Pity Presents

One of the perks of being a Coeliac (let's face it, there aren't many!) is the amount of foodie presents I have received from family and friends! Maybe I'm blessed with particularly generous and sympathetic friends but as I've said before.....presents are always good and edible presents are even better!! (Particularly if they are actually GF!) Or, maybe it's the sorrowful puppy dog eyes I give them when they are tucking into communal birthday cake / doughnuts / pizza etc etc! Or maybe it's because I look like I'm wasting away and need a little fattening up?! (Clearly not true...You've seen how many blog posts are dedicated to cake right?! ) Nevertheless my friends / family are fab and I'm forever finding little GF treats left for me to find! This week was no exception..... Here is example 1....

Here we have an Udi's (http://udisglutenfree.co.uk) chocolate muffin! Now, I was familiar with the Udi's two pack (1 toffee, 1 choc chip) but I had not seen these before. Still in a 2 pack but both the same and both delicious! Delivered by a friend at work who was having a birthday and didn't want me to be left out! Yep....she's a keeper! The muffin was great, chocolatey enough without being too rich and held together really well. Good job it was a 2 pack cos I needed the other to get me through Parents Eve!!

Example number 2....

Regular readers will know I'm partial to a packet of popcorn so this was definitely the way to my heart.....left on my desk by same friend!! Told you she was a keeper ha ha! Metcalfe's (www.metcalfesskinny.com) do some great flavours and at the moment donations are being made to charity.......that's me doing my bit for charideeee......easier than running a marathon eh?! 

I came home to find a packet of Newburn Bakehouse (www.newburnbakehouse.com) white soft rolls waiting for me the other day! Daly had made burgers and took pity of my "non bun situation" so treated me!! (I clearly give off the pity vibe.....it seems to be working for me so hey, why not?!). Anyway, the aforementioned rolls come in a 4 pack and were great for my packed lunch the next day

I was actually quite impressed! I've had mixed feelings with Newburn Bakehouse items....loaves of bread not so good (don't last, fall apart, can be holey), muffins great but think they may have stopped some of them now (is that right??), love the wraps (plain and seeded but a little expensive) but these rolls were good! They didn't fall apart, tasted pretty much like white bread and weren't too stodgy! All good!

Finally a little treat I purchased for myself....

Crunch by name and cruch by nature (www.angelocglutenfree.co.uk) Super snappy and tasty too! Strangely tasted more like cherry to me which was a bit of a shame coz I don't like cherry! Nevertheless, I like the texture so much I'd definitely be up for trying some of the other flavours (a little "heads up" for anyone who next takes pity on me lol!)

Well, I shall wish you a "foodie gift filled" fortnight! I am heading off to Mallorca for Half Term and will look forward to telling you all about it when I get back! (@lizprice79) xx

Serendipity

So, apart from being the title of one of my all time favourite films (have you seen it?! If not, why not?? Go and get a copy now.....go on...my blog is ok but you'll enjoy the film sooooo much more!!) Serendipity is also the theme of this weeks blog post! According to Wikipedia Serendipity is "a fortunate happenstance" or "a pleasant surprise". I had my serendipitous experience last Saturday and of course it involved GF food!

Having walked the length and breadth of Walthamstow market without a sniff of a GF treat, to say I was a little downhearted (and hungry!!) is an understatement! When Dale suggested a trip to London fields, I nearly bit his hand off, as London Fields Broadway Market means one thing......Floris Food! I've blogged about Floris before but really and truly I cannot reccommend them enough. This week I tried my first ever arancini (rice ball)

My mood was instantly lifted......tasty chunks of chorizo nestled in breaded rice. Delicious and filling....stick that in your pipe Walthamstow! I was also lucky enough to sample a little caramelly choux bun 

and I won't confess to the other treats I bought!!!!

