Gluten Free Overnight Almond Pancakes

It would appear that gluten intolerance is the new black…and our family is no exception. My daughter has some weird reactions to eating gluten, so although not crazily seeking every gluten free option available, I am finding that breakfast is the meal with the most challenges for her…so just like our Instant Chia Hot Cereal Mix, this is pretty quick, we can all eat it without feeling deprived (really!!!) and we don’t need to eat something different. (This mother does not do a different dish per family member in the same meal!)

Again, I am all about convenience, and this couldn’t be simpler…you just have to think about it as you head off to bed…well at least a minute or two before you head off to bed. The sitting overnight just softens up the almond meal and will help with the texture of the pancakes…Bon Appetit…

NEED:

150g almonds (blanched or not!)

130g yoghurt or kefir

2 eggs

Pinch Murray River pink salt flakes

2 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

2 tsp bicarb soda

Additional yoghurt and berries or fruit to serve

Butter for frying

DO:

Just before going to bed;

Place almonds into Thermo bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10.

Add yoghurt, eggs, salt, vanilla and blend 10 sec/speed 6. Scrape down sides of bowl and place in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, heat a fry pan on Induction 6 for at least 10 minutes.

Meanwhile remove Thermo bowl from fridge and add bicarb. Blend 6 sec/speed 6.

Melt a little butter in heated frypan. Pour a small amount of the batter into the centre of the fry pan and allow to cook until bubbles come through…this may take longer than traditional pancakes and if you have used unblanched almonds the pancakes will look a little darker than what you are used to. Carefully flip and cook on both sides. They are a little more delicate than normal pancakes as well, so be gentle.

Serve immediately with hot berry sauce, a little yoghurt or cream and a dusting of icing sugar.

This mixture could easily be doubled and in my house certainly will be next time around…we had these eaten in no time flat.

Dried Chia Seed Cereal

Dried Chia Seed Cereal

As previous posts have mentioned, I am all for convenience and as school starts again (can you believe we are Term 2 with winter looming already??) and as the mornings down under are getting cooler, and as my daughter has developed a gluten intolerance, this was a yummy solution that takes no time  on a busy morning. Filling, nutritious, gluten free, and you can add fresh fruit, berries, honey, dairy free milk, milk, cream, mascarpone to dress it up or down as much as you want. The flavours improve over a few days as the vanilla and cinnamon do their thing, so try and resist at least that long. The beauties of Chia seeds are well discussed here at our friends Honest to Goodness. And the best thing of all? So filling, there has been documented weight loss in this household…not mine of course, but amongst other family  members who care….I either need to eat it more frequently, or stop eating other stuff all together….hmmmn, what to do?

NEED:

70g rapadura or coconut sugar

1/2 stick cinnamon

1 roasted vanilla bean (see the best selling cookbook, For Foods Sake for all the benefits of this little trick!)

100g buckwheat

100g almonds

250g chia seed (any colour)

100g Inca berries (we have discussed these before!)

60g Crio Bru granules of choice

DO:

Place sugar, cinnamon stick and roasted vanilla bean into Thermo bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10. Tip into jar you will use to store cereal mix.

Place buckwheat into Thermo bowl and mill 3 sec/speed 6. Add to jar.

Place almonds into Thermo bowl and chop 3 sec/speed 5. Add to jar.

Add chia seed, Inca berries and Crio Bru to jar and give it all a good stir.

To prepare mix 3 tbsp mixture with approx 1/4 or 65-70g boiling water, stir and let stand for a few minutes. Stir and add toppings and milk of choice!

YUM…

Crio Bru Easter Eggs with Pistachio Almond Paste Filling

You knew this had to be coming didn’t you? Really…it was only a matter of timing. And wait for it…if you blink you may miss it…Easter is upon us. I know, I know, I was just posting Christmas recipes but a moment ago, but here we are, the big pink bunny is on his way, camping trips, school holidays, over indulgence in all things chocolate…so this recipe is healthy. NOT KIDDING…totally healthy, just don’t eat it all at once. You too may be bouncing all over more than any bunny I’ve ever come across. Full of natural energy, go read about Crio Bru’s amazing benefits HERE and then proceed with confidence. Any flavour of the Bru will Do! Enjoy these Eggcellent eggs…oh and Hoppy Easter! (Sorry…please eggcuse me!)

