Buttercream Simplicity

Okay, I am no pin up girl for Cake Decorating Australia, but I do like to express my creativity atop the odd cupcake. I need an instantly stiff icing with no weird ingredients. Actually, I sometimes need it to cater for multiple food allergies also. Is that too much to ask?

So when I discover a recipe that not only makes buttercream quickly and easily, but can cater for gluten free, dairy free, low salicylate, egg free, nut free - I am one happy gal! So Rona from Domestic Diva Unleashed - here's to your genius!

Below are a couple of recipes I have recently tried with two variations on the buttercream icing. I won't write out the whole recipe - please read it on Rona's site.

Caramel Cupcakes

Gluten, Dairy, Egg, Nut and Soy Free, Low Salicylate FAILSAFE
I would love to credit this recipe, but cannot find where I took the original inspiration (it was originally a chocolate cake)and it has taken some twists and turns since!

First:
Grease and flour (sweet rice flour recommended or fine brown rice flour)12 muffin patties.
Set your oven to 190 degrees celsius or 180 degrees for fan-forced.

Ingredients:
210g all purpose gluten free flour mix (Or I used 130g Sorghum, and 80g of a combination of tapioca and potato starch plus 1 tsp xantham gum - next time I would use 3/4 tsp)

1/2 tsp psyllium husk
220g white sugar
90g brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
60g vegetable oil
1 tsp citric juice for FAILSAFERS or vinegar if you can
1 tsp vanilla
220g cold water

Instructions:
Weigh in both types of sugar and mill for 3 seconds speed 9.
Add flour, psyllium, baking powder, and salt and combine for 12 seconds speed 5-6 (halfway between the two).

Add the oil, citric juice, water and vanilla and mix for 30 seconds speed 5. Scrape down the sides and repeat for 12 seconds speed 5.

Pour the thick mix into the muffin papers (3/4 full) and when all are poured out you can smooth the tops.

Place gently into the oven halfway up. Check them at 25 minutes, they should be golden brown and spring back to touch. Give them five more minutes if needed. When cooked. Leave them in the oven with the door open for 20 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

For the icing I used Rona's recipe here
My tips:
I mill the sugar for 1 minute speed 10 and then put the entire bowl in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Make sure you wipe the pins on the underside before relocating it to your thermomix.

For the vanilla icing pictured, I didn't use any milk, just 1 1/2 tsp of vanilla.

The brilliance of this recipe is keeping everything cold enough by cooling the sugar, and by only whipping at speed 4 for such a brief time.

For real butter - I would put it on the bench for the 20 minutes that the sugar is cooling and then put the whipped buttercream back into the refrigerator after mixing.

Spelt Banana and Oat Muffins SUPER FAST

Dairy Free, moderate amine FAILSAFE
This is a variation of my carrot muffins

First:
Line a 12 hole muffin tin and lightly grease. Preheat oven to 190 degrees celsius.


Ingredients:
80g oats
100g white sugar
100g brown sugar
130g spelt flour
2 rounded tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 bananas - sliced quite small
1 tablespoon of citric juice (or lemon juice if you can have it)
2 eggs
110g vegetable oil

Method
Weigh oats and sugars into TM bowl and mill for 20 seconds speed 9.
Add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix for 5 seconds speed 5.
Make a slight well in the centre of your TM bowl and add the 2 eggs. Mix for 4 seconds reverse speed 3.

Pull the mix away from the edge of the bowl and add the banana, the citric juice and the oil. Mix for a further 12 seconds, reverse speed 3. DONE! How fast was that?

3/4 Fill muffin pans and cook for 20-25 minutes. They should rise up slightly in the middle, go golden brown and spring back to touch.

Remove from pan to cooling rack as soon as cooked.

ICING: Again - Rona's buttercream is my go to. Here is how to make it a 'lemony' icing for all you FAILSAFERs missing out!
When you mill the 250g icing sugar for 1 minute, add 1 tsp of citric acid. Cool in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Instead of milk, just add 1 tsp of water.


