'Eggs on Rye' anyone?

Rye was introduced to Great Britain some 1500 years ago, by the Danes and the Saxons and soon became a staple in the diet. Rye is well suited to the colder northern climate, and is still an important part of the diet in several countries, although – much as it ought to be – not in the UK.

Rye bread itself originated in Germany, and a well known variety is Pumpernickel, but I am using a Norwegian recipe which I have adapted to suit my needs.
Rye gluten is not as elastic as wheat gluten, and holds less gas during the proving/rising process. This means that bread made with rye flour is denser than bread made with wheat. For a lighter variety, some wheat flour is usually added, but I used a gluten free white bread flour.
Rye flour retains a large amount of nutrients, which cannot be said of refined wheat flour.

Norwegian Rye Bread with a Difference

2 1/2 tsp dried yeast
1 2/3 cup gluten free bread flour
1 3/4 cup rye flour
5 dessert spoons mixed grain or gluten free muesli with various seeds and nuts
2 2/3 tsp caraway seeds
1/3 tsp salt
2 1/2 tbsp margarine/butter
3 dessert spoons treacle
1 cup warm water (115 degrees)
1 egg.

All ingredients except water must be at room temperature. Add
ingredients into the bread machine as listed. I melted margarine, then added treacle and poured this in, followed by the egg mixed in the water, then all the dry ingredients – which I had first mixed together in the mixing bowl.
My bread machine is a Morphy Richards, and I selected setting 5, which is for a large wholemeal loaf, but suits this recipe best. It takes 4 hours 30 mins, but the first 30 minutes is standing time, allowing the flour to take up the liquid ingredients. Two minutes after the actual process has started – so after 32 minutes, open the lid and using a spatula loosen the mix from the sides, then close lid and leave till baked.
Cool slightly, then turn out to cool.


Did you know… that a common saying in modern day Alaska is ‘eggs on rye’? It is supposedly an expression they use when something tastes extra nice.

…and did you know... that eating foods high in insoluble fibre – as rye is – can aid in the prevention of gallstones forming (in women)? (According to American Journal of gastroenterology.) It also aids weight-loss, as it’s water-binding and so make you feel full very quickly. I can attest to the latter. I can only eat one slice at a time.
It is also helpful in maintaining good overall health, preventing heart disease, some cancers etc. In short, it’s very good for you. Lately it has also been discovered that the gluten in Rye, since it is so different to that in wheat, should not be lumped in with the foods to avoid if you have gluten intolerance. Even coeliac sufferers should be able to eat it, but should first ask their doctor, as some might not.

Wheat is the main gluten culprit and there’s more and more evidence, apparently, to show that other grains do not affect people in the same way.

I wonder whether the wheat problem has arisen because of the kind of wheat that is grown. In Scandinavia a soft grain is grown, producing a harder bread – and in Great Britain, and elsewhere, a hard grain is grown, producing soft bread. It sounds back to front, but I remember reading about this when I first encountered problems with eating bread.


Tip: Substitute some rye flour for wheat flour in your favourite baking, whether it be bread or muffins, cup cakes or pancakes.

Elderberry Cordial

Walking along the leafy country lanes with little grandsons in tow is a pleasure in itself – and the gathering of a little of nature’s bounty along the way, a bonus.
Yesterday we went in search of elderberries, armed with jugs and bowls, not knowing how much we would find. We spotted more than we could pick, as lots were hanging far too high for any of us to reach, but that just means that the birds get their share, too.
We filled a carrier bag of bunches of berries, which made one and a half litre when cleaned off the stalks. That's enough for me to make some elderberry cordial with, although I’m giving you the recipe for two litres, which is the way my grandmother gave it to my mother, and she to me.

Elderflower cordial is an excellent remedy for winter colds and flu, but should then be served hot, like a toddy, and quite concentrated.

Elderberry Cordial

2 litres elderberries
1 litre water
300g sugar pr litre of liquid when strained

Remove berries from stalks using a fork to pull them off. Boil berries with water for half an hour, crushing the berries with a wooden spoon when softened. Strain well. A jelly cloth on a stand - which is what my mother used - would be ideal. I have to rely on a fine sieve, a big pan, and plenty of patience.
I let the mixture cool before straining. I have been splashed with hot juice one time too many!

Once strained, measure the liquid and add 300 grams sugar per litre of liquid and boil up for about 10 minutes, then bottle up in sterilised bottles. Use a funnel – and take care! The cordial will be hot and will also stain whatever it hits.

Tip: The elderflowers make an excellent elderflower champagne. I’ll let you in on my recipe when the time is right and the elder is in bloom.

My son-in-law told me of another way to use the elderberry to treat and ward off an approaching cold. Simply dry bunches of elderberries, suspended inside a brown paper bag, and then, when needed, take a couple of bunches and steep in boiling water. Strain, add honey and drink while hot.

Elderberries are also used as a herbal remedy, as an anti-inflammatory, as well as a diuretic. It’s also believed to boost the immune system. It’s best known as an aid to treat and relieve bronchitis, asthma, colds and flu. As a bonus it helps lower cholesterol. What it lacks in flavour it makes up for in positive benefits!
Can be used in pies and jams, but I don't fancy trying that myself.

Did you know… that the berry shouldn’t be eaten raw because they are mildly poisonous? Eating them in their raw state can induce nausea and vomiting – as one of my daughters found out years ago. Thank goodness she stopped her little one eating them yesterday! Instead he gripped tightly his two pint jug, containing half a dozen blackberries (we found blackberry bushes still in flower, and it's September!).

