Gluten Free Fruity Green Monster

I've mentioned in recent posts that I've become sort of a smoothie aficionado. Recently, I've begun drinking smoothies twice a day--as mealtime replacements for breakfast and lunch. Naturally, I'm always looking for ways to amp up the smoothies so that I don't get bored with them. That's how this fruity green monster was born.

When I first decided to replace my meals with smoothies, I was a bit wary of consuming only fruits and no vegetables. Through link parties and Pinterest, I found that you can put all manner of loveliness into smoothies! For the first week, I played it safe and only stuck to things I knew I would like. Then I found an intriguing recipe for a green monster and thought, raw spinach in a smoothie? No way, Jose!

But I did it. I purchased a bag of frozen leaf spinach and willy-nilly tossed a few chunks of frozen spinach into my first green monster. Big mistake. I've since learned that the best way to use frozen spinach in a smoothie is to first defrost it! About 10 minutes before I'm ready to make my green monster, I defrost the spinach cubes in a bowl of hot tap water. Then, before use, I drain all the water out.

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 Ingredients:
For the fruity green monster1/2 tsp honey
1/2 cup 0% fat cherry yogurt
1 wedge fresh cantaloupe, diced
4 discs frozen bananas--for a tutorial on how to properly freeze bananas, go here!
4 tsps frozen fat-free natural yogurt -- for a tutorial on how to freeze yogurt, go here!
small handful of defrosted frozen spinach leaves
small handful of frozen cherries

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All right, let's blitz:
Begin layering your ingredients by putting the spinach in first followed by the non-frozen yogurt then the honey. Next pile in the fresh cantaloupe then tumble in the frozen ingredients on top of that.

Blitz, blitz, blitz until smooth. You don't have to serve your fruity green monster in a menacing viva los muertos skeleton goblet... but, why wouldn't you?

Cheesy spinach & tortellini broth

This recipe has been updated and a gluten free version is available here: Gluten Free Cheesey Spinach Tortellini Broth 

Gluten Free Toasted Bacon Jam BLTs

I tend to be a creature of habit and recently, I've replaced all my breakfasts with breakfast smoothies in an effort to slip in my 5-A-Day a bit easier and for an energy boost. Usually, after a 6 a.m. yoga session, I slip down a smoothie whilst perusing food blogs. This morning, however, I overslept, missed yoga and needed something invigorating to kick start my day.


I made the bacon jam a few days ago and the remains of it were sitting in a jar in the fridge, marinating and getting even tastier. The mini bagels were an impulse buy from Costco last weekend. I had no use for them, but just couldn't resist how cute they were! Indeed, if you don't have mini bagels, you could happily spread this jam on a good piece of crusty bread. Or toast for that matter. Or just stick your finger in the jar. It's seriously that good.

Note: It's best to prepare the jam a day or two ahead of time.
Also, this post was featured on Nap Time Creations! How cool is that?

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Ingredients:
For the bacon jam
 1/4 cup golden syrup
3/4 cup brewed coffee
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 pack (300g) bacon rashers, roughly diced
1 large onion
3 garlic cloves, crushed
salt and pepper

For the blts
2 mini gluten free bagels
1 tomato, sliced and salted
1 piece iceberg lettuce
butter

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All right, let's cook:

For the bacon jam, cook the bacon over a medium-high heet, stirring occasionally until it is nicely caramelized. Depending on the type of pan you use, this can take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes.  Remove the bacon from the pan using a slotted spoon and strain on paper towels. If there's a lot of fat left in the pan, discard most of it (you can save it to for another use if you'd like--bacon fat is great for keeping to roast potatoes in).

Add the onions and garlic to the remaining fat and cook until soft, about five minutes. Add the brown sugar, coffee, syrup and vinegar. Bring to the boil while stirring and scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan using a wooden spoon. Add the bacon back in, stir and season.

