Chocolate Muffins

Most 'chefs' have a signature dish. Mine has turned out to be muffins! (although I'm not too bad a sauces either).

This is so quick. Don't be precious about it, don't sieve anything, just bung it all together following the instructions below.

6oz Plain flour

1oz Cocoa powder

3tsp Baking powder

Half tsp Bicarbonate of soda

3oz Demerara sugar

2 and a half oz Butter

1 Large egg

150ml Milk

Pre-heat the oven to 200c and prepare a muffin tin with 12 cases.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl and set to one side.

Melt the butter.

Measure out the milk and then beat the egg into it, then beat in the melted butter.

Stir the wet mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients, lumps are OK, lumps are good.

Divide the mixture between the muffin cases. (If you have proper muffin cases from somewhere like Lakeland the mixture probably won't rise over the top. If you want 'muffin tops' use cake cases or try greasing and baking directly in the tray).

Cook for approx 20 minutes, if you press the cake top lightly it should be springy.

Turn out onto a cooling tray and enjoy.

Makes a great loaf cake too. Same mixture into a 1lb lined loaf tin. Cook for about 30-35 minutes.

I must end by giving credit to Nigella Lawson who started me off on muffin baking with her Christmas Morning Cranberry Muffins. That was a few years ago now and have changed her recipe around and made many variations - enough for a book!!

** Kate **

About time too

Food list update :

• Organic cheddar
• Home made olive oil bread
• Runner beans
• Broad beans
• Nectarine
• Cocoa powder
• Peas
• Pineapple
• Kiwi
• Plums
• Satsuma
• Clementines

He really seems to be thriving so we have decided to stick with the 'pure foods' diet at least until the holiday season is over, if not longer. Not sure what other choice we have, choose a product with Sodium Benzoate in it, feed it to him and see if it makes him ill??

** Kate **

Pastry - U

Small-N-Grubby announced that he wanted an apple pie, now that apples have been added to his diet. I haven't made pastry since I was a child but nothing ventured nothing gained. Turned to Delia for the basics. She recommended 4oz of plain flour to 2oz of fat. So I made up the minimum using butter for the fat.

Sieve the flour well to add air. Gently rub in the room temperature fat until you have a bread crumb consistency. Bring together into a dough using water which has been cooled in the fridge. Add the water a little at a time. Bring the dough together with a knife initially, then get your hands in! Form into a ball which should pick up any loose mixture from around the bowl. If it won't pick up it needs a tiny bit more water. Wrap the ball of pastry in cling film and place in the fridge for at least 20-30 minutes.

The pastry is now ready to use. Roll it out and cut rounds for small pies. The 4oz portion will make six pies with tops or about 9 with a little pastry left to decorate on top.

Now you can add what ever filling your diet allows. I cored and peeled 3 eating apples and cooked them on the hob with 2 tablespoons of water and 1oz of sugar for about 10 minutes.

I mashed them up a bit to reduce the size of the chunks and drained off any excess water before filling the pies and adding the top decoration. I used milk to stick the lids on but water can be used instead. Cooked at 200c for about 20 minutes.

The results weren't too pretty but the pastry was good and they disappeared fast!

** Kate **

New Foods Added

Small-N-Grubby had a huge temperature in the night. Kept looking for spots to appear and arguing about what he had been fed! He is much better this morning and no spots, so far so good. Here's the list of items we have added to his diet since I last updated.

• orange juice
• fresh tomatoes
• apple
• raisins (without any glazing)
• grapes
• green beans
• raspberries

Its going really well but I don't know what to move forward with next. We haven't added anything for a few days, its all been so hectic with end of term things. He asked for pancakes today, but I can make them using things he already eats. Hopefully, lots more fresh fruits will be coming into season soon and we can crack on.

** Kate **

Pancakes

Not been very active on the cooking front at the moment. Its getting near the end of term and with both children starting new schools in Sept my schedule is full of end of term/leaving events and new school visits/taster sessions. I expect to get a lot more experimental cooking done in the holidays. I've been gluten free for a couple of weeks now and it's definately suiting me. Though I do have cravings for a large jam doughnut.

Over on Anso's blog she's been experimenting with gluten, dairy and egg free pancakes and scrapping the results of course! Have a look here.

** Kate **

1 Month Hospital Check

Just a quick note to confirm all was well and there had been no need to worry. Test levels were normal and we are on the emergency only list. Which means no more appointments with very long waits (see the rant on my Craft Life blog).

Just continuing with the diet, heading up to hospital if there is a major problem or for allergy testing if any foods give a slight response.

Feels like that should be it now, but reintroducing foods is going to take forever!

** Kate **

Latest Diet Details

Since my last update Small-N-Grubby has eaten :

• strawberries
• pasta
• lemon juice (in a recipe I didn't just force feed him with it!!!)
• cheese (a variety where the only additional ingredient was vegetarian rennet)

He's already chosen orange juice for tomorrow and the frozen orange pops have gone into the freezer tonight.

Haven't really had to experiment with any recipes lately as he is choosing his new foods and they are all very instant. I'll be incorporating the citrus into my baking once he has tried it over the next couple of days.

Off to the hospital on Wednesday (one month since our first visit). A little worried as we should get back the test results for all the real nasties. Fingers crossed though as the chances are very rare and I think he is just too well in himself.

** Kate **

Urticaria Diet Update

We have re-introduced

• Plain white wheat flour
• Banana
• Cherries (not sure if they were banned anyway)
• Cucumber

He's also had no ill effects from his inoculations.

Today he has asked to try strawberries, his dad's going to bring some home for him after work. Fingers crossed as they are one of the known allergens for this sort of rash.

