Mumbai Magic

We moved to Mumbai on Monday!  Arriving in at 1am was a good plan as the airport & roads were a little less busy and the temperature just right for winter. Pancarsh picked us up along with our 10 suitcases and we were off through the night dodging cow's and rickshaw's.  Izzie was intrigued with the horn going beep beep every 2 seconds.

The hotel apartment was barely 3 star but twice as spacious as our London terrace - wouldn't be hard tho : )
I burst out laughing as I entered the kitchen -  the oven than Danny had especially requested was circa 1960 and very rusty and generally grotty.  It was powered by a giant & very old gas bottle hiding in the kitchen cupboard. It looked set to blow any minute!

Monday was a roller coaster with jetlag combined with the joy of finding a great supermarket in Powaii that stocks all the usual western products and also Natures Basket which has loads of gluten free, diary free, organic products for Izzie. We visited our new apartment at Seawoods later that evening and as expected it was a complete building site after being promised it would be ready last Friday.  I can see the potential amongst the wires, broken concrete & dirt so must be patient and sit tight for another couple of days, weeks, months ...who knows : )

So with the oven a complete health & safety risk Mukesh and Asha took us to the Reliance Electrical store in Vashi.  It had all the brand names and the prices to match.  We choose a multi purpose convection microwave oven for about 100 pounds. It was like any normal transaction until they took it out of the box and plugged into a socket to show me it worked ok - everyone knows you shouldn't start a microwave with nothing in it!!  About 10 people gathered at the check out to ensure the credit card went through - much to my horror it was 3rd card lucky.  Next we walked 5 metres to another check out accompanied with our small crowd of helpers to get the receipt stamped then finally we were allowed to take the very large box to the very small car.
This morning the front gate called but I had no idea what they were saying. I have since learned it was an agent from the appliance store coming to give me a demonstration on my fancy new gadget. Service like no other : )

All set to try out the new oven Izzie and I whipped up a gluten free, egg free, diary free cake today but doh we don't have a cake tin so we microwaved it....Lucky she isn't fussy when it comes to cake!

Free From Scones

As it fast approaches winter here in the UK I find myself dreaming of hot scones & bottomless pots of tea.  Here is a recipe that I adapted so Izzie can eat them as well.

Free From Lemonade Scones

3 Cups Self Raising Gluten Free Flour (I used Doves Farm)
50g Dairy Free Butter (I used Pure Margarine)
2 Tbsp of Caster Sugar
1 Cup of Lemonade (Sprite/7Up)
1 Cup of Diary Free Cream (I used Oatly Cream)

Rub butter into flour to form fine crumbs, add remaining ingredients and mix lightly, turn onto floured board & knead lightly. Use your fingers to flatten out to about 5cm high then use a cookie cutter to cut out rounds. Put on a baking tray and brush with dairy free milk. Cook for 15mins or so at 180oC.

Spread with dairy free butter and raspberry jam - Enjoy!!

Yummy Free From Savoury Muffins

Danny is away at the moment so I must be trying to keep busy with baking plus Izzie just loves to "help".....

Creamed Corn & Bacon Free From Muffins

• 6 rashers bacon, diced or could use ham
• ½ spanish onion, diced
• 2 cups Gluten free plain flour
• ½ tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp gluten free baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg replacer
• ½ cup diary free milk (I used Oatly)
• 60g diary free butter, melted (I used "Pure" Margarine)
• 300g creamed corn

Preheat oven to 220C. Lightly grease a 12-hole muffin tin with butter or line with paper cups.

Cook the bacon and onion in a frying pan over medium-high heat until crispy. Sift the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl.

In another bowl, combine the egg, milk, butter and creamed corn, and mix well. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients; the batter should be lumpy. Add the bacon mixture and fold through.

Spoon the batter into the tins and bake for 20 minutes, until the muffins are risen and golden coloured. Set aside for five minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Birthday Free From Jam Sponge Cake

Izzie has her bff birthday party tomorrow. Miss Olivia Wheeler will be 2! She is having a Pepper Pig cake so I am going to try this Doves Farm Sponge Cake recipe so Izzie doesn't feel left out.

