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Celebrating Our First Birthday

It is now a whole year since we launched Annie's Supperclub.  The first in Bromley and as far as I know still the only one in the UK that is 100% gluten free.

We decided to host two dinners working on the theory that several of our "regulars" would want to celebrate with us and so we could have more interest that we could have accommodated on one night.

On Friday we hosted 8 guests, one lady returning for the second time (with a friend in tow this time!) and 7 newbies.  Saturday we were full with 10 guests. This time we had 4 newbies, the rest being returning guests.
 
Our first course was our "Butternut Cups".  I peeled and cut a butternut squash, sprinkled over chopped rosemary (fresh from our garden) and thyme (from the windowsill), plenty of sea salt, and tossed it all in olive oil.  It roasted for about an hour after which I pureed the flesh and added a splash of lemon juice and some black pepper.

Just before guests arrived I crumbled in some gorgeous Kentish Blue cheese - after I'd removed a portion of the puree to save for our dairy free guest (Saturday). The Blue is ideal not just for its taste but also because it is a vegetarian blue cheese and we had two vegetarian guests join us on Friday.

Earlier in the day I had cut out some small circles of gluten free bread, soaked them in olive oil then pressed them into my Pampered Chef mini muffin tin and then baked them in a hot oven for 15 minutes.

These little "cups" were full of the flavour of the extra virgin olive oil and were perfect to stuff with the butternut squash puree.

We served them with a small bowl of onion relish - made to my normal onion "jam" recipe but the onions had retained more bite and sharpness than usual which complemented the sweet squash perfectly.

Next was a pasta course.  I'd served pasta before at Annie's using the pasta recipe from Shauna Ahern's The Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef book.  The pasta tastes lovely but I hadn't managed to get it thinner than a "3" setting on my pasta machine.

I'd been inspired to see all the gorgeous pasta recipes in the recent Gluten Free Ratio Rally (see list of recipes at the bottom of this page).   I read through them all, looked through my army of gluten free flours, and worked out a new recipe.

I was very excited - the dough was soft, pliable and *dramatic drum roll sound effect* I managed to roll it out to a "1" on the machine! I could even read my supperclub prep timetable through it!

It seemed an ideal time to use my new ravioli tray.

The filling for the ravioli was one that I had used last November for larger ravioli.  I sauteed onion and garlic, added chestnuts and diced apple, parsley and seasoning.  In a separate pan I rendered some pancetta, letting it get very crispy.  I mixed the filling in my battered 20 year old Masterchef Moulinex mixer (*hint* anyone want to give me some lovely shiny mixer to review?!) and removed some for my vegetarian ravioli.  I then added pancetta to the rest and blended it again.

It only took half a teaspoon of filling to fill the ravioli (I had plenty left over lol).  The pasta dough behaved beautifully and I had no trouble getting the raviolo out of the tray.

I put the finished ravioli onto a tray covered with cling film and put them into the fridge until service.

The pasta was served in a cherry tomato sauce - sweet and tart at the same time - made by roasting 2lb of cherry tomatoes and several red peppers which were then pureed and passed through a fine sieve.  A bunch of freshly chopped herbs and the simple sauce coated the ravioli.  When we served I did remark that it looked like I'd just opened a tin of ravioli but hopefully the guests didn't think so!

I forgot to add the freshly chopped basil to the plates - a shame because the green would have added something to the picture if nothing else!

For our main course we had given guests a choice of Halibut or Steak.  I was surprised at how many people chose the fish!

The halibut steaks were individually poached in olive oil, in a very low oven, for about 40 minutes.  Lemon slices, lemon smoked salt and capers gently flavoured the fish.  Despite being cooked in the oil the fish doesn't come out at all oily.  On Friday a timing error meant that (to my tastes) the fish was slightly over but all the guests said it was good.  The fish was accompanied by sauteed Pink Fir Apple potatoes from our own kitchen garden.

The fillet steaks were HUGE!  The smallest ones were 6oz and the largest 10oz.  With hindsight I should most certainly have trimmed them - but in my defence a) I'm a carnivore who firmly believes there is no such thing as too much steak and b) I'm used to serving teenagers with appetites like horses!  I may have to invest in some Annie's branded doggy bags...

I served the steaks in the style of a Tournedos Rossini - on a fried crouton and topped with home made chicken liver pate.  I explained to guests that whilst my palate may appreciate the splendour of fois gras I cannot support the methods used to obtain it.  I prefer therefore to use chicken liver pate as a topping.

My dauphinoise style potatoes have become a bit of a signature dish and were served as a (very rich!) accompaniment to the steaks.  On Friday the potatoes were PERFECT and a very very big hit with our diners.  Sadly on Saturday I had every chef's nightmare when the oven appeared to malfunction resulting in underdone potatoes.  I tried my best to rescue them and guests were keen to convince me that they tasted great but *I* was extremely distressed.  It didn't help that I had an ex-fine dining head chef at the table that night - NOT the night to screw up!

All the meals were served with Petits Pois à la Française.  I hope to add some photos later on from guests as (as usual) I failed to get a photo of the main courses!

Due to licensing laws we are unable to offer alcohol to our guests (although diners made a donation for their food because money changes hands offering alcohol still counts as "passing off").  In order to be able to celebrate our anniversary in style therefore we served a lovely Champagne Sorbet!  They were served in individual tasting glass jars which we did rather cram full!  Miscommunication between front of house and chef meant that our guests on Friday were offered their desserts before they had finished the generous portion of sorbet - we sorted that for Saturday!

Desserts were a choice of either caramel and honeycomb ice cream served "Jenga" style or our double chocolate steamed pudding with chocolate sauce.  Our dairy free guest on Saturday had a duo of ice creams - a cashew nut ice cream and a dairy free kulfi (made for our Asian Dinner!).

Home made chocolates accompanied the coffees (with a dairy free selection for our guest on Saturday).

Dark chocolates were filled with a home made gooseberry soft pastille, white chocolates filled with a blueberry pastille and another dark chocolate flavoured with peppermint.

We had a lovely weekend and made some great new friends.  It was good to meet the people behind several twitter friendships!

With our Christmas dates selling out fast, we've also added another date to our European Dinner weekend.

We are looking forward to our final 6 events of 2011 and are already well into planning next year - including Valentines Day!  If you are a coeliac or your partner is, why not book in early to ensure you can join us for our 10 course tasting menu and celebrate Valentine's Day in style AND without fear :-)

Daas Gluten Free Beers

I may have mentioned before that prior to going gluten free I was a real ale kind of girl.

It was therefore a matter of concern to me to find gluten free beers that I could drink.

To date I have tried Estrella Damm Daura, Green's Gluten Free Beers, Nick Stafford's Hambleton Ales GFL and GFA, and St Peter's G-Free beer, all of which I have been pleased with.

