Monthly Archives: January 2014

Winter is doing my head in.

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Enough now I think. Its grey, it drizzles, its wet, cold, dirty, yukky and dark. Snow, I love, but so far we have had 4 snow days only! The rest has been as described. Im remembering why I left Europe for sunny Dubai, I miss my blue skies every morning, it just makes it so much easier to get out of bed. And you know, when you are stressed about something or something not so great happens, SUN just makes it so much easier to deal with. Instead, I find myself compensating with chocolate. And I don’t even like chocolate. And Im sitting here sulking because I wanted to have a spicy risotto tonight, but Im out of parmesan, and Im already in pyjama pants, and there is no honky shop! Agggggh.

Whine of the day over. I will write you all a proper post soon. Promise 😉

Btw, if you ever find yourself in Poland, then this super yummy chocolate is both cheap and glutenfree 🙂

Chocolate

-Linda

Goji Berry and Blue Cheese Salad

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Originally Posted on Gluten Free UAE in January 2012

Just my kind of meal, no cooking required!

You will need:
Baby Spinach
Blue Cheese (I used Cambozola, its rich and creamy and perfect for this salad, any blue cheese will do, just be careful as although most are gluten free some are not)
Tomatoes
Goji Berries

Rinse your spinach well and get rid of any big stems by pinching them off.
Roughly chop your tomatoes and cut the cheese in to cubes.
Line your plate with the spinach, top with the tomatoes and cheese and finally, throw on a handful of Goji berries.

I drizzle mine with some extra virgin olive oil, then add some salt & black pepper.

Thats it 🙂 Enjoy!

-Linda

Swedish Style Birthday Cake (Cream Cake)

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Originally Posted on Gluten Free UAE in January 2012

It was my sons birthday over Eid and I wanted to make him a traditional Swedish cake, this is what we always make for all our birthdays, but this was my first gluten free version. I cheated a little but it was very yummy so I thought I would share 🙂

You will need:
2 Mrs Crimbles Muffin & sponge mix (Lulu’s & Spinneys sell these)
Whipping cream
Strawberries or other fruit for decorating
Chocolate cream or strawberry jam
For chocolate cream, mix 3 table spoons coco powder with 3 table spoons sugar and stir with cream until its a buttery consistency (keep adding cream as needed), if you like it sweeter just add some extra sugar.

Follow the instructions on the Mrs Crimbles mix and add the mix to two breaded tins. (1 mix per tim)
I only have one round tin, so I did my cakes one at a time. Thats fine too 🙂 (For the breading I always use gluten free cornflakes that I wizz in my mini chopper for 30 seconds or so. Much cheaper then any shop bought bread mix and tastes nice too, make sure you use butter and not low fat oil, this is birthday cake after all)
Let your two cakes cool.
Assemble your cake just before serving, so if you have baked the cake parts the night before, just cover in plastic and leave them.
To assemble, pop one cake on a tray and put your chosen filling on, you can use gf custard, chocolate cream or any jam you like. Its usually strawberry jam, but my son wanted chocolate so thats what we did.  Once its somewhat even, add your second layer of cake on top.
Whip your cream with half a spoon of sugar or some vanilla essence if you like it better.
Cover the entire cake in whipped cream. You can make it all pretty if you know how, or you can just add it all in any way you like and smooth it with a spatula. Add your strawberries to decorate your cake. Serve!

You can offcourse use any other sponge mix or make your own, I liked the Mrs crimbles one, it was easy to make and tasted good. Apologies for the bad photo, it was taken in hindsight rather then to showcase the cake. Oops 😛

-Linda

A slight dilemma, to interfere or save, that is the #Celiac question.

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The dilemma; If a child in your sons/daughters class had a very very swollen tummy (every time you see him/her) along with very skinny arms and legs, would you say something to the parents, ask questions or just leave it be? 

I would be really interested in views on how to handle this tactfully and politely. I have already acted and I keep thinking about it, wondering if I could have done it better or if I should have stayed out of it. Im also not sure if I did enough, and may decide to do more (good or bad, depends on how you see it). I think for us, if someone had gotten involved and asked / told / interfered / advised it could have saved us a lot of heartache. So many have never heard of Celiac. What is your view?

Thanks

Linda

 

Happy New Year!

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1532087_608966592490592_161073765_nThank You all for your kind messages sent after my last post, I have had so much support from all corners of the world. Thank You.

Celiac kid is better, first day back in school today, the all clear has been given. I remain positive, or at least try. Because really, what options do I have? She has been better since our move, a ton better, and this was a set back yes, but you need to look on the bright side – always – or the bad stuff will consume you and make you not a very good person. So we take it all in our stride and carry on. My hero, my inspiration, my strength is Celiac kid herself. She has been through so much and never once complains. She just accepts everything, because this is normal to her. Hopefully 2014 will be a HEALTHY year. Lets hope so. Fingers crossed. If you are a person who prays, please include her in those prayers. She needs all the help she can get.

For 2014 I hope we have less then 2 hospital stays, I hope the specialist we have been put in touch with will help us find some answers to why these pneumonias keep coming, and I promise, that this is the year me and my son finally do the Celiac gene test. Its long overdue.

Whatever your wishes and hopes are for 2014, I hope they come true. Happy New Year from me and the gluten free family 🙂

-Linda

Friendly Food Poznan, my first visit to a gluten free restaurant!

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Yesterday I did something I haven’t done in 2 years and 8 months (give or take), I went to a restaurant and didn’t use even ONE wet wipe! We went to a gluten free restaurant! And its really gluten free. It doesn’t just have a great gluten free menu, it has a gluten free premises! No gluten allowed what so ever, everything is certified gluten free! The owner and the staff all know their stuff. I assume they are Celiacs themselves, but due to a language barrier I am not 100% sure.

Before becoming gluten free we used to have lunch out every weekend, even when Celiac kid was undiagnosed and difficult, we still made the effort to eat lunch out, taking turns to hold and comfort our screamer. Then there was a period of us attempting to continue this (after diagnosis), we would bring Celiac kids food , wipe down the table etc, but it always felt a bit like Russian roulette, not something you want to play with your kid! So the restaurant visits became fewer and fewer. It just didn’t seem so important anymore. Sure, there are a few places that we trust that we go to, likewise, if we travel we do eat out if when we feel like it, we don’t let celiac rule our lives, BUT, given the choice, we would rather eat at home where we know everything is safe.

We went a bit crazy I must admit. I mean, a whole menu where everyone can eat everything??!! Its like letting kids in to a sweet shop and saying, ‘hey, you can have whatever you want!’.

We had crepes with spinach and feta filling, crepes with turkey mince and tomato filling, crepes with chocolate and pizza and hot dogs, and some grainy thing that was some kind of kasha (looked a lot like quinoa) and it tasted so amazing I cant wait to go back and have it again. We had chicken with veggies and roasted veggies. Everything tasted awesome. The best part was actually not the food though, it was being able to sit together, with everyone being able to touch each other without using hand wipes AT ALL, and all of us being able to try everything from every plate and not having to worry. It actually brought tears to my eyes. So normal for most, but something we so rarely (never) get to do.

They have a shop too, they sell spices, tons of them, I was overwhelmed! Then there are pizzas and breads and grains and flours and biscuits and so much stuff!! Again I must apologise for my photos, iPhone again, I really need to bring my camera out with me.

Im not a food reviewer, but if you are a gluten free person and you ever find yourself in Poznan, you MUST visit Friendly Food.

Friendly Food Website

rezerwacja@friendlyfood.pl
tel. 665 450 858

-Linda

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