Tag: gluten-free
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Anna’s NoRecipe Fennel And Lemon Salad
This is Anna’s fennel and lemon salad. It couldn’t be easier and if you like aniseed flavours this will be totally moreish.
Simply
Take a fennel bulb and cut the bottom and tops off.
Then cut the bulb into chunky slices. You want bits small enough to eat with a fork but large enough to steal from the bowl when no one is looking. 🙂
Generously sprinkle with salt and lots of lemon juice. You can even drizzle a little olive oil too.
Mix and then garnish with parsley.
Enjoy,
PK
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Cumin
Cumin is the seed of a small annual herbaceous plant that is native to the Middle East and is in the same family as parsley and coriander.
It has a most wonderful warm earthy flavour and smell. You can use them whole, as an ingredient or garnish in their own right or grind them for use in your favourite garam masala or spice pastes.
Cumin pairs well with almost everything and it turns up worldwide in everything from drinks to snacks to main meals and desserts.
I have some recipes using cumin below for you. 🙂
Dietary Info: Great for vegetarians, vegans and is gluten free.
This particular cooking ingredient is in PK’s Essential Pantry Cupboard Contents.
Enjoy,
PK
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GICICI’S WHAT TO GROW IN PERTH GUIDE
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PK’s Easy Mac And Cheese With Bacon
This easy Macaroni and Cheese recipe tastes so much better than the store bought dried version. It is great comfort food and I love making it.
I bet you have all the ingredients in your house already so let’s get started. 🙂
Dietary notes: The bacon is totally optional and you can easily adapt the recipe to use gluten and dairy free ingredients. You can also throw in vegetables like corn and peas if you are trying to get them into your little fussy eaters.
You will be:
- Cooking the bacon
- Boiling the pasta
- Making the white cheese sauce
- Mixing eveything
- Serving
You will need:
- Ingredients (feeds 2 adults and 2 kids):
- 3 cups freshly made pasta (any type of short/elbow pasta)
- 6 rashers bacon (I used short-cut bacon), cut into small squares
- 80g cheese (I used a mild cheddar), grated
- 2 cups milk
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp plain white flour
- A sprinkle of ground nutmeg
- Ground black pepper to taste, optional
- Chopped parsley and chives to taste, optional
- Equipment:
- Long sharp knife
- Chopping board
- Frypan for the bacon
- Saucepan for the pasta
- Small saucepan for the white sauce
- Colander to drain the pasta
Cooking the bacon
Start cooking the 6 rashers worth of bacon in a frypan. This part will take a while so we will be boiling the pasta and making the cheese sauce during it. Just remember to keep an eye on it so you get evenly cooked bacon and not charcoal. 🙂
Boiling the pasta
- Bring enough water to cook 3 cups of elbow pasta to the boil.
- Add a bit of salt and some olive oil.
- Cook the pasta al dente and then drain.
Making the white cheese sauce
- On low heat, melt the 1 Tbsp of butter in a saucepan.
- Slowly stir in the 1 Tbsp plain white flour.
- Add a pinch of ground nutmeg (this is the dish’s secret weapon).
- Slowly stir in the 2 cups of milk.
- Add any herbs and vegetables at this stage.
- Stir in the 80g grated cheese and now cooked bacon.
Mixing everything
I bring the cheese sauce to the pasta rather than the other way round. I do this so I can control the amount of sauce in the final dish. I then gently fold the sauce through the pasta.
Serving
Serve hot with some freshly cracked black peppercorns. I also like a bit of fresh crusty bread smothered in butter. 🙂
It makes for great leftovers the next day and also freezes well.
Enjoy,
PK
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KIDS MEALS
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Bay Leaf Tree: Grow and Eat
The humble Bay Leaf tree is a must have in a kitchen garden. Once you try fresh or freshly dried bay leaves in your cooking you won’t go back to the store bought version. Like many herbs, they lose their fullest, layer rich aroma and taste as they wait in transport and store shelves.
I normally use one or two small leaves fresh from the tree. I haven’t found them to be overpowering like some websites suggest.
I use them whole in stews, casseroles, curries, the list goes on. I always remove them post cooking (bouquet garni bags make this easier). They give the liquid in said dishes a earthy almost bitter tang. By itself this might not sound tasty but it works with the other ingredients to make a dish tastier than the sum of its parts.
I also recently got into bay leaf tea. It is a refreshing change despite it being reminiscant of a cup of mild green tea. It is like drinking the Aussie bush. 🙂
Dietary Info: Great for vegetarians, vegans and is gluten free.
This particular cooking ingredient is in PK’s Essential Pantry Cupboard Contents.
Enjoy,
PK
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THE FULL GICICI INGREDIENTS LIST
MORE VEGAN , VEGETARIAN , GLUTEN-FREE INGREDIENTS AND MEALS
GICICI’S WHAT’S GROWING IN PERTH?
Follow these links to see what to plant in a given month or read my monthly journal where I talk about what I am doing, have learned and have harvested.
JANUARY’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
FEBRUARY’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
MARCH’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
APRIL’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
MAY’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
JUNE’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
JULY’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
AUGUST’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
SEPTEMBER’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
OCTOBER’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
NOVEMBER’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
DECEMBER’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
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Whole Roasted Crickets
Entomophagy is the purposeful use of insects for food. Insects are not only very high in protein but this protein is very readily digested by our bodies.
I thought I would try insects for the first time and support an Aussie company at the same time. I am glad I did. In fact, Australia has some of the oldest traditions of eating insects as they are a nutritional bonanza. I might have to try ants next. 🙂
I bought some snack crickets (two different flavours, ‘chili and lime finger’ and ‘chili and garlic’) from the people at ediblebugshop.com.au. They are an insect farm in Sydney, Australia and export their product world wide.
