Month: June 2017

No more porridge wastes!

This is it, no more porridge wastes! What do you do with left over porridge? Generally there aren’t any left over when there is porridge.  However, I must say,  quite recently my daughters have doubled up on breakfast requirements and I came home twice last week with a saucepan and left over porridge in it.  There is no such thing as serving porridge twice, eurrhh.

So, last night , while some left overs were heating up, I scooped the porridge, added a little this and a little that and Voila!

Moist (almost) gluten free porridge Cookies

No need to waste your leftover porridge, make these (almost) gluten-free cookies with your leftover porridge!

If you are wondering, which cereal I used, the recipe uses rice flour.

Recipe HERE.

GF porridge cookies GF porridge cookies GF porridge cookies

 

Note for GF people: Are oats gluten free?

It is a little complicated here. Oats are a different cereal to wheat. Oats do not contain any gluten.  They do contain, however a protein called avenin which can induce an immune reaction in one out of five coeliac persons.

Added to that is the fact that oats can be “contaminated” at the farm by equipment also processing (harvesting, storing or transporting) wheat.

As a result in Australia, oat products cannot be called gluten-free.

If you want more info, you may want to read Coeliac Australia ‘s position statement.

And look what just came out of the oven! I can still hear the crust cracking!

I don’t mean to be out of consideration to people who are unfortunately affected by coeliac conditions.  For those who read my blog for the first time, I am not coeliac and I have been making our bread for 2 1/2 years.  Today I increased the water ratio in the sourdough recipe, let it rise in the fridge when wandering around with the children all day and shaped and bakes these baguettes tonight.  I am very happy with the result!

high water content sourdough

A comforting dessert: the chocolate souffle!

A comforting dessert: the chocolate souffle

Souffles always have that waho factors, don’t they? Do you know what? They are not that hard to make! Even with a poor oven.  Trust me, mine is pretty average, slow and inconsistent if you want to know.  The one in our Balmain home was so much better! To be successful in souffles there are a few rules to follow.

With the current coldish short winter days in Sydney, the “healthy diet” needs a break for a bit of comfort.   With guests staying overnight at the end of this week, after a day at work, there was no plans for desserts in execution.  As it happens, Ben took charge of the main and prepared a great roast chicken! As dinner did not feel complete at the end of the week without dessert, once the dishes were done and the children almost in bed, I made a dessert and opted for a chocolate souffle.

It had been a while I had not made a chocolate souffle.  I had not been too happy about the previous results and went back to scan a few french recipes. Once you know the recipe is sound, there shouldn’t be many reason to not succeed on your souffle!

Tips to demystify the making of the souffle!

  • Do NOT open the oven door while the souffle is cooking.  The sudden drop of temperature is very likely to make your souffle collapse and it will not rise again.  If you really have to towards the ned to check the cooking, do it quick and DO NOT remove the dish from the oven!
  • Serve you souffle as soon as possible once out of the oven because it always deflates a little and seeing the souffle change shape is fun too!
  • The souffle needs either to be baked in ramequins or in a round dish with tall vertical sides.  What is important is that the width is about 1.5 size the height of the sides, not much more, and the sides must be vertical.
  • The sides of the souffle dish need to be buttered and coated with either flour, caster sugar of cocoa to prevent the souffle to attach to the sides when rising.
  • If times allow, you can prepare the souffle mix a little in advance, let it rest in the fridge. Before it goes in the oven, make sure you use the point of a knife to go between the dish and the first centimeter or two of the souffle mix.
  • Make sure your egg whites are well beaten and inserted without breaking them i.e. they need to be folded in, not mixed in!

The sharing version or individual version

I prefer the souffle family version or sharing version, when it is served in a large tall round dish.  This is a personal taste, some may prefer the individual ramequins.

souffle au chocolat
Chocolate souffle and cake – here the souffle has already deflated.

 

tea and treat

And, would you like the recipe with this chocolate soufle?

Sure, here you go…CLICK HERE.

goozy inside
This souffle is just cooked to make it very oozy

 

It is all about pears

At the moment it is all about pears. Did you notice? They have arrived in many kind and are just beautiful.  My favourite to eat is the Pear Williams, when they are just ripe and full of juice. For some reasons, many Australians like their pears stone hard. I just don’t get it – apart for having a less messy fruit – because a hard pear has so little flavour compared to a ripe pear!

When it comes to dessert, pears can be used a number of way.  My latest addition to the blog is the “Poire Belle Hélène”, the hero dish of the week. There are plenty more family desserts with pears either comforting or elegant, all delicious! Here you go:

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The Poire Belle Hélène (Pear Belle Helene)

A French classic, elegant, light and always impressive.  The pears are poached in a syrup often composed of white wine, spices such as cinnamon, vanilla, cloves and served with a hot chocolate sauce.

For my recipe, click HERE.

poached pear

A family Pear and Almond Tart

tarte poire et amande This is a very easy tart. A recipe from Donna Hay.  The beauty is that you do not need to worry about a pastry, there is none.

A number of pears variety work for this tart: Corella, Williams, Packam.

The recipe is HERE.

 

 

 

 

The mid-week pear and chocolate flan

Now, this is a family’s favourite, as much for children as for adults!  It takes 5 minutes to make.  A great way to use pears that need eating! Soooooo easy. Recipe: HERE! 

flan poire chocolat

The Pear and Chocolate Tart

A chocolate glazing hiding a melty creamy pear filling! This is a little more elaborate, not your mid-week type of dessert as it takes a bit more time to make.  But yum yum yum!  The photo is not exceptional I realise, time to do it once more and this time do mouth watering photos.

hidden pear & chocolate tart

Another simple poached pear and its yogurt cake

Poached pears can be served just as such because they are truly beautiful. This pears were poached  similarly to the “Poire Belle Helene“.  The yoghurt cake is HERE.

The ever simple pear tart

If you are after something simple, not fancy, stop here.  A pear tart is just that, similarly to an apple tart.

Use option B of the “Everyday apple tart” recipe and add the almond meal. Pears are juicy and the almond meal will soak up the juice and avoid a soggy tart.