the patchwork dress

lemon + raisin madeleine sponges

These are so quick and easy - all you need is a madeleine tray and a lemon outside of storecupboard staples, so great to rustle up at last minute and also quite tasty for mornings.  I have adapted this recipe and reduced sugar so they aren't overly sweet - the lemon and raisins give flavour...

...I have even put these into bake while in the morning shower, and taken them into work where they've gone down well, and no-one could tell they were wheat free!

Lemon and Raisin Madeleines

4oz (125g) soft magarine (for dairy free use PURE)

1.5 oz of (caster) or demerara sugar

5oz of plain gluten free flour (DOVES) sieved with 1 teaspoon of g/f baking powder

2 eggs

juice of 1 lemon

handful of raisins, or cherries, or almonds (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3, and very lightly grease a madeleine tin.

2. Put margarine, sugar, flour, baking powder and eggs in one bowl and beat together until the mix goes light coloured and creamy in texture.  Add the lemon juice and mix through lightly.  Fold in the raisins or fruit.

3. Using a desert spoon, drop mix into tin - remember the mixture will expand during cooking (I don't mind colouring outside the lines) -  and bake 160C/325F/Gas 3 for approx 20-25 mins, or until golden + cooked. (time may be shortened in fan asst ovens).  

(This recipe was adapted to gluten/dairy free from the 'One bowl sponge cake' recipe by Evelyn Rose, P417, The New Complete International Jewish Cookbook - and will also work with normal wheat flour + dairy.)

8 : blackbird cake

The wind is currently gusting round the house. We have 'red' warnings of wind across Scotland today and where we are normally quite protected in a little dip and the wind blows 'over' us - today it is tapping at the windows and rattling the roof - quite ferociously!

I moved the bird feeders to a lower level on the tree - partly for the birds and so that they don't fly off through a window at some point during the day!

Here are the blackbirds and others looking for food at low level during the storms.. You can just see robin in the top left corner, tucked in a bush.  These were taken from Inside! so they aren't all that clear.

If you don't already know this - a great way to attract blackbirds into your garden is to put out apple, pear or dried fruit such as raisins on the ground - they LOVE this and it trumps birdseed and peanuts for them.  Just be careful not to put down where a cat could jump out on them!

Yesterday I made a cake a blackbird would be proud of - and of course the apple peelings and chopping board remnants went out for them!  It's gluten free and dairy free (again!) with the consistency of a traditional farmhouse cake.  The apple and fruit keep it from being too dry, and the ground nuts give a wholemeal consistency.  It's also a good way to use up leftovers from making mincemeat.

Blackbird Cake (for humans... and blackbirds!) - Dairy + Gluten Free

*  *  *

6oz of margarine - eg non dairy 'Pure' (or butter for dairy eaters)

3oz demerara or brown sugar

7.5 oz  g free plain flour sifted with 2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder (see this post for good types of flour and baking powder)

3 eggs

a few dashes of rice milk (or equivalent)

1.5 apples (blackbirds get the half)

handful of mixed nuts - ground up in processor

handful each of plump raisins, chopped dates, cranberries, dried apricots (or to your taste)

*  *  *

• Line a deepish small baking tin with greaseproof paper

• Preheat the oven to 325F/160C/Gas 3

• Mix all the cake ingredients in a bowl and add a dash of rice milk, and keep mixing until the consistency is paler and  loose but not sloppy.

•  Add the chopped apple, nuts and dried fruit - folding it gently into the mix.

• Add to the cake tin, and cook in top third of oven for approx 1 hour - keep looking in after 45mins and test with a knife.  When the top is brown, the knife comes out without stickiness - altho this is a moist cake because of apple, don't overcook as it can dry out the sponge.

• Once cool, wrap tightly in paper/foil etc - as it can dry out quite quickly.

• Should last a couple of days.  Yum.

 

5 : do you like mincemeat?

...do you like mince pies? some people hate mincemeat, some love it.

