Anyone have a recipe? Hot cross buns are something I always ate around Easter as a kid, but now that my son is gluten free, the real things are off limits in this house. I've looked for a gluten free product, and came across El Peto brand frozen buns.
They were underwhelming. The flavour wasn't too far from what I remember, but the large chunks of dried fruit overwhelmed the other flavours. And they were tiny. I realized just how small they are when someone brought some hot cross buns in to work today for staff and they looked mammoth to me in comparison.
So I'm left unsatisfied with the gluten free ones I have in my freezer, and craving some REAL ones that I can introduce my son to. Without trying to recreate an extremely complicated recipe. Do I ask for too much?
Does anyone have a reliable, delicious, gluten free Hot Cross Bun recipe I can try? Anyone????
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
An Easter Tradition
Every year when I was a kid, I used to dye Easter eggs with my mom and sister. Sometimes we would paint them or draw on them with crayons, the wax coming through the paint to reveal our designs. It was nothing fancy, some food colouring in water and vinegar, some crayons, a little inexpensive paint. But to a kid, it meant at least an hour of excitement and fun. I was never the best artist in the world, but I could place an egg in a bowlful of coloured water and create something beautiful with barely any skill needed.
Last year I started the tradition with my son. Instead of dying his eggs, he painted them using an egg holder from the dollar store. This year we went the more traditional route and coloured a dozen eggs a variety of hues. Rather than drain the eggs, I hard boiled them so they would be more sturdy for his little hands to work with. My son had fun watching the food colouring tablets dissolve in the vinegar and was great at spooning the water and vinegar mixture over the eggs until he was satisfied with the colour.
Perhaps as he gets older we'll try something more complicated, like tie-dying the eggs, or painting them using stencils. For now, I'm satisfied with the little bit of Spring cheer brightening up my kitchen table thanks to some simple, child-friendly, coloured eggs.
Last year I started the tradition with my son. Instead of dying his eggs, he painted them using an egg holder from the dollar store. This year we went the more traditional route and coloured a dozen eggs a variety of hues. Rather than drain the eggs, I hard boiled them so they would be more sturdy for his little hands to work with. My son had fun watching the food colouring tablets dissolve in the vinegar and was great at spooning the water and vinegar mixture over the eggs until he was satisfied with the colour.
Perhaps as he gets older we'll try something more complicated, like tie-dying the eggs, or painting them using stencils. For now, I'm satisfied with the little bit of Spring cheer brightening up my kitchen table thanks to some simple, child-friendly, coloured eggs.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Happy Birthday to my Niece!
This time of year seems to be filled with birthdays...my son, my self, my husband and my niece all have birthdays within a few weeks of each other. That adds up to a lot of parties and a lot of cake!
My niece Mya turns four this week, and she had her birthday party at the bowling alley, where the kids got an hour of five pin bowling followed by about an hour in the party room. The kids got their choice of meal, and the cake is supplied from outside.
The best part about the bowling is that the alley has bumpers so the balls don't all fall in the gutters, and they also have ramps so that the balls get some momentum to make it down the alley. The kids can bowl pretty much independently, and actually knock down some pins!
An hour was the perfect amount of time for a group of three and four year old kids, and they were all starving by the time their ten frames were done.
Like most places that cater to kids, the food choices were all off limits for my son- hot dogs, hamburgers or grilled cheese, with fries. They were accommodating though and offered to heat up the food that we brought from home for him, waiving their no outside food policy due to his food restrictions. We brought along some of the pizza we had made the night before, and some oven baked alphabet fries. He was happy, so I was happy. He didn't even care about what the other kids were eating.
After lunch came the cake! My sister ordered the cake from the same place that I always order for my son, Augusto 33 Bakery in Maple. They make gluten and dairy free cakes from scratch, and that taste phenomenal. Rather than picking the design from a book, we supply a few items that we want incorporated into the design, and then we leave the rest to him. This time my sister wanted a mermaid theme, so she brought the top decoration and the sugar pieces attached to the sides, and this was the final result.
