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

1. Preheat the oven at 180°C and prepare a baking tray by lining it with baking paper.
2. Cream the margarine and the sugar for 30 seconds to a minute before mixing in the flour and baking powder.
3. Add in the lemon juice and mix well until it forms a firm dough.
4. 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.
5. Place the cookies about 1.5 to 2 cm apart and bake for 10-15 mins or until golden brown.
6. 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.

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

1. Sweat the onions in the olive oil before browning the meat in the pressure cooker or a large pot.
2. Toss in the spice mix, saffron and paprika. Stir well and season to taste before adding in the water.
3. (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.
4. (Regular pot) Simmer for an hour or until the meat is tender before adding in the chickpeas.
5. Simmer for another 10-15 mins. Prepare the couscous as per instructions.
6. 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.

It’s not all too sweet as I cut back on the sugar. I have to remember to find that sweet spot when it comes to the timing of whipping up the cream, creaming the cream cheese AND preparing the gelatine as my cake is not as firm as I would like it to be. It can still stand on its own tho. All in all, a nice recipe – just remember to use an 8″ pan. I used a 7″ and ended up with a slightly thicker crust than usual and leftover cheesecake batter (enough to fill in a ramekin mold). Mind you, I cut back on the recipe by reducing the base total to 200 gms and the cream cheese by 200 gms as well.

Our weekly cooking/baking activity which was semi-okay. Semi-okay because Eva wanted to eat the apples instead of allowing me to chop it up; played with the spoons and spattered vanilla extract and milk all over the place (thank goodness for aprons although scrubs clothing would have been better considering the mess) and as usual, wanted to lick everything clean – from the honey & maple syrup mix to the batter.

She stood in front of the oven watching over the muffins when they first went in and then got distracted with her toys. When I reappeared with cooled muffins, she asked for a try and promptly chowed down on half – we shared – before asking for another. All within 10 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 Looks like someone is going to go bonkers on muffins for tea later.

I cut back on the sweetness called for in the original recipe and added an extra handful of oats. While the additional oats didn’t change the texture, the cutback on the sugar resulted in muffins that are not too sweet, allowing the natural flavour of the apple to come through. Instead of finely chopping up the apples, I quartered them before slicing each quarter into half and then slicing each portion into thin “slices” (about 1-2 mm thick) so that I could still get that chunky texture without compromising on the resulting softness (too big and the apples could end up still uncooked and a little hard; too thin and it could be too mushy and just “melt” into the batter).

Maple-Honey Apple Oat Muffins
From My Dairy Goodness’ recipe here

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1 1/2 cups milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
Slightly less than 1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
Slightly less than 1/4 cup honey
1 egg
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups finely diced apples (unpeeled or peeled – I used unpeeled Fuji apples)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C and prepare a muffin pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour and baking powder. In a separate bowl, combine oats and milk; let stand for 5 min before adding in the sugar, honey, maple syrup, butter, vanilla extract and egg. Stir to incorporate.
3. Pour over dry ingredients and sprinkle with apples. Stir just until moistened – it is okay to have a lumpy batter.
4. Spoon into prepared muffin pan and bake for about 25 min or until tops are firm to the touch. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a rack.

Eva woke up a little earlier than usual no thanks to the lengthening days – a sign that winter is slowly coming to an end. At first I delayed getting her up and kept telling her to go back to sleep. Finally, I got fed up and decided to do something about it – make a cake. It’s crazy to make one considering that it’s just the two of us eating for the next nine days but I thought why not? It would be fun for her…and sure enough, it was. At least the clean-up bit. She got to lick the spatula clean. Before that, it was going bonkers sniffing the cocoa powder, the sugar, tasting the cream cheese, the creamed butter…well, you get the idea.

Anyway, I have always known that if I stop baking for a while, my skills start rusting. It was true with this one. While I’ve always favoured the use of cane sugar over refined white sugar (castor sugar) because of its less processed qualities and better flavour, the biggest con about using granulated cane sugar is that it takes forever to “melt” and discolours when creaming. Instead of ending up with a smooth and fluffy pale creamed butter, I end up with a pale tan and gritty creamed butter. The grits comes from the sugar, in case you’re wondering. That aside, I’ve always used this gritty mix in my cakes and they still come out fine. Still, seeing pictures of fluffy pale creamed butter always sends me into a panic.

The original recipe for this loaf calls for extra sugar and water. Unlike Annie, I used medium sized eggs which probably accounts for a thicker batter. So I had to improvise and added in some milk in both the cake and cheese batter. The result is a rather spongy and moist cake that is rich in chocolate flavour as well as crunch. The timing was a bit iffy on this one – maybe because I used a loaf pan instead of a round pan like in Annie’s recipe. I tested with my trust cake skewer after 50 minutes when it look a bit browned and cracked a little on the top (typical with loaf pans) and it came out clean. So I turned it off and let it baked for another 5 minutes in the oven. It went even darker so I pulled it out and left it to cool. I suspect that the full 60 minutes would have burnt my cake. My advice? Check on your cake after 50 minutes and test.