 Not stopping there, Dale and I stocked up on popcorn at Drum and Kernel http://www.drumandkernelpopcorn.co.uk

You'd think popcorn was popcorn right?! Wrong!!!! This is really something else....a mixture of sweet and salty, using "mushroom corn"(?!?!?) which makes larger pieces of popcorn......oh yes, we chatted to the person on the stall.....we truly are popcorn experts now! Mental note......the large pack goes a looooong way......eyes bigger than belly syndrome strikes again!!

BUT my true serendipitous experience was still to happen (I know, it can't get better than rice balls, buns and popcorn but it does!!).....

Dale and I popped into a little plain looking mini market kinda place to pick up a drink. This place was a cross between The Tardis and Aladdin's cave because it was rammed with stuff from floor to ceiling! It contained all the usual bits and bobs you'd expect to find in this kind of shop plus......wait for it.....wait for it.....A GLUTEN FREE SECTION!!!! There you have it......Serendipity!! Not only was there a whole section, they also had the Easy Bean crackers (http://www.easybean.co.uk/index.html) I had been wanting to try....can you have double serendipity?!

These crackers are great and I can so see why they proudly display their "great taste award" logo! Plus points....really tasty, surprisingly hearty and hold together really well which is unusual for a GF cracker! Negative points...only 5 in a pack which is clearly not enough (right?!) amd where on earth can I buy them now??? Will need to do a bit of research methinks!

For those who follow me on Twitter you may have already seen my proud stash of goodies from Marks and Spencer yesterday

Oh yes, I was proud of myself! The baguette was for my church lunch today. Not wanting to take my chances at the gluten riddled buffet, I decided to pack my own picnic (which did not include all of the above....I'm gutsy but not that gutsy!!) It pains me to say it but I wasn't overly thrilled! I really do heart M&S but I had high hopes for the baguette and it really wasn't that special.....first bite into my sandwich and the whole thing fell apart......just like a lot of other GF breads! However, the Victoria Sandwich is special, really special! Wow! I shared it around with others and no one knew it was GF, that's always a good test I reckon!

Finally, let's end with some chcolate!! I made pudding yesterday (Yep, you heard right, me...not Dale!!) Thanks to Nigella (http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/instant-chocolate-mousse-4) I whipped up this GF choc mousse which wasn't too bad you know!

Sooooo rich, incredibly thick and very dark chocolately (more of a milk choc fan myself!) but they went down well so guess that's good!

Wishing you all a fortnight of fortunate happenstances! (@lizprice79) xx

Kapow!

KAPOW! KABOOM! KABANG!!! I have finally got round to trying my pot of Kabuto Noodles! (http://www.kabutonoodles.com). The trouble with those store cupboard favourites is that they sit in the cupboard and you forget about them...especially those ones with the really long shelf life! So, when I finally remembered they were lurking in the depths of my cupboard,I had that kettle boiling quicker than you could say samurai warrior! For those of you not in the know, here's a pic...

To put it bluntly, Kabuto noodles are a better tasting, better quality pot noodle! I was thrilled to see that they are now stocked in Sainsburys! They are handy to have for a quick lunch and easy to take to work etc as all you need is boiling water....even I can cook them!! Just beware as the GF pots look very similar to the regular ones so make sure you pick the right pot! 

A few weeks a go I mentioned the Tesco Lifestyle Food Fair. Sadly, it is now over amd while it was a good idea at the time it has raised a major problem for all Free From peeps......we had new, exciting products dangled under our noses and then they were harshly ripped away from us! Take my Udi's choccy biccies for example-

For those of you who never thought you could have an Oreo again.... wrong! In my opinion they are just as good and scarily easy to demolish a whole packet without noticing (not that I would know about things like that?!) BUT don't get too excited cos they are virtually impossible to track down now the Food Fair has finished! It forces me to contemplate the age old question.....Is it better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?! Come on Tesco, you can't dangle the choccy biccie shaped carrot under our GF noses and then take it away, that's just cruel! We want to see some of the Lifestyle Food Fair Products stocked regularly in your stores....please.....pretty please with an Udi's on top!?