Cooked, the elderberries are perfectly edible, and good for you, but remember that all the green parts of the tree are poisonous. This may sound strange in the light of the fact that parts of the elder tree has been used for flutes and whistles since ancient times, as well as for pop guns or blow pipes for children.
But – it was not all fun and games. The elder (which had many names over the years) is also known as The Judas Tree, as Judas supposedly hanged himself in an elder (eller):

'Judas he japed with Jewen silver
And sithen an eller hanged hymselve.'

(Langland’s ‘Vision of Piers Plowman – pre Chaucer)


In yet another old tradition The Cross of Calvary was said to be fashioned of elder. No wonder it became associated with sorrow and death:

'Bour tree - Bour tree: crooked rong
Never straight and never strong;
Ever bush and never tree
Since our Lord was nailed on thee.'



…and did you know… that gypsies are not allowed to use elder as firewood? It’s thought to bring bad luck.
In most countries, Denmark in particular, I understand, the elder was closely connected with magic. A dryad, Hylde-Moer (Elder-Mother) supposedly lived in the tree, looking after it. Should anyone be as foolish as to cut it down and make furniture out of the wood, Hylde-Moer would haunt the owners. We'll stick to picking the flowers and the berries then!

My Mother's Sauerkraut/Surkål

What? There's some left?


My parents used to visit us almost every summer, and my mother always brought a supply of sauerkraut, to make sure we had enough to go with our Christmas lunch and for other special occasion dinners. This was the shop bought kind, vacuumed packed, but still delicious. But what to do when they couldn’t come one summer?

At the time we had a general store and thought we'd hit the jackpot when we found jars of sauerkraut on sale at the Cash and Carry. It lived up to its name. It was sour, but alas, otherwise almost tasteless. It was probably proper sauerkraut though, made the traditional way, using just cabbage and salt, and the fermentation method. I wanted my Norwegian Surkål!

I'd kept my mother updated on my search for the elusive accompaniment to the perfect cooked dinner, when she came across an old recipe which she had slightly adapted. I still have the Christmas card she sent, with the recipe attached.

Mother's Sauerkraut

1kg white cabbage (or red)
1-2 apples (on the sharp side)
6 pinches salt
3 tsps sugar
3 tsps caraway seeds
200 ml (7 fl oz) water
1 ½ tbsp white vinegar (the pickling kind)

Use a thick-bottomed, large saucepan.

Remove stalk and finely shred cabbage. Peel, core, then chop apples. Put a third of the cabbage into pan, then add a third of apples, salt, sugar and caraway seeds, repeating twice more. Mix vinegar with water and pour over. Bring to the boil, then turn down heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Keep the lid on and just shake pan gently now and then. Don't stir until the end of the cooking time.
Add more sugar if needed, but sparingly.

Tip: Grate an apple into the sauerkraut before serving, to make it extra nice.


Did you know... that sauerkraut is an aphrodisiac? Apparently it has been scientifically proven!

Marit's Yummy Chocolate Cake

Hot out of the oven, my gluten free chocolate cakes looked so tempting to my little grandson that he tried to climb up my leg to get at them, pointing, smacking his lips, and pleading ‘nana-a’! My heart melted along with the chocolate icing I was mixing, and he was allowed a little taste of that – and the promise of a slice put by for the next time he comes. And one for his dad, and for his mum…

This chocolate cake belies the fact that it is gluten free. It’s well risen, moist and yummy, and I’m glad I decided to make two cakes, as there’s only one or two slices left of the one I iced this afternoon (pictured). It was a hit with everyone.

Marit's Yummy Chocolate Cake (makes two: one square and one round)

3 cups mixed half and half corn flour and plain white gluten free flour
4 tsp baking powder
2 level tsp vanilla sugar
1 ½ cups sugar
6 good tbsp softened margarine
2 dessert spoons gluten free drinking chocolate powder
4 lge eggs


For the Icing:

4 tbsp icing sugar
2 dessert spoons drinking chocolate powder
A little milk to mix

Tip: Add the milk a drop at a time till required consistency (it doesn’t take much). It should be smooth and thick. Icing the cake while still a little warm will make the icing spread more easily and look shiny and smooth.

A simple way to mix the cake is to mix all the dry ingredients - except the sugar - first, then add sugar and margarine , mixing well, before finally adding the eggs and whisking it well till nice and smooth.

Divide between a 8”(20cm) square tin and an equivalent size round tin. I like the loose bottomed ones.
Preheat oven. Bake at 175-180C for 30-40 minutes. Cool slightly before turning out. Handle with care, as the cake is quite fragile at that stage.



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Did you know that… according to a study reported by the BBC, melting chocolate on your tongue produces increased brain activity, as well as a more intense heart rate than when kissing passionately? Apparently this ‘altered’ state during the slow savouring of chocolate, lasts four times as long as it would after a passionate kiss.

Pass the chocolate!

… and did you know that the first chocolate house opened in London in 1657?
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The Aztecs used the cacao bean as currency. One turkey would cost you one hundred cacao beans, while an avocado would set you back a mere three cacao beans. A case for vegetarianism?
In addition the Aztecs ordered cacao growers in areas they had conquered to use cacao beans to pay their tax.

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The alkaloids theobromine and phenethylamine, present in chocolate, has been linked to serotonin levels – the feel good factor - in the brain. It’s also claimed that chocolate (high in cocoa solids), when eaten in moderation, can have a positive effect on blood pressure by effectively lowering it.
Dark chocolate contains free radical-reducing antioxidants.

Tip: Don’t share your chocolate with your pets (as if you would!). It’s poisonous to both cats and dogs ( because of the theobromine it contains).

