Sugar Free Apple Scones

I'm sorry, these must be the ugliest scones ever made but they do taste nice.

My son used to have this huge thing about dried apple, then, overnight, with a huge bag left in the cupboard, he decided he didn't like it anymore.

So I tried these for size and I think they're lovely (if extremely ugly!)

Apple scones - makes approx 8 small scones

Ingredients

225g, 8 oz SR flour or plain (all purpose) flour with 2 tsp baking powder
50g, 1.75oz Butter or dairy free margarine
1/2 tsp Baking powder
1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon (Cinnamon powder)
100ml, 3.3 floz Apple juice
130g, 4.5 oz Dried apple

Method

Preheat the oven to 180oC (Fan), 200oC, 400F, Gas Mark 6.

Put the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, butter and chopped pieces of dried apple into a food processor.  Process till the butter is rubbed in and the apple is in small pieces (don't carry on till they disappear though!)

Turn out into a bowl and add the apple juice.  Bring together into a dough and pat out into a thick layer, certainly no thinner than an inch.  Cut using a small, round fluted or straight cutter.  Mine was 6cm (a bit more than 2 inch) diameter.

Put on a floured baking tin and reroll the scraps until the dough is used.

Brush the tops with milk (optional) and bake for 10-12 minutes or until browned and cooked through.

Serve with butter and / or apple butter if liked (if you're not worried about them being sugar free) or these would also be equally at home with cheese.  Tasty.  My son looked at them and said "no", I suggested he tried a bite and he loved them.  Just so ugly... Sorry!

Best served on day of baking or freeze, defrost and warm through slightly in a microwave.

Dairy Free Bran Loaf - great for the whole family

People who have been here from the start might recognise this recipe.   Well I've reviewed it, changed it slightly and photographed it.  It is a great one though, loads of fibre from the cereal and dried fruit and very low in sugar so I felt like it needed more prominence!

Bran Loaf - makes one loaf

Ingredients

60g, 2oz, 1 cup All Bran cereal (the regular plain kind)
180g, 6.5oz, 1 cup Sultanas (golden raisins)
60g, 2oz, 1/3 cup Soft brown sugar
250ml, Approx 1 and a bit cups decaf black tea (or chose a fruit tea if liked)
1 egg
1 tsp Mixed spice (apple pie spice)
150g, 5.5oz Self Raising flour (or all purpose flour plus 1.5 tsp baking powder)

Method

Pour the hot tea over the cereal, sultanas and sugar and leave to one side for at least an hour.

When ready to cook, put the oven on to 175oC, 350F, Gas mark 4.

Mix the sultana mix then add in the egg, spice and flour with a little more water if needed.

Line a loaf tin or spray a silicone loaf tin with oil spray.  Scoop the mix into the baking dish and bake for approx 50-60 minutes or until cooked through.

Cool on a wire rack and serve with a nice cup of tea (for Mummy) or a nice cup of warm milk (for my wee man.)

The MAD blog awards are open; I would love it if you would nominate me.

Here is the link:  http://www.the-mads.com/vote/ if you'd get the chance, I would like to be considered for the "best food blog" category.  My blog URL is this:  http://mamacook.blogspot.co.uk

I've linked up to Nomday Monday

Cheesy Bean and Mushroom Crumble - Great for babies, toddlers and the whole family

My son loved this, a great way to get beans into your child without resorting to the ones in tomato sauce.  I think I might try it with a more garlicky sauce next time and mix up the beans and vegetables.

People forget that beans can be one of your five a day and a great source of fibre.  Mash it up for babies not capable of lumps yet.

Cheesy Bean and Mushroom Crumble - Serves 2-3

Ingredients

180g, 6oz (drained weight) tinned mixed beans
180g, 6oz Mushrooms, chopped
2 Cloves of garlic
1 tsp Olive oil
200ml, 7 floz, 2/3 cups milk
2 tsp Cornflour (cornstarch)
60g, 2oz Extra mature (extra sharp) cheddar
30g, 1oz Breadcrumbs
Sprig parsley

Method

Preheat the oven to 175oC, 350F, Gas Mark 4.

Fry the mushrooms and garlic in the oil until softened.

Drain the beans and mix with the mushrooms and put in a bowl.

Heat up the milk in a microwave until bubbling.  Mix the cornflour with cold water and mix into the milk.  Heat for a further 30 seconds or so (keep an eye on it, it can boil over).

Grate the cheese and add half to the sauce.  Mix the sauce with the bean mix.  Pour into a baking dish.

Mix the breadcrumbs with the remaining cheese and chopped parsley and put on the top of the bean mixture.  Bake for 15-20 mins or until hot through and browned on top.  Add a little seasoning if liked for adults.

The MAD blog awards are open, please nominate me if you have a chance.  I do this blog for fun not money so any recognition would be great!

