As I type this, my lap top feels like it’s about to overheat so maybe I’d better speed things up.  I thought I’d take a few moments to appreciate autumn with its contrasts, colours and interesting weather!  Here’s a little of my autumn so far...

I kicked off the season with a visit to a friend who took me antique hunting in Saffron Walden.  I loved this underground antique shop and it was actually pretty reasonably priced too!

I’ve been experimenting with a few smoothie variations.  This one is blueberry and pear topped with bee pollen which I love!  I also like this tea towel a bit too much.  It may feature in a few too many posts in the near future.

I’ve made Sprouted Kitchen’s lemon loaf a few times.  It is absolutely delicious. 

I’m continuing my quest to own all Bruce Springsteen’s albums on vinyl.  It’s good to have a dream... 

These walking boots get taken through their paces at this time of year.

I never tire of the autumn light.

Still our favourite winter stew on repeat at the moment.

We took a trip to Southsea and visited The Garage Lounge on a friend’s recommendation.  The decor is fantastic.

I couldn’t test out the bread or cakes as they weren’t gluten free but I could definitely appreciate the display, gorgeous glass cake cabinet.

Having a few days holiday from work led to me inevitably catching a cold!  I’m powering through with lemon, ginger and honey tea in my favourite cup.  Simply fill your cup with hot water, add some grated fresh ginger, a squeeze of honey and a slice of lemon.  I’d love to hear your natural cold remedies!

How is your autumn going?

Paris Sans Gluten



I’ve been in Paris, but you knew that because the title says so.  This was perhaps our strangest visit but no less enjoyable for that.  We’ve visited Paris four times, on the first visit I was a happy gluten eating honeymooner chomping my way through pastries, baguettes and anything else I could lay my hands on.  Since then I’ve had to be gluten free in Paris.  It’s not easy but it’s doable and my husband was always very kind about not eating piles of croissant in front of me.  On this visit however I wasn’t the only one with a diet restriction.  Thanks to a recent illness my husband couldn’t have caffeine, alcohol, butter, chocolate, tomatoes or citrus.  So there we were, two people in the city of pastries, butter, red wine and chocolate unable to eat any of it!  So what did we eat?  There was a lot of salad...

This is a sort of round up of research I’ve done about managing a gluten free diet in Paris (complete with random pretty Paris pictures).  Rule number one, rent an apartment.  It’s just as cheap as a hotel and you get to play at being a Parisian.  This takes the pressure off having to eat out all the time as you can cook your own food.  Paris has some wonderful food markets abundant in fresh produce.  If you are anything like me, then wandering through a market will make you happy.  Even the small supermarkets have a pretty good stock of fresh produce.  Not the kind of limp lettuce and bruised fruit you find in your average UK corner shop. 

 

I found this chain of organic shops called Naturalia very useful.  They stock a good range of gluten free products including pastas and flours.  Supermarkets also carry a range of gluten free foods but these tend to be more processed and less healthy.

 

Take your own gluten free snacks.  You can deal with croissant cravings a lot better if you have food to cram in to your mouth to distract yourself.

 

If you are a braver soul than me and more confident in your French speaking abilities then eating out is much more possible.  I always find myself rather intimidated by the speed of French waiters.  It’s always a good idea to phone ahead to your chosen restaurant and explain your condition.  These restaurant cards come in handy as they explain the coeliac diet clearly.

 

There is a gluten free cafe called Helmut Newcake.  I was desperate to try this place but sadly it was shut on the one day we were planning to go.  I hadn’t realised how many shops and museums close in Paris on a Monday!  Don’t get caught out like me when you are planning your trip.

David Lebovitz has a great post all about dining and eating gluten free in Paris.  This is a great place to start.

If you are unfortunate enough to be unable to enjoy caffeine and alcohol then sipping tea at one of Paris’ tea salons is always an option.  MariageFrères do a good range of tea, with many caffeine free options.  We sipped a cup of their Casablanca blend at Chez Félicie.

