Go Ahead Honey It's Gluten Free! May Round Up - Breakfast

So here I am again after what feels like only forty winks, to share with you all the wonderful dishes contributed to this month's, 'Go Ahead Honey It's Gluten Free!' event.

'Go Ahead Honey It's Gluten Free!' is a monthly online food event for gluten free bloggers and those who fancy trying their hand at a little gluten free something. This month's theme was Breakfast Food - a particular problem for me, as I have had to change my breakfast routine radically since I took up the SCD diet. However, as with most things, all you need to do is ask and people give you the most wonderful ideas that you might never have stumbled on yourself - especially in the morning, when I tend to do a fair bit of stumbling and eye rubbing and not much innovative breakfast preparation.

So when I invited folks over for breakfast - little did I know that it would turn into a full blown sleepover followed by a breakfast feast. Lets have a look at what everybody bought to the breakfast table.

First up after a long night of chatting was Chou of Balance Food who whipped up two dishes, so full of life and colour that I had to rub my eyes all over again. Her spinach breakfast salad with bacon and egg makes me want to run to the kitchen right now and get out the salad spinner and the mango smoothie? Well this morning is bought to you by the colours green and orange. Anyone for a run?

For those at the party who just had to have toast with their spinach salad, Cheryl at Gluten Free Goodness had baked a delicious loaf speckled with black sesame seeds.

Next to surface was Aylena of Gluten Free South Africa, who roasted up some delicious cocoa nib granola and layered it into a pretty glass with Greek yogurt and cherry compote. The smell of those roasted cocoa nibs and warm cherries is about as close as you can get to black forest gateau whilst still being amazingly healthy.

Lynne of Gluten Free Gastronaut was right in the middle of a self imposed moratorium on grocery shopping, so we were intrigued to see what she would come up with out of her dwindling larder. But limitation is the mother of invention and breakfast is hardly complete without some pancakes is it? So Lynne made us some fluffy, golden quinoa pancakes, bursting with enough protein to keep us going till lunch. Pass the honey Lynne...

Emilia of Gluten Free Day woke with a little story about her Grandmother in Lapland. She told us about Saturday mornings in her Grandmother's house, when she would wake to warm, freashly baked bread for breakfast and how the scent of it in a warm kitchen was the very essence of a comforting breakfast time for her. So she made us some of her own breads - adapted to be gluten free and we all basked in the warm bready smell like small children.

Terri of Faking It Gluten Free Style, bought a whole new take on the traditional eggs and fried potatoes breakfast by making a quiche (or egg pie as she has re-branded it in order to sneak it past her unsuspecting son) with a potato crust. You might like to make your crust the night before if you're not as perky as Terri first thing in the morning. Or just settle down with a pot of coffee while it bakes and wait for Mr Jekyll to turn back into Mr Hyde.

We looked up from our plates in time to see Rachel of Wheat Free Meat Free come bounding in with a bag of spuds and her prized cast iron pan. She set to immediately and soon the kitchen was filled with the delicious aroma of spicy, garlicky potatoes, as savoury a breakfast as you could ask for!

There was a ring at the door and everyone looked up expectantly to see who the early morning caller was - of course it was only Nick the Peanut Butter Boy who had slipped out at the crack of dawn for a run while the rest of us were still sleeping. He knew what he needed for breakfast - a high protein banana omelette, the perfect post workout meal, being light, easy to digest and also providing some swiftly absorbed fruit sugars to prevent a blood sugar crash.

Now there were two of us who took an entirely more dessert-ish approach to our huge communal breakfast feast.

Lauren of Celiac Teen had baked a beautiful marble cake which she proceeded to slice onto a pretty plate while I brewed up another pot of tea (can't have cake without tea can you?).

While the kettle was boiling - in order not to watch it - I threw some frozen bananas into the blender and made some instant, super free-from Pure Banana Ice-cream. One of those tricks of nature, transforming frozen bananas into the creamiest thing imaginable besides cream itself - throw in some nut butter and you'll never go back to dairy!

