An Affordable Breakfast With Style
When you are a coeliac and like me recovering from a stroke, you have to be careful where you go for a meal. You must be sure of the food and because you might get into a mess and drop something or even everything all over the floor or yourself, it is probably a good idea to go to an establishment with staff waiting at tables.
All of this was illustrated very well, when I turned up at Carluccio’s in Canary Wharf for a late breakfast or was it an early lunch?
It was sunny, so I sat outside and then ordered an Eggs Florentine without the bread and an orange juice. I’ve done this several times now in various of their cafes and no-one has minded, that I have modified their standard menu.
Gluten Free Eggs Florentine at Carluccio's
It was delicious and after adding cappucino, it cost me just £11.95, although I did add a generous tip for good service and such things like an extra serviette to make sure the mess was kept to a minimum.
I’m afraid that I tend to plan my trips around places where I know that I can eat well, easily and gluten-free. Unfortunately, not many places I hope to visit on my travels have one of Carluccio’s caffes. But it’s getting better as Leicester has no joined the list. But I suspect, I’ll be long gone before they reach Midlesbrough. They won’t be there for my trip in two weeks time.
Chicken, Bacon and Potato Pie
This is effectively a version of Shepherds Pie, that uses pieces of chicken breast and bacon, rather than mince. I made it to clear some chicken breasts out of my freezer and also make my left hand do some work by peeling potatoes.
This simple meal used the following ingredients to make three, two of which I froze after cooking.
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 shallots, finely chopped
- 2 medium carrots, chopped
- 4 chicken breasts
- 4 rashers of bacon
- 1 jar Bay Tree Cracked Black Pepper and Mustard Cooking Sauce
- 1 kilo of King Edward or similar potatoes
- Milk and fat to mash the potatoes with
The method was as follows.
- Chop the chicken and bacon into small pieces and fry in the olive oil in a large saucepan.
- When the chicken is brown and the bacon is cooked through, add the shallots and the carrots and continue cooking for perhaps ten minutes, after which you stir in the sauce and simmer for perhaps 10-15 minutes.
- Whilst the chicken and vegetables are cooking, boil and mash the potatoes.
- Pour meat and sauce into an 11-inch by 7-inch baking dish or individual foils for freezing and allow to cool slightly. Top with potato.
- Bake in the bottom of the top oven of the AGA.
For something I made up with what I had available it worked out quite well.
It will be interesting to see how the ones I have frozen turn out, when I eat them in a couple of weeks!
Premier Inn
On Tuesday night, I stayed in the Premier Inn by the Tower. I have stayed in places like this in the past, but what a revelation; a very clean room, a disabled shower, that was a joy to work and had a seat, full Freeview digital television, so I could listen to Radio 5, a compfortable bed, that you could fall onto safely a la Lenny Henry. So the breakfast wasn’t really too coeliac-friendly, but as I skipped it, it didn’t matter. If I’d wanted one, as it was the city of London, there are lots of places to have a snack.In the book, I will be using more of the hotels, but I still haven’t managed to get anything in Middlesbrough.
A Simple Gluten-Free Lunch
I usually cook myself, but I am rather partial to Waitrose’s Tiffins for one. They come in a box and all you do is pierce the film and put them in the oven for twenty minutes.
Waitrose Tiffin-for-one
They will just about stretch for two people, unless of course the other is Billy Bunter.
I have found that since my last stroke, they also clear out my mouth as well and make it taste fresher.
The only trouble today, was that I had to share my meal with the large number of accursed flies that were around.
Like most proper Indian food, they are gluten-free as wel and suitable for coeliacs like me.
Stroke-Friendly Food
I just wanted to put up a post about my supper, which was a tuna steak cooked with green beans and tomatoes. I’ve done it many times before, but today it tasted particularly good.
Why?
The wine even tasted better, so perhaps I’m getting my taste back. Could the hay fever be finally receding? I don’t know, but I’m taking some Vitamin C tablets to help.
I do find some food is easier to eat than others. Tuna steaks are easier to cut up, than say beef, so perhaps that was the reason.
Whatever it is, I’m glad I’m feeling better.
Another Tour Company Goes Bust
It has been announced this morning, that another tour company, Goldtrail, has gone bust. It does seem to happen at least twice a year.
What bannoys me is that a lot of people will not have travel insurance, so they will expect the CAA, i.e. all our taxes, to get them home.
