During my blogging year(and a bit) I have become much more aware of the food I eat. Whilst I always appreciated a good meal and loved to cook up a storm in the kitchen I didn't always think about the food I was eating and it's journey to my table. Now I am more adventurous in my choices, willing to try flavours and textures I would have refused before. I also choose my ingredients with a lot more care and with more curiosity as to where it has come from. I ask my butcher lots of questions about cuts of meat and am happy to try those cuts that for a long time have been out of favour. I'm not sure why they became unfashionable as they are so delicious. I also check labels when buying fresh fruit and veg to see if items are locally grown and where Irish grown produce is available it beats imported items into my shopping basket.
Not only am I more aware of the food choices I make but also those of others. I read so many inspiring Irish and also international food blogs, bursting full of fabulous ideas and each with it's own unique style. Some embrace food in all it's guises but others focus on food governed by lifestyle choices or dietary restrictions. Through my blog I have become more aware of coeliac disease, and am quite surprised that the number of people affected is much higher than I had previously thought. As it is something that I am not faced with in my day to day baking for family and friends I never really gave it much thought, but having encountered queries and comments relating to the blog I decided to educate myself a little so that I could attempt to offer some gluten free recipes on the blog.
Coeliac disease is an auto-immune disease which affects the gut and other parts of the body. It causes the body to attack itself when gluten is eaten. Gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley & rye, is what gives elasticity to bread and spring to cakes. Some people can also be affected by oats. To treat coeliac disease people diagnosed must stick to a gluten free diet and avoid foods such as breads, cereals, flours, pastas, pizza bases, biscuits, cakes and pastry as these are the most obvious sources of gluten. It is also advisable to avoid oats as they can become cross contaminated with other grains.
As most baked goods require flour in some shape or form those with coeliac disease can find the choice of baked goods very limiting. On the side bar of the blog I have added a new 'Gluten Free Treats' button, if you click on it it will link to a page that contains all of the gluten free recipes from the blog so far. I have only started to explore the world of gluten free baking but will make an effort to post some more gluten free options and also some specifically gluten free recipes throughout the year. I hope this is of interest to some of you and I would love your feedback on this in the comments.
For more information please check out Coeliac Society of Ireland. Also, if you would like to try some gluten free baking I have found Seriously Good! Gluten Free-Baking by Phil Vickery to be a really fantastic book. It is full of information and has a great range of recipes to keep you very busy in the kitchen.
IMPORTANT
It is very important for you to check that the brand of certain products eg. baking powder that you use is gluten free as products can become cross contaminated during production. If you are a member of the Coeliac Society of Ireland you will receive an annual Food List with details of gluten free products and brands. Also you can check all ingredient lists on food packaging and avoid anything that clearly states it contains wheat. Some products also provide allergy information on their packaging which would state if the item is gluten free.
Flourless Brownies
I was going to start off with something boring like a bread or scones but as I haven't made it to my local health food shop yet to stock up on specialist flours yet I decided to see what I could rustle up with the contents of my baking press. Luckily for you and me I settled on brownies as I knew that as they are a flat tray bake substituting ground almonds for flour shouldn't cause too many problems. I was pretty impressed with the results and when I asked Mr. Boo's opinion and he said they were the best brownie's he had ever tasted I knew I was onto a winner. He is my harshest critic, especially when it comes to chocolate treats so his was high praise indeed. He enjoyed his taster bite so much he polished off 2 whole brownies with his cup of tea. I hope you enjoy them just as much. Be warned though, they are extremely gooey and delicious.
(makes 12-15 depending on the size you cut the squares)
200g/7oz Unsalted butter, diced
250g/9oz Good Quality Dark Chocolate
200g/7oz Caster Sugar
3 Large Eggs
125g/4.5oz Ground Almonds
50g/1.75oz Cocoa Powder
1. Preheat the oven to 160C/F/Gas Mark . Line a brownie tray with foil.
2. Place the butter into a pan and set over a medium heat until melted. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate, stirring occasionally until melted.
3. In a separate bowl whisk the caster sugar and eggs using a hand held whisk until creamy.
5. Sieve in the ground almonds and the cocoa powder(you may need to give the last of the almonds a helping hand through the sieve) and again gently mix through to combine.
6. Pour into the prepared tray and smooth out. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes.
There should be a thin crisp layer on the top and the brownie should still have some wobble.
7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack before removing from the tray and cutting into yummy scrummy gooey squares of heaven. Enjoy.
