GF Pastry (and Pie) recipe

As a follow up from my Pie Pastry recipe of a couple of weeks ago here is a gluten free version that we have been enjoying.  I got it from Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne’s Allergy Cookbook which has been lurking in my book shelf unused until recently and is now lurking in a friend’s bookshelf after a bit of de-cluttering.

All ready to be baked.

The recipe was pretty painless and user friendly which, as you all know by now, is just my kind of recipe! I did of course make a few modifications so that it fitted with what I had on hand however I think it still turned out pretty great for a GF pastry and even the gluten gobblers amongst the family agreed.  I completely forgot to take a photo when it came out as we were all so eager to taste 🙂 …. luckily I remembered just before we ate so that you can see what it looks like baked.

Our vegetable pie ready to eat.

GF Pastry and Pie – as modified from Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne’s Allergy Cookbook

3/4 Cup Brown Rice Flour

3/4 Cup Masa de Maiz

115 gm cold diced butter

2 beaten eggs mixed with 2 Tbsp of Water.

• Mix the dry ingredients and then rub the butter in until it resembles breadcrumbs.
• Using a table knife stir in the egg until the mixture comes together.
• Bring the dough together and knead lightly on a surface with rice flour.
• Put ‘ball’ of dough into a plastic bag or clingfilm and chill for 30 mins.
• Once chilled, cut in half (one half for the top and one for the bottom) and put one half back into the fridge.  Roll one half between to sheets of baking paper.  Don’t roll too thinly however ensure that it is bigger enough for you pie dish.
• Peel one sheet off and then put into the pie dish with the other sheet of baking paper on the bottom.  This helps the pastry to bake and become crisp on the bottom once the topping is in. Gently press into the pastry into shape and trim both paper and pastry around the edges.  Use any extra pastry to mend rips or holes in the base.
• Fill with your desired inner, making sure that it is cooled before doing so.
• Roll out the other half as you did the first and place on top, removing both sheets of baking paper this time.  Press edges lightly together and make ‘breathing’ holes in the top so everything stays where it is meant to.
• Bake in a hot oven (I used 220 C fanbake) until it is golden on top.
• Enjoy!!

I have made this recipe without the baking paper or pre-baking the base and it turned out fine however in using the baking paper and in another instance using the baking paper and pre-baking the base the pie was a lot firmer and easier to dish up.

Well that is it for the pastry and from me for the next couple of weeks as the family and I take some time off together without our laptops 🙂 …. hope you enjoy your GF pie as much as I did and catch you back here soon.

Arohanui

Y

www.becominghealthy.co.nz

Yay for the real foodies out there!

Thank goodness there are ‘real’ foodies out there who are creative and innovative in the kitchen! Otherwise honestly what would I have to blog about 🙂  My forte, I feel,  is in adaptations of recipes and in passing along good ideas so this week I intend to do just that.  This is a substitute for tomato paste/sauce which contains no deadly nightshades and which the awesome Hungry Cub blog has brought to my attention.

Simmering the carrots and beetroot.

I ventured to make this up today ready for tea tonight (still deciding between pasta, nachos or pizza ….. so definitely in an easy dinner mood) and found it very easy to make. Mine did turn out quite sweet though even with the apple cider vinegar added in so I did add a bit of Worcestershire Sauce and tamarind puree to give it more of a tomato paste taste.  Seems my thinking was not entirely new however as I found a similar ‘Nomato Sauce’ recipe over on ‘Enjoying this Journey’.

Anyway here is the recipe with adaptations that I made and if you wish to see the two original recipes then please hit the links above 🙂

Nightshade Free Sauce (makes 750ml)

1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 brown onion, roughly diced
3 garlic cloves, roughly diced
2 cups peeled & cubed beetroot (1 large or 2 medium)
2 cups peeled & cubed carrot (approx 2 carrots)
Dried herbs – basil and thyme
1 cup veg stock  (sadly I just use some veg bouillon and then add water)
a few good grinds of salt
2 Tbsp Tamarind puree and some Worcestershire sauce if desired.
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
8 pitted black kalamata olives

• Cook the onion and garlic in the oil until they are translucent and softened.
• Add beetroot and carrot and cook for 5 mins before adding the herbs and stock.
• Cover and simmer until the veggies are soft – around 30 mins. You may need to add a bit more water for cooking (which I did) which will effect how much sauce you end up with.
• Remove from heat and cool before blending smooth.
• Add the AVC, olives, tamarind paste and some Worcestershire sauce to taste and blend again.
• Transfer into a container.  Hungry cub says to use within the week or freeze 🙂

Hope this finds you enjoying life and the food in it.

Arohanui

Y

www.becominghealthy.co.nz

 

Capsule Eating?

Ok, so the title may have you wondering but read on and all will be revealed.

You see over the past few weeks I have had a few conversations about mealtimes – namely what people have on the menu for their evening meals.  One friend talked of collecting recipes so that she could get out of her cooking rut while another shared how she cooked a different meal each night over several weeks??!! You know who you are you culinary goddess 🙂

And what was I doing while these conversations occurred? Quietly hanging my head in shame…….. you see that so called ‘cooking rut’ is my life-ring in a stormy sea of meal time indecision!!

While I don’t intentionally cook the same things over and over (and over and over and well you get the idea) somehow I manage to cook particular dishes on certain week nights.  Sheer lack of enthusiasm over cooking meals combined with so many options ends in my no-think meals arriving each week.

Ready to cook my Wednesday night regular – rice and veg

Then last week something arrived in my inbox from Becoming Minimalist that gave me hope.  In fact it overjoyed me, gave me my new food revolution and relieved my shame instantly!  What was this amazing blog about you may ask?  Well it was actually about 8 reasons that successful people wear the same things everyday (a capsule wardrobe) however in reading those reasons I saw that actually in having the same menu over and over again it was in fact a very savvy and smart move for someone less culinary endowed like myself.

Six out of the 8 reasons applied to me and cooking meals and so I am now embracing my same meals each week as a ‘capsule eating’ plan rather than thinking of it as a cooking rut.  I have a ‘capsule’ shopping list which now means that I can create a range of meals which I know 1.I can cook without thinking and  2. the kids will eat (most nights)!

For those Foodies out there who may be wondering why??! Here are my adaptation of Becoming Minimalists reasons as applied to mealtime.

1: Fewer Decisions and hence leaving more head space for more important decisions during the day.

2: Less time wasted in trying to decide what I will cook while swinging on open cupboard and fridge doors.

3: Less Stress!!

4: Less wasted energy both in strolling numerous aisles looking for ingredients and in juggling recipe books, children and animals.

5: Less expense as my shopping list is fairly basic ingredients

6: More Peace. Of mind that is!!

Hope this finds you embracing your own revolution – even if it only applies to you.

Arohanui

Y