I asked for a beer – don’t offer me cider!

2
January 31, 2015 Coeliac awareness, Eating Out
I asked for a beer – don’t offer me cider!

It’s not often I take to my blog for a rant ,which is remarkably restrained for me let me tell you!  However, I’ve had one too many experiences of this recently and it has ignited a rage.

Being someone who likes to eat out and socialise with friends, I visit pubs and restaurants regularly. It’s fantastic when I see that GF beer is available and I’m always the first to commend this using social media and face to face with the establishment.

On the flip side, when GF beer isn’t an option, one of my biggest pet peeves is being offered cider instead. I realise that usually the person is trying to be helpful but I just don’t get the logic.

Do they think I don’t realise I can drink cider?

Does it ever cross their mind that if I had wanted cider I would have ordered it?

To be honest, I can let this slide in places where it’s clear requests for GF beer are few and far between but when I’m in a ‘craft beer’ pub which claims to have over 50 types of beer, I can’t cope with this type of response and just see red.

Similarly, I often tweet places in advance of visiting them to see if they serve GF beer and if not, if they would consider stocking it.  I get many varied responses to this and I can understand why they might not, maybe there isn’t a market for it in their area or with their clientele. I’ve had places say no but that it’s on their radar and also, just plain old no which is fair enough.

It’s when I get ‘ No, but we have a great range of craft ciders’  that it really bother me. Sure you may as well have just offered me a rum & coke!

Cider does not equal beer – please take note purveyors of alcoholic beverages.

Fin

Easy Gluten Free Banana Bread

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January 08, 2015 Breakfast, Dessert, Food, Recipes
Easy Gluten Free Banana Bread

My sister in law was over at the weekend and mentioned making banana bread which put it in my head….. et voilá!. I usually use over ripened bananas to make a healthy breakfast bread but I fancied something a bit more bold (eg with butter and sugar!).

This Odlums recipe is brilliant and works perfectly with Doves GF Self Raising flour. I’ve made a few little tweaks too.

What you need

250g Self Raising  GF Flour

125g Butter

125g Brown Sugar – I like a light demerera for this

2 Eggs

2 Mashed ripe bananas

1 tsp Vanilla Essence

1 tsp Xanthum Gum

Chopped walnuts & raisins to taste – I used a good handful of both

 

This is how we do it

1. This recipe is a one pot wonder! Put the eggs, sugar, essence, bananas and sugar in a bowl and mix well

2. Add the flour, xanthum gum and nuts/raisins and mix well

3. Your batter is ready – pour it into a standard loaf tin and bake for around 45-50 mins at 170C

 

Tis so easy it would make you cry. Mine lasted well for 4 days wrapped in tinfoil and parchment paper.

Gluten free herb & onion stuffing

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December 08, 2014 Dinner, Food
Gluten free herb & onion stuffing

So here is an easy recipe passed on to me by my mum. Growing up I would get her to make loads extra so I could just eat it with spoon. It’s really easy and the secret is butter, butter and more butter. As most Irish mammies are, she is a total feeder.

You can make lots of stuffing variations but here’s a plain old herb stuffing to get you started. This will give you stuffing for 6 people. Be warning I like my stuffing seriously herby.

What you need:

GF breadcrumbs ( I use a full pack of Kelkin Sourdough bread)

150g butter

1 large onion or two medium onions diced

2 Tablespoons Mixed Herbs

1 Tablespoon Thyme

1 Tablespoon Sage

Salt & Pepper to taste

 This is how we do it:

  1. Heat the butter, use a medium heat on the hob
  2. Once it’s melted fully, add onions
  3. Fry gently until they start to colour
  4. Take off the heat and add your breadcrumbs, mix thoroughly
  5. Add your herbs, mix thoroughly
  6. Taste and add Salt & Pepper if you think’s needed. I might tweak the herbs a bit too here – all you need is thyme, ha!
  7. Stuff your bird and bake or just bake in an ovenproof dish for 20 mins until golden brown at around 180C


 

 

Easy and delicious. The picture above is pork steak with stuffing, cabbage, glazed carrots and gratin potatoes which was lovingly cooked by my mum when I visited one weekend recently.

It was lovingly eaten by me and photographed by Mos.

9 of the best places to get a gluten free dinner in Dublin

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December 07, 2014 Dublin, Eating Out
9 of the best places to get a gluten free dinner in Dublin

Did you notice I love eating out??

I’ve gotten some really lovely feedback on my post about finding a gluten free lunch in Dublin so thought I better turn my attention to dinner.

We’re so lucky here in the big schmoke to have plenty of places with knowledge of and ability to offer coeliac friendly dishes.

Here are my favourite venues to get a decent feed without added gluten – happy dining!

Saba

There are plenty of thai restuarants in Dublin and they are generally a great standard. Saba is just the bees knees though. Unlike lots of other places, it gives coeliacs more options than just curry. The Hake in banana leaf is delicious.

