Sharabelle bakes

Winter Warmers With the weather getting colder I start to crave comfort food.  Homemade soup has always been one of my favourite things to eat. My mum made the best, it was one of the first things she taught me to cook.   Shop bought soup never tastes as good as homemade, no matter what brand you buy.  Making your own soup is easy and more cost effective.  It's also a lot healthier as you know exactly what is in it. I used to buy my carrots loose and chop but now I have shaky hands, it's safer to buy them pre-chopped.  Most supermarkets have fresh diced carrots and swede.  You could also use a bag of there casserole vegetables as well.   This is the simplest soup you will ever make, it's one of my favourite to eat x  Morrison's Diced Carrot and Swede - 60p   - Whole bag Vegan Bouillon Powder - £2.00 - 3 - 4 tsp's Red Split Lentils - £1.15 - 1/3 Cup or a handful - Add all the ingredients above into a...

Traditional scone's One of my favourite topics of conversation is food.  I can get over exciting talking about food and recipes.   I often take it for granted that people have the same cooking knowledge as I do.  However I've come to realise that I was lucky to have a mum and grandma to teach me how to cook and bake. Over the years Iv discovered a lot of ways of how not to do things in the kitchen. For me kitchen disasters, are just a way of learning what not to do. This knowledge comes in handy when people ask me for advice.  Scones is top of the list of recipe that I'm asked about.    There are 2 recipes below that I use, the second one is for soda bread.  When my hands started to get bad due to fibromyalgia, the soda bread recipe was the  easiest  one to make.  Sometimes we have to adapt the way we could and bake to make up for health problems.   TOP TIPS Mindful baking   I practise m...

FROZEN VEG SOUP I had a duuh moment, the idea is so simple I can't really call it a recipe.  It's just so obvious, I really can't believe I didn't think of it before. Since being diagnosed with fibromyalgia, my life has changed a lot.  I have gone from being an enthusiastic cook, to someone afraid of using a knife.  The Fibro means my hand can often shake.  I tried using my blender to chop my veg, which worked great.  Until it came to cleaning it, when I cut my hand on the blade.  I have had to adapt the way I cook, to make it safer. Frozen chopped vegetables are available in every supermarket and there is now a wider range of available. From simple bags of frozen chopped carrots, to mixed vegetables. My nearest supermarket Morrisons, now have chopped sweet potato.   They are also now more affordable, making them ideal for cooking with. Frozen vegetables are just as good as fresh. In some cases they are better, since they are f...

RHUBARB RICE PUDDING WITH COCONUT YOGURT  AND GRANOLA This recipe came about by accident.  I'd been stewing some of my own homegrown rhubarb, to make a fruit compote only to find it released a lot of water.  I had soaked the rhubarb first to clean it, which led to the problem. Watery fruit compote isn't brilliant, so I strained it through a sieve instead.  I was then left with at least 300 ml of rhubarb juice.  I just thought What if?  The jar of rice was right in front of me, so I decided to give it a try. I followed a normal baked rice pudding recipe, but substituted the milk for the rhubarb liquid instead. I didn't have pudding rice, so I used normal white rice.  I think it works just as well.  I set the oven on low and left it to cook.   Baked Rice Pudding 1 1/2 oz/ 50 g of Rice  2 tbsp of sugar 1 pint of milk Place all the ingredients in a casserole dish, and bake in a low oven 150 c or  30...

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. Th...

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....

It started with a jar of  peanut butter! Ever since discovering P&J sandwiches I have loved peanut butter.  My mum's the same, I prefer crunchy while she prefers smooth.  We also love  Whole Earth  peanut butter, so were really impressed to find Morrison's doing their own brand.  100% peanut butter with no other additives.  How could it not taste good?  Well it didn't...... Peanuts have a natural oil and a film had developed in the top of both our jars.  I had to store mine in the fridge so it could firm up, even then it just didn't taste right.   I hate wasting any type of food, so my solution was to use it for baking or cooking.  Since I'm getting back to basics and trying to learn to bake gluten free, I decided to make flapjacks.   Peanut butter Flapjack Recipe  - Realfood.tesco.com  The recipe calls for dates to be added, I didn't have any so left them out.  The recipe was ...

CHOCOLATE CRISPY CAKES The below Choc crispies recipe are my Grandmas.  Written in the back of my prized possession, her 1950's Good Housekeeping cookbook.   June is the anniversary of her death.  So in honour of her memory I thought Id make some crispy cakes. When ever there was Jumble sale or fundraiser for the local scouts, she we be right their.  Her first stop would be the cake and bake stall.  The treats were always the handmade ones that you would never be able to buy in your local baker.  Simple things like marshmallow top hats, Scotch pancakes. This was one of the first things I learned to make with my mum.  It's also one of the easiest recipes to make dairy free, gluten free and even better it's vegan. You can use either gluten free Cornflakes or Rice Crispies, they both work just as well.  Grandmas recipe uses cocoa powder and cadburys flakes for hers.  I prefer to use melted chocolate in mine. I had to chuckle a...

The way I eat has changed since being diagnosed with fibromyalgia.  I just don't have the energy to cook the same way that I used too.  I would make all my meals from scratch and cook one freeze one for another day.   My blog should really be changed too Sharabelle doesn't bake anymore.  Due to the chronic fatigue I've had to adapt my cooking habits, sometimes I get to the point when I don't want to eat.  My hands also occasionally shake, making chopping vegetables a nightmare.   Adapt So I've changed the type of food I buy and how I shop.  I buy frozen vegetables instead of fresh.   I still like to shop around for the best prices.  I also now shop every few days, instead of doing one large shop.  It's easier for me to carry, and gets me out every day for a short walk.  Which is great for both my mental and physical health.   Shopping List  Morrisons Nairns fine oatcakes - £1.00 Rice Dre...

Carpal tunnel decompression menu Along with my other ailments I have Carpal Tunnel syndrome in both wrists.  Basically a trapped nerve, however between managing my mental health problems and Digestive problems it's always been pretty far down my list of things to worry about.  So when I did finally get it checked out I got told the only way to help was an operation.  Decompression sounds pretty non invasive, for surgery that involves cutting a ligament in your wrist.  I admit the idea pretty much freaked me out, however the surgery it self was quick and only needed a local anaesthetic.  The only pain Iv had following the surgery is when I forget I'm not to use my hand. The worst part has been is that Iv not able to cook or bake properly for the last week. Which is pretty much my idea of torture.!!! I don't eat pre-made meals unless Iv cooked them myself, so Iv been using up my homemade  freezer supplies.  I usually tel...