Everyone commented on how good the cake was, and couldn't believe it when we told them that there was no gluten or dairy. The cake is just good, period.
The kids seemed to agree too.
My niece Mya turns four this week, and she had her birthday party at the bowling alley, where the kids got an hour of five pin bowling followed by about an hour in the party room. The kids got their choice of meal, and the cake is supplied from outside.
The best part about the bowling is that the alley has bumpers so the balls don't all fall in the gutters, and they also have ramps so that the balls get some momentum to make it down the alley. The kids can bowl pretty much independently, and actually knock down some pins!
 |
| Sorry for the blur, but it's an action shot! |
 |
| That's the birthday girl, getting ready to bowl a strike! |
 |
| That's my son's high score there on the bottom...he's a natural :) |
An hour was the perfect amount of time for a group of three and four year old kids, and they were all starving by the time their ten frames were done.
Like most places that cater to kids, the food choices were all off limits for my son- hot dogs, hamburgers or grilled cheese, with fries. They were accommodating though and offered to heat up the food that we brought from home for him, waiving their no outside food policy due to his food restrictions. We brought along some of the pizza we had made the night before, and some oven baked alphabet fries. He was happy, so I was happy. He didn't even care about what the other kids were eating.
After lunch came the cake! My sister ordered the cake from the same place that I always order for my son, Augusto 33 Bakery in Maple. They make gluten and dairy free cakes from scratch, and that taste phenomenal. Rather than picking the design from a book, we supply a few items that we want incorporated into the design, and then we leave the rest to him. This time my sister wanted a mermaid theme, so she brought the top decoration and the sugar pieces attached to the sides, and this was the final result.
Everyone commented on how good the cake was, and couldn't believe it when we told them that there was no gluten or dairy. The cake is just good, period.
 |
| The cake was 4 layers. The piece didn't even fit on the plates! |
The kids seemed to agree too.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Gluten Free Weekly Menu Plan
Monday: Chicken Tacos with Mango Avocado Salsa (these will be put together right before eating, but here's what the salsa looks like)
Tuesday: Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce
Wednesday: Turkey Burgers with Cranberry Peach Chutney (these will also be assembled right before eating)
Thursday: Clean out the Fridge Vegetable Soup
Friday: Fish and Chips
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust
Friday night was pizza night. My son's been enjoying helping me in the kitchen lately, so I picked up a Bob's Red Mill Pizza baking mix and decided to bake one together. The dough comes together quite quickly, although it thickens up and can be difficult for a mixer with a small motor to beat through. The dough needs to stand for 20 minutes before being pushed into place on a baking sheet. It makes one large pizza or two small ones.
What makes this dough feel different from regular pizza dough is that it's less elastic, but much stickier. You have to use wet hands to push it into place on the baking sheet, which feels strange if you're used to working with regular dough. It then needs to be baked for a few minutes before taking it out of the oven and putting the pizza toppings on. It kind of has the consistency of a flat bread when it comes out of the oven.
We went for the classic mushroom and pepperoni pizza, with goat's milk mozzarella. My son loved placing each slice of pepperoni into the sauce, and scattering the cheese over the top. Then it goes back into the oven for 15-17 minutes until everything is hot and bubbly!
The finished crust is not quite a thin crust, but isn't as thick and springy as a thick one. It's perhaps a little bit sweeter than a typical pizza, but the flavour doesn't distract from the toppings the way some take-out pizzas do.
The true test was the fact that my son ate 2 slices before my husband or I even began to eat! The pizza was really good, especially hot out of the oven.
Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave, but the texture of the crust doesn't respond all that well. I would recommend reheating leftovers in a regular oven or a toaster oven to maintain the crispness of the crust. That's true of all pizzas though.
I've tried a few different gluten free pizza crusts in the past, and this one is my favourite so far. It's not as convenient as a frozen, pre-made dough, but the final product is superior to any other I've tried at home. I have the feeling that pizza night might be making a comeback in our house!
