tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86920568004914282022023-11-15T10:59:31.316-08:00Madame Free-From & the Wheaty EaterUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692056800491428202.post-82885504778753776792015-11-04T14:39:00.000-08:002015-11-04T14:47:36.943-08:00Beijing to Moscow: gluten-free travel on the Trans-Siberian Railway<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The Trans-Siberian Railway stretches between Moscow and Beijing. This epic journey spans 6,152 miles of track, crossing two very different countries. What they have in common is their hunger for dumplings: <i>dim sum</i> in China, and <i>pirozhki </i>in Russia.<br />
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Does the Trans-Siberian Railway rattle across fascinating cityscapes, expanses of birch forest and enchanting lakeshores? For sure. Is it a tough trek for gluten-free travellers? Most definitely.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A47MiFRv-Kg/Vjktq8H4zqI/AAAAAAAB3JY/GoO28fLsxL0/s1600/Moscow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A47MiFRv-Kg/Vjktq8H4zqI/AAAAAAAB3JY/GoO28fLsxL0/s400/Moscow.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, with domes rather reminiscent <br />
of Mr Whippy ice cream. Image © Anita Isalska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
Coeliac Trans-Siberian Railway: challenge accepted</h4>
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I've written a few things about my trip already (shameless plugs <a href="http://www.lonelyplanet.com/planes-and-trains/best-of-planes-and-trains/content/travel-tips-and-articles/how-to-pack-for-the-trans-siberian-railway" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://www.lonelyplanet.com/russia/volga-region/kazan/travel-tips-and-articles/historic-kazan-exploring-the-multi-coloured-capital-of-tatarstan" target="_blank">here</a>). But what I really want to chinwag about is <b>travelling the Trans-Siberian as a coeliac</b>. Throughout my travels, Russia and China are probably the hardest destinations to navigate gluten-free. Understanding of coeliac disease seemed to be pretty much nil.<br />
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Heck, even vegetarians wouldn't have an easy time of it in China and Russia. In China, dishes described as vegetable-based tended to be strewn with shellfish or studs of pork, while in Russia, "a little meat" didn't prevent something from being vegetarian in the eyes of waiting staff. Then there's the train carriage meals with their choice of fish or meat. (At least, I <i>think </i>it was meat...)<br />
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So in a culture where you eat what you're given, where meat, wheat and any other allergen is all just food, how do you survive when your health requires a particular diet?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pjaaKGJ59T0/Vjkthb4oMdI/AAAAAAAB3I0/ke0hj69bqD0/s1600/Beijing%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pjaaKGJ59T0/Vjkthb4oMdI/AAAAAAAB3I0/ke0hj69bqD0/s400/Beijing%2B2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ah sorry, this view of Beijing isn't gluten-free... no wait, it is. <br />
And I'll travel where I like. Image © Anita Isalska</td></tr>
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
Travel 1, tastebuds 0: getting my priorities straight </h4>
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First of all, my priorities: if I had to survive the entire trip on a rucksack supply of rice crackers and water, I would have done it. I was hyped up to journey from the teeming temples (and polluted smokestacks) of Beijing, all the way across Russia. It would subject me to cold temperatures the likes of which I'd never experienced. I would see charmingly colourful Siberian villages, I'd down vodka with local people, I'd point my camera at the gilded spires of Orthodox churches sprinkled in snow.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1apyED3gnhU/VjktkeZsjnI/AAAAAAAB3JA/_wwfkBslxKw/s1600/Irkutsk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1apyED3gnhU/VjktkeZsjnI/AAAAAAAB3JA/_wwfkBslxKw/s400/Irkutsk.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Hopefully you won't have to resort to chomping live prey, like Irkutsk's <br />mascot panther. Image © Anita Isalska</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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It grinds my gears to hear mollycoddling concerns about destinations that are (sadface) "difficult to visit" for coeliacs... or for anyone with any other health condition for that matter. Forewarned is one thing, but ultimately it's for the individual to decide if they want to take it on, not by-standers who probably don't know what gluten is anyway (let's face it, they're usually the quickest ones to nay-say).<br />
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Anyone telling me I should think twice about travelling somewhere because of frickin' dietary requirements gets filed under "quitter nonsense" (along with admonitions against travelling solo or trying to outdrink my Polish relatives). I'll show you all! Book that flight, seize that vodka bottle! Just maybe bring some of those rice crackers.<br />
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On which subject, back to the gluten-free adventures...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5voanizqkh0/Vjkts7eKNHI/AAAAAAAB3Js/RUW9vwebGF8/s1600/Raw%2Bfish%2BIrkutsk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5voanizqkh0/Vjkts7eKNHI/AAAAAAAB3Js/RUW9vwebGF8/s400/Raw%2Bfish%2BIrkutsk.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gluten-free or not, I hope you like herring. Plates of pickled fish, raw onion and boiled potato <br />
were a staple (this particular one was in Irkutsk). Image © Anita Isalska</td></tr>
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
Prepare those snacks, there's a long trip ahead...</h4>
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Trans-Siberian Railway travellers usually go from Beijing to Moscow (though there are other routes to Mongolia or Vladivostok if you prefer - learn more on the excellent <a href="http://www.seat61.com/Trans-Siberian.htm" target="_blank">Seat 61 site</a>). It is possible to tackle it all at once (if you simply want to watch the scenery rush by, and you're a little crazy). Most travellers book sections of the journey on different days, allowing you to stop in major Russian cities along the line, or take day or weekend trips (for example, skiing in Krasnoyarsk or a couple of nights by Lake Baikal).<br />
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The latter, slower method doesn't just allow you to check out stunning destinations like Ulan-Ude, an Eastern Siberian city with an enormous Lenin head and a stunning temple, and Irkutsk, the surprisingly colourful city near Lake Baikal. Just as importantly for the coeliac traveller, it allows you to restock your food supplies along the way.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pTXtX5XgNWk/VjktnITBT4I/AAAAAAAB3JU/T2Nvu-Cf5Jw/s1600/Listvyanka.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pTXtX5XgNWk/VjktnITBT4I/AAAAAAAB3JU/T2Nvu-Cf5Jw/s400/Listvyanka.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perhaps my favourite view of the trip, enormous Lake Baikal frozen over, with snowmobiles and <br />
miniature cars zooming around its snow-kissed surface. Image by © Anita Isalska</td></tr>
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
On-train dining: friend and foe</h4>
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Aboard the train, you're at the mercy of the dining cart, on-board catering (if you booked it with your ticket) or snack trolleys that rumble irregularly from carriage to carriage.<br />
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I don't recommend booking tickets that come with on-board catering if you're coeliac. I did this a couple of times out of curiosity and it was pot luck: Boo, a biscuit. Yay, an apple. Boo, rye bread slices on top of a horrible meat sauce. Yay, dried fish swimming in salty water... ugh. I take back the yay...<br />
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The dining cart on the other hand was sometimes surprisingly versatile. On a couple of trains there were extensive menus, including small snacks that had only one or two ingredients (like chopped up fruit, Greek-style yoghurt, a plate of plain buckwheat). Opening times were erratic enough that I still wouldn't suggest full reliance on the carts, though they were surprisingly handy from time to time.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dOFffaEt0tw/VjkthDsSyCI/AAAAAAAB3Iw/fHZPjv7dTJE/s1600/Beijing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dOFffaEt0tw/VjkthDsSyCI/AAAAAAAB3Iw/fHZPjv7dTJE/s400/Beijing.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">It's big, it's frozen, and it's China - so skid on it. Beijing in mid-winter. Image © Anita Isalska</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Despite travelling in the middle of winter (with outdoor temperatures in the minus 30Cs), train carriages are kept toasty warm. So if you had dreams of bringing yoghurts, cheeses, milk, cured meats or other fresh supplies aboard the train, I assure you they'll spoil in minutes.<br />
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Instead I recommend stocking up on hardier produce like fruit, bags of nuts, potato crisps, rice crackers, meat jerky, banana chips and other items that don't need a fridge. Yep, rice crackers are dull. But I didn't see a single gluten-free bread or cake in a supermarket on my entire trip. I started in Beijing, arguably the less gluten-free-friendly of the two cities; stocking up in cosmopolitan Moscow would be easier, if you start the trip there (run <a href="http://stopgluten.info/produkt/gde_kupit_v_moskve" target="_blank">this</a> through Google Translate for a head-start on gluten-free Moscow).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LcSFdPWrGzM/Vjktk7K9dWI/AAAAAAAB3JI/0b6XCJj8JkQ/s1600/Kazan%2Bdomes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LcSFdPWrGzM/Vjktk7K9dWI/AAAAAAAB3JI/0b6XCJj8JkQ/s400/Kazan%2Bdomes.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Blue skies and elegant domes in Kazan, capital of Russian Tatarstan. Image © Anita Isalska</span></td></tr>
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
Samovar snacks: the saviours of hungry coeliac travellers</h4>
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The one thing you can trust on board Trans-Siberian trains is a samovar filled with hot water, at the end of each carriage. Turn the tap and piping hot, drinkable water gushes forth.<br />
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It's essential to bring with you a thermos or heatproof cup (with a lid - just try getting it back to your train compartment without spillage otherwise). Gluten-free travellers should bring a supply of sachets that can be instantly made into filling, safe food, that don't take up too much luggage space. I crammed my rucksack with:<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Instant rice or rice noodle snacks and soups (Thai Kitchen has a <a href="http://www.thaikitchen.com/Products/Instant-Rice-Noodle-Soups/Thai-Ginger-Instant-Rice-Noodle-Soup" target="_blank">gluten-free range</a>)</li>
<li>Gluten-free oatmeal, like <a href="http://www.nairns-oatcakes.com/real-porridge-oats" target="_blank">Nairns</a>. One bag of this is easily stuffable into a corner of a rucksack and it lasts a good long while if you use it with cunning, for example, in small quantities to bulk up yoghurt at hotel breakfasts or your train dining carriage, or as an instant oaty breakfast from the samovar.</li>
<li>Teas and coffees and gluten-free instant soup mixes, plus a heatproof spork to stir them up. </li>
</ul>
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It's a pain, but I do advise bringing at least a few sachets from home so you have trusted snackage at hand. I rather enjoyed waking up on a bunk bed, gently rattling from the movement of the train, stretching, and making my way to the samovar to make some oatmeal, gently stirring as I watched miles of snow-covered tundra zoom past the window.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6GyZzsneQsw/VjktrzOQkEI/AAAAAAAB3Jk/k2HiZcVs-Uc/s1600/Plov.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6GyZzsneQsw/VjktrzOQkEI/AAAAAAAB3Jk/k2HiZcVs-Uc/s400/Plov.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Some tasty plov at a skyscraper restaurant in Ulan-Ude. Image © Anita Isalska</span></td></tr>
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
All hail Google Translate, for restaurants and supermarkets</h4>
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Eventually you're going to need to replenish those supplies. While some brands list ingredients in English and other languages, you'll encounter plenty of produce that doesn't. I recommend using an offline translation app. Ahead of your trip, download the <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.translate&hl=en" target="_blank">Google Translate</a> offline language pack for Russian and Chinese and you'll be able to use your phone to scan and translate lists of ingredients right there in the supermarket, without using precious data or needing wifi. Nifty, eh? It was also very handy in restaurants for deciphering menus.<br />
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And of course, you'll want some gluten-free language cards (in <a href="http://www.celiactravel.com/cards/russian/" target="_blank">Russian</a> and <a href="http://www.celiactravel.com/cards/mandarin/" target="_blank">Chinese</a>) to make yourself understood (expect funny stares).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-POvwgyVXdb0/Vjktk5tcpbI/AAAAAAAB3JM/S_Kjgvu45f0/s1600/Kazan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-POvwgyVXdb0/Vjktk5tcpbI/AAAAAAAB3JM/S_Kjgvu45f0/s400/Kazan.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This canteen in Kazan made things fairly easy - observe and point. That's a chicken breast with a slice of melted cheese on top (believe it or not), with buckwheat and a Greek salad. Image <span style="font-size: 12.8px;">© Anita Isalska</span></td></tr>
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Gluten-free is a weird - nay, barely comprehensible - request in Siberia. So rather than giving restaurant staff the open question of "can I eat this?", it helps to start with some dishes on the menu that are less likely to contain gluten; "I can't eat XYZ; is [points to menu item] OK?" yields richer rewards. For somewhere to start, these meal items were common across Siberia and usually fine for gluten-free eats:<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Plov</b>, a dish of spiced rice with mutton and sometimes dried or fresh fruit like apricot or pomegranate seeds. It's a Central Asian staple, though you may need to check in on their spice mix, lest they've added anything peculiar (usually it's a mix of cumin, garlic, carrots and lots of oil making up the seasoning). </li>
<li><b>Cold herring salads</b> or herring with potato. As plain as it sounds, the freshness of the fish made this rather delicious. I never found this tampered with, or served with anything unexpected.</li>
<li><b>Russian salad</b>, a mix of diced potato, diced beetroot, chopped hard-boiled egg, mayonnaise and occasionally peas.</li>
<li><b>Buckwheat (<i>kasha</i>)</b> graced almost every menu and was always plain boiled with a little salt and no mystery additives. Top tip: find the dried stuff in supermarkets and where you have access to a kitchen (like in hostel accommodation), boil it up in milk for a nutty-tasting gluten-free porridge alternative - I became addicted to this.</li>
<li><b>Hot smoked <i>omul </i>fish</b> was a favourite in markets near Lake Baikal, usually served with nothing other than tea. Grab a fish, whip out your own supply of carb and/or fruits and veggies, and you have a fine picnic to feast on by the lakeshore (or bring aboard the train if you want to share that fishy fragrance with your fellow passengers). </li>
<li><b>Shashlik</b>, skewered grilled meat. The trick is making sure they don't chuck it on top of a huge flatbread. If you're not already waving your gluten-free language card around, say "<i>bez khleba</i>" (without bread) to your Russian hosts.</li>
<li><b>Fancy fruit</b> was probably the most fun at the Chinese end of the trip. I brought enormous purple dragonfruit aboard the train and scooped out the aromatic flesh with my spork, delicious.</li>
</ul>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l_-tJ70lX1s/VjktgYXBtfI/AAAAAAAB3Ik/uBrYRLgNpl4/s1600/Fish%2Bin%2BListvyanka.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l_-tJ70lX1s/VjktgYXBtfI/AAAAAAAB3Ik/uBrYRLgNpl4/s400/Fish%2Bin%2BListvyanka.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Yep, literally a whole smoked fish and cup of tea. But if it's good enough for <br />Siberian locals... Image © Anita Isalska</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
Keeping a sense of perspective</h4>
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Gluten-free aboard the Trans-Siberian Railway isn't easy. Surprise items will arrive on your plate. A day will pass in which you consume only instant oatmeal, banana chips and vodka.<br />
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These happened to me, and they'd occasionally make me clench my jaw. But then I'd look outside my window, drinking in views of a frozen lake. I'd see wooden houses with intricately carved eaves laden with snow, or a scarlet temple rising from a frosty plain. In the face of all that majesty, my grumbles faded instantly.<br />
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The journey won't be perfect, but that's what adventure means.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692056800491428202.post-19055497017208992902015-09-03T08:37:00.002-07:002015-09-03T08:39:16.137-07:00Back from hiatus: 5 harsh lessons from the gluten-free fringes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's been a while since I've poured my thoughts onto this page. It's good to be back after a blogging hiatus of several months.<br />
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Before you picture Ferraris, affairs and<i> Eat Pray Love</i>, my blogging break was less midlife crisis, more lifestyle change. I wanted to shake things up - roam more widely, work on new projects - so I handed in notice at my editor job (a tough call). Then I roped Wheaty into travelling with me (we rode the Trans-Siberian Railway). Now I've found my feet in a new phase as a freelance travel writer and editor. I couldn't be happier with my hectic, varied footloose life.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lYHFjBepjE0/Vehmb7rPXyI/AAAAAAABtyU/WmXVffPKlY4/s1600/DSC07378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lYHFjBepjE0/Vehmb7rPXyI/AAAAAAABtyU/WmXVffPKlY4/s400/DSC07378.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frozen Lake Baikal. Or a metaphor for me drifting off into the sunset.<br />
Image © Anita Isalska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Between rattling through Russia by train and establishing some brand-new work streams, until now there hasn't been much time to blog about all things gluten-free. I've missed it.<br />
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This period of change has involved a lot of travel, much of it to some seriously gluten-free-unfriendly places. So I'm kicking off with five harsh truths I've learned from the fringes of the gluten-free world...<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
1. Sometimes, language cards won't save you</h3>
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So you're an uber-prepared gluten-free globetrotter, poised to flash language cards explaining your needs? I've discovered that in some places, the understanding barrier about coeliac disease is so high that translation isn't enough.<br />
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I spent some time working in Malaysia this summer. From previous travels there, I knew it was a culture where rice and rice noodles were staples, so I was optimistic about eating well.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tR1tLYAVJ74/VehmjTbKKvI/AAAAAAABtyg/nrK5Bde3-WE/s1600/Jonker%2BWalk%2BNight%2BMarket%2B%25285%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tR1tLYAVJ74/VehmjTbKKvI/AAAAAAABtyg/nrK5Bde3-WE/s400/Jonker%2BWalk%2BNight%2BMarket%2B%25285%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jonker Walk Night Market in Melaka, Malaysia. A foodie lottery.<br />
Image © Anita Isalska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Mostly, I did. But many Malaysians simply weren't accustomed to talking about food from a core ingredients perspective. Asking whether the noodles in a soup were wheat or rice-based, even with translation help, sometimes drew a blank. Many canteens defined the noodle type by colour first ("white" or "yellow" noodles; the former could be wheat or rice) and secondly by shape. Food sensitivity on the whole was an alien concept; insisting on knowing the ingredients to a dish produced bafflement, and often well-intended (though useless) assurances like, "Don't worry, it isn't spicy." In a country with few coeliac diagnoses and a different way of referencing food, it's a blameless scenario, though a challenging one.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
2. There are places where hospitality conventions trump diets</h3>
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Now some reflections from Greece, where I was on assignment for a few weeks. In small towns, refusal to accept food is about as polite as gobbing in a Grecian urn. With dietary requirements a hazy concept, this created a perfect storm.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ot7wRPce8d8/VehnJBSQmwI/AAAAAAABty4/fjFASC67-74/s1600/Irfa%2B%252B%2BEdessa%2Brestaurant%2Bchk%2Bsp%2B%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ot7wRPce8d8/VehnJBSQmwI/AAAAAAABty4/fjFASC67-74/s400/Irfa%2B%252B%2BEdessa%2Brestaurant%2Bchk%2Bsp%2B%25283%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hefty servings of lamb and Greek feta salad. Just go paleo when in Greece.<br />
Image © Anita Isalska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I had grown used to explaining myself with some accompanying gestures (a wince and grab of my stomach as I explained that wheat makes me unwell; what reasonable person could argue against that, even if they quietly thought I was just being neurotic?)<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, this approach was often returned with insistent hospitality: "Well, just try a little bit then. You have to try! It is only a little flour. It's very light. This bread is very good for digestion."<br />
<br />
Such exchanges could easily descend into a tense social battle, taut smiles all the way, trying (and failing) to talk someone out of pushing their kind (though sadly gut-damaging) gift of food. I learned that sadly, you might have to offend someone to stay healthy. Often I managed to deflect the gluten-bomb by accepting something else, like a coffee. But more than once I took the cake or piece of bread simply to end an increasingly awkward conversation and surreptitiously stuffed it into my pocket, tipping the food into a bin once I was out of sight. What a waste.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
3. Some places don't consider flour an ingredient worth mentioning</h3>
<br />
In places where coeliac disease and gluten-free food aren't understood, I have sometimes resorted to asking for recipes. It's time-consuming, but where wheat and gluten are barely given a thought, I've often been able to unravel the safety of a dish by asking someone to talk through how it's made. (As a bonus, I've found some restaurants delight in explaining their culinary wizardry to an intrigued foreign visitor.)<br />
<br />
This approach was fraught with difficulty in Malaysia. Wheat flour is often considered a default ingredient, not worth mentioning because of its tastelessness and ubiquity. I would think I had happened upon a tasty new treat, but discover too late that it was laced with flour: sticky rice, you say! With coconut milk and sugar, you say! And no wheat flour?<br />
<br />
"Oh, no flour..."<br />
<br />
