Third Time Lucky!

Friday saw me face one of the many Coeliac nightmare situations......the dreaded buffet! Having already made up my mind to steer clear of the gluten filled goodies and cross contaminated horrors on offer, I decided to opt for ordering something from the general pub menu instead...thinking I was making life easier for everyone involved. I was reassured by the friendly guy behind he bar who said he could rustle me up a chicken skewer, rice a salad. Result!

Take 1..... Plate arrives with onion rings on! Oooops lovely guy from behind the counter realises the mistake before I do and whips my plate away at lightning speed! He was apologetic but understood a new meal would have to be cooked (Hurrah for knowing that! GF Brownie point awarded!)

Take 2.... Plate arrives with dressing on the salad. I check dressing is ok, just about start to dig in and my lovely (but slightly exasperated) guy from the counter hurries back in a slight panic! STOP, the dressing contains wheat!! Thank goodness he had the sense to check and the bravery to come and tell me that I would need a third dinner! This man needs a medal! Yes, it was annoying to have to wait even longer but much less annoying than being ill for the weekend!

Take 3... Success at last!! Thank you The Builders Arms (http://www.mcmullens.co.uk/buildersarms) Potter Bar and thanks to the lovely, understanding guy from behind the counter!

I had heard a little rumour of a new coffee shop in Enfield Town....not just any coffee shop but a Gluten Free friendly coffee shop.....right on my doorstep! So, off I went to investigate and was reassured by the sign that met me...

Wooohooo! Gluten Free....loud and proud! No secret allergy menu, no special code to crack just GF...plain and simple! I was met by a selection of GF and non GF cakes. I can happily report that there was a much larger selection of GF than Non GF which was a bit of a bonus! All cakes were either individually wrapped or in their own cake containers therefore reducing cross contamination. GF baguettes are offered for lunch and they use separate butter to the regular sarnies. All sandwich fillings are covered and fresh gloves are worn for preparation...it's safe to say I was more than a little impressed! 

So just to throw a spanner in the works, I had to then ask if the cakes were nut free! Mega GF brownie points awarded here because despite not knowing, the owner phoned his wife (who baked the cakes) to check!  Well done Occo for having the guts to do what so many big chains are only just dabbling in! I wish you every success and longevity in Enfield? My white chocolate and caramel cake was suitably sweet, sickly and delicious...just what I look for in cake! Well, no surprises here but...I'll be back!

It made the perfect pud for my lunch! And what made my lunch even more perfect was I finally found the GF Scotch Eggs in Marks and Spencer's!

True to form they are amazing! Marks and Spencer are on a GF roll.....please, please, please keep it coming!

Dale signed up for a free trial for Simplycook.com the other week. For those who are not familiar with this...you sign up and receive a goody box in the post! In the box you get four recipe cards and all the necessary spice mixes and rubs needed in order to make the dishes. All you need to do is buy a small selection of other ingredients! Quite a fun idea and it encourages you to eat dishes you may not normally bother with. I was particularly impressed that we were able to sign up for the GF option too. Here's what we have had so far...

Pork Cassoulet

Spiced Butternut Squash Risotto

Malay Laksa

Smoked Haddock Kedgeree is still to come! Definitely worth having a go. Have a look on their website as they seem to have a lot of introductory offers that'd be worth a look!

Well, this week I will be enjoying Half Term by report writing and desperately trying to ignore those GF cupcakes calling from the kitchen cupboard! Wish me luck! X (@lizprice79)

Having a GF Birthday!

The month of May marks my GF birthday..... 2 years GF and still standing woohooo! May also hosts Coeliac Awareness Week which fell between 12-18th this year. If this is news to you....where have you been?!? If you celebrated life in the GF lane at all this week...well done you, I salute you!! In the 2 years I have been GF I have been delighted to see the introducation of so many new GF brands, products and menu's in restaurants. It's exciting times in the GF world and who'll know where we will be in another 2 years! For all my lovely readers who are not GF or Coeliac savvy, I received this info from Udi's in the week. It helps to explain what I have been harping on about for the last couple of years lol! 

http://udisglutenfree.co.uk/2014/05/08/awareness-week-coeliac-facts/

Soooo on with the food.......

Mum and Dad came round for GF dinner on Friday. Dale decided to tackle to unthinkable....homemade GF pasta! Initially it all looked promising.....

...thanks to Doves Farm plain flour. However, all smugness disappeared when it came to putting it through the pasta machine!?! Oh dear, oh dear.....you definitely need to expect the unexpected when using GF substitutions....you would think we would know that by now! The pasta turned into crumble and Dale's temper was not much better! After much huffing and puffing we ditched the pasta machine and rolled it out with a rolling pin.....not ideal but it seemed to calm the situation!! Anyway, I think you'll agree that it all turned out well in the end (phew!!!)

Parma ham, ricotta, mozarella and parmesan ravioli. Any GF pasta making tips greatly appreciated for next time before Dale blows a gasket! 