What makes this dough feel different from regular pizza dough is that it's less elastic, but much stickier. You have to use wet hands to push it into place on the baking sheet, which feels strange if you're used to working with regular dough. It then needs to be baked for a few minutes before taking it out of the oven and putting the pizza toppings on. It kind of has the consistency of a flat bread when it comes out of the oven.
We went for the classic mushroom and pepperoni pizza, with goat's milk mozzarella. My son loved placing each slice of pepperoni into the sauce, and scattering the cheese over the top. Then it goes back into the oven for 15-17 minutes until everything is hot and bubbly!
The finished crust is not quite a thin crust, but isn't as thick and springy as a thick one. It's perhaps a little bit sweeter than a typical pizza, but the flavour doesn't distract from the toppings the way some take-out pizzas do.
The true test was the fact that my son ate 2 slices before my husband or I even began to eat! The pizza was really good, especially hot out of the oven.
Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave, but the texture of the crust doesn't respond all that well. I would recommend reheating leftovers in a regular oven or a toaster oven to maintain the crispness of the crust. That's true of all pizzas though.
I've tried a few different gluten free pizza crusts in the past, and this one is my favourite so far. It's not as convenient as a frozen, pre-made dough, but the final product is superior to any other I've tried at home. I have the feeling that pizza night might be making a comeback in our house!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Happy Birthday to my Husband!
Last night my son and I spent some time baking a gluten free birthday cake for my husband. Even though his birthday is today, my son just couldn't wait and so we had to blow out some candles and sing happy birthday a day early! Etienne has become quite the little helper in the kitchen, cracking eggs and pouring the liquid ingredients into the batter. He helped every step of the way, and the cake turned out great.
As for my husband, he enjoyed his birthday surprise, and even got to help blow out his own candles!!!
Happy Birthday Mi Amor!
As for my husband, he enjoyed his birthday surprise, and even got to help blow out his own candles!!!
Happy Birthday Mi Amor!
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Product Review: El Peto Pancake Mix
On Sunday, I promised my little guy a pancake dinner since he couldn't eat the pancakes at the maple syrup festival that looked delicious but were full of gluten. Thankfully, I had a box of gluten free pancake mix in the cupboard that I had bought a while ago with the best of intentions but had never quite gotten around to making.
The El Peto mix calls for eggs, milk and oil to be added to the mix, and then to let it stand for 15 minutes to thicken. The instructions say to add some more milk to the mix after the 15 minutes if it's a little thick. Each batch makes between 10 and 14 pancakes. I used a quarter cup scoop for my pancakes and got almost 14 pancakes from a batch. I made 2 batches, and found that I had to add quite a bit of extra milk to each batch, as they thickened up considerably.
They did, however, cook up quite nicely. They puffed up and came out light and fluffy, with good flavour. My son ate 8 of them. Seriously. That's why I had to make two batches.
I've never made pancakes using another gluten free mix, so I have nothing to compare this to, but I have to say I was impressed with the quality of the finished product. I've been disappointed with some of El Peto's baking mixes in the past, so this was a nice surprise! We covered them with some real Canadian maple syrup and they were as good as any pancakes I've ever had.
The El Peto mix calls for eggs, milk and oil to be added to the mix, and then to let it stand for 15 minutes to thicken. The instructions say to add some more milk to the mix after the 15 minutes if it's a little thick. Each batch makes between 10 and 14 pancakes. I used a quarter cup scoop for my pancakes and got almost 14 pancakes from a batch. I made 2 batches, and found that I had to add quite a bit of extra milk to each batch, as they thickened up considerably.
They did, however, cook up quite nicely. They puffed up and came out light and fluffy, with good flavour. My son ate 8 of them. Seriously. That's why I had to make two batches.