I was therefore very interested when I was contacted by Lucy from Instinctive PR about one of her clients, a Belgium craft beer maker who produced two gluten free beers.  Lucy was interested to hear my verdict of the beers and kindly offered to send me some samples.

Daas Beers are apparently the only brewer in Belgium to carry both the UK Soil Association Organic certification and the Belgian Certsys certification. They are based in the Belgium province of Hainaut which has a reputation for fine hand crafted beers.

From September their two gluten free beers have been available to buy in the UK.  They are stocked by Waitrose and Ocado and apparently also by some health food shops - somewhat unusual I would think for a beer!


I read up about the beer before the samples arrived and found out that secondary fermentation occurs inside the bottle to mature and carbonate the beer naturally in a similar way (apparently) to the production of Champagne.  Beer made using a process similar to making champagne sounded intriguing!

The samples arrived and I must admit my original intention had been to cook with them however the day they arrived had been a particularly long and difficult one and my husband and I decided that instead we would do a serious taste test and just drink them!

Daas Ambre Gluten Free Beer

Daas Ambre

First we opened the Daas Ambre, listed as a "traditional rich and complex Belgian amber ale".

The beer poured well and had a really great malty aroma.  I mean it as a compliment to say that it tasted like any other "ordinary" ale!  It reminded me strongly of another beer I'd had before, a gluten beer, but I couldn't remember which one (and sadly cannot run a taste test to find it anymore!).  There was nothing "free from" about the taste of the Daas Ambre.

It was quite smooth tasting, managing to be both sweet and dry at the same time and a good hop taste.  It was the sort of beer I could happily (given half the chance) work through a pack of without any trouble at all.

In addition to being gluten free the Daas Ambre is also suitable for vegans.  The ingredients are listed as Water, Malted Barley, Hops and Yeast with the hops and barley being organic.

Daas Blond Gluten Free Beer

Strength wise it is 6.5% ABV / 33 cl / 2.15 units.  All in all it was a very pleasant drink.

Daas Blond

Next we opened the Daas Blond.

This beer received a "Commended" in the Soil Association Organic Food Awards in 2009 and is a golden "larger" style beer.


My husband and I have very different palates and it was interesting that whilst the Ambre was my favourite, he preferred the Blond (typical woman I go for the strong dark silent type and he, being a typical bloke, goes for the blond lol).

Whilst the Amber reminded me of any good ale, the Blond had a totally unique flavour.  That was the appeal for my husband but as I never used to like lagers it wasn't my preference.

Don't get me wrong, it is still a great beer!  It had a sweet, almost honey taste with a slightly spicy finish.  It is also vegan (as well as gluten free) and also 6.5% ABV with the same ingredients listed as the Ambre.

Both the beers showed that "free from" beers can rightly take their place alongside their gluten filled counterparts.  They were strong, complex and pleasurable to drink - something that is a huge relief to a poor ale loving coeliac like me!

For more information about Daas Beers visit their website http://www.daasbeer.com/.

Ocado and Waitrose stock Daas Blond, with it retailing at  £2.54 for a 330ml bottle (£.7.70 per litre). It is also available from a number of health and organic online shops.

Thanks once again to Lucy for the chance to try these new beers - and if anyone else out there would like me to taste their gluten free beers *ahem* please feel free to contact me ;-)

No Cream Ice Cream

I had my mother over today to celebrate her 69th birthday. I had planned to do a roast beef dinner. With hindsight temperatures of 26C plus here in Bromley meant that a meal involving three ovens was probably not a good idea...

However, that is what I had decided so that is what I did.  I roasted the topside beef joint at 80C for 7 1/2 hours.  I then took it out, turned the oven up to 250C and put it back in for about 10 minutes to crisp the outside.  It produced a lovely, moist, perfectly medium rare roast.  The advantage of taking it out to turn the oven up was also that I managed to scrap the pan of all the yummy bits to make a great gravy whilst the beef finished off.

We served it with fresh plain pink fir apple potatoes from the garden and Petit Pois à La Française (practising for our dinners next weekend!).  I also had gluten free stuffing and bacon wrapped sausages courtesy of a trip to Marks & Spencers earlier in the day.

Anyway, the title of this post refers to the fact that I needed to make a dessert for the meal.  I figured that we needed something light - and something cold! 

Ice cream.

However when old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard/fridge she found she didn't have any cream.

What I did have was a large number of seriously over ripe bananas.

I don't like bananas.  I will tolerate them if they are very ripe and I have nothing else to eat and I am very hungry.  I detest banana-flavoured things.  I definitely don't like banana ice cream.

You know where this is going, don't you?

I also don't like peanut butter.  I don't actually like peanuts.  I will eat dry roasted peanuts. Actually I eat the stuff left at the bottom of the packet.  Mind you, they probably aren't gluten free and I certainly haven't eaten any for years.

I do like my own home made peanut butter cookies.  Peanut butter was something I realised I had to learn to bake with when I was both gluten, dairy, egg and soya free for the two years I was breastfeeding DS4.  I discovered that peanut butter cookies didn't exactly taste a) like peanuts b) like peanut butter.  Result!

Sainsbury's have recently started stocking Peanut Butter & Co's range of peanut butter products.  This was a great discovery as they are actually labelled as being gluten free.  It means I can make tiger butter *sigh* which is not such a great discovery for my waistline...

So, with just three ingredients, I decided to make a no-cream ice cream.  If you have a dairy free chocolate spread, then this is a vegan ice cream.

Ingredients

2 tbsps Belgium chocolate spread
2 tbsps pure Peanut Butter
4 bananas

This can hardly be called a recipe! 

Put all the ingredients into a bowl.  Grab your stick blender.  Blend.

Taste and adjust to your preference.  If like me you have an unadulterated peanut butter then you may want to add a pinch of salt, or a tablespoon of icing sugar.  Weirdly, despite the fact that ice cream mixtures usually lose sweetness as they freeze this mixture came out sweeter than it did at room temperature so be wary of making it too sweet.

If you like peanut butter, or if you have very ripe bananas, you may want to add more peanut butter to increase the peanut butter flavour above that of the bananas.

Tip the mixture into your ice cream maker and churn.

Due to the heat of the kitchen I stood mine in the (relatively) cool dining room.  The lead didn't reach from the table which is why this picture is of the ice cream maker on a (Christmas!) tray on one of my dining room chairs.  The mixture took about 20 minutes to reach soft whip stage. 

I could have put it on for another 20 minutes but I put it straight into the freezer instead.

We served it up a few hours later and everyone agreed it was successful.  As my bananas were very ripe the ice cream was more banana flavoured than peanut butter flavour but as I know that now, I can adjust it to taste in the future.

Before I put the mixture into the freezer I blobbed more chocolate spread over the top and swirled it through with a knife.  This gave a lovely ripple effect when it was scooped out.

This is a great, stand by, store cupboard ice cream.  You could serve it barely half an hour after starting to make it if you need a dessert in a hurry. It was gluten free, egg free, and could easily have been made dairy free with a dairy free chocolate spread or simply melted chocolate.

