Slow Cooked Sausages in Apple Juice

With the advent of my returning to work two days a week, the slow cooker has been dusted off and put to good use on the days when I am out of the house, as work is fifteen to twenty minutes away by the time I pick up the girls and get home they are well in need of their dinner and won’t wait for a meal to be cooked. I’ve tried a few things this being one of the more successful.

Bare in mind that this recipe is using gluten free sausages, but as long as they are a good quality thick pork sausage you won’t go too far wrong.

Ingredients

2tsp Olive Oil

6 – 10 good quality gluten free pork sausages (depending on how many you’re feeding)

5 rashers smoked streaky bacon cut into small slices

4 eating apples, peeled, cored and diced

2 leeks trimmed, cleaned and cut

300ml of apple juice as this is a family recipe or you could use cider for a fuller flavour

• Heat the oil on a large frying pan, on a medium heat and brown the sausages, once coloured evenly spoon into slow cooker
• Return pan to heat and add the bacon and the leeks and fry until softened and coloured (about 3-5 minutes) spoon into slow cooker dish
• Add the apples together with the apple juice (or cider) cover with the lid and cook on low for 6-8 hours
• Serve with lashings of creamy mash and your favourite vegetables, I recommend purple sprouting broccoli, the kids recommend carrots!

I really enjoyed this and felt that it warranted sharing with others.

Bon Appetit!

Gluten Free Mince Pies

In an attempt to keep the Tallest on the go today in the hopes of a relatively trouble free bedtime (it worked!). I decided to revisit my mince pie recipe as the pastry in such small quantities just hasn’t been surviving in the oven. Since my diagnosis with Coeliac my pastry making has been the one area where I have struggled the most to make a passable end product, but today SUCCESS!

Et Viola!

To make 12 Mince Pies

8oz / 200g Gluten Free Plain Flour (I used Juvela Fibre Mix)

2oz / 50g Lard

2oz / 50g Butter or Margerine

Medium Egg

2tbsp Caster Sugar

Water (approx 3-4tbsp)

Jar Mincemeat

• In a mixing bowl, cut fats into small pieces and rub the Flour and Sugar into it using fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
• Gently stir in a beaten medium egg, and begin to bring the mixture together.
• You may need to add some water to clean bowl of  the dough, when the bowl is clean move the dough onto a suitable surface for kneading.
• The dough will still be quite crumbly and you need to knead for 2 minutes at least, so that the dough starts to smooth and become shiny.
• You do not have to prove gluten free dough but it will be easier to work if you place it in the fridge for around 20 minutes.
• Roll out, taking care to turn the pastry but not to turn it over (it will end in tears!) cut bases and place into prepared tins.
• Fill bases with mincemeat and place a dough star on top.
• Brush a little mix onto the stars to help prevent burning.

If you do not have bun tins, you can use a normal baking tray, line it with parchment, and cut rounds with a cookie cutter, place a blob of mincemeat into the middle and then cut a larger round and place it over the top, ‘gluing’ it with a little milk. You will have ‘upside -down’ mince pies, but they will still taste just as nice.

Edible Christmas Gifts

Using the recipes in the last three posts, they needed to be prettied up a bit. I was fortunate that I had some Cellophane card sleeves so I folded the bottom corners into themselves to turn it into a tube and then filled with the said goodies. Sealed the top and then gathered with a bit of ribbon and a label or tag. They look fab and taste even better.

In all honesty they take very little time to make, I made all the sweets during the smallests 1 hour nap the other morning when the Tallest was at Nursery, i’s the presentation that wants a little thought. I have even just been to my local florists, bought some of their flower wrap and the stapled little pouches together and they were also surprisingly effective.

I have to thank my friend Sarah for the Rocky Road and Cherry Recipes, but I have no idea where the easy fudge comes from – it is just written down in my collected recipes book, and I am sure that it is just a variation of a common recipe.

These are great extra gifts for family members, older members of the family who are not so easy to buy for, and for work colleagues, Nursery Staff (guess where some of ours went!) School mates etc.

Quick and Easy Chocolate Fudge

This is so utterly simple it not true, and it never fails to get me out of a tight corner at short notice, these are a real winner to take to any occasion and can be made in the time it takes to do the washing up, its only the chilling which takes time, but it can be chunked up and thrown into a basket at the very last minute as you go out of the door (yes I am talking from experience!).

