Chocolate Brownie Cake - Allergen free!!!!!!!!!!!

I HAVE DONE IT!!! It took until my 33rd Birthday (after over 2 years of a crazy restricted diet!) to succeed at making a sucessful cake!

It has it all; an amazing cakey texture, moisture, sweetness...and it actually, genuinely (no I am not just fooling myself for once) TASTES GOOD!!!!! Woo!!!
*** I Have updated this recipe, all changes are in this colour :) They're deliciously brownie-like now!!! Have basically added chia seeds into the mix and ground the flours more finely! ***

Here's the recipe and method:

100g cocoa powder (unsweetened, not cross contaminated!!)
1/2 cup oil (I used grapeseed - prob best to use olive oil if you can find one that's not got a strong taste)
100g Xylitol (natural sugar substitute- extracted from birch trees)
1 heaped tbspn agave syrup
100g flour - made up of: 60g buckwheat flour, 25g ground pumpkin seed,15g ground linseed -All ground finely
A tablespoon and a half of chia seeds, ground
1 egg (or linseed/flax 'egg')
1 tspn bicarbonate
1 tbspn raw apple cider
apple juice as needed for more moisture in cake mix....


Beat the egg and sugar/xylitol. Mix in the agave syrup.
Pour oil into a bowl that's sitting in hot water (to slightly warm the oil). Mix the cocoa into it.
Incorporate it into the egg and sugar mixture.




Loosen the mixture with apple juice if necessary, either before, during or after adding the flour - whatever makes it manageable.
Fold in the flour and bicarbonate.
I grind my own pumpkin seeds, linseed and chia seeds in this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Martin-Wahl-ZX595-Grinder-Stainless/dp/B000HEZ98C/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1390252900&sr=8-6&keywords=grinder
I now grind the seeds more finely which adds to 
When fully mixed, splash in some vinegar to activate the bicarb. This is what will make the cake rise a bit.
As I said, you may need to add a bit of juice.
LET it stand for a minute, then go back to it and you'll see that it's got stiffer, it's absorbed the liquid and got 'airier'. Splash in some apple juice until it returns to a thinner mixture again. Again let it stand and go back. I do this two or three times, then when it's a really good thick gloopy but not spongey mixture, go for it with the next stage:
The mixture should be VERY sticky, difficult to smooth into a (paper-lined) baking tray, as it won't want to let go of the spoon or spatula! It shouldn't be too liquid or too dry. I spread it into a layer nearly 2cm thick. Admittedly with my fingers at times lol. It rose to about an inch.
I call them chocolate brownie cake, as it may resemble a brownie and taste like a brownie - but the texture is more cake-like. THESE modifications have made it amAZingly cake-like but beAUTifully moist like brownies, without being heavy. I am SO pleased with them!! Will put up a new picture... if any of them ever see the light of day, they tend to get made and scoffed in an afternoon/evening!!

Enjoy!!! Must be eaten rapidly (within a day or two) or they go a bit dry (my all time FAVOURITE excuse lol!!)

Fish pie!

Well, it seems to me that we are a little over-complicated with our food at times!
'The simpler the better' is what I am learning!
But people do have their pre-requisites, habits and their expectations about things... so I hope you will not harshly judge my humble and very very simple but very tasty fish pie!!

This is TGF safe if you omit the beans.

I simply do the following:

Fresh or frozen wild white fish
onions, preferably red.
White beans/ kidney beans or any veg you can have, in chunks (I have done it with cubes of courgette before...peppers or aubergines maybe? I am off nightshade personally! Have also done it with olives- surprisingly good!)

Slow fry the fish gently, breaking it up as it cooks and flakes naturally. Season well and add onions a few minutes before the end. I use the lid to sweat it for the last few mins. Take off heat when cooked and add fresh herbs as desired. I normally just use parsley or coriander. I then stir in some drained and rinsed white beans or kidney beans or green beans...or whatever you fancy. I have also added tuna or salmon from a tin to it before just to bulk it out (not very glamorous, I know, but easy and it worked a treat!)

2 medium to large sweet potatoes
olive oil
sea salt

Boil or steam in large chunks until soft. Mash with olive oil and sea salt. Leave aside.

