Eggs Florentine
This recipe came from the BBC’s web site and is by James Tanner.
It isn’t that good for cholesterol, but it’s quick and easy.
This is what you’ll need for one.
- 25g/1oz butter
- 75g/2¾oz spinach
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 free-range eggs
- 100ml/3½fl oz double cream – I use St. Helen’s Farm Goats cream
And this is the method that I use.
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. I use the bottom of the top over in the AGA.
- Melt the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the spinach and sauté for three minutes, or until wilted.
- Place the spinach into a small ovenproof dish and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Crack the eggs into the dish and pour over the cream, then place into the oven and bake for 10 minutes, until golden and bubbling.
- Serve in the ovenproof dish.
It’s good and fills a hole!
Petition to Number 10
SAF on the UK-Coeliac list has posted this.
I have composed a new petition to the prime minister to deal with.
This petition requires 500 signatures to be effective so looking for a lot of support.
The petition can be found on http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/allergenlabels
If the EU has its way, then such things as maltodextrin will be considered gluten-free, for labelling purposes. That may be so, but it still doesn’t alter the fact that I react to it.
So please sign the petition. After all the next ingredient foisted on you might be something that you object to!
Bacon and Egg Salad – Part 2
I cooked the Bacon and Egg Salad, that I put up yesterday.
It was good and here’s picture to prove it.
Bacon and Egg Salad
Note that I used some Antoinette Saville gluten free bread for the croutons. They were fine, although I left them in the oven for slightly too long.
The salad was very good though!
Bacon and Egg Salad
This is another recipe by Sybil Kapoor in The Times.
Again, I haven’t tried it, but it looks like a good alternative to Salad Nicoise. I have changed the bread to a couple of slices of gluten-free bread. I use my own bread, which I make in a breadmaker using Dr. Schar’s Mix-B breadmix.
This is the quantities for four.
- 1 clove of garlic
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 7 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 thick slices of ordinary white or sourdough bread – Change for gluten-free
- 450g green beans, trimmed
- 1 crisp green lettuce, such as batavia
- 1 tbsp white- or red-wine vinegar
- 4 free-range eggs, medium
- 200g back bacon, trimmed and diced
And this is how you make it.
- Heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. In a bowl, grind the garlic with a little salt and mix in 1 tbsp olive oil. Cut the crusts off the sliced bread, then cut the bread into walnut-sized chunks and toss in the garlic oil, so they are well coated. Place on a baking sheet and put in the oven for 10 minutes, or until lightly toasted. If the oven is dodgy, lightly fry in a little extra oil until crisp.
- Top and tail the beans and drop into a pan of boiling water. Boil vigorously for 7 minutes, or until tender. Drain and cool by spreading out onto a plate lined with kitchen paper.
- Remove and discard the outer leaves of the lettuce. Separate and wash the inner leaves, then dry in a tea towel, and rip the larger leaves into smaller pieces. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the vinegar and 3 tbsp oil. Season to taste and mix in the beans.
- Bring a pan of water to the boil and gently lower in the eggs. Keep the water simmering rather than vigorously boiling and cook for 6 minutes for a well-set white but moist yolk. Allow a minute longer if fresh-laid, chilled, or if you want them slightly more cooked. Drain, crack and cool slightly under the cold tap.
- Set a frying pan over a medium heat. Add 3 tbsp olive oil and, once hot, add the bacon and fry briskly for 5 minutes, or until crispy. Mix the bacon into the beans with the lettuce and croutons.
- Quickly peel and halve the eggs. Mix into the salad and serve immediately.
It sounds good to me.
Chunky Minestrone Soup
This recipe comes from Sybil Kapoor in The Times.
I’ve posted it not because I’ve done it yet, but because it looks good and I don’t want to lose it. She says it is very adaptable and you can use any canned pulse, apart from lentils. As I need more pulses, that’s fine by me.
This is what you’ll need for 4.
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 large carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 sticks of celery, chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, diced
- 1 medium potato, peeled and diced
- 2 courgettes, chopped
- 400g can chopped tomatoes
- Piece of parmesan rind, plus grated parmesan to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 410g can cannellini, kidney or borlotti beans
- 2 generous handfuls chopped green cabbage
And this is the method you’ll use.