I've run out of homemade sweets so this will be a good opportunity to photograph them in the making for the blog. Cue disastrous mounds of molten sugar and burnt fingers.

One interesting thing that we have noticed is that Small-n-Grubby is MUCH more bouncy and lively on this diet. Not sure if its all the sugar in the homemade stuff or the effect of removing processed foods from his diet. Will be asking the doc about this at the next check up. He's certainly more of a handful than ever!!!!

** Kate **

Lemon Pie Dreams

Well more precisely Lemon Meringue Pie Dreams. I think it is my #1 tasty treat. So a wheat-free, possibly soon to be gluten-free diet makes such things a little on the tricky side. Until, that is I found this book.

I saw a magazine article about it and rushed straight out to buy it. Believe me I cried when I read it, honestly I cried. It was like a weight had been lifted from me. You know that feeling that you are constantly depriving yourself of those little treats that really cheer you up and subsequently you just feel miserable. Well no more. Birthdays, Christmas, indulgent weekends, the food you want its all in here. Totally flour-free so none of that ground up rice stuff that claims to be a flour substitute. The recipes rely heavily on nuts though so sorry to those who have a nut allergy, this also means most of them are quite fattening, but hey everything in moderation, right?

One other very important thing to mention about this book is that every recipe I have tried has worked, even stuff I never would have attempted in a wheaty world. The pictures are also fab, mouth watering temptations. So if you fancy mince pies, samosas, lasagne, shortbread, cookies, and cake of every variety give it a try!

Oh, and of course there's a recipe for Lemon Meringue Pie too!!!

** Kate **

Oat Biscuits - U, E, W

There seems to be an unending debate about whether oats should be eaten by those on a gluten-free diet. One thing that is agreed on is that contamination can occur during the processing. I looked at some Tesco ones the other day and the warnings included 'may contain nuts'. A friend who eats a gluten-free diet recommended these Mornflake branded oats to me.
They pride themselves on the purity of their product and I have switched to these for all my oat cooking.

This recipe is adapted from a 1950's edition of Good Housekeeping which mum informs me was an engagement present from my dad, I don't think she was overly impressed at the time!
They are a cracker type biscuit similar to oatcakes.

• 4oz oats
• pinch of bicarbonate of soda (optional)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1 1/2oz butter
• boiling water

Preheat the oven to 200c

Mix the dry ingredients.

Melt the butter and mix with 1 tablespoon of boiling water.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the butter mix.

Mix to a soft dough using additional boiling water as needed.

Roll out thinly and cut into 8 pieces (or form individual biscuits by hand as I have).

Place on a greased tray and cook for 20 to 30 minutes until golden. They go from cooked to overcooked very easily so keep a close eye on them.

Eat them as plain savoury biscuits or use as crackers with soup. If your diet allows they are great smeared with honey or Marmite.

** Kate **

Microwave crisps (potato chips) - U, E, G, W, D

These are another fab way to make kids (or adults!) treats. The instructions have been lost for ours but the basic idea is this.
Wash potatoes and remove any eyes or blemishes but otherwise leave the skins on.
Very thinly slice and place between the slots in the special rack.

Microwave, times vary depending on oven size and how old the potatoes are, between 3 and 8 minutes. Basically until they are crisp and not too brown. I think the ones in the photo below are a little over done!

Add salt and/or pepper if you fancy it and your diet allows! I think you can use other veg too like carrots and parsnips.

They are for sale on EBay at the moment with bidding starting at 50p on some, so nothing much to lose there! If anyone has/gets one with instructions and would like to scan em on and e-mail them to me they would be gratefully received!!

** Kate **

Melon Pops - U, E, G, W, D

It's the time of year for ice creams, lollies and cooling treats.

Cut melon flesh into cubes add water and liquidise with a hand blender.

If you don't have a blender just chop up the melon as small as you can, put it in a bowl and crush with a fork - for a chunkier version.

Pour the mixture into lolly moulds and freeze.

I'm not sure how long these keep in the freezer as ours are never around for more than about 3 days!

** Kate **

Sorry I can't eat ........

How many times have you had to say this in restaurants, at friends houses or even to your own family who know you don't eat (insert allergen here) but have temporarily forgotten!

Me, I can't eat wheat, it plays havoc with my digestion. Yet people still say things like "OK no wheat, is pasta alright then?" There are lots of special wheat-free products on the market now but the list of ingredients concern me. I don't want a load of chemicals bonded together to form an imitation custard cream. I just want a nice tasting sweet biscuit that I can dunk in my decaf if I fancy.

Things have really come to a head now that my son has been diagnosed with urticaria (a rash like hives that lasts for days and leaves him looking like boiled water has been spilt on him!).

We don't yet know the cause. My sister has been allergic to eggs since birth but mum says she was 7 when they finally figured out what it was. So with patience and love we are embarking on a, possibly lifelong, journey.

This blog is to share that journey as well as all the info and recipes I gather along the way.

The urticaria diet is salicylate, tartrazine, azo dye and benzoic acid free. This basically means cooking everything from scratch using fresh ingredients (to avoid additives and preservatives) whilst observing a list of 'banned' foods. The banned foods include peas, tomatoes, cucumber, nuts and most fruits. Although pear and melon seem to be allowed.

He has been on the special diet for over 2 weeks so now we can begin to reintroduce new foods one at a time to see if there is any reaction. We started with plain white flour as this meant I could bake a plain sponge to celebrate his 4th birthday. It does feel a bit like he's a little time bomb but as we have always been convinced it was a contact rash I guess we have nothing to lose.

** Kate **