Though one would imagine that raising a gluten free child makes life rather impossible, once you get into the swing of things it is really very manageable. Since Finley was diagnosed at the age of eighteen months we have as a family done our up most to make his diet a part of everyday life he has to aware of, but without, I hope, ever making a song and dance out of it. As a protective Mother there is the temptation to try to construct an artificial gluten free environment at home. To stop eating gluten ourselves, to offer visiting children only gluten free treats and to develop a real paranoia about cross contamination in the kitchen. However we do not live in a gluten free society and it is my belief that Finley has to grow up accepting Coeliac/Celiac Disease as a part of the special little boy he is, while understanding that the majority of society do not have to endure the same dietary restrictions. Such acceptance occasionally causes relative heartbreak. In some ways it has made Finley old beyond his years as in the process of protecting his special tummy from attack by wheat, he has also become somewhat paranoid about danger in many other forms, his very instinct to avoid pain causing him to be over-cautious in many other given situations entirely unrelated to his diet. But these gentle fears of everything from goats to contaminated water in Africa (and thus the water spilling from our taps), have, while often inconvenient, offered much opportunity for conversations we may not have had were it not for the fact that in order to dilute his little phobias we have to talk them to death…. There has also been the temptation to worry myself into a frenzy. To live in fear of accidental ingestion of gluten and to become one of those Mothers unable to resist becoming an ambassador for her childs’ affliction. Yes of course I want my child to be safe at school, I want to know that whoever is looking after him at any given moment knows what he can and can’t eat, and occasionally It is necessary to get a bit mouthy in restaurants in order to guarantee my son’s safety, but I don’t want the fact that Finley has Coeliac’s to define him and I don’t want to be known as the Coeliac Mummy- which is why I very rarely write about it here. It is a very small part of our lives. Allowances are made on a daily basis but it isn’t a drama. Gluten isn’t in everything, there are many, many fabulous alternatives and I certainly don’t want Finley to look back on our lives and say my Coeliac’s was such a big issue Mummy made a career out of it! I don’t want to be that Mummy. I want him to look back and see that Coeliac’s didn’t matter. That there was never any fuss, no underlying sense of inconvenience and still so many of the scrumptious treats that childhood is really all about that Coeliac’s Disease doesn’t have to take away… That said, while bread, crackers, pasta and biscuits haven’t been a problem, we have struggled to find a cake recipe that didn’t taste like air filled cardboard. The path to acceptable moreish sponge cake has been arduous and compromised by the fact that most gluten free flours create food that is texturally very different to ordinary flour and has properties that alter the way recipes behave. While there are indeed flourless recipes in abundance they are often rich and do not appeal to a five year old boy who wants to be sitting at his best friends party eating a jelly tot sprinkled fairy cake that looks just like the one the little boy next to him is eating. And so in pursuit of cupcake nirvana I have dallied with cakes made with vegetable oil, cakes made with rice flour, almond based cakes and had the frequent pleasure of faffing about with the mystery that remains xanthum gum. But to no avail, until the day I used my own standard fairy cake recipe with Orgran Self Raising Flour (available worldwide) and created a set of teeny little button topped cakes that were infinitely scrumptiously edible, kept their shape, raised just the way you expect cupcakes should and tasted divine warm from the oven with a scoop of butter cream. Ingredients. 4oz (100grams) Orgran Self Raising Flour 4oz (100grams) Caster Sugar 4oz (100grams) Margarine 2 Large Eggs 1 Tsp Pure Vanila Essence 1Tblsp Drinking Chocolate Method. Cream the sugar with the margarine then beat in the eggs, one at a time with a spoonful of flour. Sift the drinking chocolate into the flour and stir into the mixture slowly. Add the vanilla essence and bake in a medium heat oven for fifteen minutes. Easy deliciousness. And for the record I have since used the same flour in various other recipes and it works everytime. I couldn’t be more thrilled.
Create your own Brocante Life Book, plan Christmas, set up routines and rituals or live life the BrocanteHome way with my guided workbooks and planners.