NEED:

100g Crio Bru dry granules

100g Rapadura sugar

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

65g cacao butter

Pinch Murray River pink salt

Paste Filling;

100g pistachios, shelled

40g almonds

50g Rapdura sugar

10g cacao butter

Pinch Murray River pink salt

Additional almonds and pistachios to garnish

Easter egg mould or other mould of choice

DO:

To make chocolate shells, place Crio Bru granules and sugar into Thermomix bowl and mill 20 sec/speed 10.

Add vanilla bean paste, cacao butter and salt and blend 10-15 sec/speed 6 until a chocolate paste forms. Spread into moulds of choice and place into fridge.

Without cleaning bowl, make paste by placing pistachios, almonds, and sugar into Thermomix bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10. Add cacao butter and salt and blend 20 sec/speed 8, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as necessary. Fill each shell with the filling, placing a few of the additional nuts into the centres as desired. Finish off with additional nuts, making sure that you press them into the filling so that they will set into the egg.

Refrigerate.

Remove from moulds. Wrap and gift…or slice it to eat, or, well, put it on a plate and do a Seinfeld and get the knife and fork out! (But remember, it is very, very dark and rich and full of antioxidants and energy!)

Spiced Plum and Almond Pastry, with Crio Bru….breakfast!

I am not a big breakfast person…I can go a smoothie, but not much more than that. I enjoy my greatest, healthiest habit more now than ever, as it staves off the mid morning hunger pangs I used to get when drinking a smoothie for breakfast. HOWEVER, never say never…sometimes I get a morning hankering (is that a real word in Australia??) for something sweet and I had already stewed the plums, so this was on our table in no time…and consequently a designated breakfast food…but it would have made an awesome dessert with some of that excellent Vanilla Bean Ice Cream we all now know and love. So go on, before the plums disappear into an Autumn (‘Fall’ for some of you!) haze, go get the plums and enjoy. The plums will also freeze really well once cooked.

NEED:

500g black plums, halved and pitted

100g brown sugar

1 cinnamon stick

Pinch cloves, ground

150g blanched almonds, toasted

40g sugar

50g unsalted butter

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

1 tsp almond essence

2 sheets commercial butter puff pastry (or homemade if you really have the time!)

Icing sugar to dust

DO:

Place plums, brown sugar, cinnamon stick and cloves into Thermomix bowl and stew 10 min/100ºC/speed 1/Reverse.

Remove from bowl and remove cinnamon stick. Cool completely. (This is great over ice cream FYI!) 

Preheat oven to 180ºC fan forced and line a baking tray with paper.

Place almonds and sugar into Thermomix bowl and mill 20 sec/speed 10.

Add butter and essences and blend further 10 sec/speed 6 or until a paste forms.

Lay 1 sheet of pastry on baking tray and spread 1/2 almond paste down the centre.

Top with the cooled plum compote.

Cut the edges of pastry on the diagonal in strips and ‘plait’ the strips across the top of the filling.

Repeat with other piece of pastry and filling.

Bake 25 minutes until golden and puffed.

Dust with icing sugar whilst hot and serve in slices.

Chicken, Fennel and Potato Bake

To call this a recipe is a bit of a stretch…it is one of those mere suggestions, and dare I say it? You could do this without the use of your Thermomix. It was one of those hot days we have been suffering through here in Perth and to throw something tasty into the oven meant I didn’t have to think too hard about it…and whats more…I needed another Dinner for our Dinner Spinner iphone app (the ‘app’tly renamed, Spin-A-Dinner) If you haven’t got one…go get one, we will keep adding recipes bit by bit, so eventually you will have the most amazing Thermomix app ever! (And the Sydney Morning Herald is never wrong about those things!)

