Festive Preparations

I've never made any pretenses about my organisational skills. In fact I quite regularly go on about my extreme lack of them. So, I had a little heart attack when my co-contributors to "At the Failsafe Table" decided to have a Christmas edition this week. It's a truly great idea and I'm sure you would all like to be a bit prepared and maybe even have a trial run of what you would like to make. For me this week is last minute birthday party preparation for my daughter's 4th birthday - Christmas is not even on my radar until next week.

I have managed to fit something in this week though, so this year you get a Christmas recipe from me before Christmas instead of in March.

While I was deciding what to make I was thinking about all the different yummy foods that are usually eaten over the holidays and one of the things that came into my mind was those rolled pieces of pork that are stuffed with fruit and nuts and are sweet and moist with that naughty bit of crackling on the top. I have done a failsafe version of that. "How is that even possible?" you say. "Massive substitutions" I say; that and a bit of imagination.

Christmas Chicken Roll
Ingredients

• 2 large Chicken breast doubles
• failsafe oil

Stuffing

• 3 Tbsp ground raw cashews
• 1 pear, peeled, cored and diced smallish
• 2 shallots, finely sliced
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1/4 cup crumbs
• 1 tsp salt
• few sprigs parsley

Glaze

• 1 Tbsp Maple syrup
• 1 tsp whiskey (optional)
• 1 tsp failsafe oil
• 1/4 tsp salt

All tied up

Don't worry about being neat, just make sure it is tight.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C and lightly oil a roasting tray.
2. Leave the cartilage that joins the breasts intact, but trim any other sinew or excess fat from the chicken.
3. Mix all the stuffing ingredients together in a bowl.
4. Lay out the breasts rough side up and spread one half of the first one with about a third of the stuffing. Lay the second piece so half of it covers the stuffing of the first. It's best if you do it with the thicker part covering the thinner of the first ("top and tailed") so it is not really thick at one end once it is rolled.
5. Spread all of the second breast double with the remaining stuffing and then roll carefully so the cross section is like two interlocking "C's". 
6. Tie it tightly with kitchen string and place into roasting dish.
7. Push any bits of stuffing that have fallen out back into the end of it.
8. Mix the glaze ingredients together and brush some over the chicken.
9. Bake for one and a half hours (or until cooked through - depends on the chicken size). Take it out at intervals and brush with more glaze.
10. When ready remove from oven and rest for 10 minutes, then remove string and slice.

Ready to be sliced

Variations

• Nut free - No problem, just leave them out and add a little more crumbs or substitute for chicknuts as they could add another bit of flavour.
• Salicylates - Apples would be nice instead of pears as would some herbs like sage or thyme.

Served with crispy herbed baked potatoes and steamed beans and cabbage  tossed with nuttelex, salt and sprinkled with crispy fried deli chicken.

We all enjoyed this, it really did remind me of the pork ones. Hubby said he would like to have more stuffing. It would be nice, but it would also make it trickier to roll.

Highly Strung

Having people over for meals gives me the opportunity to try new things out, things that I wouldn't necessarily cook for just any old dinner.

My mum recently celebrated a milestone birthday and that seemed like a good reason to do something a little bit fancy. So I flicked through all my cook books searching for inspiration and came across a recipe in my French book that I have been wanting to try for ages. It is so incredibly close to failsafe to that few changes were needed and the end result was really quite special. The meat is cooked for a very short time, which suits the amine sensitive and the cut is so very tender when it is done. Unfortunately the cost of the cut will relegate it to "special occasion" status.

