Sharabelle bakes

Asda Food Memories I love Indian food, they have amazing vegetarian dishes.  When I was 10yrs old, we moved to a new house.  Next door an Indian family moved in.The mother didn't speak English and we didn't speak Indian, but it did not matter.  When the mother had any extra home cooking she would pass it over the fence. In return my mum would hand over jars of homemade jam. My first taste of Indian food couldn't have been more authentic.  Her onion bhajis are still the best I have ever tasted.   We might not have spoken the same language but food brought us together.   One of my favourite Indian dishes is Chana Masala, a chickpea curry.  The ones I've made myself are just never the same. So was really excited when I discovered Punjabi Choley, another type of chickpea curry.  It's great that Asda has a whole section of authentic Indian ingredients and foods.   Ashoka - Punjabi Choley Vegan and Gluten free. ...

The Banana Project To make as many recipes using Banana's in a year and updating my blog once a week.   My first recipe this week is for Banana tea loaf.  Most traditional tea loaf recipes are dairy free but aren't vegan as they require an egg.  However it bakes just as well without one.  This time I decided to use a mashed banana as a replacement.  I also reduced the amount of raisins so they wouldn't overshadow the taste of the banana's.   Banana Tea loaf To bump up the taste even more, I soaked the fruit in banana tea. Banana tea:  Place 1 banana peel into a mug, fill with boiling water and cover.  Leave for 5-10 Min's then remove the peel.   This makes a lovely soothing cup of tea.   Who would have thunk it..... it worked.  It's a hybrid between a tea loaf and a banana loaf and tastes great.  Perfect toasted and covered in a dairy free spread.   Banana Coconut Curry...

  Corn, Sweet corn, Corn cob, corn kernels     What ever you call it, it's one of the most versatile vegetables on the planet, because it can be made into so many different food products. I made baked corn fritters on Friday for dinner, which were delicious. I'd originally planned to use my own photo's in the blog, however my Internet keeps on crashing when I try and upload them from my computer.  Bleep Bleep annoying.    1. Food Products made from Corn   My all time favourite food is made from corn, Good old fashion popcorn.  When I had my metal double rail track brace fitted over 5 years ago, I had to give it up.  Giving up fizzy drinks was easier, even with the caffeine withdraw headaches.  Going to the cinema was never the same.....  - Popcorn   made from the dried corn kernels - Corn Flour / Corn starch - Polenta or Grits a porridge made from ground corn This finely or course ground corn is...

10 Ways to Cook Sweet Potato - Dairy free Sweet potato's are a very versatile vegetable, as they can be used to make both Sweet and Savoury dishes.  There also not really a potato, while a potato is seen as a carb a sweet potato is a vegetable.  Which means they can count towards the recommended goal of  eating 5 fruit and veg a day.  1. Baked sweet potato Baking sweet potato's has got to be the easiest way to cook them. You don't even need to peel them.  Just place them in your oven and bake till soft on the inside.  No need to par boil them before baking.  - Cook whole and serve as you would a baked potato  - Cut into wedges and toss in a little veg oil, along with some herbs or spices for seasoning. - Cut into Chips or Fries , then toss in oil with salt and pepper. 2. Fried Sweet Potato Oily food is a major trigger for my IBS, so I pretty much stay away deep fried fo...

 Potato In honour of St Patricks Day, today's blog is all about the spud.  I always link potato's with Ireland, probably because I was learnt about the Irish Famine at School. There most traditional recipes using potato are, Colcannon and boxy pancakes. 1. Potato Dumplings Globally you can find different versions of Potato Dumplings.  Iv been able to find vegan versions of a few.  Italy has the Gnocchi Norway has the Klubb Germany has the Kartoffelkloesse Czechoslovakia has the Knedlicky Poland has the Polish Pierogi's  - I'd seen these made on Diners, Drive ins and Dives and really wanted to make my own dairy free version.  Luckily I found a recipe On the Post Punk Kitchen Blog.  Making Pierogi's are a labour of love.  They take a long time to make, but the taste is worth it.  I didn't have any Apple sauce to go with them, so I made some dairy free vegetable gravy.  Brilliant comfort food.  ...

The Cauliflower recipe idea winner is ....... Cauliflower and potato curry After looking at all the recipes i could find on the Internet, at the end of the day being a typical Scot all i wanted was a curry.   I'm not even going to pretend this is an authentic curry, it's curry done the Sharabelle way.   The problem with most Veggie curry's is that more often than not it ends up mushy.  To avoid this I like to roast some of the veg first before mixing with the curry sauce.  It's a lot easier this way and means your not continually stirring a pot. TOP TIP:  Cut your veg into bite size pieces, toss in a little oil and some spices.  Before baking in a hot oven for about 20 Min's.  My secret ingredient this time is Maykway mild curry sauce mix.  It's a blend of Wheat flour, Fenugreek, Turmeric, coriander, mustard seed, fennel, cumin, chillies, garlic, ginger, salt and pepper.   Watch thoug...

Vegan Carrot Cake My mission today was to bake a carrot cake for the guys at the Pantry.  One of whom hates dried fruit and really doesn't like cinnamon, 2 ingredients I always add.  I like a challenge, especially when it involves changing recipes to suit other peoples tastes.  Made my first attempt this morning, left out the raisins and replaced the cinnamon for mixed spice in the cake batter.  Had an unexpected problem though, I forgot I haven't baked this recipe since I got my new oven.  With my last oven I knew down too the minute how long to leave a cake in, however this one is fan assisted and I'm still trying to work out the times.  When baking vegan cakes, it never a good idea to open the oven door too soon.  The result is always a sunken cake, with a soggy bottom.  I did try to fix the problem by putting it back in the oven, as I hate wasting any food. There was no saving this cake though.  After a taste tes...

Mushroom curry pie (dairy/egg free) Okay new holiday dilemma, I want to take my own food to eat on my flight. I don't want the stress of getting to the airport and not being able to find anything. I can't just eat my orange and cranberry scones on the flight, it would be boring.....  I know you definitely can't take meat and dairy products due to recent foot and mouth outbreak, not much of a problem for me as I can't eat either of these. You’re okay to take solid food items through airport security, so does a homemade mushroom pie count as a solid food item? Who knows!!!!! Don't think I'll take the chance, there too good to have confiscated.  I think I'll go for my second option and just take a bag of Morrisons Sweet and salty popcorn.  Who knew that traveling with my IBS intolerances would be more stressful, than my anxiety disorder. I like traveling by plane; I find any vehicle that people are strapped in too has a positive effect on their b...

 Scotch Dahl Scotch Dahl served over, cumin roasted potato and cauliflower. Yet another cooking experiment, I had another curry craving.  Personally I blame the weather, lucky for me it's a proven fact that Eating curry and spicy food can help kill cold and flu germs.   Probably the same way they can help clear the sinuses!!.  I love spicy food but Indian would be my favourite.  I stay clear of the 'blow your head of with spice variety', i like to be able to taste my food. Where lucky in Scotland, as we have been exposed to Indian cuisine for several decades now.  I was first introduced to Indian food  by a family that lived next door.  The mother didn't speak much English, but her and my own mother found a way to communicate through food.  Every so often bajji's and other fresh made treats would find there way over our back garden fence.  Just as every so often so would a jar of my mum's own homemade jam ...