Raw Paw Paw Smoothies

1 quarter of a fresh paw paw, chopped, with seeds removed
2 cups non-dairy milk (almond/oat/rice ...)
1/2 cup yogurt (I used sheeps)
1 tbs flaxseed oil
1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped.
2 tbs honey/maple syrup
1/2 cup almond meal

Put all ingredients together into the blender and whizz together until you are sure the apple is well blended and it is a lovely creamy orange colour. My children love it.

Pumpkin and Pecan Cookies

1/2 cup coconut butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbs maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup mashed pumpkin
2 1/2 cups flour (I used a combination of rice/buckwheat/besan/tapicoa)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp xantham gum
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup pepitas
2 tsp pumpkin spice (mixture of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg)
pecans


METHOD
Cream coconut butter and brown sugar together.
Add eggs, vanilla and molasses/syrup and keep beating.
Stir in mashed pumpkin.
Sift flours, baking powder, spices and xanthum gum together, then stir into mixture with the almond meal and pepitas.

Place dollops of mixture on a baking tray and position a pecan on top.
Bake in a moderate oven until cooked through.

I don't think this recipe is exactly what I did - mine turned out a bit chewy and I think I may have changed things as I wrote them down. Have a play and give me some feedback on this recipe.

They are still yummy!

I would recommend storing them in the freezer and defrosting them before you want to eat them. Like all gluten-free baked goods these are best eaten the day you make them.

Pumpkin is the new Tomato! Pumpkin Bolognaise and Home-made Pasta

I just had to write a quick blog to tell you about my dinner tonight!! It was so yummy.

It can be made vegetarian without the mince. Just as delicious.

Pumpkin Bolognaise with Home Made Rice and Corn Pasta

1/4 of a large home-grown pumpkin, chopped

1 onion

garlic (as much as you like)

your favourite spices  (I used cinnamon, cumin, salt and pepper tonight)

ghee

250g mince

water

coconut cream (optional)

home-made pasta

Saute the onion, garlic, pumpkin and spices in the ghee until the pumpkin has begun roasting a little on the outside and the onion and garlic are softened. I cooked the mince separately and added it after the sauce was made, but I suppose you could cook it all together. I like one-pot meals. Less to wash up 

Add a little water – just enough to cook the pumpkin through.

Mash up the pumpkin  with a potato masher. It doesn’t have to be silky smooth. I like mine textured.

If you think your bolognaise sauce is a little thin you can thicken it a bit with some arrowroot flour and/or pour a little coconut cream into it. I did both because I was making it up on the spot. The coconut lightens the colour, and gives the sauce a sweet, smooth and creamy taste. I like it.

Serve it on top of home-made pasta made with this recipe from The W.H.O.L.E Gang – one of my favourite gluten-free cooking blogs. This pasta is super easy to make and super quick to cook. Best of all you can make twice the amount, roll it flat and freeze it for future meals.

Tonight I made our pasta with 2/3 brown rice flour and 1/3 maize flour. The recipe recommends rolling it thin enough to read newspaper from but mine was thicker than that. I rolled it between two floured (with rice flour) sheets of baking paper, rather than the plastic wrap suggested in the recipe. I found it much easier to peel off the paper and pop in the water.

Our pasta was thick and chewy, it cooked in just a few minutes and was delicious with the pumpkin sauce, although I couldn’t help wishing for a bit of parmesan cheese to sprinkle through it. I have just learned that pecorino cheese, made from sheep’s milk, can be used like parmesan, so I”ll be hunting some of that down for the next time we eat this yummy dinner.

Yet again, our dinner was consumed before a photo was taken.

Yay! I can eat bolognaise again. I think I’m starting to get over tomatoes now that I’ve realised that life can go on without them!

Sunflower Slice

I was looking for a gluten-free slice that was choc-full of seeds like the amaranth slice I bought from Mrs Flanneries last week - sooooo sweet and yummy! It is preferrable if you have soaked and then dried all your nuts and seeds first, but I was in too much of a hurry for something sweet. It is Easter and it is challenging watching everyone else eat chocolate! This is what I came up with:

1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup quinoa flakes
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup puffed millet
1/2 chopped nuts
1/2 cup honey / maple syrup
1/2 cup ghee / coconut oil
1/2 tahini

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.
Melt honey and ghee in a saucepan until blended.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients then add the tahini.
Mix it well. It should be pretty sticky!
Spread it on a tray that you have greased well or lined with baking paper.
Cook in a moderate oven until golden on top.
Cool before cutting into squares.