And then we sat back and clutched our stomachs and wondered who was going to do the washing up. Perhaps a mid morning snooze first? If I forgot to list anyone who contributed, please let me know and I will add your entry.

Next Month's event is hosted by Carrie at Ginger Lemon Girl and her theme is One Pot Meals - gluten free of course! We all need something on our repertoire that goes into the oven or on the stove and needs little more than to be left to do its thing and is mercifully short on washing up. Especially us parents with a seemingly endless round of meals, snacks and packed lunches to provide. One pot meals can cover everything from the humblest Shepherd's Pie to the most divine Provencal Daube or Persian Koresht. Just make sure there's at least one vegetable in there or the food police will be after you! I can't wait to extend my One Pot repertoire!

x x x

Nuts at Breakfast? Me? (Hazelnut Pan-Bread, gluten and grain free)

All of you who entered this month's 'Go Ahead Honey! It's Gluten Free', rest easy, I am on the case and your delicious breakfast round up will be here in a day or so - with the exciting announcement of our next gluten free jolly and its lovely host...

But before I can get to that I need to post this - my entry to the Great Peanut Butter Exhibition Number 2, hosted by the illustrious, indefatigable (and possibly insane) Peanut Butter Boy. Who, whether by telepathy or empathy or single-white-female-athy has also chosen Breakfast as this month's theme. His criteria for judging entries is (loosely) nut butter quality, speed and ease of recipe and whether the image makes him drool so much that he rushes to the kitchen immediately and reaches for the peanut butter.

Now peanut butter is off limits for me just at the moment, although you may be pleased to hear that the SCD diet is going well - I no longer look like a rag doll with over rouged cheeks now that I am digesting fats and sending some of them to my skin for essential repair work, I have lost 2 inches from my waist as it is no longer bloated and sore and those windy nights are a thing of the past, (for any of you who remember the long windy night of my post on coconut bars). However, caution is now my mantra and I am surely on the peanut butter wagon as its leguminous nature makes it hard for us IBD types to digest. Instead I turn to other nut butters to get my gooey nut fix, in this case the most delicious organic roasted hazel butter.

This recipe came about one morning when I really fancied some pancakes, but was so pooped I couldn't be bothered to actually stand over something delicate and grain free and turn it with the requisite care. The best solution seemed to be one large pancake, cooked slowly and finished under a gentle grill like a frittata. I mixed up a nut batter with what apparently seems like arcane knowledge to Nick, but just seems lodged in there like culinary algebra to me, and eased it into a heavy cast iron frying pan frothing with butter.

About twenty minutes later we sat down with a cup of tea, enjoying a slice of something not unlike a moist hazelnut cake with a buttery crust.

'Is that cake?' asked Fin incredulously as he was drawn in nose first, on a ribbon of hazelnut scent. 

'Cake?' I chortled indulgently, 'of course it's not cake - who has cake for breakfast? It's hazelnut pan bread Fin, sit down and have a slice.'

And Fin sat down and ate two slices of not-cake, the first piece swift and greedy and the second with more consideration, all the while giving me little knowing smiles at the cakeyness of this pan-bread and our conspiracy to make it a breakfast item.

I've since made it a few ways, once with ground roasted hazelnuts, a spoonful of ground coffee and another dessert spoon of honey added to the mix, another with chopped walnuts stirred in and finally a lighter mixture of almonds, lemon zest and roasted almond butter. It was delicious every time!

