Category: recipes

Rose popcorn Low Fodmap

A subtle hint of rose and vanilla in freshly warm popcorn – fills the kitchen with delicious smells. Please note due to updates for the Low FODMAP diet January 2013 popcorn should be consumed with caution as high levels of consumption will result in higher amounts of fodmaps. A portion should be a small cereal bowl full at any one sitting.

Ingredients

120g popping corn

1 tsp oil such as corn, rapeseed or

1 cap full of vanilla essence

1 teaspoon of rose flavoured syrup (check for fructose corn syrup)

½ teaspoon of food colouring if desired

2 tsps of powdered artificial sweetener (check for FODMAPs)

Method

Mix vanilla essence, rose syrup and food colouring in a dish.

Put oil and popcorn into a pan with a lid and heat over a high heat on the hob.

When the corn starts to pop carefully add the vanilla mix by lifting the lid carefully and pouring it in quickly, shake well with the lid on. Continue to heat till all the corn has popped.

Lift the lid and sprinkle over the sweetener, replace the lid and shake well till all the corn is coated.

Serve!

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Peppermint creams LOFFLEX (Low FODMAP)

Peppermint creams, easy to make and good as an occasional treat for people with food intolerances

Ingredients

270g of icing sugar (extra if mix too runny)

2 teaspoons of peppermint oil

1 teaspoon glycerine

2 tablespoons of water

Method

Add peppermint, glycerine and water to icing sugar and mix till fully amalgamated.

Roll into a sausage shape and cut into equal parts, roll into a ball then flatten with a fork.

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Remember, remember the 5th of November – bangers and roots!

I hated history at school, queen this, king that, on this date such and such, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah yawn, zzzzzzz , then awoke with a start as my head dropping forward jolted my brain awake, before the teacher noticed – I hoped. It all seemed to merge into one confusing mess, I could never remember any of it, even with a very young brain. Perhaps it was the way that it was taught, I don’t know, or perhaps it didn’t really appeal to me. No Horrible Histories for us as children, wish I had this when I was younger. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7exoXGUbIA

I have found as I have got older that actually I am quite interested in history, linking historical events to festivals is one very good way of remembering. Guy Fawkes was part of a band of catholics who plotted an assassination attempt against James the first and others at the state opening of parliament in 1605. He was found just about to light the gunpowder, arrested, sentenced then hanged, drawn and quartered – nasty business! The discovery of the plot is commemorated every year with bonfires – traditionally with a burning Guy, fireworks and lots of warming food to eat!

http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/File:Sparkler.JPG

Remember, remember the fifth of November,

Gunpowder treason and plot.
We see no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!

Guy Fawkes, guy, t’was his intent
To blow up king and parliament.
Three score barrels were laid below
To prove old England’s overthrow.

By god’s mercy he was catch’d
With a darkened lantern and burning match.
So, holler boys, holler boys, Let the bells ring.
Holler boys, holler boys, God save the king.

I found the above copy of the traditional poem on the website for Leigh School – some really cool information on celebrations – check it out here

http://www.leighinfants.co.uk/southendpn/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=print&ceid=68

Now on nights were you want to be out watching fireworks and doing other fun stuff cooking is probably in the back of your mind. How about this bangers and roots recipe? – really simple to make, FODMAP friendly and just the ticket to eat outdoors, if you wish. If you are having a barbecue you can put these vegetables on skewers instead and put them on the barbie.

Ingredients

1 orange carrot

1 purple carrot

1 yellow carrot

2 Parsnips

Small handful of chopped pumpkin

Small handful of cherry tomatoes (care with the amount)

1/2 dozen gluten-free sausages (if you are following a Low FODMAP diet please check flavoured sausages for onion and garlic powder.)

1 teaspoon chilli powder

1 teaspoon of smoked paprika

1 tablespoon of garlic infused olive oil.

Method

Wash vegetables and peel carrots, parsnip and pumpkin, chop. Chop potato with skins on and add them all to a large baking tray. Pile ’em all in – no need to be prissy about it.

Drizzle over garlic infused oil and lay the sausages on the top. Sprinkle over the chilli powder and smoked paprika, add a small amount of salt (I didn’t need salt – perhaps you should taste it after cooking and add it if needed.)

Place in an oven (or on the barbie, cut vegetables thinner and skewer) gas mark 6.

Cook at the top of the oven till nicely browned – yum, a real crowd pleaser on a chilly November night (the purple carrot looks a bit burned, I assure you it’s not – it’s just the dark purple colour, perfectly done!) This should keep you warm whilst outside enjoying the festivities, serves three.

Take care with your real bangers and keep your furry critters in the house away from harm.

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Spooky Spaghetti – Halloween recipes for your scaredy guts!

It’s getting close to Halloween now, what are your plans? The following is a recipe for halloween night – not to upset your digestion! Although I can’t guarantee a scare free evening!

