Joining Nat’s Sunday Sevens post this week…
It has been a tough six months -moving home and starting a new job, but it seems that things are getting easier – the worst is behind me – a bit like Spring things are starting to bloom. Although right now, I have woken up to a lovely covering of snow!
I have been struggling health wise – back in January I decided to try a wheat free diet – I bought two books Radiant and Green Kitchen travels. I think this decision has added to my misery- Green Travels has a wonderful recipe for chocolate cake that looks delicious but the steps to make it are very complicated – you have to use hazelnut flour that you grind yourself! I have taken the trouble to make it twice now – but my palate has not caught up – it just tasted rubbery and bland! (I do feel a rant coming on but I will save it for another post!)
However these little biscuits have been a life saver! My friend, P came over yesterday and I showed her how to make these – they were hot out of the oven in 10 minutes and they are gluten free.
Put 200g of peanut butter in a bowl, add 100 – 175 grams of sugar, ( I use 100g the recipe calls for 175 but I cut down all sugar in recipes) add an egg and mix. Put small balls on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Press with the back of a fork (tip if you want them crisp flatten them down – if you like them crispy on the outside and soft in the middle leave them a bit thicker. Also use dark muscovado sugar) Bake at 180 degrees for about 8 to 10 minutes.
It has been a week where I have needed comforting – I’ve had 9 days of constant migraine so I have focussed on home comforts to soothe myself. I love baking – it is such a nurturing comforting activity. So on Monday I made a lemon drizzle cake and a dark ginger cake. The ginger was wrapped in one of my wax cloths (you can read how they are made on my other blog) – it helped the flavour develop for a couple of days and kept it very moist.
I have also been reaching for comfort food in other ways – this Mac cheese was delicious – why should it be that carbs are demonised recently? I think food is so much more than the elements it is made from. I think this week has seen me rebel because despite cutting down on wheat – I am still getting horrendous migraines!
My new tree arrived this week – we have a large alcove above the fireplace and I decided to buy an artificial tree to decorate as a way of celebrating the seasons. So I have been gathering items together to decorate it for Ostara which falls on the 20th of March – and Easter just after. I am not a pagan, but I love the story behind Ostara and it seems to be more Germanic – either way, Spring is a welcome guest.
I have been collecting egg shells – as well as polystyrene eggs to decorate – E and I will sit down together to paint them today which should be great fun. I will also save a few for little ones when they visit – we have little chicks too.
I am relishing the glorious bright sunny daffodils in abundance outside as well as in. They are so unashamedly vibrant – which is just what is needed after the dark months of January and February.
I have been loving slow sewing – this little Moon Gazing Hare embroidery was a delight to do – you can catch up with it on my made for mi blog. I am really enjoying hand embroidery – it is similar to colouring – there is no counting just following the lines one stitch at a time. It can be done easily while watching listening to the Television.
I am using up all old vintage linens, (I found these pieces in a charity shop) to create mini quilts that I will be posting on made for mi soon. I think the sentiment sums up my week!
ttfn x
Fred the Needle 
Lovely post, I will definitely be trying the biscuits! Hope you are feeling better.
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What a lovely sping like post. I hope your migraines calm down. I will try the cookies as I am definitely a peanut butter fan..and my little niece has now gone gluten free, bless her. X
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Thank you Shazza, lovely to hear from you. The cookies are delicious… and very quick to make! I hope your niece enjoys them too.
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Sorry to hear you’re unwell. Dare I say, maybe it isn’t the gluten? Have you tried the FODMAP diet? Google it and you’ll find a diet sheet for it. You cut out a lot of things – including gluten – then reintroduce them one by one. It’s really for IBS, but might be a good angle to take out things that upset your body??
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Hi Bekki, thank you so much for that suggestion, will look it up.
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Oh yes, do. I was already lactose intolerant, but became fructose intolerant last year and find it really useful in identify high fructose foods. My eldest has come up with something that appears an intolerance and her Dutch doctor suggested it. So definitely not a fly by night list 🙂 Good luck!
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I love the idea of decorating a tree to celebrate the changing seasons. We’re trying a gluten-free diet too as my husband has suspected Crohn’s. The migraines sound horrendous, hope you feel much better soon! X
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Yes it is going well so far, the embroidery too is part of the Spring celebrations. Your poor husband, I hope the diet is going well. As I say, it might be a diet change that needs my taste buds to adjust to… perhaps I should persevere!
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I’m looking forwards to seeing how you decorate all your eggs! I very much like the hare embroidery, it is a little bit van gogh in the sky which makes it look very powerful. Or it also makes me think of that Kit Williams book with it’s lovely illustrations and the story of the treasure hunt! It And of course a good theme for this time of year as Easter comes. How do you manage to do fine work when you are not feeling well? Hope you manage to get to the root of the problem soon.
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Lovely to hear from you, and thank you for your kind compliments! Starry Night… yes I can see that too. The hare embroidery was finished just before my migraines started – thankfully this week has been much better. I hope so too.
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We’re much better for going gluten free last year – I hope you have similar success with your health in terms of benefits. We tend to just swap ordinary flour for the Dove Freee range and notice no difference in taste or texture for most things. The tree that changes with the seasons is a lovely idea and will surely make you feel more connected with nature – a good thing for mindfulness, I always think. Love the slow stitching!
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I think it is the same as reducing sugar.. it takes a while for your taste to adjust, I am going to get there. Thanks for the tip.
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Hope you feel better soon! Love the embroidery hoop and looking forward to seeing the finished quilt
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Thank you – I am feeling better this week!
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