Gluten Free Balsamic Chicken

During the winter time at least once we week we have a ‘family’ dinner with all our friends. Last week we were lucky enough to have one of my very good friends from Australia cook for us. He was visiting Whistler and for over a month now has been making our taste buds water with talk of his infamous Balsamic Chicken.

Now there is some history to this dish, which I believe has quite a name for itself amongst a certain group of Aussies in Brisbane. Colin, the creator of this delicious delight, considers this his #1 winning dish to cook any time he needs to impress. He in turn passed the recipe onto his good friend Mikey, who in turn dazzled us with a stunning meal and some delicious wine.

And now to me… I pass on the recipe for all to enjoy. It is naturally Gluten Free and well worth saving for an evening with that special someone…

I hope you enjoy Balsamic Chicken as much as we have.

Happy Gluten Free Cooking

 

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Gluten Free Pizza

I love pizza!

In my freezer I always have a stash of Kinnikinnick Pizza bases. They are on the slightly expensive side at $2 per base, but I think that they are worth it and it is still cheaper to have a pizza at home than to go out. Plus mine are yummier.. is that a word?

Anyway, there are so many different combinations that you can use on pizza. I tend to just open up the fridge see what I can find and go from there. This week we had some left over roast lamb, some yellow peppers from a thai dinner, spanish onion from risotto night and fresh cheddar cheese which is always on hand. I love bringing a variety of ingredients together from a variety of different meals to create my own tasty surprise.

I have posted the recipe on GFL Cooking under Roast Lamb Pizza.

Enjoy!

 

Rosemary Lamb on Grilled Polenta

This week I decided to experiment a little with one of my Aussie favourites – BBQ Lamb on Grilled Polenta with Fresh Spinach Leaves.

Grilled polenta is one of my favourite dishes. You can use it in place of bread, as a pizza base, in place of potato or just by itself. One of the key things I have learnt since making this dish is that you should use butter and parmesan to help bind it together and give it more flavour. Polenta by itself can be a little plain, so the added flavour of butter and parmesan really helps. You can also add salt, pepper and herbs to the mix, for added taste.

BBQ Lamb, Chicken, Beef or Chorizo? I have tried this dish with all of them and my favourite combination would have to be lamb and chorizo. It has a lovely flavour and the contrasting colour of the red chorizo against the yellow polenta and green leaves really adds to the presentation.

Mixed Baby Spinach leaves are currently my choice for salad, but you can also use a mix of baby spinach and rocket or just mixed leaves. Slow roasted or sundried tomatos are also nice with the salad.

Dressing – for years I have used a combination of lemon, oil and oregano as my dressing. It compliments the flavours perfectly and really makes this dish something special. In the interest of experimenting I decided to try a few other varieties such as ranch dressing, balsamic vinaigrette and even a Thai chilli dressing. They were all great and each adds it’s own little spin on the dish. In the past I have also used a ratatouille over the polenta. In this case I would leave out the spinach and just have polenta, meat and vegetables. It makes a great winter meal and is delicious with a nice glass of Italian red wine.

Enjoy!

 

Back in Canada…

After many hours of traveling across the pacific we are back in Whistler, British Columbia. We had a fantastic time in Australia but it is certainly great to be back in the land of snow! Whistler is having one of its best seasons on record and with over 35 feet of snow, we are happy to be back enjoying it.

Since being back, I have been frequenting my local grocery stores to pick up all my favourite gluten free products; Thai kitchen yellow curry paste, Glutino corn bread, Kinnikinnick english muffins and pizza bases, Bob’s Redmill gluten free cookie flour and Lifestream buckwheat waffles with maple syrup.

For a little touch of home I decided to make Jam Drops today. As a child my Mum and I would always makes these when I was at home board. It was one of my favourite recipes back then and still is today. To keep things interesting I decided to experiment a little. I find the Bob’s Redmill flour has a somewhat over powering baking powder taste, so I picked up a packet of Pamela’s Gluten Free baking mix at the store. This has a much nicer vanilla flavour, but the only problem is that once baked the cookies spread out much more than with Bob’s Redmill. To try and compensate for this I decided to use a little of both and voilà it worked like a charm. The mixture had a much nicer flavour and the cookies kept their shape. My next problem was that I had not had the chance to pick up any vanilla from the grocery store – I am still restocking the cupboards after being away – so in the interest of experimenting I decided to add 2 dessertspoons of gluten free custard powder. Wow! The result was delicious custard cream flavour cookie dough. I baked them for approx 10-12min before giving one to my non-coeliac resident food critic – my hubby James – and the result was a 10/10!

For the recipe check out Jam Drops on GFL Cooking.

Enjoy!

 

Greek Aubergine Spinach Pie

This is fantastic for lunch. It keeps overnight & reheats well.

A great dish to take to a pot luck dinner party.

Gluten Free ~ Greek Aubergine and Spinach Pie

Enjoy!

 

Lemon Polenta Cookies

These are an absolute gem! For the recipe check out Lemon Polenta Cookies on GFL Cooking.

 

Boxes of Tomatos

Today whilst on the way out to visit a friend, we decided to stop at the local farm market – Riccardo’s Tomatos. They have a fantastic selection of the local produce in the Port Macquarie region, not to mention their own famous tomatos. My Mum & I were making our various selections when the cashier asked if we could make use of some stewing tomatos? My Mum is a fantastic cook said she could make Jam & Relish with them. Next thing the gentleman came out & gave us a whole box for free! Delighted with our score, we purchased our other items & continued on to visit my friend for lunch.

The next day we cooked up batches & batches of Gluten Free Tomato Relish & Tomato Jam. It was loads of fun, relatively easy to do, and makes for great gifts to family & friends.

For my Mum’s secret recipes & tips, check out

Gluten Free Tomato Jam
Gluten Free Tomato Relish

 

Gluten Free Nanaimo Bar

Whilst visiting Canada last summer, my Mum noticed that in almost every coffee shop & bakery we went to, they were serving Nanaimo Bar. Finally one day she said, I am sure I used to make that slice, I am going to buy one and check?

To my surprise when I arrived home in Sydney, Australia for Christmas my Mum served up a fresh batch of Gluten Free Nanaimo Bar!!

I have since tested the recipe out on a few local west coast Canadians, only to be told it was the best Nanaimo Bar they have ever had. Who would have thought the recipe would come from Australia for such a popular Vancouver Island treat.

Check out the recipe at www.gluten-free-living.net/recipes/nanaimo_bar.php

Enjoy!

 

Gluten Free Profiteroles

There is nothing like coming home from a busy day out to find that your family has made you Gluten Free Profiteroles!

Check out the recipe at Gluten-Free-Living.net  Recipes: Gluten Free Profiteroles