Sharabelle bakes

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...

Had a great day at the Pantry today.  I made mac and cheese for the main, as well as chocolate chip sponge for dessert.  Which am extra chuffed about, as it was my idea to make.  We had a look at the store cupboard last week and found some random ingredients left.  The mission to find some way to use them up. Were always looking for ways to reduce food waste.  So chocolate chip sponge with custard appeared on the menu for the first time.  I love cooking for other people. It's even better when at least one of those people takes the time to say they enjoyed it. The mac and cheese was also a crowd pleaser.  I'd asked if we could make it, lol.  I love Mac and cheese or I should say loved it.  Since am lactose intolerant all dairy is off the menu, and since I'm also yeast intolerant vegan versions are also off the menu.  Yeast extract and nutritional yeast are used to give vegan food the same cheesy taste....

Orange marmalade and cranberry cookies Continuing with yesterdays Blog about food waste, thought Id better post a recipe along the same theme.  I had Orange marmalade in my fridge and some dried cranberry's left over from my Christmas baking.  The marmalade had been in the fridge for a while so really needed used up.  Iv just finished eating the orange and cranberry soda bread scones and bread I'd made, so didn't really want to eat any more so soon.  So that just left cookies......... One of the worst things about IBS is sometimes you can get stuck in a rut, eating the same foods.  Mainly because you know they won't trigger your symptoms.  Some one I know commented not that long ago that my food was always interesting.  Just because I have food intolerance's doesn't mean my meals have to be boring. I like to freeze all my food into portions, that way I'm not eating the same meals for the rest of the week.  My homemade...

Pumpkin soda bread Based on the current weather (Rain, gales ohh and lots more rain) Soup season has now officially started. The perfect accompaniment to soup is bread however Due to my IBS I'm intolerant to yeast.  So I either buy or bake my own soda bread.  Aldi stock a lovely whole wheat soda bread farl, while you can find Chef Paul Rankin's Irish Brown Soda bread stocked in most supermarkets.  Aldi's is larger, cheaper and just as tasty as Irwin's Rankin brand so that's the one I tend to buy. Budget Tip :- Look at the reduced section in your local shops and supermarkets.  Perishable items like bread are reduced in price when they near there 'best before' date.  As long as you freeze on the same day you buy it, the bread will taste OK.  I split  mine into portions and place in freezer bags,  that way your only defrosting what you need.    It's a great way to enjoy your favo...

That is the question?  Dairy free sweet potato and spring onion quiche It's really confusing, when do you need to blind bake a  pastry tart. If your adding a non baked filling to an pie shell, then yes I can understand it would need to be baked first.  However the Internet and most of my cookbooks are  full of conflicting advise.  Last time I made my dairy free quiche I didn't blind bake it and it turned out great.  So yesterday I decided to part blind bake the crust of the quiche I was making for my Tea. I finally got some use out of the dried soya beans I bought I few months.  (Did the whole soaking before  cooking thing but they still turned out hard!!!)  Placed some grease proof paper on top of the crust and filled with the beans to keep it from puffing up.  Note :  The bean's can not be cooked and eaten as normal after.  But you can Re-use the ...

Finally looked out my thick red winter hat this morning.  The sun might be shining brightly, but it's still freezing outside.  This is the time of year to forget about fashion and wrap up warm.  So what do you think about on brisk cold days?  Me....I can't stop thinking about the Empanada's I made yesterday.  I was walking back from the library when I had a eureka moment.  Empanada's and pies are a great way of turning left overs into another meal.  You can make them savoury or sweet.  I found the dough easier to make than short crust.  Empanada Dough recipe - (Makes 8 small or 4 large) 2 cups Flour 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 cup vegetable shortening or dairy free butter 1 egg or egg substitute 1/3 cup cold water 1 tbsp Vinegar ( I used apple cider vinegar) Place your flour and salt into a large bowl. Measure out your shortening, and cut into small pieces before adding to the flour. Using a fork, mash the shortening into the flour...