I have blogged about The Jolly Farmers (http://www.mcmullens.co.uk/jollyfarmers) before. However, I had heard rumours of a GF menu.....soooo as it was Coeliac Awareness week it seemed the right thing to do lol!

Yep....GF menu! Yey!!

Quite a good choice of starters, snacks, mains and puddings. I opted for ham and eggs with spicy rice.

Yep, looks like a face doesn't it ha ha! Tasty ham and eggs, didn't really rate the rice..strange flavourand  dry but overall all quite impressed....until I ordered pudding! Honeycomb sundae ordered from GF menu and arrived with a wafer straw thingy! Now, I know it could have been a GF straw but the suspicious side for me felt the need to check. As I sneakily suspected, the waitress came back with an apology for the gluten filled wafer and a plate for me to put it on!!! Argh! After explaining it didn't work like that she happily exchanged my sundae and brought it back with apologies from the kitchen...

....problem solved fairly easily. However, the picky side of me can't help thinking that you just HAVE to have your wits about you! I think it's fab they have a GF menu, I really do think that it should be commended but (and it's a big BUT) please don't do the GF thing until you can do it properly and confidently. It kinda made me nervous, that's all!

Dale and I hit London last night and shock horror....I suggested a burger!!! This almost always never happens! I know Honest Burgers (http://www.honestburgers.co.uk) have been blogged about many times but now I'm jumping on the band wagon too! GF paradise.....GF burgers (check), GF buns (check), GF chips in GF friendly oil (check.....and cooked only once...Yey!!) and wait for it.......GF onion rings (CHECK!!) woop woop!! And YUM!

I actually committed the worst crime ever (in Dale's eyes) and ordered a veggie fritter (that's right, no meat?!! It was just cauliflower, sweetcorn, shallots and spices) It was delicious.....every last bit.....Honestly!! (Had to be done yeah?!)

Well belated Happy Coealiac Awareness Week one and all and Happy GF birthday to me! Don't forget to fill out Coeliac UK Supermarket survey if you haven't done so (https://www.coeliac.org.uk/get-involved/awareness-week-2014/). Have a lovely week everyone! Xx (@lizprice79)

I Doughnut Believe it!

Yesterday the unthinkable happened! Dale returned from a trip out to tell me about a truly magificant place in a land far, far away (well, actually it was London Fields, about 15mims on the train!) where there are gluten free delights beyond your wildest dreams! He told me stories of focaccia sandwiches, fresh baguettes, chocolate eclairs, oreo's and wait for it........DOUGHNUTS!!! Surely this couldn't be true!?! Floris Food trade at Broadway Market (part of London Fields extended market) and they are the reason for my head over heels, giddy with excitement, Coeliac jubilation!!! Look at these....

I haven't had doughnuts for over two years...I was beyond excited!! One filled with jam, one filled with custard! Mmmmmmm! I'm ashamed to say I ate both!! Please note.......they are smaller than a regular doughnut, therefore eating 2 is perfectly acceptable....honestly!! Infact, I would say it was probably expected! Thank you Dale for being such an eagle eyed GF spotter...I have trained you well!!! I will be fully investigating Floris Food in the very near future.....all in the name of blogging you understand!

I FINALLY got to be the one to choose the restaurant when we went out on Monday! Yey!! No burgers....no ribs.....no half a cow in BBQ Sauce....NO WAY! Lizzie was in charge!! So we headed for Pho (http://www.phocafe.co.uk) Vietnamese Street Food Restaurant! They pride themselves on serving freshly cooked food, nothing pre packed and all fresh ingredients. More importantly most of their menu is naturally gluten free. They use rice noodles and the wrapping on the spring rolls are also made of rice. I emailed before to check and there were only a couple of dishes to avoid due to soy sauce (however they did say they would use a GF soy sauce if I wanted.....pretty impressive!). So I had vegetarian summer rolls to start

and a Pho soup with Brisket (not the authentic name I'm afraid but it sums it up!)

Granted my soup looks a little like dishwater but I promise you it tasted great! Delicious, steaming hot and actually quite soothing! Pho is a great place to try if you're GF as it's always nice to have a choice from a menu.....and to choose from the same menu as everyone else is pretty good too! The staff were all helpful and were really clued up about the GF world! Mental note for next time.....swot up on chop stick skills!! A tad embarrassing having to ask for cutlery.....even more embarrassing trying to eat soup with a knife, fork and spoon! Oh the shame!!

Also, visited Cafe Rouge this week. No allergy information readily available here which was a bit of a shame. However, I chose a couple of things that sounded GF and our waiter was more than happy to check for me. I had the Demi Poulet (without gravy cos gravy wasn't GF) with a green salad (no dressing).

It was nice and very garlicky!! I was pleased to see it served on a plate on a wooden board......we all know I have concerns about wooden boards!! I also had raspberry sorbet.....no photo....we all know what raspberry sorbet looks like though yeah?! So Cafe Rouge....nice food.....helpful staff.....but could make allergy info more explicit.