Well done Nestle! Well done for doing what other big brands could have easily done...but haven't!

Cornflakes are naturally gluten free right? They only (usually) become contaminated by manufacturing methods! Therefore, to me the normal GF public, it makes sense to change your manufacturing methods, slap "GF" on the box and bobs your uncle you've got a unique selling point! Well done Nestle, it worked....we, the GF people are happy and the best thing.......it's a big box! Much bigger than other GF cereals so better value for money! We salute you!

If you can cast your minds back to July when the weather was warmer and the long Summer lay before us.....I and many, many others schlepped to The Allergy and Free From Show at Olympia! Yes, I am still wading my way through my hoard! This week I cracked open my Amisa crackers (http://www.amisa.co.uk)

They made a nice change from my usual rice cake repertoire! They have quite a kick to them after you've eating a few (maybe the key is not to eat too many?!) but that's not a negative! Crackers tend to be quite bland, so it was good to have something with a bit of flavour! I also finally persuaded Dale to have a meat free dinner and use the Amisa Falafel Mix

These are fab! I was really impressed. Easy to make (ok, really easy for me cos I didn't make them but you know what I mean?!) and really tasty. Granted, they are probably bigger than they should be cos we didn't get 16 out of the mix but it is quality not quantity right? Again, a bit of a kick but not too much! So glad I have another box in the cupboard (yep, my cupboard is like the the wardrobe in Narnia!) and I can't wait to try the veggie burger mix that's in there too! 

So, that's me done for a fortnight! Have a great couple of weeks and see you in October!! X (@lizprice79)

It's my Birthday & I'll GF if I want to!

So, yesterday was my birthday! I have now passed the hump of the 30's and have begun hurtling towards fabulous forty! On this weekend last year, I decided to finally enter into the cyber century.....I began learning now to use my Twitter account and dipped my Gluten Free toe into the world of blogging! I posted my first "Gluten Free Girl in London" post with the intention of keeping a weekly food diary of the highs (and lows!) of Gluten Free eating. I was determined to post weekly (just to see of I could do it!) and apart from a week in July,when I was in New York, I have just about managed to pull it off! So, if you have read all, some or just one of my previous posts...THANK YOU! If you have tweeted me, re tweeted me or written comments.....THANK YOU again! I have soooooo loved the feedback, "chatting" to new people and learning about your GF experiences too......THANK YOU, I really appreciate it! Well, enough of the emotional ramblings and on with this weeks post.....

Birthday celebrations mean one thing right?! If your answer is "cake", then we are friends for life.....me and you are on the same GF wavelength! I've eaten lots of cake!!! I finally, finally, finally got to go to Vozar's in Brixton Village Market ( http://vozars.co.uk) for my birthday lunch!

I've always been one of those people who are a little behind the latest craze, dunno why, just one of those things I guess. In a similar way I have heard rumblings on Twitter about the fabulousness of Vozars! I've read many a Tweet from fellow GF's about great lunches, cakes, beers all from this entirely GF haven! So, at last....behind everyone else......I made it!! And guess what? It was worth the wait!

Here is my chicken strip burger with guacamole in a brioche bun.....do I need to say anymore?! Wow! All GF, bursting with flavour, piping hot, great hand cut chips (didn't make it to picture I'm afraid!) all served by really friendly staff! Did I have cake? What do you think?!

It was a difficult decision and one that required a little thinking time. Did I want to splash my calories on chocolate cake, brownie, Victoria sponge or any other of the amazing cakes on offer.....finally decided on white choc and coconut and wasn't disappointed! Did I feel sick afterwards? Yep! But nothing to do with the lovely food just my age old condition called "eyes bigger than belly"! This was absolutely worth the trip to the end of the Victoria line and we will be aiming to go back (hopefully for dinner) very soon!

