Meringues

Essentially Meringues are egg whites, caster sugar and a pinch of salt. 

Most meringues include these three staples, however some include cornflour and vinegar, which I have incorporated here.

This recipe contains a LOT of sugar.  So if you're a SUGAR PHOBE you may want to leave the room now.  Also, if you have NO PATIENCE, you may also wish to excuse yourself.

These babies require a lot of baking and cooling downtime so if waiting is not your thing, you may have to reassess your love of the humble meringue.

A little tip ~  make sure your eggs are at room temperature.  I discovered this years ago when attempting my first lemon meringue pie and my egg whites wouldn't fluff up after vigorous beating for eons  weeks A BLOODY LONG TIME.

Clueless I whinged lamented about my egg white beating skills (clear lack of) to my friend Kym.  Quite the master baker herself and winner of several prestigious country show awards, (where the competition and judges are FIERCE) she replied..
"You are using eggs at room temperature aren't you?" "Pfft.. of COURSE I am..."

Some omit the vinegar but I have read, that a little helps to crisp up the outside of the meringue whilst keeping the inside a softer consistency.  Worth putting in.  My mum used to put vinegar in everything. Toffees, meringues, poached eggs..  I guess old habits die hard.

Ingredients
4 egg whites  
Pinch of salt                                                    
1 cup caster sugar
2 teaspoons GF cornflour
1 teaspoon white vinegar

Pre-heat your oven to 100°C   

Method
Make sure your mixing bowl is clean.  Any trace of fat can bring your meringue merriment to a screeching halt.  Using an electric mixer, beat your egg whites and salt until soft peaks form, then gradually add sugar.  Beat until mixture becomes glossy and all of the sugar has dissolved.
If you rub a little between your thumb and forefinger and the mix is no longer gritty, you're good to go.  At this point, add cornflour, vinegar & any colour preference (mix until just combined).

Use a piping bag with a wide star tip to create your meringues.  Aim for about 4-5 cm diameter and allow space between each on a lined baking tray.  Abb & I sprinkled GF 100's and 1000's on ours but GF sprinkles or small cachous would also look fab.

Bake for 2 hours until meringues have a hardened shell and sound hollow when gently tapped on the bottom.

Now for the hard part.  The waiting..
Turn your oven off and allow meringues to cool for a couple of hours.  I stick a wooden spoon in the door so it remains ajar whilst meringues are cooling.  I also do this when making lemon meringue pie.

Well done! You made it.  ENJOY!                                  

 

Blackberry & Orange Frangipane Tart

This recipe is my absolute FAV at the moment.  Just saying.

Before Christmas, I made a wise investment and purchased a copy of The Gluten Free Scallywag magazine (Vol 3, 2013).  The hard copy (let's not muck around - this book was going to get a hammering).  Within it's crisp pages lies the magic that is of the gluten free kind, including this very fabulous and very delicious tart recipe.

I blame this recipe for the extra couple of kilos that have surreptitiously attached themselves to my hips but I also attribute this recipe to the cheeky pinch on the bottom from my husband this morning & beaming smile that I cannot wipe from my face (from the tart.. totally from the tart).  It's good people.  It's VERY GOOD.

Jas' recipe calls for Strawberry Jam but I have utilised a small jar of Margaret River's The Berry Farm Blackberry & Orange Jam here and only last evening, experimented with another TBF success story - Apricot & Almond.  Both with resounding success.  I'm telling you, this little baby is only open to your imagination.

And so, without further ado, here she is.  ENJOY!

Blackberry & Orange Frangipane Tart               

pastry
125g cold butter, chopped into 2cm cubes
100g pure gluten free icing sugar
250g plain gluten free flour
2 egg yolks
1 to 2 tablespoons ice cold water

frangipane
100g butter, room temperature
70g caster sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
100g almond meal

1 cup of Blackberry & Orange jam

In a food processor pulse the butter, icing sugar and flour together a few times so it resembles bread crumbs.  Pulse in the yolks, so the pastry begins to come together, you will need a little more liquid, so add in a tablespoon of cold water and pulse again.  The pastry will slowly form a ball.  It may be
tempting to add more water but don't, unless after about 30 seconds the pastry still hasn't come together.