Enjoy!

Annie's Celebrates One Year of Gluten Free Dining

A year! A whole year!

On 2nd October 2010 we opened the first 100% gluten free underground restaurant in the UK and the first in the London Borough of Bromley.

Over the past year we have been blessed by opening our home to over 150 guests, many of whom have returned on a number of occasions to share with us.

We made many new friends, had some hilarious evenings, been entertained by a jazz singer, hosted a band, and been impressed by the courtesy shown towards us by our diners who have obviously appreciated that they were being welcomed in to our home.

We have a guests book that is filling up with lovely comments, constructive feedback but thankfully to date no complaints (other than once when we were told we'd served too much food!).

Next weekend, on 7th and 8th October, we are celebrating the year with friends old and new.

MENU

First Course

Roasted Butternut Squash & Gorgonzola "Cups" ^V
~

Second Course

Fresh Ravioli stuffed with Prosciutto, Chestnuts & Apple in a Cherry Tomato Sauce 

OR

Fresh Ravioli stuffed with Porcini, Chestnuts & Apple in a Cherry Tomato Sauce ^V
~

Third Course

Tournedos Rossini - Fillet steak on a Crouton topped with Chicken Liver Pate

 OR 
Alaskan Halibut Steak on a Crouton topped with Anchovy Pate  ^V
 
Both served with Annie's Daupinoise Potatoes and Petits Pois à la Française
~

Fourth Course 

Celebratory Champagne Sorbet ^V
~

Fifth Course


"Jenga" Honeycomb Ice Cream  ^V

  OR 
Double Chocolate Steamed Pudding  ^V
~
 
Coffee & Chocolates

Asian Dinner

Saturday saw our Asian inspired dinner.  As a coeliac, I know that casual trips to the local take away or restaurant is something you have to accept is over.  If you have a local place where you can talk to them about gluten, educate them about cross contamination, and where they are happy to try and accommodate you, then if you are one of the fortune ones you can find a safe place to go.

In my experience though there is still that element of risk.

Here at Annie's because we run a 100% gluten free kitchen I knew I could serve up some tasty treats without that fear.  After all, if I can't taste it, I can't serve it!

As usual I was far too busy in the kitchen to take photos so the images here were provided by guests (thank you!).

We were fully booked for the dinner - a lovely split of five returning guests and five newbies.  Guests were prompt (one couple got caught behind a slow driver and were a little late but they soon caught up!) and seemed to relax immediately with one another.

The table was set with prawn crackers for guests to nibble on and as well as our usual still and sparkling water we also offered jasmine & green tea in Chinese teacups to help get diners in the mood.

We started in India.  I served Vegetable (cauliflower) Pakoras and Batata Vada Chaat (potato fritters) on top of some Coriander Chutney.  To accompany it we provided Tamarind Chutney and a Cucumber Raita. We had two dairy free guests at the table and their Raita was made with soya yoghurt.  The appetizer went down well - so well that no one took a photo of their plate before eating!  However, one guest did manage a snap of his empty plate...

The next course featured Indonesian cuisine.  A lighter course after the fried carbohydrate of the first appetizer, we served Udang Goreng Kecap Manis - stir Fried Prawns in Indonesian Sweet Soy Sauce.

I had not been able to find any gluten free kecap manis so had made my own.  I heated equal quantities of gluten free soy sauce with molasses sugar along with a star anise.

Once the sugar had dissolved and the sauce had thickened slightly, it was ready to use.

I fried off plenty of garlic which I then removed before adding the fresh prawns which had been quickly marinated in turmeric.

Once they started to change colour I reintroduced the garlic along with hot chillis (from our windowsill box!), tamarind paste and the kecap manis.

Innocent looking, they packed quite a punch!

We topped up the prawn crackers and provided everyone with bowls and chopsticks as we were heading to China for the main course.

We placed the serving bowls on the table and let our guests help themselves, in true Chinese restaurant style!

I made Sweet & sour Pork Cantonese Style, Lamb with Ginger & Spring Onions, Chinese Greens (bok choy and choi sum) and plenty of Egg Fried Rice.  I say plenty because despite the fact that the protein to carb ratio was 2:1 the rice dish was the only thing that had anything left in it at the end!


I had a bit of a nightmare with the dessert which was Pisang Goreng (banana fritters).  Now, I only eat bananas when a) there is nothing else to eat b) they are very ripe - but the fritters are usually thick slices of banana fried in a light crisp batter.  Pandering to my own tastes (chef's perogative!) I prefer to mash the bananas (ripe!) into the batter mix and deep fry a tablespoon at a time.

What happens is that you get a gorgeous puff of yumminess - and don't forget I don't even like bananas but I love these!  The issue was that for some reason the batter was sticking to the bottom of the pan (which has never happened any time I've ever made these before).  The result was not only a delay but also affected the look of the fritters.

Fortunately, the taste was not affected!  This is evidenced by the lack of photos of the completed dish ;-)    We served the fritters with a plain Kulfi (Indian ice cream) which I had made.  I had also made a dairy free version using home made condensed rice milk and soya cream.


Interestingly, a number of guests had expressed reservations about the kulfi in advance of trying it.  It appears that they had tasted kulfi in Indian restaurants before and found the taste overpowering.

I was EXTREMELY relieved that they all however loved my kulfi!  I had flavoured it with saffron, cardamon and rose water, enough to provide a subtle taste to the ice cream that didn't overpower the palate.

Guests had been told that the coffee course would include chocolate lychees. I had made some during the week and whilst I could appreciate the taste of the ginger with the lychee and chocolate, I dislike lychees even more than I dislike bananas and I decided that texturally the combination was unappealing.

Instead I made white chocolates with chilli powder, a pistachio nut fudge and dark chocolate coated crystallised ginger.

Our dairy free guests had a plate of dark chocolates, some flavoured with chilli and others with crushed pistachios in them.

We thoroughly enjoyed our evening and were very pleased with the comments on twitter afterwards:

PKPWordsmith Phillip Khan-Panni
@anniesupperclub Such a splendid dinner last evening. Thank you Annie.

cinderelliekins Mrs Hughes
Just home from a wonderful and delicious evening at @anniesupperclub) - so happy and full! Thanks Annie, sorry we ate everything!!

kijakazi Jenn
Another fantastic evening eating at @anniesupperclub trying not to fall asleep on the tube home!

lovelybills Barbara Taylor
Just had a delicious 5 course Asian banquet @anniesupperclub in Bromley. Fine food & good company!

Where's the Bread?

Despite still very much being in love with the thought of bread, and regularly trying out new ideas for tasty gluten free loaves, on a day to day basis I don't really miss "real" bread.

Lunches rarely involve a specific carbohydrate.  My body reacts best to a high protein/low carb sort of diet so I tend to avoid potatoes, bread and pasta unless I'm feeling in need of comfort food.