I'd move in to take a big bite...<br />
<br />
"Well, just a little flour for binding."<br />
<br />
Sputter.<br />
<br />
After that, I thought using the word for "allergy" might help my health issues be understood. I thought wrong.<br />
<br />
A number of people I met were amazed that someone could be allergic to what they considered a healthy, nourishing food. I remember a conversation where I thought starting with a well-known and severe food reaction, like fatal peanut allergies, would be a good jumping-off point to explain my own (less life-threatening) health problem.<br />
<br />
It didn't work. Instead a table of Malaysians looked at me in astonishment at the idea that there were people out there who could be killed by a peanut. "Just one peanut!" marvelled one chap, rolling a nut between his fingers. "I have never heard of such a thing!"<br />
<br />
Needless to say, there seemed no point rolling into a conversation about auto-immune gluten intolerance.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-InwLmnVihq0/VehmrtHYznI/AAAAAAABtyo/8odd2xL-EBs/s1600/Simple%2BWheel%2Bdevelopment%2B-%2BPlan%2BB%2B-%2Biceballs%2B%252810%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-InwLmnVihq0/VehmrtHYznI/AAAAAAABtyo/8odd2xL-EBs/s400/Simple%2BWheel%2Bdevelopment%2B-%2BPlan%2BB%2B-%2Biceballs%2B%252810%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If in doubt, take solace in a ball of ice. Seriously, it's a thing in Ipoh, Malaysia.<br />
Image © Anita Isalska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
4. Food frustration is a tough trap to escape</h3>
<br />
I have been travelling solo for research assignments, and not having Wheaty around to help take the heat truly made it harder to navigate dietary needs. When I felt frazzled, isolated and hungry, it was all too easy to fall into the trap of feeling put-upon. Sometimes I even felt a little harassed when for the third time in a morning, someone I met kept pushing a wheat-laden food at me, despite my mustering up fifty shades of nope. A gesture intended kindly became unwelcome and paranoia-inducing. It felt hugely alienating and people's confusion and borderline outrage was weighing on me.<br />
<br />
I had to remind myself that when it came to small communities, I might literally be the only person they have ever met to refuse a slice of bread. I'm certain that some people I met thought I either had an eating disorder or that I was a timid traveller, terrified to try local food. I hate the idea of these assumptions, but I had to let it be.<br />
<br />
When you travel, for pleasure or work, you have to stay true to your own path. Make concessions to other cultures as much as you can, but not at the expense of your own health. And certainly don't harm yourself out of embarrassment.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QEvOfduvjP0/VehmyIHaL1I/AAAAAAABtyw/SMzhqTJRCaw/s1600/DSC04341.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QEvOfduvjP0/VehmyIHaL1I/AAAAAAABtyw/SMzhqTJRCaw/s400/DSC04341.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The importance of chilling with a cuppa in the Cameron Highlands.<br />
Image © Anita Isalska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
5. You can't be a heroic gluten-free advocate 100% of the time.</h3>
<br />
A lot of the time, I felt like I'd failed. Failed to be understood, and therefore failed my fellow coeliac travellers by not contributing to worldwide understanding of this disease.<br />
<br />
Eventually I had to cut myself a break. I was travelling for work, not to browbeat food servers with an unsolicited speech on coeliac disease.<br />
<br />
As a western woman travelling alone in lesser-touristed parts of Malaysia, I had to accept that my food habits would simply be viewed as part of a parcel of general strangeness and foreign-ness: my tall, pale, solo self, picking at food.<br />
<br />
Maybe, for all my regretful smiles and explanations, I would still be considered the brusque Westerner who refused to try a host's noodle dish. The toughest lesson is that you can't control how others interpret you; you just have to march on.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692056800491428202.post-91087647586138496682015-01-12T04:40:00.003-08:002015-01-12T04:53:41.701-08:00Gluten-free Austria: belly-busting good times and bewildering EU food labelling laws<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm fresh from a week of steaming Alpine soups and giant sausages, all of them gluten-free.<br />
<br />
But forgive me if I don't beat my strudel-swollen belly in glee. Austria is a fine place to dine if you have to lay off gluten. But in the wake of the new food labelling legislation, it's not all sugar-sprinkled, jam-crammed, chocolate-drizzled loveliness. (Though there was a bit of that.)<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Austria's mighty fine free-from</h3>
<br />
Let's start with the good and the great. There is some fantastic catering for special diets in Austria.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w4iZdFayHD0/VLLwUTWBzaI/AAAAAAABUXo/povSzdG0DHs/s1600/Hochgurgl%2B(24).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w4iZdFayHD0/VLLwUTWBzaI/AAAAAAABUXo/povSzdG0DHs/s1600/Hochgurgl%2B(24).JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wintry playground of Obergurgl was a hell of a way to burn <br />
off the donuts (that's right, <i>donuts</i>). Image © Anita Isalska </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
This ski trip in high-altitude <a href="http://www.obergurgl.com/en" target="_blank">Obergurgl</a> was booked as a package. It was a winter adventure in honour of Grande Madame Free-From, AKA my mother, who was celebrating a special birthday. (She's 21 <i>again</i>, would you believe.)<br />
<br />
The Wheaty Eater and I usually stay away from package holidays that include meals. It's hard to judge at the point of booking whether a place can cater for gluten-free, plus you can't usually be assured you'll get value for what you pay. The prospect of paying the same price as Wheaty for evening meals, if the only gluten-free offering is salads? My thrifty heart declines.<br />
<br />
But organising a trip for a big group ended up much simpler in package form, so we took the leap. It helped that we'd had some good experiences on previous travels in Austria: take a bow, <a href="http://www.torwirtradstadt.at/html/german/index.php" target="_blank">Gasthof Torwirt</a> in Radstadt, with your legendary gluten-free schnitzel.<br />
<br />
Plenty of places in Obergurgl promoted their ability to cater for special diets. But the place we settled on, <a href="http://www.hotel-olympia.at/das-hotel.html" target="_blank">Hotel Olympia</a>, blew expectations out of the water.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fLdNcokmFi8/VLL3cWv8fdI/AAAAAAABUYM/c0r95hVbUX0/s1600/FotorCreated.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fLdNcokmFi8/VLL3cWv8fdI/AAAAAAABUYM/c0r95hVbUX0/s1600/FotorCreated.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Let's see... Tyrolean apple soup with gfree roll, fish terrine, pork roast and <br />
cream-topped plum sorbet at Hotel Olympia. Dribble. Image © Anita Isalska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Hotel Olympia had a triple dietary challenge. There was me, of course, eating free from gluten. But also present for the celebration of Grande Madame's birthday was a vegetarian brother (tricky, in pork-hungry Austria) and his girlfriend with the double-whammy of veggie and gluten-free requirements.<br />
<br />
Yet Hotel Olympia juggled it all with aplomb. Fish terrines and trios of pork were whisked out sans gluten. Vegetarian and gluten-free options often looked just as good as the carnivorous counterparts, with potato croquettes crisped up with gfree crumbing, seared white asparagus, and Tyrolean apple soup among highlights of the double-requirement cuisine.<br />
<br />
We were happy, and most importantly so was Grande Madame – being a proper matriarch, she likes to see everyone in the party well fed. Good times rolled, and after a week of multi-course meals, the whole family was rolling too.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
New food labelling legislation: mixed results in Austria</h3>
<br />
Beyond the waist-widening wonders of our hotel, fortunes were mixed. I was occasionally delighted to see clear allergen labelling in Austria, thanks to the snappily named <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/labellingnutrition/foodlabelling/proposed_legislation_en.htm" target="_blank">Food Information Regulations EU1169/2011</a>.<br />
<br />
Even casual piste-side cafes often marked up which allergens were in their dishes, leading me to an especially gut-busting <i>currywurst </i>and chips. Gluten-free, and instantly regrettable as I waddled back towards the ski lifts.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hB9ClqNn9OI/VLLySqIZ_GI/AAAAAAABUX0/rYWxAHXqmhg/s1600/10427295_10101023311343029_7407690174022501_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hB9ClqNn9OI/VLLySqIZ_GI/AAAAAAABUX0/rYWxAHXqmhg/s1600/10427295_10101023311343029_7407690174022501_n.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You're beautiful, but disgusting. Odi et amo, gluten-free currywurst. <br />
Image © Anita Isalska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But in some places, allergen labelling was used to warn against everything on the menu. <i>Everything</i>. We gluten-freers often joke about baked potatoes being the only safe port of call in cafes, but I encountered eateries in Austria where they marked up their spuds with a gluten allergy warning.<br />
<br />
What in carbo-heck were they doing to their potatoes? Or is the new legislation already being misinterpreted or misused?<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Baked potatoes, now with added gluten?</h3>
<br />
Here's my take on the new allergy labelling legislation, entirely based on my EU travels since the rules kicked in: it's good news overall, but there is plenty of potential for new frustrations for gluten-free travellers.<br />
<br />
Some cafes and restaurants are seizing the labelling challenge. They're rolling up their sleeves and committing to declaring a dish gluten-free on their menus, and maintaining it as such. Where this happens, coeliacs and gf-lifestylers rejoice and chow down.<br />
<br />
But there's a flip side. Certain other restaurants and cafes I encountered in Austria were going so allergen-markup-crazy that they labelled everything from salads to baked potatoes with an "A" (on the allergen key placed around most Austrian eateries I saw, the "A" flagged gluten-containing cereals as ingredients in a dish). Luckily the one below, at a cafe in Sölden, was safe from such confusion.<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
One baked potato? Ha. Try three of them, all drowned in sour cream and topped with bacon. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/glutenfree?src=hash">#glutenfree</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Austria?src=hash">#Austria</a> <a href="http://t.co/N1eUhQsvPY">pic.twitter.com/N1eUhQsvPY</a><br />
— Madame Free-From (@madamefreefrom) <a href="https://twitter.com/madamefreefrom/status/551309895266762752">January 3, 2015</a></blockquote>
<br />
My first instinct when I saw allegedly gluten-containing potatoes on a menu was that the cafe was covering itself legally, in case of cross-contamination risks. Maybe they just love to fondle a spud with floury hands before they serve it up. Or perhaps they're anxious about a stray breeze depositing a speck of wheat flour on a potato, and would rather not risk declaring it a gluten-free zone.<br />
<br />
After all, who can blame them for feeling the fear. If you're an independent business owner, you're probably terrified of being held accountable for someone with an allergy or intolerance keeling over due to a misplaced crumb.<br />
<br />
But that's not it. <a href="http://www.allergyawarekitchen.co.uk/sue-hattersley-head-of-allergy-at-food-standards-agency-discusses-the-food-information-regulations-eu11692011/" target="_blank">The legislation applies to <i>intentional </i>allergenic ingredients</a>, not cross-contamination. This either means there's a slew of cafes in Austria that genuinely sprinkle flour on their potatoes (seriously, <i>halt </i>that behaviour already), or the legislation is being anxiously misinterpreted.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Food service industry and coeliacs: can't we just be friends?</h3>
<br />
For coeliacs like me, the idea of greater overall clarity in food labelling is worthy of ticker-tape waving, shirt-tearing jubilation. But it's irksome to see that in practise, it might cause some food providers to shy away altogether.<br />
<br />
What I want is honest dialogue about the ingredients and preparation of my food, not to be held at arm's length by a petrified food service. I'm not preparing for a nuclear legal assault, I'm looking for a bite to eat.<br />
<br />
Like other gluten-free gourmands, I'm watching with interest to see how the new legislation shapes up Europe-wide. But having seen mixed interpretations of the rules during my trip to Austria, this seasoned coeliac isn't surrendering her emergency food stash any time soon.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692056800491428202.post-52640941961629042902014-11-30T13:48:00.007-08:002014-11-30T13:57:26.907-08:00What's new in Paris for gluten-free travellers?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Ah, Paris. Show me a traveller who rapturously praises the baguettes, croissants and pain au chocolat of this global gastronomic capital, and I'll show you a traveller I'd gladly poke in the eye.<br />
<br />
Why? Because for gluten-free travellers like me, France isn't the easiest destination to navigate. Much as I adore the scenery, the culture and the cheese, coeliac-friendly food doesn't always come easy. Which is why these three notable newbies on the Parisian gluten-free scene filled my heart with glee (and filled my belly with goodness).<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
1. Noglu</h3>
<br />
<b>What is it: </b>new all-gfree restaurant tucked away in Paris' Promenade des Panoramas.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cic41e0dgtE/VHuJemNttAI/AAAAAAABIdM/UhIx9b4h-SI/s1600/collage%2Bnoglu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cic41e0dgtE/VHuJemNttAI/AAAAAAABIdM/UhIx9b4h-SI/s1600/collage%2Bnoglu.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perfectly cooked cod on a bed of Le Puy lentils and courgettes, plus a silk-smooth parsnip velouté,<br />
But plenty of room for cream-topped date pudding. Noglu, j'adore. Image © Anita Isalska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="http://www.noglu.fr/" target="_blank">Noglu</a> is not a hard sell for coeliacs. This tiny restaurant is all gluten-free. All of it. Go there for brunch or lunch and you can expect homemade preserves and the house's own delightfully bouncy gluten-free bread as a starter. A postage stamp-sized menu gives you the choice between two beautifully cooked dishes of the day (Wheaty and I tried the fish and the chicken, both atop a creamy parsnip velouté, and we couldn't decide our favourite). The desserts shone, with date pudding dense enough to block out the sun, topped with a vulgar amount of cream.<br />
<br />
The downside? The service was haphazard when we visited, and it felt like this busy little restaurant was just hitting its stride. I'd recommend you give it a shot: if you have to wait for a table (as we did), you'll have plenty of curio and antique shops to peruse in the surrounding century-old shopping mall.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
2. Helmut Newcake's second branch </h3>
<b><br /></b>
<b>What is it: </b>this all-gluten-free patisserie must be doing well as they have a new branch.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PnzVKN6rzE8/VHuJenxRP8I/AAAAAAABIdE/kdOni9L4NLA/s1600/Collage%2BHelmut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PnzVKN6rzE8/VHuJenxRP8I/AAAAAAABIdE/kdOni9L4NLA/s1600/Collage%2BHelmut.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What, I need to describe these to sell them to you? Go to Helmut<br />
Newcake! Go now! Image © Anita Isalska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Well, bonjour once more, <a href="http://www.helmutnewcake.com/" target="_blank">Helmut Newcake</a>! Last time I visited, there was only one of you. But now this high-end zero-gluten patisserie has added a second location (rue Vignon) to twin with their original bakery (rue Bichat). So whichever side of Gare du Nord you find yourself killing time, there's be a ganache-filled pastry or rum-soaked sponge to distract you.<br />
<br />
It was hard not to gorge at Helmut Newcake. The second store (takeaway only) is spiffingly glamorous: we chowed down on soft baguette-style sandwiches overflowing with ham and artichoke, followed by springy custard-filled cinnamon brioches (<i>cannelés</i>). We also took some zingily moist lemon-polenta cake (Wheaty's favourite) away with us, plus a grapefruit and white chocolate tarte. <i>Mon dieu</i>. Worth blowing your entire day's food budget, you'll regret nothing.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
3. Marché Raspail</h3>
<br />
<b>What is it:</b> an organic-only market with green shoots of gluten-free goodness.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TK4nVEYanZ4/VHuJe5lL7TI/AAAAAAABIdI/tJw6wnh_JwM/s1600/collage%2Braspail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TK4nVEYanZ4/VHuJe5lL7TI/AAAAAAABIdI/tJw6wnh_JwM/s1600/collage%2Braspail.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eez zees gluten-free brioche I see before me? Mais oui! Ambling around<br />
Paris' Marché Raspail. Image © Anita Isalska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I expected nothing from <a href="http://www.paristopten.com/places/marche-raspail/" target="_blank">Marché Raspail</a>. This farmer's market goes 100% organic on Sundays, so Wheaty and I were there to burn off our hangovers with some coffee, vegetable ogling, and maybe buy a fancy bottle of olive oil to take home. But in France, where gluten-free goes hand in hand with organic eating, gfree eating tends to appear first in healthfood contexts. Hence Marché Raspail with a surprising abundance of quinoa-based breads, flour-free cakes, and take-home goodies like gluten-free crackers and pasta.<br />
<br />
Word of warning: plenty of producers approach gluten-free from the perspective of a healthy-eating preference, rather than an intolerance (or allergy) that requires care. You'll occasionally be aghast to see zero-gluten loaves crammed in next to wheat-laced breads, so best to steer clear of those unless you fancy a spot of intestinal roulette. But certain sellers 'got it:' orange flower water and raisin brioches were kept separately from the wheaty stuff at one stall, and there's plenty of wrapped branded gluten-free produce to browse among the fancy olives and fit-to-burst tomatoes. This market could be one to watch.<br />
<br />
<i>Any more great gluten-free finds in Paris? Tell me on Twitter or in the comments!</i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692056800491428202.post-64098605154603344022014-10-06T13:53:00.000-07:002014-10-06T14:02:01.873-07:00Foolproof baking? Putting instant gluten-free cake mix to the ultimate test...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Fellow gourmands, I know you can bake gluten-free delights in your sleep. You think nothing of having an arsenal of flours, your stocks of ground almonds would see you through a nuclear winter, and you can wield a whisk at deadly speed.<br />
<br />
But not everyone is au fait with baking. So when the folks at <a href="http://udisglutenfree.co.uk/" target="_blank">Udi's</a> sent me some of this easy chocolate cake mix, whipping it up myself felt like cheating. No, my friends, the real test of foolproof baking is putting it in the hands of someone who has never made a cake before.<br />
<br />
Enter my lovely assistant, Wheaty...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YkOPTNRIIOk/VDL0uE1mlXI/AAAAAAAAd-M/qOrRMesncvw/s1600/Fotor01006205510.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YkOPTNRIIOk/VDL0uE1mlXI/AAAAAAAAd-M/qOrRMesncvw/s1600/Fotor01006205510.png" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wheaty checks the cake instructions, with a look of incredulity that would endure<br />
throughout the baking process. Image © Anita Isalska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Wheaty has never baked a cake. He's not dessert disinclined, but with the ready availability of wheat-filled cakes, he never had much of an incentive to make his own. And when he moved in with me and gluten-free home-baked cakes became the norm, there was no reason to rock the boat. This made him the perfect subject to road test an 'easy' instant cake, and see just how accessible the mix and its instructions are to novice chefs.<br />
<br />
The first challenge was finding the right equipment.<br />
<br />
"A nine-inch cake tin," Wheaty murmured, clattering through our cupboards. "This looks like nine inches to me..."<br />
<br />
Dear reader, I didn't go there.<br />
<br />
Nor did I balk when his 'lightly greasing the tin' involved a libation of olive oil so generous it could have loosened the axles of a heavy-duty truck.<br />
<br />
A lack of differentiation between spoon sizes threatened to throw the butter measurements off course, but this cake mix is surprisingly forgiving to loose-elbowed chefs. And to chefs who lose a third of their butter to the kitchen counter and floor.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SgB2_C3wNeE/VDL0wjOqYGI/AAAAAAAAd-U/mMFUF2mT1VE/s1600/Fotor01006205622.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SgB2_C3wNeE/VDL0wjOqYGI/AAAAAAAAd-U/mMFUF2mT1VE/s1600/Fotor01006205622.png" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pinteresters, look away now. This ineffectual whisking and batter-streaked<br />
kitchen might be a bit too real for you. Image © Anita Isalska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
"How do you make it fluffy, that barely makes sense," grumbled Wheaty, tipping the cake mix into some brutally flagellated butter. "What texture would you say this was?" he asked, indicating the half-mixed cake dough.<br />
<br />
"Grainy? Variegated? A bit Jackson Pollock?" I offered.<br />
<br />
"Shit. The box says it should be crumbly. I don't think I'm doing this right."<br />
<br />
And yet, whatever the textural nuances of the batter, somehow it was starting to blend together smoothly. Generous dollops of yoghurt, per the instructions, seemed to make up for the missing butter. Although what the cake regained in mass, it quickly lost again at the raw batter tasting stage of the process. ("It's basically chocolate mousse!")<br />
<br />
Finally, Wheaty tipped the batter into the oiled tin with an unceremonious slap. "I could smooth this out, but the oven will probably do most of the work," he opined. Once the cake was consigned to the oven, Wheaty refused to check on it until the full 40 minutes of cooking time on the packet had elapsed.<br />
<br />
"You told me to just follow the instructions," he shrugged, now on the couch pouring himself a glass of red wine.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3AqOcF8ZaWg/VDL01j6lLJI/AAAAAAAAd-c/-wSckti24ZY/s1600/Fotor01006205845.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3AqOcF8ZaWg/VDL01j6lLJI/AAAAAAAAd-c/-wSckti24ZY/s1600/Fotor01006205845.png" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not even a bit of rough handling at the final stages could ruin this<br />
mighty tasty chocolate cake. Image © Anita Isalska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Finally roused by the beeping of our oven's timer, Wheaty retrieved the cake and looked at it with suspicion. It looked like... a cake. All the butter sacrificed to our kitchen floor, unorthodox choices of baking tools and total disinterest in the cooking process hadn't managed to ruin the final result. It was light, fragrant and (as our thorough taste test showed) very chocolatey.<br />
<br />
The ease of making this cake might have lulled Wheaty into a false sense of security. I can foretell Wheaty's casual approach to dessert-making wreaking destruction on our ice cream maker and consigning legions of gingerbread men to a fiery death.<br />
