Jam Tarts

Who doesn't like a jam tart? The problem with the free from ones is they either contain egg, or the few that are really milk, egg, wheat and soya free, contain nuts, making them instantly not suitable for packed lunch (school nut ban).

Key Stage 1 party tomorrow afternoon, with the usual helpful 24hours notice about what food I need to provide! Fortunately, this year, they helpfully suggested that rather than me providing food for 8 children (sausages/carrot sticks etc), I have only been asked to provide a plate of food for Mini Monster. Now I just need to figure out what the others will have and make sure he gets an equivalent…

Obviously, I've started with pudding...

Makes 12 tarts

200g Gluten/Wheat Free Plain Flour 

70g Hard vegetable fat (Stork(the hard one not the spreadable, which contains milk)/cookeen/trex)

5-6tbsp Dairy and soya free cream/milk substitute
Extra Fruit Jam, or Clearspring fruit spread for no added sugar ones

Put flour in bowl and rub in fat until resembles breadcrumbs.

Slowly mix in the milk substitute, using a blunt knife, until the mix begins to come together.

Kneed well.

Roll out thinly between 2 sheets of cling film (means you don't need to add extra flour and risk it drying out).

Cut rounds and place in a greased tart tin.

Fill with 1tspn fruit spread/jam.

Bake at 200ºC for 15-20mins.

'Bacon Rolls' - Tomato and ham stuffed bread

These stuffed breads are based on the Italian Stromboli I remember from my childhood. Despite not being remotely like a bacon roll, Mini Monsters name for these has always stuck in this house.

These freeze very well and are perfect in a packed lunch box (I just take mine out of freezer the night before and leave packed lunch in the fridge overnight). 

250g Orgran Easy Bake Bread Mix
220mls cold water or milk substitute (less if using the spinach)
30mls Olive (or other) Oil
2 Balls of Frozen Chopped Spinach (defrosted) - optional
Extra Flour for kneading (I use Doves Farm 
Ham
Tomato Sauce
Basil Paste/Frozen Chopped Basil

Weigh bread mix into a bowl.

Put defrosted spinach into a measuring jug, add milk substitute or water to make up to 220mls, add oil. Mix.

Add to the flour mix.

Mix with a blunt knife unto the mixture comes together.

Kneed lightly with a little more flour if too sticky.

Divide dough into two and press out on a floured surface, using your hand, to form two rectangles.

Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce down the middle of each.

Top with basil and ham, before folding in the sides.

Carefully move to a greased tray and bake for 20mins at 200ºC.

Cut each into 3 pieces, cool and freeze until needed.

Easy Oat Biscuits

This week's packed lunch biscuits prove you don't need any fancy equipment in your kitchen…

60g Dairy and Soya Free Spread

30g (1/4 cup) Caster Sugar

30mls Milk Substitute)

1 tbsp Honey (or syrup)

1 tsp Vanilla Paste (or extract) - optional

50g (1/2 cup) Oats

150g (1 cup) Wheat free flour (I used gluten free white bread flour) or plain flour

1/4 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

(mine had dried strawberry pieces too)

Mix dairy free spread, sugar and vanilla with the back of a spoon.

Slowly mix in the honey and milk substitute.

Add all other ingredients and mix well.

Roll teaspoons of mixture into balls and place on tray, flatten slightly.

Bake at 180ºC for 15 minutes until golden brown.

Cool on wire rack.

Custard

I've neglected the blog for a while, but with a new year comes a new start, I need to get into the habit again. This year I'm starting with some basics, for those who didn't cook before having a child with allergies made it a necessity.

2tbsp (heaped) Custard Powder (or corn flour, or a mixture as I used here)

Sugar to taste (I didn't use any when boys were small, now only about 1tbsp)

350mls Milk Substitute (different substitutes require more or less cornflour/custard powder to thicken, if yours is the wrong consistency, just add more or less next time)

1-200mls Dairy and Soya Free Cream (e.g. rice/oat/almond)

Put custard powder and sugar (if using) in a bowl.

Mix with a little of the milk substitute to form a paste.

Add the rest of the milk substitute and stir well.

Microwave for 2 mins (should just be beginning to thicken and change colour on the edge) and stir well again.