Boeuf à la Ficelle
(Beef on a string)

Ingredients

• Beef fillet (allow about 200g per adult, less for kids - I cooked for 5 adults and 2 kids and used 1.2kg)
• 6 cups liquid (this could be stock, water, whiskey or a combination - I used 1/2 cup whiskey and 3 tablespoons of vegetable stock concentrate with 5 1/2 cups of water). If you are cooking less meat you won't need as much liquid.
• 1 large swede, cut into batons (sticks)
• 1 celery stalk, cut into batons
• 2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1/4 cabbage, sliced
• 6 shallots, trimmed and cut into long lengths
• A few sprigs of parsley

Method

1. Trim the beef of any visible fat and sinew and cut into portions. Tie a length of cooking string around each piece so that it holds shape leaving enough string attached to lower the beef into the pot.
2. Pour the liquid into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the vegetables and parsley and cook at a medium boil for about 8 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon and keep warm. Discard the parsley and skim and fat or foam from the surface.
3. Season the beef with a little salt and lower into the boiling stock. Tie the string around the pot handle or to a wooden spoon resting across the top of the pot. Cook for 6mins for rare, 10 mins for medium rare, 15 mins for medium and 20 mins for well done (for those who can't bear the sight of pink in their meat).
4. Place each piece of meat on a plate or shallow bowl, add the cooked vegetables and ladle some of the broth over to serve.

Variations

• Salicylates - Add a carrot cut into batons with the other vegetables (moderate) and a bay leaf and 2 sprigs of thyme (very high).
• Amines - use beef stock for the liquid.

We didn't eat all the cooking liquid on the night, so I reserved it and froze it. Normally beef stock would be too high in amines to use, but as the beef was only cooked very briefly it make a nice, mild beef stock that I would happily use again.

This dish was so succulent and was happily devoured by failsafers and non-failsafers alike.

The Spice of Life

Sometimes I just want to cook meals that I used to cook. Although there is nothing to stop me from cooking things just for the adults or getting a take away (and at times we do do either) I like to try to make things a bit different for the kids. My re-imaginings of some of these dishes are probably a mere shadow of their original form, but they add a bit of variety and variety is the spice of life and since we can't have real spice we may as well have a bit of variety.

I was looking at the bean shoots at the grocers the other day. These instantly bring two meals to mind - phô and pad thai. I've had a few attempts at the phô and haven't quite got it good enough to publish, but the pad thai I made the other night did the job for me.

Pad Thai
Ingredients

• 4 Tbsp failsafe oil
• 6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 2 chicken breast fillets, cut into small cubes
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp Gin
• 2 Tbsp Golden syrup
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 Tbsp pear Ketchup
• 2 lightly beaten eggs
• 200g wide rice noodles, prepared to packet instructions
• 3 cups (about) Mung bean sprouts
• 2 shallots, finely sliced (include some of the green too)
• 2 Tbsp raw cashews, roughly chopped (you could lightly toast them if you tolerate it)
• Citric 'lemon' juice to taste 

Method

1. Heat oil in a large wok and fry the garlic until golden
2. Add the chicken and stir fry until partially cooked.
3. Combine the sugar, syrup, gin, ketchup and salt and add to wok.
4. Add the beaten eggs, let them set slightly, then stir to scramble.
5. Add the noodles and toss and stir them for about 2 mins.
6. Reserve about 1 cup of the sprouts and add the rest to the wok. Stir until the sprouts are barely cooked.
7. Serve into bowls and garnish with the remaining sprouts, shallots and cashews. Lightly sprinkle with the citric lemon to taste.

Variations-
Salicylates - Also garnish with chopped coriander and dried chilli.
Soy - Use cubed firm tofu instead of chicken.

The boy declared this dinner "Awesome!"

Like My Nan Used to Make

Australia is made up of so many different cultures all with wonderful food traditions. So many different flavours and cooking methods. Me? I come from a long line of Brits and am only second generation Australian. This means childhood meals weren't full of spices or unconventional meats or vegetables. For a while I felt a little miffed that I had no ability to eat chilli and that the smell of certain cured meats made me want to gag. It has paid off in the end because I seem to have a fairly sound knowledge of failsafe friendly food.

One set of grandparents were from Scotland and we used to eat with them quite a lot so it wasn't always fancy. The thing that my Nanna used to make quite often was Mince and Tatties a very traditional scottish meal. It is a savoury mince stew which is cheap and filling and is one of my comfort foods. My Nan would use gravox or vegemite to add a kick of flavour to the gravy and there was always peas and carrots in it. My version probably bears very little resemblance to hers or a traditional one, but it hits the spot.