Milano

Also known as Pizza Express in the UK. They frequently have brilliant offers and offer GF pizza bases, starters and desserts. They also stock gluten free beer. What’s not to like?

The Port House

Spanish Tapas and Wine bar. GF options are noted on the menu, however, staff knowledge can be a little dicey so double check things with your server. I’ve never felt ill after eating here and have been many times.

Darwins

Best steaks in Dublin, gluten free knowledge superb – loads of options including sauces. Are also surprisingly good for veggies despite being known as a steakhouse.

Whitefriar grill

Located just across the road from Darwins, Whitefriar Grill is one my absolute favourites, especially for brunch. The huevos rancheros are unbelieveable. They don’t list GF options on the menu but they know their stuff and I’ve never had a problem.

Odessa

Odessa is really consistent and do some great specials. The gluten free options aren’t extensive but everything I’ve ever had there has been good.

Ananda (Dundrum)

Ananda is a fine dining Indian restaurant. It has coeliac friendly options noted on the menu and is a real treat to visit. The lunch and early bird menus are the best value.

Brasserie 66

Seriously good value early bird here which not only has gluten free options but they include a cocktail for dessert if you’re too full for something sweeter. Amazing!

777

A mexican place so hip it hurts. They do a brilliant value menu on Sunday’s. Gluten free isn’t noted on the menu (despite my many twitter requests!) but they are able to tell you what’s what.

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Blondies

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November 11, 2014 Dessert, Recipes
Gluten Free Peanut Butter Blondies

If you’re a bit sick of regular brownies and fancy a treat, try Rachel Allen’s Peanut Butter Blondies. They work really well gluten free.

They are simple to make, a bit more biscuity than Brownies and fecking delicious!

What you need:

125g Plain GF Flour (I use Doves Farm)

Pinch Xantham Gum

1tsp Baking Powder

1 Egg

I tsp Vanilla Extract

100g Butter

150g Peanut Butter (I used Aldi’s Grandesa Smooth PB, 4 Tablespoons)

175g Light Brown Sugar

75g White chocolate ( I use Aldi’s Moser Roth and chopped up)

 

This is how we do it:

 
1. Sift the flour, xantham gum and baking powder into a bowl

2. Cream the butter and peanut butter together and then add the sugar, egg and vanilla extract and combine.

3. Add the flour to the butter mixture and combine. Then add the chopped up chocolate and mix well.

4. Put the dough in a lined square cake tin and bake at 170C for around 25 minutes until it is brown and pretty firm. It should still be a little squidgy.

5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin. Once it’s fully cool, turn out and cut into squares – it makes 8-12.

Scally’s Supervalu of Clonakilty launches GF bakery in-store

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September 01, 2014 Cork, Food
Scally’s Supervalu of Clonakilty launches GF bakery in-store

Things haven’t been so bad around Gluten Free Cailin way recently. Just the other week I was the extremely lucky recipient of a hamper of gluten free goodies from Scally’s Supervalu in Clonakility, Co. Cork – free food is always good food my friends. Funnily enough, I was on a hen weekend in Clon years ago and noticed even then that their range of GF products was one of the best I had seen in the country.

Scallys launched their in-store GF product range just last week and I received everything from samples of their bread to their seafood chowder. I also tried their scones, cakes and pies – in case you’re worried about my waistline, I had some help.

All of the food is very high quality and more importantly it was really delicious. The brown bread was the closest thing to ‘normal’ wheaten bread that I have tasted and the white bread toasted was melt in the mouth. If you miss McCambridge bread, you have to get your mitts on one of Scally’s brown loaves.

Scallys also provided a sample of their fish pie which was AMAZING. My least favourite items were the carrot cake and scones which I just feel can never measure up to their glutenous counterparts – I am waiting to be proved wrong!

I’m extremely impressed with both the innovation of this range and the fact that it has come from an Irish owned supermarket.  I wish them every success, particularly as this might lead to more gluten free instore bakeries around the country.

Full press release below:

 

SCALLY’S SUPERVALU CLONAKILTY BECOMES FIRST SUPERMARKET IN IRELAND TO OPEN AN IN-STORE GLUTEN-FREE BAKERY AND FOOD PRODUCTION FACILITY

 

28th August – Scally’s SuperValu, located in the heart of Clonakilty in West Cork, has become the first supermarket in Ireland to launch a designated in-store gluten-free bakery and food production facility. The new facility, with an investment of €500,000, will create five new jobs at the store.

 

The ‘Clonakilty Gluten Free Cuisine’ range, which consists of a selection of almost 30 gluten-free products certified for coeliacs, will be available at Scally’s SuperValu Clonakilty and Scally’s SuperValu Blackrock in Cork city, with future expansion plans expected. As this innovative range is prepared in a separate bakery and kitchen, coeliacs can be assured that the range is 100% gluten-free, with all products independently tested and certified by Alpha Analytics.

