Low-Carb Gluten-Free Lasagna

We’re having fun with gluten-free these days. Several restless nights with a belly ache and a pending endoscopy of the gut has motivated Shane to take his Celiac Disease a bit more seriously. I’ve experimented with gluten-free pasta on several occasions and it never lives up to the real deal. So instead of opting for gluten alternatives, I prefer to cook meals that are naturally gluten-free.

This is my variation of a recipe I found online several years ago and it’s perfect for a lazy winter’s night.

2 lbs of minced (ground) beef, turkey or chicken
2 garlic gloves, minced
1 medium brown onion, chopped
1-2 Tbsp Italian seasoning
8 oz tomato sauce*
2 zucchini
15 oz ricotta
2 eggs
8 oz shredded mozzarella
½ c shredded parmesan

brown meat with garlic and onion
add tomato sauce and Italian seasoning to meat
in a seperate bowl, beat ricotta and eggs together
cut each zucchini in half then slice lengthwise about 1/8 inch thick without peeling

grease 9x13 inch baking dish and layer as follows:

1/3 of the zucchini
1/2 of the meat sauce
1/3 of the zucchini
all the ricotta mix
1/2 the mozzarella and parmesan
1/3 of the zucchini
rest of the meat sauce
remainder of the mozzarella and parmesan

Bake at 325 for 45 minutes. Serves 6-8.

As an alternative to store bought tomato sauce, I make my own. Boil 7-8 small tomatoes until the skin cracks. Allow to cool slightly in a strainer and then peel skins and return naked tomatoes to an empty pot. Smash tomatoes with a potato masher, add olive oil to your liking and leave to simmer. The longer the better. I also typically add 3-5 oz of tomato paste (no salt added) at the end to thicken.

When it comes to cheese, we mostly purchase block cheese and do our own shredding. There are mystery ingredients added to shredded cheese to keep it from clumping and although you might lose a bit on time, you’ll save a few pennies buying block and avoid mystery ingredients. Shane is the expert shredder in this house.

nothing but fresh tomatoes and olive oil

 

into the oven

onto the plate

in my belly

something sweet to top it off

 

everybody's happy

Puppy love

I’m fortunate to have a very special man in my life. He’s devastatingly handsome, endlessly affectionate, and even when he makes me angry, he still manages to make me laugh. I mean, who wouldn’t be in love with this man:

His name is Bronson, but he’ll also respond to buddy, mate or matie. This time last year Bronson became a member of our family. He was 18 months old, homeless and facing death. His previous owners didn’t want him anymore so they took him to the vet to be put down. Clearly the problem lay with them and not the dog.

He came to us a bit of a troubled child. In fact, the first family to adopt him returned him after the first night. But we were committed. All he needed was a bit of TLC and lots of proper training. The TLC we’ve got down, the training we’re still working on. He’s not a bad dog, just a bit crazy. And we’ve been told several times, Labs don’t mature until at least age 3 so we’ll continue to tell people that he’s 2 for as long as we can get away with it.

Aside from a couple isolated incidences, he doesn’t destroy things around the house, he’s good with kids and dogs and stays out of the garbage and off the counters. His weakness is love. He can’t get enough of it. He’s a Chihuahua trapped in the body of a 70 pound Labrador because he finds it appropriate to walk all over us whenever he sees fit. In honor of his one year anniversary in this family I thought I’d share some of my favorite Bronson, buddy boy, matie photos...as soon as I can remove this tail from my keyboard.

loves the ocean, not the waves

favorite sleeping position

nothing like a bar-b-que

my favorite fishing trip

I dream of Thermomix

Once upon a time, in the midst of casual conversation, a business acquaintance told me of this miracle kitchen appliance that will replace every domestic device you own. It can grind, whip, mince, knead, heat, blend and more. I was listening…but not for long. She may next have said that it also vacuums the house, does the laundry and cleans the toilette but when I heard $2,000 I tuned out and this miracle machine became nothing but a fleeting memory.

Fast forward seven months and my sister-in-law Kym mentions that a friend is now a sales rep for Thermomix; this kitchen appliance that does the work of over ten machines. Once again, the thought of it vanished as quickly as it had emerged because paying $2000 for a kitchen appliance wasn’t going to happen. Kind-of like meeting (insert celebrity crush). Possible, but highly unlikely so no point dwelling.

Fast forward another two months (last Friday) and the opportunity arose for me to attend a Thermomix party with Kym. Thermomix cannot be found in stores or purchased online. Instead it’s sold through Thermomix reps like the brands Tupperware or Avon. I had no intention of buying one (and neither did she) but I was keen to see it in action and find out what the fuss was all about. The verdict? Definitely worth the $2,000. I left the demonstration actually considering purchasing one.

