Gluten-free Cooking for Kids

I've become addicted to this salsa and now find myself making it on a regular basis.  The idea for this recipe comes from a favourite cookbook at the moment by Thomasina Miers called  Mexican Food Made Simple.  It is full of great recipes most of which are gluten free.  Those that aren't are easily adapted.

I love the freshness and vibrancy of this sauce, which you can use to liven up anything from the Sunday roast, to a jacket potato or some scrambled eggs.  Serve this salsa with a bowl of tortilla chips or in it's truest form, as a hot sauce for tacos. Older children, especially teenagers, may appreciate the strong flavours and the blow off your head hotness.  For younger children, you can leave the chilli out or just add a fraction of what is stated in the recipe.  Roasting the chile and some of the other key ingredients adds a lovely smokey flavour and is what makes the sauce really special.  You will need to play around with the seasoning for the sauce to achieve the right balance of flavours.  The sauce should be sharp, slightly sweet and hot.  A splash of rice vinegar usually helps to bring out the flavour.

Okay, for some this will be cheating, featuring a pudding that is naturally gluten free and requires very little effort or skill.  Well this one definately deserves it's place on the glutenfree4kids website as it is easy to make (takes literally minutes), is delicious and can be categorised as fairly healthy.  But the most compelling reason for sharing this with you is that my daughter Ruthie absolutely loves it!  The recipe comes from friends, Sarah and Greg Moore, but in fact this is not really a recipe, more a list of suggestions as there is no fixed amount and nothing to go wrong.  It's dead easy and makes the most delicious summer dessert.  Serve this pudding with some of those simple flapjacks for a really yummy gluten free kid friendly end of meal treat.  Oh and keep an eye on the grown ups as this pudding tends to disappear fast.  I've spotted one or two of these "grown ups"  looking rather shifty after they've polished off a few portions.

Here is another scone like recipe which is great for breakfast.  This version was inspired by a lady who asked recently if the "cheesey snakes" recipe could be adapted into a sweet fruited version. 

I overheard some parents talking about these muffins earlier in the week and I was intrigued.  Mrs Duff runs the after school cookery club and by some strange coincidence I  bumped into her on Friday afternoon as she was gathering her charges.  I plucked up the courage to ask for the recipe and in true Mrs Duff fashion, Ruthie, Lucia and I were swept up with the rest of the gang en route to the cookery room.  Within minutes I was holding that precious recipe in my hand.  These little muffins are winners.  They really do look and taste like doughnuts and best of all, this is a kid's recipe, so those little munchkins can mix up a batch in no time.