Enjoy!

Pumpkin Soup

Hello everyone, Tonight I cooked some creamy basic pumpkin soup. It was also safe for my brother to eat. I love cooking, because I like making food that tastes good and pleases people. I'm not into food that looks good and tastes horrible. 

I needed lots of help from my sister Isabella, but my Mum only told me where the ingredients were so basically it was me who made it! 

My sister helped me chop the pumpkin and Sam helped with the leeks. I made some changes to the recipe because my brother is FAILSAFE, and can only tolerate moderate salicylates (thanks mum). So, instead of onions I used leeks, and instead of stock, I used some salt and garlic powder. 

When I'm cooking for my family, it feels as important as cooking for the famous Master chef people in the final round. When I get the recipe right then I feel like I won the car and the million dollars. When it doesn't work out the way I wanted, I just shrug my shoulders and hope it doesn't taste terrible. Next time I can improve. How does this soup taste - "like golden sunshine" says my big sister.

     

little lush cooks COOKING CLASSES

Welcome to my very very exciting adventure. The Thermomix has awakened my passion to see children delighting in healthy food, satisfied by the challenge of a creative dish and learning the joy of cooking food for others in a thoughtful way.  Enter the little lush cooks classes!

Children need to understand simple ingredients, the wonder of fresh produce plus learning a number of cooking techniques. There are numerous benefits to children's maths, language, fine motor skills and their confidence from becoming involved in cooking. Research demonstrates an alarming decline in food preparation skills and the loss of the benefits I just mentioned. We can change that in a fun way! Most importantly, involving kids with cooking is shown to have significant health benefits, including an increased desire to choose healthy food over fast food. 

However, my favourite reason for classes is the excitement of the children themselves. "I am an awesome cook" was the wonderful pronouncement of a little cook after our first class!

My fun with food started very young under the encouragement of a mumma that always had home-cooked meals for us, and had superhuman tolerance of kids messing in the kitchen. Many school holidays she would allow me to turn the house into a cafe for the day - and so probably turned the kitchen into a Jackson Pollock tribute. In every season of life, there has been someone encouraging me to explore new aspects of cooking adventures and flavour discoveries. And there has always been someone it has been especially delightful to spoil with good food!

Through the training and encouragement I received as a thermomix consultant, plus the inspiration of the little lush cook herself (Sophia - pictured below) I am proud to provide regular specialty cooking classes for children from 7-14 (though we happily welcome keen cooks younger and older!)

A little about myself professionally, (if you are wondering who will be teaching your children); I am a physiotherapist and childbirth educator of more than 15 years. Most importantly, I am a thankful mother of four and a blue card holder who loves seeing children grow through satisfying challenges. I still get a thrill every time when I see children's pride in their cooking achievement and enjoyment in serving others. I am acutely aware of the connection between the body's arousal state and ability to concentrate (hence a little pilates break during the class). Both students and teachers are always learning.

These cooking classes are specially designed to maximise your child's understanding of flavour combinations, textures, the art of beautiful food and the delight of cooking for others.

And of course, train children to understand health and safety in the kitchen!

The classes run for two and a half hours at my home in TOOWONG Brisbane with a short Pilates break to refresh bodies. The classes are intimate with only 8 places.

Easter Menu:
This exciting class aims to equip your child with the ability to make their own 'professionally decorated' cupcakes for their birthday (or Easter) and take care of a healthy family meal
Lime and Coconut 'Ice Cream'
Tomato Dip
Chocolate birthday cupcakes
Buttercream
Marshmallow Fondant
Tortellini in Tomato Sugo

CURRENT CLASS TIMES:

Wednesday 16th April 9:30am

Wednesday 16th April 2pm

email me to book in

We are delighted by the feedback from class attendees. Here's what people are saying they loved about the Classes: 

"Appreciating how preparing healthy food can be fun and tasty."