I fall into the latter camp, and this year decided to make my own, so that I could just put in things that we like.

the recipe is adapted from the earlier version of this book - but outside of the bulk of the raisins that I bought in especially - most other ingredients were already in the house.  I also thought it was quite an involved thing to make, but actually this is so simple and will take about 20 minutes- half an hour..

This version is good for vegetarians and gluten intolerant as it does not contain suet, or veggie suet which often contains wheat - it's made with a little dairy free margarine ('Pure' sunflower) and so is also Vegan.

*  *  *

Mincemeat (which is also vegan/dairy free)

(makes approx 4 jam jars worth: 1 jar is approx 6 mince pies)

1.5 lbs (675g) mixed dried fruit - (I used mainly raisins and added some favourites - dates, apricots,cranberries all chopped up).

10oz (275g) grated apple (approx 4-5 apples)

4oz (125g) chopped nuts (walnuts, or mixed nuts with brazils,pecans etc - chop small or whizz in processor)

2 tablespoons marmalade

2 tablespoons golden syrup

2oz (50g) brown/demerara sugar

2 teaspoons mixed spice (or make up your own blend eg with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger)

juice (and rind if liked) of a lemon

2 tablespoons each of brandy and sherry (or substitute wih a favourite alternative)

2oz (50g) melted (dairy free) margarine (or butter for non-vegan)

Add all the ingredients to a bowl more or less in order given (I grated the apple last and added the lemon to prevent it browning).  Leave to stand in covered bowl in fridge, stir occasionally - at least several hours/overnight before putting into jars.  

*  *  *

Make into mince pies using the gluten + dairy free shortcrust recipe from last year - note the pastry recipe is not vegan as contains egg - but you could experiment!  I've had so much positive feedback about this pastry recipe - really crumbly and short, but holds together well.

Hold the picture of the mince pie under your chin to see if you like mincemeat - alternatively leave me a comment, or let me know if you try either of these recipes and enjoy! x

4 : wholefood heaven

Thanks to a tip off from my friend Susan - thanks, Susan!xx

... yesterday we checked out the new Wholefoods supermarket that has come to Glasgow!

I did a trip to the US in 2004, and one of the highlights were the wholefood supermarkets in each town selling lots of alternative and healthy eating goods with a conscience.  I was actually stopped and asked if I needed help in the Alberquerque store as I was in a state of awe with my mouth open I think!

Well, I slightly revisited that state yesterday - as anyone with gluten or dairy intolerances will tell you, it gets a bit boring having to hunt for food, and having to go to several places to get specific things.  Now it is all here under one roof, with brands like Orgran, Ecover, several types of dairy free icecream - not just vanilla! which I have been finding increasingly difficult to get hold of locally - plus the luxury goods like the deli, the chocolate aisle will have your eyes on stalks.

You can also check out their site to see if there is one near you.

I have been saying for years "wouldn't it be great if" and now it's here!

curtains to cloth, cloth to curtains

Happy Mother's Day - Mum!

 

Last time mum and I were out, she mentioned something about a new tablecloth, so when I saw this colourful springlike/Eastery fabric at a furniture recycling project, I thought it might do the job.

In its former life it was one of a pair of IKEA curtains - while it may have been a bit loud for curtains, washed, ironed and with new hems, I think it makes a great tablecloth on a par with this Gudrunsjoden one.

A bit of handstamping on the wooden tag Etsy's from thecraftydragonfly, an abundantly simple gift!

On that note I also picked up this book secondhand...

The title jumped out as one recognised from bibliographies at the back of other books I've read. The premise is daily guidance for women to live as their authentic selves through embracing simplicity and gratitude.  The words are so comforting and real, that despite being written in the 1990's (you can ignore the advice to wear cowboy boots with that powersuit!) the sentiment rings true for what many bloggers are advocating today - trying to slow down and enjoy what's there.  I think I'll be mentioning it again here.

This book came to me at a time when I have been feeling really burned out, by work, by generally just trying to do and be too much all at once.  This weekend I decided to ditch the car and spend 3 days at home.  Without the distraction of 'wanting to be somewhere else' - I have been walking, resting, doing a little cleaning... 

