Apple Slices with Cashew Nut Butter

Wollaa~! Is a failed proof no-recipe meal, apple slices top with cashew nut butter as quick snack. Try it ! It is able to fill a tiny stomach, cashew nut butter is a nut free spread - great for kids with nut allergic.

Grain-free Carrot Cake

For my daughter's 3 years old birthday, i adapted a carrot cupcake recipe from www.texanerin.com titled 'Healthier Carrot Cake Cupcakes (grain-free,gluten-free, paleo and dairy-free options). I actually tried making once before the actual one for her birthday. Im glad that i did that because the first time doing it, the recipe that i followed exactly was a little too sweet and the texture slightly oily and plain too. I then decided to reduce the oil and sugar substitute (honey), as well as adding some raw walnuts and raisins for a more complete taste and texture.

Recipe (I made 2 sets of ingredients below for 2 tiers of cake) :
1 1/4 cups blanched almond flour
2 Tbsp organic coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp pink himalayan salt
1 1/2tsp organic cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg powder
2 eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup organic coconut oil
1/8 cup raw honey
2 tsp organic vanilla extract
1/2 cup grated organic carrot

Frosting :
2.5 stick 200g Philadelphia Cream Cheese (in grey box)
4 tsp maple syrup / raw honey
1 1/2 tsp organic vanilla extract
dash of salt
plain yogurt for thinning

Red Colouring :
I blend one small organic beetroot and filter over a cheesecloth for the colouring. I then add with portion of frosting, 1 tsp at a time to achieve pink hue that i wanted. For the pulp, i dried it under low temperature in oven for a good few hours (roughly 3-5 hours) and made into beetroot powder.

For the cake :

(1) Mix dry and wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well.

(2) Bake in preheated oven at 175c with Fan for 17 minutes. Once done, remove from oven and let the cake sit in baking pan for another 5-10 minutes before removing.


Steps for setting up the cake :

(1) Spread cream cheese frosting on top of 1 cake and stack another cake on top. Trim off the side or top for smoother look or for easy frosting layering.

(2) Pink frosting done

(3) Design that i piped out. Spot something missing on Hello Kitty 's face !


Verdict : This is now a must keep recipe for us, as it is healthy, delicious and wholesome. I definitely need to improve my skill on doing a better frosting, look at the lettering that i did. Thankfully, no one complained !@

Okay, i kept the cake for a week now in fridge and it still taste good. The only difference is the pink hue slowly varnished or lightened out probably due to the natural colouring.

Gluten-Free Chicken Mushroom Pie

Hubby was in outstation on his birthday, so this is like a treat for his belated birthday. Generally, the filling were awesome but the gluten-free crust has to improve !

Pie dough Recipe -

2 cups organic gluten-free flour mix (i bought Radiant readily mixed GF flour, consists of Sorghum, buckwheat, maize and quinoa, all organic)

1 kampung egg

1/2 tsp pink himalayan salt

1/2 stick of grass-fed butter (melted)

some filtered water (or cold water)

(1) Pulse or manually mix all ingredients till a soft dough is form. Divide into 2 portions and wrap in cling wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour or till the dough slightly firm.

(2) To set the base crust, take about 1/4 of whole dough portion and press to the bottom of medium size ramekin (modify to suit thickness preference). Repeat for 2nd ramekin. Put both ramekins with the crust base in a preheated oven at 175c and bake for 10 minutes. Once done, remove and let it cools in room temperature.

Filling Recipe -

1/2 cup free-range chicken fillet (cut small)

1/4 cup brown button mushroom (cut small)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1/2 medium size carrot (cut small, cube)

1/4 cup green peas 

1 Tbsp organic gluten-free flour mix\

1-2 Tbsp grass-fed-butter

2 medium to small size onion

1/2 cup fresh milk

sufficient water

some chopped fresh parsley

some salt and pepper

(1) Marinate chicken cubes with dash of salt and pepper for 15-30 minutes. Stir fry with coconut oil and dish out. Keep aside.

