No Weird Stuff Gluten Free Bread

So as a regular gluten free bread consumer it finally occurred to me to make my own. It concerned me, often when reading the ingredients list on bought breads, that there were lots of weird additives gums and preservatives and i thought: "Surly it can be done without this stuff..." And it can! 

The key ingredient? Psyllium Husk! Who woulda thought!? Well here it is. It really is a beautiful bread that keeps well out of the fridge, is springy and soft in the middle, crunchy on the outside and great toasted. What is more, there is no kneading needed! (pun ashamedly intended).

Please comment if you try it with successful variations, I'm keen to know! Like any good bread base you could add dried fruits for a sweet bread or olives and rosemary or seeds- anything!

I have also made double the mixture for a larger loaf so if that's your thing - go for it.  

Enjoy

x River

Apple, Beet n' Mint Juice

I love love love beetroot in juice. It is so grounding and mellow and what an amazing colour!

Avocado n' Kale Green Smoothie

So here we go! Breakfast on the first day. I woke up pretty hungry so i thought i'd have a nice filling smoothie. This made about two glasses full so i will save one for later in the day. Nom nom nom...

Juice Cleanse!

Every couple of months I do a bit of a detox/cleanse. It helps the digestive system to repair and gives it a little break from all its hard work "Good Job Digestion!". It also helps to clean the toxins out of the skin - that's us, wine and coffee lovers.

So i went to the vegie store and stocked up on all my favourite juicing ingredients. Green apples, oranges, ginger, kale, celery, cucumber, beetroot ect. And for the next three days i'm going to be juicing and smootherising like crazy. 

I also just got delivered from The States, a great Green Superfood powder Vitamineral Green, that a good friend of mine recommended. It sounds amazing and I can't wait to get it into my system.  

Lots of love

River

Date Balls

I love a little something sweet especially at around three thirtyitis but finding the thing that hits the spot but which is also good for you is hard. 

These date balls are a great answer to that predicament. They are completely natural, raw and so easy to make.

I buy a date paste in bulk and have used it here but it is just the same with whole dates.

Variations: add some goji berries and nutmeg... Or replace cashews with almonds. Cocoa nibs are great for choc-heads. Experiment and have fun!

Love

River

Mushroom n' Fennel Salad

A good salad is quite an art. I have been disappointed so many times eating out at cafe's that think they can throw any vegetable together with some oil and balsamic and us vegetarians will be happy.

There are three main things that need to be thought about when making a salad.

1. Texture
2. Acidity VS Sweet
3. Dressing

There must be a variety of textures... something soft, something crunchy. 

There must be a good level of acidity and a back flavour of sweet

And the dressing must bring all the flavours together harmoniously.

Quite a task indeed!!

Well here is the first salad... with a crunchy nut, a soft mushroomm; an acidic lemon and a sweet dressing and; a nutty dressing that brings is all together.

Love

River

Butter Bean Veggie Burger

This is a really easy veggie burger concept. In theory you could combine any vegetables you have lying around with the butter beans and besan flour. Here I've used carrot, mushroom and celery. 

It's super quick to make, filling, and a sure fire winner even for the carnivores.

Enjoy!

x River

Hummus

Hummus hummus huuuumus. How i doth love thee. 

I eat so much hummus it's bazaar this is my first time making it. I was pretty darn excited and the result is so good, and so very cost effective! For about the same cost of a little tub in the store you can make about four times that. The levels of acidity and so forth took a little playing around with but that is half the fun.

Well enough banter, here it is!

Love River

Spicy Tomato Relish

Tomato relish is one of my favourite condiments. It brings to life so many things. Great on sandwiches, burgers or  eggs n' toast. I love chili so i made a spicy one with some red jalapeno peppers on our tree. But if you don't like heat, just leave it out. Be careful also because different chilies have a relative heat ratio. My advice is to put in a little, try it and then add more.

This makes a whole pot full so bottle it in some sterilised jars and keep it for latter or give it to friends. It just keeps getting better and better with time as the flavours settle too. Mmmmmm... 

I've noted that most, if not all relish brands on the market have a heap of sugar in them. I'm trying to stay away from refined sugar so this uses the natural sugar in apples to sweeten, helped along with a table spoon or two of honey.

I also like to roughly puree my relish to give it an even consistency but if you like the bits omit this step. I would advise however to grate the apples instead of chop.

Have fun!

Love River

Freedom Pear and Almond Cake

This is the easiest, quickest cake I've ever made and it's totally gluten free (yey for happy tummies!) Not only that but it is also diary free and refined sugar free. 

It's no mess because you only use one pot and it looks and tastes divine.

Enjoy

Love River

Coconut, Rockmelon and Rosepetal Pudding

I whipped this up in about 5 minutes spontaneously and was mighty pleased with the result!

I love going to specialty food stores and finding interesting, fancy-pants ingredients to be creative with. I had these rose petals that i hadn't used yet and thought they would go lovely with a creamy desert. The great thing about this is that you don't need to cook it or put it in the fridge for hours but the texture is really puddling-like. Plusss psyllium husk is a great fiber addition that helps with digestion.

If you don't have rockmelon you could easily use pineapple or strawberries or any kind of berry for that matter. Oh goodness it would be great with fresh blackberries... 