Pour the contents of the saucepan into a slow cooker and cook on high uncovered until the liquid is nice and syrupy. It took me about 4 hours to achieve the desired consistency. Once sticky and syrupy, spoon the mix into a food processor and leave to cool about five minutes. Pulse the mix so that it is coarsely chopped and allow to cool completely.

Once cool, decant into a clipseal jar or canning jar and refrigerate. The jam will keep for up to 4 weeks, although I doubt it will last that long without being gobbled up!

For the blts, halve the bagels using a serrated knife. Spread a generous layer of bacon jam onto the top half of the bagels. Spread butter on the bottom half and toast under a medium-hot grill (UK)/broiler (US) for about 2 minutes or until jam is bubbling.

Place a slice of salted tomato on the bottom half of the bagel, followed by a piece of lettuce. Top with the bacon jam slathered bagel half and sink your teeth in.

Link Party: Tasty Tuesdays #1

Welcome to Tasty Tuesdays!

I'm excited that you're interested in sharing your delish dishes with the blogging community through my link party. I'd love it if you helped to spread the word about this party by inviting your blogging buddies to participate. Don't forget to grab a participator's button to display on your blog.

A few rules of the party

1. Follow Anyonita Nibbles via Facebook, Google Friend Connect, Twitter or by subscribing to my RSS Feed.
2. Visit at least two of the links in the party. Leave a comment stating that you stopped by. (We all love to read comments, so share the love!)
3. Spread the word; grab a participator's button and display it on your blog.
4. Link to your recipes--no giveways or promos, please.
5. As a participant, you acknowledge that photos from the post you link may be distributed as a part of the Tasty Tuesdays Feature and/or across my social media platforms. If this is the case, all photos will be credited back to your sites and posts and credit will be given.

All right, here we go, party people!

Gluten Free Pork Sliders with Cucumber Mayo

Burgers and fries. Two things that can always put me in a good mood. I love burgers. Fat burgers, thin burgers, grilled burgers and broiled burgers. Pan-fried burgers and baked burgers. Beef burgers, turkey burgers, chicken burgers. With cheese and grilled onions. With ketchup and an onion ring. With chili and slaw.

But the burger I love the most right now is that one up there. A spiced mini pork burger perched on a bed of cucumber mayonnaise. Wearing a little hat of sauteed mushrooms and fresh tomato, served with warm potato wedges. I'm telling you, the husband and I were in food heaven this weekend, shoveling these into our mouths.

And the mayo? Well, there wasn't any left. It served as a sauce for the burgers and a dip for the wedges.

Gluten Free Skinny Prawn Tikka

I'm kind of obsessed with curries--they can be runny nose hot like a Thai green curry or sweet and mild like a korma. Either way, if you're talking curries, I'm listening. (And reaching for a fork.)

This curry won't make your eyes water from capsaicin and it's not cloyingly sweet either. It's a nice, middle of the road curry. It's the khakis of curries--it can be dressed up with spice or dressed down with fresh veg. Like you see in the picture.

I've made this curry many times and like most, it's highly versatile. I've swapped the prawns for chicken or pan-fried green beans and still had amazing results. I've allowed the sauce to reduce and intensify and I've kept it soupy. It doesn't seem to matter what I do it, it's just a good, quick, health-conscious recipe that's full of flavor.

Gluten-free almond meal brownies

I do not have a gluten intolerance. Neither does Wayne nor does Callum. In fact, I never even intended for these brownies to be gluten free! I simply wanted to challenge myself to come up with a recipe to use some of the vast stock of almond meal I have for making macarons. The fact that it is gluten free and can be gifted to coeliac friends for birthdays and Christmas gifts is a bonus.

Normally, when I make brownies, I always chuck in some nuts. Mostly pecans and walnuts. With using the almond flour (in spite of its name, all it is is finely ground almonds), you still get that nutty taste without any of the nuts themselves. A nice compromise since I made this while Callum napped yesterday and the rustle of a bag of nuts in the cupboard is proven to stir him from his sleeping. I'm pleased with how they turned out. They retained their moisture even without added water, I'm thinking that had something to do with the silicone muffin cases. They also formed a nice crusty, perfect brownie top. Mmmm.