 Creamy tomato Soup  In the kitchen today..... The Pantry canteen is shut over the weekend,  so perishible food stuff's have to be binned.  I hate any food going to waste so when I found a lot of sliced tomato's where going out,  I decided to liberate them.  (With permission off course) One of my main principles when I'm budget cooking, is to waste less food.  It's better for the environment and it's better for my bank account.  I had one lonely carrot left in the fridge and  plenty store cupboard ingredients. From this I was able to rustle  up a tasty pot of Tomato soup Waste less food soup Fresh Tomatos - chopped 1 carrot - chopped A handful of red lentils 300 ml Vegetable stock - yeast free tomato puree salt and pepper I cooked the chopped tomato's and Carrot in a pan for 5 -10 mins before adding the lentils.  I continued cooking these for another 1-2 mins, before adding the seasoning a...

After making my Oatmeal & Raisin cookies on Monday I couldn't stop baking once I got started.  When I get an idea in my head I tend to want to try it straight away. I'd picked up some marked down blueberry's from Morrison's Seconds shelf.  Nothing wrong with them, they just weren't picture perfect.  De-frosted a banana I'd frozen whole in the skin last week, before they became over ripe.  They don't take long to de-frosted and you hardly need to mash them once you get the skin off.  My idea was to add the blueberry's instead of raisins to my Banana muffin recipe.  And since I wanted to test one of my new baking tins, lets see if they work as a single cake. I love trying out new things in the kitchen, however I don't recommend testing 2 different things in the same recipe.  When I get hyper I find it hard to edit myself.  An Anxiety disorder side effect, and the reason I no longer drink caffeine....

Monday madness Does any one really know the way to San Jose?  When did wearing leggings with holes in them become fashionable?  and why can't i get this photo to rotate??????? It's not really my day, first the Doctor Surgery mucked up my repeat prescription this morning which means I can't collect it now till tomorrow afternoon.   Due to the damp weather from walking to afore mentioned Doctor Surgery, my hair now looks like Shirley Temple's.  Ringlets are not really me.  I then dropped a stitch in my knitting, so decided to un-ravel it and start the whole project again.  When everything else goes wrong I know it's time too bake............ There's something really comforting about Oatmeal and raisin cookies. I had a two rail track dental brace a few years ago. (Long Story)  So every time I survived another brace tightening session at the Dental hospital, I used to treat myself to a ...

Part 2 - EATING OUT Eating out when you have a food intolerance is a pain in the bleep.  Friends and family no longer ask where do you want to eat?  instead its now Where can you eat?  It's coming up for the festive season so I thought I'd do a little research so I could give them a few more choice's to pick from.  Talk about complicated and confusing.  Your okay if your only lactose intolerant or Gluten intolerant.  However I'm lactose and yeast intolerant, which makes it hard to work out exactly what on a menu I can eat.  No two people with IBS are the same so it seems a bit daft to me that the websites assume you only have one group of foods your intolerant too!!!! TOP TIP :  If your lactose intolerant try looking for Vegan friendly restaurants.    Useful websites:    http://cookingforvegans.co.uk/eatingout/chainrestaurantinfo.html  http://urbanspoon.com/t/354/2/Scotland/Vegan-Frie...

Rain again..... Typical Scottish weather today, sunny one minute and torrential downpour the next.  So I still can't understand why people go out with out a jacket or brolly!!!  I know us Scot's are a hardy bunch....  as native Aberdonian I know all about being hardy, but even I still don't go out without a jacket.   Either there a lot of people who have no common sense or am turning into my grandmother........  Back to the point, had another great day at the pantry today.  Helped make a Lemon Meringue tart from Scratch.  More importantly I now know why my first attempt at  making pastry for a veggie pie, looked like it had been made by Frankenstein's monster. The heavens decided to open, just before I left to catch my bus home.  By the time I got there I needed something hot and spicy to warm me up.  This is my adaptation of Vietnamese Pho recipe.  Great for warming the bones after being battling th...