<br />
"I might try an orange cake next," mulled Wheaty. "With real lemons." <br />
<br />
What could go wrong?</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692056800491428202.post-36066798579341880712014-07-23T09:39:00.002-07:002014-07-23T09:47:14.494-07:00Where is London's greatest gluten-free pizza?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When you find out you have to go gluten-free, the image that immediately swims into your head is a crispy, cheese-laden pizza, spinning off into the vortex, never to be nibbled again.<br />
<br />
Pizza is without a doubt the most adored (traditionally) gluten-packed food. When I was first diagnosed and told to cut the wheat, my tears were 80% related to pizza. And were it not for the following culinary heroes, my relationship with pizza would have been cut off way too soon (though maybe I'd fit into those old jeans).<br />
<br />
If there was an award for innovation in flour blends, or expert pie rolling – a Dough-bel Prize if you will – the pizzerias that follow would all deserve a nomination. But where is London's absolute best gluten-free pizza? I popped a few buttons – and enlisted the help my wheat-eating taste tester – to find out.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
1. <a href="http://pizzadavinci.co.uk/" target="_blank">Pizza Da Vinci</a></h3>
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Vibe: </b>so you miss calling up for takeaway greasy enough to soak into the box? These guys deliver. Literally.</li>
<li><b>Location: </b>Battersea and around</li>
<li><b>Gluten-free credentials: </b>loses points for spelling it 'gulten' in the online booking system. Come on guys, how hard is it?</li>
</ul>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7A7Iuw8IcYU/U82ICBfxo4I/AAAAAAAAZ20/yb9zeKY1HcI/s1600/Taekaway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="So tomatoes, fresh herbs, seems nutritious right? Um, why is there mozzarella grease pooling in my lap? Image © Anita Isalska" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7A7Iuw8IcYU/U82ICBfxo4I/AAAAAAAAZ20/yb9zeKY1HcI/s1600/Taekaway.jpg" height="265" title="So tomatoes, fresh herbs, seems nutritious right? Um, why is there mozzarella grease pooling in my lap? Image © Anita Isalska" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So tomatoes, fresh herbs, seems nutritious right? Um, why is there mozzarella<br />
grease pooling in my lap? Image © Anita Isalska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In those (drunken) moments of weakness, gluten-free folk miss the spontaneity of dialling up for a grease-laden pizza, so heavy with mozzarella that it's sinking in the middle. For south Londoners, Pizza Da Vinci to the rescue. Their gluten-free pizza has generous toppings but way overdoes the salt (or wait, is that just what junk food tastes like? Hard to know when you're a coeliac.) The base has a distinctive corn flavour and is incredible chewy. If your jaw can take the workout, this is a guilty pleasure, and a waistband-stretching one at that. No, you don't need dessert.<br />
<br />
<b>Wheaty says...</b> "Very close to the standard greasy takeaway pizza. The main difference is the corny base, which can become chewy as the pizza cools
down."<br />
<br />
<b>Final score: </b>5/10 – not winning on flavour or trust with this one.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
2. <a href="http://www.stingraycafe.co.uk/" target="_blank">Stingray Cafe</a></h3>
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Vibe:</b> unfussy interior, friendly staff and a huge pizza oven. Feels like home.</li>
<li><b>Location: </b>oof norf London, in Tufnell Park</li>
<li><b>Gluten-free credentials: </b>these guys get gluten-free, serve <a href="http://www.zatec-brewery.com/celia.html" target="_blank">Celia</a> beer and they have cake. All the points.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lJ9qQ3kShyc/U82KCteFs8I/AAAAAAAAZ3M/U6HVPTdPSCA/s1600/Stringray.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Look into my eggs. You are feeling sleeeeepy. No wait, that's just the Celia taking effect. Image © Anita Isalska " border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lJ9qQ3kShyc/U82KCteFs8I/AAAAAAAAZ3M/U6HVPTdPSCA/s1600/Stringray.jpg" height="275" title="Look into my eggs. You are feeling sleeeeepy. No wait, that's just the Celia taking effect. Image © Anita Isalska " width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look into my eggs. You are feeling sleeeeepy. No wait, that's <br />
just the beer taking effect. Image © Anita Isalska </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Well hello, what's this? An expertly kneaded Italian-style thin crust pizza? Stone-baked for smoky flavour, served with as many salads, gluten-free pasta options, side dishes and gluten-free drink choices as you can cram into your greedy belly? Walking into Stingray, a homey little hideaway in north London, it's hard not to feel a little bit spoiled. <br />
<br />
<b>Wheaty says...</b> "Their GF pizzas are huge. I do recall them being a bit salty but that might have been from ordering the anchovy, olive and caper special..."<br />
<br />
<b>Final score:</b> 8/10 – I love Stingray so much I keep trying to think of excuses to come to NW5.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
3. <a href="http://www.pizzaexpress.com/visit-a-restaurant/" target="_blank">Pizza Express</a></h3>
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Vibe:</b> the coeliac's greatest enemy turned gluten-free best friend. This chain did a total 180 after branching out into the gluten-free market last year.</li>
<li><b>Location:</b> throw a ball of dough in London and you'll hit one. Really, there are that many.</li>
<li><b>Gluten-free credentials:</b> these guys walk the walk, with Coeliac UK accreditation in their menus, gluten-free flour used to dust surfaces across their kitchens to prevent cross-contamination, and reassuringly competent staff. Bravo.</li>
</ul>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GKhE84-4PiQ/U82ICEjkceI/AAAAAAAAZ24/jUDEaYFf93g/s1600/Fotor0721223432.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Images © Anita Isalska " border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GKhE84-4PiQ/U82ICEjkceI/AAAAAAAAZ24/jUDEaYFf93g/s1600/Fotor0721223432.jpg" height="300" title="Images © Anita Isalska " width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wheaty, nomming through Pizza Express' menu - a common sight for <br />
Madame Free-From. So common, these pictures could be in any one<br />
of about six branches. Images © Anita Isalska </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
With so many independent restaurants moving and shaking London's gluten-free scene I'm reluctant to include chains in this round-up. But Pizza Express offering gluten-free choices is a total game-changer in the UK. Pizza Express are loud, proud and accountable when it comes to producing delicious gluten-free pizzas. The menu is clear, the staff know their stuff, the choice has stomach-stretching breadth. That said, the bases aren't the best around: they're a little dry and noticeably smaller than the wheat-based versions they serve. Which is just as well because Pizza Express have the ubiquity, the familiar brand, and now the gluten-free market; if they nail the pizza dough recipe, they pretty much own our souls.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Wheaty says...</b> "Their GF base is quite different from their regular base, but it's also
very good (although a bit small). From this line-up, it's probably the base which is the
most different from standard [wheaty] pizza. But Pizza Express have embraced
the whole gluten-free thing, great when you're out
and need a no-fuss meal."<br />
<br />
<b>Final rating:</b> 6/10 – love the choice, love the ease, don't love the pizza base.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
4. <a href="http://www.rossopomodoro.co.uk/" target="_blank">Rossopomodoro</a><b> </b></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<b> </b></h3>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Vibe:</b> classic Neapolitan pizzas served to a backdrop of murals with sexy Italian quotes. <i>Oh dio!</i></li>
<li><b>Location:</b> this chain has outlets in Camden, Covent Garden, Wandsworth, Notting Hill...</li>
<li><b>Gluten-free credentials:</b> this place is an Italian export, Italians are great at gluten-free, yet only few of the pizzas have toppings they trust to be fully <i>senza glutine</i>. Does not compute.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_uifNgawAxA/U82KCl8B5HI/AAAAAAAAZ3c/Nxy0Uv3xggs/s1600/Rossopomodoro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Gluten-free pizza at Rossopomodoro in Wandsworth, Greater London. Mozzarella, tomato, basil...sometimes, simple is best. Pooling saliva: not pictured. Image © Anita Isalska" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_uifNgawAxA/U82KCl8B5HI/AAAAAAAAZ3c/Nxy0Uv3xggs/s1600/Rossopomodoro.jpg" height="281" title="Mozzarella, tomato, basil...sometimes, simple is best. Pooling saliva: not pictured. Image © Anita Isalska" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mozzarella, tomato, basil...sometimes, simple is best. Pooling saliva: not pictured. <br />
Image © Anita Isalska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When I gazed on those little islands of buffalo mozzarella, bobbing stickily on a fresh tomato passata, my mouth watered. The first bite tasted so authentic, it was like Italy had wandered up to my table, naked but for a red white and green flag, warbling <i>O Sole Mio</i>. The pizza bases are as delicious as you'd expect (you can taste the musky zing of virgin olive oil in the base) and the only gluten-free clue is that the inside of the base looks a brighter white than their wheaty offerings. That said, the range of pizzas offered to gluten-free diners is very limited, only a handful from their extensive menu. Seriously Rossopomodoro, what are you putting on that Quattro Formaggio to make it glutenous?<br />
<br />
<b>Wheaty says...</b> "I had high hopes but I was slightly disappointed. I can't remember why.
The base was good, with only a very slight corn flavour, to the point
where I wasn't sure whether it was GF or not!"<br />
<br />
<b>Final score: </b>7/10 – great base, but a real missed opportunity with the limited menu.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
5. <a href="http://www.pappaciccia.com/" target="_blank">Pappa Ciccia</a></h3>
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Vibe:</b> romantic Italian eatery that just so happens to do all its pizzas gluten-free. Sorry, I just drooled.</li>
<li><b>Location:</b> Fulham, south London</li>
<li><b>Gluten-free credentials:</b> GF pastas and pizzas, cautious staff but no desserts? Pappa, you're breaking my heart.</li>
</ul>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-03S4patR8Pg/U82KCgGydBI/AAAAAAAAZ3Q/nsjvbVPlWkw/s1600/Pappa-Ciccia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-03S4patR8Pg/U82KCgGydBI/AAAAAAAAZ3Q/nsjvbVPlWkw/s1600/Pappa-Ciccia.jpg" height="278" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not just because of the Campari, this has to be the best.<br />
Image © Anita Isalska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Where did you come from, Pappa Ciccia? All bedecked with flowers, quaint Italian touches and cosy restaurant fittings, this place is quite the charmer. But on to the pizzas: the staff seem accustomed to reassuring their customers that yep, there's no mistake, this is genuinely gluten-free. Everything from the tomato sauce to the just-crunchy-enough artichokes is beautifully prepared, and the stone-baked pizza bases have all the volcanic charring and yielding chewiness you'd hope for from an authentic Italian pizza.<br />
<br />
<b>Wheaty says...</b> "I really did wonder if the base was gluten free! Lovely and
very authentic feel." <br />
<br />
<b>Final rating:</b> 9/10 – judging purely by the pizza, this is head and shoulders above the rest.<br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692056800491428202.post-84228613024904604422014-07-06T15:03:00.000-07:002014-08-01T06:05:54.085-07:00Gluten-free in Greenland: tips for coeliac travellers at the edge of the world<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Of all the titles I thought I'd be writing on this blog, I never thought 'gluten-free' and 'Greenland' would go together - but here we are.<br />
<br />
I am back from a trip to Greenland's west coast where I sailed among icebergs, gawped at glaciers and <a href="http://travelblog.anitaedits.com/2014/06/advanced-mosquito-protection-in-arctic.html" target="_blank">swatted a lot of mosquitoes</a>. I also ate plenty, so I have gluten-free tips galore for fellow coeliac travellers.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CLkgLYRc2u8/U7nF0nbdkjI/AAAAAAAAZ04/kZ7U9zhz_rs/s1600/Ilulissat+(17).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Colourful houses in Ilulissat, western Greenland - gluten-free travellers should make their way here for icebergs, sailing and delicious seafood" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CLkgLYRc2u8/U7nF0nbdkjI/AAAAAAAAZ04/kZ7U9zhz_rs/s1600/Ilulissat+(17).JPG" height="265" title="Colourful houses in Ilulissat, one of the must-sees on any Greenland trip. Image by Anita Isalska" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colourful houses in Ilulissat, one of the must-sees on any Greenland trip.<br />
Image by Anita Isalska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Travelling in Greenland gluten-free: come prepared</h3>
<br />
Whether you're gluten-free or not, Greenland is the kind of place where you need to have a rucksack stuffed with emergency snacks. Supermarkets and food shops aren't as plentiful as back home, especially in smaller towns, and depending on your arrival time in a new place you might find your food options really limited.<br />
<br />
For example, in <a href="http://www.greenland.com/en/destinations/arctic-circle-region/kangerlussuaq/" target="_blank">Kangerlussuaq</a>, gateway to some of Greenland's best hiking, the town is dispersed over a big area and places to eat are spread out. I stayed in the <a href="http://wogac.com/accommodation/polar-lodge" target="_blank">Polar Lodge</a>, which doesn't have an attached restaurant. After the only supermarket in walking distance was shut, my options were the airport cafe or an expensive taxi ride to an equally expensive restaurant 5km away. In situations like that, it really pays to have a couple of tins of tuna, crackers or granola stashed in your bag (the airport cafe was predictably all sandwiches, by the way).<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Greenlandic food: meat, fish and more meat</h3>
<br />
The good news is that the Greenlandic food I experienced was heavily meaty, fishy, and didn't tend to be crumbed or battered. Drying, preserving in salt and grilling are the preparation methods of preference and muskox, fish, shrimp and fish roe were the norm. Aside from Danish open sandwiches, a lot of the cuisine seemed to be made of naturally gluten-free ingredients. Halibut, seaweed, potatoes and berries were all staples.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z0bmEpcmpTU/U7nB-40WDXI/AAAAAAAAZ0k/gxMIwSUt478/s1600/20140626_205028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z0bmEpcmpTU/U7nB-40WDXI/AAAAAAAAZ0k/gxMIwSUt478/s1600/20140626_205028.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Halibut with parsnip puree, spring onions and angelica salt, at <a href="http://hotelarctic.com/restaurants/ulo/" target="_blank">Restaurant Ulo</a> in Ilulissat. <br />
Image by Anita Isalska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
And all kinds of meats were on offer, usually grilled (some of which you might feel squeamish about trying: seal, whale and narwhal for starters). Often they're prepared simply so briefing in your gluten-free request doesn't require more than cross-contamination measures on their part - a <a href="http://www.celiactravel.com/cards/danish/" target="_blank">language card</a> can help here, especially for sensitive coeliacs. <br />
<br />
In some countries, knowing the word for 'gluten-free' is the key to good, safe eating. But in Greenland I found it more useful to have a conversation about how a dish was put together, working in my requirements along the way. I spelled out what I could eat, what I couldn't eat, and asked questions about the dish - where I kept the tone interested and excited to try the food but concerned for my own limitations, people were very happy to help.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vuP20BtjwM4/U7mokd4G6fI/AAAAAAAAZz4/p1bFlBT1FCA/s1600/DSC05789.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vuP20BtjwM4/U7mokd4G6fI/AAAAAAAAZz4/p1bFlBT1FCA/s1600/DSC05789.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pescetarian paradise: this plateful aboard the boat from Ilulissat to Eqi has shrimp, cod, <br />
pearly pink fish roe, pickled cucumbers, lashings of mayo and some dried <br />
muskox salami. Image by Anita Isalska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The bad news is that vegetarian gluten-free travellers will have a trickier time, and probably become immensely tired of imported Danish cheeses. Extra rucksack-stuffing for you lot.<br />
<br />
Breakfast buffets were really variable. When they were good, they were piled high with naturally gluten-free fuel (yoghurt, cheeses, smoked fish, fruit). When they were bad, they were a few slices of bread and a jar of Nutella (which made me glad to have made room for a pack of Udi's granola in my bag).<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Enemy biscuits</h3>
<br />
When travelling in Greenland you'll find coffee served at almost every opportunity. If you're waiting for a boat, eyeing up souvenirs or chatting to a tour operator, it's likely that a small stimulating cup will find its way into your hands. Cookies and cakes are often brought out in these situations, to be met with shrugs by us coeliacs, but there didn't seem to be an cultural awkwardness about turning them down. The important social cement seemed to be drinking the java, so if you're a caffeine-head you'll have no trouble enjoying this Greenlandic custom while saying no to the wheaty stuff.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N5bES4ctub8/U7nB9h8I7VI/AAAAAAAAZ0U/0L3ABqMQS-w/s1600/20140626_203454.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N5bES4ctub8/U7nB9h8I7VI/AAAAAAAAZ0U/0L3ABqMQS-w/s1600/20140626_203454.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dried muskox with slivers of radish and cucumber, with basil oil and hazelnuts.<br />
Image by Anita Isalska</td></tr>
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
The Danish connection: a boost for gluten-free travellers to Greenland</h3>
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In a country of low population density, the power of numbers means it takes far longer for understanding of gluten-free diets to gain traction. So it follows that in as remote a country as Greenland, the word 'gluten-free' isn't exactly on the tips of tongues.<br />
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Is there any point, then, in dropping the 'gluten-free diet' bomb explicitly, in a place like Greenland where many people won't have the faintest idea what you mean? Actually, yes.<br />
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Plenty of hotels and tours in Greenland are run by visiting Danes or half-Danish half-Greenlandic people, who tend to have absorbed a fair bit of understanding about the gluten-free diet back in Denmark where it's much, much better known.<br />
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I did an internal dance of glee when I found great gluten-free provision at <a href="http://www.glacierlodgeeqi.com/" target="_blank">Glacier Camp Eqi</a> (a five-hour boat ride from Ilulissat, one of Greenland's top destinations for travellers). The immensely friendly staff knew what gluten-free was, and having been forewarned they were able to pre-order some gluten-free bread for my breakfasts. I hadn't expected this at all, but they told me that they could cater provided they had plenty of advance warning. All of the food to Camp Eqi arrives on a once-daily boat, so a few days' warning is essential. Given the slow rhythms by which places in Greenland stock and re-stock their food, <b>I'd advise all gluten-free travellers to Greenland to give a few days' notice</b>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hKJKh5QbSzA/U7nB9jTOXaI/AAAAAAAAZ0Y/U-sbzWYjgMU/s1600/20140626_075444.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hKJKh5QbSzA/U7nB9jTOXaI/AAAAAAAAZ0Y/U-sbzWYjgMU/s1600/20140626_075444.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice one, Camp Eqi! Gluten-free bread, eggs, caraway-studded cheese,<br />
yoghurt and berry compote plus the obligatory coffee. Image by Anita Isalska</td></tr>
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Air Greenland does a pretty good gluten-free meal</h3>
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And what about the transport? It was the first time I'd flown with <a href="http://www.airgreenland.com/" target="_blank">Air Greenland</a> and I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the gluten-free meal. I had feared a frosty fruit salad but my meal travelling from Copenhagen to Kangerlussuaq included gluten-free bread, a pretty hearty breakfast, fruit, all clearly labelled as gluten-free. And it was distinctively different to all the other meals (which is always reassuring to my paranoid brain).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-390asJqce20/U7nB_E4GB2I/AAAAAAAAZ0g/WGSBzVckvuM/s1600/20140623_101859.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-390asJqce20/U7nB_E4GB2I/AAAAAAAAZ0g/WGSBzVckvuM/s1600/20140623_101859.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Actual cheese! Air Greenland gluten-free meal without the 'free from everything' vibe. This breakfast<br />
had gluten-free sausage, egg, gfree bread and all the trimmings. Image by Anita Isalska</td></tr>
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Flying back from Greenland my meal lacked the gluten-free bread, but I put this down to the relative availability of gluten-free produce in Greenland vs Denmark. It was still good noshin'.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
In conclusion... your gluten-free Greenlandic adventure will be a breeze</h3>
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Well, maybe not a breeze. You'll need a bit of prep, you'll say no to biscuits, rustle up your stash of crackers at breakfasts, and do a fair few supermarket runs during your travels to Greenland. But in such a meat-protein-fixated place, veggies might actually have a tougher time than coeliacs. In the land of whale blubber snacks and fish at every meal, eating paleo style (and hence gluten-free) was more than manageable.<br />
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And overall, arming myself with a few Eat Natural bars is a small price to stare out at the Ilulissat icefjord, spot wild muskoxen and hear the grumble of glaciers. If you get the chance to visit Greenland, don't be daunted by dietary requirements and jump on that plane.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qr9dh1RSqDo/U7nDNAYMcXI/AAAAAAAAZ0w/OsnO_UtGf2o/s1600/Hike+to+the+moraine+(54).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qr9dh1RSqDo/U7nDNAYMcXI/AAAAAAAAZ0w/OsnO_UtGf2o/s1600/Hike+to+the+moraine+(54).JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue skies at the Eqi glacier. Mosquitoes not pictured - they're probably eating<br />
my hand as I take the photo. Image by Anita Isalska</td></tr>
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<i>If I've tweaked your interest and you want to read more about my adventures in Greenland, check out my <a href="http://www.lonelyplanet.com/greenland/travel-tips-and-articles/ten-enchanting-travel-experiences-in-greenland" target="_blank">feature on Lonely Planet</a> and take a look at <a href="https://storify.com/lunarsynthesis/exploring-western-greenland" target="_blank">my journey to Greenland on Storify</a>.</i><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692056800491428202.post-4911103393359225542014-06-07T05:29:00.001-07:002014-06-07T06:17:28.556-07:00Three of my gluten-free heroes (and three places that are off the menu)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Silver lining time: if I had to be diagnosed with an auto-immune disease I'd never heard of, and embark on a totally new diet, I sure did time it well.<br />