NEED:

1-2 chicken thighs per serving, skinless

1-2 small red capsicum, seeded and cut into strips

1-2 small fennel bulbs, sliced thinly

2 red onions, cut in wedges

1 red skinned potato per serving, quartered

Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

2 cloves garlic

1 tbsp fennel seeds

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground smoked paprika

60g Fini EVOO

40g lemon juice

Handful blanched almonds

Chopped fresh parsley and Greek yoghurt to serve

DO:

Place chicken into large casserole dish. Add vegetables and season with salt and pepper.

Place garlic into Thermomix bowl and chop 3 sec/speed 5. Scrape down sides of bowl and add fennel seeds, cumin and paprika. Saute 10 min/Varoma/speed 1.

Add EVOO and lemon juice to Thermomix bowl and blend 10 sec/speed 5.

Pour over chicken and vegetables and allow to marinate for 10-15 minutes, covered in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 220ºC. Bake uncovered for 50-60 minutes until everything is cooked and fragrant. Add almonds and cook a further 10 minutes until almonds are golden.

Serve with freshly snipped parsley and a dollop of Greek Yoghurt if desired.

Lemon and Raspberry Sweetheart Cake (Gluten Free)

Yes, it is that time of year already…and I am still sporting the Christmas lights out front! (Inside Christmas has long gone, but cannot get DH to bring them down…so much {boating} to do, so little time!)

So I apologise for the lateness of the arrival of this recipe in your inbox…hoping you are subscribed and that these little pearls of wisdom arrive with no effort on your part each time I post. If you are not, go to the right of screen and subscribe immediately. It means you will never miss out on a single thing that is going on in my recipe life! (Unless you want to keep it that way of course!)

So dear H….one for you, not involving gluten, chocolate, or Crio Bru…just for you!

NEED:

200g almonds

250g potatoes, peeled and cubed

Water for steaming

zest 3 lemons, finely grated

200g sugar

200g butter, cubed

2 tsp baking powder

4 eggs

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

Raspberries to garnish

Glaze;

Juice 1 lemon stirred together with 2-3 tbsp sugar

DO:

Place almonds into Thermomix bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10. Remove from bowl and set aside.

Peel and cube potatoes and place into simmering basket. Insert into Thermomix bowl and pour enough water over to just reach the bottom of the basket.

Steam potatoes 15-20 min/100º/speed 3 or until they break easily when pushed with a fork. Drain water and tip potatoes into Thermomix bowl. Mash 10 sec/speed 5. Scrape down sides of bowl and repeat if needed. Remove from bowl and set aside to cool completely.

Preheat oven to 180ºC and line the base of a heart shaped springform cake tin.

Place lemon zest and sugar into clean, dry Thermomix bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10.

Add butter and whip 20 sec/speed 4. Scrape down sides of bowl, add baking powder, eggs, vanilla and almond meal. Blend 10 sec/speed 6.

Scrape down sides of bowl, add mashed potato and blend 15 sec/speed 6 or until the batter is well blended.

Spread batter into prepared tin and bake 45-50 minutes until risen and golden.

Allow to cool in tin for at least 10 minutes prior to removing. Cool before garnishing with raspberries to taste and drizzling with the glaze.

Chorizo and Chick Pea Spaghettini

Another dinner on the run at this time of year (and especially for those of you who are all waiting on the return of Dinner Spinner to the store…there on Monday guys…buy up big)! Throw it in, and rush off to decorate, wrap, drop kids off to something, pick kids up from something, put your lippy on, heat up your curling iron, check the laundry has not taken over the laundry room, run the bath or whatever. Delicious dinner done in no time…please enjoy. (In the time that it took to make it, I blogged about it…yes, I’m thinking of you all!)

NEED:

5-6 cloves garlic

280g chorizo sausage, sliced

100g white wine

600g chicken stock

Few saffron threads

2 tbsp Umami Paste

1x 420g tin chick peas, drained

Handful baby spinach leaves

240-50g spaghettini (thin spaghetti) broken into short pieces, 7-8 cm long

Juice 1 lemon (at least 20g)

Toasted almond slivers and chopped parsley to garnish

DO:

Place garlic into Thermomix bowl and chop 2 sec/speed 6. 