Hazelnut Pan-Bread

3oz ground hazelnuts (I grind mine in a coffee grinder and store in the fridge)
1 very ripe banana
2 medium eggs or 1 large duck egg
1 dessertspoon honey
2 heaped dessertspoons roast hazelnut butter (or almond, brazil, cashew or peanut butter)
pinch of salt
2 oz dried dates chopped roughly (about 8)
1 tsp cream of tartar (1 tsp of vinegar for SCD)
1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
good squeeze lemon juice
salted butter to cook

Put a heavy cast iron pan on a low heat to heat through. I used a 6" diameter pan with 2" deep sides, if you use a larger pan, you'll have a flatter bread. It must be a pan that can also fit under your grill or go into the oven. The bread is finished under the grill, so if your pan won't fit - the only thing you can do is preheat your oven to 160C and finish it in there.

Mash the banana in a mixing bowl and put in all the other ingredients apart from bicarbonate of soda. If you want to add a spoonful of fresh ground coffee or walnuts - do it here. Beat until smooth and then throw a large lump of butter in the pan on the stove to froth - about the size of a large walnut. Don't let the butter burn, the pan should be on the lowest heat.

Swirl the butter around the pan to coat the sides. Beat the bicarbonate of soda into the batter and scrape it all gently into the pan. Gently place a lid on the pan and cook on the lowest heat for ten minutes, until the batter is risen and puffy looking, but still wet and uncooked. While it's cooking, preheat the grill to medium low.

Take the lid off the pan and gently ease it under the grill - not too close to the flames or element and let it cook for about 10-15 minutes until the top is golden brown and firm to the touch. Slide a knife around the edge, place a plate on top and invert, using tea towels or oven gloves to protect your hands. Slice and enjoy with knowing smiles.

Gluten Free Quick and Easy - A Book Review

When Carol Fenster's agent asked if I would review one of her gluten free recipe books I was delighted to say yes and chose Gluten Free Quick and Easy - From prep to plate without the fuss. I chose this title  because the tag line promised to, 'help you simplify and streamline food preparation at home' using, 'creative techniques and resourceful planning'. Fantastic - just what all busy gluten intolerant mums need no?

It arrived in a large jiffy bag peppered with Air mail stickers, a huge paperback tome that thumped onto the table and sat there all plump, as if to say, 'better make that pot of tea, sweetie - you've got a whole lot of reading to do'. I simply can't fault this impressively sized book on its volume.

Carol's premise for the book is that gluten free cooking can be overwhelmingly time consuming, so she aims to help the busy cook prepare nutritious and tasty meals quickly. It sounds like a wonderful idea to a woman who spends a great portion of every day preparing food from scratch - don't we all wish that sometimes supper was as easy as beans on toast?

Of course I flicked straight to the desserts - and if you read a cookbook from front to back, well you have more discipline than I do. Baking is where Carol really excels, with delicious sounding Chocolate Brownies, a delicate Almond Lemon Pie with Fresh Raspberries and a proper old fashioned Rustic Crust Apple Pie. The breads also look delicious, with a huge variety from crusty white French Baguettes, to dark and fragrant Pumpernickel. If you like to bake then it's probably worth buying the book for these sections alone. Whilst the recipes all contained too much sugar and refined starches for my wholesome taste, you may find them absolutely fine and could always try substituting your favourite low glycaemic sweetener, reducing the amount to your own liking.

Other great sections included menu plans covering a whole week, taking the guesswork out of what to buy and cook - (but were very heavy on ground (minced) meat); cooking tips for gluten free baking, speedy short cuts in preparation and a brief description of the many gluten free grains available, what effect they have in baked goods and suitable alternatives in case of intolerance or unavailability.

What surprised me therefore was that she chose to stick to one basic flour mix (Carol's mix) throughout the book and ignore the amazing wealth of flours she outlines herself in a later chapter. I find it such a shame that with only a few exceptions, authors of gluten free recipe books feel compelled to continue using only the blandest flours and often resort to unhealthy starches in order to replicate the white flour that many people are used to consuming. Carol's saving grace is that she uses sorghum flour in place of the more common (and much less nutritious) rice flour, in her flour mix - for this I applaud her and hope she will be more adventurous in the future.

