A Break From Baking

Hi and hello!

This is a bit of a food-free post. Why? Because I'm having to take a break for this week while we totally strip back and refurbish our bathroom. We moved in almost two years ago and the first thing we noticed is that the previous owners didn't believe in putting sealant around the bath, shower or sink. The water damage was extensive. Since I got ill within two months of moving, this is the first opportunity we've had to address it. So! For now I have swapped my spatula for a hammer and my cake tins for paint tins.

Just for kicks, here's a pic of me removing a nice big chunk of our bathroom tiles:

I have to tell you, this was SO much fun! Have you ever removed tiles? You hammer the wall scraper/chisel a little way behind the tiles, wiggle to loosen, then SLAM the hammer into the tiles a little further down to break them up and get them off the wall. Decorators must be the most serene people in the world because this is a seriously good stress-busting activity!

Unfortunately, we've hit a little snag, as my husband hurt his back pretty badly on the first day of work, and looking after him and the house has made my M.E sym
ptoms flare up. It's all a bit on the crappy side, truth be told!

Aaaaaaanyway, we've been making up for the difficulties with some delicious eats. Leftover carrot cake (YUM!), pizza using Isobel's Pizza Base Mix (if you've never tried it, it makes the most incredible pizza bases), and this evening we indulged in a tequila hot chocolate that was so rich and chocolatey, it was like drinking melted chocolate. I only managed half a mug!!

tequila hot chocolate - liquid chocolate!

Honestly, I think I put in too much hot chocolate and not enough milk. WAY too rich for me! I'll work on it and then see if I can post the recipe.

If everything goes to plan, I'm hoping we'll be able to do a barbecue next weekend, in which case I'll be able to post some more foody stuff. If not, please stick around and I promise we'll resume business as soon as possible!

Wishing you all well for the week..

Recipe: Vegetarian (or not!) Tacos

Ever REALLY wanted a taco but thought you can't have them because you're a veggie or a coeliac or both? Or even that it's just too difficult? Well, think it no more because what follows is the easiest, tastiest way to make gluten free tacos that can also be vegetarian AND lactose free, if you happen to be avoiding milk. Interested? Let me photo-tempt you:

 

Now, first I have to tell you that this recipe is the result of desperately wanting Mexican food a few years ago and not being able to find much. Actually, there is a wealth of recipes for coeliacs when it comes to Mexican food and all you need are gluten free tortillas (my favourites are by B-Free because they're delicious AND low in fat - get in!), and a little imagination. So, this is what happened after I came across a recipe for beef tacos and combined it with my recipe for vegetarian bolognese. It is a bit of a cheat, as two of the ingredients are ready-made, but that makes it great for busy mums and worker bees alike. Ready? Here goes:

This recipe makes enough for 3-4 mouths (unless you're super hungry!)

Ingredients

1tsp olive oil
1 small onion or 1/2 large onion, diced
Fresh chilli, minced (choose amount based on desired spice level)
3/4 large bell pepper (any colour), diced
Dehydrated soya mince (Tesco Wholefoods is gluten free)**
1/2 250g carton passata/sieved tomatoes
400g chopped tomatoes
Old El Paso/Discovery (now Santa Maria) Crispy Taco Shells
1/2 pack Discovery Taco Seasoning

Method

Make sure everything is nicely chopped.

In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil on a low heat, then add the onion and chilli. Cook slowly until the onion has softened and become transparent. Don't let them colour!This should take around 5 minutes. Then add the bell pepper and slowly cook them until they've softened. Again, this should just take a few minutes.

Next, pour your soya mince into a heatproof jug and stick the kettle on (with water in it, obviously!). For 3-4 people, the soya mince should be just under the 1/2 pint mark before the water is added. When the kettle has boiled, pour in enough water to reach just past the 1 pint mark. The soya mince will swell as it takes on the water, so it will fill the jug.

Let the soya mince sit for around a minute, then pour through a colander/sieve to remove the excess water, and pour the mince into the pan with the veg. Give it a good stir to mix, and add the chopped tomatoes and passata/sieved tomatoes. Give it another stir to make sure it's all combined. Turn up the heat on the pan to medium, throw in the 1/2 packet of Taco Seasoning, stir and leave to cook. Make sure you give it a stir every few minutes so it doesn't burn on the bottom.

