Easy peasy bread.

For all you people that think bread is hard to make, it’s not, honest! If i can make it then I’m pretty sure you can! 

I came across this recipe ages ago thanks to my bezzy mate Google. I can’t remember where I found it or which site it was from but if you recognise it THANKYOU! 

I was looking for a D safe recipe as most breads contain something she can’t have.  

 

Sorry it’s not very neat but I scribbled it down after I’d made it the first time. I didn’t want to lose it so added it to my little recipe book. Yes Iv got my own recipe book, everytime I find something D safe that works in it goes! Hopefully by the time D is old enough to cook she will have a nice collection of D safe recipes to use. 

Iv got to say this bread is absolutely gorgeous, Iv made it many times now and it’s never gone wrong, in the recipe it says honey or equivalent, I just tend to use whatever is in my cupboard at the time, honey, maple syrup, golden syrup, it all works, think it’s just meant to give the bread a slight sweetness!

As for the yeast, I use the little boxes you can buy, usually has about 8 little sachets in, I’d never played with yeast before until making this bread, just make sure the water is baby bath warm! I used cold water once, didn’t work!  

 

Looks revolting, doesn’t smell much better but that’s how it should look! Oh and any old flour works, plain, strong, wholemeal, Iv tried them all. 

I can have this bread made from start to finish in an hour, it’s definitely easy peasy! 

The best part about this bread has got to be the kneading! It’s very very therapeutic! Had a run in with the parents and In-laws this morning so taking it out on the dough was just what the Dr ordered!  

 

Pic 1 is before proving. 

Pic 2 is after it’s been proved, dough should double in size!

Pic 3 is ready for the oven.  

 

And the finished loaves! Cooling nicely! 

D has ordered mummy’s bread made into toast for tea with some beans, I might have a slice or 2 with 3″ of butter on! 

Ground Rice! Fab stuff!

So Iv just discovered ground rice! Yeah I know your probably all thinking “omg” but yep I hold my head in shame and my hands up in the air 😄 I was looking for a new recipe for some biscuits and came across one with ground rice in them. Made the biscuits last week, they were ok, nothing special, but today I made ground rice pudding! Oh my days! It was totally yummy, D doesn’t like normal rice pudding so wasn’t holding out much hope she would eat it, 3 bowls later and she’s still asking for more 😳 I think I’ll be making this again! Iv put a couple of little pots in the fridge so will see if she will eat it cold later, if she does then the possibilities are endless, I can lob chopped fruit in it, jam, syrup,  I can put it in her packed lunch 😄 oooooooh I’m excited 😂 http://www.whitworths.co.uk/recipes

Ooops!

Realised earlier I’d not posted in a while! Bad me! Ds been really good just lately, going back to basics is working a treat plus I’m getting to try new recipes which I’m loving! Cakes, bread, ground rice, to name a few! 

Me Ant and D are loving the sunshine! We’re making the most of it before it disappears! We’ve been having picnics in the park most days 😊 

   
 

  http://www.cliftonparkrotherham.co.uk/ This fantastic park is just across our road, we spend most days in it. If you live in or around South Yorkshire it’s well worth a trip, plenty to do and see! 

Anyway I’m off to lob D in the bath and put some food in the oven. 

Laters my lovelys xx

Homemade Darcey safe Mayonaise!

One of my plans for bank holiday weekend was to make some mayo. D throwing her sickie put paid to it but while she was busy playing earlier I decided to give it a go!

 

Most shop bought Mayonaise contains rapeseed oil, one of Ds many allergens! And to buy a free from variety is really expensive so I thought that by making my own it would be cost effective and more healthy. 

 I honestly didn’t realise it was so easy to make! 

• 1 large egg yolk (room temp)
• Good pinch of salt, more to taste
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
• Half teaspoon of Dijon mustard
• 3/4 cup of vegetable or sunflower oil

Place egg yolk and salt in food processor and pulse to combine, add lemon juice or cider vinegar and mustard and blend well. While the processor is running add the oil drop by drop, this’ll take a few minutes! Do not rush it or the mayo will split. 

Once blended together and turned from yellow to a creamy white sample the mayo and add more salt or lemon/vinegar to taste! Cover and lob in fridge for up to 5 days.

I used apple cider vinegar as D can’t have citrus, yep, another allergen! 

  
 I have a thing for saving stuff, drives Ant round the bend. Tubs, jars, carrier bags lol there’s always a use for these things, I’d started to collect my coffee jars because I was gonna put little pebbles and candles in and use them as decorations. Not that I’d ever get round to it 😉 but my stash of coffee jars have finally come in handy! 

   
 

Iv got to say I’m really pleased with myself, and yes I will be making it again, it’s going to open up a load of new food ideas for D! 

  
Starting with good old egg mayo sandwiches for lunch 😄

Bank holiday weekend!

Well me n D had loads of plans for this bank holiday weekend. Ant was working so was just the 2 of us.  Did they happen? Did they ell as like! D decided it was time to throw a sickie! To be fair she’s not been poorly for a while, I know she’s been ill from allergic reactions but they’re different, so last Thursday I noticed she wasn’t herself but put it down to being tired, Friday she was exactly the same! And low and behold Saturday morning she finished brewing her germs and let spill. Yup good old tonsillitis yet again! Ds had loads of tonsillitis infections, enough that she’s under ENT for it. Dread to think what Ds hospital file looks like 😳 typical ain’t it that’s it’s the weekend and a bank holiday one at that, why can’t kids be ill in the week when you can see your GP? Ended up at the emergency doctors on Monday to be told exactly what I already knew but always better to be safe than sorry! So that was our bank holiday weekend!  