Today's lunch was typical of what I eat.  I look in the fridge and larder for vegetables, proteins and flavours that are on hand and put them all in the saute pan!

I had some chorizo, green beans and goats cheese left over from the private Annie's on Sunday but I didn't want to just recreate the warm salad that I used them in for the starter.  I placed diced chorizo in the wok as it came up to temperature, releasing all that lovely paprika flavoured oil.  I like my chorizo to be very crispy so the heat was set high.  Once it was nearly to that stage, I added half a thinly sliced yellow pepper, a generous handful of fine green beans and one spring onion cut into chunks.

I stir fried the veg for a few minutes, allowing the pepper to soften slightly but keeping the beans lovely and crunchy.  I had found some of my spicy cherry tomato sauce in the fridge so I poured that over and turned the heat off.  After tossing it all together I added fresh basil and oregeno, sea salt and black pepper, and a very generous handful of diced goats cheese.

The texture contrasts were perfect.  The chorizo was hard, crispy on the outside and slightly chewy in the middle, the beans crunched, the spring onion was firm, the peppers were softened, and the cheese was melting.

The taste hit all the right spots too! The spiciness of the chorizo mirrored the light spice of the tomato sauce.  Overall the sauce was sweet - and that mirrored the peppers.  The cheese and even the beans provided an umami taste along with the meaty chorizo.  Salty, spicy, sweet, savoury - it might not look much on the plate but this was a sensationally tasting lunch that managed to wake me up in a way that coffee has failed to do today!

Bring on the afternoon!

Pulled Pork

My name is Annie, and I'm a TV food programme addict.

There. I've admitted it.

I've heard people say things like "who watches that stuff anyway?" or "does anyone ever actually try the recipes?"

Er, "me" and "yes"!

Second confession: I'm not a trained chef - well, not professionally trained.  Just trained in the crucible of life: realising what I didn't like about my Mum's cooking; experimenting with weird concoctions when first allowed near the cooker myself as a teenager; enjoying having my own kitchen when I got married and cooking 3 course meals from scratch starting when I got home from work in London at 7pm each night; learning to cook tasty vegetarian meals when hubby went veggie for a year due to ill health; learning to cook tasty gluten free food when 2 sons went gluten free; learning to BAKE gluten free; learning to make EVERYTHING from scratch by the time 5 out of 6 of us ended up on a gluten free diet....

All the time, I've watched cooking shows.  I find them even better than cookbooks because the real things I've learned have been from those throw away comments that the chef makes on camera, those little asides that make you yell "aha! So THAT'S the secret!" at the TV (or is that only me?).

Actually, thinking about it, I find food blogs do that for me too.  The more chatty/off topic the writer is, the more I find I learn from those musings - far more than from the actual recipe that they kindly write out at the foot of the post.  Bloggers like Gluten Free Girl (who educates me at the same time as making me feel part of her life) and Pig in the Kitchen (who makes me laugh out loud every time whilst having been my life saver during 2 years of gluten, dairy, soya AND egg free cooking) and more recently foodie/supperclub bloggers like Food Urchin (who makes me laugh, nod in recognition, and invariably triggers me off on some wild food escapade myself).

All of which is a looong introduction to this post about pulled pork.  You see I love watching Diners, Drive ins and Dives.  Partly because I'm a frustrated Diner Owner, partly because I love food that is probably bad for me (yeah I know, I'm married to a wellness coach, go figure).  One of the most commonly featured American diner foods featured is pulled pork.  Rubbed, smoked, barbecued, pulled, sauced, in a buns, with fries...  Never understood the fascination.

I'd made pulled pork before you see.  Well, I thought I had.  I'd slow roasted pork till it "pulled".  Nice but *shrug* not worth a trip for.  I'd cooked it in my slow cooker (I LOVE my slow cooker) for hours and hours till it fell apart.  Nice but *shrug* a taste that I wasn't that keen on (I'd cooked it in liquid, braising it, and I'm not really a fan of braising!).

I wondered if it was down to the cut.  The Americans all used "pork butt" and I couldn't find it in the supermarket or the butchers over here (yeah ok, stop laughing at the back, I know that NOW!).

Finally I thought, after one particularly tasting looking episode, to google pork butt.  Guess what?  It's pork shoulder!

When a friend yesterday gave us a pork shoulder joint, it seemed like a sign.  Every person I'd seen on Triple D had made a dry rub and every time I saw the list of ingredients I used to laugh because it seemed to me that the first time they'd made it they'd thrown a little bit of everything in and, having found it worked, couldn't work out what exactly MADE it work so always recreated faithfully that first "bung it all in and hope for the best" concoction.

So that's what I did.

To the best of my recollection (don't shoot me, I'm new at this food blogging/recipe lark), this is what I did:

1 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
1/2 tbsp freshly cracked black pepper
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp hot smoked paprika
1/4 tsp English Mustard powder
1/2 tsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp good quality instant coffee (yes, really)

I'm pretty certain that was it.  Put it this way, I'll do it that way next time and check and I promise I'll update you!

I cut all the rind and large bits of fat off of the pork and rubbed it over with the dry rub.  Then I doubled wrapped it in clingfilm, very tightly, and left it in the fridge overnight for 12 hours.

I put the slow cooker on to low (mine has 3 settings) and just put a tiny bit of water in the bottom - enough to wet the whole surface - and placed the (now unwrapped) pork on top of it.  Put the lid on and left it for 9 hours.  It wasn't a huge joint (I know, sorry, I didn't make a note of the weight!) and a bigger joint could take up to 10 or 12 hours to get to the right "pulled pork" texture.

Do what I did and test it - you'll know when it's ready!

We wanted a BBQ sauce to go over it so after a quick google I settled on this one on the Food Network site.  No reason other than by then I was hungry and DH was just ripping into the pork so I couldn't be bothered to look further!

I halved the quantities (it was only for 2 of us after all) and to be honest we found it far too sharp for our poor English tastes.  I added a tablespoon of maple syrup and another good 2 or 3 tablespoons of dark brown sugar before we thought it was ok.  Then I had the genius idea of adding some of the liquor from the bottom of the slow cooker.  We mixed 1 part of sauce to 2 parts of the liquor and BOY that was the real deal!  The pork juices and the added flavour from the rub balanced out the sharpness of the sauce to perfection.

I'm a convert! Obviously the dry rub and then the dry cooking (instead of braise) of the pork made the right sort of cooking method to match all those American Diner pulled pork creations.

Next time we're going to try and turn our barbecue in to a smoker and see if we can go the whole hog (*ahem*)!

Asian Inspired Dinner - Saturday 24th September

Saturday 24th September we will be having an Asian inspired dinner, enjoying foods often off limits to coeliacs at the take away!

