We're all going on a... dairy free picnic

Well not 'all' to be perfectly honest, Baby and me may well be the only dairy free people there. 

I just heard, the other day, that even though Baby's favourite toddler group is finishing next week, for the summer (sob, sob) they are going to hold a picnic at some point during July. Woo hoo! We will still get to socialise, and I love picnics... I think. 

They always sound like a fun idea - very Famous Five, in a let's-spontaneously-go-off-on-some-kind-of-adventure kind of a way. However, on reflection, thinking back over my childhood memories, the food in our childhood picnics tended to be (dare I say it) just a little bit boring - sandwiches, a packet of crisps, a piece of fruit and maybe a chocolate biscuit. 

The most exciting and spontaneous picnic, that I've ever been on, was when I was dating The Hub. On a complete whim we just went to M & S and just bought everything we liked the look of, including the cutlery, blanket and everything (we were both earning at that point, without any other encumbrances, if you know what I mean)! Then we got in his car (TT back then, very nice) and drove until we found a spot we liked, There we stopped, lay in the grass, relaxed, chatted, ate, etc. We were so carefree about the whole thing, it was lovely!

Nowadays... hmm let me think! Well we'd probably better look out the plastic boxes - in the cupboard under the kettle and check to make sure they're clean. The picnic blanket might also need a clean, I think - it's been kicking around in the back of the car for some time (just in case we ever need it) and who knows what state it's in, by now! Then there's the food! Now that we're dairy free and I've got a whole other list of things that I can't eat, not to mention that Baby just doesn't do sandwiches  - ho hum! And there's not much point in going to M & S - they don't do gluten and dairy free anything! There are a few things, though, that I've found elsewhere, that might come in handy!

Breads

Not able to tolerate most gluten free breads, I can cope with small quantities of the following (also dairy free, although if you're just dealing with milk, then most of the 'normal' breads that you find in the supermarket seem to be OK):

1) Genius Pitta breads. I like the tomato and herb (available in Tesco). They're a bit drier than your normal pitta and tend to fall apart but they're a bit more exciting than your standard dry gluten loaf, if you're doing something a little bit different.

2) Warburtons bread rolls - long and torpedo shaped these are also an option  (we get ours from Waitrose, or Ocado). Sandwiches in a different shape are often more appealing, when you're on a picnic.

3) Round rolls (just found these in Waitrose, the other day). By Antoinette Savill, they're a bit dry, but they don't fall apart quite so easily as some gluten free breads.

Sweet Potato Rolls

4) Sweet Potato Rolls - shared on Pippa Kendrick's blog 'The Intolerant Gourmet'. I'm no Nigella, but I've recently tried making these. Fresh out of the oven, they are a bit like a savoury doughnut or muffin rather than a bread roll - not sweet, as I half expected them to be. They are quite simple to make, and ideal for a picnic! I'm just not sure what to accompany them with, just yet.


5) Mini pizzas - Hale & Hearty produce a gluten free pizza mix, that I've yet to try. I'd like to think that these might make a great picnic food, topped with tomato purée and tuna or sausage, although we might have to skip the cheese!

Sandwich Fillings

Gluten free bread being dry and crumbly, I favour moist fillings, which counteract the dryness of the bread, without soaking into the bread too much (which can cause it to collapse). In my opinion, salad is nigh on useless in a homemade sandwich. I prefer mine in a little bowl on the side. Otherwise, it just slides all over the place and makes the sandwiches spill their contents all over your lunch box, before you have time to eat them. However, I've got a few ideas: 

This filling is left overs from the night before!

1) Guacamole and bacon or chicken - great taste, if I can be bothered to do a lot of prep! Stick a bit of salsa in for some added zing! 

2) Hummus and ham - much quicker if you buy the hummus instead of making it yourself. I read a great recipe for hummus recently but didn't hold onto it - it took a lot of preparation. The ham of course needs to be dairy free. I usually go for Tesco Organic wafer thin ham.

3) Sausage and ketchup - probably my preferred option - especially if we have sausages left over from the night before! Obviously, check your sausages, to make sure they're dairy free. The blog in which I shared our Sausage Casserole lists our favourites.