In a matter of seconds I witnessed it turn buckwheat grains into flour, ice chunks into sorbet, and raw sugar into powdered sugar. In less than two hours we sampled homemade bread, cream cheese dip, beet salad, risotto, lemon sorbet and lemon custard. This is only a fraction of the duties it can perform. It can mince meat, make juices, dressings, sauces, yogurt, peanut butter, the list goes on. No measuring cups required. It has a built-in scale which can be set to zero after each ingredient is added without having to remove existing ingredients. Oh yeah, and it’s impossible to burn or overcook allowing more time for multi-tasking. But best of all, it has a self-cleaning function. Bliss.

I enjoy cooking. I don’t always enjoy the time it takes or the mess it produces but having a machine that does everything and does it beautifully can open up a world of cooking possibilities that I have yet to explore. I’ve taken a vested interest in knowing each ingredient that goes into my mouth. No need to buy processed foods with mystery ingredients; this will process food for you without any fuss giving you total control over what you eat. Many of their sauce and dressing recipes even tell you how long they will last in the fridge or freezer. Shane has Celiac disease and this machine is an answered prayer for those with food allergies.

So, why hadn’t I heard of it before? It’s been available for years in various countries. I wanted to know if it was available in the U.S. I located the U.S. office of its manufacturer, Vorwerk, a German company. Over a lengthy email I was told that it’s not available in the U.S. “due to tight U.S. regulations” and that if I purchased one overseas I could not use it in the U.S., even with an outlet converter because of something to do with hertz. Not to mention, it measures in grams and celsius which are not conducive to U.S. cooking. The people of America are being denied most likely due to some ridiculous import regulations or Vorwerk risking a challenge of its patent.

Am I going to purchase one? I need to think on this one a bit more. Having to part with it someday when Shane and I decide to uproot and head to the States could cause some angst. Not to mention the whole $2,000 thing. I also have this sense that it may take the old-fashioned fun out of cooking. Although if I had screaming children running around the kitchen I may not care about old-fashioned fun so I can see where this product is a busy parent’s dream where healthy yet simple cooking is a priority.

If you’d like to see if for yourself visit the Thermomix Australia site. To view a demonstration do a YouTube search on “Thermomix” although most videos are in German, Spanish or French so a “Thermomix Australia” search is probably a better way to go.

Girl Power

It goes against my grain and the ideals of this blog to talk about politics. In my world, any conversation regarding politics that lasts more than five minutes is a waste of time. I respect and recognize the significance of the political system that I was serendipitously born into. When it comes to issues that are important to me I exercise my right and rock the vote and in 2008 I took the necessary steps required for an American expat to vote in our last Presidential election.

It’s not so much the topic of politics that perturbs me but the complaining that inevitably accompanies it. Politics and sports are one and the same in this regard. If your team loses, get over it! Who cares who played a crappy game or made a bad call – what’s done is done and all you can do is continue to back your team and hope that they will come out on top in the next match. Besides, even in a democracy there is never going to be a leader that satisfies all his or her people so why complain if perfection is impossible.

HOWEVER. Something happened this week in Australian politics that’s quite monumental and to me very bizarre so I felt the urge to address it. I thought I had a decent grasp on the Australian political system but clearly I did not.

Some mornings the bedroom TV is switched on after the alarm goes off in an effort to procrastinate getting out of bed and going to work. This Thursday was one of those days. Shane flipped on the TV and started watching our favorite morning news program, Today. I was still half asleep and in a daze so when I noticed that the entire morning program had been dedicated to the political coup that was soon to see a change in Prime Ministers I thought it was a dream.

Apparently, the previous day the Labor Party, the political party currently in charge, had decided they weren’t happy with their current leader and PM, Kevin Rudd, and wanted to see Deputy PM, Julia Gillard take his place. So as it goes, that morning a ballot was cast in Parliament and before the day was done Australia had its first female Prime Minister. “How can they do that?” I said to Shane. I knew that Rudd’s approval rating had been plummeting but as I’ve already established, people will grumble. It’s not like he had an affair with an intern or embezzled money, people just simply weren’t happy. What I quickly learned was that when an election is held approximately every four years, the people aren't voting for a person but are voting for a party, most likely either the Labor (left) or Liberal (right) party. Whomever is leader of the winning party at the time of election becomes the new PM. The leader of the losing party takes on the title Leader of the Opposition. Therefore, the power ultimately lies within the cabinet of the party, not the public. Undoubtedly, people’s votes are swayed by who is the leader of each party at the time of election but it’s not guaranteed that that person will remain in power. In fact, there are a lot of rumblings that with a new election on the horizon the Labor party was unsure that their current leader would be able to keep them in power for the next term so they got rid of him.