2 Leeks,
olive oil,
fresh nutmeg,
salt + pepper

Cook the leeks in a heavy bottomed pan, in olive oil with freshly grated nutmeg and black pepper and the lid on. Cook, shaking or stirring occasionally, until soft and deliciously melty, mmmm.........  :p

In a large oven dish (I use an ex-terrine, deep dish) put the first layer in the bottom: leeks!
Then the fish, onion and bean or veg mix.
Then spread over the mashed sweet potato! I fluff it with a fork to get crispy bits on top! I also sometimes sprinkle over ground linseed with a drizzle of oil, or slightly oiled whole pumpkin seeds.

It is all cooked, so I just put it in the oven until hot through - depends how freshly put together it is - but generally it has cooled quite a bit by then for me, as I make it in a million stages - so I put it in the oven for about 20 or so minutes, until the potato starts to colour a bit round the edges...

Et voila! It really isn't dry, I promise! It's succulent, sweet, herby, spicy and tasty - all at once! Tweak it to please yourself - add in your preferred ingredients. But it's dead simple and even easier if, like me, you do it in stages whenever you get a few minutes here and there in the day...

Will come back to add a picture if I ever take one before gobbling it all up!

Pumpkin Seed Butter!! 'Av it!!!!!

YES! I have finally made some pumpkin seed butter! Raw seed butter. I will also experiment with roasted, must also be delicious!
It's great and very easy to make if you have a way of grinding seed.

Ingredients:
Raw Pumpkin seeds
Sea salt
Olive oil or grape seed oil.

I simply ground some organic pumpkin seed, into what we call fluff (flour!), added fine sea salt, then put this flour into my food processor (it was only a small amount so I was quite convinced it would not work!).... I made a judgement call based on common sense only (I am wholly inexperienced with food processors etc!) and put in the "emulsifying disk" (used to whip-up mayonnaise and the like apparently). Bottle of olive oil at the ready, I switched it on and drizzled away until it reached the desired consistency. Et VOILA! It was dead easy and dead quick :) Success!
Here is my peanut butter .... er, I mean pumpkin seed butter (!) in pictures!
My advice is: make sure you add enough salt! Also, if you can have natural sugars, I would say it would be all the more delicious with a bit of honey/agave/sweet freedom! The amount of oil you use depends on the consistency you would like - you could make it creamier and softer than I did if you prefer...
Déguste and enjoy!

Linseed Pumpkin seed crackers!

This is a good one. Oh my, this is so tasty, it's one of those things that makes you want to build a machine that does nothing but cook these all day long...Mmmmmm...
Unfortunately, it is something you can only really make in small amounts (unless you have several hours, several ovens and a lot of patience of course).

This recipe calls for the left-over seed 'mulsh' as I call it, from making 'Pumpkin seed Milk'

I am usually left with about 300g of said 'seed mulsh'. I split this in half and this half will make one batch of crackers. It can be kept for a couple of days in the fridge so needn't be made straight after a batch of milk!

So:
150g pumkin seed mulsh
about 50 or 60g linseed, whole
about 100g grated onion
olive oil (big long lug)
salt and pepper
curry spice blend (check no additives!!)
curcuma (or whatever spices or herbs you fancy!)
(I imagine fresh mint would be really good!)



I mix all of the above thoroughly, then spread onto greaseproof paper on an oven tray - I am not going to pretend I do this perfectly with a spatula - no, I get very messy and spread it out with my hands, nice and even and nice and thin. I cook this is the oven for about 10 minutes - medium heat, then turn it down for another 5 mins or so. I then switch of the oven and leave them for a while. Say half an hour. At this point, I take it out, see how soft or crispy they are - they usually need more drying to crisp up (remember, those seeds came form making milk so there is a lot of moisture in there that needs to gently come out).

So I put out another sheet of baking paper and turn the giant cracker out onto it, the origanl piece of paper should peel away nicely in one piece. I then cut it into squares and pop it back into a low heat oven for about 10 mins. Keep your eye on them. Turn the oven off and lift the crakers off the tray....leave to cool on the side for a while...and you will soon have crispy seed crackers! Mmmmmm.... I also sprinkle fleur de sel onto them, which makes them all the more addictive!

Bon appetit!

Milk - non dairy of course!

