Gluten Free Coarse Pork and Mushroom Pate

Mushroom and Pork Pate

The next time I make this I'm going to mince the meat rather than blend it. I personally prefer a smooth pate rather than coarse but I was so focused on getting the flavours right that it didn't occur to me at the time. That's all I'd do differently in terms of method, for a first attempt at making pate I pretty much nailed it.

I've been enjoying this so much that I'm yet to actually spread it on anything.

Weekend Eats 17 - Roulade, Experiment Plans and Pig

I've just witnessed Nigella doing something unthinkable on The Food Network. No she didn't skip the midnight fridge feast, she put frozen glazed King Prawns into a Paella. I'm disgusted. They were whole prawns, not butterflied, whole, the exact kind that I use. This can only mean one thing.

There is prawn poo in that Paella.

Wooohoo For A New Free From G!

The new site design is going to be live sooner than expected, so excited! It's been talked about for a while, but we're finally updating what has been around since 2010. It won't look anything like the current version so  expect a much better user experience when visiting.

For some visual stuff that's been a bit lacking check out The Persz, she loves my chicken soup. Licky lips!

She Knows Good Gluten Free Living

That's all, just wanted to update because the site is going to have a huge makeover but it'll be better than ever thanks the the wonderful Glutenite. We're going mad on redesign, I love that!

Happy weekends dear readers. 

New To A Gluten Free Diet - Cross Contamination

As if it isn't hard enough getting your head around going gluten free to begin with there's other factors outside of what foods you can and can't eat. Cross contamination is when a gluten free food comes into contact with gluten, thus making it contaminated.

The easiest way that this happens is in the preparation or cooking processes. Say you use a chopping board that has just been used to slice bread, regular bread. Whatever you put on that chopping board is now contaminated with gluten. If you put gluten free bread into a non exclusively gluten free toaster? Contamination. Fry chips in oil that has been use to fry non gluten free breaded or battered items? Contaminated.

If you're eating gluten free but still feeling unwell, this may be what's causing it.

What Can I Eat On A Gluten Free Diet?

Back in 2009 this was the question that I was constantly asking myself. What can I eat? I'd spent two years in a pitiful state of zombie-like existence and once I knew that the gluten free diet would change that I embraced it fully. This didn't mean it was easy though, embracing it and understanding it were two very different things.

My natural inclination was to head straight for the free from aisle in my supermarket, if I said it was gluten free I could eat it, right? I ended up with biscuits and a couple of meals in pouches that you just poured boiling water into, I vividly remember getting tins of Orgran Spaghetti in Tomato Sauce. With hindsight, a nutritional nightmare, at the time, a few weeks spent eating flavourless foods that were of terrible quality. I still can't look at a tin of that Spaghetti without wincing.

If I were to be able to go back in time and advise the old me at the time of going gluten free, this is what I would tell myself...

Continental By Thorntons - No Gluten Containing Ingredients

My Chocolate Heaven

For me no other box of chocolates comes close to Thorntons Continental. I even like the Valencia which is a combination of chocolate and orange, not a flavour combination that I'm usually a fan of. This box of chocolates is pig out perfection.

Once upon a time some boxes of Thorntons were labelled as gluten free, now the labelling states no gluten containing ingredients. When it's possible for a gluten free labelled product to have as much as 20ppm of gluten in, I'm happy with this labelling. My weight conscious side is not.

Weekend Eats 16 - New Discoveries and Old Favourites

So Good

If you're a regular reader you will know that I have a bit of a crisp addiction, I'm constantly on the lookout for new gluten free snacks and this was a brilliant find. I'd never heard of Jack Pots Crisps before seeing them on Saturday, they have very eye catching packaging so I'd be quite surprised if they had passed me by previously, I guess they were new to the frequently visited crisp shelves.

Once noticed this flavour jumped out at me, it's been years since I've had a proper salt and vinegar crisp, Mrs Crimble's make a good substitute but they aren't what I would call proper crisps. 

Foodista Food Blog Of The Day!

I got a lovely surprise on Saturday evening, Free From G was the featured food blog of the day on Foodista! I had no idea as I never check email at weekends and it was only because The Glutenite happened to be checking stats that we found out when we did.

It's great to be recognised period, but to be a gluten free blog that gets recognised on a regular foodie site is an honour. 

Happy Halloween! Or Rather, The Halloween Post That Never Was

Skull Jelly

Two inexpensive skull goblets filled with Hartley's Lime Jelly = the easiest gluten free home made Halloween food ever. I was going to write about the merits of jelly being gluten free but I can't. So you'll just have to enjoy the photos and read my explanation if you so desire.

Magnificent Meatballs and Tremendous Tomato Sauce

Presentation Is Not My Strong Point, I Just Want To Eat Once Plated!

I have a little black book that contains a wealth of recipes from the past 6 years, most have been documented on Free From G, some haven't. I revisited two of those trusted recipes for dinner last night and was reminded of what my Glutenite had named them (when doing recipe experiments he often writes things down for me as I go along). He really likes this meal as you can probably tell.

The Free From G Messy Little Black Book

So I stuck with them. That's his portion up there by the way, I couldn't eat half that!