There you have it. Australia has its first female Prime Minister. She’s also a red head (“ranga”, “ginger”) which is drawing just as much attention as her status as a female. On top of this she is also foreign born (Welsh by birth and immigrated to Australia at the age of three) and the first Prime Minister who is not and has never been married. However, she does have a de facto spouse whom she has cohabitated with for the past three years. They met when he was a hairdresser at her salon in Melbourne. A fact that I find charming.

The initial polls are positive; it looks like she may after all help the Labor party retain their status on top in the next election. But, give it time, soon they’ll find something to nag about. I promise this is the last you’ll hear from me on politics.

Wine, chocolate and other indulgences in Margaret River

We were well overdue for a weekend "down south." For weeks, no months actually, we’d been talking about spending a night down in Margaret River, sans Bronson who would stay with Shane’s parents. In the 10th hour (not quite the 11th but somewhere around the 10th) we booked a room for Saturday night and locked it in. Really, we had no excuse not to. Staying in Perth for the weekend would most likely see us landing a spot on our couch rather than a spot in the social pages of Sunday’s paper.

The town of Margaret River is 280 kilometers (175 miles) south of Perth and a three hour drive. The main street of town (and that's all you get) is less than a mile long and reminds me of the mountain towns of Colorado but with surf shops in place of ski shops. It’s charming, sophisticated, trendy, and full of surfing vagabonds. But, the town itself is not the attraction, it’s the entire Margaret River Region with its diverse range of tourist delights that make it a popular weekend get-away for us city dwellers. The region encompasses the land between Cape Naturaliste on the north and Cape Leeuwin on the south. The particularly adventurous can hike the 135 kilometer (84 mile) Cape to Cape track along the Indian Ocean. We chose to cover this region in the comfort of our car along Caves Road which also goes from Cape to Cape.

The top attraction in Margaret River is its wineries. The first vines were planted in 1967, in 1996 the wine region was officially registered, and today it’s the home of over 100 wineries, most of them with cellar doors open to the public. Another famous attraction is its enormous surfing waves. Margaret River attracts surfers from around the globe and has been home to several pro surfing competitions.

But there’s more! The limestone coast hides around 350 caves, 4 of them which are open to the public for tours. These caves are overshadowed by the area’s other attractions but are awe- inspiring and definitely worth a visit. And after you’ve sampled the last glass of wine, there’s always whale watching. Each winter Humpback and Southern Right Whales travel from the frozen waters of Antarctica to the warmer shores of Australia. Tour operators provide boat tours for an up close and personal experience or you can sit on the beach and watch as they leap and frolic in the distance. Did I mention the locally grown olives, gourmet foods, beautiful Karri forests with 60 meter canopies, and yes, there is an actual Margaret River winding its way through rolling hills out into the Indian Ocean.

We wanted to sample it all in less than 48 hours and I must say my trip left me wanting more and suggesting to Shane that we should spend a month or so immersing ourselves in all it has to offer...after we win that 40 million lotto jackpot tomorrow night.

We left Perth around 9am, arriving in town just in time for lunch at the popular Margaret River Bakery. We then decided to head down to the southern point that is Cape Leeuwin where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet. We were hoping to spot some whales but either we were too impatient or there were none around. It was a completely respectable hour to start drinking wine so we hit up two wineries, one of which was also a farm shop and relaxed on their patios on a beautiful winter’s day.

Our home for the night was the Loaring Place Bed and Breakfast. A lovely B&B off Caves Road tucked away in the bush with four guest rooms. A steal at $185 a night during this slow time of year. But before heading to the B&B we stopped by the Margaret River Venison Shop for some dried meats. We really wanted to have dinner at one of the wineries. Only a few of the larger wineries serve dinner and instead many serve lunch or “nibbles” during the day. We ate at Leeuwin Estate which took us down dark windy roads that opened up to the beautiful winery with its small restaurant. It was a perfect setting.

Although many of the wineries open at 10am on a Sunday, we needed to ease into our wine tasting so we did a one hour tour of Lake Cave that morning. I learned many fascinating things about caves and being exposed to millions of years of history made me feel very small. We then had lunch at the Bootleg Brewery, yes there are also local brewers in Margaret River, before hitting up a couple more wineries, then the Providore Farm Shop and the Margaret River Chocolate Company.

When it came time to make our way back to Perth we drove though some tiny beach towns and also the popular beach destinations of Dunsborough and Busselton. We returned home with deer, emu, and kangaroo sausages, sundried pears and plums, various types of chocolates, raw unprocessed honey, vanilla figs and about an extra kilo on our waistlines.

