Skip to content

Cart

No products in the cart.

About
- Jo’s Story
- Food Philosophy
Recipes
Videos
- Cooking Videos
- Podcast Videos
Gut-Health Program
Classes & Retreats
Shop
Contact

- Search for:
$0.00
- No products in the cart.

Tag Archives: allergy friendly

Quirky Cooking, How to Cater for a Smallish Crowd in the Age of Special Diets

Stress-Free Catering for Special Diets

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the prospect of catering for friends on special diets? [...]

2 Comments

Recipe Index

Recipe Index

join my brand new program today!

Book a Call with Me!

jowhitton

{Recipe} Caramelised Onions 🧅 Screenshot the re

{Recipe} Caramelised Onions 🧅 Screenshot the recipe at the end! A delicious addition to homemade burgers with cheese puff buns. 🤤 (Or add to burger bowls, or serve with steak… mmmm!)

(Includes Thermomix recipe also - this was in my original Quirky Cooking cookbook published by Thermomix in 2014, and my family still love it!!)

#caramelisedonion #recipe #family #weekend #burgers #quirkycooking

Calling all Far North Queensland foodies 🌿 I'm

Calling all Far North Queensland foodies 🌿 I'm excited to announce a Quirky Cooking workshop at @malandalodge on the Atherton Tablelands!

Join me on August 16th from 10am to 2pm for a hands-on culinary experience, as we create and savour a delicious 4-course lunch and dive into the wonders of gut health, fermentation, and gut-healthy cooking techniques.

Take a peek at my recent workshop in London 🥗 I'm looking forward to sharing this experience with my hometown community!

Interested in joining us? Visit https://quirkycooking.com.au/in-person-workshops/ for more details. (Or if you’re on Insta, you can comment “fnq class” and I’ll send the details.)

MENU:

Starter: Seed Crackers (grain free) with Pimento Cheese Spread (made with kefir cheese & marinated capsicum) & Fermented Ginger, Garlic & Seaweed Carrot Spirals to garnish

Salad: Hazelnut & Pomegranate Tabouli (made with quinoa – GAPS option is available) OR Roast Veggie Salad with Vinaigrette Dressing

Main: Orange Spiced Sticky Chicken with Spiced Butter Sauce

Dessert: Celebration Chocolate Cake (grain free) with Chocolate Buttercream Icing, decorated with edible flowers & freeze-dried berries, and served with Strawberry Dream

Nibbles: Spicy Nuts & Seeds

All dishes are gluten free, most are grain free, refined sugar free, some dairy free. If you have special dietary needs, please let me know and we will make sure you are catered for! GAPS variations possible with all dishes.

#cooking #cookingworkshop #cookingclass #guthealth #healthyeating #fermenting #healingfood #athertontablelands #farnorthqueensland #cairns #cairnslife #fnqlife #fnqfoodies #quirkycooking #jowhitton

{Travel Diary} Day 2 of our Italy retreat. 🌿 Ne ${Travel Diary} Day 2 of our Italy retreat. 🌿 Nestled in the rolling hills of Cavagnolo, Piedmont, @parvadomus_cavagnolo is a ‘must visit’ for those who are passionate about regenerative farming and farm-to-table dining! Here, chickens peck under the olive trees with maremma dogs to guard them, and pigs are raised in semi-wild pastures where they forage for fruits, herbs, and wild roots. The olives are harvested by hand and pressed to make fresh olive oil for use in their restaurant. The farm’s artisanal prosciutto, salamis and coppa are made without additives and aged naturally in tufa limestone cellars. All the food raised, grown and served on this farm reflects a deep respect for tradition and taste. After visiting the farm and the cellars, we savoured a leisurely outdoor lunch of traditional Piedmontese dishes. Bare feet on the grass, sunshine, no rushing, great food and good chats! (And the best prosciutto I’ve ever tasted!) Bliss 😊 Parva Domus isn’t just a farm—it’s an invitation to experience the harmony of nature, heritage, and heartfelt hospitality. Thanks for introducing us, @luciemcculloughinteriors! 🌿🥗🍖 Learn more about our Italian retreats via the link in my bio. #FarmToTable #PastureRaised #ParvaDomus #SlowFood #Prosciutto #AuthenticItaly #CountryLunches #ArtisanTradition #Italy #ItalianHoliday #ItalyRetreat #Retreat #QuirkyCooking$

{Recipe} Tomato Soup 🍅 A nostalgic childhood fa

{Recipe} Tomato Soup 🍅 A nostalgic childhood fave that's pure comfort food - delicious with buttery cheese puffs or crusty sourdough for dipping. Yum! ❤️ Don't forget to screenshot the recipe at the end!

