Making your own pictures into pieces of art!

befunky.com

Someone once told me that they thought, deep down, I must be a frustrated graphic designer. To clear things up, I am not a graphic designer but more like someone who likes good design. I'm always on the hunt for programs that will amend images so I can create my own things such as weekly meal planner, shopping list etc. And, of course, I'm always looking out for free stuff.

I can't remember how I stumbled across befunky.com but I was quick to try it out. For a novice like myself, I found the website reasonably easy to operate. Simply upload a picture and click on the different effects to see the potential outcome. You can also add frames, words and other images to the artwork. It then lets you save the picture to your computer, facebbok page, Twitter etc. There is also a free mobile phone app with limited effects.

The picture below is Tom at the farm; can you see the sheep in the background? I was so impressed with the way this picture turned out with this 'under painting' effect. It looks like a real piece of artwork. I'm tempted in putting the first picture on canvas for his grandma.

Check out the other effects from befunky.com

Underpainting effect

PopArt 11effect

Watercolour effect

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Low FODMAP Country Style Chicken Casserole

I had bought some free range chicken lovely legs (skinless) on the weekend because I was in the mood for a casserole of sorts. The challenge I set for myself was to use ingredients that was already in the pantry, fridge or freezer. My taste buds didn't want a tomato based sauce but rather something a little bit lighter. I pondered all day about how I was going to cook this casserole when my mind reverted back to the days I shared an apartment with a very lovely French woman.
I noticed that the style and flavours of her meals were very much influenced by her native home land and this fascinated me. Lots of clear broths with delicate flavours and the use of herbs in almost all of her dishes. So I took some inspiration from her style of cooking and started using my basic cooking knowledge to prepare my dish.
In the pantry, fridge or freezer I had the staples and later on wished I had some speck, celery and peas to add to my casserole for an extra dimension. However the result was exactly what I wanted - light, aromatic and amazingly tasty. I hope enjoy this casserole as much as me.



Low FODMAP Country Style Chicken Casserole

Ingredients

Makes 3

6 free range chicken lovely legs, skinless

1/2 cup gluten free flour

Olive oil

1 carrot, diced

1 garlic, crushed

1 potato, sliced thinly

6 whole mushrooms

1/2 capsicum, sliced

2 cups salt reduced chicken stock

1 cup of white wine (remove if intolerant)

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp seed mustard

6 sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf

1 Tbsp dried oregano

1 Tbsp rosemary

2 good handful of parsley, chopped

salt and pepper

Method


1. Coat the chicken lovely legs in gluten free flour. Heat a heavy base saucepan and add olive oil, When hot add the chicken lovely legs to the saucepan to seal and cook to a golden brown. This should roughly take about 5 minute on each side. Once completed, remove the chicken lovely legs from the saucepan and place in a bowl.
2. Add a little bit more olive oil into the saucepan then add the carrots and capsicum. Reduce the heat and cook until soften. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes. Pour in the wine and simmer until the wine reduces wine.
3. Add poatoes, chicken stock, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, mustard,  thyme, oregano, bay leaf and rosemary to the saucepan ensuring that the chicken is submerged in the stock. Turn the heat up and bring to boil before reducing it again to low to simmer. Place the lid on and let it simmer for 20 minutes.
4. After 20 minutes, give it a good stir and add the mushrooms. Cook for a further 20 munites with the lid off.
5. Add parsley just before serving, and salt and pepper to your taste. I served my casserole with quinoa.

NOTE: If I had celery and speck I would add it at the same time as the carrots. I would also add the peas around 10 minutes before the complete cooking time.

 



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Low FODMAP Beef Curry

The one type of cuisine I've missed since being on the Low FODMAP diet is Asian food especially curries. I went out one night and ate a Thai curry. I thought to myself "how bad could it be to eat a little Thai food?". BIG MISTAKE. It took me 5 days to fully recover from my indulgence.

So, once again, I found myself making a Low FODMAP Indian style curry from Sue Shepherd's cookbook to satisfy my taste buds. I couldn't help but include a few more spices to the mix such as curry leaves, ground coriander (cilantro) and star anise.
Culinary genius, Heston Blumenthal, said this about star anise "What particularly appeals to me about star anise is the way it helps intensify meatiness in a dish. If you've ever wondered why humble Chinese spare ribs taste so meaty, even though they don't actually carry much meat, it's the star anise in the spice marinade. Chinese five spice usually contains star anise, Sichuan pepper, cassia, clove and fennel...". Perfect for a beef curry so I had to give star anise a try!

I was so excited about all these different spices coming together to make this beef curry, I was finally going to get my curry fix. One and a half hours later, I tasted a surprisingly mild curry dish. Was I disappointed? Well if I'm honest with myself - yes - but the recipe was not to blame. I had envisioned that the curry would taste like the ones I experienced prior to my FODMAP diet which is another big mistake because they will never be the same in intensity due to the lack of onion and garlic.
Neverthless I enjoyed the beef curry and was grateful for my leftovers for lunch over the next couple of days and accompanied with quinoa.