 

Speaking at the launch, Eugene Scally, owner of Scally’s SuperValu said, “1 in 100 people in Ireland are thought to have coeliac disease, with many as yet undiagnosed. The decision to develop this range was made after market research highlighted the lack of choice for coeliacs and the high cost of gluten-free products; research showed that a coeliac’s basket of goods is 87% more expensive than a non-coeliac basket. We wanted to offer customers a diverse gluten-free range that was keenly priced and of exceptional quality. Our customers feedback has been instrumental in developing the range and the response from shoppers has been extremely positive.”

 

The launch highlights SuperValu’s community retail model as stores are independently owned and retailers can tailor their offer for the local area.  The state of the art production facility means that the gluten-free range can be produced locally in West Cork and adds to West Cork’s reputation for food leadership. The launch of ‘Clonakilty Gluten Free Cuisine’ follows the launch last year of SuperValu’s FreeFrom range which consists of over 300 gluten and dairy-free products, already in all SuperValu stores.

 

Chairperson of the Coeliac Society of Ireland, Mary Twohig said: “We are delighted that Scally’s have developed this facility in Cork, giving coeliacs more choice in their search for gluten-free foods, on a local basis. It is important to coeliacs that they can access a range of products that are affordable and good quality. With 15% of our membership being from Cork, it is fantastic to see local businesses, and a national retailer, rising to meet the needs of people whose only medicine is a gluten-free diet.”

 

SuperValu serves over 2.6 million customers every week and now has 222 stores nationwide. 75% of everything on SuperValu’s shelves is sourced or produced in Ireland. SuperValu continues to source locally wherever possible and purchases almost €2 billion worth of goods from Irish suppliers which help to sustain 30,000 jobs in the Irish economy.

 

 

Strawberry cheesecake – the gluten free way

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August 26, 2014 Dessert, Food, Recipes
Strawberry cheesecake – the gluten free way

It’s no secret that I love making a nice dessert and I decided to go for an old favourite recently – Strawberry Cheesecake. It was something I used to have at home so for the nostalgia factor I gave my mum a buzz to get the old family recipe.

Turns out our family recipe, like many others is from the lovely people at Philadelphia Cream Cheese! See the recipe here, it couldn’t be easier.

 

What you need

1 Strawberry Jelly (Make sure the brand is GF, I used Aldi’s own brand)

100g GF digestive biscuits (I used a pack of Aldi ‘ Has no’ ones)

50g Butter

150ml Cream

Strawberries and cream to serve

280g or 1.5 packs of Philadelphia cream cheese

 

This is how we do it

1.        Smash up the digestive biscuits so they are a fine crumb. I find a ziplock bag and a rolling pin work well here

2.       Heat the butter and add the digestive biscuits once melted. Mix well

3.       Line a 20cm springform tin tightly with the digestive mix and leave in the fridge to cool

4.       Add 200ml boiling water to the jelly and stir well. Allow to dissolve.

5.       While the jelly begins to set, whip the cream until it holds a form – be careful not to overwhip

6.       Once the jelly is at setting point and is cooled down somewhat, mix in the philly cream cheese and combine

7.       Next, fold in the cream lightly and some sliced strawberries if you like

8.       Pour the mixture over the digestive base evenly

9.       Chill for at least 4 hours before serving – the longer the better

10.     Serve with some whipped cream and more strawberries – TA DAH!

 

 

This is also really good as a lemon or lime cheesecake.

Own brand GF sausages from Aldi Ireland – yes please!

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August 17, 2014 Cork, Food
Own brand GF sausages from Aldi Ireland – yes please!

UPDATE: The Aldi GF sausages are now on trial nationwide!

I noticed on twitter a couple of months ago that there was a mention of own brand GF sausages in Aldi. Having seen no sign of them in my local store in Dublin, I emailed Aldi to find out if they were available nationwide.

It turns out they are currently trailing them in stores in the Mitchelstown region in Cork. Between the Delicious company trailing the new GF Brennan’s bread there and now this, I’m getting a wee bit jealous of you Cork dwellers!

Aldi kindly sent me some samples which I have been enjoying this weekend. The sausages are being sourced from a known Irish brand of GF sausages and are really delicious. Not too greasy and a good pork content.

After a 50k cycle yesterday, a sausage roll on with Aldi Has No bread completely saved me!

Fingers crossed the trial goes well and we see these nationwide in the future. As well as just being really good sausages, they are easy on the pocket too. The range at the moment is sold as follows:

Aldi’s HAS NO Gluten Free Irish Pork Sausages 8 pack €0.99

Aldi’s Brannans Gluten Free Irish Pork Sausages 16 pack €1.79

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