Quick blueberry compote blog post

Not only is this a quick blog post, it's also a quick blueberry compote recipe.

We've been picking blueberries off the three bushes we have in the garden  for over a month now and the kids have loved eating them raw. This weekend I noticed one of the blueberry bushes was brimming with fruit, some of them getting spoiled, 'going over' because they hadn't been picked.

Cue my mind racing with blueberry recipes!

Hence this super simple blueberry compote recipe.

I picked and washed the berries, there was about a cup and a half full. As I was at home with the boy, he ate half a cup leaving me with the rest to use in the compote.

I washed and sliced each berry, just to be sure they were clean and OK to eat as we don't use any pesticides or protect the blueberry bushes from insects.

I then placed them in a saucepan with two tablespoons of Sweet Freedom sugar substitute. You could also add three tablespoons of sugar instead.

Once the mixture came to a simmer, I used a spatula to crush the berries and added a tablespoon of cornflour. I stirred the compote mixture for about two minutes just to be sure the cornflour wasn't going to stick or clump up.

I poured half of the mixture into a sterilised jar and used the rest for these oat scones after I discovered how to make oat flour.

BLUEBERRY OAT SCONES 

Ingredients
1 cup of oats (gluten free if required)
1 cup of oat flour (whiz a cup and a half of oats in a processor until it is broken down into a fine flour)
1/3 cup coconut sugar (or natural cane sugar)
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 tsp ginger
1/3 cup coconut oil
1 large egg
2 tbsp milk or dairy free milk substitute (I used rice milk)
1/2 quantity of blueberry compote (see description above and also method below)

 Preheat the oven to 170 degrees (fan) 190 degrees or gas mark 4.

In a bowl combine the oats, oat flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and ginger. Mix in the coconut oil as if you were making a crumble topping, gently rubbing the oil and the dry ingredients together until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

In a separate bowl mix the egg and milk substitute together and then combine with the the oat and coconut oil mixture.

Stir through compote mixture loosely. This does not need to be thoroughly mixed in, more like swirling through the oats.

Using an ice cream scoop, place a mound of mixture on a baking tray lined with baking paper, non-stick paper or greaseproof paper (you could try oiling the tray if you don't have any paper  but I don't like to risk it!)

I got 12 out of this quantity of mixture but it will depend how big your ice cream scoop is. Using a spatula scrape all the beautiful blueberry compote and oats from the side of the bowl and either make another scone or drop this small amount on top of the smallest scone on the tray.

Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Serve warm or transfer to a cooling rack after five minutes.

I find that anything with coconut oil in is best stored in a fridge.

BLUEBERRY COMPOTE

A cup of blueberries
2 tablespoons of sweet freedom sugar substitute
1 tbsp cornflour

Simmer blueberries and sugar substitute in a pan for five minutes. Add cornflour and stir well for at least two minutes.

Coconut Flapjack Oaty Bars - gluten, dairy and refined sugar free

I simply love the smell of dessicated coconut.

Opening the packet instinctively reminds my of my late Nan who used to bake at least four dozen cakes every Sunday in anticipation of the family arriving in their droves.

Nan had a shelf full of cake design books that we would pore over for weeks before our birthdays trying to decide which cake design we'd like that year. She always exceeded our expectations with her finished cake and it would be the making of a birthday. I think that's why I am so passionate about homemade birthday cakes now. It's such a vivid memory for me and I want to pass that down to my children.

Aside from special occasions, every Sunday Nan would treat us to the most amazing selection of sweet treats, sufficient to rival the local bakers. There would be pastry horns, Eccles cakes, fairy cakes, eclairs, puff pastry slices, mini Bakewell tarts and - my absolute favourite - coconut macaroons,  of course not to be confused with the current on-trend French macarons.

No, the coconut macaroon, also known as the coconut pyramid, was a mixture of dessicated coconut, caster sugar and egg mixed together before being formed into a mound on top of a sheet of rice paper and finished with the obligatory glace cherry which was then nonchalantly discarded prior to devouring the delicacy. It was crunchy on the outside, squidgy in the middle and full of flavour.

I've made them myself a few times and I when I do I always find myself back in Nan's kitchen, remembering the glorious smell of baking wafting through to the hall. Of course we weren't allowed to choose a cake until we'd eaten our beef or cucumber sandwiches, celery stick (which Nan used to dip into a mountain of salt before eating) and a half a plateful of plain crisps. It was an idylic Sunday afternoon tea and to this day is a vivid and warm memory.

This weekend I was trying to think of homemade snacks that would tick all of my dietary boxes. Obviously gluten and dairy free were top of the list, closely followed by its portability (we'd planned a picnic but the heavens opened at dawn and remained so all day!).

