Chocolate Bubble Squares

This recipe is from one of those really great little Women's Weekly recipe books that you used to see often at the supermarket checkout.. they're probably still around.  I have thousands.  I have just tweaked it so it is gluten free.  Great for kids parties and really popular - I have been asked for the recipe a few times so here it is.


125g butter, melted
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten lightly
1 cup GF rice bubbles (I use Freedom Foods Rice Puffs)
3/4 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup GF SR Flour 
1/4 cup GF cocoa powder (I use Nestle)

bubble topping (combine all in a separate medium bowl)
200g milk chocolate Melts, melted
125g butter, melted
1 cup GF rice bubbles

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
Grease 26cm x 32cm Swiss roll pan; line base and two long sides with baking paper, extending paper 2cm above edge of pan.
Combine butter, sugar and eggs in bowl; stir in rice puffs coconut and sifted dry ingredients; spread into prepared pan.  Bake for 25 minutes or until firm; cool in pan.  Spread with bubble topping.  Cover, refrigerate until set before cutting into squares.

Referenced from Women's Weekly kids' party food
- Creative Food cookbook series

What's all the fuss about Quinoa?

and there's A LOT of fuss..

With a drum up that spruiks almost a complete food, nature's supergrain, ancient food of the Incas yadda yadda yadda.. this stuff can't possibly taste any good.. well that's where you're wrong.

With a delicate slightly nutty flavour quinoa is so versatile, it works well in many different dishes.  Quinoa is high in protein and calcium, contains important vitamins & minerals, is rich in dietary fibre and iron is a generally all round good guy.  You can use it in salads, baking- including things like muffins cakes & breads, savoury toppings, stuffings, soups or as a substitute for rice as a simple side.. the possibilities are endless.

For me, preparing quinoa in my rice cooker is the easiest and most hassle free by far.  It always turns out fluffy & fantastic.  Don't be restricted by water as your main cooking liquid either - live a little - step it up a notch by using some stock to give it a flavour boost.  Using a fine sieve, rinse the quinoa under cold running water and you are ready to rock and roll.  One part quinoa, two parts liquid - EASY.  Then just turn your rice cooker on.  SIMPLE.  You can also cook in a pot on the stove top or use a microwave but I'm going to stick with my RC.

Widely available in supermarkets and health food stores, quinoa comes in white, red and black varieties so you can make your salads etc look super funky.

Recently, I added to a fresh batch of warm quinoa sliced cooked chicken breast, chunks of chorizo (heated through in a frypan until the flavour starts to release and it just starts to get crispy edges mmmmm) a generous handful of halved kalamata olives, slivers of sliced peppers you buy in a jar (whole wood roasted peppers are my fav but always check your ingredients are GF) a generous drizzle of the good oil (EV Olive Oil for those of you not keeping up) add a handful of sliced Italian flat leafed parsley, a splash of lemon juice and you have a delicious lunch or dinner.

Experiment. Go crazy.

If you never again read another post that I do, please please read this.

We met an incredible woman when Abbey was in ICU following her heart surgery. Her name is Leisl Stone and her 22 month old son Jayden has been diagnosed with a rare cancer. I never knew the extent of the pain she was going through until I read her blog. She is trying to raise awareness of this insidious disease

http://jaydenstonesjourney.blogspot.com/

Also featured in the West Australian on 5 April 2012 - 'My Little Man'
and on the same day 6PR 882 NEWS TALK with Howard Sattler

http://www.6pr.com.au/blogs/6pr-perth-blog/my-little-man/20120405-1wfdo.html

Kez's Free Gluten Free Vienna Eclair Biscuits

mmmm Viennese Shortbread.. light fluffy, buttery, delicious.. I thought I had lost you forever my golden baked-good friend.  Life can be so cruel...

but wait..

Kez's have created a gluten free equivalent in their Kez's Free Range.  The Vienna Eclair Biscuit.
There is a GOD <enter choir of angels>

These are my all time FAVOURITE gluten free indulgence. A dainty double shortbread biscuit, jam sandwiched and chocolate dipped. 6 in a pack they won't last long (they don't in my house anyway *sigh*).

Selfishly, I have thought long and hard about divulging these little gems.. hahaha.. no seriously...
Feel like a treat?  You can't go past these!

Available in the health food aisle of Coles & Woolworths

Patties Lamingtons

Lamingtons.. synonymous with our Australian culture.  Our delicious chocolate coated, coconut dusted square sponge friend.

