Gingerbread Cookies

dairy free egg free nut free vegan

This is based on Delia Smith's recipe from Delia Online. 

I omitted the orange rind as I had some very impatient 6 year olds waiting to get started...

Makes about 20

75 g soft brown sugar, sieved

2 tablespoons golden syrup

1 tablespoon black treacle

1 level teaspoon cinnamon

1 level teaspoon ginger

1 pinch ground cloves

finely grated rind ½ orange (optional)

95 g dairy-free margarine
½ level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

225 g plain flour

 

Pre-heat the oven to 180 C.

Put the sugar, syrup, treacle, 1 tablespoon of water, spices and rind together in a large saucepan.

Then bring them to boiling point, stirring all the time. Now remove the pan from the heat and stir in the dairy-free and the bicarbonate of soda.

Next stir in the flour gradually until you have a smooth manageable dough – add a little more flour, if you think it needs it.

Now leave the dough – covered – in a cool place to become firm, approximately 30 minutes. Now roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick and cut out the gingerbread men.

Arrange them on the lightly greased baking sheets and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the biscuits feel firm when lightly pressed with a fingertip.

Leave the biscuits to cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.

Lamb & Leek Stew

dairy free egg free nut free

Spring may have sprung, but it's still freezing in Melbourne! I think this is essentially a Lancashire Hotpot, and very tasty.

50g dairy-free margarine, plus extra to grease

2 leeks, white part only, thinly sliced

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 tbs olive oil

1kg diced lamb leg or shoulder

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tbs pearl barley

800g waxy potatoes (such as kipflers), peeled, thinly sliced

300ml lamb, chicken or beef stock

1 tsp chopped fresh thyme

a few tablespoons of olive oil or melted margarine

3 tbs chopped flat-leaf parsley

 

Preheat oven to 170 C. Grease an ovenproof casserole dish.

Place half the margarine in a large frypan over low heat and cook leek and onion for 5 minutes or until softened. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Add oil to pan, increase heat to high. When oil is hot, add lamb and brown in batches, then transfer to a separate plate. Add garlic and barley to pan, season with salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute, then return lamb to pan and stir to combine. Place half the potatoes in base of casserole. Layer meat over top followed by leek mixture. Use back of a spoon to flatten contents of casserole, then overlap remaining potatoes on top. Pour in stock and sprinkle with thyme. Cover with a lid or a layer of foil and bake in oven for 2 hours. Brush potatoes with olive oil or melted margarine. Return to oven, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until potatoes are golden.

Serve from dish, sprinkled with parsley.

Orange & Polenta Loaf

dairy free egg free nut free

Thanks to a morning spent with my school mums, I was inspired to make an allergy-friendly version of this lovely citrus polenta cake.

2 1/2 cups self raising flour
1 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup polenta
250g dairy-free margarine, melted
1 orange, grated rind and juice
1/2 cup rice/soy milk
3 egg replacers (Orgran)

Glaze
1/3 cup orange juice
1/4 cup caster sugar

Combine flour, sugar and polenta in a bowl and mix well. Add melted margarine, grated rind, juice, milk and finally egg replacers and mix gently until well combined.

Pour into loaf tin lined with baking paper, smoothing the top, and bake in 180 C oven for 50-55 minutes.

Combine the extra orange juice and sugar in a small saucepan and heat gently until sugar is dissolved.

Once ready, cool cake in tin for 10 minutes then remove to rack. While still warm to the touch, brush the glaze over the top of the cake.

Can also be made in a round cake tin.

FreeNut Butter Cookies

dairy free egg free nut free

Who says you can't make a peanut butter cookie without peanuts?

As long as you use FreeNut Butter made from sunflower seeds. Either the smooth or crunchy version does just nicely, and I made a second batch with Sweet William choc chips thrown in.

Makes 20 approx

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup melted dairy-free margarine
1/2 cup FreeNut Butter(smooth or crunchy)
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1 egg replacer
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup Sweet William dairy/nut free choc chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 180 C.

Sift flour and sugars, then combine the rest of the ingredients, mixing very well.

Drop tablespoons of mixture onto lined baking tray, pressing down slightly with back of a fork. Make sure you space them as they will spread during cooking. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Remove and cool on rack.

Nasi Goreng

dairy free egg free nut free

My life changed for the better when a friend  introduced me to kecap manis: a sweet and syrupy Indonesian soy sauce. I tend to leave the regular soy aside more often than not these days, because kecap manis elevates my stirfries to a higher plane. Truly!

I love this dish because it combines rice with Chinese cabbage (I admit to a soft spot for all things cabbage), and the kids always seem to want more. No need for egg - kecap manis is the hero here.You can adjust the ingredients to your taste, adding more vegies if you prefer.

Because we can all safely eat shellfish now, we particularly love prawns in this dish.

Serves 4

2 cups pre-cooked long grain or basmati rice
1/4 Chinese cabbage (wombok), shredded
300g chicken thighs, diced
10 cooked prawns
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 chilli, finely sliced (optional)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp oyster sauce or fish sauce (or both quite frankly!)
1/4 cup kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce)
1/2 cup fresh coriander, chopped (optional)
a handful of crispy fried spring onions to sprinkle on top

Heat oil in a wok or large saucepan over medium to high heat and cook onion, garlic and chilli (if using) until softened.

Add chicken pieces and stirfry until brown and just cooked through. Add fish and oyster sauces, then cabbage and rice, stirfrying for a few minutes until rice is well coated and cabbage is wilted. Add kecap manis, stirring well, then add the cooked prawns until heated through.

Mix in coriander before serving with fried spring onions.