I am also trying to reduce all of our sugar intake. I want to restrict the children's consumption of sugar for various reasons - tooth health, regulation of blood-sugar levels, behavioural effect, etc. And I am trying to cut down as I think it's having a detrimental effect on my skin although with the childhood described above I don't think it's any surprise that I have a sweet tooth! My husband generally doesn't eat many sweet things but he has sugar in hot drinks and tends to raid the cupboard after I've gone to bed and will eat whatever is there. We have a 'silver sweetie bowl' and at least once a day babypuddleduck can be heard asking for "something out of the silver bowl" to which the response is a resounding 'no' - usually because Daddy has consumed its contents!

I scoured the cupboard for ingredients in stock and found gluten free oats, coconut, coconut oil,  eggs, raspberries, sugar substitute Sweet Freedom, cocoa and Doves gluten free flour. I ended up making a raspberry and almond cake (blog to follow soon) and spicy chocolate biscuits (no blog as they were disastrous) and following the banana flapjacks I made a few weeks ago which were a success in my view (a view not shared by babypuddleduck or the boy) I also tried a new oaty bar recipe. They're even better than the banana version and I attempted different toppings too for a bit of variation.

COCONUT FLAPJACK OAT BARS

Gluten free, dairy free, egg free, refined sugar free
Step by step coconut and oat flapjack recipe with images 

Ingredients:
3 cups (240g) of gluten free oats
1 cup (80g) of dessicated coconut
5 tablespoons coconut oil
100ml Sweet Freedom sugar alternative
3 tablespoons dairy free spread (I use Pure)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence




Method
Mix the oats and coconut together in a bowl.

Over a pan of water melt together the coconut oil, coconut butter, maple syrup and vanilla.

I found this handy steamer insert that is supposed to sit in the bottom of a pan but actually sits quite nicely on top of my smaller pan so that I can perch the pyrex jug on top and still be able to lift the jug off the pan once everything has melted. My jug isn't big enough to sit over the pan on its own and when I use the big bowls I find they're too
hot to handle after they've been over the pan for more than a few minutes. I think I got this one from Aldi - you know the aisle in the middle of the store that means you have to spend twice as long in the store as you anticipated and also means you leave with twice as much as you needed!

Once the ingredients have melted together nicely and you've stirred it well to make sure it's all incorporated, pour it over the oat and coconut mixture and again, mix well.



Doesn't my kitchen look colourful with an orange bowl, purple steamer, yellow spatula and red baking tray! I'll never be one of those people whose house is coordinated. Nothing matches here!

Either line a 9 inch square baking tin with baking paper / non-stick parchment or do as I did and use a silicone tray. It makes it much easier to remove them at the end.

Whichever tin you're using, spread the mixture evenly and press down firmly with your fingers or the back of a spoon or anything else that's flat and will compress the mixture. You want to  be really firm so that it bonds well and the flapjacks hold their shape when cut. I ended up with some leftover granola when two of the bars crumbled as I was taking them out of the tray. It still got eaten, but wouldn't have been suitable for our picnic. Don't hold back, be very firm.

Bake at 180 degrees C / 160 degrees C (fan) or gas mark 4 for 20 minutes. Leave in the tin to cool well before slicing.

I made a chocolate coating and dipped the flapjacks in so that half of each bar was covered. I then dipped half of the bars in more coconut to get a monochrome effect.

This recipe made 12 bars (or would have done if two hadn't crumbled into granola as I was lifting them out of the tray!). The boy has had them in his lunch box at nursery and I've taken one to work each day this week. I'd guess they still have a few days left in them too. I've stored them in a cake tin which seems to have kept them nice and fresh.

Do let me know if you try this recipe and take some better pictures than I did to show me!

Gluten, dairy and refined sugar free raspberry scones

Following both a gluten and dairy free diet is most challenging at breakfast time. I usually alternate between a bowl of gluten free cornflakes with Doves Farm bran flakes topped with rice milk, and peanut butter on gluten-free toast. But I've recently stumbled upon a revolutionary recipe to brighten up breakfast.

It can be whipped up in minutes and is deliciously satisfying. I urge you to try it.

The inspiration for this bake came from the raspberry scones that used to be available in Starbucks.

Add caption

Picture the scene if you will:
It's 6 am. I am in the hallway trying (and failing) to fumble in the depths of my handbag for the car keys in silence so as not to wake the children.
Ahead of me is a 200 mile journey and a 9am meeting.
It's raining.
It's cold.
It's dark.
And so is my mood.