From Be a Fun Mum's daughter: "Learning how to use the Thermomix properly".

"Learning to use the Thermomix and discovering new recipes that are healthy and delicious".

"It was great to see the child-centred approach you took, involving and explaining to the kids the whole way. I loved Liz's 'extra' explanations, about the chemistry of food, this was wonderful! "

"The supervised hands on experience"

"Trying new things and because they make them, they eat the result".

"Their increased confidence and knowledge of cooking"

Would you like to enquire about booking your child into a class? Please contact me and I will let you know the next class details or provide any information you need.

A note about pricing: These specialised classes are only $60 for two and half hours. I used to wonder why specialty cooking classes were so expensive (especially when I can cater for a crowd at $10 per head) Simply, there are an enormous number of hours (and details) that go into cooking classes, however we hope to make them accessible for as many parents as possible. 

For those who cannot afford classes, we suggest you make your own! Choose recipes that you and your child(ren) want to explore and your children will thank you for the focused time with them. It works best if you pre-prepare as many ingredients as possible.

I hope to inspire your budding cook one day! With love from all the little lush cooks. 

Chocolate muffins with hidden goodness

This recipe is just a variation on my 'lightening fast' carrot muffins. Let's face it...when you are on a tuckshop bake roster you want something that is healthy and yummy but super quick to make.

And...as a bonus there is the icing recipe. Real strawberry icing. And because this was a byproduct of making strawberry jelly you have a bonus jelly recipe! Yummy!

The story begins with the usual steps - Oven to 190degrees Celcius, cupcake papers in place. Then it's time to pull out a few ingredients:

IN:
40g buckwheat or oats if no one likes the earthiness of buckwheat
40g cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
130g SR Flour (wholemeal spelt is great!)
1 tsp spices like mixed spice or ginger if desired
210g raw sugar or brown sugar or rapadura
2 large zucchini's cut into 5 pieces
2 eggs
110g oil you like to cook with

STEPS:
Mill your buckwheat or oats with the cocoa on speed 9 for 30 seconds.
Add the baking powder, self raising flour, optional spices and sugar. Mix for 6 seconds speed 6 to aerate and combine.
Add the zucchini into the flour and chop for 2 seconds speed 5. Check the mix, if there are any big chunks you can give it one more second.
Pull the mix away from the sides, and add the eggs on the edge, then weigh in the oil around the edge.
Mix for 15 seconds speed 3 (or on reverse if you want to keep some zucchini texture like a muffin).
Check that all ingredients are incorporated and mix a further 8 seconds on speed 3 if they are not.

3/4 fill your muffin or cupcake papers with the mix and bake for approximately 18 minutes - but check to see that they lightly spring back when you touch them with your finger.

Meanwhile...as they bake you can get the icing started.

This is just a variation on the Thermomix Wilton's Buttercream just click the link for the recipe.

My variation:
After creaming the copha or crisco and the butter, add 200g strawberry puree along with the vanilla and first 100g of icing sugar and follow the remaining directions - adding strawberry liquid instead of milk.

BONUS JELLY RECIPE
What I love, is that the strawberry puree is actually the waste from making real strawberry jelly.

Combine 250g hulled strawberries and 350g water in your TM bowl. (I like to add a teeny wedge of beetroot for extra colour). Cook for 5 minutes, 90 degrees speed 2.

Strain out the liquid. Now that wonderful red liquid is for jelly or cordial.

For Strawberry Jelly:
Weigh the 300g of liquid back into the TM bowl and add 200g sugar. Add 1/2 tsp of citric acid or a tablespoon of lemon juice. Set to 3 minutes, 90 degrees speed 2 - but turn it up to speed 3 for the first 10 seconds to incorporate any sugar granules that have snuck up the side of the bowl.

Meanwhile, combine 15g of gelatine with 80-100ml water, until well combined.