(2) Heat up frying pan again with some coconut oil. Brown garlic and onion. Add in mushroom and stir fry. Add in carrot and stir fry till soft. Add in green peas and stir fry shortly.

(3) Heat up butter, once melted add in flour. Let the flour dissolve in butter and add in milk. Once its thicken, add in all the cooked ingredients - chicken first and then vegetables.

(4) Add dash of salt and pepper or preferred seasonings. Cook in medium to low temperature. Once done, add in fresh parsley, give it a stir and dish out to cool. (Optional: To add some water if too dry, 1 Tbsp at a time)

(5) Bring back the 2 ramekins with crust base earlier. Divide the ingredients into 2 portions or scope it into 2 separate ramekins equally.

(6) Separately, using a rolling pin, roll flat the remaining dough (2 portions) and top the pie of each ramekin accordingly. Press the edge of the ramekin to close any gap. Note : The dough will be a little difficult to handle or it goes separate easily than normal gluten dough.

(7) Baked in preheated oven for 20-30 minutes or till the top crust looks lightly brown or done.

Buckwheat Coconut Bread

I baked this lovely grain-free buckwheat coconut bread, it has a strong buckwheat flavour and surprisingly my 2yrs 10mths daughter loves it ! The texture is soft, the only thing is it uses a lot of eggs. I adapted from here - the link has no picture or whatsoever but i was attracted to the list of ingredients and was glad i tried.

Recipe:
150g cup organic buckwheat flour
50g organic coconut flour
50g natural psyllium husk
1 tsp natural baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
5 kampung eggs
1 Tbsp organic apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp raw honey
125ml fresh coconut milk

(1) Using a large mixing bowl, beat in eggs and whisk till all mix.

(2) Add in all the wet ingredients and mix well.

(3) Add in all the dry ingredients and mix well.

(4) Pour the batter into a small baking tray lined with parchment paper.

(5) Bake in preheated oven at 180c. Let it cool before serving.


We had it with homemade mayonnaise, recipe can be found here

Sugar free banana coconut muffin

4 bananas
4 kampung eggs
1/2 cup organic coconut flour
2 Tbsp vco
1 tsp bentong ginger powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp organic vanilla extract

(1) Using a large mixing bowl, mash banana.

(2) Beat in eggs and mix well.

(3) Add in coconut flour and mix well.

(4) Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

(5) Pour into medium size muffin paper cups carefully.

(6) Bake at preheated oven at 175c for 25 minutes. Once done, remove from oven and let it cools on s/s rack for 5-10 minutes before consuming.

** I only use fork to mix

Banana coconut pancake

We have been making this so many times, but i found out that i have not put this recipe in my blog ! Let me know though if i did. I knew i have shared in some FB groups before definitely. If you ignore the outlook of it, as i am impatience or always rush to make stuffs with kids around, they taste really awesome i assure you.

Grain Free, Gluten Free, Sugar Free, what else could we ask more :)

Recipe:
2 medium size banana (I used pisang berangan)
2 kampung egg
2 Tbsp coconut flour
1/2 tsp organic vanilla extract (optional)

(1) Mashed banana in a mixing bowl.
(2) Add in egg and mix well.
(3) Add in coconut flour and mix well.

Note : This is not regular pancake like batter, is should look thicker and that is fine.

(4) Scope 1 Tbsp and drop on lightly greased cooking pan (I used vco).
(5) Cook on both sides till lightly brown or till done.

Surprisingly, the toddler wearing 'Enjoy the'.....pancake !! top LOL

Gluten-free banana raisin muffin (not dairy-free)

Recipe (made 9 mini muffins):

Wet ingredients -
2 medium size banana
1 egg
2 Tbsp milk kefir
5 Tbsp raw milk
1 Tbsp vco

Dry ingredients -
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup buckwheat flour
1/8 cup tapiaco flour

Additional : 1-2 Tbsp organic raisins


(1) Mix wet and dry ingredients separately.

(2) Add wet ingredients onto dry ingredients and mix till a soft batter formed. Roughly stir in raisin.

(3) Pour into mini muffin cupcake holders till 70% filled.