But as I locate the keys and venture over the threshold, the realisation hits that my journey will include a stint on the M6 south, past the unremarkable Corley Services. But that can mean only one thing; a humungous raspberry scone washed down with a skinny flat white for breakfast.

Pure joy.

That was in my pre-dairy and gluten free days, when ingredients did not need to be scrutinised and I didn't need to pack three meals and snacks into a picnic bag the night before a meeting. It's so hard to eat on the go with my combination of dietary requirements but that's a blog post for another day!

The memory of the raspberry scone lives on and I wanted to recreate my own version that I'd feel happier eating, without the side helping of guilt.

I found the basic recipe on the first page of Google. It's from the head chef at The Whitehall Hotel in Bournemouth. It's easy to follow and contains few ingredients so even without modification it's a winner.

However it's still not dairy free and where possible, I try to remove refined sugar from my baking and replace it with an alternative. I sometimes use honey - which I know is still high sugar but the benefits of using a local honey, which can help combat hay fever, outweigh the naughtiness of the sugar rush in my opinion.

I'm using Sweet Freedom at the moment in recipes and I couldn't be happier with it. It takes a bit of calculating as you need to use 25% less by weight but it comes in a squeezy bottle which is really easy to use.

Let me know how you get on. Happy baking.

This recipe makes four huge rustic scones.
I have a big appetite and need a filling breakfast so feel free to make more smaller scones if you prefer. I find that the raspberries tend to soften very quickly so if you're not going to eat these within a couple of days, freeze them. I freeze them individually and just take one out the night before I'll be having them for breakfast.

- 250 g gluten free self raising flour blend - Dove's Farm is my go-to
- 1 level teaspoon gluten-free baking powder - the Waitrose Ingredients product fits the bill
- 50 g dairy free spread - I use Pure and these have been entered into the Pure #bakedairyfree competition.
- 37g Sweet Freedom Original
- 1 large egg
- 150ml milk alternative - I use Rude Health brown rice drink
- 24 raspberries or two handfuls of frozen raspberries

Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone sheet
Pre-heat oven to gas mark 7 / 220 C / 200 C (fan)

Weigh flour and add baking powder. Rub in the pure spread like you would a crumble mixture to make a fine breadcrumb-like texture.

In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg and add the brown rice drink. Add most of this to the flour but reserve a few teaspoons for brushing over the scones prior to baking. Add the Sweet Freedom and mix all ingredients together.

It's a very sticky dough so won't resemble traditional scone mixture that can be rolled out. Instead spoon four 'dollops' of dough onto the baking tray reserving half of the mixture. Place six raspberries on the top of each scone before topping with the remaining mixture.

Brush the reserved egg and milk combo on top of the scones and bake for 15-18 minutes.

Serve warm fresh out of the oven or once cooled store in a cake tin for two days. Also suitable for freezing.

Gluten, sugar and dairy free treats

How hard is it to find or make gluten and dairy free treats? I want to share with you a very quick and easy recipe that will fill the void with none of the guilt!

Dairy, gluten and sugar free chocolate crispy cakes 

Ingredients:  

Half a bar good quality dark chocolate (check the ingredients to make sure it doesn't contain dairy)

30g gluten free cornflakes - check your cereals, a lot of 'corn' and 'oat' based breakfast cereals also contain wheat. This ones I used were Whole Earth.

Teaspoon of honey - I used a jar from a local beekeeper.

Method

Heat the chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of water, very slowly. You want the chocolate to melt, not cook, or even worse, burn. 

Don't take your eye of it, keep stiring, it won't take long to  melt. 

When it's fully melted stir in the honey. 

Finally stir in the cornflakes. It will take a bit of stiring until they're fully coated. Place in cupcake cases to set. Enjoy! 

Guilt-fuelled supper - kale and chickpea side dish recipe

I have a confession. I'm not proud. It was unavoidable but it made a certain six year old very happy!

Here it is. I went to the big yellow arches for lunch today. #GASP

Before your mind starts running away with you imagining how my body is coping after eating such culinary delights, I had a salad. A grilled chicken salad, with leaves and cherry tomatoes...... Oh OK, and a SMALL packet of fries. It's practically illegal to leave without having fries. 

In my defence, it's the Easter holidays. There's no one to look after babypuddleduck - mum is at work, dad is winning crown green bowling competitions and daddypuddleduck is chained to his stand at the Gadget  Show - so the only option was a day in the office with me. 

Bless her, I cannot complain at all. She was polite, quiet, occupied herself with puzzles, colouring and letter writing, reading 14 chapters of The Twits, crafting robots from postit notes and watched Paddington the movie (again!). 