In the meantime, turn the oven on to 200 degrees C. When it's pre-heated, place the taco shells top-side-down on a tray. DO NOT LAY THEM ON THEIR SIDES!!! They soften a little under the heat, so if you lay them on their sides they'll close up and you'll never be able to stuff them. Trust me, I speak from experience! You'll want 2-3 taco shells per person, depending on how hungry everyone is. Let them cook for around 6 minutes, or until they've darkened slightly in colour.

The taco filling is ready when all the liquid has disappeared from the pan. You can eat it while there is still liquid there, but the liquid can seep through the taco shell or run out the bottom and believe me when I say it is scalding hot! So it is best to dry the mixture out as much as possible first.

When it's all done, remove the pan from the heat and spoon the mixture into the shells and, if you're not lactose intolerant, top with grated mature cheddar cheese. Serve immediately.

And there you have it! Delicious gluten free, vegetarian tacos with very little fuss.

Enjoy! 

** If you aren't veggie, you can, of course, use fresh minced beef instead. Just don't pour boiled water on it!

Hidden Poison

This is a bit more of a serious post, but if you are a coeliac or if you're awaiting a diagnosis of coeliac disease, I urge you to read it through to the end.

It's just happened. You've had the blood test and the endoscopy, and your gastroenterologist has just confirmed you have coeliac disease. As you begin trying to comprehend your new life (as far as food is concerned, anyway), your ears pick up on the phrase 'we recommend you avoid oats completely for the first 6-12 months, before slowly re-introducing them'. But wait. Gluten free oats are safe! Aren't they?

Unfortunately, the answer may be a resounding 'no'. While most coeliacs can eat gluten free oats without experiencing any problems, Coeliac UK has estimated that around 5% of coeliacs have a sensitivity to a protein called avenin, which is found even in gluten free oats.

Gluten free oats - the silent poison in your breakfast?
(Image taken from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/270680.php0)

Is this a totally different problem to coeliac disease? Well, not exactly, no. Avenin has a very similar structure to gluten, which is also a protein. These similarities mean that if you are unlucky enough to fall into that 5% margin, you may experience your typical coeliac-related symptoms in response to ingesting oats. Worse still, avenin can damage the gut in the same way as gluten, putting you at risk of all those illnesses and deficiencies that force us onto the coeliac diet.

Because of this, general advice is to avoid oats until you can be sure your gut has healed from its pre-diagnosis damage. That way, when you begin to slowly introduce gluten free oats, it should be easier to tell if you react to them.

But does this advice go far enough? I was diagnosed in 2003, long before gluten free oats began appearing on shelves, and before we were made aware of avenin. When I finally discovered gluten free oats a number of years ago, they became a regular feature in my diet. At one stage, I was eating porridge most days of the week. After a glutening at a well-known local restaurant, I began feeling regularly unwell. Thinking the resulting damage to my gut may have made me too sensitive to tolerate the cereal that contained coeliac-safe levels of barley malt extract, I cut them out. It helped a little for a time, but I continued to suffer.

Biscuits - one of the many places gluten free oats may be hiding

A week before Christmas last year, my symptoms suddenly intensified. My stomach began feeling hollow, rumbly and sick, 24 hours a day, keeping me awake at night and from eating much during the day. Tired and pale, I visited my GP in the New Year, and she diagnosed excess stomach acid. I was prescribed tablets but after three weeks, my symptoms were worsening. I returned, was given stronger pills and placed on the blandest of bland diets. Porridge, toast and butter, potatoes, rice, cheese, plain veg. No yoghurt, no fruit, not even cold water was permitted. The symptoms persisted.

Around one week later, I was reading when I realised my symptoms were startling similar to those I had before my coeliac diagnosis. I researched on the internet, then contacted Coeliac UK, who told me all I now know about avenin. It appeared that at last, I had an answer!

Relieved, I called my GP - the co-head of her practice - and related my findings and conclusion. No, she assured me. It can't be the oats. Continue on the tablets and the bland diet, and my symptoms would subside. Stunned, I didn't argue, but I did cut oats from my diet immediately. My symptoms vanished within a few days and when I came off the prescribed tablets, they didn't return. It has been six months since then and so far, I haven't had a re-occurrence.

It would be easy, in my position, to believe my GP had failed me. But this is where I feel the system has failed. No blood test was offered. I actually requested a blood test and was refused, as it hadn't been a year since my last set. A blood test may have proven damage to my gut and low iron levels. How far are doctors really educated about coeliac disease?