As we were in Brixton it would have been rude not to have investigated the market further. I was glad I did because nestled in amongst vintage clothes and CD stalls was "Scoff" (www.scoffsweets.co.uk). I happily sampled the white choc and raspberry fudge and quickly purchased a little birthday treat!

Sadly, by the time I had carried it round in my sweaty bag for the rest of the day it had turned into one massive chuck of fudge.....I'm not complaining though! It's still delicious and I fear it won't be lasting much longer.....well, I don't want it to melt anymore do it?!

Speaking of little birthday treats....I picked up my new car yesterday! Not normally something I would share with you on my foodie blog but I had to laugh when I saw the reg....I promise it was not planned but this car must have been made for me!!!!

Anywaaaaaay......

Continuing with the market theme, I wonderd if any of you had tried these from Borough Market?

Court Lodge (http://www.courtlodgeorganics.co.uk) drinking yogurt. I was having a serious milkshake craving and can never remember off hand which frappe/ smoothie/ shakes I can have from which chain store, so was pleased to stumble across this! Not quite a milkshake but certainly on the right track. It was cold, smooth, fruity and creamy....I was happy! I just need to stock up next time I'm in Borough!

Well, I'm off for a bit of birthday cake! It's ok to continue eating specified birthday cake throughout the whole of the birthday weekend isn't it?! You won't read me next week as I'm planning on going fortnightly from now on....who knows it may encourage me to eat less cake?! (who am I kidding!!) Have a good couple of weeks everyone and thanks again for the support! (@lizprice79) xx

A Salad in Disguise!

After last weeks success with Heck sausages ( http://heckfood.co.uk/sausages/) we quickly defrosted another pack! This time we went for the "Family Favourite" pork sausages.

They were dunked in batter (care of Glutafin white mix) and turned into Toad in the Hole! (I promise there are sausages in there...really!!).

We liked the pork sausages but not as much as the fancy chorizo ones mentioned on last weeks blog! Nevertheless, they did a great job being the "toads" in our Monday night dinner!

Continuing on the sausage theme (why not eh?!) Dale cooked up a storm at our church BBQ last night.  As any Coeliac will tell you, the thought of a BBQ send shivers my spine.....sausages / burgers...prob not GF.....burger buns/ hot dog rolls...not GF....mega cross contamination issues.....arghhhh! So the best thing to do is to put a Coeliac and her husband in charge (ok, mainly the husband...but I like to sound important!) My Black Farmer sausages (http://www.theblackfarmer.com) were cooked first, my Sainsbury's FreeFrom baguette was cut first (and far away from any of the evil GF white rolls!!), Sainsbury's cheese slices, fried onions and Heinz Ketchup......Yey! BBQ success...

(My ketchup exploded by the way....don't normally go quite as mad as this!!) and the best thing was....some regular "gluten eaters" ate the rest of the Black Farmer sausages and never knew the difference......in fact there were several comments about how nice they were!

So, I had a weird flavour combo yesterday and I thought I'd share it with you! I met some friends for lucnch at Pizza Express and was delighted to see that one of their "specials" on the Summer Menu was a GF Summer Salad. Happy to try something new I decided to give it a go.

An innocent looking salad right? BUT, look a little closer...yes....that's right.....you really can see blueberries and strawberries hiding inbetween chunks of chicken and goats cheese! I'm not entirely sure my salad knew what it was! Was it my main course or my pudding....or was it like a "2 in 1 combo" a bit like " Wash and Go" shampoo?! The verdict.....well....it wasn't unpleasant and at times I really did think I might be enjoying it! However, I'm not entirely convinced! Although, I think Pizza Express deserve a bit pat on the back for adding new (albeit slightly odd) dishes to their menu!

I also, couldn't quite make my mind up about these...

I must confess I'm not a huge "cake mix" fan (ooo hark at me, you'd think I was some master baker or something!) I can't help thinking that generally they are a lot of money when you already have all the ingredients sitting in your cupboards! Nevertheless, as a sucker for something new so I thought I have a go!