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Over the past few years some mainstream food brands have been upping their gluten-free game here in England, and there have been some outstanding newcomers on the scene. Here's a roll-call of three places that are putting a song in my heart (and deliciousness in my belly). If you're in the UK (especially a Londoner), I hope they're on your radar - and if you're further afield then they're excellent ports of call if you come visit.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
1. <a href="http://www.pizzaexpress.com/" target="_blank">Pizza Express</a></h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_d/3664978419" target="_blank">Image by Magnus D</a> / <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/" target="_blank">CC BY 2.0</a></td></tr>
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Winner of the most-improved category has to be Pizza Express. I never would have darkened their door before their gluten-free makeover - salad without the bread sticks? Don't make me laugh. But now Pizza Express are wooing gluten-free customers like crazy. There's <a href="http://www.pizzaexpress.com/our-food/our-restaurant-menu/glutenfree/" target="_blank">gluten-free mark-up</a> on every menu (they have pizzas AND desserts, people!). The staff understand gluten-free. And they use <a href="http://www.pizzaexpress.com/our-food/gluten-free/" target="_blank">gluten-free flour to dust down their surfaces</a> to minimise risk of cross-contamination, and have worked to win accreditation from Coeliac UK. Best of all, they don't penalise gluten-free diners on price, and special offers still apply to GF pizzas and other dishes.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
2. <a href="http://udisglutenfree.co.uk/" target="_blank">Udi's Gluten-free</a> </h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breads and bagels and muffins galore. Images courtesy of Udi's UK</td></tr>
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Old news to American GFers I'm sure, but over here in England Udi's have been taking gluten-free diners by storm. For me they're heroes for winning at <a href="http://udisglutenfree.co.uk/products/strawberry-flavoured-breakfast-bars/" target="_blank">breakfast bars</a> (because gluten-free food on the go is hard), <a href="http://udisglutenfree.co.uk/products/granola-au-naturel/" target="_blank">granola</a> (which should be gluten-free - for those of us who eat oats - but so often isn't) and <a href="http://udisglutenfree.co.uk/products/plain-bagels/" target="_blank">bagels</a> (can't talk, mouth full). And I don't know if I should thank them for this, but they've also introduced me to food I never knew I needed (hello, <a href="http://udisglutenfree.co.uk/products/cinnamon-bagel-chips/" target="_blank">cinnamon bagel chips</a>). Well played, Udi's. My only gripe? I don't see them nearly enough in my local supermarkets.</div>
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
3. <a href="http://www.costa.co.uk/whats-new/gluten-free-wrap/" target="_blank">Costa Coffee</a></h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Images by Anita Isalska and <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/adbury/2832813976" target="_blank">Steve Blamey</a> / <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 2.0</a></td></tr>
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This has been my go-to sugar fix for some time. This is hands-down the best chain cafe for gluten-free snackers. Yes, Starbucks has a gluten-free brownie, ditto Nero, but Costa Coffee can match your brownie (it's also bigger than Nero's, just saying) and raise you gluten-free bakewell tarts, coconut bars and now they've added their first savoury gluten-free snack, a <a href="http://www.costa.co.uk/whats-new/gluten-free-wrap/" target="_blank">chicken and basil wrap</a>. And they launched it in time for the recent Coeliac Awareness Week in the UK, because they care.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
RIP, gluten-free</h3>
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And because it wouldn't be business as usual without a quick whinge, here are the fallen heroes. The brands that <i>could </i>be awesome or amazing eateries that have disappeared.<br />
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<b>Pret a Manger.</b> It pains me to critique this healthful and wholesome lunch mecca, but they could mop up the gluten-free market if they made a little more effort. Are several of its salads free of gluten-containing ingredients? From what I can tell, yes. Do they make ingredients clear on the website? <a href="http://www.pret.com/menu/sushi_salads_soups" target="_blank">Fairly</a>. But in the stores themselves, they make it almost impossible to read the labels for the finer points of ingredients to salads, dressings and soups. Have they been known to smatter wheaty couscous around otherwise gluten-free salads? Monsters. Plus I haven't forgiven them for the disappearance of their flour-free almond and orange cake a few years back. Allegedly they've released a gluten-free wrap recently (though I've never seen one in-store and the <a href="http://www.pret.com/menu/baguettes_wraps/gluten_free_mexican_guacamole_wrap_PUK5637.shtm" target="_blank">product description doesn't make much sense on-site</a> - Mexican hoisin duck, huh?) So I very much hope to be able to do a U-turn on this brand.<br />
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<b>Bake at home pizza.</b> I can't say the words "<a href="http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/the-bake-at-home-pizza-company-london-2" target="_blank">Bake at Home</a>" without a silent sob, a rueful sigh, a wistful look back on years of pizza plenty. When this South London pizza delivery place, and its gourmet range of gluten-free pizzas, disappeared from my life, it hit me hard. So many wonderful Friday nights at the Free-From and Wheaty household had begun with the words, "Netflix and Bake at Home?" I would be willing to set up a weekly pizza standing order to get these guys back.<br />
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<b>Bruschetta.</b> This legendary gluten-free Italian diner in Kingston rolled out its last gnocchi earlier this year. There were tears. Then I learned that they had been <a href="http://kingstoncourier.co.uk/content/2014/01/17/bruschetta-kingston-restaurant-forced-shut-down-after-heavy-fine-bad-hygiene" target="_blank">heavily fined for hygiene violations</a>. And you know what? It didn't bother me in the slightest, that's how good their gluten-free ravioli were. <a href="http://bruschettaglutenfree.co.uk/" target="_blank">Bruschetta</a> is due to open again under new management but <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g504175-d1925851-r191631896-Bruschetta-Kingston_upon_Thames_Surrey_England.html" target="_blank">regulars aren't sure</a> whether the new restaurant will cater for GF.<br />
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<i>What are your favourite gluten-free brands, or places you think need to try a lot harder?</i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692056800491428202.post-63329349166165666162014-04-22T13:57:00.003-07:002014-04-22T14:20:10.094-07:00Senza glutine: the joys of eating gluten-free in Bologna, Italy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Gluten-free gourmands travelling to Bologna in Italy can expect to come home with quite a few pasta sauce stains. You might see some furrowed brows from friends who are confused about why a gluten-free traveller might be so excited to visit the spiritual home of spaghetti bolognese, but your widened waistline upon returning home should be enough to convince them otherwise.<br />
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Because gluten-free eating in Italy rocks.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vO_GtgW3CvY/U1V6m_d6JWI/AAAAAAAAU2o/LHK0nGpOaV4/s1600/Ravioli.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vO_GtgW3CvY/U1V6m_d6JWI/AAAAAAAAU2o/LHK0nGpOaV4/s1600/Ravioli.jpg" height="245" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 13.3056001663208px;">Fresh gluten-free tortellini at La Panthera Rosa in Bologna. Image </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;">© </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 13.3056001663208px;">Anita Isalska</span></td></tr>
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This much we know: Italy loves pasta. Italy loves pasta so much it's practically a human right. And that means no one misses out, including those who eat gluten-free.<br />
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With children routinely tested for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coeliac_disease" target="_blank">coeliac disease</a>, Italy has good reason to make a fine art out of gluten-free food. So gluten-free pastas are easy to find (in restaurants, supermarkets and health food shops) and naturally gluten-free food abounds, meaning that even where an eatery doesn't have a direct substitute, they'll know exactly what you can eat.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SVrjf0Scl9Y/U1V6l6y9MgI/AAAAAAAAU2k/Oa4HNILSPFc/s1600/Frutti-de-mare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SVrjf0Scl9Y/U1V6l6y9MgI/AAAAAAAAU2k/Oa4HNILSPFc/s1600/Frutti-de-mare.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 13.3056001663208px;">No room for <i>secondi</i>. Seafood and cherry tomato gluten-free pasta at Ristorante Victoria.<br />Image </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;">© </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 13.3056001663208px;">Anita Isalska</span><br />
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Indeed, some of my best foodie finds were naturally gluten-free. There was the pear and pecorino risotto at <a href="https://it-it.facebook.com/pages/Ristorante-il-Ducale-Bologna/151217698254412" target="_blank">Il Ducale</a> and the grilled horse steak (don't judge me) with buttered spinach at <a href="http://www.gallodororistorante.it/" target="_blank">Gallo d'Oro</a> in nearby Parma. Neither restaurant had a particular flair for gluten-free substitutions, but they knew exactly what was in their dishes. (A whole load of delicious.)<br />
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And then there was the ham.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3ruCBMN2d38/U1V6nR0XMqI/AAAAAAAAU3A/WxkzEIkq-Bo/s1600/Window.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3ruCBMN2d38/U1V6nR0XMqI/AAAAAAAAU3A/WxkzEIkq-Bo/s1600/Window.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 13.3056001663208px;">Each grocery window overflows with hams, Modena's famous balsamic vinegar and<br />only the best virgin olive oils. Image </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;">© </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 13.3056001663208px;">Anita Isalska</span></td></tr>
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Window displays were crowded with enormous legs of the stuff, and restaurants served <i>prosciutto di Parma </i>by the plateful, either au naturel or draped seductively over slices of melon. Ordering an enormous plate of freshly shaved ham to nibble with your wine, with no accompaniment other than (maybe) a few slivers of muskily fragrant parmigiano cheese, was a decadence repeated too often for me to admit.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mD0af7edwAs/U1V6mhlcpwI/AAAAAAAAU2s/nQSmh-ellIg/s1600/Parma+ham.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mD0af7edwAs/U1V6mhlcpwI/AAAAAAAAU2s/nQSmh-ellIg/s1600/Parma+ham.jpg" height="246" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 13.3056001663208px;">One of many, many, many plates of Parma ham, washed down with red wine. <br />Image </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;">© </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 13.3056001663208px;">Anita Isalska</span></td></tr>
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Seriously, there's meant to be melon under this one. But I can't see it, because of ALL. THAT. HAM.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x0Tn9tlOcas/U1bQ0i66uFI/AAAAAAAAU3c/89sbE7MUPq4/s1600/DSC04269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x0Tn9tlOcas/U1bQ0i66uFI/AAAAAAAAU3c/89sbE7MUPq4/s1600/DSC04269.JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 13.3056001663208px;">There's melon under there. I think. Image </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;">© </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 13.3056001663208px;">Anita Isalska</span></td></tr>
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Pizza is another Italian classic you needn't do without, although a little more planning is needed to find the gluten-free holy grail. The Wheaty Eater breezily insisted that we'd have to find a pizza before we left Bologna, only to realise it was a bit tougher than finding gluten-free pasta. But there were a couple of options, namely the gluten-free wonderland that is <a href="http://www.pizzeriapanterarosa.it/" target="_blank">La Panthera Rosa</a>, where gluten-free ravioli, gnocchi and pizzas are all made in house.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ikYZ_JQN2Tc/U1V6mNpe8uI/AAAAAAAAU2g/VcW9WN1VoNY/s1600/Pizza.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ikYZ_JQN2Tc/U1V6mNpe8uI/AAAAAAAAU2g/VcW9WN1VoNY/s1600/Pizza.jpg" height="330" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 13.3056001663208px;">Spicy pork and black olives adorn gluten-free pizzas at La Panthera<br />Rosa in Bologna. Image </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;">© </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 13.3056001663208px;">Anita Isalska</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">My next gluten-free Italy adventures, later in the year, will be in Naples and Sicily. Will they be as good as Bologna? My stomach is already rumbling to find out.</span><span style="text-align: center;"></span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Four unmissable pit-stops for gluten-free travellers in Bologna</h3>
So where do you start? Here are my top four picks for any gluten-free traveller wishing to add a few notches to their belt on a trip to Bologna.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.pizzeriapanterarosa.it/" target="_blank">La Panthera Rosa</a>:</b> gluten-free pizza (as well as pastas, fried breads, ravioli and gnocchi) all of exceptional quality in a jovial family-friendly atmosphere. My only regret, after polishing off spinach and ricotta stuffed tortellini and unholy amounts of pizza, was that I was so full I needed to split my creme caramel pudding with Wheaty.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.ristorantefrancorossi.it/" target="_blank">Franco Rossi</a></b>: this upmarket gem has the knowledgeable sommelier and gourmet menu of your wildest Italian fantasies. But aside from the impeccable service and nostalgic ambiance, what stole my heart was the gluten-free tagliatelle with clams, and a precarious stack of beef and baked parmesan, littered raunchily with rocket leaves. Outstanding.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.dalbiassanot.it/" target="_blank">Trattoria dal Biassanot</a></b>: maybe it was luck, but when we stumbled on this bustling trattoria we were told that <i>certo </i>(of course) they could provide gluten-free pasta. This was where I tried my first authentic <i>ragu </i>(better known to most palates as bolognese sauce). Accompanied with generous glugs of Sangiovese wine and lip-smackingly salty Parma ham, it was a gut-busting lunch to savour.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.ristorantibologna.com/ristorantevictoria.htm" target="_blank">Ristorante Victoria</a></b>: despite the tourist trap vibe, the gluten-free-friendly staff and gigantic portions make this place a worthy lunch pitstop. Waiting staff were careful to signpost me as <i>celiaca </i>(a coeliac) to the chef, knew exactly what to put on my plate, and the restaurant can substitute gluten-free pasta into all of their pasta dishes. The seafood pasta was so enormous that Wheaty looked a little like he might weep from jealousy.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
More resources</h3>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Saying "<i>sono celiaco</i>" (if you're male) or "<i>sono celiaca</i>" (if you're female) will go a long way in restaurants, or use the phrase "<i>senza glutine</i>" (gluten-free). But you might want to boost your restaurant confidence with <a href="http://www.celiactravel.com/cards/italian/" target="_blank">Italian language cards</a> when ordering food too.</li>
<li>This <a href="http://www.legalnomads.com/2012/05/gluten-free-in-italy.html" target="_blank">great post on gluten-free living in Italy by Legal Nomads</a> made me sigh with recognition, and drool over the food photos. </li>
<li>And <a href="http://glutenfreegirl.com/2007/10/eating-gluten-free-in-italy/" target="_blank">these gluten-free Italy stories from Glutenfreegirl</a> have highs, lows and so much salumi.</li>
</ul>
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<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692056800491428202.post-42765123443395910772014-03-23T14:47:00.001-07:002014-03-23T14:47:33.093-07:00I had my first Burger King in five years. Here's what happened...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Looking back, I never thought of myself as a fan of fast food.<br />
<br />
Sure, there was the odd snatched drive-through McDonald's happy meal when I was a kid, a sneaky KFC during stressful weeks at university, or a Burger King to line my stomach before a heavy night out. Fast food by its nature is easy, accessible, and (for me at least) it had the whiff of wicked.<br />
<br />
It wasn't something you should eat, but something you occasionally ate anyway. So I chomped through burgers from time to time, but swore off certain brands when I learned more about how they mass-produced their meat.<br />
<br />
It changed forever when <b>I discovered that I had to eat gluten-free</b>. With a doctor staring you down and telling you your health is at risk if you keep eating gluten, omitting fast food was an obvious step. McDonald's, KFC, Burger King and their bread-heavy battered ilk were all off the menu for good.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WrsxJYKTYf8/Uy9NsuWpg1I/AAAAAAAAUbI/mEywDldZRy4/s1600/DSC03749.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WrsxJYKTYf8/Uy9NsuWpg1I/AAAAAAAAUbI/mEywDldZRy4/s1600/DSC03749.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gluten-free Burger King in Norway. Note to coeliacs, some chains will advise against the<br />fries as they may be contaminated by the frying of other wheaty goods, so check first.<br />Image <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;">© </span>Anita Isalska</td></tr>
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Until I travelled to Scandinavia recently. For this part of the world, gluten-free comes as second nature. Plenty of bakeries had gluten-free goodies, brands like <a href="http://www.fria.co.uk/" target="_blank">Fria</a> keep supermarket aisles well stocked with everything from pizzas to cinnamony <i><a href="http://scandinavianfood.about.com/od/coffeecakessweetbreads/r/cinnamonrolls.htm" target="_blank">kanelbulle</a></i>, and the predominance of naturally wheatless delicacies like fish and game make it coeliac heaven.<br />
<br />
And interestingly enough, the gluten-free-friendliness also applies to fast food.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9KYBUchc_Ss/Uy9NszX3Q3I/AAAAAAAAUbM/sWgqMosqPvk/s1600/DSC03750.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9KYBUchc_Ss/Uy9NszX3Q3I/AAAAAAAAUbM/sWgqMosqPvk/s1600/DSC03750.JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Wheaty Eater looms over a gluten-free fast food feast in Trondheim, Norway.<br />Image <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;">© </span>Anita Isalska</td></tr>
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I had heard that McDonald's and Burger King had gluten-free options in Scandinavian countries, but couldn't quite believe it. I scoped out a McDonald's menu in <a href="http://www.trondheim.no/engelsk/" target="_blank">Trondheim</a> and saw nothing. There was no trace of gluten-free on the BK menu either, but I asked outright.<br />
<br />
And I was surprised when the server said that <b>yes, they could easily do a burger - gluten-free bun and all</b>. How could I resist the novelty? It had been perhaps five years since I last sampled a meal from Burger King.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dEJLnA2FbAk/Uy9NsqAKD7I/AAAAAAAAUbE/g7cNlX1cA2o/s1600/DSC03752.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dEJLnA2FbAk/Uy9NsqAKD7I/AAAAAAAAUbE/g7cNlX1cA2o/s1600/DSC03752.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No sesame seeds on the bun, but otherwise a queasily familiar sight.<br />Image <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;">© </span>Anita Isalska</td></tr>
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When it arrived, the box was accented with a little '<i>glutenfri</i>' sticker, and the bun was a little paler than the wheat ones, and free from sesame seeds (maybe they're avoiding another potential allergen there?)<br />
<br />
But otherwise, it all looked and smelled very familiar. Springy bread surrounding a juicy meat patty, a square of luminous orange cheese congealing into the bun, wilted slivers of lettuce and an ooze of tangy sauce. Almost too big to fit into your mouth, necessitating seven or eight bleached napkins to mop the greasy run-off from my face. And of course, a mega-sized Sprite to wash it all down.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G1Efjhqboos/Uy9NuD6cKiI/AAAAAAAAUbY/Tr5s704fTKU/s1600/DSC03753.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G1Efjhqboos/Uy9NuD6cKiI/AAAAAAAAUbY/Tr5s704fTKU/s1600/DSC03753.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Never quite looks as good as the photo... half-way through a burger.<br />Image <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;">© </span>Anita Isalska</td></tr>
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The surprising part is how I felt afterwards. Yes, there was the familiar hit of <i>yum-protein-salty-sugary-wowza-energy!</i> I remembered the taste from years ago, and it was novel to be trying it again (in a northern Norwegian town on a winter's afternoon, no less).<br />
<br />
But soon after that, I felt... ill. My heart was racing from the volume of sugary soft drink (I don't tend to drink them much). After the initial buzz, I started to feel overly full and very, very thirsty again (the salt, I'm guessing). Above all I felt thoroughly un-nourished by what I had eaten - not exactly headline news, but the startling part was how foreign these feelings were.<br />
<br />
During years of eating greased-up carb-tastic salty fast food washed down with a gallon of syrupy fizz, I'd never felt so hyped up and strange. And that's because I had trained my body to cope with mammoth portions of salt and sugar and meat.<br />
<br />
But after a break from fast food, the levels of salt and sugar hit my system like a freight train.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JL4LcA2uKNE/Uy9NvPCrKrI/AAAAAAAAUbk/SA7w7zaroaw/s1600/DSC03755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JL4LcA2uKNE/Uy9NvPCrKrI/AAAAAAAAUbk/SA7w7zaroaw/s1600/DSC03755.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The aftermath...Madame Free-From clutches her stomach after a gluten-free BK meal<br />proves a little too much.<br />Image <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;">© </span>Anita Isalska</td></tr>
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I walked it off, and felt better in a couple of hours. A chapter had thoroughly closed. There was no reason to covet the ease of a fast food meal ever again.<br />
<br />