...have at last made this curtain for the bedroom (we have been living here for over 3 years - I've had the fabric for 1!) - funnily enough the energy to complete this task came out of doing the little hems on the tablecloth - all a curtain is, is a fancy lined tablecoth!

...played at making a wall collage for new moon beginnings..

...and in the simply abundant Remoska (a post to itself), have made some gluten-free sort of bannock things - half plain and half cheese.

 

In some ways I've been a mother to my Self.

 

22, 23 + 24: christmas eve

Woah! - it's Christmas Eve! what happened there? I seem to have got swept up in some sort of last minute christmas snow ball effect, which meant I missed these last days of advent..

...doing this

... a commission for the brother of a colleague - I was set a challenging brief with a list of places he had lived around the world, starting with Glasgow.  I had an image of a globe, divided up with some sort of geometry - so the next stage was finding the appropriate maps.

I got my hands on the UK maps pretty quickly, and even one of Australia, but was flumoxed by the more obscure ones such as japan, singapore etc.  I had looked through every single map in the second hand bookshop where I usually get them.. when there, right at the bottom, was a folded piece of paper just poking out.  So I pulled on it, and it turned out to be a National Geographic map of the pacific ocean, dated 1936.  It almost seemed a shame to cut it up as it was beautiful, and provides that lovely deep blue and rich tones around the edges.

The next amazing thing was trying to cut the pieces so that the right bits of the map and the names fitted in the shapes - I got to the bottom there, and thought maybe that piece with Indian Ocean would work, as that is the ocean the recipient lives beside - and I thought, we all identify with the nearest pieces of water to our home - right?  And as I went to cut it, it was miraculously on the same curve as the globe I'd created! Serendipity.

The background is part of a map which says 'Firth of Clyde' up the side - I must admit I hadn't even noticed I was so in love with the numbers and the scale up the side!

It was hard to take photos as the light wasn't so great that day.

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now, as promised..

gluten free all purpose sponge cake recipe

I used this recipe today to make a small madeira style loaf, which will cut up and form the base of our Christmas trifle.  

The basic recipe is below - this time I threw in a chopped up pear which baked inside the cake... The beauty of this recipe is you can just chuck it all in one bowl and mix.. again it can be used with normal or 'free from' ingredients and it always works out.

Another adaptation for the same recipe is to make madelaines - using a madelaine baking tray, or equivalent - add the juice of a lemon at the end of the mix - you can also add handfuls of raisins, cranberries or almonds - they only take 20mins to bake.

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4oz (125g) soft magarine (for dairy free use PURE)

3oz of caster sugar

5oz of plain gluten free flour (DOVES) plus 1.5 teaspoons of g/f baking powder

2 eggs

1. Grease/line a tin - this quantity will make a small loaf, a tray of madelaines, or half a layer for a sandwich cake (ie double the quantity for 2!)

2. Put everything in one bowl and beat until the mix goes slightly lighter and creamier in texture.

3. Add to tin and bake 160C/325F/Gas 3 for 35-45 mins. (time may need extended if you have added fresh fruit such as pear or apple).  Madelaines will take around 20mins, individual sponge layers maybe around 25-35mins.

I hope this cake will prove as useful and adaptable for you as it has for me.

(This recipe was adapted to gluten/dairy free from the original by Evelyn Rose, P417, The New Complete International Jewish Cookbook - an absolute bible for any kitchen! and nearly all of the recipes work for normal wheat/dairy or replacing with alternatives.)

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Now all that is left is to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful new year in 2011.

I am going to be taking a break, so see you in the new year!

18: gluten and dairy free steamed pudding

(...not the greatest photo, please excuse -  it was taken at night without a flash!)

I LOVE Christmas pudding, but N is not so fussed by it, so last year I tried an alternative by making a fruity, spicey steamed pudding with a syrupy topping.  It's not as rich as Christmas pud, and is totally homemade from scratch - so can be whipped up of a cold winter's evening.

