Soooo on with the show.....
Always one for a meal out, I jumped at the chance of being treated to dinner at a local pub. The Salisbury Arms in Winchmore Hill, North London, used to be a favourite of ours in my pre GF days. I have eaten there only a handful of times recently as I find it tricky finding something I can order. Nevertheless, they have a good beer selection which makes it a winner for Dale so off we went to give it another go! The pros......the staff were great, the chef came out to speak to me, he knew what he was talking about and was knowledgeable about his dishes. The cons......still not a huge amount I could have, particularly as all their potatoes are reheated (for those of you who don't know, I also have an intolerance to reheated potatoes!!). So in the end we settled on a roast dinner with no gravy, potatoes or Yorkshire pudding which left.... Yes you guessed it......meat and veg!
Very nice meat and veg but still......meat and veg hmmmmm?! (Yes, the crackling was ok too, I double checked!). It left me with a question I often ponder (think...think..think....to quote Pooh bear!!!)....How difficult would it be to have at least one item on a menu that is GF? It doesn't even have to be a "special" item, it could be naturally GF so that everyone could enjoy it! Surely, it would open doors to a whole new client base?!
Anyway, on with a restaurant that does cater especially for GF......Pizza Express! I've harped on about their pizzas before but have never given any blog space to puddings!! "How could you have missed that?" I hear you shout, as pudding is my all time fave part of the meal. Up until recently the only GF pudding offered by Pizza Express was a mini chocolate brownie (that comes with a coffee). However, I was was pleased to see more GF options this time. I could have gone for sorbet (mini again!!) but I opted for figs in mascarapone and spiced syrup with a cup of camomile tea.
Wow! What a delicious pudding, I will definitely be opting for this again. One question remains....why are they all mini?! I might be on a GF diet but I'm not watching my weight!!! How about a GF regular sized pudding next please Pizza Express?!
To continue the pudding theme (and the "not watching my weight theme!!!!), have a look at this....
This Sainsburys Taste the Difference Chocolate Soufflé goes to show that there are some tasty, calorific treats out there that are GF but not in the Free From section....they are actually out in the "regular section"!! Quite a few in this Taste the Difference range are GF so it's definitely worth checking out the labels if you've got time!
Saturday night was stir fry night....
The key ingredients (apart from chicken and veg) were Ilumi Sweet Chilli Sauce, Tamari Sauce (in the Free From section of the supermarkets, GF soy sauce equivalent) and Mama rice noodles (which state on the front of the packet that they are Gluten Free). The verdict.......a great stir fry!
The flash made it look a funny colour, it wasn't really that orange, I promise and I didn't really eat ALL of that....I promise too!! The Ilumi sauce was tasty enough without being overpowering and there was a mild, warming, heat which was just enough without burning your insides! The Tamari sauce is always great. The noodles.....well, they were ok. I would have them again but they do tend to go a bit gloopy and sticky. I much prefer the King Soba GF buckwheat and sweet potato noodles but I find them much more difficult to get hold of.
Well, 4 more days of school until the glorious half term holiday! The end is in sight woohooooo, wish me luck!!! X
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