Quick and Easy - Gluten Free Tagliatelli Carbonara

I figured that I may as well share because it might be useful to someone out there :)

Photos are not great, I really need to use my camera but I think the battery needs replacing. My phone takes a decent shot once in a while but on the whole not great, so apologies for this.

If you put the pasta water on the hob to boil before you do anything else, this should be a 20 minute or less meal. Or you could of course boil a kettle if you have one and speed things up further.

Easy Peasy Gluten Free Chicken and Mushroom Pie (Deconstructed)

I Was Soooo Hungry *Takes A Typical That'll Do Shot*

When I first started Free From G I was on a mission. I'd had all convenience taken away when it came to food so I figured that I'd teach myself to be the best gluten free cook I could be and serve up meals that were worthy of all the faffing about and mess.

I did that day in day out for so many years. Take a look at the recipe page for yummy examples, pretty much all from scratch.

So what an absolute pleasure it is these days to have convenience back! I'd love to focus on some more accessible recipes, really easy stuff that doesn't require a ton of ingredients or effort but still tastes loverly.

If you make this, you're in for a bit of a treat. I honestly haven't stopped wanting to eat this every meal since we had it on Monday. 

Gluten Free Pastry Pizza

Loaded Pastry Pizza

Well hello again :)

In keeping with my current form I thought I'd share another lazy meal idea, the Pastry Pizza, ta da!

I'm a huge fan of puff pastry, (bit of a weakness actually) and so when we discovered that Jus Rol had brought out a conveniently pre-rolled sheet we had to immediately try it. Cue however long later and I swear that I think I've eaten at least 50 of these things since. I can safely say that I highly recommend.

Gluten Free Halloween Brownies

Clutter Of Spiders (Thankfully Plastic)

It might seem a bit odd, but these Halloween Brownies started out being developed as Halloween Ghost Meringues. How? You might ask.

Well. It all started fine, I separated the first egg by transferring the yolk from shell to shell and letting the white drip into my bowl. As I broke the next one The Persian let out an almighty MWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA (for the Pumpkin cooking) and I - in a startled fashion - dropped the entire egg (including the 2 halves of shell) into the white I had just separated.

Pixie's Halloween Pumpkin Soup - Gluten Free

Soup!

First off, I missed the 4th birthday of Free From G, it was funnily enough, on the 4th. So a belated Happy Birthday to my little blog, it's been fun.

Every year I've wanted to do a series of posts for Halloween but I've just never got around to it. this year however! I've already got a few things to share but I want to make more, still, I've got the time so there's no reason not to (unexpected events hopefully not occurring).

Gluten Free Pho

Prawn Pho

We've been having this meal a lot because it's really easy to make - since I was bitten by the mystery bug I've not been feeling great so I haven't been spending my usual hours in the kitchen making food - it's also very, very yum. And Hot.

Me and Pho go back a bit, the first time that I had it was on a glorious day spent in my beloved Brighton. You can read about our spoon silliness here if you want. The second time, well the second time I ordered Pho, it was a complete and utter disaster.

Gluten Free Honey Vanilla Cheesecake

A Free From G Photo, As Per Usual, A Bit Odd

You're probably aware that this is a cake free zone usually, don't worry I've not gone all Great British Bake Off on you, I'm still crap when it comes to the science of such things. This Cheesecake though, well it's been a bit of a revelation.

See, I kind of assumed that all desserts (made from scratch) required a bit of cleverness. There's usually eggs involved and exact quantities needed, I can't be doing with such things for desserts. I do love a good Cheesecake though and had toyed with the idea of making one for a really long time. I couldn't be bothered with the - assumed - faff though.

Turns out you can make a bloody good Cheesecake with no cooking, no eggs and no exact - do it by the book or else you're f***ed - quantities! Yes, I know I'm late to the party here but I mean it's not a given knowing that, is it? Not for someone who taught themselves to cook.

Gluten Free Gazpacho

No Cooking!

More Tomatoes and another no cook recipe. This heatwave has brought about lighter meals and picky foods - something I'm definitely in favour of - so it's not been all bad. It mainly has though and my brain still isn't working properly because of it, so I'll do my best. How to concentrate on anything but slurping ice cold drinks in a heatwave?!

Gluten Free Habanero Salsa

Odd Shot I Know

I'm going to try my best here - to share a lovely, simple Summer recipe with you that anyone can make - in a way that's readable because quite frankly, the heat here in London has done me in and my brain feels like a wobbly jelly inside my very sweaty head.

I'm suffering! I'm more cut out for Igloo life.

Gluten Free Smoked Chicken Risotto

Would Have Looked Better In A Plain Bowl I Know

So, I made it and it turned out lovely. I was quietly confident on Friday but what with it being so bloody hot here I didn't know if I'd be capable of standing at the hob and stirring for how ever long it was going to take. I managed it, albeit through gritted teeth and I think I may have lost a few pounds in the process so it all worked out really.

Talking of the heat, I'm a hot mess and I don't mean in the good way. I'm just hot and messy, I hate this weather IT IS SO VILE. And Wimbledon has finished so I'm a bit bereft.

Gluten Free Strawberry Cheesecake Toast

Wimbledoney

Isn't it pretty? I think so, and I'm loving the plate, it's picnicware but I'm of course using it indoors. I've got a thing about picnic stuff, I just find it cute for some - only my brain knows why - reason. Maybe because it's more tactile than regular crockery, lighter, more girly? I don't know.

