Restaurant Help for Special Eaters

Here’s a really easy way to take the trauma out of eating out if you are on a ‘special’ diet, check out http://www.leaveitout.com/

Leave It Out is currently in beta mode so go on over and put it through its paces. You can search for restaurants by region and dietary requirements i.e gluten free, vegan, nut free, lactose free, egg free etc.

This is such a brilliant idea and I hope that people all over the UK will be able to take from it as well as giving something back.

Make sure you name and shame those restaurants who’s serving staff say ‘I’ll ask the chef’ and disappear for an hour, only to re-appear with a ‘he says the steak is OK’ answer (yes this has happened to me more than once!) and to champion those who are happy to provide detailed advice or even better, separate menus for special diets!

We can but dream!

Gluten Free Afternoon Tea

...Is served daily from 3pm until 6pm at The Winter Garden Restaurant located in the Landmark Hotel, London!

More details here - http://www.wintergarden-london.com/atrium_afternoon_tea.html

Here’s the menu.

A selection of sandwiches:

Organic egg mayonnaise and mustard cress, Free range corn fed chicken with tarragon, Smoked and poached salmon, Cream cheese and cucumber

*

Warm freshly baked gluten free scones with Cornish clotted cream, homemade strawberry preserves

*

A selection of French pastries

Chocolate macaroon, Mango mousse, Fruit tartlet, Raspberry cheesecake, Strawberry meringue, Chocolate and raspberry crème brulee,

Pistachio macaroon, Passion sorbet lollipop

*

Tea, coffee or herbal infusion

£30.00

Does that look amazing or what? I might just go there one day on my own!

Gluten Free Croissants!

See that exclamation mark up there? That is one of excitement, not anger!

My long suffering husband will testify that I really miss croissants and that I think the gluten free versions currently available are pants.

Imagine my excitement when I read online today that the people behind Genius Bread (currently selling an average 45,000 loaves a week!) http://www.geniusglutenfree.com/

are extending their range next year and that may include croissants!

The article on www.TimesOnline.co.uk says -

“We have 18 new products coming out including pre-sliced bread, rolls and ciabatta” said Bruce-Gardyne. She is also working on a gluten-free croissant. “Nothing will be launched unless it tastes as good or better than the mainstream alternative.”

I've got my fingers crossed for Lucinda at Genius. I hope she can pull it off! If her amazing bread loafs are anything to go by, I'm sure they'll be awesome.

Flourless Orange Cake

This middle eastern dessert is perfect for Christmas time and for anyone avoiding gluten. I cooked this a couple of weeks ago without the aid of a blender and my husband complained that the bits of skin were too big! Luckily I’m getting a blender for Christmas so I can make it again properly!

Ingredients

3 medium oranges
6 eggs, separated
225g caster sugar
200g ground almonds
1tsp baking powder

Method

1. Place the clean, whole and unpeeled fruit in water to cover, and bring to the boil. Simmer for 1½ hours or until soft, adding more water when necessary. (I cheated and microwaved the oranges in a Tupperware tub half filled with water for about 20 mins.)

2. Drain the oranges, cut into quarters, discard any major pips, and whiz the rest, including peel, in the food-processor, then cool.

3. Heat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Beat the egg yolks and sugar together in a large bowl until pale. Beat in the oranges, almonds, and baking powder.

4. Beat the egg whites until softly peaky and fold gently into the mixture.

5. Pour into a 23cm (9in) springform cake tin and bake for an hour, until firm to the touch (cover with a loose sheet of foil if over-browning).

6. Cool in the tin and dust with icing sugar to serve.

Thanks to www.TimesOnline.co.uk for the recipe

Gluten Free Crackers

In my family, Christmas normally means small plates piled high with crackers, cold meats, red cabbage, pickled onions, cheese etc.

Here's a super easy recipe for making crackers to have with your cheese at Christmas. I'm just gonna put this on the list of things I have to make - eek!

Ingredients

1/4 cup chickpea/gram flour

1/4 cup gluten-free baking flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp. turmeric

1 tbsp. yeast

1 tbsp. sesame seeds (roasted and ground)

1/4 tsp. sesame oil

3 tbsp. water

Things You’ll Need

Wooden spoon

Rolling pin

Plastic storage bags

Baking sheet

Method

1. Combine and stir all ingredients except the sesame oil and water in a mixing bowl.2

2. Add the sesame oil. Stir until it is well blended. Slowly add the water, stirring frequently to evenly distribute it. The dough that develops should be moist enough to form a large ball and firm enough to be rolled with a rolling pin.

3. Gently knead the dough until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Place the dough in a plastic storage bag and set it aside for 10 minutes. Set the oven to 180 C.

4. Flour the surface that you will roll the dough on. Separate half the dough and dust the top of it with a light layer of gluten-free flour. Roll the dough until it is 1/4-inch thick. Cut the dough into small squares, usually about 1 inch by 1 inch (but can be larger if you wish).

5. Arrange the squares on a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough. Use a toothpick to pierce 4 holes in each square. The holes will help the dough lie flat and not curl at the corners. Bake for 15 minutes. If the dough is not completely cooked, bake another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Once cooled, the dough will become a crispy cracker.

Wheat Free Muffin Mixes

...and other treats (including wheat free Christmas Cake) can be purchased from

Crayves - healthy, organic foods

Link - http://www.crayves.co.uk/id7.html

Such a fantastic idea this - I love the idea of someone else doing all the hard work but mostly, that at the end of it, you have freshly baked muffins, warm from the oven.

Wheat Free on ebay

You may not have the funds for a whole wheat free hamper (ditto) but you may still want to treat yourself or your loved one to wheat and/or gluten free treats for Christmas.

The answer - ebay.

Ah, ebay. Making life easier since 1995 :)

The lovely people at http://www.wheat-free.org/

have this ingenious page that allows you to view at a glance what wheat free books, treats and even dog food are currently for sale on ebay.

Link http://www.wheat-free.org/ebay.php