Chow Mein

Since I've had coeliac disease, I've spent the past few years trying to master my favourite dishes. I find that Chinese is the most rewarding because I really do miss a good chippy tea! My new favourite is chow mein, and I've even got my noodle-hating fiancé (I know, what's wrong with him?) addicted too!

Egg noodles are one of the hardest things to replicate gluten free and I don't think I've ever seen a decent alternative. Rice noodles are too bland, in my opinion. However, gluten free tagliatele works pretty well, and that's what I've used in the recipe below.

You can use any meat or vegetables to make this really simple dish. I think I might need to open my own chippy soon!

If you're following a FODMAP diet, this is a low FODMAP dish too!

Chow Mein

Serves 2

2 chicken breasts or quick-frying steak
4 spring onions, sliced into thin strips
150g thinly sliced mushrooms
1 thinly sliced green, yellow or red pepper
Garlic oil
4 tbsp tamari/gluten free soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbs rice vinegar
150g cooked gluten free tagliatelle/spaghetti/rice noodles
Salt & pepper to taste
Optional: chicken/beef/vegetable stock, extra soy sauce, chilli flakes (if you want a bit of spice!)

Thinly slice meat into strips and marinate in chilli flakes (if using), tamari, oyster sauce and rice vinegar. Place in fridge for at least half an hour (I tend to do this in the morning and leave all day).

Cook pasta/noodles according to instructions.

Heat a couple of teaspoons of garlic oil in a wok and add meat/vegetables. Cook for a few minutes til brown/softened and add the rest of the vegetables, coating in the sauce. Cook until meat and vegetables are tender and add the cooked noodles. Add a little more soy sauce. I like this quite dry, but if you want more sauce you could add some stock while the meat and vegetables are cooking.

If you're a vegetarian, simply omit the meat and instead marinate the vegetables, adding more peppers and mushrooms to compensate. You could add any veg to this dish, but ones you can slice thinly work best.

Dark Chocolate & Raspberry Frangipane Tart

My little girl, Emily, has been asking me for 'Rahhhspberries' all day today. She's never had them before and they just so happened to be on offer in Aldi, so I bought a punnet for her. She put one in her mouth and immediately spat it out, declaring "I don't like that one, Mummy." I don't really like raspberries on their own either, so I decided to use them to make a cake.

Personally, I love raspberry cheesecake, but my fiancé isn't fussed on them and to be honest, I need to start making things he will eat too, otherwise I'll be struggling to get into my favourite jeans! He loves bakewell tart, so the recipe below is a bit of an adaptation on that. The pastry is probably the best one I've made to date - light, crumbly and sweet and it complements the moist frangipane. The raspberries add a bit of zing, and the dark chocolate perfectly finishes the whole thing off! It's gone down well with all three of us, so I'll definitely be making this again!

As ever, make sure you check labels on everything to ensure it's all gluten free.

Dark Chocolate & Raspberry Frangipane Tart

Pastry
100g unsalted butter diced
100g icing sugar
50g ground almonds
1 medium egg, beaten
200g plain gluten free flour plus extra for rolling
Baking beans/uncooked rice

Filling
125g unsalted butter
125g caster sugar
1tsp almond extract
125g ground almonds
2 eggs
100g fresh raspberries, halved
30g Dark chocolate, melted

Preheat oven to 160 degrees and grease a 9inch/23cm tart tin. (I also line it with foil first for easier removal)

To make the pastry, rub the butter and sugar between your fingers to form crumbs. Stir in the almonds and icing sugar and add the egg a little at a time to form a soft dough. Use a little more flour to roll out to a thickness of about 0.25cm. Line the tin with the pastry, gently pushing it to the corners. Trim excess from around the edge and blind bake using the baking beans/rice for 10 minutes, until the edges start to brown slightly.

For the frangipane, cream the butter, sugar and almond extract together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and continue to beat the mixture. Gently stir in the almonds. Place the halved raspberries on the pastry base in circles and then spread the frangipane mixture on top. Bake until golden and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool.

Put the dark chocolate in a sandwich bag and melt in some boiled water. Snip the corner of the bag and drizzle the chocolate over the cake.