So this is a really quick little Summery snack using the amazing DS Gluten Free Brioche, it's ridiculously simple but so tasty that I had to share it with you.

Three Nation Pancakes - Gluten Free

Three Nation Pancakes

A couple of hours ago I ate that, and others, and so I feel immensely full and uncomfortable and I have no idea how I'm going to write this without warning you off of them. 

I've been making these Pancakes for ages but I've never had the patience to document the ingredients to share as a recipe, I mix by eye usually going by the batter consistency. Today I broke the ingredients down and hopefully now I can finally post this I can also let this be a red flag with flashing neon lights warning to myself that if I keep on eating these Pancakes I am going to end up SO FAT. I've made, I've shared with you good people and now I must stop myself from this vice before I finish up looking like Mr Blobby's sister.

Hawaiian Style Smoked Cheesy Chicken Bacon Bites

Prior To Smoking

A recipe! It's been a while huh? With the addition of Pineapple these are a new improved version of the original Bacon Bites that The Glutenite created way back when. A Hawaiian version.

This is a recipe that requires a smoker but you can alternatively grill or barbecue them, I haven't done that myself as I highly recommend smoking for the amazing flavours but I'm sure they would still be lovely.

(I've gone with that photo as the lead despite it being of the raw bites because the photos of the smoked versions just don't cut it. You'll have to take my word for it because my photos do no justice to this recipe whatsoever but I can assure you that these are incredibly delish and smoked Pineapple is indeed a sexy revelation.)

Stovetop Whisky Soaked Oak Smoked Chicken

Whiskey Soaked Oak Smoked Chicken

Yay! For the four day Easter holiday, boooo for it going so fast. Hooray for the wonderful food eaten though, for after a few weeks of no cooking I was back in the kitchen and ready to create all sorts of yum.

We hot smoke a lot of food here, our Cameron's smoker has seen a lot of use. We'd never smoked a whole chicken though so we set about rectifying that this weekend, couldn't be easier and it created the base of several meals throughout the long weekend.

Gluten Free Spicy Smoked Pork Ribs

Just Smoked

It's been a while since I shared a new recipe because I haven't been experimenting, I've been all achy and tired most of the time recently so being in the kitchen hasn't been something to look forward to like usual.

We did a re-run of these ribs though and with a longer smoking time they came out a-mazing, I knew they would so I documented the entire process to share.

Sorry if you don't have a smoker, these would still be lovely if put them in the oven for a few hours, not as good but still good. The chipotle lends a smokiness so there would still be a touch of that in there.

Gluten Free Club Sandwich

The Free From G Chicken Club

We had this down as a meal for last week but we used up all the bread before it could be made. 3 loaves this week and we're already out again, it's just so good. I wish you could see the actual beauty of this sandwich but as we reasoned last night, we just don't have the space to take great photographs. I'd love a dedicated area to do so, to get really creative, but were you to see the size of our kitchen and the amount of equipment it contains (a lot) you would be quite impressed that I manage to create recipes at all in that space.

One day I'll have a kitchen suitable for preparing feasts to be photographed, until then you'll have to put up with my shoddy snaps in my little kitchen more suited to microwaving ready meals (I still love it though).

Salmon Waffles

Fishcake Turned Waffle

I'm a funny one when it comes to Salmon (yes, ok, maybe in many other areas too), I still love Smoked Salmon despite it being one of the very few things I would eat as a child - many, many pounds of it therefore consumed - I also love Salmon Sashimi, but it has to be the full works of Tamari Soy Sauce and Wasabi with it. Tinned Salmon, that I love also but fresh cooked Salmon, eurgh, I can't stand the stuff, I don't like the texture nor the taste.

I also don't like wild Salmon in any form. I remember getting a work gift years ago, it was hamper from Fortum and Mason, I don't recall any of the contents except for a pack of wild Smoked Salmon. I had always been used to top quality Smoked Salmon because my Dad used to get it from a wholesaler who supplied Harrods, but I was still excited at the prospect of trying wild Salmon.

I found it vile.

So here I present delicious Salmon Waffles made from your everyday non wild tinned red Salmon in brine.

Pork And Sage Big Bite Burgers

Big Bite Burger

This is probably the last post of 2013 from Free From G, definitely the last one before Christmas. It's been a kind year thus far and if my memory serves me correctly, the first in which I haven't been glutened since 2007 (I do hope this isn't tempting fate), that's a hell of a lot of progress for me right there.

Not sure if it's related or not but I've felt much calmer this year, definitely overall more happy. Is it because my insides haven't been taunted and thoroughly tortured by gluten, or just a coincidence? I don't know, I would like to think so though.

Gluten Free Sesame Prawn Toast

Most Of The Ingredients

Nine days since my last post, where does time fly off to? Had a lovely four day weekend just gone which started off with the trip to Harry Potter Land! the Harry Potter Studio Tour which was just magical and fun and, well magical. Updated gluten free information here. On the way home we encountered the heaviest rain I think I've ever known, certainly the heaviest I've been out in. It was as though buckets of water were being poured from just above our heads.

So yes, bit slack on the blogging front but time for a recipe to be shared.

Gluten Free Parmesan Straws

Served Free From G Style

Second time these have been made, no tweaks needed, many scoffed. I highly recommend these with Smoked Salmon as they go together perfectly, were I to be 'just so' about things I'd make these round and topped with a piece of Salmon, small dollop of Sour Cream and a tiny pinch of Dill, but I'm not so you're getting the basic Parmesan Straws version that we have. Ridiculously easy.