Oat Flap Jacks

The plan was to make Chocolaty Oat Flap Jacks, but the girls voted to eat the chocolate bars first, and suggested adding cherries and raisins to the oat mixture in place of the chocolate. As I have difficulties resisting a bar of chocolate myself, I didn't. The flap jacks turned out very nicely without it (and it meant that Jacob - 10 1/2 months, and Aleksander - almost 2 - could have a piece or three, too!).

Oat Flap Jacks with Raisins and Glacé Cherries

5 oz (125 g) margarine (this can be dairy free)
4 oz (100g) Demerara sugar or other brown sugar
3-4 tbsp golden syrup
10 oz (250g) rolled oats
(Basic recipe)

A small handful of raisins (or three of the children’s snack boxes!)
About 6 glacé cherries, chopped.

(To make the chocolate ones, melt two bars of milk chocolate and spread over the top of the Flap Jacks while still warm.)

Combine margarine, sugar and syrup in a saucepan and melt over a low heat, until sugar has dissolved, then add raisins and cherries, before mixing in all the oats. Pour into greased pan, 8” (20 cm) square, pressing the mixture down a little.
Bake in oven preheated to 180C, for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool a little, cut into squares, then cool completely before removing from tin.
Tip: Line the bottom of the baking tin with baking paper or grease proof paper to help remove cooled flap jacks from the tin (I will next time).
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Oats are rich in protein (13%), as well as containing 8.7 per cent fat. These fats are made up of the three main types, saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. It contains only a small amount of saturated fat, which is good news, but provides good quantities of essential fatty acids.
As oats only contain negligible amounts of gluten, compared to say, wheat, many coeliac patients can tolerate oats in their diet, but there are also many who can’t. If you have gluten intolerance, or if you are suffering from coeliac disease, you ought to ask for tests to determine whether oats can, or should, be included in your diet.
It would be a pity to avoid eating oats if you don’t have to, as it has a wide range of health benefits - from lowering cholesterol to preventing heart disease. It contain a wide range of vitamins and minerals, dietary fibre, and starchy carbohydrate and is beneficial to people with diabetes (not this recipe, though!), because of its effects on blood glucose and subsequent insulin response.

Did you know… that filling a sock with oats – and tying the top – then placing it in the bath water while you take a bath, can help problem skin? Or that beta-glucan, a soluble fibre found in the cell walls of the kernels is used to make an anti-wrinkle therapy? Better than Botox any day, as no injections are required (although I’ll settle for my wrinkles. I’ve earned them)!

Kristina's Carrot Soup

With thanks to Kristina for kindly letting me use her recipe. She didn’t let it go easily! She’s inventive in the kitchen, like her grandmother, and when I had to wave farewell to the potatoes in my soups, she changed to brown rice. It acts as a thickener and ‘rounds’ the flavour off, too. She often brings down a jug of soup for our lunch, so this is the first time I’ve actually made it.

I had a dishful of carrot thinnings out of the garden, some the size of baby carrots and some even smaller, and my first thought was ‘carrot soup!’ Although I was supposed to chop them before cooking, these were so small that I could fry them whole (as cooking them whole is the healthiest way to cook them), after topping and tailing. I just washed them and popped them into the hot olive oil, together with the onion.



Aleksander enjoying nanny's carrot soup!


Kristina’s Carrot Soup

1 onion
8 medium carrots (or the equivalent in different sizes)
1 litre/2 pints of vegetable stock, gluten free
3 tbsp brown rice

Fry chopped onions and carrots gently in olive oil or butter (I used olive oil) for 15 minutes, in a saucepan, rather than frying pan, then add stock and rinsed, brown rice. Simmer for 25 minutes, then cool a little before blending. I use a stick blender in small bursts. Add seasoning as required. We had ours fairly ‘mild’ at lunch time, but I added curry powder, chili powder, a little garlic pure and tomato pure to my other half’s portion – and it was delicious (I had to taste it).
Serve as it is, with toasted gluten free bread on the side, or garnish with a little coriander or a swirl of single cream.

Tip: Don’t mix Imperial and Metric measures like I did. I initially added a pint of water, instead of a litre, and had to add more at the end!

Nice and Simple: Grated Carrot and Mayo Salad

My mother went to what I jokingly called ‘housewifery school’ (something like today’s Domestic Science, I suppose) in her teens. Come to think of it, perhaps she was the original domestic goddess (unlike me), along with many of her generation.
When it came to stretching the food, she had all sorts of tricks up her sleeve, and was the mother of many a scrumptious invention. This is one of them. Why spend ridiculous money for a sandwich spread that can be made quickly and cheaply, whether you profess to be able to cook or not?
I cooked carrots and garden peas to go with my other half’s liver and onions yesterday, and reserved a carrot, and a generous helping of peas for my Grated Carrot Salad.

Grated Carrot and Mayo Salad

Grated carrot
Cooled cooked garden peas (tinned can be used)
Light mayonnaise, enough to make a nice mix (not too little!)

Combine the lot and heap onto a slice of toasted gluten free bread (I find it difficult to swallow shop bought gluten free bread unless it’s toasted first), and put the rest aside for again. It’s a nice addition to green salads, too.

I had the grated carrot salad for breakfast today. A nice, fresh start to my day.

*

The carrots I buy - or we grow - are always orange. Sometimes of slightly different hues, but orange none-the-less. Yet, I read that carrots are usually orange, purple, red, white or yellow. Purple, red, white or yellow? I knew that these were the original colours, and that the orange coloured carrot was developed in Holland in the 17th century, but I have yet to see any other colour carrot being sold locally.

Did you know… that cooked carrots are more nutritious than raw (unless juiced)? This is because the body can’t break down the fibrous nature of the carrot.

