Ganesh's Birthday Celebration Fresh Coconut Sago Dessert

Ganesh's Birthday Celebration Fresh Coconut Sago Dessert

It has been a while since my last post but the last few months have been so hectic and I have not had much time to even make a cake! Today though is a day I was determined to make something since the 19th of September marks the traditional birthday of one of my favourite Hindu deities, Ganesh, the remover of obstacles.

My living circumstances are much different now since most of my kitchenware is packed waiting for shipment overseas. So I only had limited tools to work with and limited ingredients. This dessert contains no dairy and no eggs and thus can be offered to Ganesh. It does take a bit of time to prepare the coconut and sago but all of this can be done in advance.

Ingredients

1 coconut or precut coconut pieces

300g sago pearls

2 cans of coconut milk

3 cans of water

12 cardamom pods

150g jaggery

Soak the sago pearls in 400ml water overnight or for at least 4 hours. They will double in size so please be sure your container is large enough.

Break open the coconut and if you have a coconut scrapper you can use this to grate the inside of half of the coconut in 5 minutes. Otherwise, you can grate the coconut with a standard grater. Set to one side. If using precut coconut, use one pack which usually amounts to half a coconut. 

One a dry pan, gently roast the cardamom pods until you can smell the lovely fragrance of the seeds inside. Remove from the heat and break the pods open so you only have the seeds. Discard the shell. Grind the seeds into a powder. Sadly my pestle and mortar was packed away so I improvised with the side of a jar.

On a chopping board, thinly slice the jaggery and leave to one side. Jaggery is an unrefined sugar that typically is sold in chunks and looks like fudge. If you cannot find jaggery you could use dark brown or muscovado sugar although adjust the amount you use since these sugars are sweeter than jaggery.

Take the soaked sago and add to a large saucepan together with the coconut milk. You can use the empty cans to measure out the water needed. On a medium heat, stir the sago and coconut milk together until it begins to boil and then simmer for 15 minutes or so. You have to keep on stirring to avoid the sago sticking to the bottom and you may also need to add water in case the mixture gets too thick or you prefer a thinner texture.

Near the end of the 15 minutes you should see the sago pearls look transparent. You can add the cardamom, jaggery and coconut and stir in to combine. The sago will be transformed into a lovely caramel colour without the over sweetness of caramel.

You can serve in the empty coconut shell or otherwise enjoy either hot or cold.

Honey chocolate cheesecake



Honey chocolate cheesecake

Honey chocolate cheesecake

Cheesecake is a great way of producing something gorgeous without too much sugar. Apart from the base which has sugar from the shop-bought biscuits, this recipe does not need anything more than some honey.

Ingredients:

175g gluten free digestive biscuits

35g dark chocolate

50g dairy free margarine

400g lactose free soft cheese

75g honey

2 eggs

20g cocoa powder

75g dark chocolate

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease the base and side of a 8 inch loose-bottomed cake tin and pop into the oven. This helps to ensure the cheesecake does not stick to the side.

Pop the biscuits into a processor and blend until you get a fine mix. Melt the chocolate and margarine together in a microwave for 90 seconds and mix to combine. Add the crushed biscuits to the melted chocolate and margarine and mix to combine. Pour into the prepared tin and using the back of a spoon or your hands, press evenly over the base. Pop the tin back into the fridge. 

Prepare the cheesecake mix, by blending the cheese, honey and eggs together. Melt the chocolate in a microwave and leave to cool a bit before adding to the rest of the mixture together with the cocoa powder. Do not over beat. 

Pour into the tin and pop into the oven for about 40 minutes. Do not worry if a crack forms in the cheesecake as this is normal and adds to its uniqueness. Leave in the oven for an hour with the oven door ajar. Once the tin is cool you can either leave in the fridge overnight to enjoy the next day with some coffee or if you cannot wait, pop into the fridge for a couple of hours before carefully taking out and having a slice.

Honey chocolate brownies



Honey Chocolate Brownie



Honey chocolate brownies

On the eve of a sugar-free stint, I had a few bars of dark chocolate which I wanted to use up, lest there was any temptation during the fast. Since I did not have much time and only a few eggs I decided to make something quick and easy, yet delicious. But also something that did not need sugar. The brownie was my first choice since the honey adds to the rich taste and moistness that I associate with brownies. I am not a huge fan of the cake-like brownie. A brownie should not be dry.

Ingredients:

220g dark chocolate

150g dairy free margarine

3 eggs

100g gluten free self-raising flour

170g honey

Preheat the oven to 180C and line a 20cm by 30cm baking tray with greased baking paper or wrapping foil.

In a large non-metallic bowl, add the dark chocolate and margarine and pop into the microwave for about two and a half minutes to melt together. Mix to combine and leave to one side to cool.