The menu has not been finalised but this is the draft - to wet your appetite!  We only have one place left so if you are interested (and haven't already booked), don't delay!  Book via http://tinyurl.com/bookingannies.  We will hold a waiting list should we be over subscribed.

Appetizer
Indonesian Fried Prawns
Served with Acar (Indonesian pickled salad) & home made kepap dipping sauce

Starters
A selection of Indian snacks such as Samosas, Chicken kebabs and Pakoras

Main Course
Sweet & Sour Cantonese Style Pork
Sesame Chicken
Lamb with Ginger & Spring Onions
Egg Fried Rice

Dessert
Gulab Juman served with Kulfi

Coffee + Indonesian Pineapple Cookies

As always, the 5 course dinner will include still and sparkling water and starts at 7pm.  Guests are welcome to bring their own drink.  The suggested donation per head is £25.  The exact address is provided to guests upon confirmation of their booking, but we are in the Hayes/Keston area of Bromley, just 10 minutes away from Bromley South station by either bus or car for those travelling via public transport.

Gluten Free Tortilla Wraps

Yesterday I decided to get out the Isobel's Pizza Base Mix that I had stock-piled from Ocado earlier in the month.  I'd first heard about the product from "meeting" Isabel's Free From on Twitter at the last GF Tweet Up and had been pleased to notice that Ocado was stocking the pizza mix.

My original plan was to make pizza for my two youngest (4 and 9 and both gluten free) as a treat whilst their two older brothers were away for the week on camp.  However, being the sort of person I am, I wondered if there was something more interesting I could do with the mix...

I had a look at the Isobel's Kitchen Corner website and found this recipe for Gluten and Wheat Free Tortilla Wraps.  That was EXACTLY the sort of thing I was looking for!

The dough was beyond easy to make and I was impressed both with the smell and texture of it.  The recipe suggested pre-heating a non-stick frying pan until very hot, and then adding the rolled-out dough to cook for a few minutes till it puffed, then turning it over to finish.

Now, one of my essential-items-every-glutenfree-kitchen-should-have is my panini press.  I find it the ideal solution for toasted gf sandwiches (because NO gluten free bread is the shape of "normal" bread and therefore suitable for a normal sandwich toasters), flatbreads, pancakes, and all sorts of other scrummy things.  I decided therefore to try cooking the wraps in the press.

It was a GREAT idea!

I divided the dough into four and rolled each portion out to a 1mm thick round before placing it on the hot press and shutting the lid.  I panicked at first at some of the noises coming out from the press until I remembered the "until it puffs" bit and realised it was the sound of air escaping!  When I opened the press (after 2 minutes) the tortilla had easily doubled in size.  I slid it out and continued to cook the rest of the dough.

I placed them onto my cake rack to allow them to cool.  The wrap was flexible and behaved fairly similarly to a tortilla wrap.  Two of the wraps had overcooked on some of their edges so I tore those bits off to have a taste.

Wow!  Have you ever fried a flour tortilla (pre-glutenfree days of course!)? They taste totally different to tortilla "chips".  Well that is just what the "toasted" wrap tasted like - I would happily have eaten them like that and indeed plan to make some on purpose next time for some serious Mexican food fun!

As for the rest of the wraps, they were delicious.  I had some left over cold chicken which I shredded, added finely chopped spring onion and some mayonnaise mixed with a dollop of sweet chilli sauce.  I placed a generous amount on each wrap and rolled them up.

Hubby is not gluten free and dislikes almost every gluten free bread he's ever tasted (bar just a few that I've made and even then he only likes them fresh from the oven) so the fact that he raved about them tells you something.

To be honest - and other coeliacs will probably recognise this apparent over the top sentimentality - I almost cried at the thought of being able to have a PICNIC with these wraps.  All of a sudden I can take my four children out to a picnic and have "normal" food in front of all their friends.  Nothing odd about these wraps!

If you haven't tried any of the Isobel's products I suggest you remedy that and, just for me, try out the wraps recipe using the pizza dough mix.  I'm pretty confident that you will be impressed!

Regency Dinner

Saturday saw our Regency themed Jane Austen Dinner.  The now defunct Royal Bell Hotel in Bromley (just off Market Square) is referred to in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (Chapter 37) as Bromley was a coaching stop on way to Hastings from London.

We used this tenuous Bromley link as the excuse to create a 6 course dinner of Regency inspired dishes.

The day started with a panic - our booking system had not flagged up that we had received an additional booking during the week.  This was great as it meant the event was sold out but what was NOT great was we had therefore missed the note from the guests that let us know that they were both dairy free as well as gluten free!

Out of 10 dishes we'd planned to serve, only 2 were dairy free!  This meant a frantic dash to the shops and a LOT of extra saucepans needed!  Being very conscious of the whole allergy/contamination problem I had to rearrange all my cooking plans to ensure that there was no danger of butter or cream (for example) splashing around during the hectic moments of the evening.

One of the things we have learnt since running the supperclub is that however much you stress the start time, guests do not always turn up on time.  On Saturday however all our guests had arrived before the start time of 7pm!  I was very grateful for their understanding as the mutterings and clashing of saucepans increased from the kitchen :-)

We started off with Baked Eggs, a typical Regency dish.  I filled each glass ramekin with a gluten free crouton, topped it with country ham that had been seeped in cream along with a little of the cream, and then covered with sauteed onion and garlic.  A free range egg was then carefully cracked into each dish and they were baked in the oven.  A version was done for our dairy-free guests using soya cream to seep the ham in.

The next course was the infamous White Soup.

"As for the ball, it is quite a settled thing; and as soon as Nicholls has made white soup enough I shall send round my cards."  Charles Bingley, Pride and Prejudice

The soup is a delicate, rich soup made from veal stock and cream.  I had been rescued by Adrian at Pancake Farm when I had appealed frantically on twitter for help in sourcing fresh veal bones.  A consignment duly arrived and I spent a total of three days preparing the various stages of the soup.  The dish was one of two on the menu that were (as near as I could make them) 100% authentic to the period, made from original recipes.  Of course, the issue with a Regency recipe is that their idea of measurements include "some" and "several"... but to the best of my ability, I recreated White Soup!

A separate soup was finished off with soya cream instead of double cream for our dairy free guests.

I wanted to serve game for the main course and as wood pigeon are in season, we served Roasted Wood Pigeon along with glazed carrots (popular in the period) and mash flavoured with bone marrow.  The bone marrow gave a real creaminess to the mash as well as giving it some texture.  The sauce that we served was a celery sauce - a traditionally made bechamel sauce to which a puree was added of celery that had been braised for several hours in veal stock.  I thought the sauce was one of the tastiest things I've had in a long time and is definitely something I will make again!

Making a dairy free bechamel was a nightmare that I hope not to have to repeat in a hurry but I was very pleased that the final, dairy free version of the celery sauce was as tasty as the "normal" sauce!