Mince and Tatties
Ingredients

• 500g Beef mince 
• 2 tsp failsafe oil
• 1/2 large leek, finely chopped
• 1 small stick celery, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 cup whiskey
• 2 cups stock (I used vegetable)
• 1/2 swede, finely diced
• 1/2 cup lentils (I used a mixture of red and french this time)
• 1/2 choko, finely diced
• 3 brussel sprouts, finely chopped
• large handful of beans, chopped
• salt to taste 
• 1 Tbsp rice flour
• Mashed potato to serve

Method

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan and gently saute the leek, garlic and celery.
2. Add mince and fry, breaking up the mince as it is cooking.
3. Once the mince is lightly cooked add the whiskey and turn the heat up so that it starts to boil.
4. Add the swede, lentils, choko and stock, bring to the boil and then gently simmer for about 15mins, stirring occasionally.
5. Add the sprouts and beans and simmer until the lentils and veg are cooked.
6. Mix flour with a little water and add to thicken.
7. Check seasoning and add salt to taste.
8. Serve with mashed potato.

Variations
 Salicylates - Use onions instead of leeks and add diced carrots.
Glutamates - Use green peas.

Leftovers are particularly nice on toast for an easy meal or thickened a bit more and used as a pie filler.

More Soup.

I'm totally loving this cold weather. There has been frost in the mornings in the reserve next door and this evening I watched fog rise up there too. This weather just makes me want meals like this. Soup that is thick and heavy and warm, that warms your belly and is just good for your soul.

This recipe is almost a straight rip off of a Jamie Oliver recipe from his first book. There were minor modifications to make it failsafe and due to ingredients I had on hand. It is incredibly easy and has few ingredients. Hubby is very soup critical and he gave it a big thumbs up. Unfortunately it seems Miss 3 has decided she doesn't like soup and mostly ate toast. Mr 7 also scoffed the lot.

This made enough for us with a little left over, so would probably happily feed four adults for dinner.

Chickpea and Leek Soup
Ingredients

• 3 medium leeks, split lengthways and sliced finely
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 large potato, peeled and chopped
• 2 400g cans of chickpeas, rinsed (you could soak dry ones for 24hrs. I was not that organised)
• 2 Tbsp failsafe oil
• salt
• 1L home made stock (veg or chicken or water with a bit of whiskey if you don't have stock)

Method

1. Cook the potato until tender (boil or steam)
2. Warm oil in large pot. Add the leeks and garlic and a big pinch of salt. Cook very gently until very tender (about 15mins)
3. Add the chickpeas and potato. Stir in and cook for a minute.
4. Pour in the stock and simmer for about 15mins. Add salt to taste.,
5. Now you can serve as is, or puree the lot, or puree some and mix back together (this is my preference as you get the lumpy bits as well as the thick creaminess)

  
Variations- Salicylates - Add a grind of pepper

It really doesn't need any other variations. It's great as is!

Not Quite Curry

So my son had a friend over today who is Indian. He was telling me about the food he normally eats and it got me craving curry. Hubby and I had real curry about a month ago when we went out for our anniversary, we go out so rarely that something so incredibly un-failsafe is a fitting choice. But I wanted curry tonight so I experimented with what I can use here and the results were surprisingly good. Actually, it was seriously delicious.

Clayton's Chicken Curry
Ingredients

• 1 large leek, split lengthways and sliced finely
• 5 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 Tbsp failsafe oil (or ghee if you can tolerate it)
• 600g chicken breast, diced
• 2 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup rice milk
• 1/2 tsp saffron threads
• 1/4 cup gin (optional, you can just add more rice milk)
• 2 Tbsp ground raw cashews

Method

1. Heat rice milk and add saffron and let soak. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large saucepan and cook leeks and garlic until soft and pale gold.
3. Add chicken and seal on all sides. Stir in salt
4. Add gin and rice milk with saffron, cover and gently simmer for about 20 mins or until chicken is cooked and tender.
5. Add ground cashew and cook for another few minutes.
6. Serve with steamed rice and flat bread.