Have I still not posted about "milk"?
As you may know, I am dairy intolerant and also allergic to nuts... the only seeds I eat are chia, linseed and pumpkin (or any other squash or melon seeds). So I was quite excited when Micki Rose of Truly Gluten Free pointed me in the direction of her article in Foods Matter about making your own dairy free milk. She said she had never tried it with pumpkin seeds, but why not?!
So I gave it a go a couple of months ago - and now make it quite regularly.
I was never a fan of milk, always liked the idea of it but hated the taste - probably because my body knew it was bad for me! But it comes in handy for anything resembling cereal, at breakfast and also for making curry sauces or soups creamier and the like. I have not tried to cook fish in it - not so sure how that would be but I'll get back to you on that!

So what I do is simply soak a bowlful of pumpkin seeds for at least 24 hours. Change the water once in that time if possible. I then drain them and rinse well (the aim of this soaking and rinsing is to render the seeds more easily digestible by getting rid of 'enzyme inhibitors and phytic acid'.). The seeds then go into a blender. I do a ratio of about 1 cup of seeds to 2 cups of fresh water. With pumpkin seeds, any more water makes the milk too watery for me. Blend! I blend it well so as much milky goodness as possible is released.
Then the milk needs to go through a seive/ muslin to separate the seed mulsh from the "milk" liquid. 

DON'T THROW THE SEED 'MULSH' AWAY!!! See THIS RECIPE!!

The resulting milk is refreshing and full of goodness. As I said, it is a help in cooking and an alternative to fruit juice on cereal, for anyone avoiding too much fructose. It does not taste like dairy milk - it tastes like... well, pumpkin seeds to be honest! But I like them so that's fine by me :)





Don't forget, you can flavour your milk exactly as you wish to! See the article by Micki for more ideas of what to make fake milk out of and inspiration on what to add to it. 

Happy milking!

"Chocolate"

So I shouldn't be eating chocolate - it is in the lectin (Bean) family... But I am not off lectins totally yet so I thought I would have a last love affair with the stuff for New Year! Oh dear... this is NOT a New Years Resolution is it?! Whoops, got it all wrong again!!
Luckily, it is not easy for me to get a supply of chocolate that is raw and pure where I live- so it is easier to never eat it! But I got some raw cocoa the other day and when I had a flash idea yesterday, I couldn't resist!

I have long been out of lin seed (flax) as our local supplier ran out!! But we have some in again (yay!) just in time for my Christmas present from my mother-in-law!
She bought me this coffee grinder http://www.amazon.co.uk/Martin-Wahl-ZX595-Grinder-Stainless/dp/B000HEZ98C/ref=cm_cr-mr-title recommended to me by Micki Rose on her Truly Gluten Free blog.

It is amazingly good for grinding seeds! Not only have I ground Lin Seed, but also Pumpkin Seeds! I thought they were perhaps too oily and not dried... but they ground nicely

1/4 cup Linseed flour (ground flax)
1/2 cup Ground pumpkin seeds
2 to 3 tblspn Cocoa
Chopped raisins (organic, oil free)
Agave syrup or honey (or whatever your preference)
pinch of sea salt
A sprinkling of ground vanilla pods
Water

Chop the raisins up as finely as you can by hand - or however you would normally chop sticky little fellas like them - and put all the ingredients in a bowl together. Mix up then add water bit by bit until you reach the desired consistency...
You might want to make individual chocolate 'balls' (and maybe coat in cocoa powder before serving) or fill a container and put in the fridge to be cut up or scooped out as needed (perhaps as part of another desert - pear-based would be delicious with this!) or add a little more water to have an instant sloppy gloopy chocolaty dessert! It's up to you! Bear in mind that the longer it stands, the more the ground seeds absorb the water so you may have to 'refresh' with a little water before use/ serving, depending on how you have decided to use it.

I came up with this because all the raw 'chocolate' recipes I have found in the past, used nuts, almond flour etc. but of course, you can experiment and add any ingredients your diet allows. Nuts, dried fruits, fresh fruits etc. EXPERIMENT and ENJOY!

Next time I do this, I'll take a picture before devouring it and post it here - Promise! ;P

TGF onion and sage stuffing!

Stuffing was a challenge as I can't eat any gluten-containing flour (yes, that includes rice flour) and I can't eat nuts (so no almond flour for example)...so I needed linseed flour - and I can't get it here! Argh! But luckily, I had a little ground linseed left - so I made a little 'bread' bun, following this foccacia recipe (roughly!)