Beat in the eggs and honey to the cooled chocolate mixture. Next add the flour and fold to combine. Pour into the baking tray and pop into the oven for about 30 minutes. Leave to cool in the tin before cutting into squares. These brownies keep for about a week so make a good lunchbox treat.



Decadent but with honey!

Star Anise and Honey Rice Pudding Cake

Star Anise and Honey Rice Pudding Cake!

Star Anise and Honey Rice Pudding Cake

The dilemmas of sugar-free baking are complex. What to make for a birthday treat when the special person ought not to have too much sugar? Add the complexity of the fact that sugar alternatives are also to be avoided since they are after all like sugar. If I was blessed with ripe and sweet fruit the dilemma would be less fraught. So, for Mrs NMFS's birthday, one of the cakes I made was this rice pudding cake which ticked all of the books. I was slightly worried as I wanted something that was like a cake and my fear was something runny like rice pudding. The addition of the breadcrumbs though added an edge and solidity which gave me some comfort.

Ingredients

2 slices gluten free brown bread

3tbsp dairy free margarine

300g pudding rice

1300ml rice milk

2 star anise

grated zest of 2 lemons

salt

6 tbsp honey

2 eggs, beaten

Preheat the oven to 180C. Rub the base and sides of a 10 inch loose-bottomed cake tin with some margarine. Pop the bread into a food processor and blend until you have fine breadcrumbs. Use just over a half of the breadcrumbs to coat the base and sides of the tin. Pop into the fridge whilst you prepare the cake.  

Melt 1 tablespoon of margarine in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over a medium heat. Then add the pudding rice and stir until glistening and coated. Add the milk and star anise and leave to simmer over a low heat for about 35 minutes, stirring occasionally to stop the rice catching to the bottom of the pan. The rice should not be too watery but should be satisfyingly firm. Leave to cool.

Add the lemon zest, salt, honey and eggs to the rice pudding and mix to combine. Carefully pour into the prepared tin. Sprinkle the remaining breadcrumbs over the top of the rice pudding and dot small knobs of the margarine evenly on top. 

Pop into the oven for 45 minutes. Leave to cool overnight in the fridge before removing the cake onto a serving plate. You can decorate with your choice of fruit. Berries are my personal favourite.  The pudding should taste creamy with a subtle sweetness which should satisfy the sugar avoiders out there!



Rice pudding but a cake!

Golden brown - fit for a birthday

Gianni's restaurant - Gluten free Reggio Emilia

One of Mrs NMFS's dreams was to visit the famed Reggio Emilio pre-schools so I decided one day to make the 2,000 mile round trip across France, Switzerland to take Mrs NMFS to visit the pre-schools that she read so much about in her academic research.

The challenge when journeying through continental Europe is readily finding food that we could eat without compromising our intolerances. When visiting places where wheat is king and one has to resist the temptations of crusty French baguettes, delightful pastries and open fire pizzas. The local knowledge that those with a freefrom diet build up to source freefrom staples in their local shops just does not exist when country-hopping. Even internet access does not always make up for the shortfall in knowledge.

Much of the time you just make do with rice cakes and fruit which has a place in warmer climes but not when it is colder and you yearn for something different. We ended up having to make do most of the time with less than enjoyable meals although we did chance upon a gem just as we were about to leave Reggio Emilia.  

Gianni is about a 20 minutes drive from Reggio Emilia and it is well worth it. Located at Via del Bosco, 14, 42013 Casalgrande, Italy it is somewhat hard to find on the internet but it is one of those rarities - an Italian restaurant which serves up homemade gluten-free pizza and pasta with a passion.

Set in the middle of a residential area, Gianni's has built up a strong local following with its tasty servings of good Italian cuisine. Gianni has been serving up gluten free food for over 15 years now and in that time they have perfected their pizza and fresh pasta. They are able to offer most of their dishes gluten-free and they do not charge much extra for the privilege. Gianni's son was very accommodating spending time between the kitchen and running through what we could have from the menu whilst patiently answering our excited questions.

Their pasta was the best gluten-free pasta we have had in Italy or anywhere else for that matter. The gloppy alternatives that we sometimes experience was no comparison to the homemade pasta that was served up to us. The secret apparently was in not working on the pasta dough too much and keeping everything cold to avoid it breaking up. We would not have known that it was not 'normal' pasta!

If only we had found Gianni's before but hopefully anyone visiting the area will now know about this delight. We also tried the pizza as after so long without great home cooked food we felt like some comfort food. The pizza was great as well with its thin crust meaning it was satisfyingly crispy.

It was a great end to our stay in Reggio Emilia to enjoy local ingredients in dishes made with so much years of knowledge in a family restaurant with a relaxed ambiance. Gianni's have managed to make fresh Italian food accessible to those with a freefrom diet without compromising on taste or quality and without charging a premium!

So, fellow readers, can you recommend a great gluten-free restaurant?