Sunday 27 October 2013

Impending storm and gluten free cake query

Well our loins are girded and we are well stocked up with the ubiquitous Kendal Mint cake! (or chocolate if you are Simplesuffolksmallholder)
Over the last fortnight we have had two power cuts of a minute or so and one of 55mins. Does this mean that we have had our share of power cuts, or that our power system is a bit fragile?! The next 24 hours will test it I reckon, with a storm forecast to hit us over Sunday night. The south is expected to get the full force with the Midlands (us) a little less so. Today we will walk around the smallholding, checking the drains and tying down anything that might blow away. As three of our trees have lost large branches this year (getting a bit creaky, like us!) we have an eye on the others, especially those near to buildings and greenhouses.
 The poor chickens are up to their knees in mud in the orchard already, but at least they can get to the rest of the place now that the gardens are secure. What they hate more than mud is wind as it blows their feathers about. Poor things, they aren't going to be too happy are they?
Here is a picture that EGD took on friday as she arrived at the gate to the field. A goodly few of the chickens are scratting about in the paddock and beyond them you can see D. walking towards me in the distance. I am holding Suzie the sheep who was kicking at her sides, a sure sign of fly-strike. fly-strike is where a fly lays eggs deep in the wool of the sheep, which hatch into maggots, which in turn eat into the sheep's flesh.. Yes I KNOW! it's disgusting and upsetting. We cut away the wool around the infestation and scraped away the maggots (which incidently the chickens love) onto the ground. We then treated the area, which is quite sore as you can imagine.. We will keep checking on them to ensure that they are clear. We have kept sheep for over thirty years and have never had to worry about strike in late October before, but the weather is warm and wet, which are ideal conditions I suppose.
Some of the family will be here for tea today. I have bought a couple of chickens,, which is much more than we will need, I have also done copious amounts of veg - but I have plans for the leftovers..of course!
Two large apple cakes, using maggotty - less the maggots -eaters are now in the oven as I have started baking for the Discovery Days Exhibition presented by our Society next Saturday and Sunday and a dedication service and social, hosted by us on the following Thursday. I made a huge Ginger cake yesterday  and will probably start on the Carrot cakes tomorrow ( a great favourite).
I was wondering about making a gluten free cake as half the world seems to be gluten intolerant at the moment. Has anyone any good recipes to share?
So many people have intolerances nowadays that that  I wonder what is behind it all. As an organic grower and beekeeper I have my suspicions, but something has surely changed.. When I, and indeed and my children, were at school I never heard of a single child who was allergic to nuts and the child who had asthma was rare. In fact when I was at school a child with asthma was likely to go to a special school for delicate children. My understanding is that now many children have inhalers that they take to school. For a staple, like wheat, which has fed this and every nation for thousands of years, to make people ill is a cause for great concern.
It surely isn't enough for us just to change our diets..Are we asking the powers that be what is being done? Why have people who have enjoyed the usual diet of our country suddenly become intolerant of something that forms a major part of that diet?
Rant over.
Off to draw a map for the exhibition now. it is a huge one of the villages that our society covers and it is mounted on ply from solar panel packing  -  of course!
Gillx

10 comments:

  1. Hi Gill my daughter is one of those 'sensitive children' allergic to dairy and eggs but also to gluten. We think it was caused by dad having various allergies to trees pets ect but mainly due to her having meningitis at 4 weeks old and the antibiotics destroyed her stomach lining just a theory. With regard to the gluten free cake use Doves farm gluten free flour it's the best and I have tried every one on the market. Also to help it rise add a tsp of GF baking powder. The bbc good food website have so many lovely

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    1. Thanks for that.
      Wow meningitis at 4 weeks old. You must have been terrified for her! Virus can do untold damage too. Spoke to someone yesterday, a young fit man who has had a virus which laid him low for a while and now he has heart failure from that virus. Though you can't blame medics for medicating a sick child it seems your child now has a legacy that wasn't considered. I can see the reason for your theory. I suppose what I'm struggling to understand is how healthy people appear to suddenly develop allergies and intolerances for no apparent reason.
      Similarly with bees, a couple of years ago many hives suddenly died for no apparent reason.
      Take care
      Gillx