2 cups ground flaxseeds
1 tsp baking powder OR 2-3 egg whites
4 eggs
½ cup water
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt

...but I used 1/2 cup ground linseed, a little bicarb and only a little bit of one egg... a little oil and water, a dash of vinegar and of course, sea salt.

The next day (Christmas day!), I broke the bun up into breadcrumbs and mixed it with fried onions, a tablespoon of sage, salt and pepper, some olive oil and a little beaten egg (woodland).

I cooked it in the oven, in a little round shallow cake tin for about 15 minutes or so. I cooked it ahead of time and kept it warm with foil on top, then stuck it back in the oven to warm a bit whilst serving up the rest of the meal. A great success! Perfectly moist and very tasty indeed! And not greasy, woo!

TGF Christmas Dinner!! (Truly Gluten Free)

Yes, I managed it! A simple yet delicious Christmas dinner with just enough Christmassy flavours for me!

It doesn't look much - but taking photos of real food is never glamorous!! So here it is - homely, badly presented, cosy and yummy Christmas dinner!

All the right flavours in all the right places :)

It consists of Roasted veg: sweet potatoes and parsnips in olive oil ...and delicata squash in Rosemary, honey and mustard. We also had brussel sprouts fried in garlic, my very own TGF stuffing (extremely simple! Recipe here), leeks with nutmeg and a special rump steak -marinated for a day in wine, thyme, garlic and a dash of balsamic- and cooked to perfection for the first time in my life lol!! It was perfect - and I am well known for my disastrous steaks (hence the marinating!!)... All in all, it was tasty, filling and enjoyed by all 3 of us!
I consider myself lucky to be able to eat all that and not get ill! People who are more traditional would also have to make their own cranberry sauce etc for this to be a full on Christmas meal - but I am not bothered about these things! And we were too stuffed to even dream of Christmas cake or pudding!
Our meal was completed by homemade Christmas crackers!
Best joke: How does father Christmas like his pizza? Deep pan, crisp and even. Hahaha, it HAD to be about food, didn't it?!
Happy New Year Everybody!! xxxxxxxxxxxx

Roasted Delicata Squash seeds...

Just to say.... it works with these too!
See my post on these Roasted Butternut Squash Seeds

I have also tried this with "Potimarron" seeds (have just googled this and it is apparently known as "Red Kuri" squash) but they were a bit flat and chewy compared to Butternut and Delicata.

Mix them up with dired fruits (Rains, gojis, blueberries, mulberries, cut up apricots and figs...the combinations are endless!) I should say at this point that this batch has got oil, salt, cinnamon, vanilla powder AND a squirt of honey on!! OK, it starts out simple... then greediness gets the better of me and I... elaborate! ;D

Anyway, delicious!

Roasted Butternut seeds!

Something I CAN eat, woo!

mmm... crunchy nutty sweet yum

I am not managing to post often - partly lack of time - partly don't know where to start as my diet keeps getting more and more restrictive! This blog will have to serve as occasional inspiration for vegetable combos!!
Anyway, today I was roasting some butternut squash slices - and decided to keep the seeds and roast them at the same time -WOW! Why have I never done this before?! 

lightly seasoned

Scoop out butternut innards, if comes away easily from flesh, just give them a rinse then spread out onto kitchen roll... any stringy bits of flesh will stay behind on the tissue when you transfer them onto another piece of kitchen roll. If they are more sticky and gloopy, put in a bowl of water and swish about/ rub with fingers to work flesh loose then drain and do as above to get off last bits and dry.

Then, I believe you can just roast them dry - but keep a close eye on them as they scorch easily.
I coated mine very lightly in olive oil. Half of them I sprinkled cinnamon onto. The other half, I seasoned very slightly in sea salt and pepper....

 The reults are delicious! Roasted them for about 12 mins, maybe 15... tossed them halfway through.
For some reason, the lightly seasoned ones taste of popcorn! And the cinnamon ones don't really taste of cinnamon but it gives them a sweet side that makes them taste nuttier - and seeing as I no longer eat nuts, this now tastes positively tropical to me lol!! ;D (My nearly two year old loves them too btw - RESULT!)
Enjoy!!

