Chocolate Gelato

Wow, we have had such a busy week!  Mstr H has been sick all week with a nasty virus.  I hate those vague viruses!  He is really lethargic, has a nasty cough and occasionally asthma.  Such a pain.  This has led to a lot of 'stay at home' time, but very little time to actually achieve anything.  We have also been getting together some donations to help the people in Ormoc in the Philippines after a typhoon wiped out the entire area.  So sad and so many people affected.

With all of this happening, we have been using the BBQ a lot for dinner.  I just get the meat out, cook the veg and hubby takes care of the rest!  We are even planning a BBQ Christmas this year.  Who needs a big roast, when we have prawn kebabs, salmon fillets and marinaded lamb chops instead?  Also taste testing a recipe to make a frozen Christmas pudding.  I thought choc chip strawberry icecream, vanilla bean ripple and all encased in rich chocolate fudge icecream.  Will let you know how I go.

We have also been experimenting with glucose powder as a way to introduce Miss A to some higher fructose foods.  She is loving banana smoothies with yoghurt, a handful of strawberries, rice bran and some glucose powder.  I am hoping this will mean she can eat some cherries at Christmas, by mixing them into an icecream and using the glucose to balance out the fructose.  Feeling like a mad scientist!

I also have to share the break through we have had with Miss A's eczema.  I saw an article on a current affairs show for Robertsons Skin Repair.  This is an ointment that is all natural, basically made up of cod liver oil and oatmeal, and it actually works!  You apply 3 times a day, and in our case, the eczema has cleared up.  We no longer need to use steroid creams and Miss A has a lovely smooth face free of scabs!  She is no longer itchy all the time or oozing and bleeding.  Her skin is smooth, and free of the roughness she has always had.  It is not a cure, if we don't use the eczema comes back, but it is making it liveable for us.

On to the promised recipe!  In South Australia, we have always called Italian ice cream 'gelati', so I was confused when I saw all the signage changing to 'gelato'.  Was it the same stuff, or something different?  Was it a change inspired by America, like so many of our language changes are?  The answer is that it is the same, and that the change has come from us calling it the wrong name for all those years.  Who knew?  Will be hard to make the change!  So given all of this, I googled to find Miss A's favourite flavour, chocolate!  I found this low fat recipe on taste.com.au, and it is fantastic!  It uses cornflour to make the custard base, rather than egg yolks.  I will try this method on other flavours!

CHOCOLATE GELATO
INGREDIENTS
3 cups skim milk
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 tbs gluten free cornflour
3/4 cup gluten free cocoa

METHOD
Whisk together 1 cup milk with the sugar, cornflour and cocoa.  Place the remaining milk in a saucepan and bring to the boil.  Add the cocoa mixture and continue heating until it thickens.  As it starts to thicken, remove from the heat and stir periodically.  Using the gluten free cornflour means that it will thicken on standing.

Cool to room temperature, chill for an hour.  Place in ice cream maker.  Yum!

Let me know what you think in the comments.