Ok, so where did this week go exactly? It feels like all of a sudden time is running away with me and I can't believe that my eldest daughter has just two and half days left of her junior school career. She finishes a few weeks earlier than my other two, so for her,...
I have a dairy and wheat intolerant child, so I don’t get to buy fancy birthday cakes for him every year. Besides, I like to experiment to see if I can come up with something palatable myself. We have three birthdays in quick succession in our house (Christmas day,...
Quinoa (also known as Chenopodium quinoa) is an ancient grain that was first cultivated in the Andes by the Incas. Although not actually a grain (it is related to beetroot, chard and spinach), quinoa is eaten as though it were one, hence the label of pseudo-cereal....
Teff is a cultivated grain of the ancient grass, Fragostis tef, native to Ethiopia since around 4000BC. This hardy and versatile food source produces tiny seeds (less than a millimetre in diameter). Grown in remote parts of Ethiopia and Eritrea, Teff thrives in all...
Millet is a collective term for a number of small, seeded grains of the Poaceaoe Grass family. Thought to have been cultivated from as early as 8300 BC, this drought-resistant crop is the sixth most important grain in the world. The main types of millet grown are...
Sorghum is an ancient cereal grain that was first cultivated around 8,000 years ago in Southern Egypt. Grown widely in the USA, Africa and parts of Asia, Sorghum’s natural ability to tolerate drought makes it the fifth most important cereal crop in the world. In the...
You may recall some time ago that I had a series of disasters when I started to make my own gluten free bread. I thought it would be easy - just throw it all in the bread maker and let it work its magic. Boy was I wrong. I set about discovering what worked and didn't...
'Have I ever had muffins before?' My five year old asked me. I wasn't sure. There are lots of things that he has never eaten. I don't buy gluten and dairy free cakes very often, not because I am mean, but because I think that in general, they are sugar-laden, dry and...
I have often shied away from baking, preferring to cook savoury dishes instead. The thing I love most about cooking is having the freedom to experiment. I never have all the ingredients I need for a recipe and in fact, I rarely follow I recipe. I will look in my...
Inspired by our recent visit to a bakery that was completely allergy and intolerance friendly and fed up with the extremely high sugar shop bought offerings, I decided to have a go at making some tasty treats of my own. I have to add that my ten year old daughter...