Gluten Free Chorizo, Chili & Mushroom Stuffed Crust Pizza

Apart from convenience, one of the best things about pizza shop pizzas is stuffed crust. I have vivid memories from the 90s when stuffed crust pizza was first introduced at Pizza Hut. It was around the time of Clear Pepsi and Friday nights were never the same again. Thank you, Chaz Romano for inventing stuffed crust pizzas.

It's not difficult, to make your own stuffed crust (thankfully). There's something satisfying about creating your own pizza shop pie from the comfort of your home. I'm keen to develop this recipe further, perhaps stuff the crust with other things too. Oh, and next time, I've been instructed to add more cheese to the crust!

I'll say this: if you plan on making this pizza, add more cheese than you think. It takes quite a bit to pack it out the way it's done in the shops. I used shredded cheese, but I'm thinking string cheese would be really interesting. That way, you wouldn't have any air pockets between the cheese and the crust.

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Ingredients:
For the pizza
(Of course, the very nature of pizza is that its topping are subjective, so substitute and use what toppings you prefer.)
1 pack of sliced, cooked chorizo
2 tbsp passata
Edam or chosen variety cheese
variety of frozen mushrooms, sliced
frozen red peppers and chilies, sliced
Italian seasoning with chili flakes
Gluten free pizza dough

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All right, let's cook:
Roll out your pizza dough onto a lightly greased baking tray. Place cheese about 2 cms from the edge of the dough. Fold dough over, covering the cheese and press down to form a seal. Repeat all the way around the edge of the pizza. Remember, use more cheese than you think you need.

Spread the passata onto the base of the pizza. Top with a sprinkling of cheese and then assemble as you wish. I put the chorizo on top of the cheese, followed by the mushrooms, chili and peppers and a little bit more cheese. Lastly, I sprinkled over the Italian seasoning, being sure to sprinkle some on the crust.

Spray the entire pizza with cooking spray and bake at 200C for about 20 minutes or until desired doneness.  Serve up and enjoy!

Gluten Free Lemon & Lavender Oven Chicken with Mustard Mash

Tender chicken thighs dressed in a fragrant and tangy lemon and lavender sauce! Served with a delicious mustard mashed potato.

Yield 2 to 4 servings

Lemon & Lavender Oven Chicken with Mustard Mash 

Ever since I purchased my first pot of culinary lavender to make up lavender macarons, I have become obsessed with finding other uses for it. I love the way it subtly fragrances food and how, when eating food made with lavender (and most flowers, actually) you smell it before you taste it. So, when thumbing through Rachel Khoo's lovely cookbook, "The Little Paris Kitchen"I came across a beautifully photographed recipe for Poulet au citron et lavande. I was immediately smitten and thrilled to discover that the ingredients the recipe calls for were things that I always keep in my larder. As always, I've tweaked the recipe a bit and my instructions and ingredient list will reflect that.

17 Irish-inspired recipes for St Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day isn't just about green beer, though many people won't agree. In 2008, I got to spend the St. Patrick's Day and the week before it, touring around Ireland with a group of my best travel mates. We toured around Galway and the west coast before making our way to Dublin for the celebrations.

We kicked off our day with an epic tour of the Guinness factor where they shower you with pints. I'm not sure if this is a March 17 routine or not, but when we were there they were serving food. Not just any food, mind--food made with Guinness. Staff floated around with trays hors devours such as thin ribbons of smoked salmon on tiny Guinness melba toasts. Filled with stout and delicious Guinness bread, we headed into the city, in search of parties and stumbled across a beautiful mosh of singing drunks on Temple Bar. Since that trip, I have been nursing a quiet obsession with rustic Irish food and thought this would be a nice way to celebrate it.

To go to the recipes, click the source link beneath each photo.