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…

Hungry today…and this is what showed up! Didn’t have a lot of time to muck around with fussy food (do I ever??) and this cut straight to the chase. Filling for those kids with hollow legs on holidays, who normally will eat anything not nailed down. And yes, it beats 2 minute noodles hands down. Pretty good toasted the next day with bacon, eggs and beans…was dreaming of Holl

NEED:
70g parmesan cheese, cubed

2 cloves garlic

300g water

1 sachet dried yeast (2 tsp)

500g bakers flour

20g EVOO, plus more for drizzling

100g provolone cheese, cubed

Generous pinch Murray River pink salt flakes

DO:

Place parmesan and garlic into Thermo bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 8.

Add water, yeast, flour and 20g EVOO and blend 8 sec/speed 6. Knead 3 min/Interval. Turn out onto floured Silpat mat and wrap tightly. Allow to rise in warm place…(If you are lucky enough to have a warming drawer…use it! I confess, I am LOVING my Kleenmaid warming drawer!)

Meanwhile, place provolone (or mozzarella) into Thermo bowl and mill 5 sec/speed 8.

Preheat oven to a bread setting 220ºC and line a rectangular baking tray with paper.

Cut your dough into two pieces…you will see in the pic the amazing SuperKitchenMachine spatula. They are perfect for cutting sticky (or not) bread dough and absolutely perfect for this recipe and are currently available in the Tenina store!

But I digress…

Roll one piece of dough out to fit the size of your prepared baking tray exactly. Lay onto the paper. Sprinkle with all the provolone cheese, and lay the other piece of dough on top, tucking it in at the edges to seal. Again, rise the dough, (in the warming drawer) covered until it looks like a focaccia.

Score the dough into rectangles with the spatula, drizzle with a little EVOO, and sprinkle with salt to taste.

Bake 15 minutes or until golden. Serve hot, with or without the butter, which melts all over the place and makes this a truly decadent experience…

Dutch Donuts with Orange Jelly

There is not much that can make me pass up a fresh, hot donut if offered…and this recipe from a friend of mine has been raising money for schools, sporting clubs, church organisations, from their kitchen to their whole township for years. They have been known to make the dough the night before, get up whilst still dark and cook these babies, so that they can distribute to the waiting trucks and cars that line the country road outside their house, to ensure they get a serving before they are sold out…that is how good they are. Legendary stuff…and once you make them you will appreciate why. Never more for you the mundane and somewhat chemical taste of a widely popular purchased donut. Sorry, but I have now made it impossible for you to buy a donut again…these and only these are the donuts of choice forever more. (Move over Krispy Kreme, the Dutch Donuts are in town!)

NEED:

100g sugar
30g fresh yeast
2 eggs
½ tsp ground nutmeg
260g warm water
50g butter
Pinch salt
600g bakers flour
Flavorless oil for deep frying
Icing sugar to dust

DO:

Place sugar into Thermomix bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10.
Add yeast, eggs nutmeg, water, butter and salt and blend 1 min/37ºC/speed 4.
Add flour and mix 6 sec/speed 8. Knead 4 min/Interval. Set aside in floured Silpat mat and allow to double in size.
Roll out into large rectangle and using scone cutter, cut into rounds and set aside to double again.
Heat oil to 165-170ºC (use a thermometer for accuracy. The perfect temperature prevents the donut from absorbing fat when cooking!) before placing donuts into hot oil. When they are golden and puffed, remove quickly and place onto paper towels to cool slightly.
Dust generously with icing sugar whilst still warm.
Serve with a bowl ganache for dipping if desired…or with jam or jelly of choice.

Banana Breakfast Cookies with almonds and linseed

I am not a big breakfast eater…and we all know I start my day with Crio Bru these days as my breakfast of choice…but I do still have a hungry couple of boys, nay men in the house. Tired of always cleaning up massive cooked breakfast dishes as they dash out the door…(they have time to cook apparently, but no time to clean up!!) I thought I would beat them at their own game and do something nutritious and filling they can grab on the run…lets see how long these last…they may become a regular staple in our household…what are your breakfast regular staples?

NEED:

80g almonds

1 vanilla bean

45g linseed

Pinch Murray River pink salt flakes

10-20g almond oil

200g banana

1 egg

85g pure maple syrup

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

1 tsp each baking soda and powder

120g spelt flour

170g Granuesli (from For Foods Sake)

DO:

Toast almonds and vanilla bean in oven set to 200ºC for 10 minutes. Remove and cool. Reduce oven temperature to 180ºC and line 2 baking trays with paper. Set aside.

Meanwhile, place linseed into Thermomix bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10. Remove from bowl and set aside.

Place almonds, vanilla bean, salt and oil into Thermomix bowl and blend 30-40 sec/speed 10 until a paste forms. Scrape down sides of bowl and blend further 10 sec/speed 6.

Add banana, egg, maple syrup, vanilla, baking soda and powder, and spelt flour and blend 10 sec/speed 6. Scrape down sides of bowl and repeat if needed.

Add Graneusli and blend 10 sec/Interval. Finish blending with spatula as necessary.

Using an ice cream scoop, dollop generous amounts of the batter onto prepared trays. Bake (depending on your oven) between 10 and 15 minutes. If you have a Kleenmaid oven, bake for 13 minutes precisely!

If you would like to make these smaller it is totally do-able…I was making man cookies….(Now somehow that sounds like an oxymoron!)

NOTE: If you don’t have a copy of For Foods Sake…I am deeply saddened, but you can of course remedy this immediately by visiting my store and ordering your signed copy! I will then overlook your disloyalty and keep you on my Christmas list….But if you absolutely cannot wait for your book to arrive to make these delectable treats, please just use this recipe in place of the Graneusli!