Finally, a couple of Paris blogs I like to give you a few ideas of things to see and explore, sometimes off the well beaten tourist track.  The HiP Paris Blog and Lost in Cheeseland

Bon appétit!

On the Road...

This week we’ve been travelling around the UK, catching up with family.  A couple of days in Somerset followed by a few days in Blackpool.

My sisters dog.  I’m normally a cat person but if anyone can change my allegiance to dogs it’s this fella.

I couldn’t eat any of these cakes but I can still appreciate the yummy display.  My husband assured me the bakewell tart was pretty good.

I made cherry and pecan granola to take with me.  Breakfast covered.

Early morning on the beach in Blackpool.

You can just make out Blackpool tower in the distance.

A cheese and tomato toasted sandwich with gluten free bread.  So good after a long drive.

I roasted some beetroot and made a salad.  I’ll post it soon.

Recently with my iPhone/Instagram

A robin came and kept us company while we were doing some gardening.  He was loving all the attention.

Flat peaches in my new pretty glass bowl from Cambridge market.

Avocados, I can’t seem to get enough.

Gluten Free Flatbread Pizzas this time with tomato, mozzarella and roasted aubergine.  More avocado on the side.

Lone poppy on a windswept walk.

Stopping for coffee. I think this cafe is self aware...

A day trip to the seaside.  It rained...ALOT.  St Bartholomew's Church, one of the tallest churches in the UK.  Love the bird taking flight at the top as I snapped this.  Also, sheltering in a doorway waiting for the rain to pass.  Check out those turn ups.

Traditional British summer activity...visit a beach in the rain.

A little bit of colour on a grey day.

Spotted my dream car parked next to us in the multi storey car park. 

How was your weekend?

Lately...

Thanks to the long Diamond Jubilee weekend I decided to take a couple of extra days off work and make the most of the week.  Things got off to a great start with a visit to friends in Cambridge, one of the many cities I have lived in and one I have a great affection for.  Here are a few pics I snapped on my iphone!

No mention of Cambridge would be complete without...

It rained and rained and rained so sadly I couldn’t do the colleges justice. We had many breaks for coffee to keep dry and warm up. 

We visited Kettle's Yard House, the former home of Jim and Helen Ede.  I adore this house.  The space is amazing and contains their unique art collections.  Even though the sky was dark with rain clouds, the sense of light in this house is beautiful.

Back at home and the weather didn’t really improve.  These cows knew what was coming...

Pretty water lilies, not quite Monet...

Almond Butter Banana Sandwiches in mid prep on homemade Gluten Free Bread. 

We got a bumper lot of strawberries thanks to a Diamond Jubilee supermarket offer...

Brown Butter Strawberry Banana Bread adapted from Joy the Baker...expect this and more strawberry recipes in the near future!

I am now on instagram (slightly addicted), you can see/follow my gallery here. 



Lunch in Lausanne

This weekend we took a trip to Switzerland to catch up with a friend.  Travelling abroad when you have to maintain a gluten free diet can be pretty daunting.  My first challenge was eating out in a traditional Swiss restaurant in Lausanne.  My friend contacted the restaurant in advance and explained my condition with the help of these travel cards from Celiac Travel  This is a great site for advice about travelling to a variety of destinations on a gluten free diet.

Restaurants are busy places, things can get lost in communication between the waiter and the kitchen, cross contamination can be a big risk.  Throw in a foreign language too and it can all seem like too much trouble.  I was lucky.  I had my friend to speak with the waiter on my behalf.  I ended up having a rösti which is a traditional Swiss potato cake with a fried egg on top and a variety of mushrooms including chanterelles and shiitake sautéed in butter on the side.  The food was delicious and I ate safely.

Sadly I don’t have any pictures!  Thinking only of my stomach I left my camera in the car.  I managed to take a few more pictures once I had retrieved it.

To aid digestion our friend took us up this tower after lunch!

We ended our afternoon of site seeing with fresh mint tea at a local cafe.