The Versatile Potato
I bought a pack of Marks and Spencer’s gluten-free cheese crackers today.
Here’s the front and back of the packet.
The back with the ingredients is interesting as it says they are a potato based snack with Gouda cheese.
The Second-Best Sandwich I’ve Ever Made
These pictures show the gluten-free salt-beef sandwich I’ve just made using Marks and Spenver’s brown, seeded gluten-free loaf, some slices of salt beef and a tomato.
It is not the best sandwich I’ve ever made. I made that a few minutes earlier and it was so good, I just had to make another.
This gluten-fee loaf is really the best, I’ve ever tasted and it makes superb toast too!
Fish Market Restaurant, Reykjavik
I went here for dinner, as I really didn’t think I could stand the hotel food.
They had a gluten-free menu and I had some excellent lamb.
But why was it served on a plate like a piece of guttering?
Incidentally, the restaurant had whale on the gluten-free menu. I didn’t partake!
One thing that can be said for Rejkjavik is that there is no problem finding a restaurant if you’re coeliac
Would The RSPB Have Approved My Supper?
I had a good supper in a restaurant called Tapas House, by the harbour in Reykjavik.
The starter was smoked guillemot, which was followed by fish. There was no problems about it all being gluten-free
Free’d Crispbread And Tiptree Marmelade
I used to eat a lot of Ryvita with a decent marmalade spread on it. So today, I tried some Tiptree Marmalade on some Free’d crispbread.
Free’d Crispbread And Tiptree Marmelade
It was very nice, but it was just a little bit messy! So it should probably be eaten with a serviette handy!
Two London Products
At the Allergy Show, I found two good gluten-free products; Glamour Puds and Free’d crispbread.
Both are new London companies.
Does this say that it is easier to start a business in London or there is more demand in London for gluten-free products, because of a possible large number of people going gluten-free for lifestyle rather than health reasons?
A Choice Of Biscuits
Well not really biscuits, but something to dip into hummus, cream cheese or act as a base for a snack.
A Choice Of Biscuits
I haven’t had a choice since I was diagnosed as a coeliac. Pre then, I used to like Ryvita with butter and marmalade on it.
Now I can try it again!
Both biscuits are delicious.
Obviously, the one on the left is from Marks and Spencer and the Free’d is available in the deli in the village. At present Free’d only seems to be available in London, although the product is made in the green hills of Derbyshire.
Pure Bred Sandwiches
I said in this post that there are various criteria I use to judge good bread. Today I made some Pure Bred sandwiches.
Pure Bred Sandwiches
The sandwiches were good, but probably just not quite as these egg and watercress sandwiches I bought in Marks and Spencer. These must now be the Gold Standard for gluten-free sandwiches.
The Pure Bred bread has a similar flavour to the bread Marks use in their sandwiches, so could it be they are thinking on similar lines with respect to the flour used?
So would I use Pure Bred gluten-free bread in the future in preference to the Genius I normally use?
Genius has one good point and one fault.
The current formulation of Genius doesn’t seem to go mouldy, as quick as it did when first launched and usually a loaf is still edible a week after purchase.
But it does seem to have a tendency to have large holes in the loaf.
The Pure Bred was consistent throughout and it lasted as long as I needed it too.
If Pure Bred was available in my local Waitrose, I’d buy it in preference to Genius, which is not sold there. This would be mainly to avoid going to Sainsburys to have a second shop for just bread.
If Pure Bred was avaiable in Sainsburys, then I would always buy bread there and buy whatever I fancied that day.
A Fish Supper For One Using Gluten-Free Bread
I regularly use this recipe from Mary Berry. But I simplify it. I start by setting the oven to 200ºC, putting one piece of salmon in a greased baking tray. pulverising a slice of decrusted bread with a teaspoon or so of parmesan, and make a paste of cream cheese, garlic and lemon zest.
Fish, Breadcrumbs and Cream Cheese
I then cover the fish in the cream cheese paste and sprinkle the bread crumbs on top.
Ready For The Oven
I then put them in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
The Cooked Fish
This one was made with Pure Bred gluten-free bread and it tasted virtually exactly the same as ones I’ve made previously with Genius bread.
Marks and Spencer Get The Labels Right
I suspect that many groups like sports and social clubs and places of worship have their proportion of coeliacs. But as I threw the case away from the Marks and Spencer’s quiche, I noticed it was clearly labelled.
Marks and Spencer Get The Labels Right
And it was labelled in three places.
This is good and if it stops one person being glutened by eating the wrong quiche, it’s worth it.
Another idea would be to put one of the little flags like I saw in Poland in the box, so at a buffet the gluten-free food could be clearly labelled.
The Anonymous Widower 