If you're avoiding oats, be sure to check ingredients. Oats MUST be declared as an allergen

For now, Coeliac UK are campaigning to improve post-diagnosis care for coeliacs. But if you're experiencing ongoing symptoms and getting nowhere with your GP, check out the information that Coeliac UK offers about avenin and consider showing it to your GP. In the meantime, it may be worth cutting out oats completely, to see how your stomach responds. But be wary - oats and oat flour can be found not only in porridge but in gluten free cereals, biscuits and even some cakes. It can feel frustrating at limiting your diet further but oat free versions are out there and just as tasty. And after all, it's a small price to pay for better digestive health.

Carrot Cake Numero Deux

You may well have seen my blog post a few weeks ago about my first ever attempt at baking carrot cake (if not, you can look at it here). This particular recipe was based on a non-gluten free version in Mary Berry's Baking Bible and was a bit of an eyebrow-raiser from the start, since it used two bananas in addition to a small quantity of grated carrot. Odd, no? But Mary Berry is the Queen of Cake, so I put my faith in her and, well, it didn't quite work. Why? Primarily, I suspect, because it was very banana-y, and I'm led to believe that generally, carrot cake probably shouldn't taste of banana (even if it does still taste good).

So, having spent some time researching carrot cake in all its glorious forms (by the way, no other recipe I came across used banana) and today I've had another bash at it. This is the new result:

I don't want to brag - it's really rather unbecoming of a lady such as myself - but I actually think this one looks pretty good. Awesome, even!

Since my last 'carrot cake' was really more of a 'spiced banana cake', I figured it was my sworn duty to do a quick taste-test. After all, if I want you to buy it, I'd better make sure it's up to snuff, right? Right!

Oh my Lordy heavens, it's really very good! In the mouth, not on the waist, since this delicious cake, despite having heaps of veg in it, is actually VERY sinful. Then again, what's the point of cake, I ask you, if it isn't just a tad naughty? Or a lot naughty, as this one might be? So, what we have here is a fresh, gluten free, moist and spiced nutty carrot cake, filled and topped with a creamy vanilla cream cheese icing.

Tempted yet?!

*Sneaks back for a second slice*

Reviewed - The London Dessert Collective

One of my favourite memories from this year's Allergy Show in London is the London Dessert Collective. We coeliacs, as a group, tend to be well acquainted with the rough-and-ready pasties and pies, biscuits and cookies, and tasty-but-quite-average-looking cakes. So the French patisserie style refinement of the LDC stall immediately drew the eye.

Decisions, decisions!

Although the LDC are not exclusively gluten free as a company, the items on offer for coeliacs are plentiful enough to be noteworthy, especially given how unusual and special some of them are.

I suffer from a pretty serious addiction to pistachio (I say 'suffer' but I really quite enjoy it), so the lovely-looking pistachio meringue cake was a no-brainer. To go along with it, I had to try a brownie. Yes, it does seem as though we are forever being offered brownies (currently purchasable in every Costa, Starbucks AND Cafe Nero, for heaven's sake), but the temptation of a fresh, gooey, rich brownie was too much to resist, especially when it's flavoured with salted caramel.

My sister bought a few of the macarons you can see in the picture above and kindly let me try the raspberry one. Although these morsels appear delicate, they pack one hell of a flavour punch! The raspberry shells are sweet and strong, and are cut through perfectly with the dark chocolate ganache. Heaven! She almost didn't get any of it!

When I got home, I tried the brownie and it, again, was wonderful. There is no picture of it, since I ate it so fast, so here's a (slightly fuzzy) pic of them on the stall. The salted caramel is bottom left.

Selection of brownies

My only slight let down with the brownie was that the rich chocolate completely overpowered the salted caramel that I'm assured was hiding in there somewhere. More of that salted caramel, please!

Given the deliciousness of the first two items I tried, I was filled with heady excitement by the time I got to the pistachio meringue cake, and here, I'm afraid, was my real disappointment. I really loved the guys at the LDC, so I'm loathe to say anything negative, but it would be no good to avoid the issue. This cake, they told me, consisted of layers of meringue, pistachio cream, and pistachio sponge. Ooh, my tastebuds were a-tingling! My fork dove in, but as soon as the meringue cracked, it sprung out of the box and half of it landed on the floor! It was simply laying on top of the cake, rather than being held down. Sad! The pistachio cream was beautiful, but there was so very little of it that this it was unable to hold the meringue in place.

Please excuse the chipped nail polish!