The rest of the book I can't endorse as it relied too heavily on dried and tinned goods. After the twentieth recipe including dried minced onions I put the book down and reached instinctively for a fresh carrot. I understand that Carol is trying to reduce prep time as much as possible, but she does it at the expense of nutrition and flavour. If you really don't have time to chop an onion then chop lots at once (in your food processor) and freeze them in half onion portions. Please don't use dried parsley as a garnish for Thai Salmon Chowder - it's an insult to Thailand! Consider buying some fresh coriander and letting it grow on your windowsill - snip off a few leaves in the time it takes you to open a jar. I don't want to come over as a purist - I use frozen peas and tinned tomatoes, but I use them because they also taste great and allow me to eat those items sustainably out of season. We all need to reduce the amount of processed food we eat, the energy used in processing it and the extra packaging such foods add to an ever expanding global carbon footprint.

Cutting gluten out of your life is an opportunity to get back in touch with food, to minimise the unnecessary chemicals and additives, the highly refined starches, sugars, processed fats and denatured foods that have become the staples of daily life in the western world.  You don't have to eat expensive, exotic or laboriously prepared food to eat well, it just requires some planning. Bear this in mind if you choose to buy the book and take the useful time saving advice contained in it with a pinch of (sea) salt. Only you can decide whether you are ready to trade in the delicious sweet taste of onions sauteed gently in oil, for the convenience of onions from a jar. For me, there's no comparison - but I guess I'm just a hard line fresh onion girl......

To buy the book on amazon.co.uk just click this link; Gluten-Free Quick and Easy UK

To buy the book on amazon.com just click this link; Gluten-Free Quick and Easy US

A Residue That's Good for You! - Carrot Pulp Bread (SCD)

Every now and then I get excited about juicing things with my high speed fruit and vegetable pulveriser and we have some fresh juice. Whilst my humble juicer spends most of its life watching the bustle of daily life, endless journeys to fridge and sink, emptying and filling of bins and trugs, the whirr and clatter of the food processor and click, click click, fwoosh! of the stove flaring into action; there are times when piles of carrots and apples appear and the juicer just  knows - it's business time.

Juicing is a bit like a great party, all the prep is fun, choosing veg and fruit and wondering what they will taste like together, then there's all the noise and excitement of the juicing itself followed by blissful drinking, lip smacking and amusing orange froth moustaches. Only when the juice induced euphoria wears off do you realise what a mess you made and your friends have gone home, leaving you to clear up. Plus you have all this pulp to deal with, you can't just throw it away can you? - well can you? I can't, I was raised by hippies to whom throwing vegetables away is as near as the non religious come to sacrilege. If they aren't going to be eaten then one must make stock out of them or something else useful like compost.

So when our morning juice party was over and the orange moustaches wiped away, I dutifully scraped the bright orange pulp left in the machine into a jar and stuck it in the fridge. The juicer shuffled back into its corner again and we both got on with our lives. A day or so mooched by and every time I went to the fridge for something, there was the jar, looking sullenly at me as if to say, 'the apple has fallen far from the tree' in a voice not unlike Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. By the second day I could take it no more. I grabbed the sulky jar of pulp and threw the contents into a bowl, along with some ground almonds, eggs, butter and something to make it rise.

The lack of care and ease of preparation made me suspicious that the end result would be a loaf with the appearance and texture of Eeyore, dense, fibrous and depressing. Never-the-less, I had done my bit of useful baking and we'd just have to get over the results, however uninspiring. When an hour was up and I was sure that the loaf would be truly dead, I removed it from the oven and left it to cool. The top of the bread looked unpromisingly bumpy, but it was a nice golden orange colour and the loaf had at least risen some.