Add this to the liquid mix and cook a further 1.5 minutes, 90 degrees speed 1 (again, start on speed 3 for 10 seconds to help incorporation).

Pour into a pyrex or heatproof dish and leave to set at room temperature for 6 hours or more.

About 10g more gelatine and I could have cut this into really firm shapes. As it is, this is the perfect balance of flavour for eating on it's own, or in a jelly slice, or served with fresh berries and cream. Imagine a trifle with REAL jelly. *yum*

Yummy Scrummy Banana, Coconut Spelt Loaf

Hello I am Sophia and I haven't blogged for a while but here is one of my latest cooking adventures

Are you tired of having complaining children wanting yummy food?

Well here's the answer and it's very simple.

Picture this; one morning by the surf on a family holiday, four children complain they were hungry. So, they went for a swim and then when they came back they cooked a pavlova and a scrumptious banana and coconut bread. They cooked the pavlova first, then the little sister made the loaf; it was easy and quick. She put it in the oven then they all watched a movie while it was cooking.....When the movie was finished, the girls went to the gym while the boys gobbled up the bread!!! When the girls came back they had a few pieces as well and they all declared it was delicious. The next morning, they had it toasted for breakfast.

That was the end of the bread! But they all wanted to make it again.

If you want to make this loaf, then you can find the recipe at Alyce Alexandra (mum says you have to subscribe to get the free recipes)

Goodbye until I tell you about the Pavlova!!

DUMPLINGS IN CHICKEN BROTH

Moderate Salicylate, (low options) Dairy Free
(However, just take note that super sensitive folks often struggle with any chicken broth - so I would suggest making a vegetable broth)

Now, this looks like a long recipe but that's just because it's 3 recipes in one. Any of these can be made on their own. The wontons dough can be made and stored in the freezer (in balls). The broth can be made and frozen for a quick soup. Each step is very easy. Go for it!! One step at a time.



INGREDIENTS

WONTON DOUGH:
40g Tapioca starch
250g flour
35g nuttelex (or lard if you are not FAILSAFE)
1/2 tsp salt
3/4tsp baking powder
100g boiling water
approximately 1/2 MC of cold water.

DUMPLING FILLING:
1/2 stick celery roughly chopped
3 shallots roughly chopped (pre roasted adds a lovely caramel flavour - just dob with nuttelex and bake for 10 minutes at 190 degrees when you are baking. I bake bulbs of garlic too)
1/4 tin water chestnuts (or not at all if your kids hate them)
1 tsp salt (or veggie salt if able)
2 small or 1 large chicken breast cubed and semi frozen.
1 tbsp FAILSAFE soy sauce* - if you are not sensitive to normal soy sauce - of course use that!!!

BROTH:
Chicken carcass (I smash mine with my mostly defunct pestle to make it smaller)
2 celery sticks
1/2 swede and 1/4 medium choko (or 1 carrot if moderate sal's tolerated)
1 leek
1-2 cloves of garlic (again, roasted is better)
20g sunflower oil
1-2tsp salt or extra FAILSAFE soy sauce to taste

OPTIONAL EXTRAS to put in your bowls when serving up:
Cooked rice
Bean shoots
Whole hard boiled eggs (included in broth instructions)
Herbs
Moderate salicylate - bok choy or pak choy

*FAILSAFE soy sauce:
80g each of malt syrup and water, 40g golden syrup and 20g salt combined in TM bowl for 2 minutes, 90 degrees speed 2). Store in the refrigerator.

DIRECTIONS:

Wonton Dough:

Into TM bowl add the Tapioca, flour, salt, baking powder and lard. Mix on speed 6 for 8-10 seconds. (it depends how hard your nut telex/lard is. You will hear the sound change as it is forming a breadcrumb like consistency).