The wild carrot probably originated in Far East – and only arrived in the UK in the mid 17th century (first sown in Beckington, Somerset). The old man that brought the first seeds (and remains unknown) probably didn’t know that he brought a goldmine of nutrients to our diets.
Carrots have lots of important vitamins and minerals, particularly the antioxidants Beta Carotene, Alpha Carotene, Phytochemicals and Glutathione, Calcium and Potassium, and vitamins A, B1, B2, C, and E ( also considered antioxidants), as well as a form of easily absorbable calcium and not forgetting Copper, Iron, Magnesium and Manganese, Phosphorous.and Sulphur.

Tip: By boiling carrots whole, then slicing them after cooling, you increase their anti-cancer properties by 25%.

Fingerlickin’ Good!

Quick! Get the camera before they’re all gone! The banana mini muffins were too tempting not to taste, so all of us did. The baby, Jacob, even gave up his rusk in favour of a muffin. I don’t blame him. Besides, banana is his favourite, and his cousin, Aleksander (almost 2 years old) had added his magic touch by mixing the dry ingredients for nan.
Just to make sure, they had another one, and so did the adults. Yum!

Banana Mini Muffins

1 ½ cup mixed corn flour and gluten free plain white flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp cinnamon
1 level tsp vanilla sugar
¾ cup Demerara sugar
3 good tbsp softened margarine
2 medium egg

Mix all the dry ingredient, except the sugar, together.
Add sugar and margarine and mix well, then the eggs and mashed banana.
Give it a good energetic stir, ten divide into moulds. I use mini silicon muffin trays for ease. Should make 36 mini muffins or 12 regular size ones. I made 24 small and 6 regular at lunch time, and they were all gone by tea time.

Put into pre-heated oven, 175-180C, for 13-15 minutes for mini muffins and 25-30 for regular size ones.

Tip: Make a double batch!


Did you know… that two bananas a day can help reduce high blood pressure according to recent research?

Spirits

'What you talkin' 'bout, Willis?'
'God's honest truth, bosun - I seen the spirits, clear as day...'
‘I ain’t no bosun- that’s ship talk – I is you boss – and no more of that nonsense – you hear?’
‘It ain’t no nonsense, I tell you – I seen it…’
‘Yeah, yeah, through the bottom of that bottle, I s’pose. Clear as day. Clear as the bloody sediment in that beer, I reckon.’
Boss man, named George by his mama, slapped Willis’ back.
‘There ain’t no spirits in that shack. Who been telling you tales?’
Willis paled. ‘No one bosun, I tell you… Don’t go there. ‘ He shuddered. ‘Did you see that then?’
‘See what?’ George looked at the curtain and could swear he saw a figure moving about inside… ‘That curtain moved – and see – look – man, I’m outta here!’


‘Willis – you’re ace man. Cheers!’ Arthur, comrade in arms and fellow shack residents chuckled. ‘You got him good and proper, didn’t ye, Willis? As for this spirit, ma-an, it’s good.’

*

(Even if it wasn't quite Damson Vodka!)

Marit, Marit, what does your garden yield?

Well, there's a courgette or two and a few tomatoes picked the other day. No mushrooms, of course, but foraging through my fridge unearthed a few that didn't go into the lasagna - and they're still good. Great, I can have a risotto, with left-over salmon from yesterday's lunch.

I have had to switch to brown rice, and not too much of that. White rice equals too many carbohydrates turning themselves into sugar and sending me into a deep sleep.


Brown Rice Risotto

Serves 2 (or one portion for now, one for the freezer)

2 small cups brown rice
2 tsp gluten free vegetable stock powder

Wash rice, then add boiling water to cover, and vegetable stock powder.

I left it to simmer while I made Corned Beef Hash for my other half. I had lots of potatoes left from Sunday lunch. You would have thought I was cooking for the whole neighbourhood! As that, too, simmered away, i got on with cooking the rest of the ingredients for the risotto:

1 courgette (Zucchini), cut in half length ways, then sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
A few mushrooms (I wish I had some Chanterelles)
4 small tomatoes*
fillet/steak of salmon, baked (leftovers are fine)
a little grated cheese

Fry onion and courgettes in a little olive oil until softened, then add sliced mushrooms. Cook until the mix is nicely browned and the aroma makes makes your mouth water.
At this stage the rice should be ready. If the rice needs draining (it shouldn't, but happens), use a sieve rather than a colander - to stop half of it going down the sink. It's happened to me a few times.

Add the mix to the pan of rice, then quarter the tomatoes and fry quickly together with the salmon, before adding that too, to the rice. A little grated cheese to taste, and hey presto, a delicious, simple risotto.

* It's funny how I can eat tomatoes grown in the garden, but have bad reactions to shop bought ones.


Did you know… that zucchini has been eaten for several thousand years in Central and South America, but that the zucchini (summer squash) we eat these days was developed in Italy?
Zucchini (zucchino in Italian) means a small squash – and the term squash in turn comes from the Indian word skutasquash: ‘green thing eaten green’. Courgette is simply the French word for zucchini.

Another of Christopher Columbus’s discoveries, I believe.

Why no photo? Risotto isn't exactly the most photogenic dish, is it? Besides, I was hungry!

Sunday Roast with a Difference

While the rest of the family tucked into their roast chicken dinners (I did pinch some of their vegetables, but that was overload!), I enjoyed a roast with a difference:

Roast Beetroot, Sweet Potato and Onion

1 lge or 2 small beetroot
2 small sweet potatoes (about the same weight-wise as beetroot)
1 medium onion
Peel, chop into large chunks, sprinkle with salt (and any other seasoning you might like) and drizzle with olive oil.
Roast in oven for about an hour, but turn about half way through.

Serve with salmon, oven baked. I like mine plain and simple, with just a little olive oil drizzled over before baking.

