Sharabelle bakes

GLUTEN FREE, WHEAT FREE & DAIRY FREE I was in Sainsburys during the week and discovered they have a new range of Free From Chocolate bars.  I'm really impressed, the majority of supermarkets retailers have their own Free from small chocolate bars. However I've never seen a range as wide as Sainsbury's.   It's great to see a food retailer catering to  consumers who have food allergies or intolerances.  I then went to the cafe for a pot of tea.  I found a choice of 2 Free From options.  Mini Cherry Bakewells and a Chocolate Brownie, both Gluten and dairy free.  I passed these up and had a bread roll with strawberry jam.   It reminded me of the Jam pieces we used to eat for a snack when I was a kid.  Normally we got them as a snack, after we came back in from playing outside.  It was the perfect thing fill us up till tea time.  A jam piece is Scottish for a Jam sandwich.  100g bars of dairy free chocolate £1.00 Individual bars 40p Fre

FLAKED PUDDING RICE Tesco's own brand £0.80 I discovered flaked rice a few years ago, up and till then I'd never heard of it.  It can also be called Flattened Rice.  It was a new product, so I had to try it out for myself.  The great thing about Flaked Rice is that it cooks a lot quicker than ordinary rice.  You can make it on the stove top in 8 Min's, or you can cook for longer in the oven. Wiki - Flattened Rice Speed is a great selling point, another is that it is accidentally Gluten and Dairy Free. It is also really easy to cook.  Making it one of my go to comfort foods.  After writing my Rice dessert recipes blog post, I have been craving coconut rice pudding.  So bought a tin of coconut milk, and made some today.   All you really need to make rice pudding is - rice, dairy free milk, sugar.  I used my coconut rice milk to cook it, then folded in some of my Alpro Coconut Yogurt as well once it had cooled down. Then topped with mixed seeds and a

I'm happily sitting here with a cup of peppermint tea, and a tasty marmalade flapjack.  It seems to be a theme with me lately, buying products and not liking the taste.  The last time it was Peanut butter, this time. Product review   Morrisons Thick Cut Marmalade I always have marmalade on rice cakes along with my breakfast in the morning.  I'm very particular about the type of marmalade I like.  I love the kind with Peel in it. It also must have a sharp citrus taste.  Dundee in Scotland has a long tradition of producing marmalade, so it's probably a Scottish obsession.   So I was very disappointed when I tried out Morrisons thick cut marmalade.  It has a nice amount of peel and I nice citrus kick, but then your left with the taste of burnt caramel in your mouth.  Not a very pleasant after taste.   Recipe Review I hate waste, so I wasn't going to throw it out.  So I decided to bake with it instead.   Flapjacks are a perfect recipe, or

You must be  inebriated, before you can try them DEEP FRIED PIZZA Scotland has a colder climate than the rest of the UK, especially in the North where I was born.  So historically we would eat a lot of carbs because they were also cheap.  Being able to walk into a supermarket and have an endless range of food, is a pretty new phenomenon.   Which is why favourite traditional Scot's meals are - mince and tatties - stovies - porridge - Scotch broth soup.  (must be thick enough to stand a spoon in it) - Oatcakes  - tattie scones For most of the population meat was a luxury and wasn't eaten often.  Stovies was created as a way of bulking out the left overs. So it's not too hard to understand that when it comes to our modern day take away food it tends to be heavy on the carbs. Deep fried Pizza  - from serious eats.  Seems our Scottish classic is now being served in the US. Traditionally in Scotland, the pizza is a mass produced tomato

Genius Gluten Free Pancakes Gluten Free, Wheat Free and Milk Free - The pancakes contain egg, so are not vegan.   Pancakes were one of my favourite treats as a kid.  I remember my mum making them. She would place them between a clean kitchen towel to keep them warm, for us to eat.  So for me Genius adding them to their product list, was a brilliant move.  Since becoming gluten intolerant, it's the simple things I miss the most.   The pancakes have a good texture, you couldn't tell they were gluten free.  This is probably because they have egg in the recipe.  It's really hard to create recipes, that are gluten, wheat, milk and egg free.   I prefer my pancakes toasted, it's just my personal preference. There perfect with just dairy free spread.  They don't need anything else. You could have them warmed for breakfast, drizzled with syrup.  Then severed with Dairy free yogurt and fresh fruit on the side. Another alternative is serving th

Rice pudding is one of my all time favourite comfort foods.  My mum used to make baked rice pudding for us, when we were kids.  We would fight over who would get the skin that was on top.  Rice pudding is an easy recipe to make dairy free, gluten free and vegan.  The recipes I've found could easily be served at a dinner party. Not just for a family meal.   It has always fascinated me,  how many global variations of the same basic recipe there are.  Did it happen because of global travel and migration.  Or did a lot of cooks just have the same idea.  Vegan Coconut rice pudding   from neurotic mommy Using tinned coconut milk makes this recipe extra creamy.  I love to top mine with fruit compote.  Rice pudding is one of those dishes that can be served hot or cold.     Zardah recipe  from In search of Suckoon Pakistani Royal Dessert made with Sweet Yellow Rice and loads of nuts, raisins, murabbas and khoya.  I love finding traditional recipes.  This one just jumped ou