The Awkward Eater

Le Menu
The Tasters
Bulls Heart Tomato & Goats Curd
Pork Belly, Black Pudding, Mash & Apple Sauce
Vanilla Ice-Cream with Chocolate Sauce
The Bird In Hand is a recently refurbished pub serving up grade A grub at reasonable prices in cosy and relaxed surroundings. The food is local, seasonal and sometimes foraged and attention has gone into insuring that the meals are tasty, classic and elegant.

I ate there with a few fellow food bloggers and the meal was very kindly given to us free of charge. However my review will be utterly honest!

One of the bloggers present Wuthering Bites is also gluten free and it's fab to have a fellow awkward eater at the table. We chose carefully from the menu and double checked our choices with the waiter. The waiter then double checked some of our choices with the chef and we were assured that they were well used to catering for awkward eaters like us. At the end, our waiter mentioned that they sometimes bake gluten free bread if they know glut…

Is there any better sight than a little sign under a cake that says 'Gluten Free'?

It's especially thrilling when you least expect it. I was minding my own business in a queue for ice-cream when I spotted this sign. And next to it...gluten free scones!

The place was Jessie's Dairy in Mousehole, Cornwall. Gluten free scones + Cornwall = Gluten free cream tea!

I have to say that I stuck to my Mocha ice-cream (which was fab) and didn't try the cookies or cakes on offer but (and this is the really jammy part) my father in law lives in Mousehole, so I'm sure I'll be back :)


Jessie's Dairy
11 Fore Street  Mousehole, Cornwall TR19 6TQ
01736 732192

I had to stay in a middle of a motorway style hotel for 2 nights recently with work. With no fridge. And I needed to provide my own lunch for 2 days. Hum.

No egg, no wheat and due to lack of fridge, no meat or dairy either. A challenge!

I did some research online for vegan lunches and found falafels! Great, but how was I going to find gluten free falafels? They are a rare find indeed.

So, I set about making my own. I cooked my falafels and packed them into a lunchbox with some humus and GF bread rolls, leaving enough for my husband's tea. The recipe was so successful that my husband sent me a text while I was away saying "I LOVE your falafels!!"

So, here's the recipe!

Ingredients

2 x 400g tin chickpeas
1 small onion
Fresh parsley
1 tsp coriander (pre-ground or grind up some seeds)
1tsp cumin, ditto
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp cornflour
1 1/2 tsp plain flour
1 tsp margarine (dairy free if required)
Sprinkle of ground fennel seeds
Sprinkle of salt, black and white pep…

A friend of mine is trying to go without gluten and asked me if I had an recommendations. Well it's hard to know where to start. Every meal of the day is a challenge. Products are expensive and if you're not used to cooking everything from scratch, ready meals are very limited.

So, it got me thinking; what gluten free items can't I live without? After giving it a lot of thought, here are my Top 5 staples. (Please note, not all of these products are marked 'gluten free' some are without gluten ingredients. Most of the products listed, with the exception of the Graze boxes, are available from larger UK supermarkets.)

1. Dietary Specials Ciabatta Rolls.
I choose these because they are also egg free and when toasted they make delicious sandwiches and burgers (albeit small ones.) Of all the GF products I buy, I buy these most often.
http://www.dietaryspecials.co.uk/


2. Rice Noodles.
Great for bulking up stir fries or just with a bit of Chinese flavouring for a quick lunch.…

You must forgive the lack of food photos in this blog. I blame the sherry and my cheap camera.

Harveys is a wonderful gem right in the heart of Bristol. A blue bathed sub world of sherries, bowls of deliciousness and extremely welcoming staff.

I ate Chorizo with Honey & Saffron
Asparagus Wrapped in Jamon &
Chicken & Aioli Pinchitos

All were delicious and cooked to perfection.

I went with a large group and they "coped" with us wonderfully and all of the dishes were consumed with abandon (especially the Churros with Chocolate *shakes cyber fist at selfish wheat eaters.*)

Menu items are marked with (DF) and (GF). Prices are very reasonable and you get free hugs and fire displays (no kidding!).

Address: 12 Denmark Street, Bristol, BS1 5DQ.

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"To burn always with this hard gemlike flame, to maintain this ecstasy, is success in life." 
Walter Pater.