It seems to have been a week of treats! I got home from work on Wedensday to find Dale had made the most of Sainsburys 5 for 4 on Free From goods...

I told you he's well trained! (Either that or he's turning into one of those feeder folk!?!) I have been quite restrained (shocker!!) and have only had 1 cupcake so far! Pretty impressive eh?! However, I was keen to try the new Genius cupcakes so happily cracked open the lemon ones!

Lovely, light and lemony! The only thing I would say is that it was quite tricky getting them out of the packaging without getting the icing everywhere! Not necessarily a bad thing but a certain amount of finger licking was required! I will fill you in on the chocolate ones as well as the cookie mix in the near future!

Have a great week everyone! (@lizprice)

Gold Dust!

Those of you who are seasoned Coeliac (or any allergy/intolerance) shoppers will know what I mean when I say that we can merrily run from supermarket to supermarket searching for favoured products and brands like a person possessed! Every time I lose a Saturday morning nipping in and out of Sainsburys / Asda / Tesco / M&S I feel like one of those American storm chasers running after  the Twisters!  The genuine disappointment you feel when your beloved bread is out of stock (or no longer sold at that branch!!!) is out weighed by the slightly inappropriate levels of joy when you actually stumble across one of these treasured items! Well I was lucky enough to experience the "Coeliac Joy", not once but TWICE this week!! How smug am I feeling?! 

GF Chinese Whispers struck and set Twitter fans into a fluster when Marks and Spencer announced the arrival of GF Scotch Eggs and Quiche Lorraine!! Something we never thought possible!!! Really and truly.....the old picnic favourites are now back on our radar! Marks and Spencer I salute you! You jazzed up our Christmas buffet's no end and now summer looks just as exciting! 

I woke early on Saturday morning, pulled on my trackie bottoms, gently stretched and prepared myself for the GF rush into the M&S chilled section......it seems I was a little late! The Scotch Eggs had gone (PAH!!) but there was quiche success! My oh my it was delicious.....the filling was creamy, cheesey and felt like a real indulgence. The base held together, tasted....well.....dare I say it......tasted like "normal" pastry!! By far the best GF quiche I've tasted! M&S you've done it again! Just need to track down those pesky Scoth Eggs now......

After weeks of looking high and low I finally stumbled across the acclaimed Genius Pain au Chocolat in Tesco (and would you believe it, I wasn't even looking for them this time!!)

*Novice Continental Breakfast Eater Alert* ......I just feel the need to start this review by saying I've never been a big "pastries" fan, even in my gluten filled days. However, when I discovered they were once again a possibility, I thought I would give them a shot...all in the name of research you understand!  They were good. Crumbly, buttery, chocolatey (oooozy cos you warm them first!) and to be honest you can almost feel the calories going in! They are definitely one of those "treat only" items! They haven't converted me to eating pastries for breakfast but they didn't taste any different to regular pastries I've eaten to I would say that's gotta be a good thing right? Based on that....if Pains au Chocolat float your boat go on and give them a go!

As part of Coeliac Awareness Week in May (12th -18th), Coeliac UK are appealing to supermarkets to carry a basic stock of 8 GF items. At least this way we know we can get what we need, even if it might not be the exact brand we want! You can help by filling in a checklist of what is available from your local supermarket. The checklist can be found on their website and Facebook page.

Somewhere where GF items are not like Gold Dust is at Whole Foods.

Call me strange but I always enjoy a little stroll around the aisles in here. I am yet to sample their hot food selection for lunches but it looks gooooood and quite a lot is GF friendly. The trouble with this shop is it's soooo easy to spend a lot! Here is just a little look at what my last trip produced!

I have read a lot about Orgran but never actually tried anything. My thumb is rather helpfully covering up some of the allergens (sorry about that!) but as you can see quite a lot is covered! Dale and I opted for making the mix into muffins rather than a whole loaf.

In my ignorance, I was expecting them to be savoury. I think the plan is you eat them with savoury stuff?? However, they had a definite sweet twang which was not unpleasant, just a bit of a surprise! Simple to make and made a nice change!

Dale spotted this Chile kit from The Cool Chile Co. The idea is that it contains all you need for an authentic Chile (minus the mince!)

Smothered in cheese it's not so easy to see what it looks like! It was very tasty with a bit of a mild kick. We opted for the "quick soak" with the beans but they were still quite hard when it came to eating them. Would definitely do the over night soak next time.

Treated myself to some Joe and Seph's Caramel and Chocolate popcorn!

Thank goodness there isn't much in the packet otherwise I'd probably still be eating it! It comes in a fancy re sealable pack but.....let's just say the "re sealable bit" wasn't necessary!!

I also bought a bacon and maple flavoured popcorn by a different brand....Dale turned his nose up at this straight away! Aha, it'll be all mine then when I finally crack it open! I'll let you know how it goes another week!

Well, enjoy the bank holiday everyone! X (@lizprice79)