#quirkycooking #tomatosoup #thermomix #soup #quicksoup #easydinner #chickenstock #wholefood #glutenfree #quickandeasy

A glimpse of my week… Keepin’ it real! 😅 Th

A glimpse of my week… Keepin’ it real! 😅 There were wins (gelatinous stock, cooking with my sister, her sourdough bread, blue skies, crispy chicken skin, lemon custard, cups of tea (while walking to Mum’s 😄), my cute great niece, cheesy pizzas, yummy new recipes…), and there were fails (egg shell in my soup - did you see that? 😄, laying in the hammock because a migraine hovering (reaction to mould from when my car flooded), tired from a big week…) But each day is a new day and hopefully tomorrow there’s no eggshell in my soup. 😄

#myweek

It’s cold here! No really, like 5C in the mornin

It’s cold here! No really, like 5C in the mornings here in the mountains (doesn’t happen often in FNQ 😄)… definitely the weather for a hearty stew! Here’s one I made last night when the kids came over for dinner. ❤️ I ate mine with some grain-free flatbread bread (recipe in Life-Changing Food), but also made creamy polenta for the kids because stew with polenta is the BEST comfort food!! 😍 (I’ve added the polenta recipe at the end of the photos.)

This is one of those recipes you can adjust to suit you, using different veggies or meat, or less meat and more veg… hope you enjoy!

#dinner #stew #meatstock #gaps #gapsdiet #wholefood #comfortfood #winterdinner #quirkycooking #athertontablelands #farnorthqueensland #australia

That feeling of “winning at life” when your be

That feeling of “winning at life” when your beef stock looks like this. 😜😁 #ifyouknowyouknow

Stock is a naturally gut-healing and immune-boosting food that I aim to get into meals at least once a day! There’s lots of ideas in my program recipes and cooking videos for how to make and use both stocks and the meat leftover from making stocks, so that nothing is wasted. (See link in bio)

Tips for making a delicious, gut-healing, gelatinous stock:

- use meat on the bone (raw) with cartilage and connective tissue (eg a mix of ox tail, ribs, knuckle bones, marrow bones, etc) - not just chunks of meat or whole chickens, and not just carcasses; if using chicken carcasses add wings and/or feet)

- cover with water to just above the meaty bones (like 2-3cm above, if there’s too much water you’ll have watery stock)

- use pasture-raised meat (grass-fed and finished beef) if at all possible

- if using chickens, older pasture-raised chickens are best for flavour and a gelatinous result (if you have to buy from a supermarket get the oldest-biggest, free-range chickens you can)

- add quality salt & pepper (it does make a difference!), herbs if you want, scraps of veggies if you want (I usually keep mine plain and use as a base then layer flavours as I cook with it)

- bring to the boil (covered), reduce heat, scoop off foam/scum and discard, then simmer covered until meat easily comes off the bone (about 1 hour for fish, 2 hours for chicken, 4 for beef/lamb/pork/game meat)

- if using a slow cooker, cook on high for 4-6 hours depending on meat used, until meat easily come off the bone

- cool finished stock quickly (place pot in a sink of cold water to cool down then decant into small dishes)

- remove meat and connective tissue from bones, cover with a little stock if freezing for later, and use in recipes like soups, stews, pies, casseroles…

Need some ideas for using stock and meat from stock in your meals? I’ll share a few over the next few days, and there’s lots more in my program!

#meatstock #healingfood #guhealth #gaps #guthealing #foodismedicine #quirkycooking #healthreset

My Quirky Cooking Gut-Health Retreat at @treetops_

My Quirky Cooking Gut-Health Retreat at @treetops_sanctuary on the Atherton Tablelands in Far North Queensland (Australia) is coming up in October (13-17 Oct, 2025)! 🌿 I love sharing the beautiful area I live in and all the wonderful food we grow here! ❤️

Here’s a little glimpse of the first night and day at the retreat… Delicious gut-healthy food, cooking classes, fermenting, walks in nature, fireside chats, @helsi infrared sauna with red light therapy, making sauerkraut, and having lots of fun! (And also, chocolate and cheese 😍 - healthy ones, of course! 😁)

If you’d like to know more about my FNQ retreat, comment “retreat” below.