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  2. A nice easy recipe I use regularly is: 4oz marg, 4oz sugar, 8oz Doves Farm or Asda GF plain flour plus one and a half tsp GF baking powder, 2 eggs. Beat the marg and sugar together, add flour plus baking powder a bit at a time as you beat in the eggs. When all egg and flour added, if it's too dry add a little milk. You can use any milk and any marg to accomodate other allergies/intolerances. Cook in a greased and lined loaf tin at gas 4 for 50 mins to 1 hour. Or in muffin cases for 20-25 mins. Add any flavouring; my favourite is 8oz apple (raw, chopped) and 3oz sultanas. Or 1 ripe banana at the creaming stage and a handful of frozen blueberries at the end. Just check that anything you add is gluten free.
    Hope that helps.

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    1. Thank you. it sounds very similar to a victoris sponge recipe, with slightly more flour. Interesting that you use apple in yours as I have made apple cake and a gluten free one to offer too would be good
      Gillx

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  3. It's OK, I have chocolate - a secret stash!
    Fly strike in October is a pain I should think. It will be all year around at this rate and the pour on stuff will be needed all the time by the big sheep farmers. Even more chemicals in food.

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    1. Something to look forward to - more chemicals! the cost of the stuff you dribble on is prohibitive and if we have to use it a lot it will make the cost of rearing them even higher.
      Looks like you are going to get the full force of the storm where you are
      Keep safe ( I know you will be prepared)
      Gillx

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  4. I stopped eating modern wheat a year ago and now only use spelt, kamut or teff. I also use very little sugar. Since then I've gotten off BP meds and am almost totally off chol meds. I do not have wheat allergy or anything, it's just that modern wheat itself is so totally inflammatory. I think wheat and sugar (even the artificial ones) are behind so many illnesses and allergies so I stay with non-processed stuff and just eat real food, dairy, eggs, veg, fruit, nuts, real grains. Like you I grow a lot of veg and some fruit and homegrown beats store bought hands down. Your haul of Damson's this year turned me green with envy and have really enjoyed your posts on stocking up for winter. I hope the storm wreaks no havoc on your smallholding and everyone is safe. Take care. :-D

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    1. Thanks for your good wishes re. the storm. All well here, it went further south than expected, so here in the midlands we didn't take the damage suffered by those in the south.
      Glad to hear that you have found a way to avoid those meds that often require the need for more meds!
      I think your term "modern wheat" is telling and should be what we are looking into.. Is it the modern wheat or how it is grown currently? Something is different.
      Pity you are too far away to have gained from our damson Glut.. By the end of the season I was gladly giving them away!

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    2. Here's a Llink to an interview with the cardiologist that had me looking at modern (semi-dwarf) wheat with new insights. I've been blogging about my almost 12 months of no-modern-wheat in my diet on my Chef's page. There you'll see I've become a really big fan of spelt.

      As a child there was a Damson tree in a neighbor's yard and I vividly remember sitting up in that tree every summer and eating my fill of the luscious fruit. Your bountiful harvest really brought back those memories!

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  5. Good luck with your baking, love a good carrot cake :-)! My sister and son are gluten and wheat- starch intolerant. I just change out the flour and bake as usual. I havn't yet mastered gluten-free yeasty stuff though, now that is a bit of a palaver. I have thought a lot about all the intolerances and allergies these days too. Thinking that perhaps is boils down to all the meddling that is done to the shop food, one is never quite sure what one is actually eating. Just saw a programme on tv where they take a critical look at what we eat. Turns out that there is NO vanilla in bought vanilla sauce! The "healthy" turkey slices they sell in flat packs here, contains 5% turkey and 95% "other stuff"! Good grief! Pam xx :-)

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