Healthy Flour-less "CHOCOLATE" Cake

By: Elna Botes van Schalkwyk

This makes a great treat for your children and guests who are not on a casein-free diet.

Ingredients:
300 g carob chunks
350 g unsalted real butter
4 organic eggs, separated
"Sugar" of your choice to taste - I use 180 g Xylitol
300 g walnuts, finely chopped

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 160ºC. Grease deep 20cm-round springform tin, line based and side with baking paper. Melt carob chunks together with butter in a glass bowl over boiling water. Beat egg-yolks and "sugar" until light and fluffy. Add the melted carob slowly and then fold in the walnuts.
Beat the egg whites in a medium bowl until soft peaks form and then fold into the mixture.
Spoon mixture into prepared tin. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 150ºC and bake for another 1 - 1¼ hour. Stand in tin for a while, then turn onto wire rack to cool.

Serves: 6

Enjoy! ♥

Garlicky Butternut Squash with Sage

By: Esther Vasa

Butternut Squash - a powerhouse of nutrients. In particular it is rich in B6 a much essential vitamin to maintain a healthy nervous and immune systems. This is a good choice vegetable for those of us with Multiple Sclerosis. It also is rich in potassium and fiber. Last but not the least, it is loaded with phytonutrients and antioxidants. The color indicates that it is a good source of betacarotene.

Ingredients:
Butternut Squash - 1
Garlic - 5 cloves (minced)
Sage - 1 tbsp (chopped leaves)
Nutmeg - a big pinch
Cayenne Pepper - a pinch
Himalayan Salt to taste
Unsalted Sunflower seeds - 1 tsp
Extra Virgin Olive oil - 1 tsp (optional)

Preparation:
Peel, deseed, cut and steam butternut chunks. I did not peel mine; I just steamed the whole vegetable by having a few cuts on the surface at random spots and then deseeded. Mash the steamed squash or put it in food processor to make a thick paste. Transfer into a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix it well and garnish with sunflower seeds and enjoy!

Alternate Options: Simply enjoy the steamed squash or use the mashed squash to make a soup or use the steamed bits in gluten-free pasta or garnish the steamed squash with rosemary and cinnamon (raw honey optional).

M(S)ayonnaise

By: Elna Botes van Schalkwyk

Ingredients:

1 egg yolk (organic)

2,5 ml mustard

30 ml natural lemon juice

225 ml olive oil

225 ml avocado oil

himalayan salt

Procedure:

You can use a food processor, electric- or handmixer ~ I prefer using the food processor. Beat the egg yolk, mustard, lemon juice and salt together. Mix the oils and add drop by drop... If you pour in the oils too quickly, the mixture will "divide". When pouring in the oil, you'll see that the mixture will thicken. When all the oil is mixed together in the mixture, the mayonnaise will be ready. Keep in the refrigerator. Makes 250 ml. Enjoy! ♥

Alternate Option:
You can use half an avocado instead of egg yolk, if you are on an egg-free diet.

Carrot-Spinach Stir Fry

By: Esther Vasa

Ingredients:
Large Carrots - 5 (Grated)
Spinach - 5 cups (chopped roughly)
Onion - 1 (diced)
2 tbsps vegetable stock or you could use a tsp of olive oil
Garlic - 8 cloves (minced)
Cayenne Pepper - a few pinches
Turmeric - 1/4th tsp
Cumin Powder - 1/8th tsp
Peanut Powder - 1 tbsp
Himalayan Salt to taste

Preparation:
Heat up a steel pan lightly and bring the stock to a boil (or if you are using oil just let it warm up a bit. Do not heat up your oil at high temperature). Let the onion pieces cook for a bit and then add the grated carrot. Fry this for about 5 minutes. Add the rest of ingredients except spinach and let them cook for another 4-5 minutes. Turn off the heat and add spinach. Toss well and serve it with any GFCF bread or brown rice.

Serves: 4-5

Thin-Crust Pizza Base

By: Elna Botes van Schalkwyk

Ingredients:
2 x 7g sachets dried yeast
Stevia or sugar of your choice to taste
2 cups gluten-free plain flour
½ teaspoon himalayan salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

Procedure:
In a small bowl mix the yeast and "sugar" with ¼ cup lukewarm water and whisk with a fork until it begins to bubble. Let sit for 10 minutes, whisking occasionaly, until it becomes slightly thicker and creamy.

Combine flour and himalayan salt in a mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the yeast mixture and 1 cup lukewarm water and quickly work to a soft dough adding water as needed to make a very soft, but not quite sticky dough. Cover the bowl and let sit for 30 minutes in a warm part of the kitchen. The dough will rise slightly.

Turn out onto a floured surface and knead lightly. Cut dough in half and roll each out into a ball.

To par-cook the pizza base for later use, grease (with unsalted real butter) 2cm x 23cm pizza tray or 1 large tray. With oiled fingers press the dough into a thin round ont he tray and prick with a fork. Let sit while oven heats to 220ºC.

Brush pizza base with olive oil and bake for 12 - 15 minutes. The pizza base will be dry and firm and very lightly golden on the edges.

Allow to cool completely before wrapping and storing in the refrigerator for 1 - 2 days, or in the freezer.

To use prebaked pizza base, thaw frozen base, spread lightly with olive oil and desired toppings and bake at 250ºC for 10 - 15 minutes. (Picture ~ Moroccan spiced chicken and cherry tomato topping)

Makes two 23cm pizza bases or 1 family size pizza base.