Wheaty or gluten-free, junk food is still junk.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692056800491428202.post-66657038968809048202014-02-20T13:59:00.001-08:002014-02-20T13:59:26.734-08:00Attack of the glutevangelists<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 13px;">How can anyone be in love with a stretchy, tasteless protein composite? The more time I spend as a carefree coeliac, the more I encounter the strange phenomenon of glutevangelism. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QRq1zVctn3U/UwZ5P1vAVNI/AAAAAAAAUJ0/U5y08aVMMNY/s1600/6_225x225_Front.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QRq1zVctn3U/UwZ5P1vAVNI/AAAAAAAAUJ0/U5y08aVMMNY/s1600/6_225x225_Front.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Staap, staap, get me a bigger T-shirt<br />size because my sides are splitting.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;">You know them: the jokers who rib you with, "but I love gluten, gluten's my favourite". They've chanced on a <i>hilariously </i>ironic twist on the modern vogue for fad diets, and you can bet they will flog that gag to death. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br />
But leaving aside for a moment the vast potential for offence, isn't glutevangelism a little weird? Before I found out I needed to go gluten-free, I can't say I gave any thought to gluten. I don't think I even knew what it was. So I find it bizarre to hear pro-gluten jokes when I whip out my lunch in front of certain non-coeliac acquaintances ("looks tasty...but needs more gluten!").<br />
<br />
Food protectionism is a confounding thing. It's as though the gluten-free movement has awakened an awareness of gluten in the world, and now a subset of people - despite no previous awareness of gluten - have latched on to the concept in a rabidly negative way. "Don't take my precious gluten away!" they seem to cry. "I don't know what it is, but if it's in cake then it must be good, right?"<br />
<br />
Food that is free from anything - whether it's sugar, dairy or the big G - ignites suspicion. Most often in people who don't know much about food. <span style="font-size: 13px;">Yes, gluten's properties make your bread springier and dough easier to roll - but gluten-free food is hardly an attack on your human dignity. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f6y1-Yolm7o/UwZ5P9I9DwI/AAAAAAAAUJ4/0cC2kuJr7Qc/s1600/vegan-booze-billy-crystal-parental-guidance-ecards-someecards.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f6y1-Yolm7o/UwZ5P9I9DwI/AAAAAAAAUJ4/0cC2kuJr7Qc/s1600/vegan-booze-billy-crystal-parental-guidance-ecards-someecards.png" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ehrmagerd you're so right, the advancement of modern<br />science and improved diagnosis of gastrointestinal<br />ailments means nothing. </td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;">Paella, Thai green curry, galettes, Indian food, sushi... so many naturally non-gluten-containing delicacies are free from suspicion until someone describes them as gluten-free. For some reason, this label (with its associations of mystery illnesses, allergies and gasp, potential faddiness) provokes negativity in a subset of people. It differentiates these usually familiar food items from the norm. This is where the fearful response comes in: "Gluten-free?" they gasp, "eurrrgh, give me a plate with <i>more </i>gluten!" So much unnecessary social baggage for a term which should be a perfectly ordinary descriptor!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 13px;">But sadly, many people seem afraid of food that veers away from the accepted. That peer pressure and conformity is an issue at the dinner table makes me sad. Food is meant to nourish people's bodies and tickle their tastebuds. <b>Food is your own personal fuel</b>, so mockery of a person's menu is cuttingly personal.</span></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
Any foodie knows that good food is good because it's nourishing and delicious to the person eating it. There's no objective scale of superiority between meat platters or vegan feasts, allergen-free menus or shellfish deep-fried in peanuts with a dairy-based sesame dipping sauce. The only measurable thing is the effect of a food on the person eating it: on their physical well-being, on their mental health, on their feeling of satisfaction. Judge it on its own merits, open your mind to different flavours, textures and techniques...and ease up on the glutevangelism.<br />
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Amen.</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692056800491428202.post-81174773037206465762013-12-15T09:56:00.001-08:002013-12-15T09:58:25.731-08:00Flour power: gluten-free adventures in India<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The frequent disappointment involved in eating out gluten-free means that when you do get a choice of food, you almost become speechless with joy. 'A salad, without croutons! Perfect, thank you <i>so much</i>,' coeliacs say - often without irony - in restaurants across the land.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i9H4o1FKF7Q/Uq3o8wRnY3I/AAAAAAAATxo/PNuJX2Lo7Cc/s1600/Agra-food.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i9H4o1FKF7Q/Uq3o8wRnY3I/AAAAAAAATxo/PNuJX2Lo7Cc/s400/Agra-food.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><span style="color: #333333;">Tower. Of. Food. Chicken, paneer (cheese) tikka, vegetable jalfrezi, pilau rice, and garlic naan<br />made with 100% gram flour. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><span style="color: #333333;">Image </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; text-align: justify;">© </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Anita Isalska. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/74254581@N07/sets/72157638126751035/" target="_blank">See more on my Flickr page</a>.</span></td></tr>
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Sometimes, just being able to have a meal out feels like an air-punching victory. So imagine being surrounded by naturally gluten-free choices, and restaurateurs who see substituting out wheat flour as a fairly reasonable request. This was the experience I had eating my way around India.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LUH1bLHoIb8/Uq3o-7Xj0YI/AAAAAAAATx8/i-AFplD_cSE/s1600/Diwali-eve-at-Gurgaon-Club,-Delhi-(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="285" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LUH1bLHoIb8/Uq3o-7Xj0YI/AAAAAAAATx8/i-AFplD_cSE/s400/Diwali-eve-at-Gurgaon-Club,-Delhi-(3).jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><span style="color: #333333;">Peanuts, red onion, coriander and lime juice, perfect cocktail finger food.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><span style="color: #333333;">Image </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; text-align: justify;">© </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Anita Isalska. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/74254581@N07/sets/72157638126751035/" target="_blank">See more on my Flickr page</a>.</span></td></tr>
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Gram (chickpea) flour is a standard thickener in a huge number of Indian recipes. Poppadums, dosas (pancakes) and batters are often made up of 100% gram flour. Rice flour and ground rice are also common bases for dumplings and pancakes. As long as you know what you're asking for, eating out in India can be a breeze. It would be easy to assume that a lot of the doughy delights in India are off-limits for coeliacs, but I chowed down on ground rice dumplings, savoury donuts, all manner of curries, pancakes stuffed with spiced potato, and desserts galore. All of them were naturally gluten-free.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-buR0YLwoFpM/Uq3o-3bzLpI/AAAAAAAATx4/zKoNBQaOEzo/s1600/Delhi-(337).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-buR0YLwoFpM/Uq3o-3bzLpI/AAAAAAAATx4/zKoNBQaOEzo/s400/Delhi-(337).jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><span style="color: #333333;">Ground rice dumplings (idli) and gram flour donuts, served with coconut chutney and <br />spicy tomato relish. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><span style="color: #333333;">Image </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; text-align: justify;">© </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Anita Isalska. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/74254581@N07/sets/72157638126751035/" target="_blank">See more on my Flickr page</a>.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
That's not to say it's a wheat-free zone. The dreaded gluten is still out there, semolina is used in some dishes, and some of the sweets are wheat pastry based. So while you'll still have to check with the staff what has gone into that steaming tureen of paneer masala, you can expect to dine extremely well. <a href="http://www.celiacsocietyrajasthan.com/Gluten_Free_Restaurant_Card" target="_blank">Grab a language card</a>, go to India, and create some extra notches in your belt. I'm already planning my second trip.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sVslNz80cQM/Uq3o8zyX5MI/AAAAAAAATxs/TPyFK3LpFus/s1600/Agra-cocktails.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="290" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sVslNz80cQM/Uq3o8zyX5MI/AAAAAAAATxs/TPyFK3LpFus/s400/Agra-cocktails.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><span style="color: #333333;">Oh yeah, and rose martinis, espresso martinis and miscellaneous cocktails are<br />also gluten-free. Hic. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><span style="color: #333333;">Image </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; text-align: justify;">© </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Anita Isalska. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/74254581@N07/sets/72157638126751035/" target="_blank">See more on my Flickr page</a>.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692056800491428202.post-85088112527235201422013-09-29T05:05:00.000-07:002013-09-29T05:05:05.880-07:00Gluten-free, fuss-free: food adventures around Iceland<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I enjoyed some incredible travels around Iceland over the summer, and gluten-free eating was a breeze. I had visited Iceland a few years previously (before going gluten-free) and my food memories weren't very promising: anything that wasn't hot dogs fell into a pricier bracket, so I was a little nervous about what gluten-free adventures awaited me on my trip.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OuShUBbH02s/Ui9MArYGDUI/AAAAAAAARTE/8FjOFM1wMyw/s1600/DSC00105.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OuShUBbH02s/Ui9MArYGDUI/AAAAAAAARTE/8FjOFM1wMyw/s400/DSC00105.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">Gluten-free smoked lamb and berries appetiser at Geysir Restaurant in Reykjavik. Image Anita Isalska</td></tr>
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Iceland in general didn't overflow with gluten-free goodies like biscuits, breads and other snackables. Only the large supermarkets in Reykjavik and Akureyri seemed to have a good selection of gluten-free cereals, pastas and more. If you take a road-trip starting from either of these two cities, I'd recommend stocking up at the nearest <a href="http://www.bonus.is/" target="_blank">Bónus</a>.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dl7hPqz3EQg/Ui9MBgmH17I/AAAAAAAARTg/TuaA6HYpa74/s1600/DSC01347.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dl7hPqz3EQg/Ui9MBgmH17I/AAAAAAAARTg/TuaA6HYpa74/s400/DSC01347.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">Succulent grilled monkfish and pepper kebab at Naustið in Husavik. Image Anita Isalska</td></tr>
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However, pride in fresh seasonal ingredients meant that gluten-free dining out was surprisingly easy. Knowledge of the concept of gluten-free seemed widespread, even though gf substitutes didn't abound. The emphasis on grilled lamb, fish and cured meats meant that naturally wheatless cuisine was everywhere.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kuxp5ewSboA/Ui9MCzfvsVI/AAAAAAAARTc/zKlcZS2S3Bc/s1600/DSC01406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="258" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kuxp5ewSboA/Ui9MCzfvsVI/AAAAAAAARTc/zKlcZS2S3Bc/s400/DSC01406.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The world's richest gluten-free chocolate brownie at Blaa Kannan Cafe in Akureyri, Iceland.<br />
Image Anita Isalska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I seldom saw the words "gluten-free" on a menu (aside from a gluten-free chocolate brownie at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bl%C3%A1a-Kannan/115822431831407" target="_blank">Bláa kannan café</a> in Akureyri). But when I asked restaurants about gluten-free options, I had zero drama. Each time, I received a very matter-of-fact response ("you can eat this, this, this... or without the sauce this, this and this"). No palpitations, no eyebrows raised, no scurrying wide-eyed to the head chef - it was gluten-free, fuss-free!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WftakapEnh0/Ui9MAsh00VI/AAAAAAAARSk/DRy9LYtiWB0/s1600/DSC00649.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WftakapEnh0/Ui9MAsh00VI/AAAAAAAARSk/DRy9LYtiWB0/s400/DSC00649.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">Fried trout with potatoes and butter galore at Skaftfell Bistro in Seyðisfjörður. Image Anita Isalska</td></tr>
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Anyone who knows me will have heard my peeves about the UK not being on course for any gluten-free awards. Sometimes asking for gluten-free food at a UK restaurant produces suspicion, terror or condescension. So it was refreshing to see my enquiries about food in Iceland roll like water off an Arctic puffin's back. There was no fraught menu negotiation needed, leaving more time to enjoy Icelandic favourites like fresh seafood and melt-in-the-mouth lamb cutlets.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rfSgpQlyGuo/Ui9MA0PHukI/AAAAAAAARSc/KShM9MeywFY/s1600/DSC00525.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rfSgpQlyGuo/Ui9MA0PHukI/AAAAAAAARSc/KShM9MeywFY/s400/DSC00525.jpg" width="281" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Let's just assume this contains gluten and leave it out of the shopping basket. Gag. Image Anita Isalska</td></tr>
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Iceland also has some pretty challenging cuisine, to palates unused to it. Fermented shark meat, sheep's heads, tripe... Whenever we encountered those, I'd 'sorrowfully' tell Wheaty it just wasn't safe for me to try jellied calf's head, you know, in case it was laced with gluten.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ex5Ya3Kf96Y/Ui9MBfSL6eI/AAAAAAAARTI/1eNCVeFhOzo/s1600/DSC00957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ex5Ya3Kf96Y/Ui9MBfSL6eI/AAAAAAAARTI/1eNCVeFhOzo/s400/DSC00957.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uh, so why do they call this restaurant the Cow Shed? A sign in Mývatn. Image Anita Isalska</td></tr>
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Travellers to Iceland might not come up with a dazzling array of gluten-free options when they start researching for their trip. I was certainly prepared for a lot of in-car rice cracker picnics. But don't be daunted by the apparent lack of a prominent gluten-free food culture. Iceland's passion for organic produce, fresh enough to leap off your plate, brings with it a knowledge of food and a care in its preparation that makes it perfect for gluten-free diners. So if you get the chance to visit this geological wonderland, seize it with both hands and prepare to let your belt out by a couple of notches - <i>verði þér að góðu</i> (bon appetit)!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MXyypkU00qo/Ui9MBCGWI8I/AAAAAAAARSg/8B3dMnldhT0/s1600/DSC00944.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="395" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MXyypkU00qo/Ui9MBCGWI8I/AAAAAAAARSg/8B3dMnldhT0/s400/DSC00944.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ohhh, so that's why. Image Anita Isalska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<b>My favourite gluten-free pit-stops in Iceland</b></h3>
<b>Geysir, Reykjavik.</b> Their staff knew their stuff, and all it took was a few tweaks of the menu and I was tucking into a delicious multi-course Icelandic feast including towers of fish, smoked lamb, buttery potatoes and lobster (<a href="http://geysirbistro.is/">geysirbistro.is</a>).<br />
<br />
<b>Vogafjos, Mývatn.</b> This farmhouse restaurant took enormous pride in its food. The waiting staff were only too happy to help a gluten-free diner fill her belly. I dined on homemade mozzarella salad and a main course of superbly grilled lamb. <a href="https://www.vogafjos.net/en/page/local_food">(www.vogafjos.net</a>)<br />
<br />
<b>Lamb Inn, Ongulsstadir. </b>This is a place to stay more than a restaurant. But the family feel of this guesthouse meant the staff were courteous, warm and more than happy to leave wheaty contaminants away from their mouthwatering all-you-can-eat roast dinners.<br />
<br />
<b>Rub23, Akureyri. </b>This high-end restaurant served up criminally delicious fish dishes, massaged with a variety of oils, dressings and spice blends. There was no problem in weeding out the gluteny options - and to my delight, the vast majority of choices on their menu were a wheat-free zone. (<a href="http://www.rub23.is/en/akureyri">www.rub23.is/en/akureyri</a>)<br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692056800491428202.post-32026104438029961742013-09-09T05:11:00.000-07:002013-09-09T12:30:27.478-07:00Gluten-free afternoon cream tea at Brown's, London<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm not usually found anywhere near silver teaspoons. In fact, anyone who knows me would assume that if I were to partake in a traditional English afternoon tea, there would have to be more to it. A hip flask of gin sloshing underneath the table, or Halloween-themed cupcakes.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zxJ5kBfleBI/UidkolduoJI/AAAAAAAAQ_4/avZCDATnPAE/s1600/sandw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zxJ5kBfleBI/UidkolduoJI/AAAAAAAAQ_4/avZCDATnPAE/s640/sandw.jpg" width="409" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Behold the gluten-free sarnies galore. Out of shot - eager hands reaching<br />
for the last smoked salmon sandwich. Image by Anita Isalska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Nonetheless, special occasions and visiting family led me to book a table at <a href="http://www.brownshotel.com/dining/the-english-tea-room/" target="_blank">Brown's in Mayfair, London</a>
for an afternoon cream tea. I had employed my best Sherlock Holmes
instincts (ok, Google) to sniff out a few cream tea options in London
that could cater for gluten-free and found Brown's referenced in a
couple of blogs. Nothing on their website even gave a whiff of
gluten-free so I emailed them sceptically and remained a little cynical
when they confirmed that they could do it.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3fNLZxGz4gI/UidkoZQCF7I/AAAAAAAAQ_w/OYJNJHHaB2s/s1600/Jugs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3fNLZxGz4gI/UidkoZQCF7I/AAAAAAAAQ_w/OYJNJHHaB2s/s640/Jugs.jpg" width="382" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fancy teapots. A temptation for smudgy fingers.<br />
Image by Anita Isalska.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
There's a big gulf in the world of gluten-free catering: there's paying
lip-service (those restaurateurs who grudgingly hold the croutons from a
salad and declare themselves winning at the special diets game). And
then there's those who go above and beyond, providing delicious
gluten-free food that doesn't feel like a limp-lettuced
compromise. I was wondering where a gluten-free afternoon tea would lie
on the scale.<br />
<br />
But Brown's delivered. Boy, did they deliver. Dainty gluten-free
sandwiches in flavours from coronation chicken to the Windsors' fave,
cucumber. A healthy plateful of tarts and gateaux: chocolate brownies,
blueberry cake, zesty orange and cream cheese cake, chocolate, cream
and berry cup... Gently warmed gluten-free scones followed, served with the
gloopiest clotted cream imaginable, and strawberry preserve so sticky you could lose
your spoon in it.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q09HB6DrYCo/Uidkon9n35I/AAAAAAAAQ_0/iGYxV7njyn4/s1600/cream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q09HB6DrYCo/Uidkon9n35I/AAAAAAAAQ_0/iGYxV7njyn4/s400/cream.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scones, cream, jam and tangy raspberry sorbet. Image by Anita Isalska.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And of course, there was tea. Every infusion from white tea to jasmine was
lovingly inscribed on a menu that would make a French wine list look a
little thin. The waiting staff zoomed around the period tearoom
refilling teacups with their arsenal of pots, strainers and rattling tea
trays.<br />
<br />
Best of all, they kept it coming. Now I'm not advocating that you treat
these rarefied surroundings like an all-you-can-eat-buffet, but we
certainly nodded (mouths too full to actually say yes) each time a
waiter asked if we needed our sandwiches replenishing.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vtlBCPAUltk/UidkpLgf3bI/AAAAAAAAQ_8/ClJjXbGl0I0/s1600/tea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vtlBCPAUltk/UidkpLgf3bI/AAAAAAAAQ_8/ClJjXbGl0I0/s640/tea.jpg" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Start from the top down. Or just grab madly at the scones. Image by Anita Isalska.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After such plenty, I had to ask: why weren't they shouting their
gluten-free offering from the rooftops? "All part of the service," our
waiter told me. Catering for gluten-free is nothing, he added,
considering they can put on an afternoon tea for avoiders of multiple
food types: gluten, dairy, sugar. "We rely on positive reviews to spread
the word."<br />
<br />
Looks like it's working.<br />
<br />
<i><b>What: </b><a href="http://www.brownshotel.com/dining/the-english-tea-room/afternoon-tea-menu/" target="_blank">Afternoon tea</a></i><br />
<i><b>Where:</b> <a href="http://www.brownshotel.com/" target="_blank">Brown's hotel</a> in Mayfair, London </i><br />
<i><b>How much:</b> a wallet-singeing £39.50 per person (but worth every penny). </i><br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692056800491428202.post-17096324567954839772013-09-03T14:53:00.000-07:002013-09-03T15:02:12.682-07:00What's it like having a gluten-free girlfriend?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
We haven't heard much on this blog lately from my fellow gourmet adventurer, Wheaty.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4kewX4__77g/UiZJvyg6MDI/AAAAAAAAQ-c/3c7dHndtMJU/s1600/DSC01707.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4kewX4__77g/UiZJvyg6MDI/AAAAAAAAQ-c/3c7dHndtMJU/s400/DSC01707.JPG" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gluten-free, gluten-containing... Wheaty is indifferent to<br />
the components of pasta provided it's slathered in cheese.<br />
Here he's enjoying a gf variety at <a href="http://bruschettaglutenfree.co.uk/index.php" target="_blank">Bruschetta</a> in London.<br />
Image (c) Anita Isalska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
No prizes for guessing from his nickname that the Wheaty Eater is my non-gluten-avoiding partner in food. He and I live together, cook together and dine out together. His perspective on the gluten-free world is a little different to that of a coeliac - he's a reluctant expert on ingredients lists, a connoisseur of gf pasta and shares my whoops of glee when we spy a menu with gluten-less pizza.<br />
<br />
But is it hard work being on my gluten-free team? Let's find out.<br />
<br />
<b>Madame Free-From asks: What did you think when I first broke the news that I was gluten-free? </b><br />
<br />
<b>Wheaty replies:</b> I'd heard of gluten before as it was pretty common to see it mentioned on Australian menus [<i>Wheaty's an Aussie</i>]. I originally thought it was one of those 'hippie' lifestyle-choice type things, like being a vegetarian. But I didn't think of gluten-free eating as abnormal.
