gluten free low fat upside down apricot cake.

This is a remarkably light sponge for a gluten free cake: The non allergic people at the party were none the wiser and came back for seconds!

1 and a half Tblspns of brown sugar.

400g can of apricots drained well

3 eggs separated

half a cup of caster sugar

half a tspn vanilla paste

2 thirds of a cup of Self Raising gluten free flour mix

Pre heat oven to 160*C. Grease pan and line with baking paper. Sprinkle brown sugar on base and arrange apricots on top of the sugar with the cut side up.

Beat egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add sugar beating well until sugar is all gone and mixture is smooth and glossy. Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla. Sift flour into mixture and fold through gently with a metal spoon. Gently smooth over apricots and bake for 30 - 35 minutes. Allow to cool in tin for 5- 10 mins before turning out onto plate. Best eaten on the day it is made but it can be frozen for up to three months.
I served it with very not low fat double cream.

I am going to try this sponge with different fruit like blueberries or apple or pears...

oaty toffee biscuits (based on the weight watchers Lace biscuits)

4 tble spns of Melted reduced fat butter,

half a cup of brown sugar,

half a cup of rolled oats

a quarter of a cup of slivered or flaked almonds. (I might try pecans next time)

Mix them all together in a bowl. Place half teaspoonfuls of mixture 5cm apart. Cook for 10 minutes at about 160*C :they will melt and spread- boy do they spread, they need all that space! Where they ran together I just pushed them apart and shaped them back into rounds before leaving them to cool and set for 5 mins before shifting them to a wire rack to completely cool.Alternatively just leave them and snap them apart when the are cool as you transfer them to the wire rack.

curried parsnip and apple soup.

2 medium onions peeled and chopped

2 medium potatoes peeled and chopped

4 medium parsnips also peeled an chopped- chop in thin circles to cut through the woody or stringy bits that you can get with parsnips.

1 red apple peeled and chopped.

1-2 tablespoons of olive oil

1tspn each of curry powder and cumin

1 L of good veggie stock

About 1 cup of milk (reduced fat is fine.)

Fry the onion and potato in hot oil to brown a little and create some of those yummy brown bits, add the spices and fry off for a minute to release the flavours. Then add the stock. Throw in the parsnips and apple and simmer until veggies are all tender. Pure with hand held blender stir in about a cup of milk.

Rustic Spelt Pasta

Tim has discovered that eating wheat makes him feel quite unwell, but he is able to tolerate Spelt flour. Wheat free products are very expensive or not particularly nice. So I thought I'd try making pasta with Spelt flour. I have to say that it was well worth the effort- it really wasn't all that fiddly or difficult and the pasta was delicious. I'll be making this one again! This pasta was made to go with some left over mince with peas and corn- not your traditional spag bol and not really blog worthy but it is the one that my girl prefers.

Rustic Spelt Pasta

1and 3/4 cups of spelt flour

3eggs

one very generous pinch of salt

Mix together with a knife in a large mixing bowl. Knead as the dough comes together for a few minutes. Add a sprinkle of extra flour if needed. I added about a tablespoon or two, eggs vary in size so it is tricky to be exact,plus I am not an exact cook I go by feel and instinct. Wrap in plastic wrap or damp cloth for 10 mins to rest (the dough not you it's not hard work!)

Roll pasta through pasta roller. TIP: I found that this flour was a little sticky I don't know if it was my quantities or they type of flour but I found it easier to cut the dough in small pieces and run them through the pasta roller in these smaller batches. do all of them at each number down to about the third last one.

Slice them into strips and cook in a large pot of salted boiling water for about 1 or 2 minutes according to your taste. I did a practice one first.

(Sorry about the lines through the photo's this keeps happening randomly when I upload photo's on Blogger since I changed to the new format- I don't know what I am doing!??!)