Although Margaret River attracts both interstate and international tourists, its isolation no doubt keeps some travelers at bay. Perth is so damn isolated that a return airline ticket from the east coast is around $500 AUD on average and a 4.5 hour flight and then you still have to get to Margaret River. I’m not complaining. I’m happy to keep it all to ourselves in WA.

 Karri Forest

 a Margaret River Winery

 Lake Cave (with a cow from the cow parade hanging over it)

watching surfers

Hankerin' for some curry

It wasn’t just the history and culture that drew us to Asia for our honeymoon – it was the food! Over the course of twelve days we ate our way through five countries. Pizza, what’s that? Turkey sandwich, does that come with bread? McDonalds, well, yes we did have McDonalds breakfast in Japan. The idea of salty fish and rice with my coffee didn’t sound right so we made an exception for our breakfasts. Otherwise, every lunch and dinner for twelve days was local cuisine. Exacerbating our gluttony was the fact that four out of the five countries were incredibly cheap – Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand, all cheap. A main course at a good restaurant was around $4 USD so we usually ordered an appetizer or two, maybe a soup, three main dishes and there was always room for dessert.

On the last night of our honeymoon we wandered into an exotic looking restaurant in Bangkok – strolling musicians, lush palms, candles abound - a perfect way to end the honeymoon. The menu was international fare. The rack of lamb and mashed potatoes was too tempting for Shane to turn down. He was ready for a change. I stuck with a coconut curry dish, appropriately served in a coconut.

Shane spent the nine hours of travel the following day shivering and nauseous. I thought for sure they’d pull him aside for Swine Flu. Then the following day, it hit. Bali belly. A full week of shuffling between the sofa and the toilette. It must have been the lamb. When in Rome, stick to the pasta.  I was fine, and two days later off on a plane for Sydney leaving Shane home alone under Bronson’s care.

Now that I’ve left you with that image, I thought I’d share one of our favorite Asian dishes at the moment. This is a slight variation of Aussie Chef Curtis Stone’s recipe. It’s easy, healthy, gluten free, and very yummy!

Curry Delight

2 tbsp olive oil
½ medium red onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 carrot, cut into medium dice
1 chicken breast, cut into pieces (optional)
2 cups of mushrooms, quartered
1 ½ tbsp mild curry powder
12 oz light coconut milk
1 cup of small broccoli florets or broccoli pieces
2 cups of baby spinach leaves
2 spring onions, thinly sliced (green onion)
1 cup basmati rice, cooked to serve
1 lime, cut into wedges to serve

Add oil to a large saucepan or wok
Add chicken till partially cooked
Add onion, stirring often for 2 minutes
Add garlic and carrot, cook for 5 minutes
**do not allow anything to brown
Add mushroom, cook for 2 minutes
Add curry, cook for 2 minutes
Stir in coconut milk and bring to a simmer
Add broccoli and cook for 3 minutes or till tender
Fold in spinach
Dish out curry over rice in a bowl
Garnish with spring onions and lime

Serves a family of 4, 3 adults, or just Shane and I

If you add chicken then cut back in veggies to your liking.
I use an all-natural coconut milk and basmati rice because it has a low glycemic index.

Eat up!

In the garden

It’s a long weekend in WA thanks to today’s public holiday, Foundation Day. Foundation Day celebrates the arrival of the first European settlers to Western Australia in 1829. They made their home in the Swan River Colony which today is known as Perth.

Our original plan for the long weekend was to spend a night in Margaret River which is three hours south of Perth - touring the wineries, eating good food, and relaxing. We sold our 4WD last week and purchased a new one. We had hoped to take possession of our new car prior to the weekend for an inaugural road trip but that didn’t happen so we decided to leave the trip for another weekend.

In lieu of a lovely get away to Margaret River we did odd jobs around the house, went for a couple long runs, did some reading, ate good food anyway, and just hung out. It was warm and sunny yesterday and with nothing else pertinent on the agenda I decided to start that fruit and vegetable garden I’ve been contemplating for the past few months.

Winter is the wettest time of year and temps very rarely get to freezing which makes year round gardening quite easy. For a couple of reasons, I decided to stick to plants that do well in containers. First off, we live in a rental home so no point investing in anything that’s permanent and takes a long time to mature. Secondly, I have no idea how Bronson will react to the fruits and veg. What I do know is that his urine is lethal to the grass so selecting a large pot that’s higher than his raised leg is essential.

