Today I woke up with aches and pain on my shoulders. Like I had physically worked out at the gym! Since I have not been anywhere near a gym in the last ,....... well lets just say its been a while I kept wondering why I had these pains.

I thought back to the day before and then remembered that my son insisted we play horses. Yes I of course had to be the horse! His reasoning that he was too small to be a horse and therefore I had to be. If you told me 10 years ago I would be being pulled by my hoody strings on my jumper by a 4 year old around the house whilst on hands and knees saying neigh, I would have told you, you’ve got rocks in your head!  But alas here I was doing exactly that. On protesting I had enough I was told horses don’t talk and they only say neigh, and was then instructed to eat hay and then sleep. Great -Sleep, I was good with that. Shame it only lasted 30 seconds before I was woken up by my master and expected to take him for a ride. The only thing that kept me from screaming, Enough was the beautiful smile and laughter I saw in his face. I guess sometimes we just have to be horses for the ones we love!

Any how I eventually convinced him we had to switch roles and he could be the pony. I had to clean the stables, and we had to make food for horsey to eat.
Furthermore since he was such a good pony, we could have a treat.

So getting to the cooking part of this blog and with Easter just round the corner it is our family tradition to make some hot cross buns. Light and fluffy sweet bread with sultanas topped with strawberry jam and whipped coconut cream!!! Mmm

Although easy to make they do take a while due to the waiting time to rise. But all worth it in the end!
Im sure you will love them .. And so will all the Horses and Ponys.

INGREDIENTS:

• 250 grams gluten free self raising flour ( I use doves)
• 50 grams corn flour
• 100 grams gluten free oat flour
  
• 230 ml plant based milk ( I used organic soya milk)
• 60 ml Coconut oil or vegan butter
• 70 grams coconut sugar
• 7 grams instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon flax meal mixed with 3 tablespoons water
• 70 grams sultanas
• Pinch salt
  

 INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.
   
2. Melt the oil or butter and mix with the milk. Add this to the dry ingredients.
3. Mix well until all combined. It should form a soft ball.
4. Place it in a bowl, rub 1 teaspoon of oil on top and wrap with cling wrap.
5. Place it in a warm place and let it rise or double in size. (About 1 hr).
6. When it has risen, knead it and add 70 grams of sultanas.  
7. Mix well and then form about 9 balls and arrange them on a round baking dish.
   
8. To make a cross, mix 1 tablespoon of flour with 1 tablespoon of water to make a paste and with a small spoon make the crosses on the buns.
9. Cover and let them rise again for about 1 hour.
10. Once doubled in size, bake them in a pre- heated oven 180 degrees for 30 minutes.
11. As soon as they come out, brush them with a gloss (made with 1 tablespoon liquid sweetener and 2 tablespoons water)
12. Serve warm with coconut oil, vegan butter and strawberry jam.
13. You can make a quick strawberry jam by placing 150 grams strawberries in a pot bring to boil , then add a couple teaspoon of sweetener , such as agave, maple syrup or xylitol. Then mash the strawberries until it forms a thick jam.

Enjoy!!!!!!
Wishing you a happy Easter And Happy baking

So its been a while ...... The kids are kind of back at school and so we start the routine again. My biggest Pet peeve is school lunch boxes, and making something to go in them in the early mornings , whilst is a rush to get everyone out the House!!!

Obviously the simplest thing is a sandwich , fruit , some water and out they go. Simple yes , but when you have to make the bread , a little headache I may say. So anyhow I have now been making my own gluten free bread , and after making one loaf and it disappearing in one day, I decided to make 3 loafs on a Sunday evening , slice them up and keep them in the freezer . That way we will have bread for the week.

I kinda keep experimenting each time with different flours and textures , but I must say I think this one is the best I have for those sandwich snacks. It doesn't have an overpowering taste and keeps well.

My son loves it soo much , today I found him in the kitchen at 6 in the morning eating it straight out the freezer!!! I think the little guy may have  a bit of a bread addiction.

So I actually made him lettuce wraps today. Yes he did pull a bit of a tantrum , but got over it eventually!

That's another great lunch idea ... Also super easy . We use big lettuce leaves which we smear with our cream cheez , then add grated carrot and sliced cucumber and wrap them up. YUMM!!!

Anyhow back to the bread ... Yes the recipe is as follows:

Recipe:
1 1/4 cup organic non GMO corn flour
3/4 cup GF oat flour
1/4 cup GF oat flakes
1 1/4 cup GF flour blend
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup sunflower seed (grind into flour)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tbls olive oil.
1 cup organic non GMO soya Milk
1 cup water

Combine all dry ingredients together in a bowl. Now add the olive oil and milk. Then gradually add the water until a think dough paste is formed. It will be sticky .

Place in a loaf tin and sprinkle with oat flakes or chia seeds ect.

Bake in a pre heated oven on 180 degrees for 50 minutes and then uncover the bread and cook for a further 20minutes .

Take out and leave it cool before cutting.

Attention!!!! We warn this bread can get highly addictive.... One toasted slice drizzled with olive oil and topped with  smashed avocado , salt and pepper ..... mmmmm will  most likely set you back on half the loaf !!!!!

you have been warned ...

Happy Baking