Balsamic Beetroot Side

This is one of those recipe suggestions that looks insanely easy and totally unremarkable... but I'm telling you, it's Deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelicious! What can I say? A lucky combo that created itself through things that needed to be eaten in my fridge! I ate this with Baked courgette - also very very simple but flavour-tastic!  :)

Ingredients:

Diced beetroot
Chickpeas
Sliced radish

Vinaigrette:

Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar * and red wine vinegar, half of each
Dijon mustard and grainy mustard
Garlic, chopped
Fresh mint, chopped

Mix together chopped veg, chick peas and vinaigrette. Let it stand for a while for the flavours to mix and develop.
Delicious as a salad but could also be a perfect relish (chop ingredents finer) for tortillas, burgers, fish or whatever you fancy! I imagine it would be delicious with cucumber too...Mmmmmm.

* watch out for ingredients! Often contains colouring (caramel) or flavouring... it need only contain wine vinegar and grape must.

Mackerel Spread

One of my staple foods, I make this a couple of times a month (not more so as not to get sick of it!!)
Extreeeemly simple and oh so good:

Tinned mackerel (in olive oil or just plain/grilled/smoked- just check the ingredients!)
OR fresh smoked mackerel
1 or 2 tspns Tahini (optional - I am now allergic so don't use!)
3 tspns Mustard (grainy mustard!)
Olive oil (until desired consistency and taste)
salt and pepper
Whatever else you want depending on allergies etc. (ex. paprika,celery salt, lemon juice)
Fresh herbs as desired

Just mush it all up together with a fork, add olive oil and season to taste! If you are allergic to sesame paste, use another such as almond paste (delicious!...those were the days..!) - or just leave it out!
Alternatively, mix it in a food processor - mix most of it but keep back some lovely flakes of fish to mix into/ sprinkle over the super fine paste after - makes it all pretty with a sprig of fresh herbs or fresh chopped herbs sprinkled over. Mmmmmm :p
Enjoy on 100 % Buckwheat crackers, on a baked sweet potato, with cucumber, on buckwheat pancakes, savoury scones etc. or with salad! Y.U.M.

Dahl - very simple easy version!

A small cupful of red lentils (or yellow if you can get them without veg oil added!) -cooked to absorption, 15mins or less, so not TOO mushy...
Spices: curcuma, curry, cumin, ginger/ garam masala - or whatever you fancy*, to taste
Onion, chopped finely
Sea salt and black pepper
Mustard*, about a tablespoon
Olive oil

optional: Kale (shredded), broccoli

Dry fry spices, stirring, then add onions, coat in spices then add oil. Stir in the kale and cook for about 4 mins. Stir in mustard, add cooked lentils, a little water and some sea salt. Cook to absorption again, stirring all the time as you would with risotto.
Season with black pepper and serve with cooked broccoli florets!

*(watch out for ingredients! You'd be surprised what they can contain! And avoid Paprika and chili if you have inflammatory or gut problems)

Galettes de Sarrasin (Buckwheat pancakes)

3/4 cup flour (sometimes, for a change, I do 1/2 buckwheat and 1/4 chickpea)
roughly the same in water
chia seeds optional (acts as a binder or egg replacer... If you do use these, add another 1/4 cup water - the seeds can absorb up to 12 times their volume in water)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon sea salt

REAL buckwheat pancakes do not contain egg or any other flour than buckwheat. If you get the consistency right, and you have a good pan, they're great! Sometimes however, I add chick pea flour or I add chia seeds which acts as a binder - this is generally if I am cooking for someone else too as it generally ensures I won't have made the liquid too runny and therefore brittle pancakes! (I don't mind my pancakes being a disaster but I give myself a little more guarantee of success when cooking for others!!)
Just mix the salt into the flour then add the water, whisking.
Leave to stand for at least half an hour. You can keep this mixture for a long time in the fridge. (It keeps for less time with chia seeds in though so watch out!)

Heat a heavy based frying pan...when hot, add oil. Add any veg if desired (i.e garlic/ ginger/ onions/ leeks)
Pour the pancake batter over, on high heat, and tip the pan around and around to ensure an even spread and thickness of the pancake. Cook as long as desired. I flip mine and cook well both sides.

