one blood orange, peeled and sliced

1/3 of a block of feta, crumbled

one small piece each of sweet potato and pumpkin, peeled and diced

a glug of olive oil

1/4 lebanese cucumber - enough for a handful of slices

one and a half handfuls of pine nuts

salt and pepper

extra virgin olive oil

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.

Place the sweet potato and the pumpkin into a baking dish with the olive oil.  Toss the veg through to ensure that they are all covered in the oil.
Once the oven has reached its desired temperature put the vegetables into the oven for about 20-30 minutes or until they are golden brown. 

When the veg are almost done, place the pine nuts on a separate tray and put in the oven, keeping a close eye on them to ensure they do not burn!  Toss them frequently to ensure even toasting.

Whilst the roast veg and pine nuts are cooling, scatter the baby spinach on a plate, top with the sliced cucumber, then some of the pine nuts and some of the feta.  Scatter the cooled roast veg over the salad finishing off with the slices of blood orange, pine nuts and feta.  Add a sprinkle of salt and cracked black pepper and a splash of balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.

Bon appetit! 

Zucchini Pie

This 'pie' is not a typical style of pie that has pastry.  Instead it is more along the lines of a quiche, well the egg part only.  It is a subtly cheesy, bacony slice that make a lovely light dinner or lunch, just add a salad and you are away.  
An easy dish to make just grating, cracking, mixing and pouring into a pie dish and throw it in the oven.  

Zucchini Pie

375g zucchini grated
1 large onion diced
4 rashers of shortcut bacon diced
1 cup of grated cheddar cheese or similar cheese
1 cup of gluten free self-raising flour
a scant 1/4 cup of sunflower oil
5 eggs
a pinch each of salt and pepper

Combine the grated zucchini, grated cheese, diced oinion and bacon in a bowl.  In a jug measure out the scant 1/4 cup of sunflower oil (I find that more than this is a little too oily) adding to it the salt, pepper and eggs.  whisk the eggsand oil together slightly to break up the yolks.

Mix the SR flour through the zucchini mixture.  Then gradually add the egg mixture to the zucchini a little at a time - this is the easier way to combine both without making a huge mess!

Once all are combined pour into a lightly greased baking dish and bake for 30-45 minutes in a 170 degree oven.  It is ready when the top is golden and the zucchini pie is firm, no longer runny.

Refreshing Spring Risotto

The Basic Risotto recipe that I posted a little while ago is the basis of many different types of risotto the I prepare for dinner.  One in particular is very simple and uses two additional ingredients most of which everyone has and if you don't they are very simple to get your hands on.

Make your basic risotto recipe.  When the risotto is almost done, defrost a cup of baby peas from fresh the freezer.  I usually cover them with water from a freshly boiled kettle and let them sit for a few minutes before draining and stirring through the risotto.

Don't put the peas into the risotto too soon or else they will become mushy.  I like to ensure that they are perfectly warmed through not mushy at all.

Prior to serving finely chop up your mint and stir through, saving a little for garnish.

A lovely Monday night meal to mark the start of spring!

Out and About - Bistro Avoca

Tonight was dinner with the extended family and we visited a local restaurant that we have been meaning to go to:  Bistro Avoca.

Having literally just returned from the restaurant I am feeling inspired to share the beautiful meal that we had.

The restaurant is run by a husband and wife team and hospitality is there from the moment you walk in.  I had made a reservation mentioning that one member of the party was gluten free and that I had taken a look at their menu online, I was delighted to see that they mark all GF items with a 'g' and there were many options for starters, entree, mains and dessert.  Yay - this was going to be a dinner to enjoy.

And enjoy we all did.  Tonight was not a night for eating everything in sight so I settled on a mains and dessert with a side that we shared:  roasted spatchcock with garlic and sage, wilted spinach, golden raisins and pine nuts and a warm soft centred chocolate pudding with kahula creme anglaise and vanilla ice-cream.

The spatchcock was flavoursome and moist.  The addition of the wilted spinach, garlic, sage, raisins and pine nuts was lovely.  The flavours were beautifully matched and nothing was too over-powering.   The Billi Billi Shiraz was a nice addition to the meal.  The side salad of pear, rocket and parmesan was delicious, although I must admit that I was the last person to the salad and did not get much, but this was fine.

Dessert was sublime.  The soft centred chocolate pudding was so gooey, but in a really good way.  The flavours again were delightful and the kahula creme anglaise was an enhancement to the pudding.

I did try the creme brulée with strawberries and this was a beautiful thick and creamy consistency and again in all the right ways.  The burnt sugar on the top was perfection.

Overall this is a lovely local restaurant for either a dinner with a group or an intimate meal for two with a great amount of gluten free dishes on offer.

Bistro Avoca
133 Avoca St Randwick
Phone:  9399 9667
http://www.bistroavoca.com.au