Chicken Katsu Curry

I love Asian food. Since going gluten free, I've managed to perfect a few of my favourite takeaway meals and I get a lot of satisfaction knowing I can still eat what I want with a few adaptations.  I used to love going to Wagamama, a restaurant specialising in Japanese cuisine - think ramen and dumplings! They used to have quite a good gluten free menu, but it seems to be very limited now. Chicken Katsu Curry was never an option for a coeliac because it uses panko breadcrumbs and the curry sauce contains wheat flour and soy sauce. I did try it before diagnosis and I loved it. It tastes like 'posh' chip shop curry!

I came across a recipe for it the other day and thought I'd have a go at tweaking it to make it gluten free. Everyone in our house loved it, including my fussy two year old! She did eat about half a pack of 'bum' crackers (prawn crackers, no idea why she calls them that and not sure I want to) but she used them to scoop up the rice and chicken, so I was happy.

Anyway, here is the recipe with some adaptations. Really simple. Feeding two and a half people, itt makes enough to freeze half so you have readymade curry next time, and given that it takes a while to make, this was handy. However, my fiancé didn't realise I wanted to keep it and threw it all away. Good job he's pretty.

Chicken Katsu Curry

For the curry sauce

1 large chopped onion

1 inch piece of ginger, finely chopped

5 garlic cloves, chopped

2 medium carrots, sliced

2 tablespoons gluten free plain flour

4 teaspoons gluten free curry powder (I used Asda's own)

600ml chicken stock made from Knorr stock cube

2 teaspoons honey

4 teaspoons tamari soy sauce

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon garam masala

For the breaded chicken

2 chicken escalopes, or flattened breasts

1 beaten egg

100g gluten free breadcrumbs - made by blitzing a few slices of bread in a food processor, spreading into a thin layer on a baking tray and cooking in the oven for 6-8 minutes or until golden.

Rice and vegetables to serve.

Preheat oven to 200°c.

Gently fry the onion, ginger and garlic in a little oil in a saucepan until the onion is cooked and soft. Add the carrots and fry on low for 10 minutes. Add the flour and curry powder and cook for a couple of minutes. Pour in the stock, honey, soy sauce and bay leaf and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and cook on low for around 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour the curry through a seive into another pan to remove the onions and carrots and you should be left with a silky, thick yet pourable sauce.

Meanwhile, put the egg and breadcrumbs in separate bowls. Dip your chicken into the egg mixture and then into the breadcrumbs, coating on all sides. Spray a baking sheet with a little oil before placing each breast on the tray and spraying more oil over them. Cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

Serve with boiled rice and either vegetables or salad.

Peanut Butter Brownies

These brownies really don't need much of an introduction. I have been craving peanut butter all week, and after a failed attempt at making peanut butter hot chocolate earlier in the week (bleurgh), these were exactly what I was looking for! Simple to make and with just a few ingredients, these make a very satisfying, rich brownie, with a lovely, light buttercream frosting full of peanut butter - perfect!

Peanut Butter Brownies

140g salted butter
220g sugar
80g cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extra
2 large eggs
70g gluten free self-raising flour

For the frosting:
100g butter
185g smooth peanut butter
125g icing sugar

Preheat oven to 160 degrees and line and grease a brownie tin with greaseproof paper.

Put butter, sugar and cocoa powder in a bowl and melt in the microwave in short, 15 second bursts til the mixture comes together and is just warm. Leave to cool for 5 minutes and add eggs, flour and vanilla extract. Beat until glossy and pour into lined tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a skewer dipped into the brownie comes out clean. While the tray is cooling, prepare the frosting by mixing the butter, peanut butter and icing sugar with an electric whisk, until light and fluffy. When the brownie is completely cooled, spread the frosting over it and put it in the fridge for half an hour or so. Remove, and slice into 16 equal squares.

Spanish Tortilla

I love tapas. I love tapas because lots of them are gluten free, or easy to adapt so they are. One of our favourite restaurants is La Tasca because they have a fantastic gluten free menu and they also serve gluten free beer! Anyway, I digress. One of my favourite tapas dishes is tortilla, and up until Saturday I had never tried to make this myself. I had a look on the internet for a good recipe, but I wasn't sure which one would be nicest, so I asked my lovely Spanish friend, Patricia, who very kindly gave me her recipe and allowed me to share it on my blog. Her recipe mainly uses potato and egg and this in itself is tasty enough, however as Patricia says below, you can add anything you like. For mine I added onions, garlic and sliced chorizo (that's chor-ee-tho, not chor-eet-zo!) and for a first attempt I was really pleased with how it turned out. It was gorgeous and did breakfast for myself and my boyfriend for two days. I'll definitely be making this again soon!

