{ homemade rice crackers }

Continuing on from here, I was recently insipred by a dear friend who is also having to make a lot of specialized home made food and snacks for her little Miss, she'd made little crackers using quinoa, so that she was able to give her a little snack food and something different with a bit of crunch.

Due to Miss 1 being unable to tolerate less and recently no longer being able to tolerate rice cracker she was previously eating either due to the potato starch or the small amount of sugar that was in them I had to come up with something new. So I set my self a challenge to create some rice crackers using only water, rice and salt. There were not recipes on the net so I had to be creative!

Initially I used a combination of rice puffs that I ground using a mortar and pestle, added some rice flour so it was a 50:50 minx, then a few twists of salt and water to make a paste like mixutre. Spread this mixture on baking paper, baking in a hot oven, turning over part way through and then finishing baking until crispy. This is the result:

The not so great rice crackers, scroll down for the great ones!

They were ok, they were crunchy, and Miss 1 would eat them sporadically, but after a few days them became chewy and not so great, you know the stuck in your teeth kinda food. So I had to come up with something new... and like all good ideas it came to me at 1am when I was just finishing up work, and as I wasn't going to fire up the oven in the wee hours of the morning it had to wait until the next day, but it was so worth it and the results speak for themselves!

{Light Crispy Rice Crackers}

Part 1. Preparing the rice:

1 cup of long grain rice
2 cups of water

Place rice and water in a medium saucepan and cook on a low heat, this is the absorption method for cooking rice, so you will need to keep an eye on it so that it doesn't end up sticking to the bottom of the saucepan. If you find that the rice hasn't cooked through enough with that amount of water, just add in small amounts, mix it through and continue to cook for a couple of minutes longer.

Part 2. Making the Rice Crackers

1 cup of cooked (absorption method) rice
1/4 cup water
Salt (I use a salt grinder)

Preheat your oven to 210°C (fan forced) or 410°F, and line a large baking tray with baking paper

Take 1 cup of the cooked rice, place it in mortar and pestle and bang, smash grind as best you can, it doesn't have to be pefectly smooth, I seasoned it with 3-4 grinds of salt.

Slowly add water and mix through the rice to create a paste, you don't want it runny, needs to be so you can spoon it and it not drip.

 Using approximately a heaped teaspoon of the rice mixture and form roughly 5cm across "crackers, no need to be picky. as they will change as they cook.

Place in the oven for approximately 15minutes, they will be starting to brown on the edges, but the rice is still soft in the middle.

Using an egg slide, gently lift the crackers off the paper and turn them over, you will notice they the underneath has a crinkled shape from the paper absorbing the moisture from the rice. Place back into the oven for a further 5 minutes, if you want them crispier or browner just increase the length of the second cook.

The results, light crispy rice crackers, with no fat or oil, feel free to sprinkle salt on them or for a bit of extra flavouring you could also try chicken salt on them as well (but those with allergies or intollerances chicken salt often contains milk solids, garlic and/or onion.

Enjoy xxoo

{ playdough }

As a young tacker I loved playing with playdough, my mum used to make it for us, it was always softer and much nicer that the tiny little tubs of plastic commercialised playdough on the market and even better we go to chose what colours we would get. We would sit perched atop a kitchen stool watching Mum measuring, mixing and cooking the dough. Then having to wait patiently as it cooled enough that we could let our creativity run wild and play for hours on end, cutting, rolling and smashing the soft dough into various things.

This year I made it for Miss 3's birthday party, it went into the goodie bags and funnily enough the adults were just as excited as the children to have it to play with.

So why buy  when you can make it yourself right at home, quickly and easily without even needing the cook top!

What you need for your NO COOK Playdough, this recipe is straight from the side of a container of Cream of Tartar, it's not special or amazing, with the exception I make it without using the cooktop, but it comes out smooth, soft and lasts for months.

~ 2 cups of plain flour

~ 4 tablespoons of cream of tartar
~ 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
~ 1 cup of salt
~ 2 cups of boiling water. 
~ Food colouring ( I just used the basic Queens Food Colouring)



How to make it

1. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl, until well combined
2. Add boiling water* and oil and mix with a wooden spoon. (*Water must be freshly off the boil)
3. Then as you can handle it with your hands, divide it into smaller portions and knead in the colour in on a plastic chopping board :)

For easter I altered the recipe to create chocolate playdough, and oh my does it smell divine! I whipped up a batch divided it up and filled little reusable plastic eggs. Although I recommend storing it in zip lock bags until you are giving it as these little eggs have breathing holes and it will dry out the playdough if not in a sealed bag. It is a great alternative to giving chocolate at easter, just remind the little people not to eat it :)

~ 1 1/2 cups of plain flour
~ 1/2 cup of cocoa
~ 4 tablespoons of cream of tartar
~ 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
~ 1 cup of salt
~ 2 cups of boiling water. 


To make it just follow the instructions above ^

Be creative  ~ Variations


Why not have some fun with it too, try these things:
When you colour it add a few drops of a corresponding essential oil for example:
~ lavendar with purple dough (may inadvertantly make child sleepy!)
~ lemon for yellow dough
~ rose for pink/red dough
~ peppermint for green dough
Glitter!!! When mixing spread the dough flat, spinkle glitter over the top and knead through the dough




Storage

This last for ages as long as you don't let it dry out (just like "off the shelf" playdough), I was actually surprised how long it lasts At the time of making my first batch, I was worried about making it too early for Miss 3's birthday as I didn't want it to go off before the party, I had little to worry about! As I just recently found 4 packets in a plastic storage tub that were left over from the party 6 months after the party, each had been stored in zip lock bags and were completely fine and usable, no mould or any nasties, they were just a little sticky, but 6 months old and not even refridgerated, this stuff rocks!

It can be kept in the fridge if you have room, best stored in a tightly sealed plastic container or I use zip lock bags.

And trust me you'll have just as much fun as the kids playing with this :)