Did you know… that Sweet Potato and Yam is not the same plant? I didn’t, until a short while ago (minutes, in fact). There’s one kind of Yam commonly found in North America, and another, very different kind, which is native to Africa and Asia – and then there’s the Sweet Potato, native to the tropical parts of South America, but now grown widely throughout the world. That’s the kind I eat. It’s at least 5000 years old – although I like mine a bit fresher that that!
I like the Latin name Ipomoea batatas. It is a distant relative of the potato, so perhaps not so strange. It’s related to the garden plant ‘Morning Glory’, too.
Fact: It’s one of our most nutritious vegetables, beating the potato hands down.
(I have nothing against the humble potato. It was a staple of our diet as I grew up, and I can’t imagine anything nicer than boiled potatoes mashed in my mother’s gravy. Real comfort food. Alas, that’s one for the memories. I can’t eat potatoes any more, nor the kind of gravy my mum made.)

A Damson in Distress...

...or a bagful, to be correct. What can you do with damsons? Hmmm... I was going to make carrot soup today, but the damsons and a bagful of apples begged to be used. I tossed the ideas around in my head, wondering about damson jam, apple and damson jelly, damson cheese, damson chutney or damson vodka. RA sufferers - specially those with stomach problems, shouldn't drink alcohol. Besides, I'll be making blackcurrant vodka soon. Just for that tiny medicinal drop, you understand. It's supposedly good for the blood - even when the stomach protests.

I plumped for a chutney and altered it slightly to suit my ingredients - then hoped for the best.

DAMSON AND APPLE CHUTNEY

1 ½ lb (750g) damsons
2 apples , cored, peeled and chopped
2 small onions, chopped
1 ¼ cup white sugar
2 tbsp Demerara sugar
1 ¼ cup apple cider vinegar (although most recipes says white wine vinegar)
¼ cup raisins (I snuck 3 little boxes of Sun Maid Raisins from my grandchildrens' treats!)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spices (I cheated and used the kind that is supposed to be freshly ground and used for seasoning meat for barbeque's. It has all the right ingredients - and no gluten. Leave the spices whole.)

Put everything together in a roomy saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring gently - then simmer for an hour until the chutney thickens and starts to get a little sticky. It's done. Bottle into hot, sterilised jars. This makes about 2lb of chutney.
It tastes good, too.

Tip: Count your damsons, then remove the stones just before the chutney is bottled, counting them back out.

I had a saucepan full of apples and a few damsons left, so I stewed them, added a bit of sugar and set it aside. Tomorrow I'll serve this 'compote' with ice cream - and get on with the carrot soup.

A Little Snack: Beetroot Salad

I was given some lovely homegrown beetroot the other day, and although I like pickled beetroot, my favourite way of eating it is as 'beetroot salad'. My mother used to buy tubs of it specially for me whenever I visited them in Norway, and although I haven't been able to replicate the flavour exactly, plain boiled beetroot, chopped finely and mixed with light mayonnaise hits the spot for me (check the mayo for gluten).
Beetroot is also an excellent source of iron - and as I have longstanding chronic anaemia because of rheumatoid arthritis - I can do with a bit of a boost.


Did you know that he Romans considered beetroot an aphrodisiac? It might just be something in that, as it contains copious amounts of boron, which is important in the production of sex hormones.
It also contains betaine, a substance to relax the mind, which is also used to treat depression. Better still (and perhaps this is why I like it so much), it contains trytophan, which is also found in chocolate. Trytophan contributes to a sense of well being.

I’ve got my stash of beetroot for the weekend!

My Mum's Apple Cake Recipe and 'Friday Cake', a short story

My sister's tale of apple cake mishap earlier this week, reminded me of my mother's apple cake. She often made it on a Friday, for the weekend (and it so happens that this recipe is followed by a short story, entitled Friday Cake).

My sister's mishap? Oh, should I tell? I did ask if it would be okay - and as she didn't say no... here goes. She decided to make use of the apples form their old apple tree by baking an apple cake. Nobody will eat the fruit, and the harvest is sparse, but an apple cake always goes down well. Almost always!
As she closed the oven door, she realised that she had forgotten to add baking powder, so she whipped it out a bit quick and stirred it in, then added more crushed sugar to the top (it makes a lovely, crunchy texture).
Some time later my sister and her husband, their daughter and her partner, sat down outside in the autumn air, ready to enjoy warm apple cake with cold whipped cream*. Her daughter took the first bite and almost gagged on the cake, spluttering something very uncomplimentary about the worst cake she'd ever eaten. My sister's jaw dropped and her eyes almost popped out as she watched her daughter spit her cake out. The realisation dawned, and she howled with laughter (as did the rest of them!). She had sprinkled the top of the cake liberally with - sea salt!

Her next effort was perfect.

*Whipped cream with desserts are as common in Norway as custard with apple pie over here.


My Mum’s Apple Cake

5 oz (125g) softened margarine
5 oz (125g) sugar
2 medium eggs
5 oz (125g) plain gluten free flour
5 oz (125g) corn flour
2 heaped tsp gluten free baking powder
½ tsp vanilla sugar
1 tbsp semi skimmed milk
I large or two medium dessert apples, cored, quartered and sliced
Sugar and cinnamon for sprinkling on apples

Cream sugar and margarine together, add a little of the flour, then mix in the eggs and milk. Mix all the dry ingredients together and add to mixture. You may have to get you hands in there to knead it lightly together – or I’d better re-phrase that – you will have to get your hands into the dough.