Microwave for another 2-3 mins until thick and bubbling (make sure your bowl is big enough so it doesn't boil over).

Beat well, then mix in the dairy free cream.

If you'r leaving it to cool, mix again a few times to stop a skin forming.

Sponge Pudding

My real food hero is my mum, who armed me with enough basic cooking skills to be able to fend for myself and know what will work by eye. Unfortunately, that makes getting recipes down to share more difficult as I often don't use scales. 

One of the most useful basic recipes I had when I left home was sponge pudding (second only to emergency bread, which I use regularly on the days I realise I have no bread for packed lunch). Even better is it works in the microwave for a fairly instant pud!

It's taken a while to perfect it without the egg or the wheat, but the boys never refuse it as a pudding option, and if there is any left, it's great in their packed lunch the next day.

Basic recipe:

60g Dairy and Soya Free Spread (e.g. Pure/Vitalite)

30g Sugar

105mls Milk Substitute (4 + 3 tbsp)

1 tsp Vanilla Paste

110g Gluten free/Wheat free Self Raising Flour (depending on the blend, you may need to adjust the fluid to get a dropping consistency) or 120g Self Raising Flour (if you don't need it to be wheat free)

Flavour options:

Fruit - add a couple of handfuls of frozen fruit to the bottom of the bowl and cover with the sponge mix (as in these photos)

Banana - add a mashed banana after whisking in the milk

Jam - add a couple of tablespoons of jam to the bottom of the bowl and cover with the sponge mix

Blueberry - add a handful of blueberries (or any other fruit) to the mix

Ginger and Chocolate Chip - add small pack of chocolate buttons and finely grated preserved ginger (or a little ground ginger) to the mix

Syrup - add a couple of tablespoons of syrup to the bottom of the bowl and cover with the sponge mix
Chocolate - swap 10g of the flour for cocoa powder

Whisk spread, sugar and vanilla together.

Whisk in 4 tbsp milk substitute (1 tbsp at a time) until well combined (don't worry if it looks curdled, just keep whisking until it comes back together).

Add the flour and the rest of the milk and mix until just combined.

Stir in other flavours/fruit/chocolate chips etc if using.

Spoon into a greased microwavable bowl (over jam/fruit/syrup etc) and smooth the top.

Microwave for 4-6 minutes (or until risen and spongy to the touch and just coming away from the sides of the bowl). It can also be cooked like a sponge in a normal oven, I'm just never organised enough to start it in time for pudding!

Usually I scoop straight from bowl, but it can be turned out onto a plate to serve

Spoon into bowls and serve with suitable custard/cream/ice-cream…

Enjoy!

Rosemary and Sweet Potato Scones

I baked a sweet potato today intending to have a go at making pasta, but then ran out of time for experimenting (I almost forgot to get the boys from school too, but that's another story…) so needed something else to use it in.

This is basically an adaptation of the dumpling recipe. It made 6 small triangles with a lovely crisp crust and soft middle. Perfect for dunking in tomato sauce, gravy or on their own fresh and warm from the oven (can I admit to having real butter on mine…?). 

120g GF Self Raising Flour (Orgran/Doves Farm)

50g Dairy and Soya Free Spread (Vitalite/Pure

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

100g Mashed Sweet Potato*

Chopped Rosemary (I used about a teaspoon of fresh, use less if dried)

1/2tsp Vinegar or Lemon Juice

30mls Milk Substitute

extra flour for kneading

Put flour baking powder and rosemary in a bowl.

Rub in the spread until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

Add the sweet potato mash, vinegar and milk substitute and mix with a blunt knife until mixture comes together.

Sprinkle over a little extra flour so your hands don't stick and knead lightly into a ball.

Flatten onto a greased tray and mark top with a knife so it can be broken apart when cooked.

Bake at 220ºC for 40mins.

Cool slightly on a wire rack, then break apart along the lines.

Alternatively, Flatten out with your hand to about 2cm thick, cut into circles or rectangles, place on the tray and bake for about 20mins.

*prick all over with a fork and microwave until soft (about 4-6 mins depending on size - mine gave me 200g of flesh). Leave to cool slightly, cut lengthways the scoop out the middle and mash with a fork.