With alarming regularity, laundry day rolls around as surely as Christmas. No sooner have I put the last load of ironing away, do I find myself stuffing exactly the same items back into the machine. It isn’t right: I want my beautifully…
Mummy!! Yes Finley? Mummy get me the purple dinosaur with the three heads. No Finley, go and get it yourself, Mummy is busy. No!!! I need it. Get it now or I will die of the headache!! No Finley, Mummy is not…
In a fit of the kind of monumental decision making not oft seen around these parts, Richard and I have bought a communal Christmas tree and have thus convinced ourselves that this and the joint purchase of a new Tv. speaks volumes…
Oh wow does everyone in the whole world know about The Thrift Shopper but me? Other Things To Do At BrocanteHome Browse the Bookstore Discover a curated list of books to enhance and support life the BrocanteHome way Browse the Bookstore Life…
I have spent the weekend just gone, lost in a book. The kind of book with such a strong sense of time and place that it was almost a surprise to find myself sitting here at my desk in modern day Ormskirk…
What beautiful hyacinths! I have just learnt to love a hyacinth. Mrs Allen used to take pains, year after year, to make me like them; but I never could, till I saw them the other day in Milsom Street;" "But now you…
{"id":null,"mode":"form","open_style":"in_place","currency_code":"USD","currency_symbol":"$","currency_type":"decimal","blank_flag_url":"https:\/\/brocantehome.net\/wp-content\/plugins\/tip-jar-wp\/\/assets\/images\/flags\/blank.gif","flag_sprite_url":"https:\/\/brocantehome.net\/wp-content\/plugins\/tip-jar-wp\/\/assets\/images\/flags\/flags.png","default_amount":300,"top_media_type":"featured_image","featured_image_url":"http:\/\/brocantehome.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/tipjar-2.png","featured_embed":"","header_media":null,"file_download_attachment_data":null,"recurring_options_enabled":true,"recurring_options":{"never":{"selected":true,"after_output":"One time only"},"weekly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every week"},"monthly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every month"},"yearly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every year"}},"strings":{"current_user_email":"","current_user_name":"","link_text":"Leave a tip","complete_payment_button_error_text":"Check info and try again","payment_verb":"Pay","payment_request_label":"BrocanteHome","form_has_an_error":"Please check and fix the errors above","general_server_error":"Something isn't working right at the moment. Please try again.","form_title":"BrocanteHome","form_subtitle":"Help Me to Keep BrocanteHome Online","currency_search_text":"Country or Currency here","other_payment_option":"Other payment option","manage_payments_button_text":"Manage your payments","thank_you_message":"Thank you so much: helping me keep Brocantehome online really means the world to me.","payment_confirmation_title":"BrocanteHome","receipt_title":"Your Receipt","print_receipt":"Print Receipt","email_receipt":"Email Receipt","email_receipt_sending":"Sending receipt...","email_receipt_success":"Email receipt successfully sent","email_receipt_failed":"Email receipt failed to send. Please try again.","receipt_payee":"Paid to","receipt_statement_descriptor":"This will show up on your statement as","receipt_date":"Date","receipt_transaction_id":"Transaction ID","receipt_transaction_amount":"Amount","refund_payer":"Refund from","login":"Log in to manage your payments","manage_payments":"Manage Payments","transactions_title":"Your Transactions","transaction_title":"Transaction Receipt","transaction_period":"Plan Period","arrangements_title":"Your Plans","arrangement_title":"Manage Plan","arrangement_details":"Plan Details","arrangement_id_title":"Plan ID","arrangement_payment_method_title":"Payment Method","arrangement_amount_title":"Plan Amount","arrangement_renewal_title":"Next renewal date","arrangement_action_cancel":"Cancel Plan","arrangement_action_cant_cancel":"Cancelling is currently not available.","arrangement_action_cancel_double":"Are you sure you'd like to cancel?","arrangement_cancelling":"Cancelling Plan...","arrangement_cancelled":"Plan Cancelled","arrangement_failed_to_cancel":"Failed to cancel plan","back_to_plans":"\u2190 Back to Plans","update_payment_method_verb":"Update","sca_auth_description":"Your have a pending renewal payment which requires authorization.","sca_auth_verb":"Authorize renewal payment","sca_authing_verb":"Authorizing payment","sca_authed_verb":"Payment successfully authorized!","sca_auth_failed":"Unable to authorize! Please try again.","login_button_text":"Log in","login_form_has_an_error":"Please check and fix the errors above","uppercase_search":"Search","lowercase_search":"search","uppercase_page":"Page","lowercase_page":"page","uppercase_items":"Items","lowercase_items":"items","uppercase_per":"Per","lowercase_per":"per","uppercase_of":"Of","lowercase_of":"of","back":"Back to plans","zip_code_placeholder":"Zip\/Postal Code","download_file_button_text":"Download File","input_field_instructions":{"tip_amount":{"placeholder_text":"How much would you like to tip?","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"How much would you like to tip? Choose any currency."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"How much would you like to tip? Choose any currency."},"invalid_curency":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please choose a valid currency."}},"recurring":{"placeholder_text":"Recurring","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"}},"name":{"placeholder_text":"Name on Credit Card","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter the name on your card."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter the name on your card."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please enter the name on your card."}},"privacy_policy":{"terms_title":"Terms and conditions","terms_body":null,"terms_show_text":"View Terms","terms_hide_text":"Hide Terms","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"I agree to the terms."},"unchecked":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please agree to the terms."},"checked":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"I agree to the terms."}},"email":{"placeholder_text":"Your email address","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"not_an_email_address":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Make sure you have entered a valid email address"}},"note_with_tip":{"placeholder_text":"Your note here...","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"empty":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"not_empty_initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"saving":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Saving note..."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Note successfully saved!"},"error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Unable to save note note at this time. Please try again."}},"email_for_login_code":{"placeholder_text":"Your email address","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."}},"login_code":{"initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."}},"stripe_all_in_one":{"initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"success":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"invalid_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is not a valid credit card number."},"invalid_expiry_month":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration month is invalid."},"invalid_expiry_year":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration year is invalid."},"invalid_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is invalid."},"incorrect_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is incorrect."},"incomplete_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is incomplete."},"incomplete_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is incomplete."},"incomplete_expiry":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration date is incomplete."},"incomplete_zip":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's zip code is incomplete."},"expired_card":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card has expired."},"incorrect_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is incorrect."},"incorrect_zip":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's zip code failed validation."},"invalid_expiry_year_past":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration year is in the past"},"card_declined":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card was declined."},"missing":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"There is no card on a customer that is being charged."},"processing_error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"An error occurred while processing the card."},"invalid_request_error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Unable to process this payment, please try again or use alternative method."},"invalid_sofort_country":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The billing country is not accepted by SOFORT. Please try another country."}}}},"fetched_oembed_html":false}