Looking at the instructions I was already slightly annoyed! Call me old fashioned but butter should be measured in grams right?! Not spoons!! And milk......millilitres yeah?! I don't do " cups" I'm afraid! So, after some quick online conversions I was good to go!

All was going swimmingly until I dared to lick the bowl....bluergh!! Surely, the whole joy of cake baking is licking the bowl / spoon but this spoon licking experience just left me disappointed....not nice....I'm warning you now so don't try it!

Anyway...ta daaaaaaa!

I left them in a few mins longer as they weren't browning amd anaemic muffins don't really float my boat. Keen to taste (especially after my bowl licking!), I was pleasantly surprised! I added the chocolate chips myself and I'm glad I did as they wouldn't have been very sweet without them. Infact, if I made them again I would probably add something sweeter like raisins or honey / syrup! They have quite a chewy texture, which isn't unpleasant! Dale and I are happily muching our way through the batch. The packet also suggests the mix can be used for scones and I can't help thinking that the texture would better suited for that purpose.

Well, sad times....this is a sad, sad week as the summer hols are nearly over and the new term is about to begin. So, it is with a slightly heavy heart that a wish you all a lovely week and if I survive the start of term I will see you all next week! Xx (@lizprice79)

Oh 'eck!

Eeeee by gum and 'ecky thump I've had a reeeet bobby dazzler of a week tryin' out some more of me goodies from t'allergy show! Ok, ok enough of the fake Yorkshire accent, I give up.... my Bradford born mother will dis own me if I carry on BUT I just couldn't help myself when my first GF delight of the week goes to Heck sausages (http://heckfood.co.uk/sausages/).... Pin back your lug 'oles cos there's nowt wrong with these little beauties.....oh Heck, I can't stop!!

I bought some regular pork sausages as well as these smoky chorizo style and put them straight in the freezer to be enjoyed another day! Dale being Dale he decided that these were too good to go to bangers and mash soooo he popped them straight out of their skins and rustled up this...

Wow, it was delicious! I have to give Dale a bit of credit for the deliciousness but Heck have to have a large sausage sized chuck of the praise too! (Glutafin pasta by the way!) Great, tasty, GF sausages....can't wait for "Heck round 2" tomorrow when we will be trialling the traditional pork sausages in my fave...toad in the whole! Mmmmmm!

I was over the moon to receive a little box of Udi's (http://udisglutenfree.co.uk) goodies in the post this week! Surprise GF foodie gifts are always the best! I said the other week that I was thrilled to see Udi's expanding their range here in the UK and really enjoyed the Blueberry muffins I bought at the Tesco Lifestyle  Food  Fair. However, I am also partial to a good bagel, so couldn't wait to try the new seeded bagels that arrived on my doorstep this week!

Toasted seeded bagel with cheese and pickle.....ahhhh! Ok, I know there has been discussion on Twitter recently about the nutrional values of GF bread but  at 254 kcal per bagel, 1.0g of saturated fat and 2.9g of carbs which are sugars, I am happy to indulge in a little bagel happiness from time to time! I can't wait to try my other Udi's goodies and will let you know how I get on in future posts!

I am fast approaching my one year blogiversary and as I approach being 1 year old I have decided that nothing pleases me more that people / companies / brands who are openly and honestly gluten free (or any other "free from"!) It takes guts to make a stand and it takes confidence in your ability to produce good quality food that may be "free from" but you are not ashamed of! These small businesses and gutsy people need a big GF pat on the back cos it makes my life and other "free from" peoples lives a whole lot easier. So, with no more rambling I would like to say hip hip hooray to Floris Foods

No need to question what they do....there it is......GF and proud! All their items are GF, no cross contamination worries amd no worries about artificial tasting food because all their baked goods are delicious....you would never know they were GF and some items as even vegan too! I blogged about Floris' doughnuts a few moths ago.....they were ah-maze-ing! So, when Dale and I went to Broadway Market at London Fields yesterday, I was keen to see what else I could try! So for lunch, I had a spinach and feta slice.....