#retreat #athertontablelands #farnorthqueensland #australia #cookingretreat #healthretreat #guthealth #guthealthretreat #gaps #quirkycooking

{Recipe} Chicken & veggies with cashew satay sauce

{Recipe} Chicken & veggies with cashew satay sauce

* 2 large chicken breasts, cubed*
* 2 Tbsp ghee or chicken fat
* 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- Sauté 5-10 mins til partially cooked

* 1 head of broccoli, cut into thin florets
* 1 large carrot, very finely sliced
(Or whatever veggies you like in a satay - I just kept it simple.)
- Add to pan and stirfry 5 mins while also toasting cashews separately

* 3/4-1 cup cashews
- Place in a dry cast iron frying pan and toast over medium heat, stirring, until browned. Remove from pan so they don’t burn.

* 3/4-1 cup chicken stock
* 1 tsp salt
* 2-3cm fresh ginger, grated
* 2-3 Tbsp Tamari or coconut aminos
- Add to pan and simmer until veggies are barely tender, while crushing the toasted cashews in a mortar and pestle. (Can use a Thermomix or food processor if preferred.)

* crushed toasted cashews
* 1 x 400g tin of coconut cream (free from preservatives & additives)
* 1 tsp rice wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
- Add to pan and stir to combine, simmer over medium heat to reduce sauce a little. Don’t overcook or veggies will be too soft.
- Adjust seasonings to taste.
- Serve with rice or cauliflower “rice”.

YUM!! So happy with this recipe! Hope you like it 🤗

* I cut apart a whole chicken and use the breasts and some of the other meat, then make stock from the meaty bones, and crispy chicken skin + chicken fat from the skin.

#chickenrecipes #chickendinner #sataychicken #cashewsauce #chicken #dinner #quickdinner #familymeal #glutenfreerecipe #quirkycooking

{Recipe: Spiced Hot Chocolate} Friday night treat!

{Recipe: Spiced Hot Chocolate} Friday night treat! (In case you missed it the other day…) ☕️

Spiced Hot Chocolate

• 700ml milk of choice
• 20-30g Dutch-processed cocoa powder (depending how dark you like it)
• 50-60g honey or coconut sugar (to taste)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla powder (or 1 tsp extract)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
(Or use 3 tsp of my Gingerbread Spice Blend instead of the vanilla & spices!)
• tiny pinch of salt (optional- adds depth)
• 2 Tbsp collagen powder, or for an Italian-style thick hot chocolate use you can use cornflour or tapioca (optional)
• some whipped cream or coconut cream for garnish if you like
• homemade marshmallows 😁 recipe on my blog (just search “quirky marshmallows”!)

Method:

Place all ingredients into a Thermomix or a heavy-based pan on the stove and heat to 80C while stirring (7 mins/80C/speed 4 in Thermomix). Don’t let it boil on stove or it will boil over!

If you like you can froth it up in a blender or Thermomix (30 sec/speed 7).

Pour into cups, add a little whipped cream if desired and top with marshmallows ❤️

#quirkycooking #fridaytreat #hotchocolate #winter #healthytreat

Follow on Instagram

Gingerbread Biscuits & Shortbread (Gluten Free & Grain Free)
Pork Meatball Soup with Dill, Sour Cream & Lemon
Beef Massaman Curry

Copyright Notice

I love it when my readers are as excited about my recipes as I am, and want to share them! I only ask that if you do share my recipes on your own blog or on social media, you only share an excerpt or link, not the entire recipe. Full and clear credit must be given to Quirky Cooking with a link back to the original content. If you’d like to share one of my photos, please contact me for permission. Thank you! Jo x

Search by Tag/Keywords

Need Help? Click on the yellow ‘Support’ button on the bottom right of your screen.

Recent posts

Gingerbread Biscuits & Shortbread (Gluten Free & Grain Free) 11/12/2024
Pork Meatball Soup with Dill, Sour Cream & Lemon 29/11/2024
Beef Massaman Curry 03/10/2024

Useful links

Shipping Policy
Returns Policy
Quirky Cooking Privacy Policy
Advertise on Quirky Cooking
Contact Quirky Cooking
Subscribe to the Quirky Newsletter

Product categories

Shipping Policy
Returns Policy
Quirky Cooking Privacy Policy
Advertise on Quirky Cooking
Contact Quirky Cooking
Subscribe to the Quirky Newsletter

Copyright 2025 © Quirky Cooking

Search for:
About
- Jo’s Story
- Food Philosophy
Recipes
Videos
- Cooking Videos
- Podcast Videos
Gut-Health Program
Classes & Retreats
Shop
Contact
Login

Save your cart?

x

Login

Username or email address *

Password *

Remember me

Lost your password?

Register

Email address *

Password *

Yes, please add me to the main QC newsletter!