A basic herb garden seemed like a good place to start and apparently herbs are quite hardy which means less of a chance that I will kill them. The herbs I selected were basil (or "ba-zil" with a short “a” in these parts), oregano (“or-ri-gah-no” as opposed to “or-reg-ano”), thyme, coriander and mint. But, I wanted to be more ambitious than just herbs so I also selected spring onion (green onion), roma tomatoes, and strawberries. I had four large pots to work with so herbs 1-4 went in a pot together, the strawberries and the mint in another and the tomatoes and spring onion in a third. Aside from the herbs, I have no idea how the other four will do as companions but if they appear to not be getting along then I’ll just have to separate them. The fourth pot will remain empty as a spare room just in case.

Fortunately, this is a relatively inexpensive project. I purchased them all as seedlings at $3.50 a piece, along with three bags of organic soil at $12 a pop. Eventually, I’ll need to invest in some fertilizer. The large pots came courtesy of the rental home so if my project fails miserably, I’m only out $64. We eat a ton of spring onion and tomato and I love strawberries so hopefully by the end of winter our grocery list will be a bit smaller!

'tis the seasons

Today is the first day of winter. I know what you’re thinking. The solstice isn’t until the 21st of the month. I can’t tell you why, but in Australia the seasons change on June 1st, September 1st, December 1st and well, you get the point. Today’s weather outlook is sunny and a high of 66 degrees farenheight. If I were a weather professional (which I may have been in a past life) I’d sum up Perth’s seasons as such. Summer -dry, damn hot, not a cloud in sight, every day. Autumn -pretty much like summer but only 80 degrees instead of 100 and the odd cloud or passing shower. Winter- 60’s, a lot of rain after months of no rain. Spring- pretty much like autumn.

It’s green year round aside from the odd deciduous tree. The other evening Shane, Bronson and I were walking back from the foreshore. It was the end of a beautiful day and we passed a maple tree in someone’s yard. The smell of freshly dropped leaves caught my attention so I took a moment with the sunset against my back and the cool air tousling my hair to admire the orange and yellow leaves. Shane stopped, asked what the hell I was doing and I said, “this is autumn to me.” Very clearly, it did not elicit the same response for him. The sights, smells and sounds of my youth are much different to his and it’s funny for me to think of us as children living very different lives.

In Perth you’re constantly aware of the temperature outside because hot or cold, you can’t escape it. This is because many homes do not have ducted air conditioning or heating. In the summer, your house is incredibly hot and in winter, even a 60 degree day can make a poorly insulated home very cold. Only newer model homes have heating and cooling and that’s if you can afford it. What many people do have is a wall mounted unit that serves to heat or cool one room in the house, most typically the living area. When it’s 110 outside, Shane and I will sleep in the living area with the wall unit blasting and in the winter we are snuggled up to the gas heater in layers of clothing. For Bronson, this translates to sleeping on his back, all fours in the air during summer and snuggled up in a ball, nose in tail in the winter.

A Canadian friend who has lived in Australia for several years once commented that the coldest he’s been was in his house, in Perth, during the winter. A Canadian, people! I mean, I have yet to visit Canada but I lived in Chicago for 5 years and I imagine it’s something like that.

These are the memories of Shane’s youth. Everyone huddled by a portable heater in the winter and sleeping in a bed of sweat in the summer. It’s been an adjustment I admit. Back home people will flip the switch of their heating and air conditioning without a second thought and sometimes they’ll use both in the same day. You can always escape the weather in the comfort of your own home.

Living as one with the elements has its advantages. Your gas and electricity bills don’t take a beating and saving all that energy must be good for the environment. I should also add that many people don’t have a clothing dryer or dishwasher. All our clothes hang out on a clothing line. Shane had to give me a few tips on appropriate peg (clothing pin) usage and I can now pretty much predict with certainty what time my clothes will dry based on the time of year and time of day. I thought my first apartment out of college would be the only time I’d live without a dishwasher. Shane hates my method of cleaning the dishes. I waste way too much water and my soap to water ratio doesn’t produce the appropriate amount of suds which is why I’m in charge of cooking and he’s in charge of dishes.

I’m no saint by any means, but I do try. I recycle, shut down my computer at night, and turn off the sink when brushing my teeth. But, when sweating my butt off and given the opportunity to keep cool at the expense of a few bucks and a bit of electricity, that’s exactly what I’ll do. However, some day when I’m reintroduced to the luxury of ducted air conditioning and modern appliances I’ll think twice before flipping the switch; partly because it’s not so bad going without those amenities and it’s better for our planet. But also because I’ll get some gentle encouragement from my husband who has managed to survive a lifetime without them, in which my response will be that the money saved from not running the air con will be spent on a new shirt…which I will dry on the clothing line.