4) Chicken and marmite - the Duchy originals chicken at Waitrose is the only dairy free chicken (suitable for sandwiches) that I know. It's expensive as lunch meat goes, though.

5) Tuna and mayonnaise - tuna is the only food from a tin that I'll allow myself to have - tinned food causes a skin reaction on my cheeks! However, you can't beat a bit of tuna mixed with mayo! Hellman's original (not light) is dairy free. The 'light' version contains cream powder!

Crisps

You need a few of these on a picnic - packed in a little tub, maybe. What to choose? No contest for us! 

1) In terms of flavour, I love Salt and Vinegar, but a lot of brands use milk in their flavouring, so for me it's got to be Kettle Chips! I like the 'Salt and Balsamic Vinegar', but am not sure that I should have those. 

Ridge crisps are great to crunch!

2) Wanting to limit Baby's salt intake, we sometimes give her a few of the 'Lightly Salted' variety of Kettle Chips. 

3) Tyrell's 'Naked' crisps, are another option, although these are made in a factory which handles milk, soya, gluten and mustard. 

4) Seabrook 'Perfectly unsalted' are another plain option. Ridge-style crisps, they make for a satisfying crunch!

5) Organix corn snacks - found in the baby food aisle at most large supermarkets. Baby loves the tomatoey stars or noughts and crosses. They're gluten and dairy free and a great alternative to crisps (no salt). A whole pack is usually too much (in one go) for Baby, so I tend to decant some for her. 

Desserts

Do you take desserts on a picnic? I always think of a picnic in terms of treats, so I might be tempted.

1) For Baby there's always Alpro. She loves their chocolate desserts, but isn't keen on their yoghurts.

2) 'Wot no dairy, wot no soya?' Soya and dairy free, these yoghurts (available in Holland and Barrett, as well as online, from The Redwood Company) might do for me, and being long life, they don't need to be chilled.

3) Fruit jellies - I might be tempted by one of these - you can find them ready-made on the shelves of most supermarkets (these no point in me making up my own, as it would just be me eating them - Baby isn't keen and neither is The Hub).

They also do a Banoffee!

4) If you can't tolerate dairy, but can cope with nuts, Goodness Direct sell some great little 'raw' 'cheesecakes,' by The Living Food Kitchen. I have risked myself by sampling a tiny amount. If I thought I could eat them, I might treat myself from time to time, but unfortunately for me, they contain cashew.

5) Cake/flapjacks - homemade, if I've got some, or from the supermarket, if I haven't. Hale and Hearty's Date and Chocolate flapjacks taste the best, in my opinion. Gluten and dairy free, they can be found in Tesco.

Mini bites

Now, as traditional as sandwiches, in an English picnic, are, sometimes I just want something a little bit more different than just another type of bread, don't you? So I'm thinking, 'Hang the bread! It's dry and crumbly and doesn't hold together that well (my gluten free sandwiches are very crumbly and usually fall apart)  and Baby doesn't like bread anyway.'

Fortunately, for me, I've found a few other things recently!

1) Mini Scotch Eggs - Sainsbury's/Waitrose own (dairy but not gluten free). Baby will probably enjoy a few of these.

2) Falafels with Hummus. You can make your own - Pippa Kendrick, 'The Intolerant Gourmet' has a good recipe for falafels, on her blog, however, if you want to pick up some that are ready made, I found these in the chiller cabinet in a large Sainsbury's near me, just the other day.  Gluten and dairy free, they taste quite acceptable, as a mini bite, but there's not many, so they're not very filling, on their own!

Sweet Potato Pakoras & Hummus

3) Sweet Potato Pakora with Hummus. I found these in the same place as the falafels. They're a bit spicy, but very yummy! A small pack won't go very far, especially if you find you like them! You may find that you've got some hummus left over, so make sure you take some carrot or bread sticks with you too! 

4) Breadsticks with hummus/guacamole. Waitrose mini breadsticks are dairy free, but I've recently found some, by Nature's Store, that are gluten free too.

