Tea & Cake at Fancy, Bedford

This weekend I am back in Bedford visiting my family. We had planned to go fruit picking at a Pick Your Own farm, but the wet weather put a kibosh on that idea. By the afternoon it had brightened up and my Mum and I decided to venture out for a walk around Bedford Park.

This is a quiet, very green park with a good circular walk with lots of open space and lush green trees. There are free tennis courts at the front and plenty of open space for playing football, rounders or having a picnic if you wish. We spent an hour enjoy the stroll and chatting before heading to a nearby café for a slice of cake and cup of tea at Fancy.

Fancy is situated on Roff Avenue and is quite understated from the outside but walk inside and you discover a lovely gem of a place. The counter is lined with cake stands each displaying some delicious and slightly different types of cakes. The reason I love this café so much is that they also offer cakes for a variety of diets, gluten free, egg free etc. All the cakes are handmade on site which is another lovely touch.

When we ventured inside we were greeted with a wonderful display of tempting cakes. I was delighted to discover they had three gluten free cakes on offer that day. Very impressive for such a small café. I had a choice between Lemon & Polenta, Coconut & Lime or Fig, Almond & Dark Choc Chunk.

My Mum and I decided to share a slice as they were serving very generous portions and we settled on the Fig, Almond & Dark Choc Chunk cake. What a great choice this turned out to be! It was a very moist light cake that I suspect was made with ground almonds, it had pieces of dried fig and dark chocolate chunks stirred in. It was finished with a scattering of flaked almonds on top.

The little nuggets of dried fig added a little pop and crunch from the seeds while the dark chocolate chunks meant you had a sudden burst of intense rich chocolate every few bites. The almonds kept it light and deliciously soft and moist. It was the best gluten free cake I’ve ever had out of home. It looks quite dark round the edges, but this wasn’t burnt, instead it tasted slightly chewy and caramelised which only added to the flavour. We both loved it and I’m longing to try and bake something similar myself. It was fantastic to have such a tasty and unusual cake when out and about, a real treat.

Fancy’s tea selection is also very impressive. While my Mum chose a pot of traditional tea I selected Lemongrass. This had a lovely fresh citrus aroma and a mellow well-rounded lemon flavour. Not as sharp as fresh lemon, definitely more aromatic and like lemongrass. Again we both loved how the tea was serving in individual teapots with assorted floral china teacups and saucers. Just like a dainty cup of afternoon tea should be.

The café seating is an assortment of mismatched wooden tables and chairs which gave it a charming homely feel. They had a small lunch menu printed on brown paper bags attached to clipboards which was another nice touch. The owner did make it clear to me when we visited that they can’t completely guarantee the cakes are free from certain allergens as they do also bake ‘normal’ wheat cakes on site. I’m very sensitive but have never had any problems in the twice I have eaten their gluten free cakes, so I think they are quite clued up about keeping things separate and cross contamination. All in all it made for a lovely afternoon and I highly recommend you stop by Fancy for a cup of tea and delicious slice of cake if you are ever in the area.

Rother Valley Country Park

Sorry for the long delay in posting. I haven't fallen off the edge of the earth! The weekend after my last blog post was Fathers Day so I went home to visit my dear ol dad and spend some time with the family. The weekend after this I had planned to go to Bradford to explore the Curry Festival that was on, but on the Friday I became unwell and have spent the last week ill in bed with gastroenteritis. Not fun.

I'm still not back to full cooking/baking exuberance - jacket potatoes and rice currently feature a lot in my diet - so instead I thought I would share with you a few photos of a walk I enjoyed a few weeks ago around Rother Valley Country Park.

The park is located in Sheffield, in Rother Valley (bet you'd never have guessed) and comprises of 750 acres of parkland including a large lake with a variety of walks around the perimeter with a few meandering paths further afield. You can also go cycling along the paths or canoeing, sailing or even jet-skiing on the lake itself.

It's a little hard to find and we nearly missed the entrance as you need to follow the road signs rather than use the sites postcode, as apparently, according to their official website, this takes you to a random industrial estate, no where near the entrance to the park. So no Satnav allowed!