Guests were given the choice to have the pigeon served whole (more in keeping with the period) or to have the breast carved and they all "gamely" (ahem!) decided to have them whole.  I served the bird pink - a bit too pink I think for some guests and a few asked to have theirs carved and sauteed further to suit their tastes better.

Following the pigeon we had a palate cleanser of a "Negus Sorbet".  In Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management, originally published in 1861, a Negus recipe was given as:

"To every pint of port wine, allow 1 quart of boiling water, 1/4 lb. of sugar, 1 lemon, grated nutmeg to taste"

It said that "this beverage is more usually drunk at children's parties than at any other" - and we all agreed that the children must have been very happy!  I chose to make a sorbet using port, lemon and a sugar syrup, basing on the proportions that I used for my Champagne Sorbet served at our Valentine's Dinner.

A cheese course followed.  Three cheeses were served all of which were traditionally made and the sort of cheeses that would have been familiar to Jane Austen's characters.  We chose Kentish Blue, Ashmore and Lincolnshire Poacher and served them with a homemade gooseberry "cheese".  The gooseberry cheese had only been drying for a week and therefore was still a little soft (eaten with a spoon rather than cut with a knife!) but it balanced very well with the cheeses and despite having served a very generous portion, very little came back on the plates!

I am not a lover of dairy free cheese so we chose to serve our dairy free guests simply with the gooseberry cheese and some gluten free/dairy free crackers.

Our Maitre d' then began to bring out the "sweetmeat" course, adding a number of desserts to the table:

• Syllabub - a period dessert traditionally made with milk or cream lightly curdled with wine. We chose to serve a version made with a syrup of Madeira, sugar and lemon.  Sadly, soya cream does NOT whip but our dairy free guests seemed happy enough to drink their version!
• Gingerbread - actually ginger cake! The Regents ate a lot of ginger to settle their stomachs after all the rich food that they consumed. We served a gluten free version (sadly no dairy free alternative) that was extremely light and gorgeously sticky on top
• Marchpane - the original Old English word that later got replaced by the German "Marzipan".  This gluten free (and dairy free!) dessert was made with a paste of ground almonds, icing sugar and rose water, baked with a topping of syrup made with more sugar and rosewater. This was served with sugared mimosa flowers
• Pineapple - a symbol of hospitality and often of wealth, showing that you cared enough for your guests to provide them with exotic fruits from far off lands. We served it with sugared mint leaves
• Jelly - another very popular Regency dish (sweet or savoury).  We served a shot glass layered with three jellies - jasmine at the bottom, clementine in the middle, and topped with a ginger jelly

We then held our free prize draw and one lucky guest drew the "I Win!" piece of paper and took home an autographed copy of Lynn Shepherd's "Murder at Mansfield Park"  which had been generously donated to Annie's by the authoress.

With coffee we served a chocolate and orange truffle.  I had made this to an 18th century recipe and was so impressed with it (which I wasn't expecting!) that I shall most certainly be using it in the future.

We had one "regular" at the table and nine newcomers, all of whom seemed to enjoy both the food and each other's company.  The guestbook comments read:

"Thank you so much for a wonderful evening, an excellent host, great food & company"

"Really enjoyed the evening.  Food was fantastic. Recommend to all!"

"Thank you for the lovely evening. The opportunity to try something new!"

 "What a great night, thanks"

"Fantastic food and a wonderful atmosphere. Thank you for being so accomodating with our lack of dairy :)  We will no doubt be back!"

"Amazing food.  Full of flavour and different textures.  A real pleasant change!"

Guests left by 10.30pm and we managed to get everything cleared, washed and dried up thanks to some help from my two eldest boys.  We thoroughly enjoyed our evening and look forward to our next event, our "Celebrating Seafood" dinner on Saturday 6th August.  Click here to book now!

Jane Austen Regency Dinner Saturday 23rd July

Taking our influence from Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice (with the brief Bromley mention!) on Saturday 23rd July we will be enjoying food that would have been familiar to her characters - even if served in a different way (I'm avoiding saying with a "modern twist" ha ha!).

The suggested minimum donation is £25 per person.  As always, still and sparkling water will be served throughout and guests are welcome to bring their own drinks.

The menu may be changed or tweaked nearer to the time, depending on availability of ingredients etc.  You will notice it is seven courses rather than our usual five!  Vegetarian options available upon request.

Oeufs en cocotte

(eggs baked in ramekins)

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White Soup

Classic veal broth reference in Pride & Prejudice

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Roast Wood Pigeon:/span>

served with glazed carrots and mashed potato flavoured with roasted bone marrow

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Negus sorbet

A port sorbet to clear the palate

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Cheese Course

A selection of hard cheeses served with gooseberry cheese

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Sweetmeats

A selection of Regency inspired desserts

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Coffee

Served with 18th century style truffles & Gingerbread

Click here to book.

New Dates for 2011

We have just released the rest of our dates for 2011, including our Christmas dates.  Although it may seem a long way off, I'd suggest using our booking form and getting your names down for one of the Christmas dates as if last year is anything to go by, they will be fully booked out!

All of the dates below are available to select from our online booking form to make a provisional booking.  We contact you a few weeks before the event to confirm your booking.

Unless otherwise specified, all our events start at 7pm and involve a 5 course meal (including coffee & chocolates) with still and sparkling water.  The suggested donation is £25 and guests can bring their own wine/drink.

We hope to see you all this year!

2011 Dates

Saturday 23rd July - Jane Austin Night - Join us for a dinner inspired by the regency period of Pride & Prejudice. All guests will be entered into a free prize draw for a signed copy of "Murder at Mansfield Park" by Lynn Shepherd.

Saturday 6th August - Celebrating Seafood - 5 courses inspired by the larder of the sea (except, possibly, the dessert LOL!)

Saturday 24th September - Asian Cuisine - If you are a coeliac or on a gluten free/wheat free diet, a trip to the takeaway is not usually an option.  Join us to feast on the wonderful flavours of the Asian continent.  The dinner will definately include Thai, Chinese and Indian food and we may cover other parts of Asia such as Indonesia, Russia and Israel!

Friday 7th October & Saturday 8th October - Annie's Anniversary Dinner - One year on from our opening night, Annie invites you to join us to celebrate a year of fun, food and new friends.

Saturday 12th November - European Cuisine - Europe has so much to offer in the way of flavours but some of these are off limits when you are gluten free.  Annie promises a night of normally "forbidden" foods - such as pasta, pizza and fish and chips!  We will also look to France and other countries for inspiration for the menu.

Friday 9th December, Saturday 10th December, Thursday 15th December, Friday 16th December - 7 course seasonal dinners - We will be serving a 7 course seasonal dinner with options for the starters, main and dessert courses. £30 suggested donation.



Click here to book any of the above.

Remember, Annie's is also available for private bookings!

Garden Party

Saturday saw our Garden Party, held to raise money for Coeliac UK in memory of my Dad.