When I finally cut a slice for Fin on his return home from school it was a strange pale orange colour, but with the most amazing bright orange yellow under the crust. The crumb looked moist and firm yet light and it did slice beautifully. 'This is fantastic!' enthused Fin through a shower of half chewed crumbs that had escaped his newly missing tooth and grabbed another slice to take with him into the garden as he inspected the ants. We greeted the next morning with thick slices of orange toast, spread with butter and honey - under the heat of the grill the pale orange turned a bright carrot hue and introduced a desirable crispness to the outside of each slice. It's not a savoury bread as I discovered when I laid a perfect poached egg on top, but would make fantastic french toast with some extra cinnamon and maybe some stewed apples on the side.

I guess what I enjoyed most was the feeling of completeness that using the carrot pulp gave me - here was something that I had previously thought of as a waste product and wished I had a use for. Because nut breads have a tendency to be amazingly rich, using this pulp does lighten them and moisten the crumb - without the extra moisture that plain grated vegetables bring. And all the moisture you extract to get this useful pulp can be sipped even more joyously in the knowledge that a great slice of toast is in the pipeline. Hmmm, wonder what I can juice next?

Carrot Pulp Bread

8oz Carrot Pulp (left over from juicing)
6oz Ground Almonds
2oz Melted Butter
2-4tsp Honey
4 Large Free Range Eggs
1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
2 tsp Cream of Tartar
Juice of half a lime or a third of a lemon
1 tsp Cinnamon
Half tsp Fresh Grated Nutmeg
1 tsp Cider Vinegar
(Optional) small handful of chopped walnuts, pecans or raisins

Preheat the oven to 160C fan assisted, 175C without, and put a tray of water in the bottom of the oven. Line a 1lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper, letting it hang well over the edges.

In a mixing bowl, stir together carrot pulp, ground almonds, melted butter, spices, bicarb and eggs.

In a small bowl or cup stir together, cream of tartar, lime juice, vinegar and honey. Pour over the rest of the ingredients (adding the option extras if wished) and stir till well mixed in. Pile into the tin and smooth the top.

Bake for 50 - 70 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes and then gently loosen with a knife and lift out using the paper strips. Leave paper attached until completely cool and then remove carefully so as not to detach the crust. Slice and toast or keep in an airtight container for up to three days. Otherwise, slice and open freeze, storing in an airtight container in the freezer for up to three weeks.

A Little Bit of Summer

We had a brief spell of hot weather last week that had us all checking our winter coats into the dry cleaners, shaking out the summer skirts and exfoliating like mad in preparation for the fake-tan-athon that is an English summer. Of course, as soon as we were planning barbecues and throwing open the doors to let in the sun - it disappeared behind a damp bank of grey cloud and drenched our hopes of alfresco fun with the sort of light but persistent rain we enjoy so often these days as soon as it gets warm.

To keep my spirits up and pretend that summer was merely a bag of frozen berries away, I made some fruit studded bread, using the last of some impulsively purchased Spanish cherries (yes, I know) and some reassuringly British frozen raspberries. The berries bleed into the bread, the way a blueberry does into a muffin, and stud each slice as it is cut.

Now don't be expecting the sort of bread that you can slice and toast - this is really more of a cake than a bread in texture, a moist cake at that. If you want something firmer and drier then add more almonds and less  butter. It was nutritious enough for a thick slice to form the major part of Fin's lunch the next day - a very exciting prospect for a boy convinced that he was somehow cheating the system by finding only vegetables and cake in his tuck-box.

I enjoyed a generous slice for breakfast, but you could dress it up with some fresh berries and a drizzle of blossom honey or cream and have it for dessert, or afternoon tea. You know I'm no stickler for tradition where meals are concerned. Have it when you fancy and kid yourself that summer really is here. Maybe if we all pretend?......

Raspberry Tea-bread

1 very ripe banana mashed
8oz mixed nut meals (I used 2oz each of pecan, brazil, hazel and almond)
3oz soft butter
2 tsp nut butter (hazel or almond)
1 dessertspoon honey
3 large eggs
juice half a lime, or lemon
1 tsp lemon or lime zest
1 handful stoned, halved cherries
1 handful frozen or fresh raspberries
1 small handful black raisins
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp cream of tartar (or 2 tsp cider vinegar for SCD)

Line a 1lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper and brush with oil. Preheat the oven to 160C (fan assisted) 175C without fan.