When A and I arrived it was an unusually bright and sunny day and being out amongst the greenery, trees and sparkling lake it made for a lovely morning stroll.

I loved the sunny bright yellow field of buttercups.

We ended up back at the start and found a little cafe for a drink. They were serving food too, but it was mostly sausages rolls and sandwiches, so not really gluten friendly, so we settled on a drink and ice cream instead. I don't normally drink fizzy drinks, but I became ridiculously excited about spotting a can of Rio in the chiller cabinet. It's a drink I remember being allowed as a treat in my childhood. I haven't seen it for years and didn't know you could even get it any more. I had to have it!

Rio is a tropical (Orange, Guava, Apricot, Mango & Passion Fruit) exotic fruit juice drink made with lightly sparkling spring water. It's slightly sweet, fruity, a little exotic in flavour thanks to the slightly unusual fruits and it makes for one very refreshing drink. Ah it tasted just as I remember. The perfect end to a lovely walk.

If you are in the area, I'd recommend a visit. You do have to pay for parking, but its £3.50 for the whole day. Next time I think we'll take a book and a picnic and make a day of it.

Next weekend it's the Allergy and Free From Show in London. It's on from 4th - 6th July and is the foodie event I most look forward to each year. For a coeliac, there is something so amazing at being able to walk into a room, a room full of food stands, people giving cookery demos and tasters, and knowing you can eat ALL of it. I get very over excited each year and can't wait to attend this one.

I love discovering new companies and products not available in supermarkets. Freshly cooked pizzas, cheesecakes, brownies, breads and desserts. Go hungry and indulge in the delights! Most things are gluten free and some are also dairy, nut or soy free too. It not only caters to people with food allergies, there is also a health section for people with skin sensitivity or hay fever etc. Click here for some free tickets! Anyone else going?

Coconut, Mango & Lime Chia Pudding and Running Race for Life

Chia seeds are quite new to me. I’ve seen them used a lot on American blogs, and have just started to hear whispers of chia seeds being used in specialist breads in the UK, but as yet they are relatively unknown and unused.

Chia seeds are quite unique in that they have the ability to swell up, and thicken liquids into gels and gums without any heating. The seeds look like pale grey sesame seeds, but are crisp and crunchy in such a way that they give a little ‘pop’ when you bite into them. They can be eaten in their raw state sprinkled on top of salads or cereal, as you would other seeds, or, their unique thickening abilities can be harnessed are used to create different tastes and textures in recipes.

They are also a bit of a ‘superfood.’ Chia is an ancient seed that has more Omega 3 ALA (19.3g/100g) and dietary fibre (37.5g/100g) than any other natural food. It is also a great source of protein (20.4g/100g) and other antioxidants. I was persuaded to try it as I have been trying to eat more protein recently as I’ve been training for taking part in the Race for Life event, that I ran this morning!

I was inspired to try creating a chia seed pudding after seeing a recipe on the fantastic blog Not Quite Nigella. I was intrigued at how these tiny crunchy seeds could create a thick almost porridge-like pudding. I had a very ripe mango in the fridge and decided to puree some to stir into my chia pudding to flavour it. To enhance the tropical feel I used coconut milk instead of regular milk and added a little lime zest. The coconut milk was the kind you can not buy in cartons from the supermarkets for pouring on your breakfast cereal, not the thick kind in tins used in curries.

I was amazed that even as I was stirring the ingredient together in a bowl I could feel the texture starting to thicken, you don’t even need to crush the seeds. I set the pudding in the fridge for a few hours before taking another peak. It had completely thickened up and was sturdy enough to support the weight of a small spoon when placed upright into the bowl!

I feared I may have made it too thick, but it turned out to still be soft and spoonable. The seeds had swollen in such a way that they now resembled a cross between quinoa and tapioca. They had a gummy, almost gelatinous outer layer with a crisp seed encased in the middle. It really was a most unique texture. Soft and granular with the crunchy popping seeds. The closest thing I can relate it to it tapioca pudding. If you love tapioca you’d love chia pudding, if that frog spawn texture is not your thing, then you probably won’t be a fan.