But otherwise, enjoy! Me? I’m going to have a slice while surfing the Net for narrow shoes. Hehehehe.

NOTE: Do not overfill your loaf pan – this has a tendency to rise due to the use of self-rising flour AND the addition of baking powder.

Marble Cream Cheese Loaf
From House of Annie’s recipe here

Ingredients

(A) Chocolate portion
180 gms butter
Approx 150 gms sugar
3 eggs
120 gms self-rising flour
3-4 tbsp milk – optional
1 tsp baking powder

(B) Cream cheese portion
250 gms cream cheese
Approx 55 gms sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 tbsp milk

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and prepare a loaf pan.
2. Cream the soften butter with the sugar until pale and fluffy before adding in the eggs one by one. When ready and well incorporated, fold in the dry ingredients (cocoa powder, flour and baking powder) by hand. Do not use a mixer for this step as it can result in a dense cake. Add the milk if the batter is too thick (it should be fluid like soft whipped cream). Place aside once done.
3. In a separate dish, mix ingredients (B) until well incorporated.
4. Pour in half of the chocolate cake batter, followed by half of the cream cheese batter and repeat until all the batter is used up. Using a spatula or skewer/stick, swirl around in figure 8 or criss-cross to create a marble or swirl effect. Be careful not to overdo this otherwise you’ll end up with pale mocha coloured cake.
5. Bake for 50-60 minutes – test using a toothpick (it should come out clean if cooked). Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the pan. Once cooled, unmould and enjoy. This should be able to keep for a few days at room temperature in an airtight container or a few weeks if frozen/refrigerated.

I bought some strawberries the other day for Eva but never got around to giving them to her until today. But I wanted some dessert to go with our very simple dinner so decided to whip some up clafoutis. Clafoutis is traditionally made with whole cherries and the first time I had the dish was only recently – at my mother-in-law’s place. After scouting around the Net (and ignoring tabs on document imaging software), I discovered that you can also use blueberries, plums, prunes, apples, cranberries or blackberries. Clearly this is a summer dish but it’s winter now. Strawberries aren’t exactly in season either. Ohphooey. Never mind – strawberry clafoutis it is then.

I made an amateur mistake of overfilling this as I hadn’t anticipated how puffed up it would get in the oven. So fill the dish/pan/whatever you’re using up to the 3/4 mark and no more. Anymore and you’ll end up with messy sides – thanks to the juices oozing from the strawberries as they cook. Hai – more work for me as I’ll be busy scrubbing pans and cleaning the oven.

NOTE: When the clafoutis cools, it’ll sink in the center like nobody’s business. So be prepared for some serious deflation!

A Very Messy Strawberry Clafoutis

Ingredients

A handful of strawberries – I put about 2-3 large cubed strawberries per ramekin
300 ml milk
3 eggs
90 gms cane sugar
50 gms flour – sifted
50 gms ground almond
60 gms butter – melted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Some butter (and sugar – optional) to coat the ramekins

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C and cube the strawberries. Butter the ramekins (and coat the inside with brown sugar – optional).
2. Scald the milk (don’t let it boil!). Beat the eggs with the sugar using an electric mixer until the mixture is fluffy and pale. Add in the melted butter gradually until it is well incorporated. Gradually add in the sifted flour and almond meal before pouring in the milk. DO NOT pour all the milk in at one go. Do it bit by bit as this helps prevents lumps from forming.
3. Place the diced strawberries in the prepared ramekins before pouring the batter into the moulds. Bake for 45 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the batter has puffed up.
4. Remove from the oven and serve warm or cold.

This is a quick bake (I managed to bake this up in between reviews for montecristo cigars and managing two kids before lunch time!) and excellent for breakfast or as a snack. It makes use of just about whatever dry ingredients you have in your pantry – if you’re me, that is. You can add other types of fruits like dried bananas, mangoes, peaches, prunes, blueberry or add in nuts like cashew, pine, walnut, peanut, sunflower seeds and even things like chocolate chips and rice bubbles! Some recipes call for the use of golden syrup or peanut butter in place of honey but I prefer this version – easier to handle and not all that sweet, really.

Note though – I have to firmly pack the mix in once I add in the syrup. While my slab turned out okay, it was a little crumbly in some parts so I chuck it in the fridge to harden it a little after cutting it into bars. For my next try, I’ll have to use the baking paper, fold it over and press down HARD. Am also going to try it out with other types of fruits, nuts and cereals.