I generally eat these accompanied by mackerel paste or with broccoli and curry sauce or salad. If I could eat eggs, I'd serve it with a runny fried egg! Mmmmmmmm.....

"Socca" Pancake (Batter)

Socca are chickpea pancakes or flatbread.
I cook it as oily pancakes but it can also be oven cooked or grilled for a drier, flatbread type pancake.

to make the batter:

1 cup (140g) Chickpea flour
1 cup (maybe bit more) water
Big pinch of salt
Olive oil

Seive flour, add salt, pour in water whilst wisking with a hand wisk.
Leave to stand for at least half hour but longer if possible to let flour soak up water.

Here's a link to other cooking methods:
http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-socca-a-naturally-gluten-free-chickpea-flatbread-169513

I then tend to fry garlic and ginger for 30 seconds or some shallots (something with bags of flavour), add chopped fresh herbs or spice (curcuma or curry) then pour the batter over, cook on a high heat for a few mins then reduce heat, flip over and let cook through - prob 15mins in all. I like to really overcook (i.e Burn this... lol!)

Bon apetit! (photos to come, c'est promis!)

Lentil and Azuki Galettes (savoury)

Raw mixture in the pan and already browned in olive oil (sorry for bad pic!)

1 cup (dry) coral lentils (red lentils)
1/2 cup (80g) Azuki flakes (rolled whatever - oats if you eat them/ rolled quinoa is an option)
Palmful chia seeds
1 ladel Pancake Batter
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely or crushed
1 inch fresh ginger
1/2 courgette, grated
1 large shallot, chopped very finely
lots of mint (fresh or dry)
Olive oil / grapeseed oil
sea salt and pepper

Cook lentils for 15 mins (until soft). Drain.
Mix with lentils and Azuki (or other) flakes and season well with sea salt and black pepper.
Add all other ingredients, including some oil, maybe a splash of water.
Leave to stand... I do this so it sticks together better (the flakes will absorb some juices and mulch up with the rest better) and so the flavours can develop.
Cook as burgers (or patties). I fried mine in hot oil to start, to make them brown and crisp, then put them into the oven to finish the cooking gently- I like them drier and Azuki is nicer when cooked through gently.

These are so so satisfying, texture is everything in this diet of fruit and veg! They are also very tasty!

You can make a big batch of this and keeep the mixture a day or two in the fridge for quick meals. (My baby boy loves these too - just  one patty with veg or quinoa usually fills him up nicely!)
ENJOY!

Pasties!

1 lot of pastry
Carrots (2 small/ 1 large)
Onion/ spring onions
1/2 parsnip
tbspn mustard
splash of water
tspn tahini (optional)
herbs/ spices (optional) I like to use curry spices/curcuma or oregano or any fresh herbs)

Chop veggies up small.
Roll out pastry, thinly (I do this directly onto greaseproof paper). Cut into oval shapes. Mix all above ingredients together in a little bowl.
Spoon filling onto one half of pastry and moisten front edge with juices/ water. Fold over, stick together by pressing down with fingertips (some people use a fork for this).
Lift greaseproof paper and pasties onto oven tray...
Cut cross shaped hole in top to let steam escape when cooking.
Cook in preheated oven, hot for 15 or 20 mins.
Let cool before eating!
These are so simple and SO delicious and satisfying!

You can obviously put what you want in it! Above is my most usual filling but depends on the season....Add seeds, do it with leeks, kale, different herbs or spices, make a sweet pastry and fill it with fruit, compote or jam for a type of apple turnover style thing.....EXPERIMENT! Don't get bored and stuck in a rut!

Pastry!

So here is how I make pastry - this has tranformed my life because it is actually very nice and gives me the feeling that I have eaten something other than water-based food!

1 ½ cups Buckwheat flour (or a combo of B/wheat -½ cup- and Chickpea 1/4 cup)
1 tspn salt
1/4 cup olive oil / grapeseed oil
Water

Seive flour (actually, I never bother! But if you use chickpea flour- seive it!)
Add enough oil to make breadcrumbs (must be moist enough to stick together, as no gluten)
Add water to bring together into a ball.
Wrap in clingfilm, put into the fridge and use when ready....
or, roll out onto greaseproof paper and use straight away.

I use this to make tarts (like courgette and celeriac, mmmm!), pasties (carrot, parsnip and onion, deeeeelish!) and crumbles....