So I could hardly refuse when she looked at me with her angelic face and doe-eyes and asked to go to Maccies for lunch! 

Kale & chickpea gently spiced side dish

In all honesty, it was better than expected. The food I mean, not the experience. The girl on the till threw the ingredients and nutritional information book at me rather than explain what the gluten and dairy free options were (luckily I'd already googled it and was just double checking but that's beside the point! Incidentally, as an aside, the grilled chicken salad is only gluten free outside of Yorkshire! Work that one out!).

The result was one happy babypuddleduck, who continued to shine and amuse herself for the afternoon knowing full well we were now even so she daren't risk upsetting the apple cart by being disruptive or demanding. 

But pretty much half an hour later I just craved something nutritious and healthy to cancel out the badness. By four I was mentally surveying the fridge for options for tea. By six I was desperate for nutrients and by 8, thankfully it was all over and I felt i had redeemed myself with a gorgeous thrown together but substantial tea.

creamy kale & chickpea side dish recipe - dairy and gluten free 

I am loving kale at the moment but I didn't know what to cook with kale. What flavours compliment kale? I think this worked out really well with the spice and flavour bringing the kale to life and the chickpeas adding another texture, filling out the dish and making it super satisfying.

Steak with seasoned sweet potato wedges and a kale and chickpea side 
Serves 2 (with leftovers for lunch)

Peel and chop three to four sweet potatoes  into wedges. Pour two tablespoons of oil in a roasting dish and add half a teaspoon of nutmeg and / or cinnamon. Roast in a 200C (fan 180C) oven for 40 minutes. Stir once during cooking to ensure the potatoes cook evenly and don't get burnt edges - it's very easy to burn sweet potato, just five minutes too long and they're crispy and charcoal-y rather than soft and caramelised.

Cook your steak using you preferred method for as long as you like your steak cooked. 

Dairy and gluten free creamy kale and chickpea recipe

Dairy and gluten free creamy kale and chickpea recipe

For the Kale & Chickpea side dish add a table spoon of oil to a large frying pan. Add either two cloves of freshly crushed garlic, a teaspoon of minced garlic from a jar or a teaspoon of lazy garlic. All will work equally well.

Fry for two minutes.

Add two large handfuls of chopped kale, a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas, a teaspoon of cumin and half a teaspoon of paprika - we used hot which certainly gave this dish a kick! Add a sprinkling of salt and pepper to season.

Fry for five minutes

Stir through half a tub of soya single cream (or Oat cream, or any other dairy alternative) and serve. 

What a scrummy tea. There was plenty of left overs to take to work the following day too. 

Dairy and gluten free creamy kale and chickpea recipe

Gluten and dairy free breakfast - rice pudding

When following a gluten and dairy free diet it can be very difficult to get excited about breakfast. My go-to is peanut butter - or even nut free butter - on gluten free toast. 

But after four consecutive days I crave something different, something wholesome and filling. 

That's where rice pudding can step up and satisfy. When I was pregnant with my daughter I ate two bowlfuls every day! You'd think I'd have had enough to last a lifetime but I still love the creamy, warm dessert, especially when it's for breakfast!

Since following a dairy and gluten free diet I've struggled to find a good recipe that cuts the mustard - or the nutmeg! 

Initially I tried soya milk, which was OK but had a bit of an after taste. 

You'd think rice milk would work - rice and rice right? Unfortunately not! It just ended up a big congealed lump that even if you could get past how bad it looked, it tasted revolting! 

Coconut milk tasted too coconutty! I'm not sure what else I expected but whilst I can take a splash of coconut milk in my tea, I don't really like coconut flavour, so an entire carton in a rice pudding was just too strong. 

Finally I hit on the perfect recipe - oat milk. And if you add a few glugs of Oatly creamy (available from Ocado) it's even better. There's no need to be perfect with the measurements as long as you're somewhere close! In this recipe I've also cut the sugar content down, which can only be a good thing! 

Happy baking! 

Dairy-free, gluten-free oat milk rice pudding 

85g pudding rice

35g sugar

One carton (one litre) organic Oat-ly oat milk 

Half carton (125ml) Oat-ly creamy oat

5 small knobs of dairy-free spread (I used Pure Sunflower) 

a generous sprinkle of nutmeg 

Put the rice and sugar in a large roasting dish, pour the oat milk and creamy oat on top. Add small knobs of the dairy-free spread and sprinkle with nutmeg. 

Bake at 130 (fan) or 150 for two and a half hours. 

With my portion sizes, I get just four dishes out of this recipe, which is just about right for keeping in the fridge for four breakfasts unless the kids see it and then it's all gone in one go!  Normal people who aren't quite so greedy might get six portions.