Here is the link:  http://www.the-mads.com/vote/ if you'd get the chance, I would be over the moon to be considered for the "best food blog" category.  My blog URL is this:  http://mamacook.blogspot.co.uk

Make it Thrifty:

Whenever you have bread going stale, make into breadcrumbs and freeze.  A great way to prevent waste.

Sugar Free Raspberry Mousse, great for babies and toddlers

It can be easy with toddlers to ease up too much on the 'naughty' snacks and treats.  I'm certainly more relaxed than I used to be but occasionally I try to challenge myself to cut back a bit on the sugar again so I made this mousse with all natural ingredients and no added sugar or sweeteners.  The result was creamy and gently sweetened.  My son said it was "fantastic".

This would be great for all ages including babies.

Apple and Raspberry Mousse - serves 2

Ingredients

2 Leaves of gelatine (enough to set half a pint, 300ml)
150ml,  5.5 floz, 2/3 cups Unsweetened Apple and Raspberry juice (or other naturally sweet juice)
100ml, 3.5 floz, just less than 1/2 cup Double (heavy) cream

Method

Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water.

Take half of the juice and heat to boiling in a microwave.

Put the gelatine into the hot juice, leave for a few seconds then stir in.  Add the remaining cold juice, stirring in and put the juice mix in the fridge.

Whisk the cream using an electric whisk until soft peaks form.  When that's done, take the juice out of the fridge and whisk that until foamy.

Add the cream into the juice and whisk together.  Pour into dishes or glasses and chill for a few hours until set.

Quick request:  The MAD blog awards are open and I need nominations to be in with a chance of making it to the knock out stages!

Here is the link:  http://www.the-mads.com/vote/ if you'd get the chance, I would love to be considered for the "best food blog" category.  My blog URL is this:  http://mamacook.blogspot.co.uk

Blogging awards - what's the point?

Well the MAD blog awards are open for nominations again.  I read someone on twitter last night complaining about the people asking for nominations.  Is that fair?  Does it annoy you?


Why do us bloggers do it?  Well I can only answer for me and in my case, Mamacook isn't a business, it's just what I'm passionate about.  It will make very little difference to my life if I do or don't make it to the final apart from a little bit of recognition.

I have no idea how many hours I have spent on my blog but I have written 518 posts.  518!  At a conservative estimate, each might take around an hour to make and write up, many far longer.  Then all those nights lying in bed thinking of ideas... Even if it is only an hour a recipe, that's still over 21 days of my life, solid, I've spent on Mamacook without earning a penny.  I must be mad!  :-)

That all said, I'm proud of my blog, proud of how far it's come.  Here was my first photograph:

And this was my latest... An improvement I think you'll agree!

I now have nearly 50,000 page views a month and it's growing all the time.  It might have taken 21 days but it would be lovely just to get a nice night out, meet some of the people I've had chats with online and a glass of fizz.  That would make my year, no, my life.  So that's why.  No other reason that because it would make me happy.

If you'd like to nominate for the MAD blog awards, the link is here, I'd love to be considered for "best food blog".

http://www.the-mads.com/vote/

My blog URL is:

http://mamacook.blogspot.co.uk

I can't promise I won't be back to beg for nominations when the Britmums process starts too but I do promise to be back to the recipes tomorrow!

Crispy Mackerel Salad

So this was a meal for one and a delicious one at that.  It can be difficult to motivate children to eat well but I find my own diet can sometimes be lacking, especially when I'm eating alone.  This is a source of omega 3, tasty and delicious, even if you're a touch reluctant when it comes to oily fish.  Most importantly though, after a long day, it's quick.

Crispy Mackerel - Serves 1

Ingredients

2 tbsp Sweet chilli sauce
1 Mackerel fillet, defrosted if frozen
15g, 1/2 oz Rice Krispies
15g, 1/2 oz Plain flour / all purpose flour
Spray oil

Salad, rice and sweet chilli sauce to serve.

Method

Preheat the oven to 200oC, 400F, Gas Mark 6.

Crush the rice krispies and mix with the flour.

Skin the mackerel if liked.  Cut into thick strips about the width of a finger.  Dunk each strip into sweet chilli sauce and then into the flour mix.

Put onto a tray lined with non stick baking paper spray with oil and bake for approx 15 minutes or until crisped on the outside and cooked through.

Serve with salad and / or rice with a drizzle of sweet chilli sauce.

The MAD blog awards are open and although I do feel embarrassed to ask, I would love it if you would nominate me.

Here is the link:  http://www.the-mads.com/vote/ if you'd get the chance, I would love, love, love to be considered for the "best food blog" category.  My blog URL is this:  http://mamacook.blogspot.co.uk

Thank you.  x

Make it Thrifty:

Frozen mackerel fillets are a great way to keep costs down.

