It just tastes better with BUTTER!

Butter

Milk

Cheese

Sour Cream

Yoghurt

Ice Cream

*Sigh* I need want it all. This dairy free thing is doing my head in. I am craving a big glass of cold milk, with a side of hotcross buns smeared in butter.
I miss milk in my coffee-soy milk is ok, but its not the same. I miss butter on my sandwich ( I don't do margarine so there goes putting something on before the other spreads) I miss my pasta with dinner (they require milk in the sauce) I struggle watching Silas drown his muffins in yoghurt.
But it does seem to have lessened Miss Paige's spilling so I guess I have to stick with it.

(By the way-the chocolate cake recipe I posted is great! I've made it three times now-twice as muffins. It is super easy and makes a really moist cake/muffins.)

Dairy free recipes?

Miss Paige seems to often have a upset tummy so I have begun eliminating dairy from my diet. But when dairy goes out the window so does yummy things.
Silas and Lara did the grocery shopping this weekend and came home with a packet of chocolate biscuits-Lara thought she was being so nice offering to share. They've been taunting me in the fridge (I am such a sucker for chocolate!!) so tonight I went searching for a dairy free chocolate cake.
One of my buddies on FB popped this one up for me, and its currently in the oven now. (Would have been there 2 hours ago but Paige hasn't been sleeping this evening-instead she has been screaming.)

Ingrediants:

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2/3 cup cocoa

2 level tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2/3 cup oil

2 tbsp vinegar

2 cups water

2 tsp vanilla

And the super easy directions:

Preheat oven to 180degrees C.

Sift dry ingredients. Add the remaining ingredients and mix.

Place in a greased lined tin and bake for 1 hour.

Enjoy!

Now I'm not sure how big a tin I was meant to use, I hope it doesn't over flow my tin! Will let you know how it turns out.

Do you have any great dairy free recipes you would love to share? Biscuits, cakes any would be great :)

If only I had a sewing machine!

I have a few things I would love to make-but I don't have a sewing machine :(
So while I wait (and drop as many hints as possible to Silas) I'm going to write a list of things I would love to make.

1. First off I need to make myself a bag-I just broke mine :( Needs to be big enough for a bottle of water, wallet, nappies, wipes, change of baby clothes, couple bars of food, camera and other random things that end up at the bottom of a bag.

2. A nappy wallet-to keep nappies/wipes etc all together when in my new bag. (Like this one.)

3. Crayon Caddy. I have a few birthdays coming up and would love to make some of these as gifts.
(Tutorial here.)
4. Soft baby blocks with tags. Would love to make some for Paige, and other baby friends. (Like these ones.)

5. Maybe some cushion covers like these here.

6. Wheatbags (Pattern here.)

7. A quilt for Paige's cot (once she is in it)

Thats my list for now-Im sure I will find more things to add to it.

Things I'm loving

Today I am linking up with PaisleyJade with a post about the things I'm loving.

I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something that you can be thankful for... no matter how simple it is. 

Crochet hats! I love these sooo much. I wish I was talented enough to be able to make them myself, but I will have to settle for purchasing them off Trademe for now. They look delicious on Lara and Paige. Sadly the bottom three are almost to small for Paige :( Time to start saving up for some more.

Paige fast asleep in the bassinet mum used with me. Took me a few decent attempts to strip it, sand it and spray paint. But now it looks amazing, and even more so when there is a beautiful sleeping baby in it.

Lara taking pictures of her pictures. On the left is herself, and the right is Paige.

I hope I have managed to link up to the right place (I'm a little nervous! and have no idea if I'm doing it right)

Wordless Wednesday-Early love

These pictures require no words at all. 

Lara (3yrs) and Paige (5weeks)

All taken by Sharyn.

Hot Cross Buns-Recipe Review

Yesterday Lara and I set out to make some Hot Cross Buns. After a little searching on the net we found this recipe.
I enjoyed the process of making them-I find something therapeutic about kneading.

Ingredients:
Bun Ingredients

15g dried yeast
300ml milk
4 cups plain white flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
90g butter cut into pieces
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup dried sultanas (I didn't add these-I have a thing about fruit in bread)
1 egg

Cross Batter
1/2 cup flour
5 tablespoons of water

Glaze
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar

Directions:
1. Heat milk until just warm in a saucepan. Remove from heat and sprinkle yeast over the milk and set to the side on the bench.

2. Sift flour and cinnamon. Add butter and rub in using your fingers until mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Then add sultanas and sugar.

3. Whisk egg into milk and yeast. Then add the milk mixture to the flour mixture. Mix until combined.

4. Place mixture onto lightly floured board and kneed until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes). Place dough in a large greased bowl. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place. It is ready once it has doubled in size, which should take about 45 minutes.

5. Punch down dough to release gas and then knead for a couple of minutes. Cut dough into 16 pieces of the same size. Knead and form into balls. Place balls together on a greased tray. Cover and place in warm spot and allow to double in size.

6. Turn on oven and preheat to 220 degrees C. Whisk the cross batter of flour and water together until smooth. Place in piping bag. (I use a small plastic bag and cut off a small bottom corner). Pipe on the crosses. Bake at 220 degrees C for 10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 200 degrees C and bake for a further 10 minutes.

7. Place glaze ingredients in a sauce pan and bring the boil stirring constantly. Then reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for a further 2 minutes. Brush liberally over buns once they are removed from the oven.

Enjoy!

While it was nice and easy to make these they tasted soo wrong. They were overly sweet and well it tasted as if they were missing something (and don't say the fruit cos I know that!)

Do you have a favourite hot cross bun recipe?

(Photos by Lara-clever little girl)

Ginger Kisses or Ginger Pancakes??

Three times I have attempted to make Ginger Kisses-and each time they have come out looking like pancakes! I even went to the trouble of buying more Baking Soda and Baking Powder incase it was something to do with them. But no, they won't rise. Or maybe the problem is the recipe I'm using?

Do you have a recipe worth trying?