5) Carrot/veg. sticks with hummus, guacamole or salsa dip (always check the  ingredients, in dips, if bought from a supermarket). Fun to dip and crunch (unless you're Baby - she won't eat them). Some preparation required - unless of course you buy those little packs of prepared veggies, from the supermarket!

What else?

Well, there are a few things I've missed, that might also make good picnicky snacks!

1) Itsy Bitsy bears - small bear shaped biscuits with tiny chocolate chunks, by Orgran. Baby likes these. They are vegan and free of so much (gluten, dairy, egg, yeast, soya, nut) that it leads one to wonder what exactly is in them! 

2) Orgran also make 'Mini Outback Animals.' Baby is not so keen on these, but they are handy as you buy them in large packs that contain small hand-sized packs. You can find these in Sainbury's, but I think we get ours from Ocado.

3) Rice cakes. Baby only eats the plain ones (when she's ill) but I know other children like 'em! You could coat the plain ones with hummus and add a few char-grilled veggies on top, such as courgette and red pepper (don't thank me for that one, I saw it on a packet) but just a splodge of hummus, or even guacamole would also do!

4) Organix Goodies - Mini Oaty Bites. They make bars too, but those are really too big for Baby at the moment, so I get these instead. They come in two flavours: 'Carrot Cake' and 'Apple and Orange.' They are individually wrapped, which makes life a little bit easier! They don't contain wheat or dairy, but unfortunately, it says they contain gluten and may contain traces of nuts.

Yummy Strawbs!

5) Fruit - for Baby and me, it'll probably be either apple or banana, cut into chunks. Although I love strawberries, she won't touch them and grapes she spits out too! However, I'm sure you'll have plenty of your own ideas! 

Drinks 

Well, I'm sure you can sort your own out, but as for me, it'll probably be a bottle of water or sprite. If I'm really pushing the boat out, a small bottle of Bottlegreen or Belvoir Sparkling Elderflower would go down really nicely!! If you feel like making your own, why not try this recipe for Elderflower Cordial, but count me out, I'm off to the nearest supermarket - life's too short!!

What about you? What would you take on your picnic?

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We're all going on a... dairy free summer holiday!

Simple Sauteed Sea Bass

I love Sea Bass. I find it hard to believe that before I met The Hub, I'd never tried it, but its true! At least if I did have it, I really don't remember it. Yet it's so simple to cook and so light and delicious! When I lived at home, my mother usually cooked cod (fish fingers or steaks in batter) apart from the rare occasion when someone we knew went out fishing and caught some mackerel.

We usually buy our sea bass pre-packed from Tesco, as I can guarantee I can get some without the (seemingly mandatory) additional knob of unwanted herb butter. Once bought, the question always is, what to do with it.

Sometimes we steam it, more often we have it sautéed - Baby loves its crispy finish, and I must admit, so do I. Whichever way we cook it, we usually have rice with it too.

Usually I prepare the carrots first (the only vegetable that Baby will knowingly eat, at the moment) and put on the water for steaming the carrots. Occasionally The Hub sautees the carrots (having steamed them for a bit first) with some courgette, but usually, we just steam the veggies.

Then, I wash the rice and put it in the rice cooker, together with a little water. Our rice cooker was a wedding present and is probably our most used kitchen appliance (after the kettle and the coffee machine). If you like rice, you should seriously consider getting one - perfect rice, every time! The other great thing about it is that because you don't need to watch it, you can get on with whatever else you need to do, whilst the rice is cooking.

You don't necessarily want the one we've got though! Although the extra steaming layer on the top is a great idea, ours has an annoying little bit around the bottom, which is hideous to clean out by hand!

Sautéed Sea Bass - sorted!

The next job is to put the carrots into the steamer and start preparing either broccoli or courgette, to accompany the carrots. I need to be quick, or the rice will cook before they're ready. Although the rice cooker can keep the rice hot and resting whilst they finish off, I usually find the rice just a little bit dry, if we do this.