<br />
<br />
<b>Q. What's the most annoying thing about dating someone who eats gluten-free? </b><br />
<br />
<b>A.</b> It's generally not very annoying at all. It can sometimes be a bit difficult to find something to eat in a hurry if we're out and about, especially as London seems to struggle with gf food unless you know where you're going. Also, the lack of gf Chinese food!<br />
<br />
<b>Q. Are there any advantages to being part of the gluten-free world? </b><br />
<br />
<b>A. </b>There are some great restaurants that really care about everything that goes into their food that I don't think I'd have found without this connection to the gluten-free world. I think I'm more aware of what goes into my food and probably eat better because of it.<br />
<br />
<b>Q. How do you manage sharing a kitchen with a gluten-free girlfriend? </b><br />
<br />
<b>A.</b> The kitchen is gluten-free – though a croissant might sneak through to the lounge on a weekend. The 'substitutes' are usually just as good as anything they're replacing, and it's much easier than trying to remember whether I've used a particular surface for anything non-gf recently.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mBEHhjZW_X0/UiZKIDM_zqI/AAAAAAAAQ-o/HV0ICAa5qco/s1600/P1270110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mBEHhjZW_X0/UiZKIDM_zqI/AAAAAAAAQ-o/HV0ICAa5qco/s320/P1270110.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wheaty's natural habitat, the snow.<br />
Image (c) Anita Isalska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Q. What's your best gluten-free recipe? </b><br />
<br />
<b>A.</b> I find gluten-free pasta a pretty good option, and have a favourite smoked salmon, yoghurt, tiny tomatoes and dill pasta combo that I like to whip up every now and again.<br />
<br />
<b>Q. Do you eat more gluten-filled food outside of the house, to make up for not having it at home?</b><br />
<br />
<b>A.</b> When I'm outside the house I don't really think about finding gluten-free stuff on my own, but I don't think that I try to make up for it all. What would be the point? :) I sometimes buy the <a href="http://health.marksandspencer.com/your-diet-needs/coeliac-disease/made-without-wheat" target="_blank">gluten-free sandwiches from M&S</a> just to make sure they don't stop selling them, but then feel guilty about potentially depriving an actual coeliac of their sandwich!<br />
<br />
<b>Q. From a wheat-eater's perspective - in that you can still compare gf and non-gf food directly - what would you say is the best gluten-free food out there? </b><br />
<br />
<b>A. </b>If we're talking about substitutes, I think that there are some amazing gluten-free pizzas from places like <a href="http://bruschettaglutenfree.co.uk/index.php" target="_blank">Bruschetta</a> in Kingston and <a href="http://www.bakeathomepizza.co.uk/" target="_blank">Bake at Home</a> in Fulham. Otherwise, brownies, which are frequently gluten-free anyway! [<i>Madame Free-From notes that <a href="http://www.caffenero.com/Nutrition/cakes.aspx" target="_blank">certain gluten-free brownie</a> wrappers mysteriously appear at home</i>]<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-woZ0II7dKN4/UiZXp-h4oeI/AAAAAAAAQ-8/cv9rDLmDNEY/s1600/P1280602.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-woZ0II7dKN4/UiZXp-h4oeI/AAAAAAAAQ-8/cv9rDLmDNEY/s320/P1280602.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Berry and chocolate cake in Wheaty's home state,<br />
Tasmania. Gluten-free of course.<br />
Image (c) Anita Isalska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Q. And the worst? </b><br />
<br />
<b>A. </b>Pizzas again... some of the frozen-base options are just really awful.<br />
<br />
<b>Q. Which type of cuisine or item of food do you wish would up its game in the gluten-free stakes? </b><br />
<br />
<b>A.</b> Chinese food is particularly disappointing, when I don't think that there'd need to be many changes to support gluten-free eaters. Change the soy and maybe the thickening agent and that would be it?<br />
<br />
<br />
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</div>
<b>Q. Which country that you've travelled to has the best to offer gluten-free travellers? </b><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-49c63HBSelU/UiZXxksiUBI/AAAAAAAAQ_E/YwawXdlbPYs/s1600/P1270814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-49c63HBSelU/UiZXxksiUBI/AAAAAAAAQ_E/YwawXdlbPYs/s320/P1270814.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A gluten-free frozen aisle in Australia,<br />
putting the UK to shame.<br />
Image (c) Anita Isalska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>A.</b> Without wanting to sound like some raving nationalist I think Australia is the best place for gluten-free eaters.<br />
<br />
Practically every restaurant will list the items which are gluten-free and they are almost guaranteed to have at least one and usually many more dishes. Staff are usually educated in and aware of gluten-free issues.<br />
<br />
<b>Q. Any final thoughts or words of wisdom for anyone reading this who is wondering how to be supportive towards a newly diagnosed coeliac friend or family member? </b><br />
<br />
<b>A. </b>Can I say, 'toughen up, princess'? :) In seriousness, there are great replacement options out there, and part of the fun of being the partner of a coeliac is trying to find new places to eat that cater for gluten-free. It takes you places you might not ordinarily go. Go out and explore!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692056800491428202.post-83345004488169885492013-07-28T15:32:00.002-07:002013-07-28T15:36:28.814-07:00Five phrases that changed their meaning when I went gluten-free<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
What a difference a few years and a whole load of gluten-free pizza makes. Your perspective is bound to change when you go gluten-free - these are just a few phrases that have acquired a completely different meaning.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lrGaWZGGTXo/UfWY6yCiPjI/AAAAAAAAPK0/HnJ_7sfpX6A/s1600/2053044393_1361309386_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lrGaWZGGTXo/UfWY6yCiPjI/AAAAAAAAPK0/HnJ_7sfpX6A/s320/2053044393_1361309386_b.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mmm, let me at that gluten-free breakfast buffet!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16105436@N00/2053044393/in/photolist-48qoz8-4iyd3J-4m6Nvr-4zyBUF-4Gm3ZH-4HutN3-4RonNC-592f9k-5iSCyb-5q5FD4-5q5FHH-5q5FMg-5smkuZ-5CSHH1-5EHyc1-5YAQjy-642oCT-64QSz9-6cMqeR-6nx655-6pkp3p-6pkp6X-6st8wC-6u2U7B-6vX157-6z6nYN-6PBtdR-6QaPtH-6QzhQT-6RrwSA-6UkEX1-7p6W6D-9QT8u5-acXZLX-acXZVD-dMLHn6-euwyAU-euCxAY-euqXvH-euzjGa-euwC1j-888eqD-888eB4-888emK-aNQ4bp-9xRU98-8avHgi-7L4nva-7SuzKF-7SxRHu-8t6S9e" target="_blank">Image by Kai Hendry,</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY 2.0</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
1. "Breakfast is included."</h3>
<b>Sounds delicious. Or indigestible.</b><br />
<br />
Being offered a free breakfast with a hotel reservation is always accompanied by a cynical whisper in my head. 'It's a trap, don't raise your hopes for their toast!' If it's a budget hotel, it'll be baskets of bread rolls flanked by one of those torture-chamber-like toasting machines. The only way to quell the demon doubt is by sending the hotel their least-favourite kind of guest query: nitpicking the free breakfast. Begging for yoghurt is so undignified.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
2. "All-you-can-eat buffet."</h3>
<b>All-I-can't-eat, more like.</b><br />
<br />
My former student self whooped with glee at a glimpse of a banquet table loaded with (usually Chinese) food. I remember riding high on MSG as I gorged on lunch specials, and knowing I probably wouldn't need to eat again for another 24 hours. But today, those neon lunch buffet signs leave me cold. Wheaty won-tons, gluten-packed sesame toast and deadly noodles. I'd have to eat an awful lot of (tapioca-based) prawn crackers to get my money's worth. Nope.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
3. "Birthday cake."</h3>
<b>I'll just come for the singing...</b><br />
<br />
It's not about the actual cake (goodness knows I eat my fair share of the gf stuff on my own time). But when the cry rings out across the office, to wish someone a happy birthday and share a slice of gateau, I know there's an awkward cake-avoidance dance on the cards. Like Cinderella at midnight, I flee back to my desk as soon as the singing is over.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RauNezd1Nog/UfWY66c9ReI/AAAAAAAAPK4/0pBHsFNoZu4/s1600/4419431470_a0a80e8870_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RauNezd1Nog/UfWY66c9ReI/AAAAAAAAPK4/0pBHsFNoZu4/s320/4419431470_a0a80e8870_b.jpg" width="315" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what I think of your crappy cake. Uh, I mean, many happy returns.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/democlez/4419431470/" target="_blank">Image by Daniel Oldfield,</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY 2.0</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
4. "Dinner party."</h3>
<b>Sounds delightful, I'll bring a bottle of red and some inconvenience.</b><br />
<br />
This is a painful one for a food-lover like me. It's a fine art, politely pitching dietary restrictions with your RSVP, while giving your host a wide enough berth to back out of inviting you if they feel too daunted to cook without wheat. I personally am happy to cook for friends with diets from vegan to kosher and everything in between, but not everyone wants to do that. If someone's intention was a hands-off chuck-a-lasagne-in-the-oven dinner party, it's probably a bummer to find out you have a special dieter on your hands. Awkward all round.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
5. "Lunch will be provided."</h3>
<b>Crystal ball tells me it's a Pret sandwich platter.</b><br />
<br />
It's a shame when a nice gesture from an employer, client or event generates an extra layer of admin, and it's worse still to feel like an inconvenience. There are two warring sides in my brain: I don't want to apologise for a health problem I can't control, or undermine my issue by joking that I am 'fussy' or 'causing trouble'. But I do understand that my requirements might mean extra work for someone, even if it's just a couple of emails to a caterer.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Stay with me, there's an upside...</h3>
Dodging cakes, missing out on free sandwiches and creating extra work for that nice chap in HR... there'd better be a silver lining.<br />
<br />
Well, I believe there is. Being aware of the difficulties of navigating life with your own limitations makes you an awful lot nicer about other people's. My diagnosis as coeliac came utterly out of the blue, and ever since I had to change my own lifestyle, the penny dropped and I thought a lot more about the variety of human stories and individual struggles happening all around me (if I cared to notice).<br />
<br />
It's all too easy to make glib assumptions, and we all do it. That person pushed in front of you to get the last seat on the train? Rude. The guy who never comes for a drink after work? Antisocial. Someone refusing to share your offer of birthday cake? Probably following one of those carb-free diet fads.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CpTVxY9MPio/UfWY6_5dkiI/AAAAAAAAPLA/UG1NaO3KTF0/s1600/5050096435_98db1ac95b_b+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CpTVxY9MPio/UfWY6_5dkiI/AAAAAAAAPLA/UG1NaO3KTF0/s320/5050096435_98db1ac95b_b+(2).jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All of people blocking your way are unique and wonderful individuals with<br />
problems of their own... Ah nuts, did I just miss the 159? F%$&ers!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/52890443@N02/5050096435/" target="_blank">Image by C. G. P. Grey</a> (<a href="http://www.cgpgrey.com/">www.cgpgrey.com</a>), <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY 2.0</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But you learn to question your own snap judgements when you have to tread a tightrope in your own life. Coeliacs and other navigators of special diets work hard at being true to their own health, while still being as sociable as possible and trying to cause minimal inconvenience to those around them. So maybe, just maybe that woman pushed in front of me to get the last seat because she's pregnant, or sick, or has vertigo. Maybe that guy never comes for drinks because he has money worries, or is teetotal, or gets nervous in crowds. Maybe that cake-refuser is a coeliac.<br />
<br />
When life deals you an awkward hand, you tend to give other people the benefit of the doubt too. <br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692056800491428202.post-6079729540388394722013-06-09T11:47:00.000-07:002013-06-09T13:38:42.883-07:00The celery argument<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In contrast to my recent gourmet gluten-free musings, some dispiriting events have put me in a bleaker frame of mind lately. Picture the scene: I'm three (or four) ciders in to a summer evening in the pub, with similarly sozzled revellers around me. One of them, drooling into his pint, says: "I really love beer. <b>If I were coeliac, I'd kill myself.</b>"<br />
<br />
It almost seems like a sitcom set-up, hearing someone tell me, a propos of nothing, that suicide is preferable to coeliac. Rather than backing down from a politically incorrect bad joke with the least appropriate audience imaginable, this chap persists in pushing his point. Even when alerted to the fact that he's telling a coeliac he'd rather kill himself than share her fate, he blathers on to the tune of the gluten-free lifestyle being beyond tolerable, finishing with the following leafy green analogy:<br />
<br />
"I mean, imagine if you could only eat celery for the rest of your life. It's just WORSE."<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GTCiQWyN-vE/UbTL-4BNyQI/AAAAAAAAMDU/c41ZWCT9Osg/s1600/5112057844_540c3529d4_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="291" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GTCiQWyN-vE/UbTL-4BNyQI/AAAAAAAAMDU/c41ZWCT9Osg/s400/5112057844_540c3529d4_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is your life, and it's ending one celery at a time.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/51004712@N08/5112057844/" target="_blank">Image by wikioticsIan</a>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 2.0</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Leaving aside this chilly vision of an all-salad dystopia, hearing people gasp about the horrendous limitations of the gluten-free diet is usually the point where I jump in to extol the virtues of gluten-free beers, bread and baked goods. As all free-from folks know, all of these have come in leaps and bounds over the past few years, meaning coeliacs aren't denied the pleasures of cookies, cakes and donuts (provided they know where to look).<br />
<br />
But I wonder if the celery argument isn't actually coming from a place of ignorance about gluten-free food; could it be a simple as snarky belittlement? After all, it's the same species of comeback you'll hear any time a vegetarian dares to describe the enjoyment of meat-free cuisine; some joykill carnivore is bound to come along and scoff, "Well, it's still not <i>steak</i>, is it."<br />
<br />
On the gluten-free side, what you'll hear is this: "You've got pasta, but it does taste a bit different, doesn't it." "You've got donuts, but you can't have Krispy Kremes." "The pizza's a little dry..." You could present a giant-sized gluten-free banquet table that stretches off into the sunset, packed with three-tier gluten-free cakes, loaves of gf bread the size of Audis, pizzas that could blot out the sun, and some naysayer would still say, "Yeah, but it's not the <i>same</i>." The implication being, "You're still limited. Your enjoyment of life still isn't quite as full as mine."<br />
<br />
No one would deny that coeliac is less convenient than non-coeliac (and we gluten-freers certainly don't need reminding of that). And I don't want to derail into a discussion of whether there's any objective gauge of human pleasure (which would you prefer: 50 years of eating only celery, 10 years of eating anything you want, or a lifetime free from navel-gazing thought experiments?) With Celery Guy, it may come down to something as banal as callous oneupmanship.<br />
<br />
In this context, it's a low blow, considering someone's permanent and uninvited health issues are at the core. It never fails to surprise me to hear people openly crowing over the coeliac lifestyle ("ugh, I couldn't do it") or insisting that our lives are just pitiable, but I do hear it repeatedly. It's hard to picture people patting themselves on the back to this extent while patronising people with other health problems (but perhaps it does happen?) Is it the norm to wax on to someone with knee problems about how marvellous it is to be able to trampoline? And how any trampolining they do just wouldn't be as much fun? Because of their knees! So even if you think you're having fun, knocky-knees, you aren't! So make sure you have that inferiority at the forefront of your mind next time you're trampolining, ha!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SoyvwDX7-9k/UbTL-1uowTI/AAAAAAAAMDM/XQtkmkitCJI/s1600/8550374089_38b24ca57d_o+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SoyvwDX7-9k/UbTL-1uowTI/AAAAAAAAMDM/XQtkmkitCJI/s400/8550374089_38b24ca57d_o+(2).jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Because if you're not as frickin' awesome at trampolining as I am - why bother?<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/toursandtales/8550374089/sizes/l/" target="_blank">Image by Tours and Tales.com</a>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY 2.0</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It reminds me of the underbelly of snide belittling that exists in the world of travel, my other great love (besides food. And trampolining. Not celery, though.) Certain travellers seem to get their biggest kicks out of proclaiming that they've topped someone else's adventures (like in my favourite scene from Black Books - '<i>the tourist swamps</i>' - below.) <br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/omLvvChxTho" width="420"></iframe> <br />
<br />
The next day, Celery Guy wrote me an email apology saying that he'd spoken out of turn and regretted causing offence. I was relieved to get acknowledgement of this, but I did wonder: was he merely sorry to have unwittingly dumped his side-splitting hyperbole onto a coeliac? Or did he, on reflection, recognise the ugly implication behind his words?<br />
<br />
I picture Celery Guy relating this story from his own point of view, maybe to a chorus of sympathisers all grunting, "Well mate, I'd kill myself as well - no beer OR bread?!" Maybe they'll wince that he was just unlucky to have spoken out of turn to the wrong audience. The unspoken core issue - the corrosive need to prove that you're winning at life over someone else, and perhaps even the lack of confidence that all this braying suggests - will sit unexamined. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692056800491428202.post-21742496823734456992013-05-28T14:10:00.004-07:002013-05-28T14:38:54.368-07:00Gluten-free feasting in Lyon, France<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Gluten-free, not <i>everything</i>-free.<br />
<br />
Not a hard concept, but when you dine gluten-free, your food is often
free from rather a lot of other things you could happily eat.<br />
<br />
This is an economic phenomenon in part. Let's say you invent a tasty
wheat-free crispbread, and you sell it to a niche market of wheat-free
eaters. Tweak the recipe to be gluten-free, and dairy-free, and entirely
new markets open up. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G1ZATW2pQ44/UaUYvpr6ykI/AAAAAAAAMCk/zYgAxq679ic/s1600/aaP1290273.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G1ZATW2pQ44/UaUYvpr6ykI/AAAAAAAAMCk/zYgAxq679ic/s400/aaP1290273.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The very lovely Place des Terreaux in Lyon, perfect place for a vin blanc. Image <span class="st">© Anita Isalska</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In that vein, many airlines seem to have a general 'free-from' option
for their airline meals. I've found that if you tick 'gluten-free', you
can also expect to be denied butter, yoghurt or (most heartbreakingly)
ice cream. Making one meal option free from an entire group of allergens
simplifies things for the airline...even if it did once land me with a
tofu pudding while Wheaty ate ice cream. Infuriatingly, the brand of ice
cream even said 'gluten-free' right there on the label. But the flight
attendants serenely repeated their mantra of 'no ice cream with special
meal'. I sulked that day.<br />
<br />
So menus that purport to be free from almost everything allergenic
instil in me a blend of excitement (ooh gluten-free food!) and
trepidation (please oh please don't skimp on the desserts). But, it
turns out, with an inventive chef there is nothing to fear.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GYWWMvFtLLA/UaUY2dDBNdI/AAAAAAAAMCs/jT5CVef9nfc/s1600/aabistros.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GYWWMvFtLLA/UaUY2dDBNdI/AAAAAAAAMCs/jT5CVef9nfc/s400/aabistros.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No shortage of cafes, bars and brasseries in Lyon - much of it gf-friendly. Image <span class="st">© Anita Isalska</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My latest and greatest gluten-free find was in <a href="http://www.en.lyon-france.com/" target="_blank">Lyon</a>, France. The city
is known as a gourmet paradise but with so many wheat-tastic dishes
(<a href="http://porkmemoirs.com/memoirs/87" target="_blank">breaded pig's trotter</a>, anyone?) I wasn't sure how I would fare...<br />
<br />
It turns out that Lyon has a pleasing line of health-conscious,
organic and gluten-free cuisine. My best find was <a href="http://www.monhistoiredanslassiette.fr/" target="_blank">Mon Histoire Dans L'assiette</a> - its entire menu is without gluten, dairy, peanuts,
shellfish and other common allergens. They bake their own springily soft
bread in-house (made from a blend of quinoa, rice and chestnut flours)
and serve up fresh and flavoursome main courses (carnivorous and veggie
options).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FJQYfTbw04w/UaUY-wQAr6I/AAAAAAAAMC0/EgsLKT10RY8/s1600/pear+dessert.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="319" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FJQYfTbw04w/UaUY-wQAr6I/AAAAAAAAMC0/EgsLKT10RY8/s320/pear+dessert.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snapped the sweets before they went in my belly - just. Image <span class="st">© Anita Isalska</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But the desserts. Oh, the desserts. An all-too-generous spoonful of
Wheaty's caramelised apple with citrus <i>sabl<span class="fn" data-id="70201" data-marque="false" data-tags="|sablés|biscuits sans gluten|sablés sans gluten|sans gluten|desserts|gourmandises|concours sans gluten|">é </span></i>was enough to elicit
sighs. My own dessert, gingerbread loaf with poached pear in salted
caramel with refreshing pear granita, was a joy. When you are served truly fantastic food, nothing is missing. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh delicious Lyon, I'll be back. Image <span class="st">© Anita Isalska</span></td></tr>