Hidden vegetable pasta sauce

Even the most enthusiastic vegetable eater has their off days.  This was an invention when my son had one of those but it would be great for those more confirmed vegetable avoiders!

Hidden veg pasta sauce - serves 1 to 2

Ingredients

1 small clove garlic

45g, 1.5oz Courgette (zucchini)

30g, 1oz Carrot

45g, 1.5oz Bacon

1/2 tsp Olive oil

Approx 250g, 9oz passata

1/4 tsp mild, sweet paprika

Method

Grate the courgette, carrot and garlic.  Fry this in the oil, adding the chopped bacon.  Fry this all together for approx 5 minutes.

In the meantime put the pasta on to cook.  Either you could serve this with a small amount of pasta to make it something like a stew or with lots of pasta so it's more like a sauce.

Add in the passata and the paprika and bubble for approx 5 minutes.  Serve mixed through with the pasta and sprinkled with cheese if liked.

Make it Thrifty:

Look out for packs of 'cooking bacon' which are offcuts of bacon sold cheaply for cooking.  You also don't need to peel carrots for this recipe, just wash off any dirt and trim the end before grating.

Egg Free Pancakes - great for all ages

It never occurred to me that you could make American style pancakes without eggs and you wouldn't be able to notice the difference.  The only way I knew was, one time when making my normal sugar free pancake recipe, I made it as normal then got confused thinking I had more eggs in the fridge than I thought.  I was convinced for years I'd miscounted, but, this morning I gave it a go again and I was right, you don't need the egg!

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with eggs at all and they're a great source of vitamin D but they are also a common food allergy and, if you don't have eggs in, you can still have delicious pancakes!  Result!

Egg Free Banana Pancakes

225g, 8oz, (1 and three quarters cups) of Self Raising Flour (or plain / all purpose flour plus 2 tsp baking powder)
Knob (about 30g, 1 oz, 1tbsp) butter or use non dairy spray oil
300ml, 10.5floz, (1 and a quarter cups) Milk 
1 tsp natural vanilla paste or vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas

To serve for adults and older children (optional)
A knob of butter and a drizzle of honey (over 1 year only) or syrup

Method

Weigh out the flour, put in a blender with the milk, vanilla and bananas.  Blend until fully smooth.

Warm a non stick frying pan and either rub with a knob of butter or use spray oil.

Fry in batches; turning when bubbles appear on the surface of the pancakes (see here for instructions.)

Serve!  When my son was little I got away with giving him these without toppings.  It wasn't until he was three he noticed Mummy and Daddy were having honey or syrup.  I can still get away with giving them to him as a snack though without a topping as they're naturally sweet.

These are a great first finger food or baby led weaning food for younger kids.  Cold they taste like Scotch Pancakes so are great any time.

Make it Thrifty:

This is a great way to use up over-ripe bananas.

Fish and Cauliflower bake, great for all ages

I had thought for a while about making something which was like a fish pie meets cauliflower cheese.  Fish pie is great but it would be great to include some more vegetables.

This recipe has two vegetables and is a source of omega 3.  My son described it as 'delicious'!  Although he didn't eat as many peas on the side as I would have liked, can you tell there are four different vegetables on this plate?  Nope?  Neither could he!


Fish and Cauliflower Bake - Serves 2

Ingredients

120g, 4oz Fish, I used a mixture of pollock and smoked haddock
200g, 7oz Cauliflower
400ml. 14floz Milk
1 rounded tbsp Cornflour (cornstarch)
60g, 2oz Chopped frozen spinach
80g, 3oz Extra mature cheddar (extra sharp)

Method

Poach the fish in the milk until cooked.  Take the fish out with a slotted spoon reserving the milk.

In the meantime, boil the cauliflower in boiling water for 3-4 minutes or until almost cooked.  Drain.

Preheat the oven to 200oC / 400F / Gas Mark 6.

When the fish is cooked, reheat the milk, add in the spinach and cook until fully defrosted and cooked.  In the meantime mix the cornflour with cold water then gradually mix into the milk mixture to thicken.  Bring to the boil and add a little extra if you would like it thicker.

Mix in approx 20g of the cheddar into the milk mix and take off the heat.

Flake the fish and mix the fish, cauliflower and sauce together.  Pour into a baking dish and top with the remaining cheese.

Bake for approx 15 minutes or until browned and bubbling on top.  Younger babies could have some of this mashed or pureed depending on their age.  Avoid the cheese on top if feeding to under 1's to limit the salt intake.

Make it Thrifty:

Try using frozen fish to keep costs and risk of waste down.  Pollock is often sold as 'white fish' in freezer compartments and, although in a lot of ways it's better than cod because it's a source of Omega 3 and cod isn't, pollock is often far cheaper and more sustainable.  Look out for smoked pollock too which is becoming more common.