The last stage is sauteeing the fish. This stage is really quick, if you have the right pan! We really need a proper sautee pan. The teflon coating on the last one was ruined, when something got burned on. Oops! However, we (or rather The Hub - I always get him to do this bit, as he's such a dab hand at it) still do quite well with our little frying pan. He just cooks  them one or two at a time, as that is all that will fit. 

Basically, he heats up some olive oil in the pan (enough olive oil to cover the bottom), then fries the sea bass fillets on both sides, until they're crispy and the flesh has turned from translucent to opaque. If you'd like step-by-step instructions, here's a link to a great post, with pictures of every stage.

Once cooked, we just serve the sea bass with the rice and veggies. Usually, I just like my fish plain, so I can enjoy the flavour. Baby has the same and really enjoys it that way - you should hear the, 'Mmm, mmm!' noises she makes whilst eating! 

However, if that would be a bit boring for you, then you could squeeze a bit of lemon over it or do what The Hub does - he has been known to splash a bit of soy sauce over his. If you're gluten free you could use a glug of Tamari gluten free soy sauce, I don't. Tamari sauce actually makes me more uncomfortable than normal soy, with the gluten in! How bizarre is that?

If you don't fancy rice and soy, you might like to try serving your sea bass in a Mediterranean style. Try it with new potatoes, small green beans and a tomato-based sauce. 

However, you decide to serve it, enjoy!!

Another simple supper:
Sausage Casserole

Baking with Baby 5 - Carrot Cake

There have been a few occasions, recently, where a good carrot cake would not have gone amiss. By 'good' I mean one that fits my idea of what constitutes a carrot cake. There are variations you see. Although of course they must all use carrot, one recipe uses sultanas, another not, yet another uses nuts and so on... My absolutely ideal recipe would, of course, be dairy free. 

The last piece!

So, I've been on the look-out for the perfect carrot cake recipe. I was after one that could be shared with everyone, with no-one any the wiser that what they had just eaten was gluten and dairy free. My thoughts were that carrot cake is quite moist, and as I have to cook gluten free (for my benefit) the extra moisture provided by the carrots would prove an excellent antidote for the dryness for which gluten free flour is known (although I use Dove's flour and haven't noticed any problems).

I also thought that as Baby isn't very good at eating her greens, this might also be a good way of sneaking some extra fibre into her diet - this was the thinking behind my banana bread too. Unfortunately, however, my hopes were dashed - the day that a friendly dietitian laughed at my suggestion that a banana muffin might count towards my 'five-a-day'. Surely, however, all that carrot grating must count towards something and not just go to waste! 

Casting around for a recipe, I contemplated using the one I found on BBC Good Food, as it uses sunflower oil, and would thus be dairy free, but it contained sultanas. As I don't ever recall eating a carrot cake that contained sultanas (sorry if you happen to like them) I'm afraid I soon gave that one the old 'heave-ho'. However, if you need to avoid nuts, then it might be good for you.

I nearly used Pippa Kendrick's recipe, from her book 'The Intolerant Gourmet.' However, that recipe required egg replacer, which I don't have as I don't need (looks like a great recipe for those who can't have eggs, though). I did think about putting the eggs back in, but that was until I came across a recipe in a little book, by one of my baking heroines - Mary Berry.  She of the BBC's The Great British Bake-Off fame.

The book was a real find, as I picked it up for just a fiver in Tesco. Apart from the frosting, which was dairy based, Mary's recipe looked completely doable, simple and therefore, to my mind, perfect!! The recipe contained pretty much all of the ingredients that I imagined in my perfect cake - albeit with a couple of added bananas, that is! Funnily enough, it was the bananas that drew me to Mary's recipe... maybe it was because I imagined it might be more healthy!

In fact, I needn't have bothered buying the book - I've since found  the same recipe online here! It just goes to show that you often don't need to nip out and buy a special allergy cook book - you can often find suitable recipes online (or those that can be easily adapted), completely free! Now if I need a recipe I go straight to Google!!

