Barry’s Gluten Free Muffins
Barry, the chef in my local pub, the Northgate Arms in Southgate Road, is a coeliac, so he knows his gluten-free well.
As today, it was raining when I got my paper from next door to the pub, I popped in for a drink. They were offering a Brunch Menu, which contained Eggs Royale, which is a poached egg on top of smoked salmon and a muffin.
I decided to have one, whilst I read the paper with a drink.
For me, instead of a muffin, Barry grilled a slice of aubergine, added a slice of a large tomato and some spinach to the top as a delicious substitute.
It Pays To Complain
A couple of months ago, I bought a Genius loaf in Waitrose in Islington Upper Street and it went mouldy almost immediately. I think it might even have been mouldy when I unwrapped it. I did post details here.
The outcome was better than I expected. I complained to both Genius and Waitrose and got a voucher for five pounds from Genius.
And then today, I got another five-pound voucher from Waitrose.
On the bread side though, the last Genius loaf was more or less fresh to the last slice.
So it’s a result in all ways.
Why Are Loaves Square?
Apparently, we’ve now had the square sliced loaf for fifty years. In my years, that’s fifty years too many.
But have you ever wondered why Britain fell so much in love with this awful product? Here’s an e-mail, I’ve just written to the BBC.
In the 1970s, I did some work for a major bakery group in the UK. I dealt with top management, some of whom had been bakers. And very much of the old school, who knew their bread.
So I asked why we had so much bad sliced bread and did they eat it.
They didn’t eat it and to a man, they took a sack of flour home and then baked it themselves.
The reason there was so much square sliced bread was that van drivers in those days were paid by commission and they could get most commission by cramming that sort of bread in the van. So they wouldn’t distribute the better class of bread, which didn’t fit so well.
Another interesting fact from this period, was that a lot of bread got returned to the factory. Harold Wilson and his government felt this waste pushed up the price of bread, so they banned returns. Do you remember happy bread, which was a different colour for each day?
In fact, the non-return policy, meant that the price of bread rose, as the returned bread had a whole lot of uses like animal feed, which then became unprofitable. The returned bread just went into the waste bin at the shops and then probably into landfill.
All in all it’s a sad tale, which shows that often the reasons for things being the way they are, are not what you’d expect.
I’ve also just watched the BBC Breakfast report on 50 years of the awful sliced loaf. No wonder there are so many coeliacs or those that are allergic to wheat-based bread in the UK, judging by what goes into it. All of those bakers years ago were right!
Is This How To Educate Teachers About Gluten-Free?
Adam’s Gluten-Free Surprise is a book written about a coeliac child by a teacher.
I hadn’t been diagnosed as a coeliac when I was at school, so it couldn’t have helped me, but it might help all of those gluten-free children, who suffer in an unsympathetic school.
The Only Way is Essex!
I bought some Tiptree Barbecue Sauce today and notice that each is individually stamped.
Tiptree Barbecue Sauce as Finished by Linda
Obviously, Essex has different ways of doing things.
It doesn’t say so, but I think the sauce is gluten free. As it’s not for me, I’m not bothered, but none of the ingredients seem dodgy. This page gives all the ingredients of the various Tiptree sauces.
The Candwich
I couldn’t believe that such disgusting food existed, when I saw it on HIGNFY last night. I thought it was a joke.
But never underestimate the Americans, when it comes to creating things that the stupid might eat and make even more obese.
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/864889-finally-a-sandwich-in-a-can-check-out-the-candwich
I can only think of one use for it. Unopened cans might just be the right height to stop some furniture rocking. Or you could use four and a scaffold board to create a cheap shelf in a shed or garage.
Three Mills, Bow
In my previous post, I said things just had to get better and they did.
These pictures were taken in the area called Three Mills, which is now a studios.
It wasn’t what I’d expected. Especially, as one of the mills is the largest tidal mill in the world.
I have a feeling that Bass Charrington, who owned the site in the 1970s, used these buildings from where they marketed the infamous, Hirondelle wine. It was a success and the company was a customer of Time Sharing Ltd.
Cucumber Humour
Cucumbers have always been a source of humour for British comedians.
A satire web-site called The Spoof has two pages of note.
Cucumber World Domination To Be Arrested By Cull
101 Reasons Why Women Prefer Cucumbers
This one will run and run.
Tha Andalusian Food Minister Does a John Gummer
Clara Aquilera, the Minister for agriculture in the Spanish region of Andalusia has taken a leaf out of John Gummer’s book and been seen publicly eating a cucumber to prove that they are safe. Admittedly, John got his daughter, Cordelia to eat one with him. But as I write both John and Cordelia, seem to have suffered no ill effects ten years or so later.
Let’s hope Clara is as lucky. Although judging from the pictures, she does seem to have a love for food.
The Anonymous Widower 