I've never made pancakes using another gluten free mix, so I have nothing to compare this to, but I have to say I was impressed with the quality of the finished product. I've been disappointed with some of El Peto's baking mixes in the past, so this was a nice surprise! We covered them with some real Canadian maple syrup and they were as good as any pancakes I've ever had.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Maple Syrup Festival at Kortright Centre
Yesterday was a beautiful day, with temperatures hovering around 18C, the nicest it's supposed to be for the next week at least. So, we decided to get out of the house and take our son to the Kortright Centre, where the Sugarbush Maple Syrup festival is underway. I like the Kortright Centre for several reasons. There are several hiking trails where one can enjoy nature peacefully while getting in some exercise, but there are also several programs for adults and kids, including guided walks, night walks, special events and seasonal activities. Just being there brings me a sense of calm.
My son has been obsessed with dragons and wolves lately, and so was thrilled to be going to the forest where the wolves live. We tried to explain to him that the wolves would be hiding, but he wasn't fazed; he was so excited to see the trees that seeing an actual wolf wasn't necessary (thank goodness!)
We decided on the self-guided tour this year, since we've done the guided tour before, and we set out along the trail. The first thing that I noticed was the quiet that enveloped us as we made our way onto the path and away from the main centre. Although the trees were still without leaves, there's a definite beauty to the bare trees, surrounded by a floor of dried leaves and a few patches of moss peeking through.
Etienne was excited to see the sap dripping into the buckets attached to the maples, and even got to sample some sap before it was boiled down into syrup. The demonstration of the boiling sap was interesting, although Etienne was more interested in the fire than the syrup, and kept reminding me that fire was for cooking marshmallows. Somebody remembers his cottage visit from last summer!
We bought some maple candy (gluten free!) and some syrup, and ended our day off with a wagon ride around the centre. There was a snack centre serving food, but unfortunately nothing was gluten free- pancakes, sandwiches, sausages on a bun, etc. Instead, I promised Etienne that we could have a special pancake dinner when we got home topped with the maple syrup we bought.
He loves helping mommy in the kitchen, so the thought of cooking the pancakes was enough to make him forget that he couldn't have any at the festival. Overall, it was a great morning at the Kortright Centre.
Kortright Centre for Conservation, 9550 Pine Valley Drive, Woodbridge ON L4L 1A6
Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festival runs until April 9, and is open daily.
Weekdays 9:30-4:00, Weekends 9:30-5:00.
Kids 4 and under are free. Adults are $9 and parking is $4.
Wagon rides are included in the price. Food is extra.
My son has been obsessed with dragons and wolves lately, and so was thrilled to be going to the forest where the wolves live. We tried to explain to him that the wolves would be hiding, but he wasn't fazed; he was so excited to see the trees that seeing an actual wolf wasn't necessary (thank goodness!)
We decided on the self-guided tour this year, since we've done the guided tour before, and we set out along the trail. The first thing that I noticed was the quiet that enveloped us as we made our way onto the path and away from the main centre. Although the trees were still without leaves, there's a definite beauty to the bare trees, surrounded by a floor of dried leaves and a few patches of moss peeking through.
Etienne was excited to see the sap dripping into the buckets attached to the maples, and even got to sample some sap before it was boiled down into syrup. The demonstration of the boiling sap was interesting, although Etienne was more interested in the fire than the syrup, and kept reminding me that fire was for cooking marshmallows. Somebody remembers his cottage visit from last summer!
We bought some maple candy (gluten free!) and some syrup, and ended our day off with a wagon ride around the centre. There was a snack centre serving food, but unfortunately nothing was gluten free- pancakes, sandwiches, sausages on a bun, etc. Instead, I promised Etienne that we could have a special pancake dinner when we got home topped with the maple syrup we bought.
He loves helping mommy in the kitchen, so the thought of cooking the pancakes was enough to make him forget that he couldn't have any at the festival. Overall, it was a great morning at the Kortright Centre.
Kortright Centre for Conservation, 9550 Pine Valley Drive, Woodbridge ON L4L 1A6
Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festival runs until April 9, and is open daily.
Weekdays 9:30-4:00, Weekends 9:30-5:00.
Kids 4 and under are free. Adults are $9 and parking is $4.
Wagon rides are included in the price. Food is extra.
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)