Turn into a greased and lightly floured 8” (20cm) loose bottomed sandwich tin,
(2” (5cm) deep, pushing down into tin using your fingers (I have to use my knuckles). Arrange apple slices around tin (see photo), then sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
Put on the middle shelf in a cold oven, then set to 180C (fan oven) and cook for one hour. If you stick a knife into the middle to test it, it should come out clean, showing that the cake is ready.
Cool, then run a knife around the edge to loosen it before removing from tin.
(If you don’t have to worry about wheat or gluten, use ordinary plain flour and omit the milk.)
*
Tip: I used ‘Fiddes Payne’ Vanilla Sugar (www.fiddespayne.co.uk), but you can easily make your own by steeping a few vanilla pods in icing sugar for a few days, then sift the sugar and store in an airtight jar.


Did you know that vanilla is made from the pods of a climbing orchid? The Aztecs used it to flavour chocolate. And we still use it.


*

SHORT STORY

Friday Cake

(Set at the turn of the 20th century)

‘Mam?’
Freddie’s mother nodded. ‘Mind your step, son.’
Freddie knew to be careful. It wasn’t the actual getting caught that worried him, but bringing shame on his mother. Despite their reduced circumstances since the death of Freddie’s father, his mother was a proud woman - and as independent as she could possibly be.

‘We do not need alms, Freddie!’ She was sure the Good Lord didn’t mind Freddie bringing home a few liberated vegetables, a bucket of coal gleaned from the so-called exhausted open-cast, and a few apples when in season, all the same. She wasn’t so sure about the landlord, though - but didn’t all young boys go scrumping now and then? At least Freddie never took more than they needed.

She couldn’t complain about the landlord, if truth be told. He had allowed them to stay on when Albert was taken ill and died - as long as Freddie took his place on the farm. There weren’t any ifs or buts. The day Freddie’s father died was the last day of school for Freddie, although his two sisters were allowed to continue. He had become the man of the house, at the tender age of thirteen, and he had to work for their meagre living.

Cutting hay was thirsty work. The landlord’s wife brought flagons of cider and the farm workers’ wives brought lunch in baskets. Freddie was the only young one and was allowed home for a bite to eat and drink. His mother didn’t like him drinking cider.

He made a quick detour by the landlord’s orchard, hiding in the shadows. Four apples he needed, and four apples he took. He had them safely under his cap quicker than the blink of an eye and was home and through the door just as his mother ladled up his broth. He slipped the apples into the larder. ‘What the eye doesn’t see…’

Freddie had a good rhythm going with the scythe and felt good as swathes of golden grass yielded to the sharp blade. He had nothing on his mind, other than what he was doing at that moment, when the landlord placed his hand on his shoulder, making him jump. Had he been seen?

‘I’ll be around this evening, young Freddie, for my Friday cake.’
Freddie smiled and nodded. ‘Yes sir!’ As long as all his mother had to do for the landlord was make a cake, he was happy.
They were sitting down to supper when the landlord called. ‘Don’t let me disturb you, but may I?’ He cut a slice off one of the cakes cooling on the rack, knowing that one was meant for him. ‘Mmm. Very good, Mrs Evans. Even better than usual.’ He nodded to himself, savouring another bite as Freddie’s mother busied herself wrapping the rest of the cake in a clean cloth, her cheeks a little pinker than usual. The landlord stopped by the door, as if to say something, but seemed to think better of it.
‘Thank you, Mrs Evans. I’m much obliged.’ With a nod he was gone.

‘Freddie, that was the wrong cake!’ His mother sounded close to tears. ‘He took the apple cake, instead of the plain one. He’ll know where we got the apples from. We’re in trouble now, for sure.’

They didn’t sleep well that night, expecting the worst, and neither Freddie nor his mother had the appetite for anything the next morning. The girls were their usual selves, glad of a day free of books and Miss Brown.

‘Can we pick flowers, mama?’

‘Eggs first, girls.’ They had three layers left, still providing them with their needs. Just.
Freddie’s sisters raced one another for the door and almost stumbled over the basket on the door step. ‘Mama!’ They hauled he basket into the kitchen. ‘Look, mama, apples! Can we have one?’
Freddie’s mother handed him a note. ‘What does it say, Freddie?’

Freddie read with a smile on his face. ‘It’s from the landlord, mam. He says that from now on you can make apple cake every week, both for him and us.’ He laughed. ‘I think there are enough there for the girls to have one each, don’t you?’

***

A Few Facts about Yorkshire Pudding...

...is coming soon. I've lost the file!

Dripping Pudding – and Empty Bellies

(It wasn’t called Yorkshire Pudding back then.)

‘Careful, Elisabeth - that leg of mutton cost me best part of a day’s work.’
‘You call this a leg? It’s nothing more than scrag end. I suppose that’s all a day’s work is worth to you, is it?’
‘Elisabeth, my soldiers have less than this.’
‘Ah, but I’m sure there will be dripping pudding for all – and good gravy to go with it, to fill those empty bellies.’
Silence filled the room as the master pondered. With nine children to feed, dripping pudding was a good way of filling hungry stomachs. He was so sure Elisabeth had provisions in the pantry. She was an excellent housekeeper. But lately…
‘Elisabeth, I would like to inspect the larder and your accounts.’
Hollow laughter filled the room. ‘Master Oliver, what accounts? When did we ever keep accounts?’
‘Ah, I suppose you’re right. The less we have to carry, the better, but I think we are going to get through this.’
‘You mean to rule the country, as well as your little family, sir?’
‘So I do, and with God’s help…’
‘Are you really going to go ahead with it, father? Don’t you think the Royalists will stop you in your tracks?’
‘Richard, my son. Loose tongues! Do not mention my business again. Suffice to say that I’ve gathered men, more than enough.’
‘You mean you persuaded them gently.’
‘Richard!’
‘It’s true, mother. His soldiers and their families won’t go hungry tonight. They’ll be sharing mutton and dripping pudding with gravy. I saw father share out the provisions meant for us.’
‘Son, I was sure your mother would have a plentiful supply.’
‘You were wrong this time, sir. I’m afraid the children will go hungry tonight. A good heart won’t fill their stomachs.’ Elisabeth shook her head as a knock came at the door.
‘Will you answer that, Richard?’
‘Yes, father.’
Three women stood outside, soldiers’ wives all, holding out covered trays.
‘Give – and ye shall receive.’ They uncovered the trays. Roast mutton, dripping pudding and bread.