Spice mix

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Mini Nutella Cookie Cups

I first spotted these little bad boys on Pinterest and ever since I’ve been waiting patiently for a special event so I could make them. My dear friend and work colleague is going onto maternity leave and I jumped at the chance to bake them for her farewell.

The concept is simple; basic cookie (biscuit in Australia) recipe for the case and Nutella for the filling. Heaven! I must admit that I cheated with this recipe because I didn’t have time to make the cookie dough after work so I bought pre-made Aunty Kath’s Choc Chip cookie dough from the supermarket. It worked a treat! TIP: Do not use the M&M’s cookie dough because you will not be able to crush the M&M’s with the shot glass to make a neat little indent for the Nutella. All I did was scoop out the cookie dough mixture and placed them in the mini muffin tins. Bake for 10 minutes on 180C and then followed the rest of the directions to complete these Mini Nutella Cookie Cups.

Be sure to read the TIPS on the linked recipe page because I found them super helpful. I discovered that the original recipe is actually Peanut Butter Nutella Cookie Cups but I didn’t have any peanut butter in the house. I image a small amount of peanut butter at the bottom of the cookie cup then covered with Nutella would be rich but nicely balanced with the savouriness of the peanuts. Otherwise roast some hazel nuts and place a single nut in each cookie cup before spooning in the Nutella.

For Low FODMAP diet, replace cookie recipe with a suitable Low FODMAP version because Nutella is one food we are actually allowed to eat!

Give them a go! They are so easy to make and my friends were very impressed with the presentation – and taste.

Also try the Nutella & Almond Two Bite Brownies (Chocolate Cookie Cups).

Mini Mutella Cookie Cups

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Hosier Lane, Melbourne

MoVida

I love Melbourne lane ways especially Hosier Lane. This cobble paved lane way is famous for many things. Movida is a well-loved institution for Spanish cuisine and if you want to book for dinner; make sure you book 3 months ahead of time. Its intimate atmosphere and superbly crafted dishes makes this place very popular with Melbournians and visitors alike. If you can’t wait 3 months to dine at Movida then try going there for lunch, you are more likely to get in for a sitting that way.

Keep your eye out for it when walking down the lane way – blink and you might miss it.

MoVida | 1 hosier lane melbourne |  03 9663 3038 http://www.movida.com.au/movida/

Image source: http://www.australiantraveller.com/images/galleries/3431/movida02.jpg

 



Grilled Chorizo



Misty

I recently went to a quaint little bar only 2 doors up from Movida called Misty. Misty is one of Melbourne’s original lane-way bars. For a wintery Friday night after work drink spot, it was cosy and unpretentious. We had about 15 people in our party and almost took up half of the room so, as you can tell, it wasn’t a very big space. Nevertheless, it had a good range of spirits and other alcohol (which I couldn’t drink because of Low FODMAP diet) on offer and I could’ve happily sat on a bar stool all night chatting away to friends. I was also impressed with the heating, there’s nothing worse than going to a place and ending up with hypothermia because they had misjudge the pains of a Melbourne winter.

misty | 3-5 hosier lane melbourne | 03 9663 9202 http://mistymelbourne.com/

Image source: http://mistymelbourne.com/

 Artscape

My favourite thing about Hosier lane is the every changing artscape which brightly colours the walls with eye catching designs and styles. I’m pretty certain that artist need to gain permission from the council to place their works up onto the wall to ensure no offensive material is created but the mish-mash of designs actually works. Take a walk during the daytime and another stroll during the evening to see how the lane way itself changes. I believe you get the full appreciation of the artscape this way.

Heath Ledger as The Joker

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Lazy Low FODMAP tacos

My friends and colleagues always ask me what I make for dinner when I’m feeling lazy. Being on the Low FODMAP’s diet doesn’t give you the luxury of convenience but I find tacos and wraps to be the closest meals when it comes to easy dinners.

I try to have a packet of gluten free crumbed chicken or fish in my freezer so I can whip it out and put it in the oven as part of a quick meal. I use the crumbed chicken as part of my easy taco meal. Once I have placed the chicken in the oven, I move onto making my taco sauce. Place taco seasoning (see below) and a tin of crushed tomato into a pot, bring to boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. The completion of the taco simmering time should coincide with the cooking time for the crumbed chicken – easy!

While the taco sauce is simmering, you can make up all the other accompaniments: smashed avocado with lime juice, diced tomato, coriander (or cilantro) shredded carrot and cheese. Whatever you feel like. Once the chicken is cooked, place your tacos in the oven as per packet direction. Once the tacos are cooked, stuff them with the chicken, taco sauce and your accompaniments.

So here is my lazy dinner meal, It might not look pretty but it's still yum. I hope it inspires you to explore your own convenient meal ideas.