Add the boiling water and mix on Interval speed, 15 seconds. Scrape down the sides and need for a further 20-30 seconds on interval speed, drizzling in bits of the cold water as it is mixing and watching for the mix to start clumping. Tip out the mix and knead it into a ball. Ideally, let the mix rest for 20 minutes or more so the proteins relax again and your mix is flexible.

Make little balls just smaller than a ping pong ball (pictured above). when you are ready to make the dumplings, roll the balls out.

Dumpling Filling:

If you are just using fresh shallots, then chop them on speed 7 for 2 seconds, and saute for 3 minutes, Varoma temperature, speed 1.5 with extra 20g oil and a pinch of brown sugar.

Add all the ingredients except the diced chicken and chop for 3 seconds speed 7. 

Add chicken and FAILSAFE soy sauce and pulse on turbo (locked lid position), 6 times. The mix should be clumping together nicely.

Tip this out into a bowl and cover, ready for making dumplings.

To make the dumplings:

Roll out a ball of dough. Place it in a dumpling press (or follow these instructions for making wontons)

and add only a heaped teaspoon of dumpling mix. Wet the edges of the wrapper and press lightly.

Place only a slightly damp plate awaiting cooking.

If you think you can make all your dumplings in about 25 minutes, you can get your broth cooking and then start making them.

Broth:

Put the leek and garlic into the TM bowl and chop for 2 seconds speed 7. 

Add oil and cook 3 minutes, Varoma temperature, speed 2.

Into the simmering basket (the one used for cooking rice), put your chicken carcass and all the remaining vegetables into the basket and place in the TM bowl.

Weigh in 1.1kg of water and add the salt. 

Cook for 23 minutes, Varoma temperature speed 3.

Set Varoma above and add whole eggs to the bottom shelf.

When timer is up, set a further 13 minutes, Varoma temperature speed 3, and add dumplings to the Varoma tray.

When finished. Set aside Varoma. Use TM spatula to tip out basket contents leaving the broth in the TM bowl. Then using tongs, put any hard boiled eggs in the basket to run under cold water.

Into your bowl place your extras: rice/bokchoy/halved eggs, pour over broth, add dumplings and dinner is served.

LIGHTENING FAST ZUCCHINI AND CARROT MUFFINS *school friendly

Do you love love love those recipes that are so fast you check your neck for whiplash? I need speed so it's no wonder I ended up with a Thermomix, but this one is crazy fast. Even better that it's great for lunch boxes. I have put in a few tips about how to place ingredients in your thermomix for the best mixing results and saving time.

Notice all the *'s beside ingredients? That's not code for naughty words, it's because I have a moderate salicylate version down the bottom for those progressing on their FAILSAFE diet. And of course, if you can eat nuts and are not taking them to school, you can replace the seeds with almonds, walnuts, pecans or my favourite - brazil nuts.  ENJOY!

INGREDIENTS:
Contains Gluten and Eggs:
80g Wholegrains (Buckwheat, millet, oats)
130g SR Flour (I use spelt flour )
1 tsp extra baking powder
1 tsp nutmeg and ginger*
150-200g raw sugar* OR 90g sugar, plus add a tin of drained pineapple pieces with the zucchini

2 carrots cut into 4-5 pieces
1 roughly chopped zucchini
2 eggs
110g canola oil
optional cup of seeds; pepitas, sunflower seeds plus shaved coconut

optional topping; 1 heaped tablespoon each of brown sugar, shaved coconut and seeds*

*FAILSAFE moderate version: use white sugar and thickly peel the carrot and zucchini. Leave out spices and only add a tablespoon of poppy seeds.
Topping - 1 heaped tablespoon of brown sugar, nuttelex and oats and a pinch of poppy seeds.

DIRECTIONS:
Oven to 180-190 degrees Celsius (frustrating I know, but we all have different ovens, so use the cooler temperature if it is a fan forced, effective oven)
Paper and spray/grease 16 small or 12 medium muffin tins

Grind the whole grains for 1 minute speed 9.

Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and *spices and aerate by mixing for 4 seconds on speed 6.