This is not as new product, they've been around for a while but they are gooooood and worth a spruik.

As far as lamingtons go this gluten free version is pretty good.  The cake is light and not a dense heavy product we sometimes encounter with gluten free.  It is chocolatey and has a jam filling that makes it just a little different from your everyday garden variety.

Australian made and baked in a 100% gluten free environment, they boast a new improved recipe however I thought the old recipe was pretty good too..  

The only drawback.. there's only three in a pack but they are a decent size and a half for the lunchbox will fill a hole.

You'll find them in the frozen food aisle of Coles and Woolworths.

Aussie Aussie Aussie

Coles Gluten Free Food & Healthy Living Expo - Perth

Seeing as though Abbey was firing on all four cylinders we decided to go to the expo and partake in a little gluten free activity and merriment.  Only days before, we had thought that it was just bad timing so soon after Abb's surgery and that we were certainly going to miss it but you just never know what's going to happen do you..

As expected, the place was buzzing. So many people and so much gluten free food... arrrggghh where to start where to start??  It's a little bit of a novelty when you don't have to think about what you are eating or deliver the old "do you have any gluten free options?"  EVERYTHING is gluten free baby.. GO CRAZY!  So we did


Stalls included.. Bodhi's Bakehouse, Zehnder, Slim Pasta, Well & Good, Schar, F.G. Roberts, The Coeliac Society of Western Australia, Genetic Support Council WA, Coles, Billabong Brewing, just to name a few...

Zehnder

There were cooking demonstrations, educational seminars, gluten free beer, organic wine AND COFFEE


So if you are Coeliac, gluten intolerant or just curious don't miss it next year.  Great stuff to see, there are always new products about and loads of free samples plus it's just nice to talk to others that deal with your kind of stuff on a daily basis too.

Slim Pasta

The kids also had a supervised craft and face-painting area so it was a great opportunity for the big kids to fly be free if you follow..

Oh and just a word of advice.. it may pay to calm yourself a little before entry and actually pay attention to the signage.. or maybe just don't have one of your family members partake in open heart surgery beforehand - I paid full price for entry for both myself and Garrick when Coeliac Members of WA had an admission of just $5.00 (Doh!)


Oh well, consider it a donation :)

The Booty

See you next year!


Coles Gluten Free Food & Healthy Living Expo
March 17 - 18
Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre 2012

Open Heart Surgery

So when I say it was a BIG week in the Hart household this past week.. that is an understatement  Abbey's heart surgery was looming and we had the 4 cancelled surgeries from last year hanging over us like a dark, heavy cloud.. what was going to happen..

This was scary stuff we were dealing with.

Well I am extremely happy to report that surgery went ahead as planned (woo hoo) and everything went exceptionally well.  Open heart surgery on Tuesday and discharged from hospital on Thursday (yes 2 days later..) Who does that??

Abbey had what is called an ASD - Atrial Septal Defect.  It was picked up when Abbey was 22 months old. What.. the Coeliac Disease wasn't enough?? Sheesh.

The atrial septum is the wall that separates the left and right atria.  These are the two upper chambers of the heart.  This keeps the oxygen rich blood separate from the oxygen poor blood.

An ASD is a hole situated in the wall between the left and right atria of the heart.  The hole allows some blood to flow from the left atrium through to the right atrium then into the right ventricle and back to the lungs.  Blood from the lungs returns to the left atrium where again, the hole allows some of the blood to flow back into the right atrium and the cycle repeats.  This causes an extra load to the right side of the heart and can result in an enlargement of the heart muscle which was the case with Abbey. (This explanation care of Matters of the Heart - Fact Sheet #3 Queensland Paediatric Cardiac Service not from my own profound medical knowledge.. sorry to disappoint)


Abbey really is a remarkable young lady.  So much already taken on in her young life, she is a fighter, she is courageous, she is resilient..  I cannot think of enough appropriate adjectives to adequately express my admiration and love for this child of ours.

Thank-you most sincerely to Kelly - our cardiac liaison at Princess Margaret Hospital, our surgeon Mr Andrews and all of the exceptional nursing staff in ICU & on the ward.  What would we do without you?  The world truly is a better place because of people like you.

But wait.. a complaint? Abbey had apparently grown quite fond of the "boom tisha boom" and feels a little ordinary with the "boom boom boom..."  You are kidding right Abb??