Sharabelle bakes

It's Friday again..... At the start of the year I gave myself the random mission of making and using banana in as many meals as I possibly could before the end of December.   I've not been feeling 100% this week, whenever I am rundown I crave comfort food.   Which is why I ended up making nothing but dessert recipes. Angel Food cake served  with Dairy free ice cream and caramel banana's There is no need to convert an Angel Food Cake   recipe as it's already dairy free.  Imagine a sponge cake crossed with a meringue, the result being a wonderfully light dessert cake.  Instead of making one large cake, I used my jumbo muffin tin to make mini versions.   One of my rules is that I never cook with egg's unless there going to be the star of the recipe.  They also must  be Free range.  I am one of those annoying people that open the egg box to check the small print, just to make sure.  They taste b...

RHUBARB We all have our weakness, one of mine is gardening.  I am a totally useless gardener, however I do have one plant successfully growing in my garden - Rhubarb.   Rhubarb is technically a vegetable that's used as a fruit. Where as a tomato is a fruit that's used as a vegetable.. So does it really matter, they both taste great which is the most important thing. I harvested my second batch last weekend, it's a lot quicker than going to the shops. 1. Stewed Rhubarb Stewing rhubarb is probably the most common way of cooking it.  You can cook them in a covered casserole dish in your oven, or in a saucepan on your stove top.   Either way it's simple, just don't forget the sugar.    Rhubarb has a sharp sour taste that needs mellowed In winter stewed rhubarb is one of my go to staples for topping my porridge.  Especially if it's topped with a little dairy free yogurt mmm -  Stewed Rhubarb with porri...

One woman's on-going mission  to make as many meals and recipes using Bananas.   Humans and banana trees share about 55% of the same DNA.   - Wiki Answer Finally discovered why am so obsessed with Banana's....  Who would have thunk it!!! Banana's for Breakie I have been really busy this week due to a surprise job interview, which kind of threw me into anxiety mode.  The only banana themed meals Iv made this week, have been for breakfast.  My favourite meal of the day.   The reason is all in the name to break  your  fast.   The first meal of the day, since you ate the day before.  So I thought Id share some of my favourite breakfast recipes. Banana Porridge: Breakfast is the time of day your brain cells have still not totally kicked in, so I like to keep it simple.  I find the easiest way to make porridge is to use a measuring cup. You can use a regular coffee or tea mug as well.   (3 parts ...

Mini Lemon angel cake with mixed berries and soya yogur t I don't really check my personal e-mails that often.  I spent too much time looking at the things when I worked in an office.  Which is why it took me a week to discover an e-mail I should have replied too over a week ago!!!! Lucky I wasn't too late, however now I've  got  an interview this Wednesday. Due to my anxiety,  I am not really great at handling surprises or sudden appointments.  When I go to a place I have not been too before I like do research first. My favourite tool for this is google maps, the street view function is a great help.  I take a virtual walk to the destination and check the area for landmarks.  Traveline Scotland is the other website I use a lot, especially there journey planner.   You are probably wondering what any of this has to do with angel food cake!!!!! Surprises causes my anxiety levels to rise, the side effect of this is I...

World Baking day This World Baking Day we are encouraging you to Bake Brave. Step out of your comfort zone and bake a cake that will push your baking skills to the limit. Peanut butter cookies sandwiched  with chocolate peanut butter ganache In the spirit of world baking day I decided to bake something I've never made before, Sandwich cookies.  They are not entirely outside my comfort zone, as I can make both cookies and chocolate ganache.  I have just never put the 2 together before. I used to love the classic empire biscuit,  2 biscuit's sandwiched together with jam and topped with sugar icing.  Something I had to give up when I became totally lactose intolerant.   For me baking isn't a hobby, it's more a way of life.  Being both lactose and yeast intolerant I find it easier and cheaper to bake my own breads, cakes, cookies and pies.   Saves the often depressing task of checking endless ingredient labels, wh...

It's Banana's It's Friday again, so time for more banana themed recipes.  Part of my ongoing mission to make as many meals and recipes using my favourite fruit.  As I am lactose intolerant, all the recipes have to be dairy free. I've been craving a banana ice cream sundae since we made banana splits for dessert at work.  Lucked out and found my local Morrison's had some Swedish Glace dairy free ice cream in the freezer section.  Perfect timing. Caramel and banana sundae Took a lovely big scoop of dairy free ice cream , topped it with sliced banana and dairy free caramel sauce.  I've not had ice cream dairy free or otherwise in over a year, so forgive me for getting a bit to excited about it.  The Vanilla Swedish Glace tasted lovely and had a great texture, well worth the wait.   Some of the best recipes come about due to necessity, in this case I had run out of yogurt for breakfast. I am not really a big smoothie fan, i ...

Well Kind of......... Okay this is kind of a list of the great variety of ways that you can enjoy the humble tomato, no matter what season it is.   One of my favourite reasons for going abroad on holiday is the food.  I love vegetables that don't Conform to the EU regulations on size and shape.  Organic Veg is just vegetables grown the old fashion way before rules, regulations and pesticide sprays removed all the taste.  Don't believe me, just taste a tomato and you'll know what I mean.   1. Au Naturale The simplest way to enjoy the tomato is Au naturale, as nature intended.  During the summer I dice cherry tomato's in half. Then toss them through pasta with a little oil, salt and pepper for a lovely light supper dish. You don't need to cook them to turn them into a great meal or side dish.   -  Guardian newspaper Internet site       Article on how to make the perfect Salsa.  -  Gazpacho...

Fridays are my normal day for blogging about my Banana project, to make as many recipes using my favourite fruit as I possibly can.  However I had my ATOS medical yesterday, so decided it would be best to delay it.    Talking about my mental health problems and my IBS with a total stranger always leaves me feeling washed out afterwards.   I admit my thought process is well..... unique.  I was starting to think I was running out of recipes using my beloved banana.  I didn't want to do the normal boring ones like smoothies...... That's when I had my Eureka moment.  If you can have banana's in a cold drink why not a hot one? Discovered am not the only one to have the same idea.  Found a great recipe for  Banana Hot Chocolate , which I adjusted to make dairy free.  Just swap the milk for you favourite dairy free milk substitute.   I halved the recipe to make 1 large mug of hot chocolate.   I loved th...

The problem with most Broccoli recipes is that they all include dairy in some form or another.  It seems that celebrity Chef's don't think you can make great vegetarian food without cheese or cream.    Ahh it really annoys me.  There are plenty ways to cook great meals with broccoli without adding dairy.    1. Boiled Cut the broccoli into Florette's and add to a boiling pan of water.  Cook for 5 - 6 Min's.  Then drain, leave in a colander over the cooking pan for a few Min's to allow all the broccoli to drain well.   DON'T OVER COOK Tip:   Cook your Broccoli like pasta.  It tastes a lot better al dente. Simple ideas for boiled broccoli Soup :   - Blitz in a food processor with some of the cooking water and return to the pan to re-heat.  Stir in some plain soya yogurt to make a creamy soup. Pesto : - Blitz in a food processor till smooth with a little vegetable oil, lemon juice...