Mary advised using a round 20 inch tin. I had one that I thought would do the trick, but really I wanted a 'tray bake' style of cake. So I plumped for a square tin (20 x 20 inches) obviously I would then have to adjust the cooking time slightly, but I went with it, and I think it worked just right!

Tin greased and lined, oven on I turned my attention to peeling and grating the carrots. I HATE grating carrot, or anything else, for that matter - it's that whole trying-to-avoid-skinning-yourself thing. On 'I can cook' (a cookery programme on CBeebies) the children use table-mounted graters - a bit like those electric pencil sharpeners that you sometimes see in schools. Basically, you turn a handle and all the grating is done for you without any skinned fingers! I thought that one of those might be ideal and would give Baby a chance to have a bit of fun as well. Unfortunately, I couldn't find them locally, but I found a hand held one, instead.

Don't bother buying one yourself, mine was rubbish! Baby was keen to give it a go, but she didn't get very far! I ended up doing most of it and it took far longer than grating by hand. The Hub was amused. He commented, 'You could have just used the food processor.' Which I knew - I just didn't want to get the food processor out and wash it all up - it's so fiddly. In the end, I think it would have been far less bother!

Anyway grating (eventually) done, I gave Baby a bowl with a couple of bananas and let her try to beat them into a mushy pulp. I had to finish that job too, but at least it kept her busy, whilst I got on with the rest. Really, it was just a case of chucking all the other ingredients in the bowl and giving them a good mix. I differed from Mary, in that I used demerara sugar, rather than muscovado (just because I didn't have muscavado). Also, I couldn't help adding in a little something of my own that she had left out - a teaspoon of ginger and another of cinnamon. 

I could have got the hand mixer out, at this stage, but the bowl I was using was suddenly looking a little bit on the small side. As Mary said you could use a wooden spoon instead, I grabbed a plastic spatula, and hey presto (with a bit of a stir from Baby along the way) it didn't take too long at all! 

Together, Baby and I scraped the mixture into the lined tin and I shoved it in the oven. Mary said that the cake would take 45 minutes, but allowing for the fact that my mixture was slightly shallower than hers would have been, I decided to set my trusty timer for 30 minutes and take it from there. In fact, I discovered 35 minutes was probably about right for us, but of course all ovens vary.

Then, it was just a case of leaving the cake to cool, whilst I decided what to do about the topping. Mary used Marscarpone cheese, but of course that would never do for us! 

At this point, I was going to opt for Pippa Kendrick's suggestion - a lemon fudge-style icing, but running out of time, I remembered the tub of ready made icing that I had in the cupboard for emergencies. Using ready-made icing? Some of you might ask. Yes, that's right, don't mistake me for a foodie - I write about living dairy free and that includes the short cuts that I've found. Life goes by so fast and we all need to use short cuts, from time to time, just to make life that little bit easier. 

The icing, in case you're wondering, is by Betty Crocker, it's completely dairy free and also comes in a chocolate flavour! You can find it in the baking aisle of most UK supermarkets, but watch out - it's usually sat next to its dairy-based counterpart and the packaging is almost identical!

To avoid mess and arguments, I quickly spread the icing over the cake and let Baby spread some icing on some 'off-cuts', from around the edge. Then I cut the cake up into sixteen squares (half and half again) which I decorated with walnut halves. Job done!

Verdict of those who've tasted it so far? Delicious! Phew!

If you're thinking that I've left out the quantities, you're right! It's because Mary's little book is new out, it's only a fiver... and I don't want to be sued for copy-write!

Similar Posts:

Baking with Baby - Flapjacks

Baking with Baby 2 - Banana Bread

Baking with Baby 4 - Right Royal Rocks!

Hanging out in the Roof Gardens of Babylon

Enjoying the view - with the dairy free cow!

When I first heard that we were going to The Roof Gardens, I had no idea what on earth they were on about. My sister-in-law arranged the booking at Babylon. It was only later, when The Hub was looking at the menu online, that I realised that I might need to dress a bit more smarter than usual.

For those of you who are still none the wiser, The Roof Gardens, in Kensington, are exactly that - a series of gardens that were created on the roof of a department store, that opened in the 1930's. Bought by Richard Branson, in 1981, they are open to the public, as well as to diners at Babylon - the restaurant that perches above the gardens, on the seventh floor.

