Allotments 4 All

Quote from: PurpleHeather on November 18, 2009, 09:01:13
I know during the war liquid parafin ... I do not even know if they still make the stuff.

It can be acquired cheaply from a pharmacist, but only in small quantities (e.g. 250 ml) & be prepared for a grilling regarding how you intend to use it.

Thanks again for the suggestions and links - I like the idea of lemon merangue  ;D

Me too ;D ;D

I made these for my gluten and lactose intolerant friend last Sunday and they were yummy - very good to nibble on their own or with coffee or tea.

MACAROONS

6 oz   ground almonds
6 oz   caster sugar
5 ml   almond extract
5ml   vanilla extract
2    egg whites, lightly beaten

Blanched almonds and icing sugar to decorate.

Heat oven to 180C and line 2 baking sheets with silicone paper.

Combine almonds and sugar then add extracts and then the egg whites to give a stiff consistency.   Put into a piping bag with a ½" nozzle.   Pipe 9 rounds on each sheet leaving room for expansion.  I don't have one so just used a teaspoon.

Place a blanched almond in the centre of each and sprinkle with more icing sugar.

Bake 10 to 15 minutes till firm.   Cool 2 minutes on the trays then transfer to wire racks.

Store airtight for up to 5 days.

You might also want to try this recipe for Orange and Almond cake:-

2   large untreated or organic oranges
200g   golden caster sugar
200G   ground almonds
1 tbs   baking powder
6   eggs
½   lemon, juice only

Put the oranges in a small pan and cover with cold water.  Bring to boil and simmer for 2 hours. Leave to cool.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.   Prepare a 9"/23cm round cake tin

Cut the oranges into chunks and remove any pips then put them (skins, flesh and juice) into a food processor and blitz them along with all the other ingredients.

Pour the batter into the cake tin and cook for about 45 minutes till done.

It can be left to cool in the tin and then served cold as a cake or served warm as a dessert with some fresh raspberries and Greek style yoghurt or crème fraîche.

ooo those both sound great - particularly the orange one!
I made an Italian pumpkin cake at the weekend (and I was able to use soya marg instead of butter) the recipe called for sultanas soaked in grappa  ;D very yumptious!

Pumpkin cake sounds good.  Do share the recipe.

Hi Obbelix, here you go. The cake is very moist and kept well for a few days (if it lasts that long....)

Pumpkin Cake – Torta Di Zucca – Valentina Harris
The cake is very moist and doesn't taste too sweet

Ingredients: -
150g unsalted butter (I used Soya marg)
600g orange pumpkin or butternut squash
Pinch of salt
150g granulated sugar
50g crushed almonds
50g candied citron peel
50g sultanas, soaked in grappa until swollen
Grated zest of 1 lemon
80g plain flour
1 heaped teaspoon of baking powder
2 eggs separated
Icing sugar for dusting

Method: -

• Preheat the oven to 180 /350/Gas mark 4. Grease and line a 30cm loose bottomed cake tin (I used a high sided one)
  Peel and cube the pumpkin, place in a saucepan with the butter and cook until the pumpkin is soft. Remove the pan from the heat, add the salt and mash thoroughly
  Stir in the sugar, almonds, candied citron, sultanas with the grappa and the grated lemon zest. Beat together very thoroughly.
  Sift in the flour and baking powder and stir
  Beat the egg yolks in a bowl until light and foamy and fold into the pumpkin mixture
  Beat the egg whites in a separate clean, greasefree bowl until stiff, then fold into the pumpkin mixture lightly
  Turn the mixture into the cake tin and bake for about 1 hour, or until a cocktail stick inserted into the cake comes out clean
  Turn out onto a wire rack to cool and then dust with icing sugar

I found tipping it out the trickiest because it was so moist

Thanks 1066.

Maybe it's worth baking the pumpkin rather than stewing it with the butter so it dries a bit and concentrates flavour.  My homegrown butternuts are definitely more moist than the imported ones.