In a food processor or using an electric hand whisk, blend butter, honey, nut butter, zest, cream of tartar/vinegar and lime/lemon juice until light and fluffy. 

Add the mashed banana and beat until incorporated. 

Beat in a tablespoon of nut meal and then one egg. Repeat until all eggs are beaten in.

Stir in bicarb, remaining nut meal and raisins. 

Spoon a third of the mixture into the tin and sprinkle with half the cherries and half the raspberries. Spoon another third of the mixture on top and smooth gently. Sprinkle over the remaining berries and cover with the rest of the mixture, smoothing over the top to finish.

Bake for 60 - 75 mins until golden brown on top, firm to the touch and a cake probe comes out cleanish. Allow to cool for 10-15 mins and then loosen and lift out of the tin using the spare overlap of paper. 

Cool completely on a rack and then gently remove paper using a knife to help. Wrap in fresh greaseproof and store in an airtight container for up to three days, or slice and freeze immediately.

Breakfast! 'Go Ahead Honey it's Gluten Free!' - Pure Banana Ice-Cream

We are big fans of bananas these days, easy to eat and digest, conveniently wrapped and high in the kind of carbohydrate a damaged gut can process without too much fuss. Starchier unripe bananas however, are much harder to digest - so I'm constantly searching for perfectly ripe specimens, scanning grocers displays for those little brown spots like a sniffer dog on a mission. My solution is to have a banana cupboard stuffed with the things in varying stages of ripeness, so that when we need a banana fix there's always at least one at the point of perfection, brown flecked outside and spotlessly creamy inside.

Consequently, Fin is starting to resemble a monkey - no really - what with his terminal avoidance of haircutting and washing and his penchant for nudity; as he scampers pinkly around the garden, tousle haired with a peeled banana in one hand and an insane chuckle ringing in the bushes, I am minded of the seven stages of man......hmm. This week I discovered red ants all over the lawn in little muddy piles like tiny molehills. So now Fin has to wear wellies if he wants to run about the garden - bizarrely making his nudity more apparent. Strange that, isn't it? A bikini is clothing, wellies and naked skin just scream naturist.

Anyway, when I mentioned that I was going to make ice-cream for breakfast Fin regarded me with a suspicious look, like a pet trying to work out if this unusual treat will have some foul tasting medicine hidden in it like last time. He decided not to ask too many questions in case I changed my mind once I had become aware that ice-cream was not a legitimate breakfast choice and decided on steamed broccoli instead. But the secret, (that I chose to keep to myself) is that this ice-cream is no more sinful than eating a plain old banana whilst swinging naked around the garden. It's gluten free, grain free, dairy free, sugar free - in fact, I should rename it iced freedom. Of course, if you have banana intolerance, you're stuffed on this one and I really do feel your pain.

Everyone else, feel free to break those breakfast conventions and make yourself the campest breakfast possible - add some cocktail umbrellas or stir through some fruit puree, add some frozen berries for the pinkest ice-cream or a tiny shot of strong coffee and some hazel butter for something rather grown-up and sophisticated. Some hazelnut cookies would be delicious here and increase the protein content, whilst adding to the illusion that you really are having something so decadently naughty for breakfast - just leave out the cocoa-butter truffle, I mean it's still breakfast right?

Nick declined my offer of ice-cream, pouring himself a more traditional bowl of oats and milk instead. And so we sat, thoughtfully spooning from our martini glasses and comparing flavours as Nick chewed his oats. It was a delicious way to start the day, light, playful and comforting - a smooth, creamy glass of banana snow that demands to be eaten slowly and followed with a steaming cup of something clean and fragrant; Earl Grey in my case. Now I'm wondering what else I can put in the freezer to whizz up for breakfast. Any suggestions?