Spanish Potato Omelette (Tortilla de patata)

2 medium-sized potatoes or 4 small ones (type depends on taste, I like to use baking spuds because I like them getting a bit crumbly, but choose waxy ones if you prefer a firmer potato)
4 eggs
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
You can add practically anything you want to this basic recipe: cheese, peas, tomato, peppers, onion, herbs, diced chorizo... I like to add a bit of dried powdered garlic and onion for flavour, but I prefer my tortilla plain and simple, they way it's eaten in most tapas bars in Spain.

Peel and slice the potatoes, not too thinly. Rinse under the tap and put them in a microwavable dish (ideally one of those contraptions with a basket that allows you to steam in the microwave).

Drizzle some oil over the sliced potatoes (approx. 2 tbsp), sprinkle a pinch of salt and cook at 100% for 5 minutes.

Remove, stir, cook for 5 min more. Prod the potatoes with a spatula or wooden spoon to make sure that they are done. Cook for another couple of minutes if necessary. The potatoes need to be cooked before the next step, as they will cook only very briefly as part of the tortilla.

In another bowl, whisk the eggs with salt and pepper to taste. Add the cooked potato slices, stir well so that all the potato is well covered in egg.

With regards to the frying pan, I use a 20 cm one. It's easier to make a tortilla that is small in diameter; if you use a larger pan you risk breaking it when you flip it over. Don't worry if the tortilla looks very thick, it will cook slowly so there will be no undercooked egg in the middle.

Put the frying pan over a high heat and add a slosh of olive oil to it. When it's hot, pour the egg-potato mixture in it, and lower the heat to medium-low. With your spatula/wooden spoon, gently stir the potatoes, letting the uncooked egg flow down to the bottom of the pan and set. Keep doing this for a couple of minutes, until there is little liquid egg left.

Now, the crucial bit: flipping the tortilla. Put a large plate over the frying pan, then place your open hand on it, and with your other hand grab the frying pan handle and flip the whole thing over. You'll have a half-cooked tortilla on your plate, with the top looking golden and done, the bottom a bit soggy. Quickly slide the tortilla back into the frying pan, pushing it with your spatula if you need. Cook for some 5-10 minutes over a low heat, to avoid the bottom getting burned or the inside undercooked.

This tortilla can be eaten warm, freshly made, although many people prefer it the next day (some prefer it cold, but it can be reheated in the microwave).

Chocolate Salami

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas with many gorgeous gluten free goodies!

I am starting the year as I mean to go on with a blog post. I plan to keep this updated more often, but I think I've said that every year so far, so we'll see!

This is a great recipe to use up some of your leftover Christmas chocolate/biscuits/nuts. It can be kept in the fridge and sliced up as and when you want it. It would probably also freeze well. From this recipe, I made two large 'salamis' and gave one to my boyfriend's dad as we still have so much to get through!

I first saw chocolate salami on a Nigella Lawson programme and searched for the recipe afterwards. It would seem that most traditional recipes use raw eggs. I know this is perfectly safe, but I always feel a bit funny about raw eggs, so after researching a few more recipes and playing about with different combinations, I ended up with the one below. This recipe could be adapted in so many ways - try just milk chocolate if you don't want it to be so rich, use a flavoured syrup in place of alcohol, try different nuts, biscuits or even dried fruit to create a different texture. You can't really go wrong!

Chocolate Salami

100g good quality milk chocolate
100g good quality dark chocolate
150g unsalted butter
120g sugar
100g cocoa powder
100g hazelnuts, chopped
125-150g crushed gluten free biscuits (I used rich tea)
3 tbsp Cointreau or liqueur or your choice (optional)
Icing sugar to dust
String to 'wrap' the salami
Greaseproof paper

In a saucepan, melt the milk and dark chocolate with the butter, sugar and cocoa powder over a low heat. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and add the biscuits, nuts and Cointreau. Mix to combine it all and leave to cool for a while, before adding the white chocolate chips. Turn out onto a sheet of greaseproof paper and shape into a sausage. Use the paper to help you shape it smoothly and roll it up tightly, twisting each end. (You could also use the same method to create a few smaller sausages)

Store in the fridge until completely cooled. It should feel quite firm to the touch.