Add chorizo and saute 8 min/Varoma/Reverse + speed soft.

Add wine, stock, saffron and umami and bring to the boil 8 min/100ºC/Reverse + speed 1.

Add pasta and cook for time recommended on package 100ºC/Reverse + speed 1.

Add spinach and chick peas and cook 2 min/100ºC/Reverse + speed 1. Taste liquid and adjust seasoning if necessary with a little sea salt, add lemon juice and stir through 2 sec/Reverse + speed soft.

Serve garnished with almonds and parsley.

Christmas Stollen

I cannot believe it; I have blinked and Christmas 2011 is here! Phew, what a year…can I just recap?

• Turned 50, but don’t tell anyone! I went to Phuket with the whole family (and that in itself is a story!)
• Went to Dubai and worked with George Calombaris, as my alter ego Candy Liscious the failed beauty queen.
• Thermomix in Australia launched the Asian cookbook, which I had been working on for a long time.
• Went to Melbourne and spent a couple of days with the amazing Dani Valent on the In the Mix shoot.
• Then went to Germany and Switzerland as part of the International Jury for a beautiful new Vorwerk Cookbook, out soon.
• Completed the recipes and photo shoot for the Thermomix in Australia 2012 Calendar available now.
• My number four child went to the States to study.
• I LEFT THERMOMIX in Australia! (Phew, thats a biggie, so deserved capitals!) July 4th, need I remind you, Independance Day, was my last day at head office and if you thought I was busy thus far, can I just mention…things then went into overdrive.
• Had a 3 part skype interview with Super Helene from SuperKitchen Machine, arguably the most prolific and up to date blogger on all things Thermomix. (Which interview served to press the fast forward button on a number of things! Seriously, if you want the thermomix world to know about something, just mention it to Helene, she probably knows it already, but she can spread the word faster than anyone.)
• Created a Dinner Spinner, a small book consisting of 21 recipes that you can create yourself in a Thermomix, which in one week, sold 700 copies …and many more to go yet!
• I also got all jiggy and wrote, and styled a cookbook called For Food’s Sake which has 160 pages, full colour pictures for every recipe (80 of those) and is so gorgeous, that I can scarcely stand the excitement. It will be available on here really soon, as well as in good bookstores and also online at Hub and Spoke or at my cooking classes!
• Speaking of which; I started running my own advanced cooking classes using Thermomix. These have been held in Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, Perth and Mandurah to sell out crowds of amazing lovely people. It has been my pleasure to meet some fantastic people who are truly as passionate about the Thermomix and making great food as I am.
• Started importing a chocolate product called Crio Bru to Australia which is the most amazing healthy yummy product around and if I can put it into food or recipes, I will…but perhaps you know that already? I totally love it, and so do thousands of other happy customers. We will be in retail outlets just as soon as I can take a minute to help my very valuable marketing guru business partner more than I am at the moment!
• I opened two online shopping carts…(HUGE! When I say ‘I’, I mean the royal ‘we’…) Thanks honey!
• Have plans in place for another exciting project to be launched hopefully before December 25th…but you never know! Stay tuned…
• Started working for Kleenmaid in Australia, and am truly impressed by their new range of products which are about to get installed into my kitchen Monday. We have already had some successful sales as a result of my running classes in their amazing Sydney showroom, so thank you for that, and for believing that I would not get involved with anything that was less than excellent!
• I have been approached on an almost weekly basis by other appliance companies and I am still considering some offers…when the travel options to Italy and Germany are secured, so will be the deals! (hahaha)
• I have happily welcomed Heilala vanilla, Margaret River Chocolate Factory, Fini Olive Oil, Lighthouse Flour, and fantastic branding from Braincells to the Cooking with Tenina team.
• The other team Tenina members that I have to mention are Hub and Spoke publishing and Scott Print. I just love getting the phone calls from Hub and Spoke and mentioning casually in conversation, ‘just talking to my publisher’ or ‘please hold for a second, my publisher is calling’…you get the idea…still makes me smile/downright grin!
• And last but not least, the guy that got all this web stuff started for me, made me join Twitter when it was still something that only birds did, and now screens my calls because there is always something new I need him to add, remove, fix from any and all of my sites, the very patient, Luke Holder, nephew, son, dad, inspirational Tech guru!

