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Hi everyone,

Thanks for all the replies to my query about Australian gluten-free pastas
and cracker biscuits.

Here are the results:

*       Orgran pasta seems to be the most popular
(http://www.ozemail.com.au/~romafood/) - with the Corn and Rice & vegetable
varieties recommended.
*       Rice pasta.
*       Pasta containing soy in it - the soy makes up for the missing
gluten.
*       Casalare pasta - white rice variety.
*       RISO'O'MAIS noodles and spaghetti.
*       Rice noodles from Asian food shops.
*       Timkyada/Tinkanyada pasta (although I'm not sure if this is
available in Australia).
*       Mrs. Leeper's (although this is another US brand).

The trick with gluten free pasta seems to be how you cook it:

*       Use LOTS of water.
*       Make sure the water is boiling when you add the pasta.
*       Keep testing it regularly so you don't overcook it.
*       Rinse it in warm water after you drain it, to remove excess starch.

I also received a recipe for making pasta using a Kenwood Chef:

        3 eggs - beat until frothy, I use the whisk attachment for this then
add 1 teaspoon salt, then I change the whisk attachment to the dough hook,
then add 250g (must be weighed) of GF bread flour and mix until dough forms
a ball. Now your pasta is ready to be rolled out very thin and cut as
desired, or put through a pasta machine. I find this recipe great for
lasagna as I've not yet found a good instant GF Lasagna. If you don't have a
Kenwood chef, just add the bread flour by hand and knead it a little.

In regards to my query about Water cracker substitutes to use with dips and
cheeses, these great suggestions were made:

*       rice crackers
*       corn or rice thins
*       gf corn chips and potato chips
*       cut-up veges (such as carrots, celery, cucumber, raddishes)
*       Mc Donald's chips could be used with thinner dips
*       (under) cooked pieces of pumpkin
*       cheese sticks
*       put a few goodies on a skewer (then it won't matter if they are
cooked or limp) and dip the whole skewer in the dip
*       vege chips - or try making your own.

For cheese plates:

*       add big pieces of nuts and dried fuit
*       corn and potato chips
*       gf bread, fresh or toasted and cut into small pices
*       gf fruit bread - good with cheese.

Thanks for everyone's help.

Rawinia.

Perth, Western Australia.