Variations - Dairy - use cream instead of rice milk.
                    Salicylates - add a tsp of garam masala with the salt and a Tbsp of fresh coriander to garnish


This was so easy to make and everyone liked it, so I think this will be a regular feature at dinner time.

Warm My Chills

The cool weather has really set in now and I have to admit that I rather like it. I like scarves and warm coats, heaters and hot drinks and I really like winter food. It's quite lucky that failsafe food lends itself so well to delicious warm meals. Inspiration can be hard to come by in summer, but not winter, far less thought is required to come up with something that hits the spot.

This casserole definitely hit the spot. I have been getting into using the failsafe alcohols for cooking. They can really add a hit of flavour that failsafe cooking often needs. If you don't like to use them, you can leave it out or substitute a bit of stock.

Warm, stodgy, stick to the ribs goodness.

Beef Casserole
Ingredients

• 1.5 kg diced beef
• 1/2 large leek, diced
• small stick celery, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 swede, diced small
• 1/2 cup french lentils
• 1/4 cup red lentils
• 1/4 cup amaranth, washed very well
• 1/2 cup whiskey
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1-2 tsp salt (or to taste)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C 
2. Put everything except the salt into a large casserole dish cover with lid and place in the oven.
3. After about half an hour (when everything is boiling away) turn down to 120°C and cook for another 1 1/2 hours until the meat is tender.
4. Add salt to taste and serve with mash and steamed vegetables.

That's it! So easy. You could mess around and seal the meat and saute the vegies first, but it really doesn't need it and any leftovers can be used as a pie filling or just tipped over toast.

Bringing the Tagine Back

Once upon a time I had favourite types of food that I just loved to cook and that the whole family loved to eat. Just before we started the elimination diet, my absolute favourite was Moroccan. The rich sauces, fragrant spices, the sweet and savoury combinations did it for me. It was fun to make, there were so many things that I could do with it. I had, up until now, been far too apprehensive to try a failsafe equivalent, there was no way it could possibly measure up to the past efforts. Tonight I gave it a go and while it was nothing like the dishes that I used to make it was still good in its own way. It was flavoursome, it has the sweetness and the meatiness and it was rich and filling. Plus it gave me the opportunity to use my tagine which has mostly been gathering dust the last few years.
For those who are unfamiliar with it, the tagine is a Moroccan earthenware cooking vessel. It has a shallow dish for the food to sit in and a conical lid. These are traditionally cooked over hot coals, but can be used over a gas flame too. If you don't have one, never fear! A large frying pan with a lid or a lidded saucepan or a flameproof casserole dish would do the job quite well.

Chicken and Pear Tagine with Quinoa
Ingredients

• 700g (approx) Chicken breast fillets cut into large cubes.
• 1 medium leek, halved lengthways and sliced thinly.
• 5 cloves of garlic, crushed.
• Large pinch of saffron threads, soaked in 1/4 cup boiling water
• 1 Tbsp oil or ghee**
• 1/2 swede, grated
• 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
•  1-2 tsp salt
• 3 pears, peeled, cored and cut into wedges
• 2 tsp nuttelex
• 2 Tbsp rice malt syrup

• 1 cup quinoa, well rinsed (I used a mixture of white, red and black for colour)
• 2 cups water

Method

1. Heat oil or ghee in tagine base over medium to high heat. Cook leeks and garlic until soft.
2. Add chicken and seal all over.
3. Stir through the swede and mix in the saffron and water.
4. Turn heat down to very low, cover and simmer for 20 mins
5. While this is cooking bring water for quinoa to boil in a medium saucepan, add quinoa, cover and turn down to a bare simmer. It will take about 20mins to cook
6. Heat nuttelex in a frying pan and add pears. Stir and turn often so they don't burn. Cook for about 10mins then drizzle the rice malt syrup over them and cook for another few mins.
7. While the pears are cooking add the chickpeas to the tagine and add the salt to taste, cook for another 10mins.
8. Serve up, placing the pears and syrup over the chicken and the quinoa on the side.

My son mumbled "This is really good" through his first mouthful. So I'm taking it to mean this is a winning dinner here.