Lazy Low FODMAP tacos

Taco Seasoning

1 tin of crushed tomatoes (diced tomatoes are suitable as well)

1 Tbs ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp paprika

1 Tbs sweet chili sauce

Splash of Worcestershire sauce (optional)

Salt and pepper

Squeeze of half a lime (optional)

Method

·         Place all ingredients in a sauce pan

·         Bring to boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes

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Lactose Free Raspberry Friands

I attempted to make lactose free friands some months ago by modifying an existing recipe from taste.com.au

I replaced the butter with low fat and lactose free Nuttelex. I didn’t have a friand tin so I cooked them in cupcake patty pans.

The verdict: I miss butter! These little pale looking friands are a tasty treat but the absence of butter made them lack the richness that only butter could give. This, however, didn’t stop my friend from downing four of these little suckers while sipping on a cup of tea.

I froze the remaining friands and, sometimes, crumble them over my ginger and orange infused stewed rhubarb (recipe and pictures to come) for a quick dessert.



Lactose free raspberry friands



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Low FODMAP Moussaka

I had planned to go to the Melbourne Museum's latest exhibition, The Wonders of Ancient Mesopotamia, on Sunday but the weather was terrible. I don’t mind if it’s cold outside but when you add wind and rain to the mix – count me out! Instead I decided to cook another one of Sue Shepherd’s recipe from Irresistible for the Irritable cookbook for my dinner and I set my sight on the moussaka recipe. A perfect meal for a stormy day.

*UPDATE: I have been surfing the web for a similar moussaka recipe to the one in the cookbook and found one on taste.com.au but don't forget to remove the onion from the recipe. Recipe below*

Once again I mingled with the recipe by adding a little bit of nutmeg and the classic moussaka flavour of all spice. To make the dish a bit lighter I also replaced half of the lamb mince quality with mushrooms. I also brushed the eggplant with olive oil infused with garlic oil (Cobram) for an additional garlic flavour.

You need a bit of time on your hands to make this recipe as it requires a number of stages but, thankfully, these stages are not that tricky.

I was pleased with the results and will be sharing leftovers with my Greek friend who will give their verdict on this allergy-friendly recipe.



Low FODMAP moussaka



CAUTION: The eggplant acts like a sponge and absorbs all of the oil and I felt that the dish was a little bit oily. So my preference next time would be to not brush the slices of eggplant prior to baking.  Also beware of the all spice, only 1 teaspoon for this recipe because it is quite strong.

TIP: I had left over lamb minced and eggplant from making this dish and wasn't prepared to waste it so I created another meal from these left overs.

I cooked quinoa in reduced salt chicken stock as per packet direction. In the meanwhile, chop up the eggplant, mix eggplant and lamb minced together then heat mixture in microwave.

When eggplant and lamb minced is heated mix with cooked quinoa. I had some parsley so I chopped that up and add to the meal.

I was so surprised how delicious this mash up meal was.

Eggplant and potato moussaka

Recipe from taste.com.au

Ingredients (serves 6)

4 (about 1kg) brushed potatoes

4 (about 1.5kg) eggplants

140ml olive oil (use olive oil infused with garlic oil to maintain galic flavour)

4 cloves garlic, crushed (remove if you have an intolerant to garlic)

1 large onion, finely chopped (remove from recipe)

500g minced beef or lamb

1/2 teaspoon each ground cinnamon and allspice

100g tomato paste

125ml (1/2 cup) red wine (remove if you have an intolerant to wine)

400g can Italian chopped tomatoes

35g (1/3 cup) dried breadcrumbs

Bay leaves, to decorate

Olive oil combined with chopped lemon segments and mint, to serve

Sauce

100g butter, chopped (replace with margarine or non-dairy spread or olive oil)

75g (1/2 cup) plain flour (replace with gluten free flour)

1 litre milk (replace with lactose free milk)

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

150g kefalograviera (seenote), coarsely grated (remove cheese from recipe)

3 egg yolks

Method

1.      Preheat a chargrill over medium heat. Cut potatoes and eggplants into 7mm-thick rounds. Combine 100ml oil with 1 clove crushed garlic, brush over eggplants, then season. Chargrill eggplants, in batches, for 2 minutes each side or until tender.

2.      Heat remaining garlic and oil in a pan over medium heat and cook onion and 1 teaspoon salt for 8 minutes. Add beef and spices, and cook, stirring, until browned. Add paste and wine, and simmer until nearly evaporated. Add tomatoes and simmer for 20 minutes or until very thick.

3.      Meanwhile, for sauce, melt butter in a pan, add flour and stir until grainy. Remove from heat and gradually stir in milk until smooth. Return pan to heat and stir until thick. Remove from heat, stir in nutmeg, cheese and egg yolks. Season. Cook potatoes in boiling water for 8 minutes or until just tender. Drain well.

4.      Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 16-cup, 23cm x 28cm baking dish. Line base with overlapping slices of half the eggplant and all the potato, then pour over 3/4 cup sauce. Scatter with half the breadcrumbs, top with beef mixture, remaining eggplant and crumbs, then remaining sauce. Top with bay leaves and bake for 35 minutes or until browned. Stand for 30 minutes, then serve drizzled with oil, lemon and mint mixture.

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