Finally, the weather has started to cool. In theory, this means I could turn my oven on again without fear of heating the entire kitchen. Unfortunately, the cooler weather has coincided with a broken switch in said oven, and I am now waiting for a new part to come from over East. As postage from the East inexplicably takes forever, I don't think my oven will be back in commission any time soon.
I did manage to bake these gluten free Anzac Biscuits from My Darling Lemon Thyme before the oven died. They are full of brown rice flour and quinoa flakes, which will hopefully stave off any whinging from The Princess about the lack of food in the house for a little while. If you happen to have any good no-bake recipes I would love to hear about them.
Our summer vegetable garden is winding down, but dad's fruit trees are still in full swing. He kindly shared a few of his precious mangoes and plums with us last week. I wonder what it will take to convince him to share some more plums as I wouldn't mind making jam.
There was gluten free pasta, coconut flour, souk spice mix and white strawberry tea in my Goodness Me Box last month. There were actually other snacks included but The Princess ate them all before I could take any pictures. I have never baked with coconut flour, so I am going to experiment once the oven is back in commission. I am aware that it can make baked goods quite dense so it is a good thing I have time to do some research. The souk spice reminds me a little of Ras el Hanout, possibly my favourite spice mix. I see tagine in my future.
As I can't eat honey (thanks to a very serious allergy) I am always on the look out for alternative liquid sweeteners to use in its place. I've been reading a bit about date syrup in my new book (below) so was delighted to recently find some.
Only one new book this month, an anniversary present from Mr Grumpy. He had seen me eyeing off the new River Cottage Gluten Free, so I was thrilled to receive it. We are not a gluten free household, but I do love playing with gluten free flours and am always looking for new ideas to use them. The book has comprehensive sections on gluten free breads, pastry and baking, which are the most difficult areas to translate to a gluten free diet. If you are on a gluten free diet I would highly recommend this book.
That's about it for my kitchen this month. Don't forget to head over Maureen's at the Orgasmic Chef to see what is happening in other kitchens around the world.