Turn out onto your bench and form into a 2cm thick disc.  Wrap in glad wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  At this stage the pastry can be refrigerated for up to one week.

Before rolling out your pastry, pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Roll the pastry out between two pieces of baking paper to 3mm thick.  Carefully turn into loose bottom 22cm round tart tin.   Press the pastry carefully, into the fluted edges of your tin and trim off the excess.  Place in the freezer for 10 minutes to harden. 

Place a piece of baking paper on the top of the prepared tart base and fill with baking beads/pie weights or beans.  Rice will also do.  Bake for 10 minutes then carefully remove the baking paper and beans.  Return pastry case to the oven for 5-8 minutes to become golden.  Remove from oven.

To prepare the frangipane topping pulse all ingredients together in the food processor until combined.

Spread the jam onto the baked pastry.  Dollop the almond frangipane mixture on top of the jam and roughly smooth out over the top.  It doesn't matter if a few bits of jam show through, as the mixture will spread a little.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.  Allow to cool and serve with cream.

Chilli Beef Lettuce Wraps

This recipe is by Gordon Ramsay.  LOVE him or LOATHE him, he is a master of fabulous food and this recipe although very simple, is testament to this.  I first saw him prepare this on LifeStyle FOOD from the programme Gordon's Ultimate Cookery Course.  If you are a fan of Asian flavours and whipping up something delicious, super fast (and who isn't?) then look no further.

200g minced beef
200g minced pork
Sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
(I used Gourmet Garden Chunky Garlic paste)
5cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
(I used Gourmet Garden Ginger paste)
1-2 red chillies, deseeded and chopped
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tbsp fish sauce
Zest of 1 lime, juice of 1/3
3 spring onions, trimmed and chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Baby Cos lettuces, separated into leaves to serve
(You can also use Iceberg or any lettuce where the leaves form a cup)

DRESSING

1 tbsp. GF soy sauce
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 red chilli, thinly sliced
Small bunch of coriander leaves chopped
(The first time I made this, I used Mint instead of Coriander and this also works well)
1-2 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp light brown sugar
1 tbsp. olive oil
(I omit the olive oil here as I think the sesame oil is enough but totally your call)

1. Heat a large frypan and add a little oil. Mix the beef and pork and season well with salt and pepper.  Fry the mince in the HOT pan for 5-7 minutes until crisp and brown and broken down to a fine consistency.  Gordon recommends to drain the crisp mince in a sieve - this will help it stay crispy.  (Who's game to argue with Gordy?? Not I..)  Set aside.

2. Wipe out the pan. Add a tablespoon of sesame oil. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli.  Fry with a pinch of salt and the sugar for 2 minutes. Add the drained mince and combine.

3. Add the fish sauce and heat through. Stir in the lime zest and juice, then add the spring onions. Turn off the heat.

4. Mix all the ingredients together and adjust to taste.

5. To serve - spoon some of the mince mixture into the lettuce leaves, drizzle with a little dressing and serve.


I find, if I make the dressing first & set aside, it allows the flavours to infuse and gives you a better result.  Also, do yourself a favour and do all your chopping, measuring out beforehand.  It pays to do this & makes for a very quick cooking process.

The flavours are amazing.  ENJOY!

Being Thankful - Happy Australia Day

As I sit here in the perfect 31degrees of it all I am THANKFUL.

I am thankful for the sunshine.
I am thankful for the cool swim.
I am thankful for the lifestyle we have as AUSTRALIANS.
I am thankful for the freedom.
I am thankful for the environment.
I am thankful for the good nature and decency of 98% of people that live in the lucky country.

I am NOT thankful for the dickheads who get off on lighting senseless fires.  I AM thankful for the unwavering bravery of our fireies.

