Glasgow

Well, I had a great time in Glasgow. Caught up with friends, got wedding invites made and was a bridesmaid for a good friend.

My parents took my brother and I to the Beech Trees restaurant for our birthday. I love that place! I had a steak with peppercorn sauce, it was delicious. I asked for ice cream for dessert and the waitress even double-checked the sauces to see if I could eat them. (This is the restaurant with all the gluten free items labeled on the menu). I wonder if the restaurant manager is Coeliacs, because they all have a great understanding of what gluten free means and all about cross contamination, etc. More places like that please.

The wedding was great too. My friend looked stunning and the reception was at her and her new husband's farmhouse. It was such a beautiful setting and it was great to see all my friends. The food was fab - a spicy prawn salad with mango to start, followed by a hog roast. The crackling was amazing and it was served with fresh veg and boiled potatoes, so I could eat everything, and I did! We didn't get home until well after 3am and my feet were falling off by the time we did, but it was worth the pain!

I couldn't live without...

Marks&Spencer's Cumberland Sausages - Part of their regular sausage range with rice rusk instead of wheat rusk. Taste great and have the texture of normal sausages! Yum

Tesco's Free From Hot Cross Buns - I know, it's not Easter but these are delicious. The Fiance said even he couldn't tell the difference between the real ones and these ones. They've become a bit of a breakfast staple for me.

Sainsbury's Free From Part-baked Baguette - As long as you don't burn it (I'm easily distracted...) it tastes great and is lovely and moist. It's essential for picnics, if it ever stops raining! Best eaten warm just after baking.

Dietary Specials' Chocolate and Orange Bars - made with puffed rice. Deliciously moreish!

Bisto Best Gravy Granules - I love gravy, this comes in beef, onion, chicken, pork and vegetable.

Discovery Foods Gluten Free Mexican Kit - You can make all kinds of stuff with this, I tend to make enchiladas. It says it serves 4 on the box, I find it only serves 3 hungry people.

John West Tuna Light Lunch, Nicoise Style - great for when you need to grab something from the shops at lunchtime. Big chunks of tuna, olives, tomato and beans. It's very filling.

Blue Dragon Rice Pancakes - I can have spring rolls again!

A successfully coeliac weekend!

Ever have a day when you feel you've been particularly successful at this whole gluten free thing? Maybe in time I'll find it normal, but this weekend I felt quite please with all the eating I did.

The Fiance and I were at an Aunty's on Friday night for curry with some family. There was a curry made with me in mind, definitely no gluten, and a few others that were also gluten free. Anything made with chutneys or anything else where the ingredients were ambiguous was out but I had a plate heaped with curry and rice! Very yummy.

A friend's bbq on Saturday was great too. I brought gluten free sausages with me that were guarded carefully on the bbq to make sure no one else took them! There were loads of lovely accompaniments too, not just bread. I had some coleslaw, potato salad and fries onions and ketchup - all gluten free - with my sausages and was very satisfied. One of my friends (Lovely Bunny, who cooked me meals for my freezer) is intolerant to wheat and think I ruined her day slightly by pointing out all the goodies the contained wheat!! Oh well, she'll thank me in the long-run...

Sunday, lunch at the Village Hall in Chalfont St Peter. Our waitress was very helpful and said she could get the kitchen to do most menu items gluten free for me. I had roast lamb (no gravy or yorkshire puddings) which was really nice, and so tender that I didn't miss the gravy.

And. Lovely Bunny is cooking for me on Wednesday! Going to hers to plan the hen night - very excited.

Yay! Good eating.

Going to Glasgow to visit the Parents and to be a bridesmaid for my friend. It's my (and my twin brother's) birthday on Tuesday so Mum and Dad are taking us to the Beech Trees for dinner. You may have read my previous post on this restaurant. I love it! All the gluten free options are marked on the menu, and there's loads of them and they are adapt lots of others if you like. The servings are huge and the food is delicious. I'm looking forward to it, worth turning 26 for! We're also having a family bbq, Mum is rustling up some yummy things for me... I'm spoiled, really.

Ah, I'm feeling so pleased with myself. It's a good feeling!

A Happy GP

I made my GP happy today!! I went to see her to get some of the gluten free items on my prescription changed. (All the free samples that companies sent me changed my mind!) She was delighted to see how much healthier, heavier and happier I was since she last saw me. She couldn't get over the difference in me. It's always nice to see your GP when you're well - although not for no reason, that would be wasting her time! - they tend only to see sick people, it must boost their esteem to see the occasional better person! We ended up talking about my wedding and marriage plans more than my various conditions. It's nice to leave your doctor's office with both of you smiling. Yay!

Gluten free goodies!

One of the joys of experimenting with gluten free baking is that you have to make a few batches of things until you find the best one! My first attempt at chocolate brownies was a bit rubbish. The mix wasn't thick enough so the chocolate and nut pieces sunk to the bottom and started to burn. Also, it felt a bit greasy. However, they are still very edible! My second attempt included cocoa powder (to make the chocolateyness more obvious), rice flour (to absorb some of the fats) and instant coffee (to make the chocolate taste richer). It seemed to work. The second batch was much better. I think a true test of a successful baking attempt is, would you feed other people with it? The second batch passed that test, they are my dessert contribution to Sunday Lunch tomorrow. They do contain nuts, so The Fiance can't try them, I'll need to bake something for him too.

Something else I found out - although you might already know this, I'm new to gluten free. When buying stuff like corn meal and ground rice, the ethnic foods section of your supermarket will have them for cheaper than the "wholefoods" or home baking sections... I don't know why that is, but it's good to know.

My Chocolatey Brownies

100g slightly salted butter
200g caster sugar (I used unrefined sugar, and it worked well)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
60g ground almonds
30g rice flour
2 tsp baking power (make sure it's gluten free)
5tbsp cocoa powder
2tsp instant coffee granules
50g plain chocolate, chopped up small
50g walnuts or pecans, chopped up small

Melt the butter and add it to the sugar, eggs, vanilla, almonds, rice flour, baking powder, cocoa and coffee. Beat together until smooth and glossy (an electric mixer makes quick work of this). Stir in the chocolate and nuts (you can do this by hand, or with the mixer on the lowest setting).
Pour into a 20cmx20cm baking tin, lined with baking parchment (it's not necessary to grease this, but you can if you want) and spread out. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees C, for 25mins. The brownies should be a bit sticky.
This will make 9-12 squares

You can serve these warm with ice-cream or cream, or eat them cold as a snack.