Gluten Free Spicy Pork and Apple Meatloaf with a Feijoa Chutney

Here's a tasty lightly spiced pork and apple meatloaf. It's especially nice served with a feijoa chutney alongside. The magic ingredient is breadcrumbs made from Purebread Spicy Fruit Loaf. Which also conveniently makes it gluten free.
Nicest served hot but as it's a moist loaf it will happily sit in the fridge for several days.



Ingredients:

700 gm of pork mince (free range)

1 tablespoon of butter
1 small onion

1 large sweet apple ( I used Braeburn)

50 gm of Purebread Spicy Fruit Loaf

3 tablespoons of tomato sauce

1 tablespoon of dijon mustard

1 egg

salt and pepper to taste

To make it:

1. Chop the onion finely and saute in butter till soft.

2. Whizz 50 grams of Purebread spicy raisin loaf until reduced to crumbs

3. Put the breadcrumbs,  egg, tomato sauce, mustard  and salt and pepper in a large bowl.

4. Add the pork mince and mix well together.

5. Peel and chop the apple into small pieces and add.

6. Put the mixture in a loaf tin  and bake at 180 for about 40-45 minutes until done.

Feijoa Chutncy

Ingredients:

2 cups of chopped feijoa flesh

1/2 cup of sultanas

2 onions (chopped)

1 cup of brown sugar

1 1/2 cups of apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of garam masala

1 tablespoon of freshly ground ginger

1 cinnamon stick

Method

1 .Put all the ingredients in a bowl and leave for a couple of hours for the sugar to dissolve and the flavours to mingle

2. Then put in a large heavy-based saucepan

3. Bring the mixture to the boil

4. Turn down the heat and let it simmer gently.

5. Stir from time to time.

6. It will be done when the chutney looks thick and syrupy.

7. This will take about 45 minutes-1 hour

8. Let it cool before eating.

9. It will keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge.

10. Or it can be ladled  into sterilised jars,sealed and store in a cool dark place.

Feijoa, Banana, Almond and Brazil butter Smoothie

The feijoa season has started and we have already been the grateful recipients of some of our neighbour's crop. The flesh is so deliciously sweet and fragrant.

I made this  nutritious smoothie with some of them. The addition of a tablespoon of Purebread Almond and Brazil butter which has been lightly roasted and blended with virgin coconut oil from Samoa added an instant energy boost. What a great way to start the day!

To make it:

The night before put a sliced banana in the freezer.

Then in the morning simply whizz the following ingredients together:

The flesh of 4 large feijoas

1 frozen banana (sliced)

1 generous tablespoon of Purebread Almond and Brazil butter

a drop or two of pure vanilla essence

1/4 cup of yoghurt

1/4 cup of milk

Bircher Toasted Muesli with Chia Seeds

This is my favourite breakfast right now.

In  traditional bircher muesli rolled oats are used but I prefer to make it with lightly toasted Purebread Wild Oats Muesli (a blend of organic grains, seeds and honey).It tastes better that way, is chewier and full of goodness.

In this new recipe the chia seeds add a further healthy boost and a little crunch.

I love the way you can leave this bircher muesli in a covered container in the fridge for several days and just dip into it every morning. Such a timesaver!

The recipe can easily be multiplied.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of organic Purebread Wild Oats Muesli.

3/4 cup of light coconut milk/coconut water

2 tablespoon of white chia seeds

Method:

Mix together and soak for at least one hour or overnight.

Add some cubed rock melon and blueberries.

Serve with yoghurt alongside if you like

Variations

You can easily create your own version, and ring the changes, by substituting fruit juice/light coconut milk /almond milk for the coconut water and add other seasonal fruits.

I like it unsweetened as there is already a little honey in the Purebread Wild Oats Muesli but you can if you like dribble some runny honey/maple syrup on top. Nuts are good too.

Adding grated apple is especially  good stirred through the bircher muesli and with a sprinkling of cinnamon and toasted sliced almonds on top. I use coconut water rather than coconut milk for this version as it is lighter and more refreshing.

And if you would like a thicker bircher muesli use a little less liquid.