You Will Need:

1lb 2oz / 500g Dark or Milk Chocolate

3/4oz / 75g Unsalted Butter

14oz / 400g Can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

• Line an 8′ / 20cm square cake tin with parchment paper, and make sure you have some coming out over the edges so that its easy to release the fudge.
• Break the chocolate into chunks and place into a large saucepan with the butter and the milk
• Heat gently and stir until the all the mixture has melted and is smooth. You must keep and low heat and do not let it boil.
• Remove from the heat and beat in the vanilla extract, beat the mixture for a minute or two off the heat until it begins to thicken. Then pour into your tin , help level the mixture by giving it a gentle shake.
• Chill until firm in the fridge (approx 2 hours)
• Turn out onto a chopping board and cut into squares

Chocolate Coated Cherries

Makes 2

You will need:

12 Glace Cherries

250g / 9oz Marzipan

125g / 5 1/2oz Dark or Milk Chocolate

Extra Milk, Dark or White Chocolate to decorate (optional)

• Line a standard sized baking tray with parchment paper.
• Cut the Cherries into half.
• Divide the marzipan into 24 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball, press half a cherry onto the top of each one.
• Break the chocolate into pieces, place into a bowl and set over a pan of boiling water. Stir until all the chocolate has melted.
• Dip each sweet into the chocolate, allowing the excess to drip back into the bowl and then place onto the prepared baking sheet.
• Chill until set (approx 2 hours)
• If you like you can melt a little extra chocolate and drizzle it over the top of the sweets, then leave to set.

Variations – Soak the Cherries in a little Cherry Brandy or Rum before using them for at least an hour, this gives them a little something extra, but I never have spirits in my house so it just doesn’t happen here!

Also as an alternative use a whole almond in place of the cherry, these work well bt you could experiment with your own favourite nut.

Rocky Road Bites

This recipe is supposed to be for 18, but I end up with rather more, as I prefer my chocs to be a bit daintier.

You will need:

125g / 4 1/2oz Milk Chocolate

50g / 2 1/2oz Mini Marshmallows (or cut up larger ones)

25g / 1oz Chopped Walnuts

25g / 1oz Dried Apricots

• Line a standard sized baking tray with parchment paper and set aside
• Break the chocolate into chunks and put into a mixing bowl, put this bowl over a pan of boiling water and stir until all the chocolate has melted.
• Stir in the Apricots and Walnuts tossing them in the chocolate to ensure that they are well covered.
• Stir in the marshmallows, these don’t want to be over the heat for too long as they melt extremely quickly and get too stringy.
• Place teaspoons of the mixture onto the prepared baking tray
• Set aside and allow the mix to come down to room temperature.
• Then chill in the fridge until set (approx 2 hours)
• Once they have set carefully remove the sweets from the parchment paper.

Quick and Simple Gluten Free Fruit Cake

Apologies for not having been around for the last few days, but I have been going through the controlled crying with the Smallest and it has taken up my time in the evenings when I would generally post…anyway, having decided that nobody in the family actually wants to eat a traditional iced Christmas Cake, I will instead make a normal fruit cake which I will just dust with icing and put appropriate decorations on. I made one this week to get the proportions right and here is the recipe.

You will need:

185g / 6oz Demerara Sugar

440g / 14oz Mixed Vine Fruit and Peel

300ml / 1/2 pt Water

90g / 3oz Glace Cherries

125g / 40z Butter

Pinch Salt

1 Beaten Egg

315g / 10oz Gluten Free Self Raising Flour

(Flaked Almonds and Glace Cherries to decorate the top if you wish)

• Preheat oven to 180*c GM4. This is for an 8″ cake Tin lined with parchement paper.
• Put in a saucepan the Water, Sugar, Fruit and Peel, cherries, butter and salt, bring this to the boil gently and then simmer for 20 minutes.
• Allow the mixture to cool.
• Add the beaten Egg to the mixture, then sift in the flour and mix thouroughly.
• Put the mixture into the prepared tin and make a small dent in the top of the mixture to aid a flat risen cake instead of a dome for easy decoration.
• Arrange the decorative fruit and nuts on top if you are having them.
• Bake in the oven for 1 1/2 hours or until golden brown. If the top is cooking to quickly put some parchment paper on top

This Fruit Cake really lends itself to gluten free baking, as there is not too much emphasis on the flour to rise, more for it to expand and fill the gaps between the fruit, this moist cake keeps well and could be made a few days before Christmas.