The real disappointment, however, was the sponge, which was so solid I struggled to get my fork through it. Combined with the green colour typical of pistachio cakes, it gave the appearance of a florist's oasis! Sadly, the sponge rendered it inedible, and what was left was consigned to the bin, which was a great shame. A lighter sponge and more pistachio cream would have made this a perfect pud but as it was, it fell short of being worth the £3 I had paid for it.

In all, there are more positives than negatives for the LDC, but if they can sort out their meringue cakes, I think there are few companies who could surpass them. I would definitely recommend a try if you're looking for something gluten free but with that air of class and refinement.

Read more about the LDC at their website.

Allergy & Free From Show 2014

Those without food allergies may struggle to appreciate the enthusiasm in thise post, but bear with me because for many coeliacs, the Allergy & Free From Show is one of the year's highlights.

Taking place in London's Olympia (also in Liverpool later this year. Check here for more info), this event gathers together the biggest, most exciting, most beloved and newest supplers of gluten free products in the UK. For the lactose intolerant, there are a lot of dairy free suppliers as well. And for those who feel tired and need a sit-down, Sainsbury's was running cookery demonstrations throughout the day (although I'm afraid I didn't rate their cooking at all because they didn't add any seasoning to anything, so everything tasted like nothing. Blech!). 

I could quite easily give you a detailed account of the whole day, from the transport we traveled by (coach) to everything I sampled while walking around. But that would be incredibly dull for you all, so instead, here are my favourite memories of the day:

• That moment, walking in, when we saw just how big the show has become. We last went four years ago (I got ill with the M.E three years ago so this is the first time I've been able to go. Exciting!), and it was half the size it is now! It is HUGE!!!!!!! I mean it; you could fit about a thousand elephants in that hall! So...do we go left? Right? Walk straight through the centre? Ooh, a map! Wait, is that Udi's?!

• Catching up with the guys at B-Free, Georgia's Choice, Perkier, Eskal and Barkat, who I know from our local food fair back in April. They're all absolutely lovely and I always feel like I'm chatting with old friends, which is lovely.

• All the samples!!!! Oh my goodness. I ate breakfast before we left and I had a light dinner when we got home but I didn't need lunch at all because I was SO FULL! Bread at this stall, doughnuts (oh yes!) at another stall, pasta, curry, fajitas, cake, cake and more cake. Then there was coconut water (delicious and refreshing!), soya milks in various flavours...it was a cornucopia of deliciousness.

• Meeting new people. The guys on the London Dessert Collective stall were so sweet and lovely that I could have bought one of everything on the stall, all of which was as impeccably turned out as the stallholders themselves!  They specialise in the 'fancier' puds. Think French patisserie-style products; delicate macarons in myriad flavours, meringue layer cakes in little loaf cases, and beautifully squidgy-looking brownies. I bought a pistachio meringue cake and a salted caramel brownie, which I plan to try later today. But take a look at their stall!!!! 

•  Getting chatted up by a guy on the stall for the International New York Times (by the way, WHY was there a stall for selling subscriptions to the International New York Times at an allergy show?!?). I haven't been ID'd since I was about 20 and having a guy I just refused to buy a subscription from tell me I had a 'gorgeous figure and smile' and that he would 'marry me right now if I didn't have a boyfriend of husband' was pretty nice! I thanked him and assured him that no matter how hard he flirted, I STILL wouldn't be buying the subscription!

•  Having got on the wrong underground train to get to Olympia in the morning, we managed to get the wrong one on the way back too. Not so bad. We switched to get back to Earl's Court at the next stop. With 25minutes to get from Earl's Court to London Victoria Coach Station (gulp!), we wearily traipsed over the bridge, 15 bags in tow, to the right platform and wait for the train. At which point an announcement declared the train we needed was delayed by 15 minutes, and to get there sooner we'd have to go to a different platform. So we had to RUN over the bridge to the platform we'd started on so we would get there in time. We made it back to the coach station with three minutes to spare, all panting for breath and exhausted! It was HILARIOUS!!! 

Dad & Jamie after we FINALLY got on the right underground train to London Victoria

• Getting to meet Isabel and her family from Isabel's - the company that sell an amazing pizza base mix that makes an authentically Italian pizza, dough balls and more. They were all lovely and I was excited to get a hug from Isabel herself. Sadly, I don't have a picture, but you can check out their website here.