Remove the paper and dust the salami with icing sugar. Tie a long piece of string along the whole thing to look like a real salami (I just improvved this bit!). Use another piece of greaseproof paper to wrap it back up, or store it in an airtight container.

Pumpkin Spice Scones

Here's a lovely recipe for some scones that are perfect to have with a cup of tea on a cold wintry day like today! I like mine warmed up in the oven, topped with butter and cream cheese - yum! Canned pumpkin can be found in most supermarkets these days. I've seen it in Aldi and in the American section in Tesco. This recipe makes 8 scones. I've stored mine in a ziplock bag in the freezer. They can be put straight in the oven without defrosting.

Pumpkin Spice Scones with Maple Glaze

250g self-raising flour (gluten free of course)
70g light muscovado sugar
1/2 tsp of ground ginger
1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
100g cold butter
50g raisins (optional, you could use a different fruit or nuts, or chocolate chips)
100ml milk
1/2 can of pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze: 100g icing sugar and enough maple syrup to make a thin drizzly icing!

Preheat oven to 200 degrees and line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.

In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients - flour, sugar and spices. Chop the butter up and add to the bowl, mixing it loosely with your fingertips until it forms a crumbly texture then add your raisins/nuts if using them. In another bowl, mix the pumpkin, milk and vanilla extract and add to the flour mixture. Stir just until the mixture comes together. Tip the mixture out onto a clean, floured surface and pat into a circular shape, around an inch or so thick. Cut the circle into 8 triangles and carefully place onto the baking sheet with enough room to spread slightly (they do hold their shape fairly well though). Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or so.

Make up the mixture for the glaze and put in a ziplock bag. When the scones are cool, snip the edge of the bag and drizzle the glaze over the top. (Or use a piping bag if you're fancy)

Best enjoyed slightly warm with butter!

Viennese Whirls

Hello!

It's been a while since I posted a new blog. Truth is, I've been stuck in a bit of a baking rut. I always seem to make the same things, so yesterday as I was having a day in with my little girl, I decided to try something different. I also learnt that simply substituting a recipe with gluten free flour doesn't always work!

Pre-coeliac, I used to love these: 

I found a recipe for basic Viennese Fingers, swapped the flour in the recipe for gluten free, added 20g of cocoa powder and a dash of orange extract, carefully piped neat little fingers onto a baking tray and put them in the oven. The house smelled delicious and I checked on my biscuits after 10 minutes to find what can only be described as a heavenly-smelling cowpat. The biscuits had completely spread out into a very thin layer, spilling onto the bottom of the oven. Sigh! All is not lost however, as the crumbs I was left with have made for a very tasty base for a chocolate orange cheesecake. That's today's job!

Anyway, I was still hungry and bored so a few hours later I found another recipe and had another go! This time, Viennese Whirls. Following the recipe, the dough turned out a little too wet and I knew the same thing was going to happen, so I added an extra 50g of cornflour and they turned out perfectly. And just in time for the Great British Bake Off. 

Viennese Whirls

Biscuits

100g unsalted butter
50g icing sugar
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
100g gluten free flour
50g cornflour
Strawberry jam

Buttercream

100g icing sugar
40g unsalted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 170 degrees.

Cream the butter, sugar, egg yolks and vanilla together in a large bowl. It's best to use an electric whisk for this so you can get the mixture light and fluffy. Fold in the flours and tip into a piping bag with a large star nozzle. Pipe flat circles of the dough onto a greased baking sheet (about 5cm diameter) and bake for 12 minutes or until golden.

Transfer biscuits to a wire rack to cool and prepare the buttercream by whisking everything together until light in colour and creamy in texture.

Shake a bit of icing sugar over the biscuits and place a small blob of jam on half of them. Put a spoon of buttercream on the other half and then sandwich together.

Try one or two, for testing purposes, and then store in an airtight container for a few days.

Toad in the Hole

The first of my recipes isn't really a recipe as such as I used prepared ingredients, purchased at the Gluten Free Food Fair in Ellesmere Port on Saturday! Easy and delicious.