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And the joy of French food is that very often, it's blissfully gluten-free by sheer purity of its ingredients. When talking to waiting staff in restaurants in France, I hear a lot of <span class="st"><i>'bien sûr, of course there's no flour in the sauce, it's 80% butter, a smidge of egg yolk and garlic by the clove!' </i>They know what's in their food, and are often delighted to discuss it. Dining out as a free-from eater is a joy, rather than the teeth-pulling negotiation it can be here in the UK. </span><br />
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As if there weren't <i>enough </i>reasons to linger in France...<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692056800491428202.post-89399129140255990092013-04-27T09:55:00.000-07:002013-04-30T03:06:04.805-07:00Five things not to say to a gluten-free eater<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I like to think of myself as happy-go-lucky, but sometimes you have the kind of week that demands a rant.<br />
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As ever, it's not gluten-free living that troubles me, it's the unpleasant attitudes you can sometimes encounter when navigating life on a special diet.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q6KmBEg9WXE/UXwBTj1qHfI/AAAAAAAALgA/fDJ5Eb2ye_M/s1600/2059225092_5287415008+%282%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q6KmBEg9WXE/UXwBTj1qHfI/AAAAAAAALgA/fDJ5Eb2ye_M/s320/2059225092_5287415008+%282%29.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chasingmechasingyou/2059225092/" target="_blank">Image by Kristine Lewis. </a><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 2.0</a></td></tr>
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Most people fall somewhere on the spectrum from neutral acceptance to actively supportive when you "come out" to them as eating gluten-free, but there are always people who blurt out a response that is frustrating, condescending or just plain rude. Here is a rundown of the five least-favourite reactions I've had when explaining that I'm gluten-free.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
1. "Oh my god, I'd just die if I couldn't eat pizza!"</h3>
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
"You must really enjoy pizza. Or not enjoy life, I can't quite tell."</h4>
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Maybe the hyperbole is intended as sympathy for the inconvenience of a gluten-free diet. The implication (intended or not) that life without wheat isn't worth living may be laughably absurd, but it genuinely infuriates me. Imagine how this translates to any other health problem: "oh my god, I'd just die if I was diagnosed with diabetes; I'd just kill myself if I had to use a wheelchair; I'd hurl myself off a cliff if I suffered disfiguring burns..." Uncomfortable with how that sounds? Coeliac disease is a <i>medical condition</i> that is manageable through a change of diet - if someone implies, however casually, that this renders my life too awful for them to contemplate, I feel embarrassed for their lack of perspective. Not to mention how insulting this attitude is to people who battle much more painful or inconvenient health problems than coeliac.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DWDDba2ZMxU/UXwAfvl7rQI/AAAAAAAALfw/dnnx31M_INg/s1600/6813248468_e07255079d_b+%282%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DWDDba2ZMxU/UXwAfvl7rQI/AAAAAAAALfw/dnnx31M_INg/s320/6813248468_e07255079d_b+%282%29.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coeliacs: we can only eat rainbows.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thegman/6813248468/" target="_blank">'Rainbow' by Girish Gopi.</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 2.0</a></td></tr>
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2. "Is there anything you <i>can </i>eat?"</h3>
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
"I subsist purely on air and light. Gwyneth Paltrow does it too."</h4>
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Sadly coeliacs all-too-often encounter mean-spirited digs, often from someone with a bee in their bonnet about "faddy eaters". Often it's the kind of person who has no knowledge of food intolerances and allergies, hates vegetarians with a passion, and prides him/herself on "eating anything", as though it's a badge of heroism. Since they're asking, I can eat fruits and vegetables, corn flour, quinoa, rice, potatoes, chicken, fish, all seafood, amazing cupcakes I bake using brown rice flour, milk, yoghurt, butter, olives, peanuts, raisins, ooh all kinds of dried fruit, wine and lots of it, cheeses - my favourite is Brie, steak, potato waffles, turkey, soups, the <a href="http://www.geniusglutenfree.com/" target="_blank">zillion</a> <a href="http://www.newburnbakehouse.com/" target="_blank">kinds</a> <a href="http://www.juvela.co.uk/gluten-free-foods" target="_blank">of</a> <a href="http://www.co-operativefood.co.uk/food-and-drink/food/Free-From/" target="_blank">gluten-free</a> <a href="http://health.marksandspencer.com/your-diet-needs/coeliac-disease/made-without-wheat" target="_blank">bread</a> on offer, ham, bacon, pancetta, tomatoes, apples, one of many brands of <a href="http://www.theblackfarmer.com/" target="_blank">gluten-free sausages</a>, coconuts, avocados, coffee, tea, sugar, sushi, buckwheat, kebabs, polenta, smoked duck, chocolate truffles, salmon and cucumber with cream cheese, fruit smoothies, chia seeds, apricot jam, Genuis croissants, almond butter, grilled octopus, walnut and blue cheese salad, hummus, marzipan, gluten-free beers like <a href="http://www.estrelladamm.com/" target="_blank">Estrella Damm Daura</a>, spirits like vodka and whiskey, corn tortillas, pulled pork, balsamic vinegar, sour cream, prawn and cashew nut stir-fry, Nutella, <a href="http://www.dovesfarm.co.uk/breakfast-cereals/organic-corn-flakes-1x375g/" target="_blank">Corn Flakes</a>, ostrich meat...<br />
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Eyes glazing over yet? Now wouldn't it just have been quicker to ask what I <i>can't</i> eat?<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
3. "So how come suddenly there are all these allergies that never used to exist?"</h3>
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<br /></div>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
"It's actually part of a government conspiracy. You didn't hear this from me."</h4>
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Call me a cynic, but whenever I hear this, it doesn't exactly seem to be in the spirit of genuine scientific enquiry. The genuine answer is that food intolerances and allergies have always been around, but their correct diagnosis has only dawned along with the long, slow progress of medical science. Old Aunt Agatha with her "digestion troubles" a few generations ago might have had an undiagnosed dairy intolerance or coeliac disease. A couple of decades ago, IBS was used as a diagnosis for a cluster of conditions - nowadays we're discovering that people diagnosed with this<a href="http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/symptomsofceliacdisease/a/IrritableBowel.htm" target="_blank"> may have a specific food intolerance</a>. And it's only recently that coeliac disease is being diagnosed via a <a href="http://www.coeliac.org.uk/healthcare-professionals/diagnosis-of-coeliac-disease" target="_blank">blood test</a> for antibodies, sometimes in people who feel mild or zero symptoms. The implication that there is a crazy fad or fashion for dietary intolerances is a huge insult to those who don't choose to follow a special diet, but who do so for essential health reasons.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ib3sps0ayhU/UXv_Gl3OSQI/AAAAAAAALfk/70t00eG6IVI/s1600/6970874118_790c697fa6_b+%282%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ib3sps0ayhU/UXv_Gl3OSQI/AAAAAAAALfk/70t00eG6IVI/s320/6970874118_790c697fa6_b+%282%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Biscuits in wheat flour shocker!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/free-stock/6970874118/" target="_blank">'Biscuits' by Emilian Robert Vicol. </a><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY 2.0</a></td></tr>
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
4. "Wait, so you can't eat chocolate biscuits? What about custard creams? You can't eat Jammie Dodgers either? What about KitKats? No KitKats?!"</h3>
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
</h4>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
"The truth is, I have a phobia of the crunching sound biscuits make. Please respect this and don't offer them to me again."</h4>
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Not everyone is <i>au fait </i>with what gluten means, nor do they need to be. But how dull it is to have to explain that yes, the main component of mass-produced biscuits and cookies tends to be wheat flour, so yes, I will be turning down the offer of a ginger biscuit, just as readily as the offer of a chocolate digestive, bourbon, chocolate chip cookie and Jaffa cake. I don't mind people forgetting, but I do so loathe interacting with people with whom you can't have a single conversation about food without them going into theatrics of astonishment that the biscuit they hold in their hand contains wheat flour. Thanks for offering me the treat; no thank you I'm afraid I can't eat that; let's move the conversation on without yet another discussion about whether or not biscuits contain wheat. Spoiler alert: they probably do. Curb your amazement and move on.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
5. "What's the point of going to Italy if you can't eat pasta?"</h3>
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<br /></div>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
"You can eat pasta at home, so why would <i>you </i>bother going to Italy?"</h4>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-apeiLRjLNg8/UXv_FwOz3hI/AAAAAAAALfc/8ofT5VHOFyo/s1600/5920810115_d2e3f897f3_b+%282%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-apeiLRjLNg8/UXv_FwOz3hI/AAAAAAAALfc/8ofT5VHOFyo/s320/5920810115_d2e3f897f3_b+%282%29.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Florence. It isn't made of wheat.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/houseofhall/5920810115/" target="_blank">'Florence, Italy' by Bob Hall.</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 2.0</a></td></tr>
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As a frequent traveller, this used to offend me but now it makes me laugh. I have answered this deadpan in the past, saying that coeliac disease pretty much kills the enjoyment of Florence's dazzling <a href="http://www.uffizi.org/" target="_blank">Uffizi Gallery</a>, breathing in the scent of a delicious <a href="http://www.chianti.com/" target="_blank">Chianti in Tuscany</a>, or the feeling of the warm waters of the <a href="http://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/amalfi-coast" target="_blank">Amalfi Coast</a> lapping against my toes. Without my mouth being crammed with wheaty pasta, roaming around the ruins of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeii" target="_blank">Pompeii</a> is without wonder, and staring up at <a href="http://www.duomomilano.it/index.php/chiesa-cattedrale/chiesa-cattedrale/" target="_blank">Milan's Duomo</a> is joyless and empty. Nowadays I gently inform people that while I'm delighted they find pasta their principal reason for visiting Italy, they might be surprised to find out that food is one of the reasons I love the country too. Quite apart from the naturally gluten-free cuisine (truffle cheeses, fresh seafood, risottos, steaks, mozzarella, wine, gelato...), Italy has a higher diagnosis rate of coeliac disease than my own country, the UK, so gluten-free pizzas and pastas aren't hard to find. And even if they weren't, do I really need to spell out Italy's many other charms.<br />
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<i>What's the worst reaction you've ever had to telling someone you're gluten-free?</i><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692056800491428202.post-83764058051715361672013-03-24T06:29:00.000-07:002013-03-24T06:29:56.907-07:00In defence of Instagramming your meals<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
You've placed your order, fragrant steam is wafting from the kitchen, and finally the waiting staff set your meal in front of you. What's the first thing you do: tuck in to your first forkful, or reach for your camera?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HH9hkyVul3g/UU77ki-4fjI/AAAAAAAAJUU/s6PAhGhCXrA/s1600/P1270502.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HH9hkyVul3g/UU77ki-4fjI/AAAAAAAAJUU/s6PAhGhCXrA/s320/P1270502.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Big Buddha on Lantau Island. Photo by Anita Isalska</td></tr>
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Whether you've sat impatiently as your dining companion Instagrammed or tweeted their meal, or whether you're the one tagging your friends at that bar or restaurant, social media and meals have been cosying up for quite some time. The trend hasn't just exasperated diners, some chefs have gone as far <a href="http://designtaxi.com/news/355405/NYC-Restaurants-Ban-Customers-From-Taking-Instagram-Pictures-Of-Their-Food/" target="_blank">banning their customers</a> from photographing their food. Perhaps it's because the camera flashes detract from the carefully choreographed ambiance (maybe less of a problem in your local greasy spoon), but some find it an affront to the food to let your souffle sag while you choose the perfect Instagram filter to bring out its creamy undertones. For plenty of people though, it's more about the annoyance of a distracted dining companion than an issue with social media sharing.<br />
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Well, with all apologies to friends who will have to wait while I snap a picture of my gluten-free cupcakes, I'm not going to stop Instagramming my food any time soon. Do I think the world is genuinely interested in what I fill my face with day to day? Probably not, but being a gluten-free eater, and part of the net's gf community, I know what a difference all those Instagram pic, tweets and blog posts can make.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-howqj9Z6iFE/UU77kvxDobI/AAAAAAAAJUY/rjuN8ZCzmys/s1600/P1270266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-howqj9Z6iFE/UU77kvxDobI/AAAAAAAAJUY/rjuN8ZCzmys/s320/P1270266.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finding MANA! in Hong Kong. Photo by Anita Isalska</td></tr>
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Take my recent trip to Hong Kong. I spent a few days stopping over in Hong Kong on my way to Australia (more on my food adventures there later) and while I was beyond excited to see the sights, spending time in a city known for noodles and soy sauce-laced cuisine made my stomach flutter with worry. I might be standing awe-struck in beautiful temples and enjoying ferry rides, but would I be doing so on an empty stomach?<br />
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It was social media that saved me. In the days leading up to the trip, I trawled Instagram hashtags for clues on gluten-free eats in Hong Kong. I scoured Twitter and blogs for tips on eating gf and before too long I was bursting with leads on places to eat safely and happily in HK. <a href="http://sassyhongkong.com/gluten-free-guide-to-hong-kong/" target="_blank">This blog entry</a> from Sassy Hong Kong was one of the best finds -- I munched on takeaway coconut cake from <a href="http://mana.hk/" target="_blank">MANA!</a> in Kowloon Park, and even had gluten-free chicken spring rolls from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/noodlemi" target="_blank">Noodlemi</a> based on its tips.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bS1vC-KG9nY/UU78xTfzDsI/AAAAAAAAJU0/eQ2OzjK3m2s/s1600/P1270507.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bS1vC-KG9nY/UU78xTfzDsI/AAAAAAAAJU0/eQ2OzjK3m2s/s320/P1270507.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spicy rice noodles with grilled king prawns at Noodlemi. <br />Photo by Anita Isalska</td></tr>
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I ate extremely well in the city, and it's all because of people photographing, tagging and writing about their food online (the actual websites of some of the places I dined at didn't come up in a simple Google search, I only found them via blogs, comments on blogs, forums and other social media).<br />
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So when I find a fantastic gluten-free treat, my compulsion to Instagram or tweet isn't founded on some insane belief that the world needs to know what's going into my belly. Or a conviction that the internet needs <i>more </i>pictures of red velvet cupcakes. I know other gluten-free diners, like me, have a keen eye for the gluten-free clues strewn around the internet, so I won't be stopping snapping, tweeting or (over)sharing my food anytime soon. And I hope no one else does either. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692056800491428202.post-31106523505622885902013-02-09T04:29:00.000-08:002013-02-09T04:29:01.807-08:00Straight from the horse's mouth: why gluten-free eaters should be troubled by the British meat scandal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm so hungry I could eat a horse... no wait, I just did.<br />
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If you've been following the <a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/02/08/us-britain-food-horsemeat-idUKBRE9170O820130208" target="_blank">British horse meat scandal</a> in the news, you've had your fill of equine jokes by now. For those new to the drama, supermarkets in the United Kingdom are under scrutiny after discoveries that horse DNA has been found in budget mincemeat and that in some products, it made up <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/feb/09/aldi-100-percent-horsemeat-beef-products" target="_blank">30% to 100% of the supposed beef mince</a>. And that's not a <i>neigh</i>-gligible proportion (sorry).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2fV5CBmiv-w/URY-FvHQRXI/AAAAAAAAHPg/jyoBis4B-GY/s320/5783672957_e1c0dec298_z+(2).jpg" width="320" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Honestly, fellas - it wasn't personal. Don't give me that look!<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/darwinist/5783672957/" target="_blank">'Horses' by David Feltcamp. </a><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY 2.0</a></td></tr>
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Horse isn't something that graces the British dinner table often, and we can put that down to culture and geography. Personally, I don't believe there's even a smidgen of superiority to be enjoyed in eating one animal and not another (barring endangered species). You won't find me decrying dogs being eaten in China, or weeping over poor old dobbin as I peruse the donkey meat sausages in a French supermarket. Ultimately, eating meat involves participation in an industry that farms, kills and eats living creatures en masse; if we're meat eaters, we aren't in a position to tut at a different nation's cuisine because an animal we personally find endearing is being eaten. (Especially if you are - like me - a consumer of pork. I mean, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJuL-yK-I8g" target="_blank">just look at these guys</a>. It's a moral nightmare.) 'Normality' in a cuisine depends on what is available. And that might well be horse (of course).<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T60-Ehs13qk/URY-FrlCXiI/AAAAAAAAHPc/q2TcIHUxbRg/s1600/21897150_945c5bb92d_z+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="219" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T60-Ehs13qk/URY-FrlCXiI/AAAAAAAAHPc/q2TcIHUxbRg/s320/21897150_945c5bb92d_z+(2).jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Let's hope these aren't from a British supermarket.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jemstone/21897150/" target="_blank">'Burgers and Kebabs' by Jem Stone</a>. <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY 2.0</a></td></tr>
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So if I'm not squeamish about horse meat per se, why am I writing about it? Well, this isn't a matter of delicate British palates being offended by an unexpected newcomer to their tried-and-trusted diets. It's that through incompetence or cost-cutting, consumers were deceived about the contents of their food. People were eating one thing, thinking it was another. And as a gluten-free eater, you know where I'm going with this: if your <i>health </i>depends on non-consumption of certain foods, hearing that the labelling of food can't be trusted is rotten news.<br />
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Gluten-free eaters (and followers of other special diets) put a good amount of trust in products labelled specifically as free-from. But plenty of us also eat products outside the specifically labelled free-from section (although I know plenty of coeliacs are sensitive enough to steer clear). For me, if chocolate doesn't list gluteny products in its ingredients, I will probably feel safe eating it. For me, it doesn't have to come from a specifically gluten-free brand; if you say there's no wheat in there, my best guess would be that there is no wheat in there. Because <i>why on earth</i> would you lie about that?<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mvgK2qKiHvI/URY-Fu0TKbI/AAAAAAAAHPY/uOkjbS_Mwng/s1600/5101544021_8564a2c0d5_z+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mvgK2qKiHvI/URY-Fu0TKbI/AAAAAAAAHPY/uOkjbS_Mwng/s320/5101544021_8564a2c0d5_z+(2).jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of you better be gluten-free.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/learnscope/5101544021/" target="_blank">'Chocolate treats' by Robyn Jay. </a><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 2.0</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One of the more unpleasant opinions being aired about the horse meat scandal is that anyone who buys ultra-budget meat products shouldn't really expect better. We all make tasteless jokes about value-branded sausages containing rat, pigeon or chicken feet - but in reality, the idea that we should pay higher prices for the privilege of being told what is in the very food that we eat is a repugnant one. (Not to mention a kick in the teeth for gluten-free eaters, who already pay premium prices for food they can safely eat.) If traceability of the contents of food products would add an extra cost that some consumers are unwilling or unable to absorb, then at least give a disclaimer ('may contain wheat'; or 'may contain other kinds of red meat').<br />
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So what's next for the gluten-free eater, whose food paranoia has been ignited by the scandal? Do I spend my days firing concerned letters off to food manufacturers, to ask if there's any stealth wheat in their supposedly gluten-less chocolate? Do I avoid mass-produced brands where there's more potential for supplier or factory failures in the long chain between when their food is made and when it reaches my plate? I can only hope that the breaking of this scandal in the UK is a warning klaxon for food manufacturers to up their game and be accountable for what they dish up - basically, to stop horsing around.<br />
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<i>Do you trust the labels on your food? Let me know in the comments!</i><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692056800491428202.post-12891312439804959692012-12-23T07:30:00.001-08:002012-12-23T07:30:54.381-08:00"Just peel off the batter": party catering nightmares of gluten-free eaters<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Nothing strikes fear into the heart of a coeliac quite like canapes. <div>