Variations- Gluten - Serve with couscous instead of quinoa
                    Salicylates- Add ras el hanout just before you add the chicken and sprinkle with chopped coriander for serving. You could also use honey instead of the rice malt.
                   ** The ghee - There has been a bit of talk amongst some failsafe groups lately as to whether ghee is ok for those who can't eat dairy as the lactose and proteins should no longer be in it. Some people say they tolerate it, some don't. Use your own judgement or treat it as a challenge, or if you are unsure just don't use it.

This tagine is not for cooking in, just for serving and display. The cooking ones are far less ornamental. So don't buy one like this if you want to cook in it.

Making Something Out Of Nothing

Do you ever completely misjudge something? It has taken me a while to get used to not cooking too much in one go when it comes to dinners. Meat based leftovers have such a short life span that leftovers are usually wasted. So most of the time leftovers are minimal, but every now and again I totally misjudge quantities. For example, the other weekend my parents came over for a meal which included mashed potato. So I was over catering to begin with, but went completely over the top. I had a ridiculous amount of leftovers and was loath to waste them. What to do, what to do?

Vegetable croquettes of course! They can contain anything that you have on hand. If you've got other leftover veg (or meat), chuck 'em in. A can of beans? Chuck 'em in. Pretty much anything can go into them.

Crispy on the outside, hot and squishy on the inside.

Again, this isn't an actual recipe, just an idea, a bit of inspiration.

Vegetable Croquettes
Suggested ingredients

• leftover mashed potato
• finely chopped leek, shallot, celery, garlic, cabbage, brussels sprouts
• grated swede
• any vegetable puree you may have
• cooked lentils
• tinned beans (kidney, cannellini, chickpeas etc)
• egg(s)
• salt 
• crumbs
• oil for frying

Method  

1. Saute or steam any raw vegetables
2. Mix them through the mashed potato adding salt to taste.
3. Add as many lightly beaten eggs as necessary to moisten your vegetable mixture (unless you went completely over the top, one is probably enough).
4. Take about a tablespoon at a time and shape into a log and coat in crumbs.
5. When they are all done heat enough oil for shallow frying in a frying pan and cook in batches until they are golden on the outside and hot through. 
6. Drain on paper towel if necessary.
7. Try not to burn your mouth as you shovel them in.

Hubby thought that I had bought them and not just thrown them together from leftovers.

The Proof is in the Pudding

I have a few comfort foods. These are ones that I grew up with, that my grandmothers made. My grandparents were from Great Britain, so these foods are warm and stodgy. As I was cooking dinner the other night I realised that even the smell of these foods take me back to when I was a kid.

Whenever we went to my paternal grandparents house for a meal, it was always a baked dinner. Roast beef with all the trimmings and my Grandad would sit there with a jar of hot english mustard and smear it on every forkful. My Nanna would always turn out enormous piping hot Sunday roasts, she had come around to the idea of pumpkin (although would cook it with the skin on which I absolutely hated) and no roast was complete without a huge tray of Yorkshire pudding.

The Yorkshire pudding front and centre.

I often get surprised by how many people have never heard of Yorkshire pudding, even those who come from English backgrounds. It is a batter that was (once upon a time) cooked beneath the roasting meat and would catch the dripping. It would be served before the meat and veg as a cheaper filler. It has kind of evolved over time and become another side dish for a traditional roast dinner often made muffin sized. Left overs (as if there could be any) can be served with syrup or jam for sweets. While in England, our favourite pub served them plate sized with the sausage, mash, peas and gravy on top.

The main trick with these is to have the oven really hot. I usually put them in while my meat is resting and the potatoes are crisping up.

Yorkshire Pudding 
Makes 12 patty sized puddings
Ingredients

• 1 cup plain GF flour (again, Orgran is my convenient choice)
• pinch salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup rice milk (or whatever milk you tolerate)
• oil 

Method

1.  Sift flour and salt together
2. Break the egg into flour and add half of the milk. Mix until combined. Stand for at least 30 mins.
3. Turn oven to 220℃
4. Put about a teaspoon of oil into each patty hole and place into hot oven 
5. Mix in the rest of the milk. It should be a thick, but pourable batter.
6. When oil is smoking pour batter into holes and bake for 15-20 mins. They will be golden. 
7. Yorkshire puddings always have high side and sinkholes in the middle. Don't think that you have failed when this happens. You've done it right!