The ingredients are as follows:

50g Foodamentalists Yorkshire Pudding Mix
6 Bramley Bangers sausages from Pig & co.
2 eggs
water
3 tsp vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

Arrange sausages on a deep baking tray with two teaspoons of vegetable oil. Bake on the top shelf for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, prepare yorkshire pudding mix as packet states.  Take the sausages out of the oven once browned, and pour batter mix over immediately.  Place back in the centre of the oven for half an hour or so, until the yorkshire pudding is risen and golden. (As you can tell from my picture, my oven was too hot, resulting in the sides burning a little.  Still tasted good, though!)

I've tried the Foodamentalists yorkshire pudding mix before.  You cannot go wrong if you follow the packet instructions (and don't have your oven too high - doh!) and they taste delicious.  I can't tell the difference between these and non-gluten free ones! I've never had much success making my own gluten free yorkshire puddings, they always seem to come out looking like muffins! I would definitely rely on this mix for future use.  Look out for further posts on the Foodamentalists range of products.  I bought various products on Saturday from them, and will at some point visit their shop in Middlewich.  Meanwhile, check out their website, where you can purchase a variety of their products.

The sausages were lovely! Pig & co. make their sausages from rare breed, free range pigs, bred on their farm.  They contain no artificial flavours, use at least 85% pork and are gluten free.  Their sausages have even won awards in Cheshire. They cost £4.50 for 6 sausages, which is more than I would usually pay for sausages and they are a little smaller.  However, having tasted them, you are definitely paying for quality! I got their 'Bramley Bangers' which are flavoured with apple, cider and thyme.  They had a delicately sweet flavour, subtley seasoned with thyme, which complemented the pork beautifully.  The texture was crumbly and not greasy at all. I will definitely be buying these again!

Check out their online shop to see their range of flavours and other products for sale.

Red Velvet Cake

I think this is my favourite cake in the world. Bright red, moist sponge with a delicate chocolate flavour, filled and coated with light cream cheese frosting - yum!

I first tried it in New York in 2009, and hadn't seen it anywhere in the UK at that time. It has now made its way over here and I've seen it in several bakeries and cake shops. So far, I haven't had the pleasure to find it in gluten free form. Clearly, the only solution here was to make my own!

This one actually took a bit of trial and error. First of all, I ruined the first cake by cooking it too high, resulting in a soggy middle and a concrete exterior. Then I ruined the frosting by thinking it looked a bit too firm and adding a tiny bit of milk. Don't do this! You will end up with sloppy, but tasty icing.

It is based on a recipe I found on the internet, with a few tweaks to make it gluten free. It uses oil instead of butter because the cake should be very moist. I guess you could quite easily make this cake vegan too by substituting the eggs, cream cheese and butter!

Gluten Free Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

300g Dove's Farm self-raising flour

1tsp gluten free baking soda

300g granulated sugar

2 medium eggs

480ml vegetable oil

1tsp cider vinegar (or any other gluten free white vinegar)

8-10 tsp red food colouring

2 tsp vanilla extract

240ml buttermilk

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 tubs of soft cheese

300g icing sugar

200g butter

1tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 170. Grease/line 3 sandwich tins, or two larger cake tins and wrap the outside in foil. This prevents the cake cooking too quickly at the sides, and also helps to prevent the 'mushroom' effect in the middle of the cake.

Use an electric whisk to mix the sugar and oil in a large bowl. Add the eggs, food colouring, vanilla essence and vinegar and whisk until mixed. Sift the flour and baking soda together, and add to the mixture gradually, whisking to incorporate. Add the buttermilk and whisk on high for a few minutes until the mixture becomes lighter. Divide between your trays and bake for around 30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Leave each layer to cool.

To make the frosting, whisk the butter and vanilla extract in a large bowl on a high setting until it becomes light and fluffy. Add the two tubs of cheese and sift in the icing sugar, a bit at a time, whisking until you have a light frosting. Use to sandwich together the layers of your cake and coat the outside.

To prevent getting crumbs in your frosting, spread a thin layer on first to seal the cake.

Cowboy Pie

Apparently, this is a well-known recipe to a lot of people, but I had never heard of it until sometime last year! Anyway, I thought I would share one of many versions because it's really simple to make especially gluten-free!