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gluten/wheat + dairy free steamed pudding

**********************************************

4oz (125g) soft margarine (for dairy free try PURE)

3oz (100g'ish) of caster sugar (I reduced this from the recommended 4oz)

4oz of plain gluten free flour (Doves brand)

2 tsp of gluten free baking powder

1-2 teaspoons of mixed spice as per taste

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons of (corn) syrup - or substitute with a jam or sauce of choice

couple handfuls of chosen dried fruit and/or nuts

**********************************************

1. Put the margarine, sugar and eggs in a large bowl.

2. Sift in the flour with the baking powder and mixed spice.

3. Beat all until smooth and creamy.

4. Add handful(s) of mixed dried fruit and nuts as per your choice eg sultanas, raisins,

cranberries, dried blueberries, pecans, walnuts, flaked almonds etc.. and fold in.

5. Meanwhile, set up a steamer (steamer above with boiling water below) or use a pressure cooker (see individual instructions for pressure cooker times, although roughly around 50mins cooking time).

6. Grease the inside of a greased pudding basin with margarine (an old plastic christmas pudding bowl is ideal - medium size).  Spoon the syrup/sauce/jam into the bottom of the bowl.

7.  Pour the pudding mix ontop.  There should be approx 1" clear to the top of the bowl to allow for expansion.

8. Cover with foil (I also put a sheet of greaseproof paper under the foil).  Fasten with an elastic band, or tie with string.

9.  Steam the pudding for 2 hours if over a steamer.  You can probably do the same with a trivet in a pan, but be very aware and keep checking the pan to make sure there is always enough water as it evaporates.

10.  Check after 2 hours, the pudding should be touching the underside of the foil by this time.  Remove and turn out onto a plate.  Hey Presto!  Insert holly decoration as indicated.

Once you have tried this, you can try substituting different toppings, or mixing in 5 tablesps of drinking chocolate powder to make it chocolatey.  (I'm still working on that one!)

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(This recipe was adapted to gluten/dairy free from the original by Evelyn Rose, P307, The New Complete International Jewish Cookbook - an absolute bible for any kitchen! and nearly all of the recipes work for normal wheat/dairy or replacing with alternatives.)

 

16: gluten free pies

It's been a while since I made these... but since then I have perfected the recipe for shortcrust - although the old recipe still holds strong, omitting the ground almonds leaves you with a normal pastry that is much easier to handle, cuts with a cookie cutter and holds together better.

There is still an element of after rolling out and cutting, you may need to press into shape in the tin a little - but its very pliable - and, I understand, can't get overworked like wheat pastry does.

new improved wheat/gluten and dairy free shortcrust pastry

this recipe makes enough for several (8-9 mincepies/or 4 cornish pasties/or 4 larger individual pies - chestnut + gravy for instance/ or one medium size flan dish type pie)

*************************************************

9oz of gluten-free flour

**3oz caster sugar** (SWEET PASTRY ONLY - OMIT FOR SAVOURY PASTRY)

6oz margarine (any will do, for dairy free use PURE or equivalent)

pinch of Xanthan gum - if available

1 egg yolk 

2 tablespoons of rice milk (if not dairyfree you can use milk, or any milk substitute)

*************************************************

1. Heat oven to 190/C (375F) Gas 5 (less if fan assisted)

2. Rub the flour *(plus sugar, if sweet pastry)* and margarine together between fingertips until it resembles breadcrumb texture.  You can add a pinch of Xanthan gum if you have it - but not essential.

2. add the egg yolk and milk - you should be able to work the dough into a ball.  use a little extra 'flour' if it is sticking on the outside.

3. on a floured board, flour up a rolling pin and roll to desired shape/thickness.  If making pies with a top, split the dough so the bigger half makes up the base.  Don't worry if it splits a little at this stage, you can 'fix' with your fingers once the pastry makes to the pie dish or tray!

4. Once you have made up the pies etc - the egg white can be used, or a little of the milk substitute to glaze the top before baking in oven.

