gluten free familyA mum's blog about gluten-free living in Australia

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Yes, it is that time of year again – when festive food takes a starring role in the gluten-free-food aisles of the supermarkets.

Just yesterday, while scouting Coles shelves for some Yuletide inspiration, I spotted a gorgeous little packet of gluten-free mince pies from Eskal, and sitting right next to it was a small Christmas pudding from SimplyWize.

As we’re going away for Christmas this year, I couldn’t justify splashing out on either item, so I’m hoping a reader out there who does get to try them will let me know how yummy they are.

I don’t remember Eskal’s mince pies from last year, so they’re either a new product, or they didn’t make it to my local supermarket last year. Instead, a brand called Jon-Jon dominated the turf with their Gluten Free Fruit Mince Bites. They were rather delicious so I’ll be looking out for those again this year. Read the rest of this entry »

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Yes the yummy Christmas season is here again and we at GFF love the festive ambience — but the relentless parade of parties does make it a tricky time of year for the gluten-free.

I’m hoping this year will be a little different, though, because I will be hosting the festive dinner in my home for for the first time in years. That means I get to banish all things gluten from the Christmas menu.

This does not mean, however, that I will be skimping on the good bits. No indeed, we are doing the whole festive, cold-climate affair — right down to the steamed Christmas pudding and fake snowflakes on the windows. Even Santa will be munching on gluten free shortbread once he heaves his way through the catflap. Read the rest of this entry »

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Gingerbread minimen from Dragonfly foods.

Our gluten free family has got used to doing without certain things when we are out and about. We mainly take it in our stride, but every now and then I have to explain to my four-year-old son why can’t have one of those delicious looking gingerbread men lurking temptingly at eye level when we visit certain food outlets.

I make a yummy gluten free version of these at home, and he always just assumes gingerbread is one of those things he is allowed to have. Read the rest of this entry »

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Its officially that time of year when gluten free bloggers set aside their oven mitts as they are sucked into the gravitational vortex of the silly season.

As neither of us are hosting festive dinners this year it will once again fall upon our shoulders to help the little ‘uns to duck and dive the wheaten onslaught of puddings and pies.

To this end we are getting ahead of the game by baking a little batch of gingerbread men that may help to ease the seasonal pain. The recipe was swiped from here. (I had hoped to experiment a little with my newfound knowledge about flour substitution but alas as always, time got away and here I am taking the easy road once again.)

As we munch our way through these tasty little fellas, please enjoy a safe and festive season and we will be back around mid January.

LH & MB

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It’s pricey and hard to get hold of but if you know the right people you can get your hands on it.

Yes I’m talking about gluten free beer.  A couple of Aussie companies brew the stuff and though it costs between $70 and $80 a case, I am assured by a beer enthusiast (co-blogger, Lucy) that at this price, it does at least taste good.

The gluten content in ordinary beer varies but can be found in the grains used or in the yeast. Apparently sorghum is most commonly used in gluten free beer.

Lucy has sampled the gluten free range from O’Brien – a brewery dedicated to gluten free – and can vouch for its flavour.  We also like the fact that it is preservative free and has no artificial colourings. It comes in three varieties, a lager, a malty bitter and a brown ale.

Although O’Brien is a Victorian brewer, you should be able to find a retailer that stocks it near you via its website. Dan Murphy’s in particular seem to stock it and you can order it online for just under $70 a case.

Billabong Brewing in Perth makes four gluten free beers, a lager, a bitter, a ginger beer and an apple beer with plans to rollout more including a mid-strength and a dark ale. It also lists retail outlets and you can buy online. Billabong notes not all outlets listed sell the entire line, which also includes traditional beer. The gluten free beers sell for between $75 and $80 a case.

German brewer, Schnitzer Bräu also sells gluten free beer here in Australia. It  makes a traditional lager and a lemon and lime-infused lower alcohol version and these are sold at Dan Murphy’s. You can buy them in a six pack for just under $30.

Ouch. Perhaps I will learn to brew my own!

MB

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I miss my Mum’s fruitcake. It was the best. That said, the thought of making one, let alone a gluten free version, fills me with trepidation.

But now I’m off the hook! Vitarium has come up with a gluten free fruitcake mix which has all the right elements: it is rich, moist and fruity.

A domestic goddess I am not, however, so I confess it took me a couple of tries to get even this right. And I still think I could do better.

The first time I made one I forgot I had no electric mixer (I blew it up trying to make gluten free bread). I valiantly tried to mix it by hand but this is a very sticky, unwieldy mixture, even with the right tools.

I also used too large a cake tin (20 cm instead of 15cm) which spread the mixture too thin.  And my oven knobs are wobbly and inaccurate which is not ideal when you are looking at a 90 minute cook time.

