I Scream.....

....you scream......we all scream....for ice-cream!

Ice cream is one of those dairy products that coeliacs have to read the label of...some ice creams have gluten in the flavourings...others have gluten as a thickener. The manufactured food database is a wonderful resource for people wanting to check products in regards to various allergies, not just gluten. Check it out to be sure of various products, it is available online at www.mfd.co.nz

In the meantime...here is my wicked recipe for ice cream that anyone can make at home, no special machines needed.

Take 300 mls cream and one tin of condensed milk. Whip the cream (no need for icing sugar or vanilla essence to be added) and then fold in the condensed milk. Add whatever flavours you like - choc, fruit, essences (some have gluten in them!).....anything at all, pour the mix into a plastic container and freeze. Enjoy!

Recent flavours I have played with - strawberry and mango, vanilla and choc chip - although beware the choc chips do tend to sink to the bottom!

Choco Caramel Slice

I was needing a sugar hit a few days ago and knew I was running out of gluten free flour (Bakels Baking Mix)....so I did some improvising. I took Donna Hay's choc caramel slice recipe and played with it. The base ended up being made with about half a cup of gf flour, coconut, brown sugar, margarine and some gf muesli to bulk up the base and make up for running out of flour. I have been using marg for baking since the price of butter skyrocketed..it works ok but is hard to measure...especially since two year old Luka threw my scales onto the floor! I would prefer butter but our budget wouldn't. Anyway, the base turned out really caramelly and tasty with the muesli bits giving it a great texture too. The caramel was a standard condensed milk, golden syrup and margarine combo and it was topped with a bit of dark choc melted with some oil to make it go further and make it easier to cut. Please note some dark chocs have a malt extract in them (Cadbury's Energy does for instance), so aren't on the ok list for coeliacs.
So now, hiding in the fridge, is my little indulgence....I have to eat out of sight of the rest of the family for fear of having to share it!

Sushi!!

Normally bought sushi is a no no for coeliacs as rice wine vinegar (which has gluten in it) is usually in the rice......but this can be exchanged very easily for white vinegar, making it ok for coeliacs. So I made sushi today, and incidentally it was the first time I had made it. I followed an Annabel Langbein recipe for the rice and filled them with strips of carrot, red pepper and cucumber, and avocado and salmon. I simply swapped the rice wine vinegar for white vinegar and it tasted just like store-bought. I didn't have a sushi mat, but used a damp teatowel to help in the rolling part. The only thing I was a little disappointed with was the amount of rice I ended up with didn't go as far as I had planned...so now I know for next time to double the amount. The other thing to note for coeliacs is the dipping of the sushi - soy sauce is a no no - however tamari sauce which is pretty similar in taste is ok.
So my first forray into sushi making was a success......I'll be making it again......
If you have never made sushi - have a go. It was fun and tasted great. Plus it was cheaper to make than to buy it.