Sorry to put you through all that, but hey, what a year no?

I am looking forward to a great 2012 but before we can get there, we have the little matter of Christmas to attend to…so to the job at hand.

I would like to introduce you to some of the better Christmas recipes I have on here…there are now quite a lot, but here are my picks! (Well for this year anyhoo!)

ONE:

Pistachio Marzipan Christmas Trees

A little sneaky one from this year. Pistachio Marzipan, which I have to say has 100’s of applications and may just start showing up in all sorts of recipes from here on in…If you do not like marzipan, do yourself a favour and give this a go…it is not like any marzipan you have ever tasted.

TWO:

Toblerone Dip

Toblerone Dip…The fruit at Christmas in Australia is fantastic, so joosh it up a bit with this one. Simple enough to whip up in no time, and impressive enough to make your guests come back for more.

THREE:

How about a little tradition? I make this every year and this year I have made it and tweaked it, so essentially, this is a new recipe! Aren’t you lucky? Stollen is buttery, almond and fruit laden with just a hint of in this case, pistachio marzipan…there I go again with that marzipan…its the new Umami…for Christmas this year. All the good recipe blogs are wearing it!

FOUR:

Sugar Roasted Plum Salad

Well its all about sugar plums…so this had to make the cut. For me the lead up to Christmas is about eating yummy light meals that will get me through in between the myriad of parties and eating festivities that dominate the calendar at this time of year, so Sugar Roasted Plum Salad is delish, light and a great mid week lunch or an accompaniment to something more substantial on the weekend.

FIVE: Make a date with these rolls and you won’t be disappointed in love!! I enjoy a little sweetness with savoury from time to time and for some reason at Christmas time, we do that a little more often. (Think glazed ham, cranberry sauce etc) So these Date rolls go extremely well with Christmas Dinner, or lunch, or just after with left over sliced ham, turkey or both.

SIX:  I make these every year, without a doubt. They make the cutest presents ever and of course I can but for a fleeting moment, imagine that I am in Italy…that far away place that I still have never been to…is there anyone out there willing to send me? I pledge to bring back more than just a big smile, recipes and knowledge to share. Siena Cake originates from, well, Siena and  is sticky, fruity, and far nicer than anything you can buy.

SEVEN:

White Chocolate Christmas

When it comes to gifting food, I am not short on ideas and I did a post last year about just this, so not strictly a recipe on its own, but a great post that just may get you thinking about how clever you could be with a little prod, some cellophane, curling ribbon and a Thermomix…Gourmet Gifts couldn’t be easier…go on, go see.

EIGHT: Whilst we’re on the whole giving gifts from the kitchen routine (and white chocolate as well), these Minty White Choc Truffles were an instant hit at our house and I must say, I have had a lot of great feedback about them as well. Easier than running to the shop and fighting the crowds…prettier and more personal.

White Chocolate Minty Truffles

NINE: You can’t go past a great cookie recipe at Christmas and this is a bit of a grown up version of a Choc Chip cookie. Developed way back in my original Kleenmaid days, these are even easier in the Thermomix.

TEN:  Time for a quick salad? Red and Green Salad will always look festive and is so easy, I can barely call it a recipe…it is more of a suggestion. Enjoy on a hot day pre Christmas, throw a steak (or a prawn) on the barbie and you’re away!

ELEVEN and TWELVE: I don’t think Christmas can be complete without a little gingerbread…am I right? So even though these just went up on here, you must agree, they deserve a mention in the twelve recipes of 2011…I am hoping at some point to contruct a gingerbread house out of this cookie recipe, but with the big day fast approaching, I am not confident it will be this year it shows up! The flavored sugar recipe is delish as a Christmas tweak to anything requiring a little sugar, so think whipped cream, coffee, Crio Bru, your partner….you get the idea.