I am NOT thankful for the dickheads who get off on king hitting some unsuspecting soul.  I AM thankful for constructive action to implement positive change.

I am NOT thankful for the bullying that is plaguing the youth of today.  I AM thankful for zero tolerance and positive role models.

I am thankful for the health of my family.  I am especially thankful for a diagnosis for my Coeliac daughter.  I am NOT thankful for the Coeliac part but I AM thankful that it is easily tackled, requires no medication and that a gluten free lifestyle means a happy & healthy little girl.  THRIVING even. 
I am also extremely thankful, that without her diagnosis, my own could quite possibly never have happened and could have led to dire straits later on (and not the Money For Nothing kind).  Every cloud has a silver lining.

and I am thankful for L A M I N G T O N S
<gluten free of course>

EatRite Review & [GIVEAWAY]

Christmas, family, good times, New Year Celebrations..
On reflection, the whole of 2013 went by in the blink of an eye.  The  year seemed to whizz by in next to no time don't you think? 
Sign of a good year I would say.  We were busy, we were happy, we were growing and learning  & laughing.  A good year by anyone's standards.

As you know, I happily discovered (and shared) a lot of GLUTEN FREE products I found throughout the year.  One such product that crossed my path was EatRite rice crackers.  EatRite is an Australian (YAY) company that produces delicious gluten free wholegrain brown rice crackers.  The EatRite flavours include Tamari Seaweed and deliciously spicy Black Pepper & Sesame.  Not to play favourites but the Black Pepper & Sesame is a personal fav :) 


Shamelessly, I indulged in a few packets over the festive season but should I feel bad?  Not really.. these gluten free yummies are made with wholegrain brown rice and natural ingredients, are free from cholesterol, msg, preservatives and are low in oil & salt.  

 

EatRite is committed to producing natural whole foods. Only the highest grade wholegrain brown rice is used in the crackers, retaining all the essential nutrients and fibre. They are then lightly steamed and oven baked to golden perfection.  Sound delicious? Well that's because they ARE!  Great for snacking, great for lunchboxes and fab for entertaining.



You will find EatRite crackers in the health food aisle of Woolworths, Coles, IGA, selected Foodworks and health food stores ~ RRP $3.50/pkt
 
The good people at EatRite have very kindly offered 2 boxes of EatRite crackers for this giveaway

With 12 packets per box - 6 x Tamari Seaweed  and 6 x Black Pepper & Sesame what are you waiting for?

Enter via RAFFLECOPTER below and leave a comment on the blog here to say you dropped by :)
(always a pleasure to have you x)

This giveaway is open to AUSTRALIAN RESIDENTS ONLY.

This is a review post for EatRite.  All opinions are my own.  This is not a paid promotion.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Trees, Baubles & Chocolate Balls

A few weeks before Christmas my sister-in-law sent me a pic of Chocolate Brownie Christmas Trees. Hmm a challenge perhaps?  CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

Now I have no idea where she got the photo, maybe from a food mag, maybe PINTEREST?  I suppose I could have maybe asked and possibly maybe even got a recipe but chances are these little chocolate conifers weren't gluten free so I had to improvise..

Abbey's Christmas class party was looming and I thought to myself 'pfft how hard can it be?' plus I totally planned to cheat and use a packet brownie mix BUT THEN disaster struck the night before the class party.  On closer inspection of said packet mix, it was revealed that the product contained traces of nuts. OH CRAP - there was a child in Abbey's class that had a severe allergic reaction to nuts - an ANAPHYLACTIC type of reaction.  There was no way I could use this mix.  Quick Tara, think on your feet.. I had to pull this thing off and bake from scratch.  I also had NO PLAN B.  So I did what any self respecting mother on the brink would do and took to GOOGLE like a woman possessed..

So here's the recipe I used via taste.com.au  It seemed simple enough and even better, I had all of the ingredients in my pantry. Yes. Kicking goals.