(4) Baked in preheated oven at 170c for 25 minutes or till the top look slightly brown.

Basic coconut cookies

Recipe (Made 14 cookies):
1/3 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
5 knobs unsalted butter
4 free range eggs

(1) Mix butter with egg using a fork.

(2) Separately, mix flour with baking powder. Scope 1 Tbsp at one time into butter egg mixture and slowly mix in all till a soft dough is formed.

(3) Shape it and baked in preheated oven at 200c for 10 minutes.

Coconut cinnamon pancake

Recipe:
1/2 cup organic coconut flour
5 Tbsp almond meal
4 Tbsp tapiaco flour
2 free range eggs (beaten)
1 natural medjool date (deseeded and diced small)
1 1/3 cup homemade milk kefir
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp coconut oil

(1) In a mixing bowl, mix all ingredients well.

(2) Grease some vco on a frying pan. Scope 2 Tbsp of the batter and drop onto the cooking pan. (It is a mini size, thus you may be able to cook 5-6 pieces at one time). Try to make it into a circle shape.

(3) When the pancake slightly harden at the bottom, or you can move it when lightly push using cooking ladle, flip and cook the other side.  Repeat for the rest.


Remarks: This is my second attempt using coconut flour, and i am happy with the result. I have so far have not using coconut flour on its own as i understand that it would not be able to hold together so well. I did experiment using a small quantity coconut flour with other ingredients to make pancake, but it doesnt stick together and it went separated after that.

Almond stick (gluten-free, grain-free)

Recipe:
1/2 cup almond meal
1/8 cup tapiaco starch
2 knobs unsalted butter (melted)
1 Tbsp homemade millet oatmilk <here>

(1) Mix everything to form a soft dough.

(2) Pipe out in strips on a parchment paper laid on baking tray.

(3) Bake at preheated oven at 170c for 20 minutes. Once done, remove baking tray from oven immediately and let stand to cool at room temperature before keep in air-tight container.

Made 14 mini almond sticks

Baked banana muffins

Recipe (Yield 7 medium size muffins):
4 free range eggs
3 over ripe bananas (mashed)
1/4 cup fresh coconut milk
1 Tbsp vco
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup blanched almond meal
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda

(1) Using a stand mixer, add in vco and eggs (1 egg at a time) and whisk till fluffy. Add in apple cider vinegar and mix well.

(2) In a bowl - combine coconut flour, almond meal, cinnamon and baking soda. Slowly, add a little at a time into the stand mixer bowl and let it whisk till well combined. Once done, remove the mixing bowl and set aside.

(3) Combine mashed banana with coconut milk using a fork. Add onto ingredients in step (2) and fold using a silicone spatula till well mixed.

(4) Once done, scope into paper cup till 80% filled. Baked at preheated oven at 175c for 25 minutes or till the top looked brown, and when a toothpick inserted came out clean.

Remarks: This is an attempt of making gluten-free and grain-free banana muffin using coconut flour. This is my first experience with coconut flour, and the smell during baking was fantastic. The coconut fragrance was simply irresistible . I omitted several ingredients from the original recipe as it was designed to suit my 17mth+ old toddler's diet.

I bought the coconut flour from http://naturo-wellness.com/ thanks to mummy Chern Pei Wei.


Adapted from: http://againstallgrain.com/2012/03/28/banana-muffins-with-chocolate-chip-streusel-topping/

Basil egg toast

[05.02.2015]

Breakfast: Basil egg toast using gluten-free bread i made on 04.02.2015 (here) ♡_♡

Recipe:
2 slices homemade gluten-free bread
2 kampung egg (lightly beaten)
1 Tbsp cream cheese
1 clove garlic (minced)
2/3 cup basil leaves (finely chopped)
5 stalks chive (finely chopped)
1 Tbsp cashew pulp (from homemade cashew milk)

(1) Combine egg, cream cheese, garlic, basil leaves, cashew pulp and chives in a bowl. Mix well.

(2) Coat the bread with batter mixture and pan fry on both sides till lightly brown.

(3) Cut into square pieces and serve accordingly.