Master Oliver smiled at his wife. ‘The Cromwell's won’t go hungry this night either, wife. The Good Lord Doth Provide.’

Gluten-Free Yorkshire Pudding

The first gluten-free Christmas was the first time I really missed Yorkshire Pudding. Being a vegetarian, I looked forward to the customary nut-roast, but that was off the menu, too, as it contained breadcrumbs. It hadn’t dawned on me that my plate would also be devoid of the usual Yorkshire Pud. Thankfully one of my girls had made an alternative nut-roast, so dinner was still enjoyable.
Many a Christmas has passed since then, and it’s only now that I have found a recipe where gluten-free flour can be used to make a very good pudding indeed.
Why did it take so long? I just didn’t think of it as a possibility, until I decided to put together a collection of gluten-free recipes, but then it struck me as a good place to start. After all, Yorkshires can be used as starters/canapés, as part of a main meal, and as a dessert. All three at the same sitting might be a bit of an overload, though.

Basic Gluten-Free Yorkshire Pudding Recipe:

Preparation time approx. 10 minutes
Cooking time, approx, 20 minutes, in pre-heated oven (210C, Gas 7)
This quantity should make 10 individual puddings, using muffin tins.

2 oz (50g) corn flour
2 oz (0g) gluten-free flour (I use Dove)
A pinch of salt if desired. I never add salt, but a pinch of an appropriate herb - say Sage, if you’re serving with roast chicken - is a good idea.
3 medium eggs, beaten (organic, free range really do taste better)
¼ pint (140ml) milk (semi-skimmed is fine)

2 tblsps vegetable oil, to grease tins.

Place oil in tins, just under a teaspoonful in each tin, and heat for a few minutes.

Mix corn flour and gluten-free flour in a bowl and add pinch of salt or herbs, as desired.
Add the beaten eggs and beat well to form a nice, thick batter.
Add milk gradually and mix until a smooth batter is formed,
Divide evenly in tins and cook until nicely risen and golden brown.

Tip: Add a tsp of gluten free baking powder to the mix!

The Humble Bread Pudding

I can't remember ever having anything remotely similar to a bread pudding back in my home country (Norway). My grandfather had his own way of dealing with stale bread and crusts. He'd cube them, sprinkle on brown sugar, then add hot black coffee, followed by cold milk.

My mother-in-law (or mother-in-love as my own mother nick-named her) showed me how to make her version - and I have stuck with that, more or less, ever since. No proper weights and measures, just whatever stale bread was available, plus a little of this and a little of that, all mixed together to a mush, with some dried fruit thrown in and then baked till 'spongy'.

I made a bread pudding today, along the same lines, but I also made a gluten free version, noting down the quantities as I went. A proper recipe, no less. It was successful, too - it looked good (see photo) and tasted good.

GLUTEN FREE BREAD PUDDING

7 slices - or half a loaf of multi seeded (brown) sliced bread (Free From shelf in supermarkets)

A splash of hot water from the kettle

A mug of semi skimmed milk

1 oz (25g) softened block margarine (I use Stork)

3 tbsp Demerera sugar

1 lge egg (mine are from happy chickens roaming free)

1 oz (25g) + plain gluten free flour (such as Dove Farm)

1 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp gluten free baking powder

4 oz (100g) mixed, dried fruit

This kind of gluten free shop-bought bread is so fragile that it's usually already broken up in the packet, in my experience - but if not, just tear into small pieces. Soak in water and milk for an hour or two, then make sure it's turned into a 'mush', using a wooden spoon. Cream in margarine and sugar, before adding a little of the flour. Break the egg into this before mixing well.

Using a little of the flour when adding the egg, stops the egg curdling.

Add the rest of the flour, the mixed spice and the baking powder and mix it all together. Give it a good stir before adding the mixed fruit, then pour it into a greased 2lb (1kg) loaf tin.

I baked it in a fan oven at 180C, for 45 minutes, then turned the oven off, leaving the pudding in till the oven had completely cooled before taking it out.

I like it as it is, but add sauces/custard as desired.

Did you know...

that bread pudding had its humble beginnings in Britain, back in the 13th century - and that it was called 'poor man's pudding'? It was also known as Bodding - and Brood Pudding (similar to what the Norwegian word for it: Bród Pudding)

I can't imagine the real poor ever having any bread left to go stale, nor sugar and spices, back in those days - so I'm not so sure about the suitability of the name - but that's how the story goes.

Perhaps the humble bread pudding wasn't as humble as it made out to be. Perhaps then as now* (*in fine restaurants, no less), it was served as a culinary delight, topped with scrumptious sauces - or as a savoury dish with the addition of meat or fish.

Still - my gluten free brood pudding is as humble and simple as it can be - yet it can be tarted up with the rest of them, given the occasion.

Almost Lasagne

I used to love lasagna - especially the one my daughter, Kristina used to make - so it was quite a compliment when my other half remarked today - as he was eating the lasagna I had made - 'that Kristina doesn't make a bad lasagna'! In fact, I made two versions - a regular one and a gluten free one. Both vegetarian - and the regular one had a finely chopped red pepper added. That's a no no for my stomach and for the RA.