Enjoy this desert you can feel good about!

x River

Poached Egg and Green Bean Lunch

This is a nice light lunch and the sauce is so tasty there will certainly be some left over to use on pasta or sandwiches.

For anyone that has concerns about poaching eggs here are a few tips:

• Make sure the eggs are fresh. The fresher the egg that more it will stick together. If you've had the eggs in the fridge for a week it will probably not work so well
• Don't let the water boil. Keep the water on the verge of boiling, the little bubbles that hang around the sides, but never a rolling boil.
• Give it a good dash of vinegar. A good splash of white vinegar, the cheap stuff is quite alright, in the water will make it all come together.
• How do i know if it's cooked? With your utensil, bring the egg to the top of the water and gently poke the yolk with your finger. If it wobbles its runny, if it's soft but not wobbly it's just set and if it's firm then it's firm! Makes-a the sense-a!

Enjoy

x River

Beetroot Bean Dip

This is a super quick and easy dip recipe when you're feeling a bit peckish. It is also great on sandwiches and it super duper healthy. What's not to like! Oh oh... it's also a great colour. There you are. Sold.

Here it is.

Rosemary and Turmeric Crackers

I had never made crackers before but a shortage in the cupboard and an imminent spontaneous twilight picnic prompted a foray into cracker land.

I did have some besan flour, which is made from chickpeas thus gluten free, in the cupboard however. I came across this recipe but wanted to give it my own spin.

Turmeric is wonderful aesthetically for it's bright yellow colour but it also has some amazing healing properties. It has been used in eastern medicine for centuries in helping the liver, heart and skin and aiding in digestion and inflammation. 

This recipe is easy and quick. The tip about rolling out the dough between two pieces of baking paper is tops! Saves much flying flour and messiness. 

Enjoy 

x River

Real Hot Chocolate with Coconut And Spices

I think this must be the BEST hot chocolate i have ever had. It is a little more work that just throwing some milk on a powder and nuking it but oh Lordy is it worth it!

As i don't drink cows milk i wanted an alternative that was still rich and creamy. Coconut milk is the perfect thing and as we all know chocolate and coconut are a match made in island-style heaven.

Chocolate originated in South America where they consumed it with spices and chili and it's just so good with these added flavours. Really you could use any you like - star anise, lavender, rose, orange but here I've used some of my favourites. 

Mushroom Medley Stuffed Tom's on a Raw Zucchini Pasta bed with Baby Spinach n' Goats Cheese Salad

Home to my parents for the week and I'm always so inspired to cook for my family. Especially as we are all growing up and going our separate ways, it is nice to share a meal. I come from a family of passionate people, particularly around food. There are four "chefs", all naturally with their own opinions. As the resident vegetarian i get a kick out of feeding my fam something they wouldn't normally eat.

I did this Zucchini Pasta for the first time recently with a friend and as raw food is a fad i'm continuously more intrigued about i wanted to give it a go for the penultimate critics. 

There is a bit of a running joke between my dad and I about Nigella. Here's a cheeky little impersonation. It took herculanian strength to discreetly forgo the impulse to say... "Now rub the tomato residue upon your most ample bosom."

Enjoy.

Love River

Bonjour

After starting a food blog with my vegan friend I decided i needed MORE space to blog about food.   

Here's a little about me...

I'm Sydney born and bread (pun intended) and most fortunate to have spent the last years trotting around the globe tasting, seeking and sensing everything in my path. I am a most passionate enthusiast about anything connected to the senses. I dance like a woman possessed at gigs, laugh like a hyena and love love love cooking for people i... well... love! 

I'm also pretty keen on a healthy life style but everything in moderation. A friday afternoon cider and big bowl of chips (fries to you Yanks) is pure bliss. In fact there's another blog in that... "Cider n' Chips" haha *strokes chin*

The body is a miraculous machine that when working well it is pure magic. But it is very easy to upset and when somethings out the rest has to balance to make up for it and everything go berserk! 

A few of my philosophies on eating and on life n' all that:

1. Make No Rules - life is too short to say "i'm an (insert socially accepted form of diet/clothing style/profession/relationship status/philosophy/religion/star sign/ect)" 
We are a crazy mix of everything and are continually separating and reforming, especially as 20-somethings. So really make no rules and do what feels good. 

2. Eat What Your Body Tells You - Listen to your intuition, do and eat what makes you feel alive! It's certainly different for everyone.

3. Pass No Judgement - The less you judge, the more you love.

4. Try everything once - Life is short, give it a go, if you don't like it at least you know! I'm a vegetarian by choice but in the past i have tried many animal things including wild rabbit, deer, kangaroo, chicken intestine, crocodile and elk. 

So often we have already decided what an experience is going to be like before we have even jumped into it. I try to remind myself to just be present in the moment, keep an open heart and mind and i've found, in this state, so many wonders come your way. 

5. Close To Origin - The closer what you're eating is to it's source of origin, the better it is going to be for you. I'd love to see the day when there is no packaged food in my cupboard! Whole foods + whole grains leads to a wholeness in life.

So lets get to the eating part. I will leave this lil introductory post with some pics from my recent travels to Nepal. For more of my photos click HERE

Love, 

River