The flavours of the coconut, mango and lime worked really well together, giving it a tropical edge. It wasn’t too sweet and could easily be eaten for breakfast rather than a dessert if desired – something I know some people already do. It’s a shame it’s grey coloured, as I found that slightly detracted from its overall appearance.

I loved the novel experience of eating the chia pudding, but I did find the texture a little odd, personally I’m not a big fan of tapioca and this was a little too similar. I do love the pop and crispness of the seeds themselves though, so will try baking them into a cake or some biscuits to see how they turn out. They are worth eating for their nutrition value alone and I’m sure some clever people will be able to create some amazing foodie creations with chia given their unique thickening abilities. I can see chia becoming more and more popular.

Have you tried chia pudding or chia seeds? If so, what’s your favourite way to eat it?

Coconut, Mango & Lime Chia Pudding

(Inspiration taken from Not Quite Nigella blog)

Ingredients

½ large mango

30g chia seeds

1 tbsp agave or honey

Grated zest 1 lime

110ml coconut milk (the kind sold in cartons for adding to your breakfast, not the thick kind used in curries)

Method

Remove the flesh from the mango and put into a small food processor. Blitz until a rough puree is formed, a few chunks are fine.

Pour the mango puree into a bowl and stir in the chia seeds, agave syrup and half the grated lime zest.

Stir in the coconut milk, mixing for 30 seconds until the mix starts to thicken slightly and a few bubbles appear.

Cover the top of the bowl with cling film and place in the fridge to set. Anything from 3 hours to overnight is fine.

Once thick and set, divide the pudding between serving bowls or glasses, top with a little extra diced mango and a sprinkle of lime zest.

Eat and enjoy

Makes 1 – 2 generous portions

As mentioned briefly above, today I also took part in the 5k Race for Life event in aid of Cancer Research UK. Myself and 10 other women who are all part of the Wonderful Women group I belong to, decided to get together and run the course to raise money. I’ve spent the last 3 months trying to get fitter on the treadmill at the gym and until this morning had only managed to get to 4K without having to stop for a rest.

We all met at Meadowhall (a big shopping centre in Sheffield where the race began) this morning at 9:30am where we, along with thousands of other women all dressed in pink, set off for the run.

I am delighted to say I did it! I ran the course and finished in 31 minutes, 4 seconds. A personal best. It was a lovely sunny day and the atmosphere was fantastic with people cheering us one. It’s not only made me fitter, but we’ve raised lots of money for a great charity and all got a medal at the end to show for it.

Roasted Pepper & Pesto Quiche

Last weekend was dismally wet, grey and overcast, the ideal weather for staying inside and baking. I had a mix of red, orange and green peppers in the fridge that I’d bought on a whim without a plan of what to use them for. Peppers can be a bit dull and almost bitter when raw, especially the green ones, so I decided to roast them, which transforms their bitter crispness into wonderful soft, sweetness that tastes of the Mediterranean.

To keep up the Mediterranean theme I combined the peppers with the rest of an open jar of pesto, which together made the filling for a delicious quiche. The weather may have been dull and cold outside but I was determined to bring a little sunshine into the kitchen for lunch.

I made the pastry using a little buckwheat flour. Buckwheat sounds like it should contain gluten, but it’s actually a grain related to the rhubarb family and is naturally gluten free. It has a nutty earthy flavour that some people dislike, but I personally love it. It has good binding capabilities, helping to keep the pastry crisp and easy to work with without becoming too crumbly, which can be a problem with gluten free pasty. A good trick is to roll out the pastry between two layers of clingfilm and then use it to help you flip and line the tin without it breaking apart.

The combination of intense basil pesto and sweet silky roasted peppers tasted wonderful and I loved its bright and colourful appearance. The pesto layer partly disappeared into the eggy filling during baking, so it didn’t leave too much of an obvious layer, but the garlicky herby flavour was definitely still apparent.

It made a delicious light lunch and brought hope of sunny days (hopefully) to come. It was also great the next few days to take to work. I can never decide if I prefer quiche hot or cold, both ways are good.

