The Free From G Bacon Bomb

The Free From G Bacon Bomb

Ah Food Network, how I love you. We were watching Outrageous Food when we got the inspiration for this. I thought it was going to be really difficult to make, but it wasn't. If we hadn't been documenting the recipe for this post I guess the entire prep would have taken less than 20 minutes.

Gluten Free Bacon Experiment - Done!

You know the bacon recipe I mentioned a couple of days ago? I'm mentioning it once again, so you know what that means?! It worked perfectly and was amazing!

If you like bacon you are in for a real treat tomorrow. I'll be posting the totally original recipe with lots of photos to drool over.

It's a good one!

It's Not Just Me Then

A couple of days ago I read a cartoon on the very funny but sometimes too close to home Celeriacs. It was entitled: You Don't Get Invited To Things. It got me thinking, that hasn't been the case in the past but it seems like it is now, I think I've probably used up all my invites by previous panicked declining.

More Gluten Free Experiments Coming!

I'm really excited about a couple of new recipes that I'm going to try out over the coming days. They could of course end up as complete disasters and I'll never speak of them again, or they could turn out as some of the best gluten free food I have ever made, we'll see!

Gluten Free Fish Pie

Fish Pie

This is an old school recipe from my pre-coeliac days and though I haven't made it in years (not sure why) I haven't had to adapt the recipe to be gluten free at all, it just is.

This fish pie is a lovely meal and can easily be adapted to include your choice of fish and shellfish. I'm going to break the recipe down into sections, otherwise it's going to be a complicated mess to write up! When you cook from instinct, recipes, especially ones with lots of steps are hard to document. This isn't a hard meal to make, but it does involve a few different processes, it's so worth it though.

Gluten Free KFC Style Chicken Gravy For Dipping

Thick Chicken Gravy For Dipping

If I were to be making a 'proper' gravy I'd go old school and use bones for the base, but as this is a take on a fast food favourite to accompany my Southern Fried Chicken, it's just a really quick and simple recipe that uses chicken stock granules.

Gluten Free Southern Fried Chicken

Southern Fried Chicken

Now I'm not claiming that this is anything like KFC, but there's a certain person who eats gluten, loves the Colonel's chicken, has it on a regular basis and thinks this recipe is a winner as an alternative. I think so too or else I wouldn't post it, it has a really lovely flavour.

If you miss the taste of KFC chicken this is a pretty good replacement, it's not exact, for starters there is definitely black pepper in that secret recipe, you can see it! As I have a pepper allergy that can't be used but you could include it for an even closer taste. As for the other ingredients, well this is a take on what I remember, it's by no means the same but it sure tastes good.

Gluten Free Authentic Egg Fried Rice

Authentic Egg Fried Rice

I'll be totally honest and say that the original Egg Fried Rice recipe that I posted in 2010 was at the time the best that I could do, and it still holds up as a good recipe for a quick light meal or a side dish. However, that was a long time ago and I think that not only am I a better cook than I was back then, but I'm also really confident in trying out new ingredients and trusting my instincts more than ever with flavours.

This new Egg Fried Rice accompanied a pretty delicious dish of Lemon Chicken and was the closest I have had to a proper Chinese meal since being gluten free. I seem to be getting quite good at this!

Harry Potter Studio Tour - Gluten Free Information

Every Flavour Beans Are Gluten Free!

In just over a month I'll be going to the Harry Potter studio tour myself, I'm beyond excited, to the point where I have actually already practised my pose for the broomstick photo. It has to be perfect!

I've done some research so that us coeliacs and gluten intolerants know what options we have (if any) for eating during our visit. Here's what I found out:

• There's a Studio Cafe and a Starbucks at the beginning of the tour.
• The Studio Cafe will sell food that is gluten free, suitable for vegetarians and vegans. 
• There is no eating or drinking during the tour but half way through you can go out to the back lot where there will be a refreshments stand.
• The Butterbeer is not gluten free.