Cowboy Pie - serves 6

4-5 large potatoes, peeled and chopped

Butter

Olive oil

350g gluten-free sausages - I used the Co-op's 'Truly Irresistable' chipolatas as all of this range are gluten-free

1 large onion, sliced

1 tin of baked beans

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

2 finely chopped garlic cloves

1/2 tsp dried sage

1 gluten-free beef stock cube

handful of grated mature cheddar cheese

salt and pepper

Boil the potatoes until tender. Mash with butter and seasoning and leave to cool in the pan.

Fry the onions with garlic and herbs in a large frying pan and add the sausages. Cook until the onions are soft and the sausages are brown on all sides.

Add to the pan the whole tin of baked beans and tomatoes and the stock cube. Season to taste.

Empty the pan into a large casserole dish and top with the mashed potato. Sprinkle the cheese on top and bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 200 degrees.

"Bakewell" Cookies

This is a 'happy accident' recipe for some lovely cookies using a basic shortbread recipe and some experimentation with things I already had in my cupboard. The resulting cookie tastes a bit like a bakewell tart, hence the name!

Bakewell Cookies

150g Butter or margarine

90g caster sugar

100g rice flour

100g cornflour

50g ground almonds

4tsp almond extract

100g dried or glacé cherries

100g white chocolate chunks

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add almond extract, ground almonds, cherries and white chocolate chunks and mix together. Sift flour and cornflour in gradually and mix to form a dough. Line a baking tray (or two!) with greaseproof paper and shape approximately 50g balls of dough, flattening on to the baking tray until about 1/2cm thick, spaced apart enough to allow for a little spreading. Bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly golden.

Leave to cool and store in an airtight container.

"Allie's Mum's Dumplings"

What do you normally have with your gluten-free stews and casseroles? Do you have bread? Yorkshire puddings? Chips?! I used to love dumplings before I was gluten-free and I believed that you needed suet to make them. To my knowledge, you can't get gluten-free suet (though correct me if I'm wrong and then tell me where to purchase it!) so I figured I'd just have to let them go and keep them as a memory instead.

That is until I learned that you don't need suet at all, and I just so happen to have a recipe to make gorgeous dumplings, courtesy of this lovely lady who shares her mum's family recipe on her blog. They're easy to tweak so they're gluten-free!

Allie's Mum's Dumplings

1 cup plain gluten-free flour

2 tsp gluten-free baking powder

1/2tsp Xantham gum

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

2tbsp vegetable oil

(optional) 1/2 tsp your choice of herbs - sage and thyme work well with chicken, for example

Sift the flour, baking powder, xantham gum and herbs (if you're using them) into a bowl. Stir in the milk and oil until just mixed and sit spoonfuls of the dough on top of your stew. Cover and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

Flapjacks

It's time for another Autumny recipe! This time it's flapjacks. Perfect for snacking or a breakfast when you're in a rush.

Honey Seedy Nutty Fruity Flapjacks (rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?)

150g butter

150g honey

150g demerara sugar

pinch of salt

tsp ground cinnamon

250g gluten free oats

150g your choice of a mixture of nuts, seeds, dried fruits or chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180°c.

Combine the butter, honey, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a large saucepan and stir gently over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add the remaining ingredients to a large mixing bowl, and pour over the sugar mixture, stirring until everything is coated and sticky.

Line a 20x30cm brownie tin with greaseproof paper and pour in the mixture. Flatten as much as possible with the back of a metal spoon and then put the tray in the oven for 15-20 minutes (cooking for longer will give a firmer, chewier flapjack).

Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly before cutting into rectangular slices. Cool completely and gently remove each slice from the tray (you may find it easier to remove the whole thing and peel the paper off afterwards)

Store in an airtight container.

Gluten-free Crumble Topping

It's beginning to look a lot like.. Autumn. The leaves are falling and there are golden, earthy hues in the trees. It's getting cold enough to warrant putting the heating on in 15 minute bursts. Last year's knitwear is making a reappearance. I don't want to get up in the morning because it's still dark out (unfortunately my 11 month old doesn't understand lie-ins). Yes folks, it's that time of year again.

I love Autumn, though. Particularly for all the lovely food synonymous with this time of year! I'm going to bring you more comfort food recipes over the next few weeks, but to start with, here's a basic crumble topping. Great for fruit crumbles or on top of mince pies, it's simple and very tasty.