 

Oh well, best laid plans n all that eh! 

Going back to basics!

Last week I posted about going back to basics with D, her allergies and reactions were just playing up something chronic, well we had a bit of a mishap Tuesday (cross contamination) at local play centre but Iv got to say it’s done D the world of good, bit more work for me with cooking everything from scratch but I tend to do that a lot anyway so it’s not really a problem, Ds been a lot happier this week so it’s all been worthwhile, no tummy aches or runny poos (TMI) sorry! No vomiting, rashes or bad behaviour. 

On a plus note too she ate chicken breast, proper real chicken breast, seriously! First time ever she’s eaten it, she’s tried it and spat it out numerous times, happy mummy here! 

Ooooh and on an even bigger note! My lovely neighbour went to give D an ice lolly yesterday. D refused it, told my neighbour it would “make DD poorly” 😊

When did Sunday’s become so hectic?

The bible says Sunday is a day of rest? Well not in this house it’s not. D decided that it was a good idea to get up at 6am 😁 I managed to get her into our bed for 10 minutes with peppa pig on the iPad! By 10am I’d hoovered upstairs, tidied up downstairs, had a quick shower, had 2 cups of coffee and a handful of dry frosties. I’d decided the other day to make a big batch of tomato sauce so off to Asda we went. 

Carrots, squash, sweet potato, fresh peas, fresh tomatoes, onion, tin of beans and a tin of tomatoes all got lobbed in the slow cooker! D was asleep at this point (phew) so put some chicken in the oven, did some rice and put a salad together, yep, I had another coffee!  

 

Ds allergic reactions have been a bit of a pain the last few weeks so we’re going back to basics to give her a little break, I’m tired too, always checking everything, making sure it’s safe,  it’s draining. So back to basics and plain foods for a little while! 

Anyway, off to the park, D wanted to go on the trampolines……. Again! 11 tokens for £7 kept her happy for an hour. She actually tried the swings today for a change, and loved them.

 

Home time for some tea and a bath and for me to blitz my sauce! 

 

  
I have 4 lovely tubs of sauce all ready and waiting, beef ragu is definitely on the menu one night, some plain pasta another night, a bolognese and maybe a shepherds pie with the small tub! I love doing stuff like this, at least I know what’s in it, it’s completely D safe, healthy and yummy!

Ds all sparko in bed so I’m off to pig out on some chocolate I have hidden at the back of the fridge 😉 so I’ll see you all later xx

Perfectly poached egg, finally!

Yeah I know your reading this thinking “OMG you can’t do a poached egg!” Well up until 20 minutes ago no I couldn’t. I have tried every method going and epicly failed every single time. Poaching an egg was not going to beat me!

  
Look at that bad boy poached egg! And yes I sprinkled it with salt n pepper NOM NOM it was absolutely gorgeous! “How did you do it?” Your all asking!, well my dear friends, good old Google came to my rescue 😄

Boil your kettle, pour boiling water into a dish, crack egg n pour into dish gently, lob in microwave (not literally!) for a minute on high, depends how you like your egg though cos I don’t like mine too runny so just adjust your cooking time! And Voila! A perfectly poached egg, every single time 😄😄😄

These last few days have been a bit crappy for me, I think certain things have got on top of me and Iv been struggling. I don’t mind admitting this, depression has been a part of my life since D was born, I live with it I manage it, I really wish I could wave a magic wand and make it disappear but I can’t, D is my focus, Ant is my rock and without either of them I honestly don’t know where I would be. Some days are darker than others but there’s always that light at the end of the tunnel and I’ll get there. I look at D and she melts my heart, she makes me smile, I won’t always be like this, it’s just a blip! But this blip needs to go away now, I need to put it back in its box, I need to live. 

Universal Gyro Bowl review!

Never ever done anything like this but thought I’d give it a go!

 I decided to give it a go because D at this rate is gonna make Olympic champion in the shot put specifically using food 😁 £3.44 has gotta be worth a go? We’ve tried bowls with finger holes, handy sized little pots n tubs, tubs with handles, you name it Iv tried it, all I want is to contain Ds snacks, like seriously how hard can that be? Well considering D finds it hilarious to tip, throw, launch and even post her snacks I’m getting desperate!

Good old Amazon to the rescue!

Love love love Amazon ❤️ if I had shares in that site id be very rich!

It arrived yesterday morning, box was a little battered but that doesn’t matter, well not to me anyway. Nice size, not too big not too small, I had to put it all together there was 4 pieces that’s all, the actual gyro bowl bit definitely spins, yes I have had a play with it……

So this morning I put a few of Ds little party rings in it, handed it over and waited for the fun to begin! 

  

Looks massive but I can assure you it’s not that big haha. 

Just as I expected her to D put it to the test, she spun it round, slid it across the floor, dropped it on the floor, it stayed all in one piece! And the biscuits stayed put, Yayyyy, but it hadn’t been launched at this point! Saying that though D was quite happy to sit and eat her snack, I think she knew that tipping them out wasn’t an option. That is until she got bored. Yep, the gyro bowl got launched! I can honestly say that it does bounce, it bounces well actually haha, it didn’t survive though! Was easily put back together!

 

I know I was expecting miracles, and it did withstand D sort of but I reckon the gyro bowl is more suited to a smaller child, probably 8 months plus! Ds 2 and a half and just a little bit boisterous for this to survive a daily pounding! The little ones that are just starting with finger foods this would be perfect for, saying that though we both like it and will still use it, but I’ll also be saving it for my new niece when the times right. 

Ok, well I’m off to see if I can find any more bowls, tubs, pots or cups that can keep Ds snacks contained. Xx