Sharabelle bakes

Top 5 Basic Baked Recipes  - Dairy free If you can make your own, then why buy??????  These are road tested dairy free and vegan baked recipes. I'm lactose intolerant so I know the importance of a good recipe that can easily be adapted. What I've discovered is that there are 5 main base recipes that I use the most. Adjusting the ingredients and flavours to fit the season or occasion.  Or what ever food I'm craving that day x These 5 basic recipes, makes baking dairy free a whole lot easier.  1. Quick Bread Beetroot Soda Bread Scones Basic Soda Bread Recipe 8 oz Self Raising Flour 1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda 200 ml Dairy free milk 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar Pinch of Salt Pre-heat your oven to 230 Celsius Measure and dry ingredients, flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a bowl. Whisk to mix in the ingredients. Make a well in the centre and pour in 200 ml milk & vinegar Use a knife to bring the dough together. If you still have some flour at th...

High Street Bakers www.rowies.scot When I was researching  Haggis  for a previous post, I started thinking about what us Scot's really do eat.  Haggis might be our national dish, but at most we only eat it once a year. The typical Scottish working lunch usually comes from one of our local bakeries or a food van.  Hot and cold filled rolls  are still the top item to buy. But who could pass up the chance of a pie and a cake. Buttery or Rowie This is a breakfast classic from my hometown of Aberdeen, sold widely in the Aberdeenshire area.  You might see them sold in other parts of Scotland, but there just not the same.  Think of a flat croissant that's a doesn't puff up. There considered a savoury pastry due to their salty taste.  Traditionally these were made with butter, which is why their called butteries. However some less than scrupulous bakers started to use lard.  The commercially produced ones are made using oil, ...

Bananas about bananas This is a re-post of an older blog. I had committed myself to year long mission to experiment making as many recipes as possible with my favourite fruit the banana. Why?....... It all started with as a joke during a conversation with a friend, who noted I seemed to add Banana to a lot of my recipes. I had just become totally Lactose Intolerant to the point that I have to read ingredients labels on foods and prescription pills to make sure they don't contain any milk derivatives. (Some pharmaceutical companies use lactose to bulk out pills, since its cheap) I went back to my research roots and started surfing the net looking for dairy free recipes. What I discovered was the wonderful world of vegan baking, Where I learnt that it was possible to bake dairy and egg free.  Banana's make a great substitute for eggs in some recipes. Perhaps it's because I'm Scottish but baking without eggs is pretty appealing, since it costs less money since I ...

Alpro Ice cream When I saw this was on offer at my local Morrisons Store, I decided to treat myself.  The weather has been so hot in Scotland, so perfect for Ice Cream. The Ice Cream was easy to scoop out of the Tub, it has a nice smooth texture and melted on the tongue.  You can just make out the taste of the Hazelnut, through the Chocolate flavour.  It's not as strong a taste as Nutella, but I liked that. They 2 flavours were evenly blended together.  I prefer dark chocolate, so could have done with a stronger flavour.  However those of us that like dark chocolate are in the minority.  I believe this one would be perfect for children.  I didn't become lactose Intolerant until I was an adult, so can only imagine how a child must feel when others get to eat ice cream. The tub is only 500ml and retails at £3:50.  Dairy free ice cream costs more because they need to ensure strict hygiene throughout the process to stop cross cont...

Scottish Association of Mental Health THE DARKNESS Hollowness fills me, it feels like a bereavement. One minute I'm angry, the next empty. Eyes open but not seeing, all emotion's turn numb for my protection. My mind keeps turning, I don't know or ever have seem the point in living. The purpose of existing. Yet we are all pre-programed to survive. Sadness slips in, I mourn.  Then it occurs to me,  the life I grieve for is my own. Depression is a hard illnesses to live with, one minute I'm okay.  Then the next I feel empty inside, as though a darkness has fallen over me.  It's a lot like that feeling you get when a loved one has died. I remember feeling exactly the same, after my grandmother's funeral. Depression is hard to explain to someone that's not gone through it, as it causes a lot of conflicting emotions.  I was watching an old episode of Monkey Life today.  The one where Chimpanzee Charlie dies, when suddenl...

Facebook - Aroma Coffee Bar Google Map - Aroma Coffee Bar - 75 South Bridge, Old Town, Edinburgh EH1 1HN We had planned a trip to Edinburgh to visit the National Museum, I've not seen it since it re-opened and we decided to go mid week when it would be less busy. The majority of the museums and Art galleries in Scotland are free entry. So there perfect for visitors on a budget, or families looking to entertain kids over the holidays. We decided to have lunch first, there is a cafe and bistro in the Museum but they are on open view to the public. So we had a look at the restaurants and cafes around the area instead and picked this one to try. When you have food intolerances it's a bit more difficult finding someplace to eat. Aroma Coffee bar's menu, had a lot of options that I could chose from. It also looked really comfortable inside. The large windows let lots of light into the cafe, as soon as we entered we were welcomed in. I was surprised...

My Story I've had IBS for over 20 years now, when I was first diagnosed no one had heard of it.  Which meant explaining it was embarrassing.  Things have change which is great, however there is still a lot of confusion about it.  Sufferers of the condition get lumped together with people on fad diets.  I have a dairy and gluten intolerance.  There are also a whole range of foods I avoid as they can trigger either my IBS and Acid Reflux problems.  I was diagnosed with IBS by my Doctor, I did not just decide I had it.  I would love to take a magic pill and make these problems go away.  No one wishes to be in pain.   When I'm talking to people about my IBS and they come up with all these wonderful ways I can get rid of it.  I have the perfect answer for them ..... I'd previously had  E-coli  food poisoning. Unfortunately I was misdiagnosed by the Doctor who came to see me on a home visit.  He diagnosed me a...

FOOD FADS There's been a recent trend in the so called "celebrity" world towards a vegan diet. It's the same with gluten, suddenly they are all cutting it from their diets. We had the juice diet, the paleo diet, sugar free and the raw food diet. Each one advertised as a weight loss diet,the most healthy way to eat or made promises to detox your body. CONFLICTING HEALTH ADVICE To make things even more confusing, there are regular reports in the media about the latest scientific research. We are now being told we need to eat 10 fruit and veg a day and not 5.( BBC News ) That this reduces are chances of getting cancer and other health conditions. It will also increase are chances of living longer. However this advice really irritates me, due to my IBS I can not eat that much veg as it has a negative effect on me. This type of report can leave people feeling anxious. If we take this report, I'm more likely to develop cancer, heart illness and I'm goin...