Welcome friends. A Jug of White Daisies is about my life and all the thoughts that come to me while I'm walking, doing the dishes, having a shower or hanging washing on the line - some of my regular activities that give me time to think. It's about all the things that make up my life - cooking, cleaning, creating, loving, learning, discovering, rolling my eyes, sighing, smiling, forgiving, making do, making the most of, looking up, gardening, hugging, being. It's about the things that I make for sale, fabulous finds, the wisdom and beauty in the world, and it's about stopping to admire the simple perfection of daisies.


And in amongst all the thinking and writing about that, I'll be doing it all, and more, so if you don't see me for a day or two, please send chocolate.

January 21, 2015

Coconut Slice Recipe

Well the slice is all gone! Time to make another one.... I have to report that sorghum flour is excellent! It gave the base a whole different texture that took it from "ricey/shortbready" to a really lovely dense moist texture much much more like something between wholemeal and white wheat flour. But with a definite non-white feel. Love it! I've since made some waffles using sorghum flour in the mix too and they were great too. Yahoo! Pity it's so expensive, but it doesn't matter really, when you find something that works for you. I'm not diagnosed Celiac but I do react badly and for weeks when I have the smallest bit of gluten. I'm not even tempted.

My DH loooved the slice, by the way. He was in raptures with every bite.

So... what did it look like? This is how it came out of the oven (told you I can't do food porn - look at the state of that pan! On second thoughts, don't, lol):


And this is how it looks on my plate. Mmmm. No crumbly bits, just moist and excellent deliciousness. That's a small fork by the way, not a dinner fork, just in case you were worried about the size of my slice.


And now I think you would like the recipe. I have no idea at all who originally made up this recipe, or how much it's been changed over the years, but this is what my new GF version is, which I'm now sticking to. The original was brought home from school cooking classes by my big sister ... a few years back. OK a few decades.... lol.

Please note that I'm in Australia so my measurements are Australian standard measurements.

Also, I just use a generic brand of plain and self raising flours, from my supermarket. I like most of them, they work well enough for most things and it saves having fourteen different flours in the cupboard.

Gluten Free Coconut Slice
Base
125 g butter
2/3 cup Self Raising GF flour
1/3 cup plain GF flour
1/3 cup sweet white sorghum flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg

Melt the butter gently until only just melted, then add to dry ingredients, which have been sifted together into a bowl to mix them. Add the egg and mix into a soft dough. Press or spread into a greased and lined slice tray, 18 x 28cm.

Filling
1/3 cup jam (jelly for my American friends)

Warm the jam briefly in the microwave and spread carefully over the base - the base is soft so be gentle.

Topping
1 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup castor sugar
2 eggs

Beat all ingredients together with a fork and gently spread over the filling. Bake it in a moderate oven for 20-30  minutes or until the coconut is beginning to toast nicely. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into squares or fingers and store in an airtight container in the fridge.

So there you go. Easy and delicious, old fashioned slice. Enjoy some with your favourite cup of tea or coffee soon. :-)



love Heather x

 To the question of your life, you are the only answer. To the problems of your life, you are the only solution. ~Jo Coudert

January 11, 2015

Paper Stacks and Coconut Slice

I can't believe how tardy I am when it comes to my blog. Pathetic.... but maybe there is hope. 2015 feels like a much more positive and forward moving year. Do you have years that feel different from others, right from the start? It's not like this year hasn't had it's share of dramas, even eleven days in, it's just that it "feels" better.

I didn't make any resolutions. Didn't even think, "I'm not making any!" I just skipped that senseless moment and forgot to notice that it even happened. I have developed a few plans over the last few days though. Blog (haha), more cooking, less eating (that can work, can't it?), actually decluttering till it's all gone, and not just in fits and starts and then giving up, parenting more wisely, getting my drivers license, staying (getting) healthy, finding some more friends and not being so stuck at home, doing up that furniture at last... But if none of that happens, I'm not going to get all bent out of shape about it, I'm just going to shrug my shoulders and know that everything happens in the right time and life is pretty good even so.

I'm cooking at the moment actually. I need something sweet. It's a rainy Sunday afternoon, sweet is good. Sweet will help me get through this stack of papers I need to reduce. Honestly, why did I even keep that receipt, and no, I don't need that old magazine clipping anymore. And do I need every hospital record from my children's childhoods, now that they are 20 and 27?

But let's not go there just now... I am cooking a slice. I'm converting the old family favourite Coconut Slice, that my big sister brought home from high school in the 1960s, to my favourite version of Gluten Free. I'd like to convert all my recipes and actually print myself out a new book, instead of just trying to remember what I did last time. This time I'm using a bit of sorghum flour. It's supposed to be nice, but I haven't tried it yet so I'm looking forward to it. I will let you know how it goes when it's out of the oven and on my plate - but please don't expect food porn. I'm not a food porn blogger, this is just family life going on here people.

OK, back to those paper stacks. Photo of coconut slice later. :-)

love Heather x To the question of your life, you are the only answer. To the problems of your life, you are the only solution. ~Jo Coudert
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