So from me, to you; and from Cookingwithtenina on Facebook, I wish you all a Merry Christmas. May you all have the time to Celebrate and Bake, and to feel the spirit of the season and may you all look forward to a wonderful 2012. (Cue the Christmas carols here….)

 

Pistachio Marzipan Christmas Trees

Well there really is no need to keep mentioning it I fear…but if you like, bury your head in the sand and pretend it isn’t upon us again. Hopefully these may inspire you to get cracking and get your Christmas on! I love Christmas and I decorate like a mad woman, but this year I have a lounge full of brand, shiny, new, Kleenmaid appliances in boxes waiting for an install (scheduled) and so I am waiting to put the decorations up until that has happened….but in the meantime, my kitchen is taking on the role of Christmas prep quite nicely, and all, so that you amazing reader, can be organised your end! Now go and order a Dinner Spinner for all your Thermomix owning friends and family, attach a link to my site on a cute little card and you have Christmas REALLY sorted!

NEED:

250g sugar

130g blanched almonds

130g pistachios, shelled

½ tsp orange blossom water

½ tsp almond essence

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

20g cornflour

1 egg white

Granulated sugar crystals to roll

Small sugar stars or daisies as used in cake decorating

A large piping tip as a mold is useful

DO:

Place sugar into Thermomix bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10.

Add almonds and pistachios and mill 20 sec/speed 7.

Add orange blossom water, almond essence, vanilla, cornflour and egg white and blend 40 sec/speed 5.

Refrigerate until marzipan is not oily and can be worked with easily, around 30 minutes.

Either push into the piping tip to make each ‘tree’ or form by hand. Roll in sugar. Use a little egg white to ‘glue’ the star to the top of the tree. Allow them to air dry. (NOTE: I did try to bake these and they collapsed. So I have concluded that raw is better! Certainly cuter!)

These will keep several weeks in an airtight container…in fact, what are you waiting for? Get cracking, Christmas is only a month away!

Almond Peach and Apricot Tart

You may have noticed…I have been putting up a lot of  recipes based on the Dried Apricot Preserves. Its just that I am down to two kids at home and I have so much of the stuff, I need it out of the fridge…to make room for new future creations. No one is complaining mind you and personally I cannot ever go past the combo of Apricot and Almonds, added peaches because I saw they looked so wonderful and were new season,  and as you know, I am pretty big on tarts! Putting them all together was always going to happen…but now who is going to eat it?  (I am not willing to adopt, but pick ups are acceptable. BYO takeaway containers?)

Mind you as a breakfast it isn’t all bad. There’s fruit, almonds, eggs…its practically an omelette!

NEED:

Pastry;

75g blanched almonds, toasted and cooled

40g sugar

230g  flour

Pinch sea salt

60g cold unsalted butter, cubed

1 large egg yolk

1 tsp Heilala vanilla extract

1/2 tp almond extract

15-25g ice cold water

Filling;

600g firm-ripe peaches, halved, pitted, and each half cut into three

1 tbsp Amaretto

60g + 2 tbsp sugar

110g Dried Apricot Preserves

1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk

30g  cream

1 tsp  almond extract

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

DO:

Place almonds and sugar into Thermomix bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10.

Add remaining pastry ingredients and mix 10 sec/speed 7. Push dough together on floured Silpat mat and form a flat disc. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Prepare the fresh apricots by drizzling them with the Amaretto, and tossing them with the 60g of sugar.

Place remaining filling ingredients, including the 2tbsp sugar into Thermomix bowl and blend for 10 sec/speed 7.

Preheat oven to 180ºC and roll pastry out to line a 20-22 cm flan tin with removable base. Blind bake for 15 minutes, remove baking beads and cook a further 10 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 170ºC. Line the cut peaches skin side up in the baked pastry case. Top with filling. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until filling is set. Serve in wedges with cream and/or ice cream (of course!)