UPDATE: Initially, I thought it would turn out crunchy due to the addition of cornflakes but no, after cooling and hardening, these bars became quite chewy and thus, the change in name!

CrunchyChewy fruit coconut bars

Ingredients

1.5 cups rolled oats
1.5 cups crushed cornflakes
1/2 cup dried apricots – cubed
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
1/2 cup sultanas
1/4 cup glazed fruit – I used strawberry
1/4 cup almond slice
125 gms butter
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and prepare a pan of your choice by lining it with baking paper.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl and place aside.
3. Place the sugar, butter and honey in a pan and cook on medium heat until the butter and sugar has dissolved. Bring the syrup to a boil and cook for a further 2-3 minutes or until it has thickened a little.
4. Pour the syrup over the mixture and mix well. Once well-combined, pour into the baking pan and spread it out evenly before pressing down firmly. The mix needs to be packed in well and compactly or else they’ll fall apart when you cut the slab into bars.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Cut the slab into bars when the mix is cool – to speed up the process, place in the refrigerator for about 30 mins to an hour before cutting. Keep in airtight containers in the fridge or freeze.

This is one of those simple, do pretty much nothing kind of recipe. I was in one of those “I don’t want to be in front of the stove cooking come lunch time” so I decided to do something different with the cuts of chicken that I took out from the fridge. I bought a kilo of these cuts a while back during the sale, split up the portions and froze them in three different ziplock bags. After hunting around in my recipe books, I decided to try something different for a change.

Instead of the paprika called for, I substituted with a tandoori spice rub instead and used egg plus milk to coat the batter before tossing them into the Japanese bread crumbs I bought a while back. The result is a flavoursome (just nice for Eva yet still strong enough for us adults) yet light (read: not oily) and very CRISPY (oven) fried chicken.

Oven fried chicken

Ingredients

Four portions of chicken – breast and thigh
Some tandoori spice mix (or any spice you like, eg paprika, chilli, or a mix of your own)
1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 egg
Some milk
Bread crumbs
Salt & pepper to taste

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C. Mix the egg and milk until combined and place aside. Pour the vegetable oil into a deep pan of your choice.
2. Rub the spice onto your meat and dip into the egg mix. Cover well before tossing the pieces in the breadcrumbs to coat evenly. Shake off the excess and place skin-side down into the pan. Do the same until all the pieces of chicken are done.
3. Bake for 30 minutes before removing to turn the chicken over. Bake for another 20-30 minutes (this depends on the size of your chicken). When ready, remove and serve with steam or fresh vegetables.

I thought of giving some brownies away for Christmas and decided to try out some new recipes over at Smitten Kitchen and Raspberri Cupcakes. I ended up having a very long day in the kitchen and then out of it with the vacation packing and what-not.

Eva, as usual, was my kitchen assistant even though this time around, she didn’t do much – just help me taste the chocolate, clean the spatula and well, mix the batter for one of the recipes. Through some stroke of bad luck, I didn’t exactly preheat the oven so my plans of baking one brownie first went out the window so I decided to bake both brownies together. I baked them both at 175°C and for 30 minutes. While the banana walnut brownies came out fine (even though I forgot that I had a new carton of eggs in the fridge and used only 2 instead of the 3 called for), the classic brownies from Smitten came out cakey. Still good but a sign that it was baking for far too long.

Nonetheless, they were a hit especially the banana walnut brownies – Nil’s words were “C’est excellent, ton brownies, Mabel!” Me? I’m determined to get it right so I’ll be working on these again. In the meantime, back to my search for personalized lapel pins.

In search of an afternoon activity for Eva considering the rainy afternoon & days, I decided to make some Christmas cookies with the almonds I have in the pantry. Turned out to be a really fun activity for her and it ate up our entire afternoon – nearly two hours! YAY!

As for the recipe, I made some changes. I used orange juice instead of water and cut back on the sugar – I am certain that if I hadn’t, these cookies would be ultra sweet! I also made the cookies in such a way that the flaked almonds were layered in the cookies instead of just sprinkled over the top. Turned out to be pretty delicious and a keeper!

Flaked almond cookies

Ingredients

175 gms unsalted butter, diced
225 gms self-raising flour
100 gms cane/brown sugar
1 egg, separated
2 tbsp orange juice
50 gms flaked almonds

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Rub the butter into the flour until they resemble breadcrumbs and stir in the sugar before adding in the egg yolk and juice to form a firm dough.
2. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1 cm thick and sprinkle over the almonds. Fold twice and roll again until the dough is approx 5mm thick.
3. Cut the dough into desired shapes and place on an ungreased baking tray. Continue to do the same until there is no more dough left. Whisk the egg white lightly and brush over the cookies.
4. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove immediately and leave on a wire rack to cool & harden. The cookies will be soften at first but will harden as they cool.