I shall try it on my usual guinea pigs and report back in a couple of weeks.   They're getting the orange and almond cake next Monday cos organic oranges come in packs of 4 so I have two to use up.

 baking the pumpkin 1st sounds like a good idea. I didn't have any candied citron, and used ground almonds (I'd run out of whole almonds) and think it would be a better texture using the crushed ones (if you see what I mean)

I'm going to try the Orange one this week  ;D I have a stinking cold and have been munching oranges and this seems like a nice recipie to use the leftovers. Thanks again

Was thrilled to see this topic as small grandaughter now on dairy free diet. At moment still on completely free but soon going to try lactose free milk. Added problem for her is we already knew she could not tolerate eggs(neither can her siblings or mother) .So coming up to her birthday and Christmas we have be searching for recipes for tempting foods

Oh poor her! And it does make family meals a tad more challenging!!

the soya milks are variable and a lot of companies use apple juice to sweeten, which I don't like but your gdaughter might. I've noticed that most of the large supermarkets now stock a decent range of dairy free products - like the yoghurts, which seem popular and the soya ice cream is very good. She might prefer the rice milk, I guess it is a matter of trying different things out. Rice milk works fine in coffee but soya doesn't - and on I could go......  ;)

1066

Improvement in her in just two weeks is unbelievable. :)
So now is step 2 to  see if she can take lactose free milk.

Fingers crossed for her...  :)

Yes fingers crossed here too  :)

I have been dairy free for quite a few years now. Gave up cows milk & went on to soya, became intolerant to that & went on to kallo rice drink & am now intolerant to that. HELLLLLLLLP. Water can be very boring ;).

Quote from: grannyjanny on December 04, 2009, 21:23:11
Water can be very boring ;).

You can always add a tot of whiskey to water  ;)  ;D    :P

On a serious note GJ - what advice have you had about it, cos that sounds really tough!

Hey grannyjanny that is a pain. The milk thing can be replaced on cereals with fruit juice and musili soaked over night in apple juice is lovely.

As for hot drinks have you tried green teas with flavours? Not black tea, although Earl Grey, very weak is tollerable. Not those silly fruit infusions either but proper green tea. Twinings have a selection. Orange and Lotus Flower is one I like and the Pineapple and Grapefruit is lovely too. Dont let them brew too long or they get bitter, I just dip in and out and can use the same tea bag for up to 4 cuppas. (You can re-use green tea bags).

Otherwise, that Coffee Compliment is non dairy and works in black tea for the English style tea. You can ready dilute a little of it with water so that you pour it in just like normal milk. They serve it like that on planes and most people think it is milk. I guess they just do not realise. Sometimes when we know it is not the right stuff we get a barrier against the replacement and are sniffing and tasting it to deliberately spot the difference.

It's a real pain. I have ME, fibromyalgia & arthritis at the top of my spine. Along with the ME came multiple food intolerances. I can't drink tea,  I've had Redbush for years. I've had no energy since the end of June. I've had blood tests to no avail. Four weeks ago I lay in bed thinking about it logically & decided it could be something I was taking in daily, so I cut out the rice milk & drank the Redbush black. Nothing happened & then 2 weeks ago I felt sick at the thought of drinking it. Since then I have had loads & I mean loads of energy. The first day I spent 6 hours cleaning out wardrobes & drawers in our bedroom & the following day cleaning windows etc. I am catching up on all the jobs I have been unable to do. OH is amazed at what I am doing. I drink the Belvoire organic ginger cordial which is lovely but has sugar in it so can't have to much of it. Gluten is out so no cereals either. I could do with a consultation with Saddads lovely OH. I do like the Dr Stewart's herbal teas.

I could do with a consultation with Saddads lovely OH. As she works for the NHS you would need a referral from your GP! A chat after our Open Day however can be arranged!  :-X

Thanks David I might need to take you up on that ::). Are you any better?