livingtheglutenfreedream

Beechdean honey and ginger ice cream

Found this incredible ice cream for sale in the cafe at wendover woods today. Real chunks of ginger atop a lovely creamy honey ice cream!

Another town, another Carluccios

Had an incredible Gorgonzola and courgette risotto in the Brighton branch of Carluccios. While it may seem boring to all you non coeliacs out there, knowing that you can go to a branch of the same restaurant in any given town and have a safely prepared and delicious meal is such a comfort.

I’m off on tour in a few weeks and I can be certain that carluccios is going to be a tour food staple on the way. And I still haven’t tried everything on the gluten free menu yet.

Brighton House, Regency Square, Brighton

Amazing organic breakfast buffet at Brighton House. I stay here every year and the majority of the food on offer is organic and locally sourced. This morning I had fresh fruit with linseed, goji berries and Greek yoghurt. If only all hotels offered a breakfast like this! There’s a great selection of herbal teas in every room too and great little touches such as organic homemade cake (sadly not gluten free) to help yourself to when you roll in late at night.

Homemade apple, cinnamon, raisin and honey gluten free cakes

Banana, walnut, honey and cocoa cakes

Tiramisu Cupcake by Sugargrain The Free From Bakery

Sugargrain are an amazing dedicated free from bakery that you can find at the following London markets:

Borough Market – every Thursday, Friday & Saturday
Brockley Market – every Saturday
Berwick Street Market – every Thursday 11am – 4pm

Dark chocolate and Nutella courgette cupcakes

Another little home baking experiment… I spiced up Harry Eastwood’s basic vanilla courgette cake recipe with some dark baking chocolate and a dollop of Nutella in the centre (in place of strawberry jam). Served with summer fruits and a generous slathering of vanilla buttercream: I think I may have just found my dream dessert recipe

Nandos @ Greenwich Cutty Sark

Grabbed a quick lunch at the Greenwich branch of Nandos today. They have a phone book length allergy directory that clearly marks which foods contain gluten. They also advise that you let the duty manager know that you are coeliac when you are ordering so they can take extra precautions when preparing your food to avoid cross contamination.

In conclusion: a bit of a “faff” having to go through all the marinades and sauces, sides and different options - why couldn’t they add this to the main menu as many places do? - but reassuring to know that extra precautions will be taken in the kitchen.

Gluten Free Courgette and Strawberry Jam Cupcakes

I haven’t baked for ages as I’m still recovering from a wrist injury that isn’t exactly conducive to whisking marathons. This week though, I decided to dig out Harry Eastwood’s excellent gluten free cool book “Red Velvet Chocolate Heartache” and see if I could still remember how to make these delicious gems.

This is a gluten free and dairy free recipe for vanilla-based courgette cupcakes. The shredded vegetable makes the sponge really moist and fluffy so no need for any fat in the baking mix. A little dollop of strawberry jam below the top cake layer and you have the perfect sweet surprise. I also experimented with a few that had a Nutella centre which seemed to work just as well.

So quick and easy to make with no complaints form my gluten eating friends either!

Warburtons Newburn Bakehouse Gluten Free Teacakes

Was sorely disappointed by Warburton’s gluten free range of bread last year but thought I would give them another go after tasting their improved sliced loaf at a friend’s house.

The teacakes look really appetising in the packet but unfortunately the overriding texture, both untoasted and toasted, is thin, rubbery and insubstantial. It harks back to the bad old days of five years ago when most gf products had a horrible texture and feel that didn’t resemble anything edible. Compared to the Genius brand teacakes, which look, feel and taste like the “real thing”, I don’t think Warburtons stand a chance…

Very disappointing indeed.