Roasted Pepper & Pesto Quiche

Shortcrust Pastry

200g gluten free plain flour blend (I used 120g white rice flour, 60g buckwheat flour, 20g tapioca starch)

90g butter

1 egg

½ tsp xanthan gum

1-2 tbsp water

Filling

2 peppers (I used a mix of red, orange and green)

3 eggs

250ml milk

½ tsp garlic powder

Salt and pepper

2 tbsp pesto

8 cherry tomatoes

Roast Peppers

Heat the oven to 200C. Slice the peppers into chunks and place onto a baking tray and roast for 15 minutes. Give them a toss and roast for a further 10-15 minutes until soft and starting to caramelise around the edges.

Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, make the pastry.

Pastry Case

Have a 8 inch fluted tart tin to hand.

Mix the flours and xanthan gum together in a bowl.
In a separate bowl, add your butter, (it should be soft, if not blast it in the microwave for a few seconds) along with half the flour mixture, the egg and 1 tablespoon of the water. Beat with a spoon or spatula to form a paste. (Yes I know this goes against all traditional pastry making!)

Add the rest of the flour and bring the mixture together to form a dough, switching to your hands at the end. Add a little more water if it seems dry. Knead the dough gently for 1 minute to ensure everything is well combined.
Roll out the pastry between two large sheets of clingfilm to the size and shape of your tart tin, plus an extra 1-2 inches for the sides.
Peel off the top sheet of clingfilm, and use the base sheet to help you flip the pastry into the tin and press it down gently. Trim off the excess and patch up any cracks with the off-cuts of pastry.

Prick the pastry lightly with a fork and place on a baking tray.

Blind bake the pastry for 15 minutes at 200C until just starting to brown.

Remove from the oven and set aside. Reduce your oven to 180C.

Filling

In a jug, whisk together the eggs, milk and a little salt and pepper. Dissolve the garlic powder in 1 tsp milk and add to the mix.

Spread the base of the baked tart tin with the pesto. Arrange the roasted peppers on top and scatter in some quartered cherry tomatoes.

Place the tart into the oven and then pour the egg mixture over the top, using the jug to help you.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until the middle is set when gently shaken and is lightly golden on top.

Allow to cool slightly before serving. Also tastes delicious cold.

Makes 1 x 8 inch quiche

Exploring Sheffield Food Festival

This weekend there has been a food festival going on in Sheffield. Street food, market stalls and local restaurants have been lined up snaking throughout the city centre. I had planned to explore it on Saturday, but the weather was so dreadful with torrential rain that I postponed until Sunday when the weather was slightly improved (although still raining)!

The first sight that greeted me was a real shire horse in a pen. This was a stand displaying naturally grown veg with plants arranged in vegetable plot style design. I’m not entirely sure what the horse was about, but I think the stall was from a local farm and they had brought along the horse to attract people. He really was a lovely specimen.

The first food stand I visited was a stand called Karkli, a new business selling pouches of Indian snacks made from fried lentil flour. I loved the spiky shape; they reminded me of spiky edged caterpillars. They were very crunchy and at first all you could taste was a savoury saltiness but there turned out to be a few cumin seeds in the mix and after a few chews you were left with an aromatic spiciness. Very good.

I then explored the rest of the stands on offer.

The Yorkshire Crisp company was giving tasters of their hand cooked tubs of crisps with some new interesting flavours. Not all of them were gluten free, but I got to taste a Hendersons Relish flavour. Hendersons Relish is a bit like Worcestershire sauce with the added benefit of being gluten free and vegetarian. Yorkshire folk are very protective and proud of this relish, (don’t ever say it’s similar to Worcestershire Sauce within anyone earshot or they get very offended) and my boyfriend eats it on everything!

I also tried a sweet chili and lime variety, which was nice but more of a paprika flavour to me and I didn’t detect the lime.

A bakery stand had some very cool Lego cupcakes. Those Lego bricks and even the little Lego men were edible!

Another stand had some beautiful looking gourmet marshmallows in a whole assortment of pastel colours and flavours. The black cherry & anise one looked amazing and such a fabulous colour.

A Mediterranean stand was selling olives, cheeses and sundried tomatoes. I tried a taster of feta and wow, it was amazing. It was more like a stiffly set cream cheese than any feta I’ve ever had before. It was so smooth and creamy, it just melted in the mouth. I bought a slice and had it with some roasted peppers for lunch today, so delicious.