As it was a little chilly this morning, I lit the Rayburn (range), and did most of the cooking on that.

Gluten free Vegetarian Lasagna:

For the tomato based sauce, I fried up one finely chopped onion, a good sized courgette and a generous handful of mushrooms, then added a jar of ready-made, gluten free bolognaise sauce - although a tin of tomatoes, with a good dollop of tomato puree would do fine.
In place of the lasagna sheets (do they even do them gluten free? I'll have to check), I used gluten free pasta spirals. The sauce was made by first melting block margarine in a small saucepan - half an ounce to an ounce, depending on how much sauce you want. It's best to be on the generous side, as the pasta should be well covered. Mix in enough gluten free plain flour (I use Dove), for the flour to be taken up by the margarine (butter can be used for a richer flavour - and it's probably healthier), then gradually add milk as it thickens, till the consistency is as you want it. It should be a nice, creamy, white sauce. Add a pinch of salt if required (I don't), and about an ounce of grated cheese. Layer in dish as you would a regular lasagna (tomato based sauce, pasta, white sauce - then the same again), and sprinkle the top with more grated cheese.

Not quite as good as my daughter's, but not a bad second best.

PS: Check out http://www.trufree.co.uk/ or you local Tesco (UK), for Lasagna sheets, gluten free, egg free and milk free, 250 g packets, produced by True Free.

I'll try them next time.



SOME FACTS:

So where did Lasagna originate from? I always thought of it as a truly Italian dish – and I suppose the best recipes would come from there. But googling around I found that the word lasagna itself originally came from the Greek λάσανα (lasana) or λάσανον (lasanon), which means a trivet or stand for a pot, and also chamber pot. How on earth did that translate into a favourite Western dish?
The Romans changed it slightly, to lasanum, which in Latin means cooking pot (that’s better!) . The Italians used the word to refer to the dish in which lasagna is made, but it wasn't long before the name of the food took on the name of the serving dish.
Another theory (and where there are one or two, there are probably more!) is that that lasagna might come from the Greek λάγανον (laganon), a flat sheet of pasta dough cut into strips.
Surprisingly, the recipe for lasagna appeared in the first cookbook ever written in England (14th century), according to Wikipedia – and so some would have it that it is an original British recipe – but alas, the Romans cooked it first.

A Snippet from my Archives

CHOCOLATE MAKES ARTHRITIS WORSE

My husband unearthed a carrier bag full of nostalgia a while ago. It had obviously been in transit from downstairs to upstairs at some time – and had somehow been pushed to the back of his tool cupboard.
I spent a couple of hours going through my daughters’ old school reports, drawings and cards –and a whole lot of my mother’s old letters to me. I lost my mother in 2006, and I still find it difficult to read her letters (I cry easily – my husband reckons he’s always got to be at the ready with a mop and bucket!), so I just put them in order (some of them dated back to the eighties) and checked the envelopes for any extras, such as photos and newspaper clippings. I found one clipping that I obviously missed the first time around:CHOCOLATE MAKES ARTHRITIS WORSE. How mean is that? I’m a choc-a-holic. I’d cut out almost anything, even coffee, for the odd (or not so odd) bar of chocolate. Ale and pork pies for some, chocolate for me. I dare say that there’s been more research done in the 15 or so years since this little snippet was in the newspaper back home, but it’s funny how I knew about the other no-no’s and ignored the one that I didn’t really want to know about.
The research – or mapping – of patients with inflammatory arthritis showed that symptoms of the illness got worse by certain foods and drinks – such as pork, beef, citrus fruit, chocolate, red wine and spirits (they didn’t mention coffee!).The best way to reduce the inflammation and progress of the disease was found to be to first fast for a few days (it didn’t mention how long), then an individually tailored gluten free vegan diet for three and a half months and a lacto vegetarian diet for a further nine months.
I read somewhere recently that Rheumatoid Arthritis was not known in Europe before the Industrial Revolution and that it’s linked with wheat intolerance, and although I agree with the latter, because of personal experience, I’m not at all certain that RA is that new a disease in the western world. Wasn’t one or two of the Egyptian mummies found to have suffered with it? Perhaps I should look that up.
When I eat more than my fair share of chocolate, the RA attacks almost every joint in my body. I feel as though finding this newspaper clipping was a timely reminder from my mother about not only moderation, but also about cutting out the offending chocolate for the sake of my health. She’d have laughed if she had seen me trying to get the last piece of chocolate I ate, into my mouth, all the same. The RA has set into my jaw and I can hardly open my mouth. Serves me right.
So, do I make any radical changes? Of course I do, but not today. We’re going to one of our daughters’ for Sunday lunch, and I’m not going to land her with last minute demands for changes. She’s already making something gluten free for me. But this evening I shall plan it all out. Perhaps even my knee will improve!
Watch this space.

PS Could have done better. I now have two knee replacements.

When the Diet is Restricted, Inventiveness is the Key

It's 12.12 am, and I'm trying to get this blog started. Why are introductions the most difficult? I have plenty to fill the blog with once I get going, so here goes:
I get fed up with eating. There, I've said it. What with having to have a gluten free diet, then finding potatoes affect me as badly - as do all those other vegetables in the nightshade family (peppers, aubergine) - and light on the rice, please! (and make it brown) - I sometimes, just sometimes, feel desperate for something nice to eat. If I succumb, I pay. Besides the Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), I now have Gastritis, caused by the medication for the RA. Ironic, or what?
But - and feel free to sing along - we shall overcome one day! We should be able to, shouldn't we? So, in writing this book, I positively look forward to nice things to eat as I try the recipes out and adapt old favourites - and to delving into history now and then and writing the odd story or two, to spice things up a bit.
I hope it is to your taste, too.