Rainbow Couscous with a Spicy Peanut butter Dressing

I was watching Peter Gordon on Maori Television making a couscous recipe last weekend and was reminded that it is better just to use cold water to make couscous. Most recipes use boiling water but this can make it gluggy.

I also liked the way he blitzed his herbs in a little oil in a food processor which saves a lot of chopping. It inspired me to create my own couscous recipe using a bunch of fresh herbs (which seem to be overtaking our vegetable patch and needed culling) and some of our abundant cherry tomato crop. With some red pepper and yellow sweetcorn added in as well it turned into a bright rainbow salad.

To make it I poured 1/2 cup of cold water over 1/2 cup of couscous and left it standing for about 20 minutes. The couscous had absorbed the water and was al dente by then (not too hard, not too soft)

In the meantime I blitzed a generous cup full of herbs  (a mixture of parsley, mint, oreganum and basil) in a food processor in 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil until they were reduced to a textured green sauce.

 I stirred this into a dressing made from:

2 tb-3tb of peanut butter ( I used Purebread peanut butter which is lightly roasted and blended with virgin coconut oil from Samoa)
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
2 tb of rice vinegar
1 tb of ponzu (made by Ceres Organics, A light citrusy flavoured soya sauce)
1 clove of peeled smashed garlic
1/4 of a finely chopped and deseeded red chilli pepper (or more if you like it fiery)

When the couscous was ready  I added

1 diced red pepper
1/2 cup of cooked sweetcorn kernels
A handful of cashews
1/2 cup of halved cherry tomatoes

And mixed the dressing through. Time to season with salt and freshly ground pepper and sharpen it with a generous squeeze of lemon juice.

And there it was, a meal in a bowl. No standing over a hot stove for this one so just right for the hot humid weather Auckland is turning up all too often this summer.

Glutenfree Tomato and Aubergine Toast Topper

Nigel Slater is one of my favourite food writers and a baked aubergine, tomato and parmesan dish from his book Tender (Volume 1) inspired me to make this spicy toast topper which is a meal in itself.  

To make it I simply brushed some aubergine slices/cubes generously with olive oil and seasoned them with salt and pepper. These were baked in a 200 degrees C  oven for about 20 minutes until soft and tender.

In the meantime  I chopped a couple of handfuls of cherry tomatoes and halved them). I scraped the seeds out of 1/2 a red chilli before chopping it finely and peeled and chopped a clove of garlic. These three ingredients seasoned with freshly ground salt and pepper were fried in a little oil until they became slightly mushy but still retained some of their shape.

The aubergines and tomato mixture were tossed together and piled onto toasted Purebread Glutenfree Young Buck bread. This is a seriously good bread which contains lots of organic gluten free ingredients like buckwheat, tapioca starch, linseed, coconut oil and honey.

A slice of creamy feta, and a garnish of slivered basil completed the dish. 

Any leftover tomato and aubergine mixture will happily sit in the fridge for a few days and can be eaten hot or cold as a side dish.

The amount of chilli will depend on your palate. If it's fiery increase, if you are fearful of heat use less.

A Glutenfree Toasted Buckwheat Sandwich

There's something very comforting about a good old cheese and tomato sandwich at any time of day when hunger pangs strike. Some crunchy shredded iceberg lettuce, a little bundle of cheery red pepper slices and a really good chutney and it's a meal.

The brown bread I used here was Purebread Young Buck. Buckwheat is a seed not a grain which makes this bread gluten free. But it's so good that anyone would enjoy it.

To match the  earthy flavour of the bread I filled it with a tasty New Zealand cheddar and served a smokey Feijoa and Lime Chutney (from Te Horo Harvest Treehut Farm ) alongside. This was a much appreciated Christmas present.

To make this toasted sandwich lighly butter two slices of  Young Buck bread. This will be the outside of the sandwich. Fill with sliced tasty cheddar and vine ripened tomatoes. Fry until the bread is a toasty brown and the cheese has melted.