Lastly, I cooked the mixture for every one of those 90 minutes without once checking in on it. My first result resembled fruity coal.

The second time I managed to fix all of these mistakes except the cake tin size and ended up with a very tasty but flatish cake.

Next time I just know it will be perfect!

MB

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Welcome to a gluten-free 2010. Lets hope I have more success at saying no to wheaten products at the yummy end of the spectrum this year than I did over the Christmas break.

For all my valiant efforts to stay on the wagon, I must solemnly stand before you and admit to consuming at least two mince pies, and a bun (or three) over the holiday period.

My gluten-free goose was well and truly cooked when my toddler (who must steer completely clear of all gluten in order to have an enjoyable life) caught me knawing on a bread roll at a family barbeque and demanded some of the same.

The problem is that unlike him, my own constitution allows me some wiggle room in the gluten free stakes. I have to consume it at least twice a day for more than three days straight to start experiencing that icky feeling in my tummy that tells me it is time to lay off. So its an on-again off-again, love-hate relationship between gluten and me.

Of course my struggle to stay on the wagon does not for a minute diminish my fascination for all things gluten free because I still have to produce three meals a day for the little’un, seven days a week.

That means we at the Gluten Free Family blog have dreamed up some ambitious resolutions for the coming year. Not only will we be conducting the big bread bakeoff in coming weeks - to compare the merits, taste, ingredients and ease of baking of the most readily available commercial bread mixes in the supermarkets - but we also plan to focus our minds on the question of how to shrink the weekly gluten-free grocery bill.

Other things to watch out for will be our soon-to-be launched YouTube channel where we will step you through some of our favourite recipes and cookery short cuts.

We will also be pestering supermarkets about getting our favourite products on their shelves, talking to some specialist suppliers about their product ranges, and chatting with scientists to discover how we all got so sensitive to common foodstuffs in the first place.

So please stay tuned in 2010, and I will try harder to steer clear of the pastries and the buns!

LH

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The merry season is in full swing and with it comes the inevitable parade of mince pies, gingerbread men, and everything else that I once enjoyed at Christmas time.

Other ghosts of my Christmas past include turkey stuffing and gravy, chippolatas, and please don’t anyone mention christmas pudding and custard.

Not only that, but with silly season socialising hitting top gear, the pressure is for our gluten detectors to be extra vigilant when deliciously tempting hors deuvres, canapes and assorted sweet treats drift past our hungry eyes.

Of course its not too difficult to conjure up most savoury Christmas fare with gluten-free indredients, but if you are dining out or a guest someone else’s home, you are probably out in the cold when it comes to tucking into all your festive favourites.

Lucky for me, I love all the gluten free parts of a traditional Christmas spread – the hams, the turkey, and the roast vegetables – just as much as the other bits. Even so, I think the time is right to put together a gluten free guide for those of us who are tired of ‘doing without’ on  Christmas day.

When it comes to the main course, things like gravy and stuffing can easily be replicated with a gluten free flour substitute – and no-one would ever know the difference.  Likewise gluten-free chippolatas and other sausagy-type foods are also easily located in most butchers and supermarkets.

But its the sweet treats that can be the most elusive. Lucky you if you have a good recipe for gingerbread and Christmas puddings (and we’d love to hear about it if you want to share it!). For the rest of us, it was pleasing to see the proliferation of gluten free Christmas goodies on show at the Gluten Free Expo.

So here is a little collection of products and ideas that I have put together that you can buy either in packets, part made or ready made that might ring in a little more yuletide sparkle to your celebrations.

Gingerbread: We love Artini’s gingerbread men, which we buy as a special treat from our local IGA, but there quite a few recipes online if you can’t get hold of these yummy little bites.

Mince pies: Check out a gluten free bakery in your city/town (eg Choices in Turramurra Sydney) and if you have no luck there, try making your own with Pastry Panty shortcrust pastry sheets - which may be available in a local Coles supermarket (in the gluten free section of your freezer section) or can be ordered directly from the company.

Christmas cakes/puddings: Vitarium (who brought us realistic, yummy pancakes) has created a gluten free fruit cake mix so look out for that on supermarket shelves or on their website. If you don’t want to get your mixmaster dirty then Pudding Lane has come up with a gluten free pudding that you can order from its online shop.

Custards/cream: Orgran has a custard mix that does a pretty decent job for those of us who must live without dairy, and Carnation has been advertising soy cooking milk as a cream replacement for those non-dairy people who can tolerate soy products.  So Good makes a tasty vanilla soy icecream that contains some wheat, but the company has told me the product is gluten free.

Happy hunting!

LH

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