I wanted to buy something for lunch from one of the pop up restaurant stands and there was quite an assortment to choose from.

Caribbean – goat curry anyone?

A selection of salads and roasted meats from The Showroom looked very inviting

I was drawn to the stand selling fat burritos stuffed with rice, beans and meat of your choice. I couldn’t have the burrito, as wheat tortillas aren’t gluten free, but I asked if I could have the filling of the burrito just on its own which they were happy to do for me. I was given a plate of a little bit of rice, bean chilli, jalapeno salsa and a couple of corn chips. I was slightly disappointed at the small portion but it was warm and filling which is what I needed as it had started raining again. The salsa had a gentle heat to it.

It made for a fun morning out, and I hope there is another event next year.

Lemon Drizzle Mashed Potato Cake

It’s been a gloriously warm and sunny week here in Sheffield – about time too! Earlier in the week I had planned to bake some form of chocolate cake, but the sunshine made me yearn for something fresh and zingy instead, and lemon was the obvious choice. I wanted to try something a bit different and remembered seeing an old episode of River Cottage on TV where one of the chefs who works with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall made a lemon cake with a secret ingredient – mashed potato!

On first consideration mashed potato may sound like an odd ingredient for a cake, but if I had suggested pumpkin or sweet potato cake I doubt many people would have been overly surprised. The cake is also gluten free and potato flour is a common ingredient in gluten free baking, so on reflection using mashed potato in a cake is not that odd a concept. That being said I was still very eager and excited to try it out myself.

The mashed potato doesn’t replace any of the standard cake ingredients – they are all still there in their equal quantities, it is simply an additional ingredient. I imagined using mashed potato in a cake would result in a very dense and heavy sort of cake – maybe even one a little gummy, but let me re-assure you this cake turned out to be amazingly light and soft. Not heavy or dense in the slightest.

The cake baked evenly and despite its rather compact crumb appearance it was incredibly light, soft and moist. The lemon flavour really shone through, especially as it’s doused in a zingy lemon syrup once removed from the oven. I would describe it as ‘damp’ but in the most delicious way possible, rather than ‘damp and soggy’ which is not good for a cake.

Surprisingly despite using 3 lemons it wasn’t overpoweringly lemony. The potato seemed to mellow out the lemons sharp acidity giving the finished cake a flavour similar to a well made lemon curd. Fresh and lemony, but nicely balanced and sweet too.

It has to be one of the simplest looking, yet most delicious lemon cakes I’ve ever made. The potato gave it a fabulous texture, reminiscent of cakes made with sour cream. It kept just as damp and delicious for the 4 days it lasted. I didn’t have any berries with me at the time but I can imagine it would be great with some fresh raspberries on the side. Worthy of a picnic or BBQ dessert. Do give it a go.

Lemon Drizzle Mashed Potato Cake

(Adapted from River Cottage by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall)

Ingredients

175g unsalted butter, softened

175g caster sugar

4 eggs

100g ground almonds

75g white rice flour

2 tsp gluten free baking powder

2 large baking potatoes (around 400g raw = 250g cooked & mashed)

Finely grated zest of 3 lemons

For the topping

Juice of 2 lemons

55g caster sugar

Method

Prepare you mashed potato in advance. Cook it in the skin, then mash it without adding any additional butter or milk and set aside until cold.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line an 8inch/20cm springform cake tin.

Finely grate the zest of the lemons and set it aside to use later. Mix the ground almonds, rice flour and baking powder together and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar and lemon zest until light, pale and fluffy, around 3-5 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding a spoonful of almond flour mix with each addition to stop the mixture curdling.

Once the last egg is added, scatter the rest of the almond flour mix over the top and fold into the mixture.

Weigh out and add 250g of cold mashed potato to the bowl and gently whisk until the potato is incorporated and no large clumps remain. Try not to beat all the air out of the batter.

Spoon the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Check it after 30 minutes to make sure it is not browning too much, and quickly cover with a sheet of foil if it is.

Meanwhile, squeeze the juice from the lemons and stir in the caster sugar.