Gluten-free Crumble Topping

200g gluten-free plain flour

1 tsp xanthan gum

100g demerara sugar

150g butter/margarine

Combine the flour, xanthan gum and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the butter and lightly rub together with the flour to make a breadcrumb consistency. Use to top fruit crumbles or mince pies. Simple as that!

I used to make crumbles without xanthan gum, but it really does make a difference. Previously, I found the texture of the crumble to be too light and 'loose' but the xanthan gum in the recipe gives it a bit of density and elasticity. You could also substitute 50g of flour with some chopped nuts, oats or ground almonds. I sometimes add a teaspoon of ginger or cinnamon for a little extra kick. Feel free to experiment!

Jamie Oliver's Empire Chicken

A while ago, I borrowed a few recipe books from our local library to see what sort of meals I could cook from them with little or no adaptation to make them gluten free. One of the books is Jamie's Great Britain and there's a delicious recipe I want to share that is becoming a bit of a favourite!

As I've said in a previous post, one of my favourite meals is a roast dinner. This recipe brings an Indian twist and is great for an alternative to your traditional Sunday lunch.

Empire Chicken

The recipe can be found on Jamie Oliver's website

Have a look through the ingredients required and you'll notice there are only a couple of changes you'll need to make this gluten-free. Flour is needed to thicken the gravy - here you could either use gluten-free flour, or even cornflour. The gravy also calls for Worcestershire Sauce. I have yet to find a gluten-free Worcestershire Sauce (and would be grateful if anyone can suggest one!) but I have previously used balsamic vinegar as an alternative.

..and that's it. Those are the only changes you need to make and this dish really is worth the effort!

Gingersnaps

Makes 26

350g self-raising gluten-free flour

2 tsp xanthan gum

200g caster sugar

3 tsp ground ginger

1tsp bicarbonate of soda

125g butter

75g golden syrup

1 medium egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 160°c. Melt butter and golden syrup together in a pan over a low heat and leave to one side to cool slightly. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, xanthan gum, bicarb, sugar and ginger. Add the cooled butter and syrup mixture and the beaten egg and mix to form a soft dough. Roll into small balls (around 30g each) and lightly press onto several greased baking trays, spaced well apart.

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden.

Enjoy!

'Snickers' Cookies

These cookies were what I'd like to call a 'happy accident.' I was playing around with a basic peanut butter cookie (recipe to follow) and this is what I came up with. Naturally gluten free, they contain no flour and the result is a chewy, chocolatey, nutty treat, hence their name. They are also incredibly moreish, so be careful! Ensure your other ingredients are gluten free by checking the packaging, as some cocoa powder 'may contain gluten' for example.

'Snickers' cookies:

260g Peanut Butter (crunchy or smooth, crunchy gives you more texture though)

200g Caster/Icing sugar

20g Cocoa Powder

50g dark chocolate chips

50g fudge chunks

1 medium egg

Mix everything together in a big bowl until it forms a doughy texture. Roll into balls between 30-50g and press down onto a baking tray, leaving enough room to spread a little. I made 9x50g, and 6 smaller 30g ones.

Bake at 200 degrees for 10 minutes.

Chinese 'Fakeaway'

One thing I really miss as a Coeliac is chippy meals. While it's true that some of their meals should not use gluten-containing ingredients, it is too much of a risk to take for most people. In most chip shops, they use the same woks to cook all their meals and the same oil to fry chips/battered products.

Since my diagnosis in May 2010, I have been practising different Chinese meals. The following recipe is what we call our "Chippy Tea" and my boyfriend would probably prefer this over one from a proper chippy, so I think I'm doing something right!

Chicken in Black Pepper Sauce with Salt & Pepper Potatoes, Egg Fried Rice and Prawn Crackers

Chicken in Black Pepper Sauce (serves 2-3)

2 chicken breasts cut into small cubes/strips

1 green bell pepper cut into large chunks

1 small onion cut into large chunks

1 garlic clove finely chopped

Gluten-free Soy Sauce (Tamari - can be found in most major supermarkets in their Free From section)

Freshly ground black pepper

150ml Chicken stock (either fresh/homemade or using a gluten-free stock cube, such as Knorr Stock Pot

Optional:

Chilli flakes (if you like it hot!)