Pure Banana Ice-Cream

I feel fraudulent giving this as a recipe, when its really just a method - but never mind my scruples, here it is....

1 ripe banana per person.

Choose really ripe bananas for this as they give the sweetest ice-cream and the best texture. Chop the banana roughly and freeze on a plate until hard (3-4 hours or overnight). When you want to eat ice-cream just bung the banana in a food processor with any flavours you want to add and whizz until it's a smooth ice-cream texture, scraping down a couple of times and adding a few teaspoons of water if it seems too stiff. Then spoon into a lovely glass, garnish as camply as possible and spoon slowly into your mouth.

Optional additions:
Rose and vanilla - tsp vanilla extract and half tsp rose water per banana
Hazelnut - large tsp hazel butter and tsp vanilla per banana
Strawberry - handful of chopped strawbs frozen with the banana
Forest fruits - a handful of frozen berries per banana (you can buy these already frozen too)
Coffee - a small shot of well chilled espresso per banana (you might want to add a little honey or agave with this

Of course, there are endless ways you could vary this simple ice-cream and many other garnishes that you could add. If anyone finds another combination that they just have to shout about - let me know, I'd love to try it!

If anyone would like to enter a breakfast dish for Go Ahead Honey it's Gluten Free, please check the link there for information and email me your entry before the deadline. I'm really looking forward to seeing what you all come up with. Ain't breakfast great?

Bread and Coffee

This morning I pegged the washing on the line under a faultless blue sky, a breeze throwing my hair about and warm May sunshine falling on my shoulders. Blackbirds nesting under the eves shook their feathers out and stood on the roof calling to each other insistently as their babies cheeped from the dark space under the tiles. Harry the neighbour's cat stretched as luxuriously on the sun warmed stones as if they had been a feather bed and went to the pond to have a drink - or terrorise the fish.

As much as I wanted any excuse to linger in the garden and soak up such a perfect morning, I also wanted some bread. Something to slice and smother, a loaf of something to wrap and keep for a moment of peckishness later in the day.

So I headed blinking into the dark cool kitchen and stirred up a quick loaf with some pecan meal and grated carrots - I guess it's like a nutty carrot cake without all the spices and sugar. This loaf has the kind of nuttiness and depth that makes me think of malted breakfast cereal. It's moist and sweet without actually being sweet, the way that roasted vegetables acquire that dark caramelised sweetness that sits perfectly well with some cheese or a slick of honey - somewhere in between sweet and savoury.

As I pulled the loaf out of the oven and inhaled that deep roasted nut scent, I was overwhelmed with a desire for some black coffee. I'll put that in context for you - I've not drunk coffee for about four or five years now after I found it gave me palpitations and could only be consumed with a hefty dose of sherry or brandy (as the Spanish do) to moderate the adrenaline rush. Now, believing that this was no way for mummy to start the day, I dutifully struck it from my repertoire of beverages and merely breathed the coffeeish air around Nick's morning cup, but swallowed nothing darker than weak tea.

With a giddy feeling not unlike walking right at the edge of a cliff on a windy day, I set the kettle on the stove and poured out a steaming, creamy espresso and stirred in a spoonful of honey; eased two thick slices of warm bread onto a lovely plate and stepped into the sunshine. It was delicious! Yes I felt the caffeine course through me and may need a stiff chamomile before bed tonight, but it was worth it. This bread sings with coffee.

Pecan Carrot Bread



7oz Peeled and grated carrots (I used half squash half carrot), peeled weight
8oz Pecan nut meal (or grind your own)
4oz Organic butter
3 Large organic eggs
1 tsp Honey
Pinch salt
Good squeeze of lemon
1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp Cream of tartar (2 tsp cider vinegar for SCD)

Preheat the oven to 160C fan assisted (175 without fan) place a tray of water in the bottom of the oven to make a steamy atmosphere. Line a small (1lb) loaf tin with greaseproof paper and have the ends drape over the sides - makes it easier to lift out. Grease any unlined areas.

whiz the butter in a food processor with 2 tbs of the pecan meal, honey and bicarb. Separate the eggs and add yolks one at a time, processing until the mixture is pale and fluffy.

