Banana Loaf (Vegan & Gluten Free)

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Mabel

Vegan and gluten-free baking is a ~~real pain~~ challenge.

I followed the recipe (here) to the T except for the change in the eggs (I used egg replacer) and oil (I used olive oil) and instead of the nice fluffy texture which was promised, I got a texture that was similar to my tapioca cake which is pretty much like an Asian kueh. I suspect it is the use of tapioca flour.

While Nil and Eva loved it – I reckon it was the bananas that did the trick – I didn’t. I reckon I would have an easier time assembling a TV wall mount than trying to figure out what went wrong where. Needless to say, I wouldn’t be attempting this again unless I was using a pre-made mix of gluten-free flour.

The trouble is what shall I do with all that gluten-free flour and egg replacer? (Nil is starting to complain – “You have enough flour to last us till next year!” Geh!)

Hm, make more cakes and muffins, I suppose. Heh.

Very Vanilla Pear Jam

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Mabel

Because I haven’t been able to have any berries (due to Noah’s condition and subsequently, my diet restriction), my breakfast has been limited to just one thing – honey. Very boring. So I decided to “steal” a recipe from my mother-in-law’s husband – pear with vanilla jam! I have not made jam 100% on my own; usually it’s with the help of my in-laws and even then, they are the ones cooking it up while I assist. This time, I decided to brave the waters and do it on my own – yes, without Nil’s help. Took me about two hours to churn out a nice amount of jam – enough to last me till the end of this year, I think. HAHAHAHA.

(Update: I am into my second jar already – OMIGOD, it’s not going to last till end of this year! Gack. Must squeeze in some time in between wine kits reviews and soapmaking to make more jam!)

I bought some ripe but still quite hard green pears from Belgium – oops, it’s not the local variety (not really the season so none were available) – and some gelling sugar which is basically sugar with citric acid and pectin. You could still make jam without pectin (thickener) or citric acid (preservative) but it just means that you either have to use fruits with naturally occuring pectin like some berries OR get a more fluid jam.

After washing the pears well – important as I’m retaining the peel – I remove the center/seeds and quartered them before grating them into large stripes. For the vanilla pod, I ran the knife down the center and scraped out the grains before tossing everything into the pot. Usually we use a copper pot for making jam as the heat conducts more evenly but I don’t have a copper pot so my stainless steel pressure cooker will just have to do for now.

Then comes the tedious task of cooking it down. There is no way you can run away from the stove as this has to cook over medium heat and once the jam starts to boil, you have to stir and stir and stir. Unless of course you want your jam to scorch and burn. Once it reaches the appropriate thickness, it’s time to bottle. Be sure to wash all your jars and lids with hot water and soap BEFORE the jam boils. Canning is a fast step so I didn’t have time to take pictures. Juggling hot syrupy jam in glass jars requires both hands and a decent amount of concentration.

The result is what you see above. I can’t wait to dig into this tomorrow for breakfast!!!!!1

Vegan & Gluten-Free Shortbread

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Mabel

Intrigued with vegan and gluten-free baking, I decided to give it a go. I read from many gluten-free baking sites that the use of a non-wheat or gluten-based flour gives gluten-free goods a different flavour and texture profile. Instead of wheat, gluten-free bakers use flours made from coconut, millet, rice, buckwheat, arrowroot, sorghum and others and because naturally reoccurring gluten is like a gum that holds the whole thing together and gives it structure, you have to add in a thickener when using gluten-free flours. Commercial flour mixes use xantham or guar gum but you can opt for starches like arrowroot powder, tapioca starch, corn starch or seeds like flaxseed or chia seed.

Because this is a relatively new thing for me – gluten-free baking – I didn’t want work from scratch and buy a ton of flours so I hunted around for some gluten-free flour mixes. The organic store in Dole has a very limited range so when my mother-in-law offered to take me to the organic store here in Lyon, I jumped at it. I found a bigger variety of gluten-free goodies that are also soy, dairy and egg free as well as an egg replacer powder – things I never found back in Dole. I also came across an interesting flour mix by Schär, a European company that specialises in producing gluten-free products. Called Mix Pâtisserie – Mix C, it is a flour mix developed for cakes and biscuits.

Because I’m on a no-dairy, no-soy and no-egg regime, I had to hunt high and low for a suitable butter placement as while margarines are made with vegetable oil, they also contain soy-based lecithin. I found a sunflower-based margarine which has no lecithin. The colour and flavour profile isn’t the same but surprisingly that didn’t affect the outcome of the shortbreads which turned out to be quite delicious. The unrefined brown sugar which my mother-in-law uses gave the shortbread a lovely light molasses flavour to it.