Add carrots into the flour mix (this will stop over chopping and too much liquid ooze, plus it's faster); chop for 1 second speed 5. Don't preset the time, turn the speed quickly to speed 5 and as soon as the time hits 1 second, turn it down to open lid position.

Check the mix and push any larger chunks to the bottom, then add the zucchini and optional pineapple if using. Grate 2 more seconds speed 5. 

I like to take the TM bowl off the unit and have it right near me on the bench. Push the ingredients away from the centre of the blades (making a well), and crack in the 2 eggs. Return the bowl to the unit and mix for 4 seconds, REVERSE speed 3.

Now pull the ingredients away from the edge of the bowl and weigh in the oil, plus the *seeds/nuts if using. Mix 12 seconds, REVERSE, speed 3. Adding the wet ingredients at the side is what helps it to incorporate more quickly, less time mixing your eggs makes for a much lighter texture.

That's it!! Now you 3/4 fill your muffin papers and bake for 20-25 minutes. If you want to mix your topping in the TM bowl, it's as simple as tipping it in, mixing for 9 seconds speed 3 REVERSE, then sprinkling on top for the last 5 minutes of baking.

Roasted Garlic sauce and Gnocchi - DF, EF and GF

I don't know what it is about the little potato dumplings that call to my daughter's heart, but there is something so intensely pleasurable about gnocchi for my little lush cook. 
And I adore the little conclave of helping hands dusted in flour, carefully peeling the dumplings off forks and chattering away.

Free to enjoy as many vegetables as she likes, her favourite is a tomato-based sauce or burnt butter and sage. But for a while I have been experimenting to get a delicious 'burnt butter' sauce for my dairy free and food intolerant gang.

For those of you who can tolerate lots of ingredients, I suggest a lovely broccoli pesto as a sauce - but for the sensitive tummy - ENJOY the fruits of my concocting labours. I must give credit to the incredible Cybele Pascale for her ALLERGY FREE gnocchi recipe that gave me a good start in developing the gnocchi

INGREDIENTS

660g, old floury potatoes peeled & cubed

600 g water

300g gluten free flour mix

3/4 tsp salt

50g oil (can be replaced with butter if dairy is tolerated)

1 tsp xantham gum or 2 tsp psyllium husk

60g rice milk

Sauce: -

4 cloves roasted garlic

80g nuttelex

pinch of brown sugar

½ tsp salt

50g water

tsp of parsley leaves

METHOD

1. Place potatoes into Varoma dish.

Place water into mixing bowl and cook 30 min/ Varoma temp/speed 1.

2. Remove Varoma and set aside.

Allow potatoes to cool (approx. 15 -20 min) so that they are very dry but still warm.

Discard water, rinse and dry bowl.

3. Place cooled potatoes into mixing bowl and mash 4 sec/speed 4. Scrape down sides and mix through then repeat. Do not over puree but make sure all large lumps are gone.

4. Add 200g flour, salt, oil and gum/psyllium. Set dial to (closed lid position) and knead 30 - 40 sec/ Interval setting.

5. Place remaining flour, along with dough, onto floured surface or ThermoMat. Work remaining flour into the dough until you achieve texture that is not overly sticky. Lightly oil your hands.

Roll dough into a finger width 'sausage' shape and cut into approx. 2cm long pieces.

Shape the gnocchi with a fork, or wooden gnocchi board.

6. Cook immediately. Place into pot of boiling water and cook until gnocchi has risen to the surface.

Sauce – place garlic and Nuttelex and pinch of sugar and salt  into TM bowl and sauté caramelize 4.5 minutes, Varoma temp, speed 1.5. Add water and emulsify for 30 seconds on speed 8.

Add water and salt and blitz for 20 seconds speed 6

VARIATIONS:

When moderate salicylates and glutamates are tolerated, add peas to the above sauce when pureed and cook for 2 minutes, 100 degrees speed soft reverse.