The forecast was for showers - possibly heavy - so we decided not to set up the gazebo and instead took up the kind offer of the use of the house at the venue.

Coeliac UK had sent us a banner and balloons which ensured that our guests knew they had arrived at the right place!

Guests started arriving from 1pm.  Fortunately most of them were inside before the thunderstorm broke overhead!  Gusting winds took care of some of the balloons, the banner came down, and some guests had to shelter in their car waiting for it to ease before they risked the dash to the house!

After the storm the sun shone, we repaired the banner, and the children all took advantage of the garden to let off some steam.

The table was ladened with a mixture of my own home made gluten free food and items donated by companies for the event.  Pizza bases from Glutafin and Wellfoods were topped with either a vegetarian or meat topping and we brought more out as soon as they were eaten up!  My bacon jam proved to be a hit, served on Glutafin mini crackers topped with a piece of ripe brie.

That morning we'd made a fresh loaf of mixed seed bread using a mix from Foodamentalists.  We also used Dietary Specials' pastry (from their frozen range) to prepare mini cream cheese and bacon bites.

The "sweet" table ended up very full - this picture was taken before it got fully covered!  As well as products from BARKAT, a friend had provided some decadent chocolate brownies together with a very rich sauce and a fruit bread based on an Irish recipe.


Sarah from Especially Delicious brought some gorgeous cupcakes (not pictured) which manage to amaze the non-gluten free guests at the event who couldn't believe they were "free from"!


In fact several guests commented on the selection and taste of the food on offer and expressed surprise that it taste as good, if not better, than "normal" food!  I think we may even have converted one person!

The companies sponsoring our prize draw had provided a wealth of information about their product ranges, and how to get items on prescription.  This was very useful for those at the event who were gluten free - including some newly diagnosed coeliacs.

At 3pm we drew the names for our prize draw.  The winning hamper (which was so heavy it took 2 people to move it!) was crammed full of hundreds of pounds worth of gluten free products from some of the top producers in the UK.  Products had been donated by Livwell (a mixture of bakery products), Wellfoods (including amazing pizza bases), General Dietary Ltd - a selection from their Ener-G products, PGR Health Foods (items from their Rizopia Pasta - Lasagne, Spaghetti, Penne and Fusilli), Dietary Specials (a selection of products), Glutafin (a wide selection of products), TruFree (a selection of products), Juvela (a variety of products), Gluten Free Foods (a selection of their BARKAT products), Black Farmer (several of their excellent new cooking sauces),Foodamentalists (a selection of their dry mixes including yorkshire pudding mix!), Innovative Solutions (a generous selection from their excellent range including flours, gums and yeast), Taywell Ice Creams (6 x 500g tubs from their delicious gluten free ice creams), Freedom Deli (a selection of their gorgeous ready meals), Sugargrain (fresh loaf cakes),  and Drink Marvel (a selection of their Bakery on Main products).

 1st Prize went to Elaine Dullaway who was extremely pleased with it!  The second hamper went to Claire & Ian Reay.  Third prize was drawn for Rachel Warden and the fourth prize hamper went to Louise Spires.  An extra prize was drawn for a beautiful picnic basket donated by Freedom Deli, and this was won by Kevin Broadbent.

Guests also enjoyed some dreamy ice cream, donated by Taywell - honeycomb, vanilla, chocolate, raspberry ripple or pistachio flavours were on offer and the general consensus was that they all tasted amazing!

Many of the guests went home with doggy bags (well, plates!) stuffed with various savouries and desserts and they definitely all went home full.

As a result of the Party a cheque for £150 is being posted to Coeliac UK to add to the £195 raised online via Just Giving.

Annie would like to thank all the companies that supported her efforts - this was all done in memory of her Dad who died from cancer caused exclusively by coeliac disease that was not diagnosed until it was too late.  The day was tinged with sadness but it was a fitting tribute to an amazing man.

Annie Goes to the Allergy & Gluten Free Show

Today DH and I went up to the Allergy & Gluten Free show at Olympia.  It was our first visit to this exhibition.

Overall it was impressive just how many exhibitors there were - but I would love to have seen a show dedicated to gluten free.

A few of the big boys, like Sainsburys, had "demonstration" stations but all in all the event felt like just an exhibition whereas I think the gluten free community in the UK is ready for something a little more sophisticated, more of a food show.

Imagine the Good Food Show equivalent for gluten free!  Producers, suppliers, cooking experts, bakers, nutritionists...  imagine live cooking shows going over the basics of how to bake with gluten free flours... imagine ideas on quick, nutritious, gluten free breakfasts, lunches, snacks... how to entertain..

I'm sure we could do this!

Anyway, back to the show as it is.  Many stands had free samples on offer which was great.  Some of the offerings however felt to me a little more like the "bad old days" of gluten free food and didn't really do justice to the fabulous food that I know is out there.

To anyone who doesn't know me, this is going to sound arrogant, but I knew that I could do a lot better. (To those who know me, the idea that I actually say that my food is better than someone else's, is almost unheard of!).

I am such a firm believer that gluten free flours ROCK and that they can do things that "normal" flours can't.  For a start, they have a TASTE whereas wheat flour is tasteless!  They are so light and fine that they make the most heavenly sponges, beautiful short pastry, and lovely crunchy biscuits.  I tasted cakes and biscuits however that just did not deliver on that.  I won't name the ones I didn't like - other people were buying products after having tastes so maybe it is just my personal taste.

On a more positive note, there were some outstanding products on sale.

The bread produced by Fria definitely lives up to their strap line - you won't be able to tell the difference!  The bread looked, smelt, felt and tasted like the best fresh bread you could buy and absolutely nothing like gluten free bread.  I am so very glad that they are selling now in the UK and I look forward to their bread being more readily available - even on prescription!  The thought of ordering a 6 pack of their fresh loaves .... *sigh*  that would be amazing.

I was also totally blown away by the fabulous savoury baked goods on offer from the Baked to Taste range from G Free.  The sausage rolls were available to taste and again, they stood up as a product on their own - regardless of being gluten free!  I hate the "puff" pastry used by shops for sausage rolls and much prefer the more shortcrust style pastry that Baked to Taste uses.  They use the same style pastry for their pasties and, having just sat and devoured their steak pasty that I brought home, I can honestly say it is one of the nicest pasties I've had for many, many years - gluten or otherwise.  Lovely pastry, tasty beef, nice and peppery... I wish I had a freezer full of them.

Another surprise was the Estrella Damm Daura beer. I'd seen it on sale in Sainsburys before but was put off by the apparent price.  Having spoken with the rep it really seems that this is largely down to some appalling labelling as in reality per bottle it isn't much more expensive than any quality ale.  As someone who loves real ale, and would happily pay out for an "expensive" bottle of ale, I can't complain at the price comparison!  It tasted good and I'd love to have a tasting session of it to compare to GFA and St Peter's which are my current favourites.