A Healthy Retro Lunch

I first got addicted to wholemeal bread, cottage cheese and alfalfa sprouts in the sixties ( as well as to flowing muslin dresses ) Those were the times. But none of the wholemeal breads I baked then were ever quite up to the standard of Purebread Full O' Grain which you can buy now. Although the bread I made from an old colonial cookbook with hops and potato water was, even if I say so, pretty darn good!    So here's to memories of good times past, and a retro lunch which is healthy and good. To make it simply pile lots of cottage cheese ( yes, go on be generous there's not many calories in it) onto slices of Purebread Full O'Grain bread. Sprinkle liberally with sprouts , any kind will do, and if you have them growing in the garden as we do, add a bowl of freshly picked cherry tomatoes alongside. Enjoy!                    

A Japanese inspired Open Sandwich

We visited Japan earlier this year. and enjoyed trying so many new flavours. Only the bread, usually white sweet and fluffy, was invariably disappointing. It's been great to get back to the quality bread we can find in New Zealand like Purebread Full O'Grain which  is naturally and slowly fermented using traditional methods. This results in a tasty, chewy and easily digestible loaf. I love it so have combined it with some Japanese flavours to make a great open sandwich for lunch.

To make it mix some wasabi paste into a mixture of sour cream and kewpie mayonnaise. Spread this liberally over a couple of slices of Purebread Full O'Grain Bread.
Lay some sliced smoked salmon over the top. Then garnish with sliced red pepper and thinly sliced cucumber which has been marinated briefly in sushi vinegar.

Asian Duck Salad in Buckwheat Buns.

Celebrate the Chinese New Year this weekend by passing around some of these delicious
Purebread Young Buck Buns filled with an Asian inspired coleslaw

The earthy flavour of the soft textured buns goes surprisingly well with the Duck Salad. Or perhaps not so surprising after all when you consider that  Buckwheat is a plant that originally came from Asia, and was widely cultivated in China in the 13th and 14th centuries.

Feeds Two: but you could easily multiply the recipe if you are feeding a family.

Ingredients:
2 Purebread Young Buck buns cut in half.
2 cups of a mixture of finely sliced red and white cabbage
1/8 of a Chinese Roasted Duck shredded
1/4 cup of chopped roasted peanuts
1/3 long red chilli (seeded and finely sliced)
2 tablespoons of raisins
Dressing:

Shake together:
2 tablespoons of lime juice
2 tablespoons of fish sauce
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
a slightly heaped teaspoon of brown sugar

Mix the dressing with the other ingredients. Cut the buns in half and generously fill with the duck salad.This recipe was created for my gluten intolerant daughter Rachel who loves Young Buck buns, and for her partner Rod who has a passion for ducks!

I found my cooked Peking Duck at "Love a Duck" in the NorthCote Shopping centre in Auckland. You can't miss them. They are dangling side by their feet in the shop window, an appetising burnished brown. You can ask for 1/4, or 1/2 or a whole and they will chop them with a cleaver while you wait and watch. Saves all the hassle of cooking your own! Thanks for pointing me in the right direction Rod!

Purebread Young Buck Buns are Gluten Free, Paleo Friendly and Biogrow Certified. But could
there be traces of gluten in Peking Duck.? I am not sure so for those who must avoid gluten altogether it would pay to check if you are buying one rather than cooking it yourself.

Small pieces of mango would make a delicious alternative to the raisins.

Lactose Free Mini Icy Pink Cupcakes

For little girls  who love pink ( especially my lactose intolerant  granddaughter).

For kids who are lactose intolerant Greek yoghurt may also be fine. (From what I have read some lactose intolerant people are able to tolerate Greek yoghurt but I decided to play it safe)

Icy Pink Cup Cakes

Mix together

1 cup of Cheese Barn lactose-free organic Yoghurt
1 tablespoon of honey (or to taste)
1 heaped teaspoon of  Fresh As freeze dried blueberry powder

Spoon into a silicone lined mini cupcake mould. They will pop out easily when frozen,
.
To make them a little bit more special flatten a larger cupcake paper and lie it in a small bowl. Rest the icy cupcake on top and provide a d toothpick alongside to  push into the cupcake  when it has softened a little after a minute or so. Although on one of those hot, steamy Auckland summery days we have been having recently they will probably dispense with the toothpick and just enjoy holding the icy cupcake in their hands. Have  serviettes or a paper towel ready to clean up messy fingers.