...followed by a cupcake...

...which really did taste as good as it looked! I also couldn't help buying a baguette....what a novelty!!

The baguette was later used for dinner! Dale waved his magic wand and voila!

Goats cheese (also bought from the market), bruschettary salady thingy! I will be returning to Floris Food very soon!

I also got to experience the marshmallow delights from The London Marshmallow Company (http://www.londonmarshmallows.co.uk) how pretty is this?!

I honestly thought it was another posh soap stall! How wrong was I?! And how excited was I when I realised I could eat it!! Wowza! It was soooo good! Zingy lemon mixed with fruity blueberry! If you thought marshmallows were those awful pink flumpy things things, think again amd head down to Broadway Market to sample these beauties!

Well, that's me done for this week! Here's to another week of glorious GF eating! Have a good one everyone x (@lizprice79)

Impressed!

I'm going to make a prompt start this week because I can't wait to tell you about Cote! Good service deserves praise but good GF service should be shouted from the rooftops! So, here I am.....shouting! I'd read other reviews of Côte (http://www.cote-restaurants.co.uk) before and knew they were all geared up for the GF people of the world, so when the opportunity arose to try them this week I jumped at the chance! I emailed the restaurant before our visit and they responded immediately with a whole GF menu attached! A whole menu!! Yes, it's true, there are choices!!! I was already impressed!

When I got to to the restaurant, I noticed the menu had the usual small print ....cooked in a kitchen where gluten is present...etc...etc but that's fairly standard these days and I felt confident they knew what they were doing, so I went forth and ate!! I ordered the haddock wrapped in bacon with pea purée and it was delicious!

I was only sorry that I was too full to try one of the many puddings on offer! I will definitely be back....and I will be having pudding!! Great service, great GF menu, great food and great to have choices! To conclude.....it was great!

I dabbled in my first bit of summer hols baking this week? Much to Dale's disgust I decided to give courgette bread a go and was pleasantly surprised! I'm still waiting for Dale to summon up the courage to try it! 

The bread was quite sweet and not at all courgettey! Another success from this GF baking book "Gluten Free Baking" by Micaeal McCamley. I particularly like this book because it is easy enough for a novice like me to follow! I also rate it because you don't need 100 different types of GF flour mixes to make the recipes, most call for general GF plain / self raising flour which is the kinda cooking language I speak!

I'm still wading my way through my Allergy & Free From Show stash! I well and truly stocked up! This week I tried the Wellaby's Chips and Dips (http://www.wellabys.com)

I love Wellaby's chips so when I saw this nifty little number I got quite excited! Chips + Red Pepper Hummus =Result! It doesn't need to be refrigerated, so it's perfect for snacking or even to have in your bag for lunch on the run.....even better for travelling! The opportunities are endless....thanks Wellaby's for a great tasting idea! These are definitely going to become regular cupboard fillers!

After discovering my love of Venice Bakery Pizza Bases (http://shop.venicebakery.co.uk) I was keen to try their flatbreads.....the perfect accompaniment to my Ilumi Cardamon Chicken (http://www.ilumiworld.com)

Just as impressed with the flatbread as the pizza bases! I used it as a naan bread which worked well but I think we cooked them too long and they were a bit crispy! They would be great topped as a mini pizza or open sandwich. I'm just going to need to buy some more to experiment!!!

Finally, I am pleased to announce that Glutafin Penne Pasta (http://www.glutafin.co.uk) makes a great substitute for macaroni in macaroni cheese! I convinced Dale to step away from the meat and whip up a delicious (and very calorific) mac n cheese!

Glutafin penne, lots of cheese, cornflour, lots of cheese, cornflakes crumbled on top and....lots of cheese!! The ultimate comfort food....mmmmmmmm!!

Well, that's me done for another week! Have a good one! (@lizprice79) x