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.

Cheesey Polenta Pie

You know I’m a West Australian Dairy Judge right? (And yes cheese companies, I can be bought with cheese!) So mention Gorgonzola and I’m there…go to Taleggio and I’m there with bells on. I of course love all cheeses, but the smelly soft ones seem to get me the most! So this recipe is a result of visiting my favorite Continental store and coming home with several wedges of cheese that I should not eat by myself…I was sharing the smelliness…hope you are glad about that. I served this with Saltimbocca lamb parcels from a gorgeous butcher in the same complex. I do not go there often. I also brought home chocolate and pistachio cannoli from the Italian bakery, also in the complex, which is why I do  not go there often. End of story.

NEED:

700g water

1 good pinch sea salt

180g coarse polenta

80g Taleggio cheese

80g butter

150g gorgonzola cheese

DO:

Place water and salt into Thermomix bowl and boil 8 min/100ºC/speed 3.

Preheat oven to 200ºC.

Add polenta and cook 10 min/100ºC/speed 4. Add taleggio and butter through hole in lid and blend 30 sec/speed 4.

Pour or spread mixture into a buttered shallow pie dish. Crumble the gorgonzola over the top and bake 25 minutes until golden and bubbling. If you have a grill in your oven (cue the Kleenmaid oven) fire it up and brown the top for around 5-7 minutes at 250ºC.

I served it with roasted red pepper strips, (homemade of course).

Serve hot or cold as a side dish. (But best hot and sizzling!)

Buttermilk Yeast Waffles

You know I love yeast…and now, I cannot go past fresh yeast ever since watching Dani Valent use it in one of the recipes for her nearly here Wunderbook In the Mix. The thermomix is so perfect for using fresh yeast, don’t let it scare you…37°C is just perfect to warm it up and get it all bubbling and frothing…which is exactly what you want. These are not the quickest breakfast around as you do have to allow a little rising time, but perfect to spoil dad this Fathers Day…breakfast in bed? Sorted!

NEED:

330g uncultured buttermilk
30g fresh yeast
pinch salt
1 tbsp sugar
45g Butter
190g bakers flour
4 eggs
150g SR flour
1 tsp vanilla
Toppings of choice

DO:

Quinoa Porridge

I have one child with gluten intolerances (recently diagnosed) and she loves a morning porridge…so as oats are out, this was a great solution. It fast became a family fave, high in protein, and if you want to speed it up, soak the quinoa overnight. You can then cook it for around 20 minutes total.

NEED:

150g quinoa
300g water
120g milk of choice (nut, soy. rice, dairy)
1 vanilla bean
Pinch sea salt
Maple syrup or honey to taste
Toasted almonds to serve

DO:

Place quinoa, water, vanilla and salt into mixing bowl and
cook for 15 min/90ºC/Reverse + speed 1.

Add milk and cook a further 10 min/100ºC/Reverse + speed 1.

(It may bubble up, so stay close.)

Allow to rest in Thermomix bowl for around
10 minutes until liquid has been absorbed.

Drizzle with real maple syrup or honey, serve with toasted almonds and a
dollop of yoghurt or creme fraiche. Add fresh fruit of choice…You will be full all day….not kidding, ALL day!

Serve with Orange Creme Patisserie

Low Fat Upside Down Blueberry Orange Cakes

Now I know that Tenina.com and ‘Low Fat’ are mutually exclusive, but I am on a mission! I am sure if you have delved into the black depths of this site you will have found several recipes with no story and no picture. This is one such random recipe….Let me tell you the story behind those!

…Once Upon A Time….I was the ‘Celebrity’ chef who ran cooking classes for Kleenmaid Appliances and had a lot of clients who wanted my recipes. Not being a publisher and being entreprenerial, I started this site by simply placing my recipes into posts. The site has evolved and changed over the years to become this (dare I say it?) very ‘speccy’ site that you see before you today. In an effort to make it even more ‘speccy’ I am renovating the oldie but goldies and taking new pics, updating the blog, recipe by recipe. SO, low fat it is, not terrible, but…bring on the fat, and that other butt….next recipe.

NEED:

130g frozen  blueberries

1 tbsp cornflour

2 tbsp dark brown sugar

2 tbsp brandy

1 orange sliced

150g almonds

150g  plain cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

150g egg whites (approx 4)

3 egg yolks

100g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

DO:

Lightly spray nonstick 12 hole muffin tin with oil.

Place blueberries, cornflour, sugar and sherry in a bowl.

Toss to combine. Place 1/2 orange slice in base of each muffin hole.

Top with blueberry mixture. Set aside.

Place almonds and flour into Thermomix bowl and mill together for 10 sec/speed 9.

Add baking powder and sugar, blend quickly for 3 sec/speed 6. Remove from bowl and set aside.

Insert Butterfly and place egg whites into Thermomix bowl. Beat for 3 min/37ºC/speed 3.

Return flour mixture to the bowl, add egg yolks and with dial set to closed lid position, fold through for 15 sec/Interval or until just combined.

Don’t over mix. Spoon batter into muffin tins.

Process in Combi Steam oven for 15-20 minutes. Stand in tin for 5 minutes.

Turn out and serve with Orange custard if desired.

Should you not possess a steam oven, by all means, go and buy one! If that isn’t working for you, place a bain marie on the bottom shelf of your conventional oven, preheat the oven to fan forced 180ºC and cook the muffins for the same amount of time. They may be a little trickier to remove from the tins, but you can always resort to silicone.