The gosh-I-could-weep moment of the day came from stumbling over the Bob's Red Mill/Lavida/Bakery on Main stand.  There should have been an hallelujah chorus and a ray of sunlight highlighting the moment - sorghum flour!!! In the UK!!!  Right in front of me!!!

Any gluten free baker will have heard of sorghum and read jealously of our American friends raving over its use in baking, and know that certified gluten free sorghum just wasn't available here.  Bob's Red Mill however have recently come to the UK via Lavida Food.  According to the people on the stand, the product is currently shipped with the US FDA panel on it but that the next shipment was due in with the EU label which would mean it could be sold via other outlets including Amazon.

They were quite taken aback at my fervour and seemed doubtful until I showed them my twitter account and the comments there that my frantic tweet had generated!

Please note, if you go to the website to try to order, I was told it would be available as from Monday - so you need to be patient.  I, of course, took full advantage of their stall and their show offer and came home with four bags ;-)



I'm looking forward to baking some great breads this week.

I must also mention the ginger cookies that we tried from Kent & Fraser.  Again, like all of the things I've mentioned, they stood out as a great product that would have been at home at any food event.  Great crunch, texture, fabulous ginger taste... I could easily eat a box in one sitting!

I'd love to hear from you if you went to the show and to know your hits and misses.

St George's Day Dinner - Menu

St George's Day is traditionally on 23rd April.  This year that date falls on a "Holy Saturday" so it is actually offiicially on 2nd May this year.  However we are going to stick with tradition and have a St George's Day Dinner on 23rd April!

Our menu is celebrating all that is traditional about British food - with, of course, a slight twist!  Suggested donation £25 including still & sparkling water.

"English Fry Up"
Sausage stuffed mushrooms, served with bacon jam and slow roasted tomatoes

"Fish & Chips"
Beer Battered Fish pieces served with home made Tartare Sauce & "Chips"

"Roast Dinner"
Beef Wellington served with Roast Potatoes & Mead Glazed Carrots

"Cream Tea"
Clotted Cream Ice Cream with Rhubarb & Strawberry Coulis

Followed, as always, by Coffee & home made chocolates.

Vegetarian options are available.  Please ask at the time of booking.

Click here to book.
 

Dinner - 9th April - Menu

Our next dinner will be on 9th April.  Places are available due to a cancellation so please book now.  

Suggested donation £25 for 5 courses including coffee.  Still and sparkling water served throughout.
 

Aperitif

Brie & Caramelised Onion Bites
Baked Brie, topped with caramelised onions


L'entree

Pea & Watercress Veloute
Seasonal watercress with minted pea and bacon


Plat Principal

Chicken with balsamic barbecue glaze
served with herbed new potatoes & baked sweetcorn


Dessert

Rhubarb Cake
served with rhubarb cream


Coffee

Coffee & home made chocolates

Garden Party and Prize Draw

On 18th June - the day before Father's Day - Annie's Supperclub will be hosting a fund raising Garden Party for Coeliac UK.

Prior to that event, we are asking people to make a donation to Coeliac UK. Everyone who makes a donation will be entered into a prize draw to receive one of two great hampers filled with gluten free food and other goodies kindly donated by a number of companies.

Coeliac UK is the only national Charity supporting people with coeliac disease in the UK. It is also the biggest coeliac society in the world. Up until five years ago however, I'd never heard of them.

On 13th January 2006 I wrote in my diary:

"In the evening, Mum rang to say that Dad's illness has been diagnosed - he has a duodenal ulcer. Hopefully now we know what is causing all the pain, they can start some treatments. It's a relief to know that it isn't anything even worse than that. Mum is a cancer survivor and I guess we'd all feared the worse."

My Dad had been suffering from increasing stomach pains since the end of the summer of 2005. He's seen the GP, and then a gastroenterologist and had finally been for a biopsy which resulted in the news that he had an ulcer. Tragically, what they didn't tell us at the time was that the biopsy had also revealed the fact that he had coelic disease.

(Extract from Coeliac UK website) Coeliac disease (pronounced see-liac) is an autoimmune disease. Gluten, which is found in wheat, barley and rye triggers an immune reaction in people with coeliac disease. This means that eating gluten damages the lining of the small intestine. Other parts of the body may be affected.

It was another two months before we were told about the coeliac disease - and only then because Dad had been hospitalised for severe malnutrition. A week later further "inconclusive" tests suggested there might be something else wrong.

Whilst in hospital we were told that they couldn't provide him with a gluten free diet - we had to take food in daily for him. Even then there were mistakes, with him being given biscuits with his evening drink..

He continued to lose weight and sicken further. Finally, less than 2 months after his diagnosis, his bowel burst and he was found to be riddled with T-cell lymphoma which, we were told, had been exclusively caused by the coeliac disease having gone undiagnosed for what must have been a long time.

He died two weeks later.

We were all devastated and the knowledge that his death could have been prevented by better awareness of coeliac disease by the GP or by the specialist made that pain worse.

Hospital procedures - especially in the kitchen - were shown to be shockingly inadequate.

Throughout all this time Coeliac UK were our one source of information, support and concern. Since Dad's death both my Brother and my youngest Son have been diagnosed as coeliac too.

I am the chef behind Annie's Supperclub - the first underground restaurant in the UK to run a 100% gluten free kitchen. Coeliacs and others on a gluten free diet dine with us in comfort, without fear, and enjoy great food secure in the knowledge that nothing they eat is going to make them ill.

We are very proud to have this opportunity to raise funds for Coeliac UK in order for them to continue their excellent work. We are also very grateful to the companies that have donated products to the prize draw.

So far, this includes:

Livwell - a mixture of bakery products
Wellfoods - £25 of fresh bakery products delivered direct to the winners
Doves Farm - a selection from their gluten free range
General Dietary Ltd - a selection from their Ener-G products
PGR Health Foods - 10 x 500g packets of their Rizopia Pasta (Lasagne, Spaghetti, Penne and Fusilli)
Dietary Specials - a selection of products
Glutafin - a selection of products
TruFree - a selection of products
Juvela - a selection of products
Gluten Free Foods - a selection of their BARKAT products
Black Farmer - a set of their new cooking sauces
Foodamentalists - a selection of their dry mixes
Innovative Solutions - a selection of their excellent range
Taywell Ice Creams - a selection of their delicious gluten free ice creams
Freedom Deli - a selection of their gorgeous ready meals
Especially Delicious - a voucher for a Celebration Cake from their fabulous birthday cake designs valid for 6 months
Drink Marvel - a selection of their Bakery on Main products

as well as pledges from other gluten free producers.  This page will be updated with details as they become available.

To make a donation and enter the draw, please visit our fund raising page:

http://www.justgiving.com/anniesupperclub

To book your place at the Garden Party, please visit:

http://tinyurl.com/bookingannies

and select the 18th June event.

Please help us raise money for this very worthy cause.