Remove the cake from the oven and immediately prick the top all over with a skewer. Use a spoon to gradually pour the lemon syrup over the top of the cake, letting it soak in before adding more. Make sure to spread it all over the cake evenly.

Leave the cake to cool completely before serving

Free From Food Fair in York & Coeliac Awareness Week

Yesterday I attended a free from food fair hosted in York. This annual food fair is quite well known on the gluten free circuit but this was the first year I had been to it myself.

It was wonderful to explore all the delights on offer, knowing they were suitable for me. I was with a non coeliac who was quite amazed that people were queuing to get in before the event actually opened. I tried to explain the sheer delight and excitement at being able to enter a room and know you could eat everything on offer without having to ask multiple questions first.

There were some of the usual suspects in the gluten free world – Genius, Dietary Specials, Warburtons to name a few as well as some new ones, which are always great to discover. Most were giving away free tasters which is always nice as it means you get to try before you buy.

Delicious Alchemy (love the name) are new to the food show scene. They have been around for a few years but have recently launched a whole range of gluten and dairy free baking mixes, cereals and breads. I love the colourful packaging and the products taste just as delicious as the gluten equivalents I remember. They were giving out samples of some super fudgy brownie made from one of the baking mixes, really intensely chocolaty.

I also had a lovely chat to the people of Hayloft Foods who had a range of fresh soups and chutneys. I bought a jar of the apple & beetroot chutney. It was such a gorgeous colour with real large chunks of apple and beetroot. I loved the beetroot addition; you don’t see enough beetroot things in my opinion.

Fairly Scrumptious were a stall selling a delicious array of cupcakes and slices, which did indeed look fairly scrumptious – wonder how many times they’ve heard that before!?

Al-Ameen was another stand selling honey and bee pollen granules. Honey has many health related properties and I’ve heard of bee pollen but never seen it before. From the sound of it it’s a superfood full of all sorts of B vitamins. I loved its golden colour.

The weather was horrible outside so it was the perfect day to stay safely undercover at the show and enjoy sampling some of the delicious gluten free delights on offer. Anyone else go? It was also the perfect event to attend before the start of Coeliac Awareness Week which runs from 12^th – 18^th May.

1 in 100 people in the UK are currently diagnosed with coeliac disease (myself included). It is a condition where the person’s immune system detects gluten – the protein found in wheat, rye and barley, as being harmful to the body, which caused the body to react and produce antibodies to fight what it determines to be a poison. This in turn damages the gut of the person with coeliac disease which leads to all sorts of symptoms and other related health issues. There is no cure and the only treatment is a lifelong and strict following of a gluten free diet.

It’s not as simple as just cutting out bread as gluten is used in all sorts of things you may not even realise – soups, sauces, seasonings, sausages, flavourings on crisps, salad dressings, pasta, cous cous, beer, sweeteners on breakfast cereals and bars of chocolate etc. It can appear in the most unlikely of places. Even on things such as bags of prepared salad! There is also the risk of cross contamination to consider meaning you can’t share packs of butter, jam, mayonnaise, toasters, bread boards etc as only tiny amounts of gluten are needed to make a person with coeliac disease ill. So dunking your butter knife into a jar that’s previously been used to make a gluten containing sandwich is a no-no. I know ‘going gluten free’ is starting to be seen as a bit of a fad diet, which is disappointing, as for people like myself who really are coeliac, it is a serious, lifelong and often complicated condition that is not helped by people not taking it seriously or saying they are gluten free and then happily tucking into the office birthday cake!

During coeliac awareness week, as you sit down to a meal, maybe stop and think about the food you are about it eat. Would it be safe for a coeliac to eat? What would you eat instead if you couldn’t have what you were about it eat? How would it affect your everyday life? Which of your favourite foods would now be off the menu? Would you trust your local restaurant to understand and not feed you something containing gluten?

During Coeliac UK awareness week why not try eating gluten free for just one meal a day? Maybe wander down the free from section in your local supermarket (if they even have one) and seeing the types of food on offer. Ask local restaurants about their menu choices or trying baking with some alternative gluten free flours. Thankfully there are now a fantastic range of alternative products on offer, as highlighted in the food show above, meaning missing gluten doesn’t mean missing out!