Do note that gluten-free doughs made with margarine behave differently. This turned out to be softer and less pliable due to the lack of gluten. Newbies to baking or people who always overmix will find that gluten-free baking can be very forgiving in that aspect. You don’t have to worry about gluten formation!!!! I’ll definitely make these again but will cut back on the sugar – this, I find, is a little on the sweet side even though it is perfect with black coffee or plain yogurt (for those who can take dairy or the soy alternative). In the meantime, I’m off to look at some rustic dining room tables!

NOTE: These have to cool in the pan as they are soft and crumbly when warm but will harden when cool. Good also if eaten chilled.

Vegan & Gluten-Free Shortbread

Ingredients

125 gms gluten free flour (my mix has maize starch, maize flour, locust bean gum)
70 gms margarine
60 gms unrefined brown sugar
Juice from half a lemon
1/2 tsp baking powder

Method

Preheat the oven at 180°C and prepare a baking tray by lining it with baking paper.

Cream the margarine and the sugar for 30 seconds to a minute before mixing in the flour and baking powder.

Add in the lemon juice and mix well until it forms a firm dough.

Place in the freezer for 15-30 mins. When ready, roll and slice using molds OR flatten with your fingers. Do work fast as the margarine will soften.

Place the cookies about 1.5 to 2 cm apart and bake for 10-15 mins or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the pan. Once cool, store in an airtight container and enjoy on its own or with coffee or crush and sprinkle them over yogurt or ricotta.

Something sweet…

Posted on April 14, 2012 by Mabel

I made a little something sweet to remind me of home today and it didn’t fail me. It could be a little on the richer side but that’s fine considering that I didn’t use any eggs or butter (diet restriction, remember?).

They sell already grated tapioca here which is frozen plus ones that are already peeled but here means Lyon and I don’t live in Lyon. Where I stay, they only sell whole and unpeeled tapioca/manioc/cassava. So I decided to get the whole unpeeled version and put in a little bit extra effort into this dish. The recipe is a keeper and pretty simple although I might tweak it a little bit more the next time I make this – especially with the amount of coconut milk used.

Still, it makes for a good dessert! I know a little girl who enjoyed it tremendously. Kekeke. For now, am back to my reviews on the side effects of syntheroid.

Lamb-chickpea tajine with barley grits

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Mabel

In an effort to discover the cause of Noah’s eczema, I’ve gone on a restricted diet and am very close to becoming a vegan as I joke to Nil. It’s not easy as I have never gone on a diet like this in my entire life!!!! Basically, my diet is to have none of the following:

Wheat
Dairy
Soy
Nuts
Fish
Berries
Eggs

It’s pretty miserable because just about everything here has either wheat, dairy or eggs and the yummy alternatives (like yogurt and cream and most milks) are made out of nuts or soy. I can forget about pizza because of the cheese – it won’t be the same without mozzarella! And no no no soya sauce, dark or light as a seasoning!

The odd one out like chocolate is still okay but that means I have to scrutinize the label for any presence of dairy, nuts, etc and it also limits it to dark chocolate (the higher the percentage, the better) BUT any higher than 85% and it’s awfully bitter.

So I scouted the Internet for more info, looked around my organic store for alternatives and came up with some of the following substitutes for my pantry:

Oat milk
Polenta
Quinoa & rice breakfast cereal
Buckwheat (not a wheat or cereal but in fact more closely related to rhubarb)
Rice cakes in place of toast for breakfast

In place of my breakfast jam (we make ours from scratch) which are berry-based, I have gone back to honey. For butter, it’s organic margarine spread. If I need to use milk in my foods, I’d have to sub with either coconut milk or coconut cream. I found some barley grits at the supermarket the other day and thought about making a tajine. Normally, I would make tajine with couscous but that’s made from wheat (just like pasta).

The resulting meal was surprisingly yummy and very filling not to mention easy to cook. I just prepared the barley grits as how I would with couscous. Eva had no complaints and ate a lot of the barley – she wasn’t a big fan of couscous so it was a good thing!

NOTE: You can substitute the lamb with meat like beef or mutton.

Lamb-chickpea tajine with barley grits

Ingredients

Slightly under 1 kg lamb (I use the cuts from the leg and neck)
500gms chickpeas (canned) – drain and wash
450ml water
1/2 cup barley grits/barley couscous (Saksou Al Balboula brand) OR couscous
1 tbsp tajine spice mix (contains turmeric, coriander, cumin, etc)
1 large onion – diced
A pinch saffron
A pinch paprika
Some olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Method

Sweat the onions in the olive oil before browning the meat in the pressure cooker or a large pot.

Toss in the spice mix, saffron and paprika. Stir well and season to taste before adding in the water.

(Pressure cooker) Allow the water to come to a boil first before covering the top and sealing it. Cook under pressure for at least 30 minutes. When ready, release the pressure and add in the chickpeas.

