Busy Few Days

Home made, gluten free banana and walnut cake

 I have had a busy few day days.  I made a gluten free banana and walnut cake which was gorgeous.  Due to GF flour being made from different ground vegetable flours it tends to soak up the liquid very quickly and so your baking can taste very dry and unpalatable.  To counteract this problem I usually double up on the liquid, this ensures that the cake is light, fluffy and very tasty.

Lactose free yogurt

I love yogurt but have found that I can't tolerate milk.  It causes the same bloating and problems which I get when eating gluten, so I try to keep away from it.  However, I found this wonderful lactose free milk in the supermarkets.  It is about 3 times more expensive that a litre of milk but it does last me a while.  I read about making yogurt with lactose free milk, so I thought I would give it a go.  The yogurt was lovely, and next time I'll leave the yogurt to mature for 10 hours which should leave a well set yogurt.

New Blackcurrant Bush

I bought myself 2 gooseberry bushes for £5 each, which turned out to be a waste of money.  Both bushes have lost all their leaves, so I doubt if they will every produce fruit.  However, today I purchased a blackcurrant and a gooseberry bush and they cost me just over £11 for the 2 and they are twice the size of my previous purchases.  I am now deciding whether to leave them in their pots or to put them in the garden?  I'll let them settle for a few days and see how they go before I decide.

New Gooseberry Bush

I also sowed runner beans, dwarf french beans, wax beans and pati pan squashes.  My tomatoes have germinated and when they are stronger I'll plant them in the grow bags the OH bought me for Christmas.  I also have gherkins and cucumbers germinating.

My potatoes shouldn't be long before I harvest them and then get ready to chit my second crop.

What have you been busy with this week?