Cornflour to thicken the sauce

Begin by liberally seasoning the chicken with the pepper. Fry over a medium heat until the chicken is cooked and place on a plate until later. Next, fry the garlic (and chilli if you're using it) in a little oil and add the onions and peppers. Cook for a few minutes and then add the chicken back into the pan. Pour over about 2-3 teaspoons of soy sauce and toss all the ingredients in the pan to coat. Add the stock and simmer for another 5 minutes or so until it has reduced. If the sauce is still very thin, mix half a teaspoon of cornflour with a little cold water and add to the pan a little at a time, stirring until your desired consistency is achieved.

You could also play around with this recipe to replicate your own favourite Chinese meals. Perhaps change the meat for beef or prawns, or try adding different vegetables such as mushrooms. You could even chuck in some black beans and use less pepper to make chicken in black bean sauce. The possibilities are endless here and I often experiment with different meals!


Salt & Pepper Potatoes (serves 2)

2 Medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes

A handful of spring onions, cut into diagonal slices

1 garlic clove

1 small red chilli pepper, deseeded and finely chopped

Oil for frying

Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper

First of all, you need to cook the potatoes. I do this either by deep-frying them, or to be ever-so-slightly healthier, toss them in oil and cook in the oven for about 25 minutes at 200°C. Leave to cool slightly once cooked. Next, fry the chilli and garlic in a little oil in a wok for a minute or so. Add the spring onions and cook for another minute. Add the potatoes with black pepper and salt to taste (usually just a few twists of the grinder will be enough) and then toss everything in the pan to coat the potatoes.

You could also use this recipe to make Salt & Pepper ribs or chicken wings.


Egg Fried Rice (serves 2)

Cooked rice (I use one of the 125g boil in the bag ones as that serves 2 generously)

handful of chopped spring onions

Tamari/Gluten-free soy sauce

2 medium eggs, beaten

Oil for frying

Optional:

Handful of cooked frozen peas

Begin by heating a couple of teaspoons of oil in a wok over a medium-high heat. Add the cooked rice and coat in the oil. Sprinkle over 1-2 teaspoons of soy sauce and stir into the rice. Add the spring onions (and peas if you're using them) and cook for a further couple of minutes, continually stirring to make sure the rice doesn't stick. Lower the heat slightly, and push all the rice up one side of the wok, leaving an empty space at the bottom. Pour in the beaten eggs and allow them to cook slightly. Stir the egg mixture to cook a little more, and then gradually stir the rice in too, breaking up any large chunks of egg.

You could also add cooked, shredded chicken, prawns or vegetables to make this a meal in itself.

The prawn crackers I use are these ones from Asda. Don't use Sharwoods as they are not gluten free. Just check the back of the packaging and you'll probably find that most supermarket own brand prawn crackers are fine. Or you could make your own!

And that's it. It's a bit of work but doesn't take too long and is definitely worth it when you fancy a Chinese but can't rely on your local chippy!

Potato Cakes

Potato cakes remind me of being little. To me, they're a truly nostalgic comfort food and I used to love eating them with half a block of butter! To my knowledge, a gluten-free version you can buy off the shelf doesn't exist (though please feel free to correct me!) and the other week it was just what I fancied!

I decided to use a random recipe off the internet and tweak it so it was gluten-free.

Here is my recipe. Heart-shaped cutter is optional, but it's all I had. I think they'd look pretty nice just rolled out and hacked up into little 'rustic' pieces.

Gluten Free Potato Cakes

200g mashed potato
25g butter
1 large egg, beaten
100g Dove's Farm Rice Flour
1/2tsp xanthan gum
Pinch of salt & pepper to taste
Extra butter or oil spray for frying.

Yield: 10-12 small cakes.

Mix ingredients together in a large bowl to form a soft dough.
Roll out onto a flat surface to about 1/2cm thick.
Use a cookie cutter to make small cakes, or slice into squares if you don't have one.
Heat oil spray or butter in a frying pan and use to cook a few cakes at a time. Cook on a medium heat for a few minutes each side until a golden brown colour. Spray oil on top side before turning over.
Leave to cool on kitchen paper and store in an airtight container for a couple of days.
Can be toasted, grilled or microwaved to reheat and topped with butter or cheese, or anything you like!

Enjoy!