Cooking gluten free crepes

Picasso had his blue period, Van Gogh had his sunflowers, Monet his water lilies. I am currently in my crepe stage.

I have recently discovered they are a very quick alternative when you don't have any bread for breakfast and don't feel like pasta or rice for dinner. You can stuff them with cottage cheese nuts and fruit, with mushrooms or spinach. Any tasty nutritious filling you like.


I even stuffed them with beans and topped them with taco sauce as enchiladas.


So far I have tried making them with plain white flour and with buckwheat. Both are a great success so the gluten free is a viable option. I am yet to try spelt and am intrigued by besan.

Here's the recipe:

3/4 cup plain flour of your choice
pinch salt
40g butter melted
1 egg
1 cup milk

Mix together the wet ingredients then whisk into the flour and salt. Let sit for a few minutes until bubbles form.  Pour half a cup of batter into a hot pan and swirl around until it coats the bottom of the pan. Cook until the crepe lifts off the pan and is lightly browned underneath.

Place your favourite filling into the centre of the crepe and fold edges over. Cook a little longer.
Voila!

Tip 1
The pan! For best results use a non-stick omelette pan with shallow sloping sides. This way the crepe will slide off when done.  You may have to experiment until you get the heat right. It should cook quickly but not burn.

Tip 2
You will need more milk with the buckwheat flour than white flour.

Tip 3
If you are going to bake or reheat the crepes as in the enchilada example, you can pile the crepes on a plate before filling and rolling up.

Tip 4
Enjoy them and share your favourite filling ideas with me!

Saffron milkcap mushroom crepe with ewes' milk camembert

Making lemon cordial

I am making lemon cordial!  I have filled old syrup bottles and pretty jars with fresh cordial make a pretty presentation perfect for gifts.


This is really easy.  The only ingredients are fruit juice, rind, sugar, water and tartaric acid. All easy to find in the kitchen or supermarket. Old fashioned lemonade is so in fashion right now.  Use your in-season citrus fruit to create that summer taste all year round. Everyone can do it.  A little simple fruit preserving tip for you.

Lime or lemon cordial recipe

6-8 limes, 4 lemons

1.5kg sugar

4 cups boiling water

1 tablespoon of either citric or tartaric acid

Finely grate the lime rind, avoiding the bitter white pith. Squeeze the limes and set aside.

Bring the water to the boil and add the lime rind, citric or tartaric acid and sugar. 

Stir to dissolve the sugar. Take off the heat when dissolved and stir in the lime juice.

Leave to cool completely, overnight if you make it in the evening. 

The mix will thicken into a syrup as it cools.

Strain the syrup to remove the rind and pour into sterilised bottles.

This cordial is excellent with cold mineral water. A splash of gin doesn't go astray either. Enjoy!

Note this recipe makes 4-5 cups of syrup. I recommend you pour it into small bottles so you can share it.   It keeps for months so you can enjoy your harvest or the greengrocer season surplus all year long.

Autumn in the Southern Highlands of NSW just shines

The colour is stunning this year. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Burrawang Hotel


My garden in Robertson



Bowral
If you like my photos follow me on Instagram: homespunbliss 

Bee Keeping in the Southern Highlands

I have recently become very interested in keeping bees. You might remember Howard and I went to a course recently with the legendary Bruce White. You can check my previous posts by clicking on the photos.

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Day one                            Day two including videos of honey extracting and a swarm

A key thing I discovered in the course was to wait until Spring to start a hive , if you start in Autumn or winter they won't have time to store honey to feed on through the cold months.  So I have time to continue to learn and get all my equipment ready.  The next step I took was to join the Southern Highlands Apiarists Association to meet other local bee keepers and get support to make my plan happen.

Today I went to my third meeting, the AGM, and became secretary. So there will be many more bee stories to come.

Moss Vale Community Garden hosted the AGM today

The cosmos was full of happy bees

Sylvia checking the Club hive

Mushroom foraging is so enjoyable, it needs to be responsible too

We headed back to Belanglo State Forest today to collect saffron milk caps without a guide, putting into place the new skills we gained with Diego.

There hasn't been much rain since we went last time but there were plenty of mushrooms to pick. We just had to walk a bit further to find them.

We had a lovely time and had mushrooms cooked on the bar-b-que plate with crusty homemade bread for breakfast. The breakfast of champions I feel. Next time I might take some eggs to add in too.

You've all heard the warnings about not picking mushrooms you cannot confidently identify. I found many mushrooms today that fit the description of slippery jacks but I left them behind.  Another day I'll find an expert to check them for me. I agree with the warnings.

One thing I am not hearing people talk much about is responsible picking. I was devastated to see how much waste people before me had created.  This was a common sight throughout the forest, people just dumped large amounts of mushrooms to rot. The could have left them in the ground for someone else to have. Even next to the bar-b-que there was a wasted pile almost as big as our basket full.

So please, if you are going mushroom foraging show some respect for the forest, for nature's bounty and others coming behind you.

Antiquing at Dirty Jane's Emporium Bowral

We love rummaging around antique shops. Dirty Janes in Bowral, Southern Highlands of NSW is a favourite. He are some highlights this week.




Oh wow I wanted to buy this ticket booth. it is so very beautiful. I can see it in my garden.

Spicy carrot and sweet potato soup

Yesterday we ate out at a cafe for lunch. It was cold and wet and the spicy carrot soup on the specials board really appealed to me. But alas, as is common, the chef felt the need to use a meat stock in a vegetable soup. I always check what stock is used in soups and risottos. I have learnt to check for these hidden sources of meat. I don't know why they have to do it but t happens more often than not.

I found something else on the menu for lunch but decided the die was cast for what I would cook for dinner.  I guarantee my version was way better than the cafe version anyway.  And yes it was just the thing for a cold day.


Ingredients
Carrots, 4-5 large, peeled and sliced
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
Chilli infused olive oil
Ground cumin, 2 teaspoons
Ground coriander, 1 teaspoons
Fresh coriander or lovage* see note

Method
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Saute the carrots and sweet potato in the oil for about 10 minutes until beginning to soften.
Add the spices and half the fresh herbs.  Stir and heat a little longer.
Add just enough water to cover.
Cook over medium heat until all vegetables are soft.
Puree in a blender until the right consistency has been achieved. Add a little more water if too thick but be careful not to water it down too much. Put back in the saucepan and replace on the stove over low heat to warm again.
Serve with more herbs on top and chunks of crusty bread.

Serves 4 as an entree or 2 as a meal.