The crickets are roasted to crunchy perfection and have a lovely nutty taste before ending in a spicy zing.
You can use them in all sorts of things like salads, tacos, wraps, stews and casseroles. Straight from the jar is may favourite though.
Give them a try and you won’t regret it.
Enjoy,
PK
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MORE VEGETARIAN INGREDIENTS AND MEALS
MORE GLUTEN-FREE INGREDIENTS AND MEALS
THE FULL GICICI INGREDIENTS LIST
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Dairy Free Cheese: Cheddar Flavour
A friend of mine recently put me on to this tasty dairy free cheese from My Life. I am currently on a cow, goat and sheep’ milk cheese ‘tasting, cooking and of course blogging’ odyssey. So I was very interested in trying this product.
I used to only eat cheddar cheese growing up. So although my cheese tastes have changed a lot, I am not surprised I like this product. I did a taste test at my work where I told the tasters up front it was dairy free cheese. Everyone who tried it said they could tell the difference but that they liked it.
It is akin to a very mild, highly processed cheddar (the production method obviously involves molding it in to shape) that little to no texture. Again though it reminds me of the cheese I at growing up and my kids eat it now too.
I only have two more comments, one is price related the other is a cooking heads up. The first comment is that it is much more expensive than any comparable dairy product. Hopefully this comes down as competition and sales rise. The heads up comment is just a warning that it doesn’t melt at the same speed and in the same way as dairy cheese. You just need to experiment a bit to get it right and I have read it might just need higher temperatures.
Next for me is to try My Life’s Bio Cheese Original Flavour.
Dietary Info: Great for vegetarians, vegans and is gluten free.
Enjoy,
PK
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VEGAN INGREDIENTS AND MEALS
VEGETARIAN INGREDIENTS AND MEALS
GLUTEN-FREE INGREDIENTS AND MEALS
DAIRY CHEESE
THE FULL GICICI INGREDIENTS LIST
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Vegan Fish Sauce
Look I get it, no one likes to be labelled but sometimes labels help educate. I am a certified Omnivore and have no intention of following the vegan code to its fullest.
I am however very supportive of the Vegan ethos. To this end I like reviewing Vegan alternatives to meat based ingredients.
Recently, I ordered some Vegan Fish Sauce and here is the saucy truth. 🙂
I would say that fish sauce is not just nice to have, it is required to build up the flavour of many Southeast Asian dishes. So I am very happy to report that (at least the brand I tried) does a very good job and it would be hard to pick in a blind tasting as the look and smell are on par.
However the vegan version is unashamedly saltier and is ever so slightly missing a metallic taste that only meat can give. The Anchovies based version also has a several more levels of subtle tastes in its journey over the taste buds.
Yet in conclusion, Whilst I think this is a required ingredient in the Vegan’s cupboard, I recommend you use less of it than the fish based version when converting recipes. It is much saltier.
Dietary Info: Great for vegetarians, vegans and is gluten free.
Enjoy,
PK
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THE FULL GICICI INGREDIENTS LIST
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Chickpea (Garbanzo Bean)
This high protein legume (beans and peas are also legumes) can be eaten in salads, turned into falafel or hummus, ground into flour, added to soups, stews, stir fries, curries and … the list might be endless. 🙂
Canned or re-hydrated (if you buy them dry you need to soak them in water over night) they have a firm bean texture and nutty taste. You are going to want to have these in your diet if you are eating little or no meat as they are rich in iron.
I like eating them straight from the can but recently I made a Moroccan styled chicken and chickpea stew.
Dietary Info: Great for vegetarians, vegans and is gluten free.
Enjoy,
PK
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VEGAN, VEGETARIAN AND GLUTEN FREE INGREDIENTS
THE FULL GICICI INGREDIENTS LIST
AN EDIBLE PLANT SPECIES CHART
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PK’s Easy Sesame Broccoli
Many Asian main meals will pair well with this dish of broccoli tossed in sesame oil and sesame seeds. I could even eat this as a main course it is so light and tasty. It also couldn’t be easier to make. 🙂
Dietary Info: Great for vegans and is gluten free.
Simply
Steam or boil your broccoli florets, making sure you don’t over cook them. I like them to have a tiny bit of crunch still.
While you are doing that, heat a generous amount of sesame oil in a pan. Toss the now cooked broccoli in until they are well coated in oil. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and you are done.
More broccoli means a bit more oil and seeds. Have a bit of a play to get the ratios you prefer.
Enjoy,
PK
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OUR OTHER CHINESE CUISINE RECIPES
NAGI’S ‘CHINESE RESTAURANT’ SATAY CHICKEN
VEGAN, VEGETARIAN AND GLUTEN FREE INGREDIENTS
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Sesame Oil
There are two main types of sesame oil. Both are from the white sesame seed, raw it makes a light coloured oil, roasted before the oil is extracted makes for a darker oil.
I love it but although it is widely regarded as have a high smoke point, using too much of it or burning it will give an unpleasant smell and taste. So please be gentle with it. 🙂
The final product is made using the crushed seeds of the Sesame plant from which oil is collected, preferably using cold pressing techniques.
Even though I use it less often than Olive Oil, this particular cooking ingredient is in PK’s Essential Pantry Cupboard Contents.
Dietary Info: Great for vegetarians, vegans and is gluten free (as it is not a grass seed).
Enjoy,
PK
Related Links:
- Recipes using sesame seeds here
- Recipes using sesame oil here
- All GICICI ingredients
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VEGAN, VEGETARIAN AND GLUTEN FREE INGREDIENTS
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