(Regular pot) Simmer for an hour or until the meat is tender before adding in the chickpeas.

Simmer for another 10-15 mins. Prepare the couscous as per instructions.

Once ready, serve both dishes together. You may add some toasted flaked almonds or pine nuts and raisins to your couscous for more flavour and crunch.

Sinful-ness!

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Mabel

I had a massive craving for pork meatballs the other day and decided to act on it. It was the first time I deep fried anything since coming to France – my mum deep frying during my confinement is not the same thing. Since my move to Switzerland, I don’t really eat a lot of deep fried foods at home (in Singapore, it’s different because you can BUY deep fried stuff – bad though). It’s messy to clean up and well, the whole house stinks of oil after you’re done.

But I was craving for some yumminess and decided to get my once-in-a-couple-of-months oil intake in the form of these meatballs. Think of it as a form of food gifts to myself! So after some prep time – I cheated using a food processor and made my own pork mince on top of the veg (carrots, spring onions, green apple and mushrooms) – and an hour of frying (GAWD), I had A LOT of meatballs to chow down on. Even had enough to make a meatball pasta sauce for the next day.

However, I had enough of the frying – the clean up is terrible (I still have that pot of oil lying around and mind you, I used like 1 liter of oil just for this!). So am definitely going out to get myself a gadget like the Phillips AirFryer. Seb has something similar to the Tefal ActiFryer but I read that it’s fragile and after a while, is prone to catching fire. So far, no such news with the Phillips model. It’s much smaller than the Seb one (max is 800 gms while the Seb has 1 kg and 1.5 kg models) though. But yes, it is a definite buy, especially when I’m making my own meatballs.

Summer Strawberry Cake

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Mabel

Deb from smitten kitchen calls it a strawberry summer cake; lack of brain cells resulted in me calling it a summer strawberry cake. Same but different.

I took the shortcut way out and cream butter that came out straight from the fridge with brown sugar. The trouble with the sugar I use is that it takes forever to “melt” so every time I do any creaming with butter, it either takes forever or it clumps up – no matter how soft or hard my butter is. As such, the resulting batter was a little bordering on soft cookie dough which resulted in some addition of milk just to make it a little bit more fluid and easy to pour into the pan. Still, it was a super thick batter – I might just revisit this recipe again and tweak it a little.

I also cut back on the sugar – using about 3/4 cup of brown sugar instead which made for a not-too sweet cake. I reckon this would go great with some hot ginger tea or even cool ice lemon tea, if you like. My hubby would have it with his morning coffee. Eva enjoyed downing a slice for breakfast – it wasn’t too dry and the strawberries on the top gave it a nice visual effect. All in all, a good outcome for this recipe. If anything, the fact that I have about one quarter left within 24 hours is a good indication that everyone likes it although it’s not exactly fab for the waistline (time to dig out my yoga mat bag and get cracking again!)!

Summer Strawberry Cake
From Smitten Kitchen’s recipe here

Ingredients

1/2 cup gms butter
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
450 gms strawberries, hulled and halved

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C and prepare a 9″ DEEP cake pan.

Whisk flour, baking powder together in a small bowl until well incorporated. In a larger bowl, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Mix in egg, milk and vanilla until just combined before adding the flour/baking powder mix gradually.

Mix until just smooth (take care to not overbeat – it’ll result in a dense cake).

Pour into prepared pie plate. Arrange strawberries, cut side down, on top of batter, as closely as possible in a single layer before sprinkling some sugar over the berries (optional).

Bake cake for 10 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 170°F and bake cake until golden brown and a tester comes out free of wet batter, about 50 minutes to 55 minutes.

Cool in the pan on a rack. Once ready, cut and serve on its own or with some whipped cream – if you’re all for indulging in a sinful treat!

A simple meal…

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Mabel

When I’m having one of those crazy days, I whip up one-pot meals in the form of either fried rice or noodles and garnish them with some salad leaves or strips of egg omelette. Yes, I have become that un-adventurous and mayhaps even lazy when it comes to cooking. Ohhorror. I have taken to surfing my favourite cooking sites just to get an idea of what to prepare for lunch and dinner.

The shortlisted recipes include the following:

Turkey meatloaf – recipe here
Pasta e fagioli – recipe here (this looks extremely yummy!)
Warm lentil salad with sausage – recipe here (I might make this tomorrow since I already have the lentils. I have some sausage but will check with Nil if I can use those instead of smoked sausage.)
Strawberry summer cake – recipe here (tomorrow’s dessert…since we have strawberries!)
Roast chicken with dijon sauce – recipe here
Meatball subs with caramelised onions – recipe here (looks awesomely yummy!)

I seriously need to be inspired to cook. Funny how I have no issues being inspired to make soap. Hai.

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