Now gobble them up. I love them with LOTS of gravy. In the absence of gravy, a good shake of salt does the trick.

Variations- Gluten - use plain white flour.
                   Dairy - use cow milk and you can use ghee in place of the oil.
                   Amines - dripping or lard can be used in the pan and eat them smothered with gravy.

Just a Small Absence

Oops. Well I haven't been here in quite a while. Life has been quite manic. We were lucky enough to go on a two week holiday. A self catered road trip through Victoria which was a lot of fun and incredibly exhausting. We came home to a busy time of school fête and a mass of baking for the cake stall, followed by everyone getting sick, suddenly realising I had less than 2 weeks to plan a birthday party and a weekend away visiting friends. Blogging has definitely been on the back burner and inspiration has been kind of lacking.

But I now have a bunch of things to post including tonight's dinner.

This is a surprisingly summery dish which can be so difficult with failsafe food. It really works better in winter, so it's nice to be able to not eat roast dinner or casseroles or mashed potato in the warmer months.

San Choy Bow
Serves 4
Ingredients

• 1tsp Failsafe oil
• 500g beef mince (or chicken)
• 3 cloves garlic 
• 1/2 leek cut into about 6 lengthwise pieces and then sliced finely
• 1/2 a swede, grated
• 1/2 celery stick cut finely
• 1/4 choko cut into small pieces
• mung bean sprouts
• 2 shallots sliced on an angle (including some of the green bits)
• 1tbsp golden syrup
• 1tbsp 'lemon' juice
• 1tsp salt (or to taste)
• rice vermicelli soaked and cut into bit sized pieces(I used one block from the Changs brand packs)
• lettuce leaves for serving

Method

1. heat oil in a large frying pan over medium to high heat. Add leeks and garlic and stir fry until softened
2. Add mince and stir fry, when the mince is partially cooked add the swede.
3. When the mince looks cooked and there is very little liquid left add the celery and choko. Stir fry until softened
4. Add golden syrup, 'lemon' and salt and stir through well.
5. turn off heat, mix noodles through the meat.
6. Spoon into lettuce cups, place some sprouts and shallot on top
7. Serve and then roll up and eat.

Options
Salicylates - Add a finely chopped or grated carrot and/or some ginger and coriander

Ooh la la!

Or in english "I say, that is a lot of garlic!"

This is another french dish which I absolutely love and my son loves it too. There is so much garlic, but after being roasted it is all soft and sweet and just delicious. You can serve it with your favourite bread or with mash and veg to make a big meal out it. My son is currently challenging gluten, so I made an unbelievably good spelt baguette to go with it which I will post soon. It is a really simple meal to make and great for when you are having guests because you can just put it in the oven and not do anything else until it it is done.

Once again this recipe is adapted from a french cook book that I own.

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

Ingredients

• 1 chicken, skinned, approx 1.6kg (if you want to serve 4 people)
• 2 celery stalks, including leaves
• 40 cloves of garlic, unpeeled (take off the thin papery skins, but leave on the inner thick one)
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 large leek, cut into about 4 chunks
• 1 1/2 cups of home made chicken stock (or water, but if you use water add another chunk of leek and celery)
• 4 springs parsley

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 200℃
2. Put a chopped celery stalk, sprig of parsley and 6 garlic cloves into the chicken cavity. Tie the legs together. Brush with oil and season with salt.
3. Put 10 cloves of garlic in the bottom of a casserole dish, along with the rest of the parsley, a chopped celery stick and the leek.
4. Put the chicken in the dish. Add the remaining garlic around the chicken and pour over the stock (or water) and what is left of the oil.
5. Cover and bake for 1hour and 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked and the juices run clear.
6. Lift out the chicken and strain the liquid into a saucepan. Reserve all the garlic.
7. Boil the liquid for a few minutes to reduce it slightly
8. Cut the chicken into serving portions (good kitchen scissors make this job easy), pour over the juices and scatter with garlic. Serve with bread or veg (the garlic is particularly good spread over bread).