For sweet pastry, add a tablespoon of agave syrop. You can make mini jam tarts with sugar free jam, yay!

Sometimes this pastry is a dream to work with - and sometimes I can't roll it out (must depend on the moon!) in which case I use it to make a crumble instead!

Savoury Scones

sort of bread...

My basic recipe for savoury scones:

190g Chickpea flour (gram flour) (1 cup)
or flour mix - whatever you CAN eat - for example, 2/3 ch/pea and 1/3 Buckwheat)
1 1/2 tspn Bicarbonate (7.5ml)
1 tspn Salt
6cl (60ml) Olive Oil (or grapeseed oil - or whatever neutralish tasting oil you can eat)
1 tbspn Chia seeds (10g)
18 cl water (maybe more) (180ml)
optional: 1 tspn curry powder and 1 tspn curcuma
or 1 tspn Aniseed and fennel spice.....

I almost never make this bread without herbs or spices. The flours have strong flavour and it brings it into balance with a bit of spice.
These are an aquired taste - don't imagine it will be like eating fluffy, bland bread... it is more of a cakey texture, heavier (especially if you use a high ratio of chickpea flour) and has a flavour.
Those of you, like me, who are totally starved of anything like this will appreciate it though! REMEMBER, I can only eat vegetables, fruit, quinoa, pulses and 100% buckwheat crackers - so I neeeeeeed these!! They are perfect for when you've made a soup :)

Method
Mix dry ingredients (except chia seeds).
Add Olive oil and rub in until you have a breadcrumby mixture - sort of like soft breadcrumbs - basically, when you squeeze a handful of the crumb mix together, it will stay together but then crumble again when you break it. This is similar to when you make pastry, before you add the water to bring it together.
Add chia seeds and any others you like.

(gloopy mixture)

Mix in water with a wooden spoon. The mixture should be very sticky, wet like cake batter but not quite as runny.
I usually let it stand a bit and add a dash more water before spooning into cake tray.
The chia seeds act as a binder - there is no egg in this recipe and no gluten which would normally be present in the flour and hold it all together...

Oven cook at about 200 C for 15-20 mins... let them cool before trying. They are good eaten with hummus, lentil spread or any kind of relish.

RATIOs
Use whatever flour combo you like - to be honest, I change it almost every time! You can do half chickpea half buckwheat.... you can use some Amaranth for moisture - I use it because of that. It can be dry without - especially if you use more buckwheat in your mix. Or you can do pure chickpea, it tastes good that way but sits heavier in the tummy!

VARIATIONS
I usually make this with added pumpkin seeds, lin (flax) seeds, sesame seeds etc. I also always use spices or herbs such as oregano or thyme.
You can also use vegetable ingredients such as grated courgette - really good with lots of chopped mint. Just adjust the amount of water if you add a wet ingredient like that. (the picture at the head of my blog is of courgette and mint bread)
I also like to use some cooked buckwheat in this - I usually have some in the fridge. It makes the bread texture lighter. I REALLY recommend this...
I intend to try this using Quinoa soufflé (puffed quinoa) for an even lighter, maybe chewier (?!) result. Will keep you posted.

Azuki and Quinoa Flapjacks!!

Roll up roll up for some of my amazing healthy flapjacks! Their only evil is a high level of fructose due to all the fruit!

Ingredients:
80g (½ cup) Azuki bean flakes (rolled) or rolled buckwheat (preferable but I have problems finding them!)
80g (½ cup) rolled Quinoa
80g (½ cup) (2 handfuls) Raisins or sultanas
1/4 cup Apple juice (optional)
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup olive oil or less
30g (large handful) sesame seeds
palmful Chia seeds (thought it might help mixture stick together)
1 small pear
20g (small handful) Goji berries
40g fresh berries (I used 4 strawberries)
40g dried apricots (for me this was 4 apricots)
50g Dates (6 dates or so)
1 tbspn Agave syrup

(vary these ingredients as much as you need - skip to end for suggestions and notes on this)

Method
Put everything - except juice and oil- into the bowl of a mixer if you have one. Pulse until everything very finely chopped.
If you do not have a mixer just chop everything small and grate the pear.
Add apple juice (or whatever liquid) then add oil through hole in mixer as you pulse the mixture again.

The mixture resembles this!