Let’s have aaw which says that you can’t buy a holiday without either insurance or the means to get yourself home, if it all goes bust. I have insurance, but it didn’t cover my problems in Hong Kong, so I had to fund that myself.
But why should I have to fund people who make no provision? The CAA should publish how much they have had to pay out, over and above any bonds.
Especially, as most this time were to Turkey, which is somewhere I am very cautious of visiting as it is not very coeliac-friendly, unless you stay in five-star hotels.
A Gluten-Free Nut-Free Strategy for Business
These days businesses like to show that they are friendly, equal-opportunity employers, who are not-racist, sexist or homophobic and of course carbon neutral.
But do they extend this caring attitude to such things as food allergies, when they do business personally or perhaps entertain clients.
Let’s put a couple of facts in here. according to Peanut Allergy UK, it is estimated that 1.8% of children have a peanut allergy at school entry. Also, 4% of the UK ppulation is a coeliac, many of whom are undiagnosed.
So just as you wouldn’t serve meat to a vegetarian, is it not a wise idea to not serve gluten to a coeliac or nuts to someone with that allergy. In fact there is a big difference between veggies and some allergies, in that some allergies are very dangerous and others make you ill.
So why not startt by ensuring that your tea/coffee and biscuits are both gluten and nut free. Also remember that chocolate isn’t banned, so you can indulge your clients if that is your wish.
I’ve actually heard of a couple of companies in London, who do this and now only give away GF and nut-free biscuits with their coffee, as they find it avoids any problems and shows them to be a caring company! One was a financial services company dealing with a faddy actress. They got the business.
At least now corporate events at places like hotels, racecourses and football grounds have got a lot better in recent years. I know that Newmarket racecourse, Ipswich Town and Tottenham Hotspur can all cater, as can most decent hotels with a trained chef. But do at least check about allergies when you book. If they can’t cater, it might just be your luck, that your best client is a coeliac.
In these tough times, profits will be harder to grow or even make. But by applying lots of little details like this to your corporate strategy, you might help your business in the tight direction.
Hotel Chocolat
It has just been announced on the local news, that Hotel Chocolat is expanding and creating 250 new jobs in Huntingdon and at its chocolate factory in St. Lucia. I checked their web site to see if they do gluten-free, as I am partial to the occassional bit of chocolate. Now that Cadbury’s have been taken over by Kraft, I worry that their products will end up contaminated by wheat maltodextrin to save money. I just can’t take the chance and so I was pleased to see that Hotel Chocolat have a gluten-free page on their web site.
I have sent a comment to Hotel Chocolat to query the level of gluten, as they say the odd contamination might happen.
I am a coeliac and also I monitor a Yahoo group for others. I haven’t tried your gluten-free products, but some coeliacs won’t as they are very sensitive to gluten. I myself am not, but I do react to wheat maltodextrin. What’s wrong with Demerara sugar? I think you may find that there is a lot of demand for a simple guaranteed gluten-free product, especially since G&B are now part of Kraft and US companies seem to have a fetish for wheat maltodextrin.
I shall await their reply.
what is interesting, is how they have raised the money for the expansion. They have raised it from their tasting club and will pay the interest in chocolate, as described here in The Telegraph.That sounds a model, that might work with a lot of food and drink products, especially where you are dealing with a specific group of people like coeliacs.
Hail the Humble Crisp
I find that I have a bad taste in my mouth a lot of the time. I suspect it’s probably caused by the hay fever, rather than any lasting damage caused by the stroke. You just feel that you want to clean and wash your mouth out all the time.
Last night, I felt I wanted a small snack and there was a pack of coeliac-friendly Kettle lightly salted crisps in the cupboard, so for the first time since my last stroke I tried them. I’d been avoiding them, as I felt that the roughness might actually make my mouth worse.
In the end, they made my mouth feel a lot better. Perhaps, the salt and that roughness, were actually good for my mouth.
There are just another five packs to go in the cupboard.
The Place To Be Tonight
I am not far away from Stansfield, a small village between Haverhill and Bury St. Edmunds.
What is unique about the village is that its pub, the Compasses, is owned and run by a Dutch couple.
We went on Friday and it looks like tonight will be the night for a visit, especially as they look like they can cope with my dietary requirements and serve Aspalls Cyder.
The Anonymous Widower 