UPDATE: I visited yesterday 26/4/12. Please see new details by clicking the link below and scrolling down.

Coeliac Disease and Stress

I've come to realise that being gluten free sadly isn't enough when you're a coeliac. No matter how well I feel on a long stretch without being glutened, there is always one thing that drags me down to utter exhaustion and that is stress.

Gluten Free Oyster Sauce and Soy Sauce

Don't you just hate it when a store stops stocking a product that is a staple ingredient in your kitchen? I do, and it keeps happening.

Prior to being gluten free one of my most favourite ingredients was oyster sauce. We would buy a huge bottle of it from Tesco that would last for ages. Then I found out that I couldn't have that particular brand because it had wheat flour in it. Oh well. But then after much research I found out that Blue Elephant Oyster Sauce was gluten free. Yay!

Weekend Eats 9

Fishcake Mix

So, last weekend I was supposed to document at least two new recipes for Free From G, but it didn't happen. One I never even got around to making and the other, well, though delicious, I just can't get them to come out of the frying pan looking lovely.

Every recipe that is on Free From G has been tried, tested and if I didn't think it was up to scratch it wouldn't be on here. So no new recipes for the time being. Boo.

Gluten Free Smoked Pork Belly Strips

Pork Belly Strips

It may be a cheap cut but pork belly has always been my favourite cut of meat. It has an amazing rich flavour and though it can be fiddly cutting all the fat off once it's cooked, it's absolutely worth it, it's the fat that gives it such a great taste.

If you don't want to smoke the ribs, either grill or fry them, they'll still taste great, but for me smoked foods win hands down.

Gluten Free Chicken Empanadas Filling

Chicken Empanadas

What I love about empanadas is that you can fill them with whatever you want. Usually when I make these I use a smoked chicken filling but for one that is really quick and easy to make but with bags of flavour, I decided not to smoke the chicken but to pan fry it instead.

Wood Chips For Smoking Food

Assorted Wood Chips

Oh gosh, I love them! A tablespoon and a half of this stuff and it's like magic, so much flavour and juiciness. I've not been that experimental really, just pork ribs, pork belly strips and chicken breasts so far but oh my, they've all been so good.

Actually, I have been a bit more experimental than that, but not on a large scale. I smoked a mushroom, some gouda and also halloumi. The gouda worked the best but I don't recall which flavour wood chips were used, the mushroom was just plain weird.

Gluten Free Experiment - Springcake Rolls

It's A Springcake Roll!

This isn't a regular recipe post, just a glimpse into the madness of my kitchen on occasions. Plus, I have no idea what the exact quantities were, all I know is that I think I've created something new.

I'm guessing you know where the name Springcake Roll comes from, if not, it's a hybrid of a Spring Roll and a Pancake Roll and it's actually really tasty.

Gluten Free Lemon Chicken Recipe

Lemon Chicken With Egg Fried Rice

Sorry about my poor photographic skills, it's hard when you're hungry! This is as close as I've gotten to authentic style Lemon Chicken just like you would order from a Chinese restaurant or take away, minus the gluten of course.

It pretty simple to make and though they may not be the best examples of photographic skill, there's a step by step guide of photos to make it even easier.

In Search of Sakata Rice Crackers

About To Be Combined

As you may have read, I recently discovered Sakata Rice Crackers and what a discovery they were! Not only have I been enjoying the individual flavours on their own but I've also been doing a bit of flavour combining with them. Take a Classic Cheddar cracker and combine with a Classic Barbecue for a taste sensation or maybe a Classic Cheddar with a Sour Cream and Chives, so, so good! I'm sure there's plenty more combinations that work great, I just don't have the crackers to try them out :(

Gluten Free Crustless Quiche

Crustless Quiche

I used to be a big fan of regular quiche but these days a crustless one will do just fine thank you very much. I really cannot be bothered faffing about making gluten free pastry, nor can I have pre-made ones on the market as to the best of my knowledge their PPM's are too high. Not a problem though.

For a really quick and simple meal this is a winner.