Gluten-Free Egg Noodle

Dinner: gluten-free egg noodle in ABC chicken soup and stir-fry vegetables (from noon today) -

For the noodle, i dont have exact measurement for water, i add till it resembles cake batter and pipe out onto hot boiling water in a sauce pan.
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup white rice flour
1/8 cup arrowroot powder
1/8 cup tapiaco flour
2 eggs
water (starts from 1/4 cup)

ABC soup -
Potato
Tomato
Yellow onion
Carrot
Chicken thigh
Bay leave
Red dates
Wolfberries (add during serving)

Buckwheat Bread

Recipe (in sequence, using Tesco breadmaker):

BUCKWHEAT BREAD

1 cup hot water
3 free-range eggs (beaten)
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/3 cup buckwheat flour (gluten-free)
2/3 cup glutinous rice flour (gluten-free)
1/2 cup tapiaco starch / tapiaco flour (gluten-free)
1/2 cup arrowroot powder
1 tsp molasses sugar
1/2 Tbsp instant active yeast

Step 1:
Set to dough mode and let it knead for 5 minutes, scrape the sides down necessarily. Once done, mix well and smooth the top using a silicone spatula.

Step 2:
Set to bake mode and set timer to bake 30 minutes later for the batter to proof. The baking time should take 55 minutes or 1 hour maximum. Once done, remove from the baking pan, let it cool for 30 minutes before slicing.

Optional - After 30 minutes of proofing, you may add some topping.

Sorghum bread (Gluten-free)

It has been an adventurous journey in the making of gluten-free bread. I was motivated to do so after reading a lot of health benefits on gluten-free and wheat-free baking, and that i really determined to explore it further. However, there were several times (around 3-4 times in my experience) that these did not turn out well. Most of the time is due to the failure to rise, tough bread after bake and due to the fact that i did not follow exact ingredients from recipes i referred. I am one that strongly against xanthan gum, which is one typical ingredient you may find in gluten-free baking. This ingredient is important to bind the flour together because gluten-free flour usually fall apart easily. In my best endeavour, i would be heading towards a direction where there would be no xanthan gum in my making of gluten-free bread, for better or for worst.

As for this time, i would say it is by far the most successful attempt of making gluten-free bread along with many failures previously. The failures have made me noted on few key points that i must not miss out in the making of gluten-free bread.

(1) Try to follow your chosen recipe as close as possible. If you decide not to follow, you have to confidently find a suitable substitute, however, this would not guarantee a success and very often would need a lot of research and reading before you could actually proceed.

(2) Do not attempt to modify the quantity of the ingredients if you are not sure if it is necessary. For example, i like to cut down on certain ingredients quantity eg. egg, yeast.

(3) Gluten-free bread cannot over-knead. Over-knead may cause the bread to collapse or fail to rise. The best is to let the machine run for only 5 minutes, while manually scraping the side. Once done, mix well and flat the top nicely using a silicone spatula. You may remove the paddle at this point.

(4) The outlook appearance for gluten-free need not to be compared with non gluten-free bread. It could look like a short bread and that it would be heavy. That is just the way gluten-free bread is made to be, nevertheless the texture could be soft and chewy - not necessary hard to bite.


For this bread, it is the first time i use sorghum flour and after referring to few websites - this is my version -

Recipe (in sequence, using Tesco breadmaker):

SORGHUM BREAD

1 cup hot water
4 free-range eggs (beaten)
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/3 cup sorghum flour (gluten-free)
2/3 cup sweet rice flour (gluten-free)
1 cup tapiaco starch / tapiaco flour (gluten-free)
2 tsp organic psyllium husk (gluten-free)
1 tsp molasses sugar
1 Tbsp instant active yeast

Step 1:
Set to dough mode and let it knead for 5 minutes, scrape the sides down necessarily. Once done, mix well and smooth the top using a silicone spatula.

Step 2:
Set to bake mode and set timer to bake 30 minutes later for the batter to proof. The baking time should take 55 minutes or 1 hour maximum. Once done, remove from the baking pan, let it cool for 30 minutes before slicing.