5. Mince pies will take around 25mins - bigger pies, such as apple - may take longer, and you can either precook the apple, or turn the oven down towards the end.

Makes really nice soft but crumbly proper shortcrust taste - not hard and biscuity like some gluten-free alternatives!

hope this is helpful and not too vague - I seem to be losing the use of english!

 

15: when it's cold outside, bake!

It is still cold here, although most of the snow has thawed, there is still a thick hoar frost which seems to stay all day.  A real 'earth cold'.

I have spent 3 out of the past 7 days feeling really unwell and on my back as a result of eating 'wrong' things. For a number of years I have cut out wheat from my diet which made a major difference to my health, waistline and energy, but in recent months I have discovered that things such as spelt, rye, barley are also too strong for me, as are most baking products such as non-glutenfree baking powder or big doses of bicarb of soda!  

Because of these recent episodes where I thought the cake on offer looked ok, that I now cannot chance this without checking ingredients very carefully.  One was made of rice crispies but a cheaper brand perhaps, as they were puffier - so probably also contained wheat or barley.  A polenta cake yesterday, may have unknowingly had non gluten free baking powder in it - or maybe the waiting staff didn't know if it also included flour.

So from now on I am going to have to be careful - and I have thought of sharing with you through the remainder of my advent posts, incase you do have friends or family who cannot eat wheat or gluten, or have some other intolerance - a few recipes, and best buys that I have experienced, incase you would like to bake or cook for them over christmas and new year.

Let it be known I am not one for fiddly baking - so the recipes I will share will be simple and hopefully fairly fool proof!  In addition, N is dairy intolerant, so the recipes/best buys will also be milk free, although may contain eggs.

To start with, here are some basic shopping items you will need if you want to bake gluten-free.  These are tried and tested, and for me have worked as the best combination.

1. Doves Gluten/Wheat Free Plain Flour is available in nearly every supermarket and health food shop now.  There is also a self-raising version, but I find the plain works best with 1tsp of baking powder to every 4oz of flour.  It also means you can use the flour for pastry and pizza bases.

2. Dr Oetker Gluten Free Baking Powder  This is the best! even better than 'Doves' own.  Now stocked by ASDA and Sainsburys.  Tescos do their own which is made from rice flour and is also good.

3. Doves (or Suma) Xanthan gum This is not essential - basically it makes the mix a little stickier so things like pastry/pizzas are less dry and crumbly.  I just put a pinch in (not very technical!) but improves the mix.  Can be bought in Sainsburys and health food shops.

I hope to post some recipes for shortcrust pastry (sweet + savoury), a basic failsafe sponge mix, a steamed pudding and a list of where to buy the best freefrom christmas and baked goods!

wheat free lavender cake

 

I adapted this recipe for a wheat/gluten & milk free lavender cake from a recent recipe in Country Homes & Interiors magazine - although I have seen a few versions around lately.  I also simplified it a bit and cut half the sugar out...  It's really easy to make if you have the basics in your store cupboard.

Lavender Madeira Cake

125g dairy free margarine, like 'Pure' sunflower brand

80g of caster sugar (pref unrefined)

2 medium eggs

175g (self raising) or plain gluten free flour (like Doves) plus 1tsp and an extra pinch of g.free baking powder if you don't have s-raising.

pinch of salt

a small quantity of lavender flowers (adjust according how 'flowery' you want the taste - but found about 6 or 7 sprigs of fresh lavender, with flowers pulled off was enough)

Method:

Preheat oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3 and line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper.

Put all the ingredients except the flowers into a bowl and mix/beat until smooth and slack.  If the mix is a bit sticky add a splash of non-dairy milk.  Then fold in the flowers.

Empty into lined tin and bake for approx 1 hour (check around 45-50mins).  Remove from oven and put on a rack to cool.  

It's delicious almost straight out of oven or will keep til the next day - but great to have with strawberries, raspberries or other summer fruit and a cup of tea.  This photo taken with my very expensive photography FX package - known as 'rising steam from cake'.