200g unsalted butter, chopped
200g GF dark chocolate, broken into pieces                                
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup GF plain flour
2 tablespoons GF cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius.  Line a 5cm deep, square brownie tin
Heat butter, chocolate and sugar in saucepan over a low heat stirring until everything has melted and is smooth. Transfer to a heat proof bowl and allow to cool.
Add eggs and vanilla to chocolate mixture.  Mix well.  Sift flour and cocoa over chocolate mix and combine. Pour into brownie tin and bake for 20 minutes.

Now the recipe asks that once cooked & cooled, lift out, wrap in plastic-wrap, then place in an air tight container and leave for 1 day before cutting.. but I didn't have the luxury of time so, once cooled, I placed that sucker into the freezer for a wee while. Say 10 minutes.  It was then perfect to attack with my Christmas Tree cookie cutter.  Sharp edges, no crumbling.  Yes Sir, we were in business.

To finish, I made a simple butter cream icing, tinted it with green food colouring, placed the icing in a snap lock bag and snipped the corner ready to ice those babies.  They actually turned out better than I hoped and I knew they tasted good because I had sampled all the offcuts hahaha.

You can put a candy cane into the base of the tree if you like (just use the straight part of the cane)  - this is what my sister in law's picture had in theirs but I think they looked just as sweet without.

and then there's Gluten Free Rumballs (without the rum or you can add it ~ but I was focusing mainly on child friendly here or you can totally keep a stash separate and indulge later).  We called these Snowballs as kids and this recipe is entirely from my 11 year old memory.  I make no apologies for that.

250g sweet GF biscuits - I used the freelicious tea biscuits
1 tin of condensed milk
1 heaped tablespoon of GF cocoa
Desiccated coconut

Now pay attention.  The very technical method follows ~

(1) Blitz the biscuits in a food processor (or bash them in a plastic bag with a rolling pin) until you have a crumb consistency
(2) Add the cocoa powder and mix to combine
(3) Add the condensed milk and mix in well - if you find your mix is a bit wet,  add a little coconut
(4) Roll heaped teaspoons into balls and then coat with coconut
(5) Cover plate with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled. 


and just a heads up.. they won't last long :)

Chocolate Mousse

We were meeting up with friends for a BBQ and I naturally had left things to the last minute.
What to make? What to make? I needed something simple, something delicious and something fast.  Chocolate Mousse?  BINGO. 

I used those small plastic wine goblets that you can purchase from any supermarket for around $3-$4 for TEN.  The kind you can throw away but are rigid enough to wash and re-use if you feel so inclined.  The idea was no washing up.  I liked the idea immediately.

The following recipe is from www.taste.com and just adapted so as to make it gluten free.  No changes actually, just ensure you are using gluten free cocoa powder and chocolate.  It's a no brainer.

300g Gluten Free good quality dark chocolate
3 eggs
1/4 cup caster sugar

1 Tbs Gluten Free cocoa powder sifted
300mls thickened cream (I actually used whipping cream so I didn't have to buy thickened AND whipping - less waste) plus extra whipped cream to serve
Grated chocolate for decoration

Melt your chocolate.
Now you can do this in a glass bowl over a pan of simmering water as long as the bowl isn't actually touching the water - stir gently, remove from heat and set aside to cool

OR

Use your microwave.  Naturally I used this lazy option.  Just make sure you reduce the power to 50% and do in small bursts.  My chocolate could have probably done with more melting but tiny bits of unmelted chocolate through the mix equalled WIN WIN later when tucking in.. Totally your call.

Either way, set aside to cool slightly.

Place eggs and sugar in your mixer and beat for 5 minutes until mix becomes pale in colour and increases in volume.  FOLD in your sifted cocoa powder and chocolate.  In a separate bowl beat cream until thickened and fold through chocolate mixture.  Chill in  fridge for 1 hour then decorate with extra whipped cream and grated chocolate.

I half filled NINE of these small plastic wine goblets easily with this quantity of mousse and then topped up with whipped cream.

ENJOY!