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These seemingly innocuous nuggets of food are the party caterer's dream: dainty finger food that can be slung into an oven and brought out en masse to line the stomachs of booze-drenched party-goers (no doubt saving more than one office party from a sorry drunken end). But for those who eat gluten-free, party catering is a pain. Canapes are almost always on a bed of wheat, encrusted in wheaty pastry or slathered onto bread. Mass-produced finger food is very coeliac unfriendly, so those vol-au-vents, mini-hamburgers and battery tempura make my heart sink. They make me yearn for the days of retro snacks like cheese and pineapple on sticks. </div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30360780@N02/3491143714/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FT4haq2VaYk/UNcgj4ZN1DI/AAAAAAAAHOI/CHm7tVJvZrU/s320/canapes.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Evil, evil things. Just give me the salmon and ham!<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30360780@N02/3491143714/" target="_blank">Image by sushi♥in</a>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC Attribution</a></td></tr>
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So in the midst of Christmas party season, plenty of gluten-free eaters will be a little nervous about what awaits them. We can only pray for carrot sticks and hummus, the safe refuge of a cheese board, or bank on our cast-iron drinking skills to see us through the night.</div>
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Being a prepared sort of coeliac, I saw the canape storm coming, but forewarning the party organiser seemed to fall on deaf ears this time around. I'd sent an FYI about my special diet with the original RSVP weeks before, but I also followed up a few days before the night.</div>
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"None of the party food is gluten-free," the organiser told me. </div>
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Naturally, I responded with dozens of links to food that would be fine for me and the other gluten-free guests: sushi, cheeses, hams, a mini-roast, veggies, cold meats, panna cottas... a mouth-watering line-up. But alas, there was mysteriously "no time" to acquire such goodies as these. </div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Rh8_aoQj-e0/UNciBhUVSoI/AAAAAAAAHOc/PIbqQsbfVt0/s1600/cheese.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Rh8_aoQj-e0/UNciBhUVSoI/AAAAAAAAHOc/PIbqQsbfVt0/s320/cheese.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yep, this is all you'll be eating. If you're LUCKY.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ladymissmarquise/5383384526/" target="_blank">Image by Jules Morgan</a>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC Attribution</a></td></tr>
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It does mystify me somewhat when naturally gluten-free goodies that are readily available sudden acquire an aura of unattainability in the context of catering. While I could pop down to a supermarket and have an armful of gluten-free snacks in mere minutes, I've met a number of party organisers and caterers who tell me sorrowfully how unable they are to cater for gluten-free eaters. (Is it fear of being sued, is it reluctance to do a quick Google search on 'gluten' -- maybe someone in the industry can tell me in the comments.) But in this case, I sensed the reluctance and just asked for cheese. Even the most rushed and coeliac-unfriendly party-planner can hopefully add some cheddar to their to-do list.</div>
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But if only the conversation had ended at cheese.</div>
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"There'll be plenty of vegetable tempura, which is only covered in a thin layer of flour," she added helpfully. "You could peel off the layer of flour and eat those." </div>
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I was amazed. Firstly, wouldn't it just be simpler to have some non-breaded veggies in the first place? (Carrot sticks aren't hard to come by, unless there's been a rush on them this Christmas!) And secondly, did she really want to see me (and the two other gluten-free party-goers) sorrowfully picking apart scraps from the buffet because there was nothing else for us to eat? Maybe I could even soap off the floury coating with some Fairy liquid, to make sure they were truly safe to eat! Genius!</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NX-IRNnMmSQ/UNcimpaJyyI/AAAAAAAAHOk/KE1mH9scEtI/s1600/cupcake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NX-IRNnMmSQ/UNcimpaJyyI/AAAAAAAAHOk/KE1mH9scEtI/s320/cupcake.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cupcakes make me happy.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/9467714@N03/5012101242/" target="_blank">Image by albastrica mititica</a>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC Attribution</a></td></tr>
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My wonderful Wheaty Eater encapsulated this absurdity nicely when I vented my frustration:</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">Vegetarians should just not eat the meat of their steak and mushroom sauce.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">Peanut allergy suffers should just scrape off the satay sauce from the chicken skewers.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">Alcoholics should just boil the champagne, capture and cool the water vapour and redirect it to a jug, then pour themselves a new glass. </span></div>
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So I did what any slighted coeliac would do: I headed straight to the <a href="http://hummingbirdbakery.com/" target="_blank">Hummingbird Bakery</a> for a mountain of <a href="http://hummingbirdbakery.com/order/made-without/" target="_blank">made-without cupcakes</a> -- creamy cheese frosted red velvet cakes, star-spangled vanilla buns -- and slammed them down at this party, sharing them with coeliacs and non-coeliacs alike (best treats on the buffet by far).</div>
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Now, I don't expect venues and restaurants to have gluten-free goodies up their sleeve at the drop of a hat. But with plenty of notice, and for a party catering to a group where THREE guests are coeliac, I do expect this to be taken into account. Carrot sticks, cheeses, meats and veggies aren't rocket science. Ultimately, if you are happy to sit back and watch three of your guests peeling tempura and praying it doesn't make them sick, you aren't much of a host. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692056800491428202.post-76015474452051900762012-10-07T06:33:00.000-07:002012-10-07T06:33:18.226-07:00When gluten-free substitutes go bad<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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If you know me, or have read my blog, you'll know I don't waste much energy moaning about gluten-free food. The industry has moved on from concrete-blocks of bread and muddy-tasting pastas, towards fantastic gf baked goods, innovative recipes and products that are indiscernible from their wheaty brethren.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_4AasJHApj8/UHF4wypDryI/AAAAAAAAHHE/EKyMDSXPDZI/s1600/IMG_20121007_133412(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_4AasJHApj8/UHF4wypDryI/AAAAAAAAHHE/EKyMDSXPDZI/s1600/IMG_20121007_133412(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_4AasJHApj8/UHF4wypDryI/AAAAAAAAHHE/EKyMDSXPDZI/s320/IMG_20121007_133412(3).jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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But this isn't to say that you don't occasionally find a gluten-free product so bizarre or tasteless that a hushed silence sweeps across the dining room table. It pains me to give a bad review to this couscous substitute, but I was almost in awe of how badly it turned out.<br />
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Couscous is a sneaky one for coeliacs. It doesn't immediately scream 'gluten' but it's made from a crushed form of wheat. It's not a forbidden carb that I've mourned - I tend to substitute quinoa if I fancy something with a couscousy texture, and I find saffron-tinged rice goes great with Moroccan style tagines. But I still snapped up a packet of gluten-free couscous-alike when I saw it on sale in a French supermarket. Made from 100% rice but with the fluffy texture of couscous: worth a try, right?<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nhXh2h7UvXY/UHF4urfjCRI/AAAAAAAAHGw/wUXFJQXtzw8/s1600/IMG_20121007_133143.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nhXh2h7UvXY/UHF4urfjCRI/AAAAAAAAHGw/wUXFJQXtzw8/s320/IMG_20121007_133143.jpg" width="320" /></a>The first clue of a culinary disaster in the making was the cooking phase. Those plump little nodules of faux couscous seemed to disappear into a foaming mess of starchy water as soon as the temperature rose. Gluten-free pastas are sometimes guilty of being extra starchy, and needing an extra rinse to rid themselves of a gloopy coating, but this churning cloudy liquid was something else.<br />
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Worse, those couscous grains were impossible to free from the soapy-looking froth. My best effort to drain and strain the sticky stuff came to nothing. Nothing except ruining my shiny sieve and leaving me with an evening of brillo-padding the living hell out of the saucepans ruined by this tar-textured food experiment. It remained stubbornly soupy, and was so water-clogged it needed its own little ramekin to be served in, to stop it from splurging all over the rest of the plate, like a creeping evil slime.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cr01/8032720234/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tqIg276FsOA/UHF98IhmEXI/AAAAAAAAHHU/gO_MF5bVY0M/s1600/8032720234_9839b33b28_m+%25282%2529.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cr01/8032720234/" target="_blank">Should have stuck with rice.<br />Pic by Effervescent Elephant, <br />CC Attribution-ShareAlike</a></span></td></tr>
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And how did it taste? Like slimy, undrained rice. The whole cycle of effort behind this product felt painfully wasted. The manufacturers, grinding down rice and reforming it into couscous-style nubbins. Me, heating and draining and scrubbing pans. And the result was a vastly inferior version of the grain it was made from, lovely fluffy rice.<br />
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Maybe the lesson is that sometimes, the substitute you're looking for already exists. Serve up buckwheat, quinoa or rice, instead of chasing couscous. Your saucepans will thank you for it. <br />
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<i>Have you ever had a truly awful gluten-free substitute? </i><br />
<i>Or maybe you've had better luck with this couscous and can tell me where I went wrong? Let me know in the comments!</i><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692056800491428202.post-2424833027331092972012-09-01T11:38:00.000-07:002012-09-01T11:38:35.919-07:00Coeliacs have tastebuds too<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In conversation with a group of people last week, we were relating
our favourite cuisines of the world. "Italian pizza," chimed one person.
"Yummy French food," said a cheese-o-phile in our midst.<br />
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"I'm a big fan of Indian food," I added. "And Japanese - I just adore sushi."<br />
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"I suppose you like them because they're cuisines that are easy to do gluten-free?" piped up one person helpfully.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D7_WvvFoCBQ/UEJUz-zHvuI/AAAAAAAAHAU/gRmgaP-5d4E/s1600/197496230_8e04e44a23_m+%282%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D7_WvvFoCBQ/UEJUz-zHvuI/AAAAAAAAHAU/gRmgaP-5d4E/s1600/197496230_8e04e44a23_m+%282%29.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sushi. Because it's delicious, that's why.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mroach/197496230/" target="_blank">Pic by mroach</a>. <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en_GB" target="_blank">CC Attribution-ShareAlike</a></td></tr>
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Well, no actually. Believe it or not, eating gluten-free hasn't eradicated all my preferences and left me re-programmed to love any foods that don't usually contain gluten. My life-long love of spicy chicken dansak and snap-crackly poppadums laced in mango chutney (mmm) isn't a side-effect of coeliac disease. I didn't flip a switch towards sushi appreciation with diagnosis. It seems to be hard for some people to understand that you can still be a food lover and a coeliac. <br />
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Certainly, one of the irritations that goes alongside having to follow a special diet is that sometimes your tastebuds go out the window. Not literally (sounds messy), but whereas you once selected food according to your mood, often you're forced to choose for necessity. Nevermind that you feel like a sandwich lunch, this supermarket doesn't do them in gluten-free. Don't fancy nibbling a limp chicken salad? Tough, it's the only thing in the chilled aisle that isn't dotted with croutons or slathered in wheaty dressing.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QqpnnZzWI7Q/UEJU0WvESZI/AAAAAAAAHAY/xz_L3SaQmt8/s1600/2242523634_5d6f800a4d_m+%282%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QqpnnZzWI7Q/UEJU0WvESZI/AAAAAAAAHAY/xz_L3SaQmt8/s1600/2242523634_5d6f800a4d_m+%282%29.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just let me eat all of this right now.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/feastguru_kirti/2242523634/" target="_blank">'Indian cuisine' by Kirti Poddar.</a><br /><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en_GB" target="_blank">CC Attribution-ShareAlike licence</a></td></tr>
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These days, I'm pleased simply to find something - anything - that I can snack on safely when I'm on the go. But it does send me into a diva-like strop when the people around me seem to forget that I'm not just the robotic eater of anything gluten-free; I actually have likes, dislikes and preferences too. You know, like an actual human being.<br />
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On an evening out recently, one chap started steering our little group towards a pizza parlour, saying 'but you can have a salad there without the croutons'. Trivial, perhaps, but I felt like throwing a mini-tantrum. Yes, it's good to know that if I had to eat there for some reason, I won't have to stare at an empty plate. But I do so resent paying full price in a restaurant just to have a few lettuce leaves (without the dough balls, cheese sticks, or whatever else would ordinarily be added to make the salad a bit more filling). Not all restaurants can cater for us (yet), but do give our tastebuds a bit of recognition. After a week of salad lunches, we oh-so-definitely deserve it!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692056800491428202.post-87505108266172066842012-08-27T14:38:00.001-07:002012-08-29T09:14:52.810-07:00The gluten-free fad dieter: friend or foe?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5TSCSCVTIP8/UDvf4zqvmRI/AAAAAAAAG_E/LPMUtCismrA/s1600/5520234250_fd4ac34281_n+%282%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5TSCSCVTIP8/UDvf4zqvmRI/AAAAAAAAG_E/LPMUtCismrA/s1600/5520234250_fd4ac34281_n+%282%29.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/60580775@N08/5520234250/" target="_blank">Wave</a>' by Art by MarkAC. <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en_GB" target="_blank">CC licence</a></td></tr>
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My diagnosis as a coeliac seemed to happen just before the crest of a gluten-free wave. During Year #1 of getting to grips with the gluten-free lifestyle, shopping for food involved planning and paranoia. Finding a dedicated free-from section was always a big 'high-five' moment.<br />
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But as the years ticked by, suddenly a free-from section seemed to materialise in almost every large store. I went from sighing over miniature loaves of dry bread bought in a health-food shop (note to manufacturers: gluten-free folk are humans of ordinary size) to standing amazed in front of shelves full of gluten-free crumpets, muffins and entire ranges of pasta. Suddenly mainstream supermarket own-brands (at least here in the UK) were on the bandwagon: <a href="http://health.asda.com/products/ourbrands/free-from.aspx" target="_blank">Asda</a>, <a href="http://www2.sainsburys.co.uk/food/allergies-intolerances/freefrom-range/freefrom" target="_blank">Sainbury's</a> and <a href="http://www.waitrose.com/shop/ProductView-10317-10001-174637-Waitrose+LOVE+life+gluten+free+hot+cross+buns" target="_blank">Waitrose</a> dutifully chugged out free-from ranges, riding the waves of enthusiasm produced by Genius (in my opinion, the first palatable gluten-free sliced bread). They might charge more than double the price of a wheaty equivalent, but they were there, I was happy (and my waistband was getting tighter). <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y8-roei3Idw/UDvkeCN2G3I/AAAAAAAAG_U/VDTf4ozVzXM/s1600/4562617727_40d9889ab7_m+%282%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y8-roei3Idw/UDvkeCN2G3I/AAAAAAAAG_U/VDTf4ozVzXM/s1600/4562617727_40d9889ab7_m+%282%29.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/x1brett/4562617727/" target="_blank">Scale model</a>' by Brett Jordan, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en_GB" target="_blank">CC licence</a></td></tr>
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So what happened? Yes, awareness is improving which <a href="http://www.glutenfreepages.com.au/CMS/index.php?page=the-high-levels-of-un-diagnosis-of-coeliac-disease-in-australia-america-uk" target="_blank">may raise diagnosis rates</a>, but there was something else too: the gluten-free lifestyle being trumpeted as a health <i>choice</i>. Now, the concept of 'choice' was very far from my universe when I stared in shock at diet leaflets from my doctor; I certainly didn't sign up for a lifetime of squinting at lists of ingredients. But sure enough, people were adopting the diet out of preference, or believing that they had an intolerance (without a medical diagnosis), or simply as a move to be healthier. Genius, for one, leapt at this potential market with their high-profile '<a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151006869986096.492635.130816306095&type=3" target="_blank">the food that loves you back</a>' advertising campaign, suggesting that consumers give a 'lower gluten lifestyle' a try.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Born this way? Nope, just a fad dieter. <br />
Pic by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/loritingey/4255484560/" target="_blank">Lori Tingey</a>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en_GB" target="_blank">CC licence</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<i>Lower </i>gluten, rather than <i>no</i>-gluten, is of course no use to the bona fide coeliac, who needs to eliminate gluten from their diet. But for now, let's leave the science behind, as well as the questionable reasoning behind eating gluten-free cookies as a dieting trick (<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/22/lady-gaga-gluten-free-weight_n_1821715.html" target="_blank">I'm talking to you, Lady Gaga</a>). What does it mean for coeliacs to have lifestyle gluten-freers sharing our piece of the gf pie?<br />
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At first sight, the extra demand that came with the gluten-free trend brought a boom of new products and I've been pleased as punch to see these foods enter the mainstream. In the past year I've snapped up <a href="http://www.facebook.com/nakd.bars" target="_blank">Nakd bars</a> in newsagents and nibbled supermarket-bought <a href="http://www.waitrose.com/shop/ProductView-10317-10001-133548-Waitrose+Good+To+Go+gluten+free+egg+salad+sandwich" target="_blank">gluten-free sandwiches</a>, an impossible dream when I first embarked on the gluten-free journey. I can't help but think I have the upsurge in gf-by-choice dieters to thank for giving gluten-free a bit of airtime.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keep those floury mitts off my dinner!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenore-m/426244424/" target="_blank">Pic by Lenore Edman</a>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en_GB" target="_blank">CC licence</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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But at what cost? Sure, the average waiter probably knows what gluten-free means better than in the past, but if gluten-free is associated with preference, rather than necessity, is he going to know to warn the chef against spraying wheaty crumbs across my plate? Or is he going to think his work is done if he simply leaves the bread rolls off my table? There's certainly some confusion already: one chain restaurant I went to, that had recently brought in a gluten-free pasta option, wasn't sure whether the pasta sauce contained gluten and asked me if it was necessary that the sauce be wheatless as well as the pasta -- why yes, very necessary thank you. There's certainly a risk that restaurant staff will be less than careful if they start thinking of gluten-free only as a dietary preference (and one that may or may not be abandoned once the dietee in question spies the dessert menu -- I've seen it happen!) <br />
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So we can't lay gluten-free vigilance to rest. Gluten-free diets are being adopted for a multitude of reasons now, meaning that gluten-free isn't just associated with allergies and intolerances. We have to spell out those dietary requirements loud and clear when dining out. But since this was already the status quo for coeliacs, I personally don't feel that gf-by-choice have done us a huge amount of harm. There was already misinformation about gluten-free eating out there, but my biggest problem in the past has been encountering people, waiting staff, supermarkets with zero understanding of the g-word. At least it's being talked about now, and catered for, so I welcome the gluten-free food boom. If the new gluten-free crowd helped to create that demand, I'm delighted for them to keep dodging gluten. But Gaga, don't expect the pounds to drop off...<br />
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<b>EDIT: I re-read my post, and pondered whether my original 'fad dieting' wording was a bit harsh, so I made a few tweaks (keeping the headline though). Just to be clear, I don't have any beef with those who choose to give up gluten without a medical diagnosis (your diet, your body, and more gluten-free cake on the shelves), and I know there's a world of difference between someone who genuinely feels healthier sans gluten, and someone jumping on the Lady Gaga bandwagon.</b><br />
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<i>Maybe you disagree: do fad gluten-free dieters create more confusion than they improve awareness of the lifestyle? Or are you happy to see gluten-free becoming a mainstream concept? Share with me in the comments!</i></div>
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