It is particulary enjoyable with a generous slice of hard mature cheese (my personal favourite!)

Enjoy!

Grandma Marshall’s Green Tomato Chutney

This is an adapted recipe, that my Paternal Grandmother used to make. It is loosely based aroung Mrs Beetons, but has been altered to suit her tastes. My Grandma passed away when I was a very small baby, so making things that came directly from her really make me feel that I have a connection to someone that I never really knew.

Made now, as a consequence of clearing out the unripened vines to make room for overwintering crops, this will be mature enough to use at Christmas, and a jar can make a nice little gift for someone.

You will need:

10lb Green Tomatoes

1lb Onions

1/20z Black Peppercorns

1oz Salt

2lb Sugar

2pts Vinegar

1lb Raisins

1lb Sultanas

1 Small Marrow

1 Good Pinch of Garam Masala

• Slice (or chop, depending on how coarse you like it) the tomatoes and chop the onions and mix together in a basin with the peppercorns and salt. Cover this with a clean cloth and leave overnight for the juices to extract.
• The next day boil up the sugar in the vinegar until it has all dissolved, then add the raisins and sultanas (which may be chopped too if you like). Simmer this for 5 minutes
• Then add the tomato and onion mix, simmer and stir regularly until the mixture is thick. It is ready when you can reveal the clean bottom of the pan as you draw the spoon along and the mixture just slowly comes together again.
• Put into clean, warm sterilised jars. (I tend to have mine in a low/simmering oven whilst the chutney is cooking) Never put hot food into cold jars as this will have disasterous consequences
• 

This chutney goes great with the usual suspects such as bread and cheese, but also makes a lovely fruity addition to lamb casserole.

Basic Biscuits

These are some biscuits that we made in preparation for halloween callers;

You need:

100gms (4oz) Butter

100gms (4ozs) Sugar

200gms (8oz) Gluten Free Plain Flour

1tsp Vanilla Essence

1 Medium Egg

• Line baking trays with parchment paper
• Cream together the butter and sugar, and add the vanilla essence
• Beat in the egg and the flour bringing it together to form a smooth dough
• Knead lightly, and continue adding flour, as the gluten free mix is thristy, and needs to be smooth not sticky
• Roll out to about 3-4mm (1/4inch) thick and cut out your shapes.
• Place on baking tray, and bake in oven at 180* GM4 for around 15-20 minutes
• Keep an eye on them as there is a thin line between golden and burnt!
• Leave them to cool for a moment as the bottoms will still be stuck to the paper, and then lift when they have cooled a little

These are just the plain version, but you can add ginger, lemon, chocolate, whatever you like really just as long as you keep the dough smooth.

A nice addition to these as a real treat is to melt some chocolate and dip the fronts into it, this makes some really edible gluten free versions of a chocolate digestive.

Coq Au Vin

This is just my Gluten Free variation on this classic dish.
Ingredients:

1 Chicken – divided into quarters or smaller

Chickens neck, heart and liver – if you have them

50g Butter

2 Tablespoon Olive Oil

4 Slices Bacon – chopped

2 Small Onion – peeled and chopped

50g Gluten Free plain flour seasoned with salt and pepper

500ml Red Wine

500ml Water or Stock

Bay, Parsley and Thyme

4 Garlic Clove – bruised, leave skins on

1 Tin Chopped Tomatoes

Salt and Pepper

• Melt Butter and Oil in heavy frying pan

• Fry Bacon umtil lightly browned, take out and put into flame proof casserole

• Fry Onions in same pan and add to casserole

• Dust the chicken pieces all over with the seasoned flour and brown in the pan, place these in the casserole

• Pour any juices remaining into the casserole as well

• Return pan to heat, pour in Wine and bring to the boil, scraping the bottom of the pan, pour this over the chicken

• Repeat with Stock or Water

• Add Herbs, Tinned Tomatoes and Garlic

• Cover and either gently simmer on hob, or place in a low oven (120c / GM1/2) until the meat is completely tender this could be for as long as 2 – 21/2 hours

• Take out Chicken pieces and boil cooking liquid until reduced to half the original volume, return chicken pieces and bring back to a gentle simmer ready to serve

Enjoy – hopefully more than DH did! We had ours with mash potatoes, but it up to you what you want to accompany it with.