- You can prepare the vegetables as you’re cooking the soup. If possible, try to cut them into roughly the same size. Set a large saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the oil and, once hot, mix in the diced onion. As the onion softens, prepare and add the carrot, followed by the celery, garlic, potato and courgette. Stir occasionally.
- Let the courgettes soften for 2 minutes, then add the chopped tomatoes. Fill the empty tin 3 times with water and pour it into the soup. Add the parmesan rind and some freshly ground black pepper. If you don’t have any parmesan rind, just add a little chunk of parmesan. Do not add salt at this stage.
- Increase the heat and bring up to a simmer, then cook gently over a low heat for up to 2 hours. The longer it cooks, the thicker and more flavoursome it will get. If the soup gets too thick, just add more water.
- Drain and rinse the canned beans, and chop the cabbage into easy-to-eat pieces. Set aside. About 30 minutes before the end of cooking, add the drained beans. Then, 20 minutes before you want to eat, mix in the cabbage.
- Cook for 15-20 minutes and serve with grated parmesan and crusty bread. This tastes even better the following day.
I wonder if it’ll freeze for the winter.
Albert Heijn
Albert Heijn is a supermarket chain in Holland.
Their stores seem to be everywhere and they mark all of the gluten-free products with the correct symbol. I’ve never had any problems with anything in their stores. Last night I had some salami and goat’s cheese thingies that were ideal for eating on the move.
Their stores are also in a lot of railway stations, so you can just pop-in and buy a salad for lunch.
Arbutus, 63-64 Frith Street, Soho, London
This is one of my favourite restaurants and it didn’t disappoint last night.
Arbutus Restaurant, Soho
The interesting thing about Arbutus is that the chef is a coeliac, so when you ask for gluten-free food you get gluten-free food without contamination.
I think this was my sixth visit. My late wife liked it too!
Hayley Turner
It is great to see Hayley Turner back riding after the injuries she received on the gallops.
She is a seriously good jockey, who last year rode 100 winners in a year. This is something that few jockeys do in long careers and it is something no lady jockey has done.
But Hayley is also almost unique in that she is a top class athlete, who is a coeliac. I’m one too. We’re all proud of you Hayley!
It Must Be Cold!
It must have been cold, as the cat has started to sit on the back of the AGA again.
Cat on the AGA
She is actually sitting on the hottest part, just behind the left hob, which you can on the left. I don’t like her to do this, as it means her fur gets in the fan and clogs it up.
Chilli Con Carne
This chilli con carne was pretty simple and came from the BBC.
These are the ingredients for 6-8. I halved it and made 3, of which I froze two.
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 onions, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1kg/2¼lb lean minced beef
- 250ml/9fl oz red wine
- 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
- 3 tbsp tomato purée
- 2 red chillies, thinly sliced, or 3-4 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 stick cinnamon
- good shake of Worcestershire sauce
- 1 beef stock cube
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 x 400g can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 large bunch coriander leaves, roughly chopped
- wedges of lime, to serve
This is the method used.
- Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan with a lid and fry the onion and garlic until softened. Increase the heat and add the mince, cooking quickly until browned and breaking down any chunks of meat with a wooden spoon.
- Pour in the red wine and boil for 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in the tinned tomatoes, tomato purée, fresh chilli or chilli flakes, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and Worcestershire sauce and crumble in the stock cube. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook over a gentle heat for about 50 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally until the mixture is rich and thickened.
- Add the kidney beans and fresh coriander. Cook for a further ten minutes, uncovered, before removing from the heat, adding any extra seasoning if necessary. Serve with rice, guacamole, sour cream and a big green salad.
The original recipe gives a few tips as well.
The chilli is much tastier a day or two after it’s cooked because the flavours develop and the texture becomes richer. Simply leave to cool, stick in the fridge and gently heat before serving. If you’re eating the chilli on the day you prepared it, any leftovers can be frozen in individual portions in well-sealed sandwich bags, then reheated by boiling from frozen in a saucepan of water for about 15-20 minutes until steaming hot.
I just froze the other two portions.
The Anonymous Widower 