Ingredients

2 Salmon fillets

1 tablespoon of soy sauce*

*gluten free

salt

poaching water

150g Black rice noodles

Spray oil

2 carrots

2 tsps Garlic infused oil

1 Green Pepper

Radishes to garnish

Serves 2

Method

Place salmon fillets in an oven proof dish and cover in water and soy sauce, poach till cooked through.

Boil a large pan of water and add the noodles to the pan and heat till softened.

Peel carrots lengthways to produce carrot strips, chop up the green pepper and peel the radishes (to look like eyeballs, scary!!!)

Add oil to a wok and add the salmon (flaked) chopped vegetables and a little more soy sauce, if desired. Add a little of the poaching liquid. Cook on a high heat till cooked through.

If you are following a gluten free diet ensure your soy sauce is a gluten free variety. Suitable for Low FODMAP, gluten free, lactose free, egg free, wheat free.

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Kedgeree, breakfast like a king! Low FODMAP, low lactose, wheat free, gluten free

Imagine that you are in Edwardian England and a rather wealthy person! As part of the many breakfast choices would be this dish, originating in India and traditionally composed

Downton Abbey cooks Kedgeree

of hard-boiled egg, fish and rice. You can just taste the opulence, great to breakfast like a king – but this meal is great for a light brunch, served on wheat free bread also – really yummy! I often like to imagine if I was alive in Edwardian times as I love the dresses and the lifestyle – but the reality would be more likely to involve wearing plain clothes, clogs and working in the mills in Lancashire, as my relatives did!

© IWM (D 25995)

This dish is very mild, no spicy hot flavours, just like a fishy korma – some of the Lancashire men I spent my early working career with, used to call chicken korma ‘chicken soft lad’ and were merciless in their deriding of any man choosing this option when going out for a curry after the pub! However its good and mild for dodgy guts, so enjoy your fish ‘soft lad!’ If you have coeliac disease then check your spices have not been contaminated with gluten! My version of this wonderful dish is as follows:

Ingredients

175g of smoked Haddock

175g of Basmati Rice

4-5 dry green cardamom pods

5cm strip of cassia bark

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoon of garlic infused olive oil

1 teaspoon of turmeric

1/4 teaspoon of asafoetida

1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon of cardamom powder

1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander

300 mls of lactose free milk

4 teaspoons of cornflour

2 hard boiled eggs.

Method

Poach the haddock in lactose free milk until cooked, drain off the milk and retain for the sauce. Flake the fish and remove any bones and retain till later.

Add the rice to a pan, cover with water about 2 cm above the rice and add crushed green cardamom, cassia bark, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, when boiling turn down the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes until the rice is cooked. Remove cardamon pods and cassia bark. Cool.

Hard boil eggs for 10 minutes and cool under running water, remove shell and cut into slices – retain till later.

Add oil to a pan with the rest of the spices and cook till the spice aroma is released. Add cornflower to the pan and cook for about a minute. Slowly add milk to the pan – this will form a thick paste initially and needs to be mixed well to avoid lumps. After 1/3 – 1/2 of the milk has been added you can add the rest quickly and bring to the boil and stir till thickened.

Add the sauce to the rice, add fish and mix well, taste and add more seasoning if needed. Warm in the microwave prior to serving, serve with sliced eggs on the top.

If you are interested in Edwardian food check out the following website http://downtonabbeycooks.com/

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Breakfast bars

It’s really well into Autumn now and there was a very pretty spiders web on our Acer tree – unfortunately my photography skills really doesn’t do it justice, you can only see the twinkling colours of the water droplets in the web at the bottom of the picture. Made these breakfast bars this morning, I’m getting a little bored with my usual breakfast so I thought I would try this instead:

110g of oatmeal bran

20g of milled flaxseed

80g of oatmeal

1 heaped tsp of cinnamon

1 heaped teaspoon of mixed spice

3 teaspoons of artificial sweetner powder

1 tin of gooseberries in light syrup

50 mls of ginger cordial

50 mls olive oil

Sieve out the gooseberries and retain the fluid (should be around 150ml), to this add olive oil, ginger cordial and mix well.

Place all dry ingredients into a mixing bowl (typed bowel initially – ha ha ha,  lol 🙂 just shows my job is in my unconsciousness.)

Mash the gooseberries, make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add liquid and gooseberries, mix well till amalgomated.

Spread out the mixture on an oiled baking tray and place in a preheated oven at gas mark 6, or 200 degrees C for about 20 minutes, check after 15!

Cut into 8 or 12 bars, cool on a baking tray and sprinkle with icing sugar.

These bars do have fibre therefore please ensure you have a drink if liquid when you have these, a cup of tea, coffee, or glass of water would suffice. Take care if you are not used to eating foods containing fibre – don’t scoff too many at one go! These should also fill you up as they are based on oats – a low glycaemic food choice, they are also nice with yoghurt.

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