Optional - After 30 minutes of proofing, you may add some topping. For this bread i combine and mix the followings and sprinkle on the batter right before start baking.
1 tsp organic psyllium husk
1 tsp organic rolled oat
1 tsp oat bran


SOURCE:
http://glutenfreehomemaker.com/sorghum-bread-again/

http://www.glutenfreeliving.com/gluten-free-foods/ingredients/ingredients-index/

http://glutenfreeeasily.com/bountiful-bread-basket-top-20-gluten-free-bread-recipes/

Steamed gluten free grape muffin

[25.12.2014]
Recipe:
2 Tbsp buckwheat flour
1/8 tsp baking powder
1 quail egg
5 grapes (mashed)
1 tsp olive oil

Mix wet and dry ingredients separately. Once done, combine together and steam in a preheated steamer for 15 minutes.

Made 1 muffin

Gluten-free vegetables steamed bun

Recipe (made 8 buns):

Dough -
1 cup corn starch
1/2 cup tapiaco flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1 tsp yeast
2 Tbsp warm water (to activate the yeast)
1 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup liquid (i mixed water and greek yogurt)
1 tsp molasses sugar
2 Tbsp olive oil

(1) Activate the yeast by combining 2 Tbsp of water with sugar and yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes or till it looks frothy.

(2) Start by combining all the flour in a large mixing bowl.

(3) Add in all the liquid and yeast mixture to form a soft dough. Shape it into a ball and cover with a cloth, set aside for 1 hour. (It will look melted due to the lack of gluten, which is normal)

(4) Prepare fillings by stir frying all the ingredients and let it cools completely.

(5) After 1 hour, transfer the dough to a dough mat and sprinkle some flour on top. Knead for a little while. Set aside some flour, olive oil and 1/2 cup of warm water - for bun shaping.

(6) Divide and cut the dough into 2 using a dough cutter. Keep one back to the mixing bowl and cover it with cloth. Further divide and cut the dough into 8 almost similar pieces.

(7) Work 2 at one time. (Keep the rest and cover it - so that the dough will not turn hard). Make both dough into a ball shape. Flatten them. Fill one with fillings, and top the other flatten dough over. Seal the side all round with some oil and water. Carefully, shape it further so that it looks like a bun. Repeat for the rest.

(8) Rub some oil around the dough, put the bun on baking paper.

(9) Steam for 15 minutes. Once done, tilt the cover slightly and wait for another 2 minutes before dish out.

Filling -
hard boiled kampung egg
shitake mushroom
garlic
shallot
purple cabbage
radish
dash of black pepper (mixed with 1/3 cup of water)

(1) Heat up some coconut oil on a frying pan. Saute mushroom till fragrant and slight crispy. Add garlic and shallot, followed by the rest of the ingredients.

(2) Add the black pepper diluted with water necessarily. Once done, dish out and let it cools before use as bun filling.

Additional - Concentrated juice from 1 red cherry for dotting after steaming.

Gluten free noodles with pan fried chicken and pumpkin sauce

Recipe:
Noodles -
1/2 cup tapiaco flour
1/2 cup potato flour
1 tsp chia seed mix with 2 Tbsp warm water (soak for 10 minutes before use)
3 kampung egg
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Mix everything and use a piping bag to pipe out into a sauce pan filled with hot boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Dish out using a colander and drain through cold filtered water. Set aside or use immediately in soup with homemade sauce.

Pan fried chicken -

Marinate chicken with lemon juice. Pan fried with garlic and shallots till brown and cooked.

Gluten Free Noodle with Vegetables Sauce

Recipe:
150g rice flour (extra for dusting)
50g potato flour
1 Tbsp corn flour
1 tsp chia seed mix with 2 Tbsp warm water (soak for 10 minutes before use)
3 kampung egg
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Mix everything and use a piping bag to pipe out into a sauce pan filled with hot boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Dish out using a colander and drain through cold filtered water. Set aside or use immediately in soup or with homemade sauce.

SOURCE: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta-recipes/gluten-free-pasta-dough/

Verdict : I wished i could make the noodle thinner which i shall try it next time !