• 125g Sugar
• 6 Tbsp Sunflower Oil
• 1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 Small Ripe Banana
• 150g Gluten Free Self Raising Flour
• 4 Tbsp Cold Water
• 1 tsp Oil
• 2 Tbsp Jam
• 1 tsp Icing Sugar

1. Preheat oven to 190oC or 170oC Fanbake
2. Lightly oil a 18cm round cake tin
3. In a bowl beat together the sugar, oil & vanilla
4. Peel & mash half the banana then beat into the sugar mixture
5. Add the flour & water & mix well
6. Pour the batter into the prepared tin & smooth top
7. Bake in oven for 30-35 minutes
8. Cool the sponge on a wire rack
9. Cut the sponge in half with a bread knife and spread with jam put top back on and dust with icing sugar

Even tho Izzie is allergic to banana she seemed to be ok with this small amount of highly cooked banana. Banana is used in a lot of recipes instead of egg as a good binding agent.

Izzie adored the cake but next time I would make two sponges and jam them together as it didn't rise as much as expected.

Awesome Free From Pancakes

I came across this egg free pancake recipe from a blog (Art of Dessert) today and adapted it to be also wheat free and dairy free.

Horray they turned out just like proper pancakes. I have popped a few in the freezer as they might be good for quick snacks.

Love that Izzie won't miss out on one of my childhood favourite treats. We used to make pancakes with lemon & sugar on Sunday evenings using juicy fresh lemons from my mums tree's.

2 cups gluten free flour (I used Doves Farm)
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons gluten free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups diary free milk (I used Oatly)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup melted dairy free butter (I used Pure)

Sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, oil and orange juice. Slowly add in the melted butter. Pour about 1/2 cup of batter onto a hot nonstick pan. Cook until you see a few bubbles rise to the surface and it's dry around the edges, then flip over to cook the other side until lightly browned. Serve syrup, jam or fresh fruit etc

Allergy Kid

Speaking of allergies, Izzie had her skin prick re-test a few weeks back with Paediatric Allergist
George Du Toit at Guy's & St Thomas' Hospitals.

The test involves putting tiny bits of food or synthetic substitutes on her arm then pricking it with a pin to see if a hive comes up - if a hive does appear it means that she is allergic to the substance. Nurse Linda made it really fun!

Photo's = Mushroom reaction about 9 months (She literally blew up like a mushrooms with hives everywhere including her eye lids & ears!, Skin prick test on her arm & Banana reaction about 21 months.

Izzie's allergy list continues to grow with the addition of apple, banana, pineapple & kiwifruit. I used to get upset that she didn't eat my wonderful apple puree but now I know why!

Currently Allergy List

Peanuts, Cashews, Almonds, Brazil Nuts, Pea's, Wheat, Rye, Spelt, Cow's Milk - Raw, Cow's Milk -Boiled, Raw Egg White, Cooked Egg White, Egg Yolk, Soy, Mushrooms, Blueberries, Watermelon, Tuna, Salmon, Tomato, Grass Pollen Mix, Kiwifruit, Apple, Banana & Pineapple

The doctor advised that people will think I am an overprotective weirdo saying that my daughter has so many allergies. One or two allergies is acceptable & believable but not a shopping list worth : ) Hope she grows out of some soon!

Crazy Cup Cakes

This morning Izzie and I made wheat free, dairy free, egg free chocolate cupcakes. I was a little hesitant due to past baking failures but this recipe had over 200 rave reviews so we dusted off the mixing bowls and got to it.

Izzie enjoyed standing up at the bench measuring and mixing and making a huge mess but the end result was a huge success as you can see from the photo. They were so soft & even rose!

I substituted Doves Farm gluten free flour, Oatly Oat milk instead of the water and an extra scoop of cocoa instead of the chocolate chips. I cooked the cupcakes for 20 mins as this recipe was originally for a cake. What a fab recipe for kids with allergies!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup cold water
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8x8 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, sugar, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Mix well with a fork, then stir in oil, vinegar, and vanilla extract. When dry ingredients are thoroughly moistened, pour in cold water and stir until batter is smooth. Stir in chocolate chips and pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on a rack