Autumn Chicken Bake

INGREDIENTS
1kg chicken thigh, diced

2 large red skinned potatoes
2 medium sweet potatoes
500g pumpkin
2 medium red capsicum
2 cups of cherry tomatoes
1 leeks, white part only
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
½ cup chopped fresh oregano
3 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp sweet paprika
Olive oil, as much as you need
Salt & pepper to taste

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Dice potato, sweet potato, pumpkin and capsicum into 3cm (approx.) cubes. Thickly slice leek and garlic.
Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and drizzle olive oil over. Mix everything until all ingredients are covered with oil.
Transfer into large baking tray and place in the oven. 
Bake for at least 2 hours, turning the vegetable 2-3 times during the cooking process.
Serve with a large green salad.
Enjoy!

SUPER GREEN SUMMER SALAD

Serve this healthy, delicious salad at your next summer bbq!
Plus a yummy vinegar-free dressing!

INGREDIENTS
1 large bunch of mixed lettuce leaves
1 cup snow pea sprouts
1 cup snow peas, washed and tops cut off
2 lebanese cucumbers, sliced
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
5 artichoke hearts (from jar), sliced
1 large handful green beans
1 bunch asparagus, cut in halves
2 avocadoes, sliced

DRESSING
2 limes
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil (approx. twice the amount of lime juice)
½ tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp xylitol
pinch salt


METHOD
Wash all ingredients thoroughly. Drain lettuce or put in lettuce spinner until dry.
Steam green beans and asparagus for 2-3 minutes, drain, and then add ice cubes to stop the cooking process. Allow to cool completely.
Prepare all salad ingredients and add to a large mixing bowl excluding avocado. Avocado and dressing should be added just before serving to maintain freshness.
For dressing, use and old jam jar or similar and add lime, olive oil, garlic, xylitol and salt. Always do a taste test before dressing the salad and make any necessary modifications. Shake vigorously.
Just before serving pour shaken dressing over salad and mix thoroughly with salad spoons, then add avocado to serve.
Perfect with grilled chicken and fish! Enjoy!

Andres Cucina

Recently I was invited to Andres Cucina for a girlfriends birthday dinner. I was excited as I'd heard great things but also a little nervous as it is an Italian restaurant (gluten and dairy abound!!!). So I rang in advance and asked if they catered for gluten and dairy free people. Without missing a beat the waiter over the phone said "Sure. We cater for people like yourself all the time. No problem". Phew!!!!!! That was a relief and now I could enjoy my night.
I have to be completely honest here the service and food was FREAKING FANTASTIC. We had the banquet (great value BTW) and the wait staff just let me know what was gluten and dairy free. If something wasn't GF/DF I was given a substitute.
Andres is so good that I am going back for MY birthday!!! 

Thai Style Chicken Patties

Ingredients

500g chicken mince
1 cup rice crumbs
1 small bunch mint, chopped finely
2 spring onions, finely diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp. finely grated fresh ginger
1 red chilli, finely chopped and deseeded
1-2 Tbsp. rice bran oil
1 tsp. salt

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line baking tray with non-stick baking paper.
Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl with your hands until well mixed, leave some rice crumbs and rice bran oil to the side.
When all is thoroughly mixed roll into rissole or round pattie shapes and place on baking tray.
Sprinkle left over rice crumbs over the top and brush, drizzle or spray with extra oil. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top.
If you can tolerate a small amount of sugar these patties taste great with some Sweet Chilli Sauce. Try with gluten free buns for an Asian Style burger. Enjoy!

Chicken & Ginger Noodle Soup

Gluten, Dairy, Egg & Yeast Free

This recipe is the absolute best thing for a cold and it is super yum! It is really very simple but needs time to simmer on the stove to develop the flavour.  If you like it hot this soup tastes great with chilli so feel free to add a few sliced chilli's in at the beginning or the end!

INGREDIENTS
1 brown onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
3cm piece fresh ginger, finely sliced
2 carrots, finely diced
1 red capsicum, finely diced
2 stalks of celery, finely diced
1 can of sweet corn
1 cup frozen peas
6 chicken thigh fillets or 8 drumsticks
1 packet of vermicelli rice or mung bean noodles
Sea Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Tbsp. olive oil

METHOD
In a heavy based saucepan sauté onion, garlic and ginger with olive oil on medium for approximately 4-5 minutes.   Add chicken, carrots, capsicum and celery and cook for a further 2 minutes. Cover with 3 litres of water, put lid on saucepan and turn heat to high. When the soup has begun to simmer, keep the lid on and turn right down to low. Keep slowly simmering for at least 2 hours, I like to do it for 4 (and yes you can do this in a slow cooker). It may take a bit more salt than normal as there is no powdered stock in this recipe. 30 minutes before you are ready to serve add corn and peas. 5 minutes before you are ready to serve pour boiling water over vermicelli noodles and leave for 2 minutes. Strain noodles and cut smaller with kitchen scissors. When you have finished cooking the soup add salt and pepper to taste. Add noodles to bottom of each bowl and then pour soup over the top.  Enjoy

Milano Cucina

VERY GOOD!

For starters, if you are looking for a really authentic Italian experience in Adelaide Milano Cucina really delivers. They even have a couple of Italian waitresses to complete the feel. Just as in Italy the meals are very tasty and.....well.....authentic. So all that being said, is it good with gluten and dairy intolerant people?
And the answer is YES! Basically I put a lot of importance on how helpful the waiter/waitress is when you ask if they can do something gluten/dairy free. In this case they were extremely helpful in going straight to the kitchens (twice in fact) to see if a number of dishes were suitable. It is this assistance that makes all the difference. Clearly the chef was knowledgable as well which is also a huge bonus. Best of all though the food that was delivered was lovely.  The only down side is that being an Italian restaurant it is almost impossible to have a huge varitey of gluten/dairy free meals. However don't let this stand in your way next time you want a great Italian meal!

The Parade Thai

 

Great!

I believe the Parade Thai is soon to become an Adelaide icon. It is not fancy but the food is absolutely delicious. The staff are really friendly and patient (as I discovered by taking my two boys there last night). The girls waited patiently to clear the table while my two young sons danced around it to Gangnam Style, oh for shame! The food arrives well before you are starving even though they appear to be extremely busy with dine in and take away customers. But the part I love the most about The Parade Thai is  that if you are gluten intolerant they give you a list of the meals that they can make gluten free. And the list comprises over half of their regular menu. Yay!

Note: if you are completely sugar free Thai is not the cuisine for you. Most, if not all, Thai food has some sugar added to it.