Honestly, there's loads more that I could tell you about but I'm waffling now, so I'll end there. All in all it was a fantastic day out and if you have a food allergy (or indeed other allergies, as the show also covers conditions such as hayfever, asthma, migraines, etc), I definitely recommend you pay a visit next year.

Until next time, food fans!

Recipe: Guacamole-Loaded Potato Skins

Sometimes, we want our dinner to be interesting without all the faff of creating something with Michelin star appeal, especially if that dinner is being served at a barbecue, party or movie marathon. And with all the great weather we've been having (as I'm typing this it's grown cloudy. Mother Nature is SO out to get me!), I have the perfect party snack that will add interest in your event without adding too much to your waistline or taking too much from your bank balance. Sound good? Read on!

Personally, I'm a BIG fan of the baked potato. Crisp, crunchy skin on the outside, and that delightfully fluffy white centre combine to make it the perfect vessel for your choice of filling, be it tuna and mayo, spicy chilli or the traditional baked beans and cheese. But this campfire classic can get a little dull after a while, so let's jazz it up a bit with my Mexican loaded potato skins!

Ingredients

6 medium-sized Rooster/King Edward/Maris Piper potatoes (I used Roosters)
2tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 small onion, peeled
1 fiery red chilli
bacon bits, if desired
1tsp smoked paprika
40g light mature cheddar cheese (or LactoFree if avoiding dairy), coarsely grated
2 ripe avocadoes
1/2 fresh tomato
fresh lime

Method

Start by setting your oven to 200 degrees C/400 degrees F/Gas Mark 6.
Repeatedly stab your potatoes so they're covered in holes, then mix the olive oil and 1tbsp salt together and rub it all over the potatoes. Place them on a baking tray in the middle of the oven and turn every 30-40 minutes for 2 hours.

When they're really crisp on the outside (or just starting to crisp if you're feeling sensitive of tooth), take them out of the oven and cut each potato in half. Scoop out the insides of each and dump in a bowl. Dice 2/3 of the small onion and sweat in a frying pan with 1tsp olive oil (if you're using bacon bits, you can dry-fry the onions alongside the bacon bits and they will provide all the fat you need) until they're soft and transluscent, then add them to the potato fluff. While you're at it, throw in the paprika, the cooked bacon bits, if using, and the cheese. Mix everything together until well combined, and season to taste.

Spoon the fluff back into the potato skins and place back in the oven for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, make the guacamole. De-stone the avocadoes and scoop out the creamy insides into a bowl. Finely mince the remaining 1/3 of the onion and the tomato, and add both to the avocado. Season with roughly 1/2 tsp of salt and the juice from half a lime. By the time you've finished, the potatoes skins should be ready. Yay!!

Take the skins out, top with big spoonfuls of the guacamole and serve immediately on a beautiful platter before you 'accidentally' eat them all, with some fresh veg on the side if you wish.

Enjoy!

Rainbow Dust Cupcakes

In general, my baking is fairly serious stuff. I want to get my products into some local eateries and it means I have to really focus on 'serious' baking for now. But every now and then, as a guilty pleasure, I HAVE to mess around a little bit. After all, isn't that how great combinations get discovered?!

So, I'm in Bookers with my Dad (yes, I shop with my Dad. I'm THAT cool) and we're skulking round the sweetie aisles when I find these:

Remember them!? I LOVED these things when I was little. And for those who had seriously deprived childhoods, they are little plastic tubes filled with powdery sherbet stuff in different flavours. Generally speaking, you squeeze open a tube and chuck the whole thing down your gullet, then lie back while your bloody sugar shoots through the roof. SO good!!

Aaaaaaanyway, that got me all inspired. Rainbow Dust cupcakes! Oh yes! And you know what that means? Tie-dye rainbow-effect cupcakes! Et voila!

My plan had been to pour the different flavoured sherbets over the top of the icing in a sort of stripey rainbow pattern. Unfortunately, the 10 year-old me never stopped to look at the sherbet when I was knocking it back. If I had, I'd have known it's ALL WHITE!!! Damn!! So you can't actually see the sherbet on the top of the cupcake. Damn! I also put so much vanilla in the icing that you couldn't taste it either, so perhaps that needs a tad more work...! In the meantime, I've crushed up a few pieces of Edinburgh Rock and sprinkled them over the top, which has made them taste mega-cool!

But on the bright side, LOOK HOW COOL THE COLOURS LOOK!!!!

Overall, I'm pretty excited about these cupcakes! What do you think?!