In a scrupulously clean bowl beat the egg whites, cream of tartar or vinegar, lemon juice and salt into stiff peaks.

Mix together grated carrots, pecan meal and butter mix. Gently stir in about half of the egg whites and then carefully fold in the rest, trying to keep as much of the air as possible.

Spoon into the tin and smooth the surface. Bake for 60-75 minutes until deep golden brown and firm to the touch - err on the side of over baking as it will be moist inside. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then remove with the paper still attached and cool completely on a rack. Remove the paper carefully using a knife when cold. Wrap in greaseproof and store in an airtight container for up to two days or slice and freeze immediately.

Teeny Tiny Tarts SCD

Remember the coconut tarts with a chocolate ganache filling? Well I've been thinking about them quite often myself recently, once when my attention started to wander during a food safety course last week, and again standing in the queue at the grocers or whilst cycling through the countryside without another useful thought in my head - my mind just seemed to want to rest wistfully on those tarts as softly as a butterfly visits flowers, drawn back irresistably to the sweetness.

Of course indulging in this wistful pollen collecting is all very well, but a girl needs to keep her mind on the important stuff and get things done, not keep mooning about and visiting the cupboard to stare at the cocoa butter with unrequited longing. Eventually I realised I just had to make the damn things and get it out of my system.

So I made these, but, because I can't have chocolate or cream or agave or coconut right now, I made them different. Blonde. Soothingly custardy without any help from cow or sheep or goat. The crust has more of a crunch than with coconut, but it is not sable or short at all - even though it does look it in the photos, it's just pleasingly crisp.

Now hear me sigh the sound of longing fulfilled and listen for the faint rumbling of wheels as the work train gets up speed......woo-o-woo! I just have to make it past the cupboard.....

Teeny Tiny Almond Tarts (Makes 7)

Almond Crust

5oz almond flour (ground almonds)
1 duck egg white (or extra large hens egg white)
tsp bourbon vanilla extract
1 dessert spoon runny honey or agave syrup

Preheat the oven to 160C

Combine everything in a bowl and smoosh with a spoon until a soft and slightly sticky dough forms. Generously oil or butter 7 holes of a muffin tin.

Divide the dough into seven pieces and roll into balls. Flatten each one so that it is slightly larger than the diameter of the muffin tin hole and press gently into the tin and up the sides. Patch any holes or the tarts will leak.

Bake for approx 8 minutes or until starting to turn golden brown around the edges. Don't let them burn or they will be bitter. Cool for a few minutes in the tin and then gently loosen using a butter knife and twist out of the tins. Cool completely on a rack.

They can now be kept in an airtight container till the next day or frozen for up to a couple of weeks in an airtight container.

Cocoa Butter Custard (dairy free!)

2 oz cocoa butter chopped coarsely
1 duck egg yolk (or extra large hens egg yolk)
2 tsp runny honey or agave syrup
4 tbs water
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp hazelbutter or white almond butter

bring the water to the boil in your smallest saucepan (a milk pan is ideal). Off the heat, add chopped cocoa butter (or plain chocolate) and leave to melt for a couple of minutes.

Beat together the honey, egg yolk and nut butter in a bowl and set aside.

Bring the cocoa butter mix back up to the boil and pour onto the egg mixture in a thin stream, whisking constantly to prevent curdling.

Pour everything back into the saucepan and cook over a gentle heat, whisking constantly until it starts to thicken a little. Take off the heat, plunge the bottom of the pan into cold water, still whisking and then pour evenly into the waiting almond crust cases.

Chill for at least two hours or until set. You can speed this up in the freezer, but don't eat them frozen or they will be icy, not gooey.