Dairy-Free – Page 39 – The Food Wife

Harissa Hummus

23rd July 201828th July 2018
by thefoodwife

Weâ€™ve always got a tub of hummus in our fridge at the moment because itâ€™s one of the Food Babyâ€™s favourite things to eat.

This weekend I decided to make my own, and I took the opportunity to make it, as youâ€™ll spy from the ingredients list, without any added olive oil, so as to be diet-friendly for me. You can, of course, add olive oil to your own, but try adding a tablespoon at a time and tasting as you go.

Likewise, I decided a kick of spice was in order so added harissa paste; again, this is optional and could be left out or replaced with a flavour of your choosing (why not try a spoonful of pesto, a roasted red pepper, a few sun dried tomatoes or some toasted cumin).

Once made this will last a few days in the fridge.

Ingredients:
1 heaped tbsp tahini
Juice of one lemon
2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1 tin of chickpeas, drained
2 tsp harissa paste
1 pinch of salt (leave out if this is for baby)
40-100ml cold water

Step 1: Blend the tahini, lemon juice and garlic in a food processor (or with a stick blender).

Step 2: Add the drained chickpeas and blend again until smooth (to make it extra smooth you could skin the chickpeas, but I think life is too short for such things!)

Step 3: Add the harissa paste (or flavourings of your choice) and salt and blend again, and add the water as you do so (add gradually to get your desired consistency). Add any oil at this stage if you so wish.

Store in a sealed container in the fridge.

Rhubarb Gin Fizz

20th July 201820th July 2018
by thefoodwife

Makes 1 cocktail

So today I finished work as a teacher, not just for the summer holidays but for the foreseeable future. After ten years at the same establishment, itâ€™s feels a bit odd but Iâ€™ve known for a while that Iâ€™ve needed a break from teaching and with the arrival of The Food Baby it seemed like the best time to make the break.

To celebrate, I have decided to crack in to my newly brewed Rhubarb Gin and have decided a cocktail is in order. So here is a recipe for a Rhubarb Gin Fizz.

Ingredients:
50ml rhubarb gin
125ml chilled sparkling wine

Step 1: Pour the measure of rhubarb gin into a fluted glass and top up with a sparkling wine of your choice.

Step 2: Drink.

Rhubarb Gin

20th July 201820th July 2018
by thefoodwife

Makes approx 900ml

Rhubarb is one of my favourite flavours. Iâ€™m also rather partial to gin. Marry the two together? Sign me up!

This takes four weeks to brew (boo!) but the good news is it is quick to put together. You need only four things: a good quality gin, raw rhubarb, caster sugar and a large, sealable vessel (I used a 2l mason jar). Also, donâ€™t forget to keep your empty gin bottle to decant back in to afterwards.

If you use forced rhubarb the result will be beautifully bright pink, or use regular rhubarb, as I did, and you are left with a more subtle shade, but either way the flavour is all there!

Ingredients:
240g white caster sugar
600g rhubarb, cut in to 2-3 inch pieces
70cl good quality gin

Step 1: Combine the three ingredients in your container and seal.

Step 2: Leave for four weeks, shaking every few days to mix everything up.

Step 3: After four weeks, strain the liquid and decant into your gin bottle (you will make slightly more than the original amount of gin so make sure youâ€™ve got an extra bottle to decant the last little bit into).

Spiced Chicken and Potato Traybake

16th July 201816th July 2018
by thefoodwife

Serves 4-6

During the week (or weekend!) itâ€™s a godsend to be able to throw a few ingredients in a dish and then pop it in the oven and forget about it for a while (it worked perfectly for me putting The Food Baby to bed!) and then hey-presto your dinner is ready with hardly any interference from you. This is just such a dish. It takes five or 10 minutes of prep and then about 50 minutes in the oven and it’s ready to serve.

You can choose how much effort you put in to the spicing too. I made my own spice mix, but if there is a shop-bought one you like, by all means use that.

I have suggested cooking this in two baking dishes, as I found cramming it into one made it overcrowded and would have resulted in it steaming rather than baking.

Ingredients:

For the spice mix:
1 tsp (hot) paprika
1 tsp chipotle chilli flakes
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp sumac (or the grated zest of a lemon)
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp garlic powder (or two garlic cloves, crushed)
Pinch of salt

For the bake:
2 peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces
750g small new potatoes, quartered
2 red onions, peeled and cut into thin wedges
2-3 tbsp olive oil
Pinch of salt
1kg chicken thighs

To serve (optional):
50g feta cheese, crumbled

Step 1: preheat the oven to 190c.

Step 2: Mix the spices together and set to one side.

Step 3: Toss the potatoes, peppers and onions in the olive oil and a pinch of salt and divide between two baking trays.

Step 4: Score the top of each of the chicken thighs with a sharp knife three times and place on top of the potatoes.

Step 5: Sprinkle the seasoning mix over the skin of the chicken and toss lightly with the vegetables, before nestling them, skin-side up amongst the potatoes and peppers.

Step 6: Place in the preheated oven and cook for 50 minutes.

This is nice served with a green salad and a sprinkling of crumbled feta over the potatoes and peppers (although leave this out if you want to make it dairy-free).

Baby Oaty â€˜Carrot Cakeâ€™ Cookies

14th July 201820th August 2018
by thefoodwife

Makes 8-10

A quick and easy mix that makes delicious soft cookies which are great as a pudding or snack for your little one. They are perfect finger food for BLW and have no dairy, egg or added sugar.

You can play around with the flavours too, just keep the oat and banana ratio. Iâ€™ve also tried ones with grated apple and chopped glacÃ© cherries which went down well.

These need to be stored in the fridge after baking and will keep for a few days.

Ingredients:
100g oats (gluten-free if necessary)
2 ripe bananas, mushed with a fork
1 eating apple, grated
1 carrot, grated
25g sultanas
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 180c and line a baking sheet with baking paper.

Step 2: Combine all the ingredients in a bowl with a spoon.

Step 3: Put dessert- or table spoon-sized blobs of mixture onto your lined baking sheet and flatten to make a rough cookie shape (these wonâ€™t really spread as they cook so you are aiming for your finished product size and shape).

Step 4: Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.

Step 5: Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack before storing in a sealed bag or container in the fridge.