Enjoy! ♥

ElderFlower Recipes

By: Elna Botes van Schalkwyk

The Elder Tree ~ Sambucus Nigra: the elder is an ancient and treasured tree from Europe, also known as "the medicine chest tree". It is extremely versatile and has few equals as a food and medicine. Every part of the elder is usable. The flowers added to skin and bath products are simple exquisite! (Margaret Roberts)

SOOTHNG SKIN LOTION:
Boil two cups of fresh elderflowers in two litres of water for 20 minutes. Cool, strain and use as a splash lotion or in the bath for eczema, psoriasis, dry itchy skin, sunburn, rashes, heat rush and even mosquito bites. For acne and oily problem skin make and elderflower vinegar. (Recipe to follow...)

MOISTURISING SKIN CREAM:
Heat one cup of natural aqueous cream in a double boiler with one cup of elderflowers (shaken off their stems) for 20 minutes. Strain, cool, add two teaspoons of almond oil, and mix well. Bottle into sterilised jars with tight-fitting lid and label clearly.

ELDERFLOWER VINEGAR:
Steep enough elder flowers to fill a glass bottle, cover with apple cider- or balsamic vinegar and place in the sun for 10 days. Give it a daily shake. During the time strain out the elderflowers twice, and replace with fresh flowers. Strain again and pour into attractive bottle with a good screw top and add a freshsprig or two of elderflowers for identification. Label clearly. (Margaret Roberts)

Blue Cornmeal Muffins with Jalapenos and Oregano

By: Esther Vasa

Ingredients:
Organic Blue Cornmeal - 1 cup
Organic Corn Kernels - 1 cup
Brown Rice Flour - 1 cup
Unsulphured Blackstrap Molasses - 1 tbsp
Raw Honey - 1tbsp
Baking Powder - 2 tsp
Organic Eggs - 2
Olive oil - 4 tbsp
Fresh Oregano Leaves - 1 tbsp
Jalapeno Peppers - 2 tbsp (de-seeded and diced)
Homemade Almond Milk (unsweetened) - 1 cup
Himalayan Salt - 1tsp

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 425F. Mix cornmeal, rice flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. Blend eggs, molasses, honey, olive oil, jalapeno peppers and almond milk in a blender until smooth. Mix the blended mixture into the dry ingredients. Fold in the corn kernels and oregano. Just divide the batter in 12 muffin cups. Each muffin cup is 3/4ths full approximately. Bake for about 20 minutes. You could just make your bread similarly; just bake in a bread baking tray and voilà that is your bread with blue cornmeal! Enjoy the muffins with curried chicken or any soup!

Variations: Instead of jalapeno peppers, you could use cayenne pepper (a few pinches). Instead of oregano, you could use either sage or thyme. I prefer less or no sweetener. You could use two tbsp of raw honey, if you like. You could use potato-oatmeal milk or rice milk or organic hemp milk or any other alternate milk if you are on a casein free diet.

GFCF Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

By: Esther Vasa

GFCF Oatmeal Raisin Cookies make a great snack for your children. You could enjoy a cookie or two once in a while.

Ingredients:
Gluten Free Oats - 1.5 cups
Brown Rice Flour - 1 cup
Pure Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp
Baking Powder - 1 tsp
Banana - 1 (mashed)
Raw Honey - 1/4th cup
Olive oil - 2 tbsp (inevitable for this recipe)
Organic Black Beauty Raisins - 1/4th cup

Preparation:
Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Mix oats, brown rice flour, baking powder and raisins and set aside. Blend banana, honey and olive oil and mix this into the flour mixture. Take a handful of this mixture and press it on a lightly greased cookie sheet or a baking tray. Bake the cookies for 10 -12 minutes. Makes around 12 cookies.

Potato and Vegetable Curry

By: Elna Botes van Schalkwyk

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 red thai chillies, seeded, chopped finely
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 kg potatoes, chopped coarsely
600 g pumpkin, chopped coarsely
500 ml vegetable stock
250 ml coconut milk
200 g green beans, halved
100 g baby spinach leaves

Preparation:
Heat oil in large saucepan; cook onion garlic, ginger and chilli, stirring until onion softens. Add spices; cook, stirring about 2 minutes or until fragrant. Add potato and pumpkin, stir to coat vegetables in spice mixture. Stir in stock and coconut milk, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer, covered, about 20 minutes or until potato is almost tender. Stir in beans, simmer, covered, about 5 minutes or until potato is just tender. Remove from heat, stir in spinach. Enjoy!

Serves: 4

Homemade GFCF Croutons

Homemade GFCF Croutons are inspired from GFCF Gnocchi recipe.

Ingredients:

Potatoes - 2 (medium sized)

Millet Flour - 1 cup or Brown Rice Flour - 1 cup

Egg Substitute for one egg

Baking Powder - 1 tsp

Himalayan Salt to taste

Extra water to make the dough, if you need.

For Garnishing

Extra Virgin Olive oil - 2-3 tsp

Grated Garlic - 1 large clove

Dried Parsley and Basil - 1 tsp

Black Pepper - a couple pinches

Himalayan Salt - optional

Preparation:

Boil the potatoes until they are cooked well but still intact. Peel and mash well. Make sure there are no lumps. Set it aside to cool down a bit (may be 10-15 minutes). Then, add the egg whites and first add 1/2 cup flour with salt and baking powder. Mix well and add more flour little by little until you get the right dough consistency. The dough should resemble your tortilla dough. Roll into 1/2 inch pipes and cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Preheat the oven to 350F and very lightly grease a baking tray and line up the 1/2 inch dough pieces. Bake anywhere from 20-30 minutes tossing the pieces every 10 minutes until you see the nice and brown croutons. Allow the croutons to cool down for 20-30 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, mix the olive oil, salt, pepper, grated garlic and dried parsley and basil. When ready, toss the croutons in this mixture until each crouton gets coated with this mixture.

You can use these croutons on salad or in soup or just enjoy it as an entrée or a snack.