Variations
Amines - leave the skin on the chicken.
Salicylates - Add 4 sprigs of thyme, 2 of rosemary and a roughly chopped carrot to the pot.
You could also use chicken pieces instead of a whole chicken (for example if you only like breast or if you can't be bothered to cut up a whole one). Cooking time will come down to 45mins - 1hour depending on the size of the pieces.

Parlez-vous Français?

Failsafers are masters of adaptation and substitution. Some cuisines are really easy to adapt, some are not. For example, tomato based dishes are impossible and as much as you can add pear and salt and citric acid, as Ms Frillypants once said - A pear is not a tomato. It's just not. But french food is great for it. They do have some traditionally tomato based dishes, but a lot of them are based on stock or wine which is adaptable. I've had some really good successes just doing straight substitution of ingredients in recipes from a French cookbook I bought a few years back.

These are meals that you can serve up to non failsafe guests. No, really. Provincial french food is based on really basic ingredients and it tastes and looks awesome!

My in-laws came for lunch today. My son was going to baseball open day and they came to watch and hang around for the day. Baseball was supposed to finish at 12:30, so I assumed that I still had plenty of time when I went shopping at eleven o'clock. Baseball finished at 11:30 and so everyone was back home before me! My mad organisational skills meant we were in for a late lunch and even later dessert. Chicken crêpes and pear tart were on the belated menu

Basic Crêpe Recipe
250g plain gluten free flour
pinch of salt
1tsp sugar
2 eggs lightly beaten
410ml (1 2/3cup) milk of choice - I used rice milk
125ml (1/2cup) water
1tbsp melted nuttelex
Failsafe oil for frying.


Sift flour, sugar and salt into a bowl and make a well in the centre.
Mix the eggs milk and water together and pour slowly into the well.
Whisk until everything is incorporated and you have a reasonably smooth batter.
Stir in melted nuttelex.
Cover and stand for 20mins.

Heat a crêpe pan or medium sized non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Wipe or spray with a little oil.
Pour in enough batter to thinly coat the base of the pan (a soup ladle was pretty spot on for my pan). tipping it around to get it to the edges.
When the crêpe starts to lift away at the edges give it a gentle shake so it comes loose and turn and cook on the other side for a minute of two. They should be slightly golden.
Stack on a plate (you could put baking paper between them to make sure they don't stick - mine didn't stick together though) and cover with foil until they are all done.
They can be frozen with paper between them.

Crêpe Filling
failsafe oil or nuttelex
1 large leek - quartered and sliced
1/2 stick of celery finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 chicken breast fillets cut into smallish pieces
rice milk
2 tbsp corn starch
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1tbsp chopped parsley
1tbsp chopped chives

Heat oil and sauté leeks, garlic and celery.
When soft, add chicken and stir until mostly cooked.
Add enough rice milk to just cover chicken mix and bring to the boil.
Simmer until the chicken is cooked through.
Mix cornflour with some cold water, add some of the hot sauce from the pan, then stir into chicken mixture.
Bring to the back to the boil and simmer for another couple of minutes until thickened.
Add salt and herbs.
Spoon down the centre of each crêpe and fold the sides over the mix.

This is enough to make and fill about 8 medium sized crêpes. You could serve them with a salad, I didn't have time and who ever eats the side salad on a crêpe?

Et voilà!

Some variations
Dairy - use normal milk and butter and add ricotta to the chicken sauce.
Amines - add some grated cheese inside and on top of the crêpe and serve with a generous dollop of sour cream (you may choose to do this for guests as it is done after cooking and can be done selectively).
Veg - most vegetables can be hidden in a white sauce as long as you don't go overboard.

We sat down to lunch at two o'clock and then I had to (wanted to) make this dessert, which was eaten at 4:30. It should have been later, but I couldn't wait to let the tart cool.

Pear Tart
Sweet pastry
340g gluten free plain flour
a small pinch of salt
150g nuttelex
90g icing sugar
2 eggs beaten

Preheat oven to 180℃
The easiest way to make pastry is in a food processor (otherwise there is rubbing and pecking and, if you're like me, flour everywhere).
Sift flour, salt and sugar into the bowl of a food processor add the nuttelex and pulse until the nuttelex is incorporated and you have something resembling bread crumbs.
Add the eggs with the motor running and process until a dough starts to form.
Tip out onto some cling wrap, knead into a ball, wrap and put in the fridge for about an hour.

Roll the pastry between sheets of baking paper and line a 23cm loose based tart tin, trimming the edges.
Line with baking paper and fill with baking weights or dried beans or rice.
Bake for 10 minutes, then remove beads and paper and bake for a further 4 minutes or until the pastry is just cooked, but still pale.

Crème Pâtissière
6 egg yolks
125g caster sugar
40g cornstarch
560ml (2 1/4 cups) milk of choice (I used rice milk)
1/2 vanilla pod (or vanilla essence)
15g nuttelex

Whisk together egg yolks and half of sugar until pale and creamy.
Sift in the cornflour and mix well.
Heat milk, remaining sugar and vanilla pod, bringing just to the boil. (If using vanilla essence, add at end of cooking.)
Strain hot milk over egg mixture, stirring continuously.
Pour back into clean saucepan and bring to boil while constantly stirring. Boil for two minutes (add essence now).
Stir in nuttelex and leave to cool.

Spoon crème pâtissière into pastry shell and top with 2 - 3 peeled and sliced pears.
Bake for 25 - 30mins or until pears are golden
Leave to cool completely (If you don't, the filling will be hot and sloppy and will ooze out everywhere)
Melt a few tablespoons of pear jam with a tablespoon of water, sieve out any lumps and brush over pears to make them glossy.

Fresh out of the oven and coated in jam

If I'd have waited another hour to cut it, it would have looked like this.

Variations
Dairy - use butter and milk
Salicylates - use sweet apples.

Bon apetit et au revoir!

Chicken and Quinoa Risotto

Like most of us on a limited diet, I get "cooks block". You know when you get sick of eating the same thing and just want to make something different... that's been me lately. I think you could say I am uninspired. Add to this my general disorganisation, and dinners lately have been a bit boring and we have been overdoing the chips.

Tonight was no different, except that on a whim I said to my husband "How about risotto?" Since it was five o'clock and he didn't have a better idea I ran with it. Risotto is really quite versatile and you can add almost anything to it. The quinoa was a last minute idea, it adds a bit of flavour and lots of goodness. If was to make this again I would add more. I didn't want to over do it though as it can taste like grass. If you don't have quinoa, just leave it out. You wont need as much liquid.

Chicken and Quinoa Risotto
(Makes enough to feed a small army - or the four of us three times over)

Hmmm... Not exactly appetising, but even non-failsafe risotto looks like that.

3 tbsp FS oil or nuttelex (or a combination)
1 large leek (finely chopped)
4 cloves of garlic
3 cups Aborio rice
1/2 cup Quinoa (rinsed)
8 cups homemade stock (or water or a combination; more stock = more flavour)
2 chicken breast fillets cut into smallish pieces (if you don't have stock using thighs would boost flavour)
1 cup chopped green beans
1/2 cup finely chopped cabbage
can of cannelini beans (drained and rinsed)
2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 tbsp chopped parsley

Place oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and saute leek and garlic until soft.
Add rice and quinoa and stir until it is coated in oil and the rice starts to get translucent on the edges.
Add enough stock to cover, lower the temperature to a bare simmer and stir until it is all absorbed.
Add another few cups of stock and the chicken. Keep stirring as this is what gives it its creamy consistency.
As the stock is absorbed add more until the rice is cooked.
When the rice is done add the remaining vegetables and salt and cook for a few more minutes.
If the rice looks too dry add a little more liquid. Risotto should be saucy.
Stir through the parsley and serve.

Optional extras - dairy - use butter and add a few tablespoons of cream cheese at the end.
                          - glutamates - use peas instead of beans.
                          - salicylates - add chopped zucchini.

Buon Appetito!