It turns out that The Mother-in-law's partner used to hang out there, in his younger days and my sister-in-law thought that my mother-in-law might like to return there for her birthday. Not being in charge of the booking, I was slightly anxious about the arrangements for Baby and me. I thought of phoning ahead, but never got 'round to it. 'Surely,' I thought, 'a place like this, that cooks to order, will have something that we can eat.'

First Impressions

We went there one Sunday. It was certainly smart! No wonder The Mother-in-law, who usually takes good care of her appearance anyway, had dressed to impress that day. I was glad I had dressed up a bit too, (and slapped some make-up on my face, for a change). In fact, I have to say, the restaurant itself was beautiful, if perhaps a little cramped-looking in places, but that was maybe inevitable - after all, you have to fit in a certain number of diners, in order to make things worthwhile, don't you? 

I always secretly judge a restaurant by its toilets: Are they clean? Is there enough loo roll/soap? Do the taps run hot and cold? The toilets, I have to tell you, were beautiful too and... they featured a fish tank!

So far, so good!

Our Choices

Seated, by attentive staff (of the variety that can immediately tell what stuff you're made of) my sister-in-law was quick to mention that I was gluten free, I interjected with, 'And dairy free,' straight away. I was relieved to note that the waitress seemed perfectly at ease with this information. Meanwhile, we were entertained by a quirky magician.

We were soon presented with the Sunday Lunch Menu. Scanning down, I glanced briefly  at the starters before perusing the Mains. I noted the various roasts on offer, but passed them over (too many gravies and sauces to be examined) when my eyes lit on the Sea Bream - sautéed and accompanied by a fennel and pomegranate salad. That certainly looked like a possibility for me - as long as I was careful with any raw fruit and vegetable matter! Now, what about Baby?

The Young Diners Menu also featured Starters. Again, I ignored these - the chances were that the omelette would be cooked with dairy and I knew baby would not eat the melon. The tomato soup may have been a possibility, but my real concern were the Mains (the filling bit). 

There were three choices: Linguini Pasta, Salmon Fish Fingers and Chicken Goujons. I immediately discounted the Linguini, on account of the lack of protein. I think we ordered the Salmon Fish Fingers, It may have been the Chicken Goujons, no matter, to my dismay, I was soon informed that neither of these options were dairy free! 


The waitress did tentatively suggest that maybe the chef could do something else with fish or chicken instead, but she didn't appear too keen on this option. Having been brought up to not cause too much trouble, and with Baby needing to eat quite soon... Linguini it was then - with tomato. This was because, I thought, of the two options (the other was olive oil) that tomato would contain the most nutritional value.

Outwardly, I was pretending it was fine - at least there was something that Baby could eat - that would stop her from getting hungry. Inwardly, I was disappointed and somewhat bemused. To be offered just pasta and tomato sauce as one of the main options for children at restaurants, is usual - disappointing, but usual. However, why would that take place in a restaurant of this standing? I also couldn't understand, why, with roast on the adult menu, 'Young Diners' couldn't be offered a smaller version of the same. After all, most children I know quite like roasts - especially the crispy potatoes!!

It was at this point, the waitress pointed out that we each needed to select a minimum of two dishes from the menu. With her assistance, we soon ascertained that the only dairy free dessert was the sorbet. Sorbet it would be then!

The Mains

Delicious, but a little bit light for lunch?

My food, when it arrived, looked wonderful - just a bit 'light' for my liking. Wish I had noted that additional sides could be ordered - at a cost of £3.50. I would definitely have ordered the chips! It tasted wonderful too. Perfectly cooked and served with a carefully balanced salad, it soon disappeared off my plate.

So did Baby's - disappear, that it! Too quick for me to take a decent photo! Please note, if your child is a hungry one, you may need to do what my sister-in-law did for our nephew, and order your child something off the adult menu. He much preferred what was on offer there anyway! Surprise, surprise... he chose a roast - get my drift?

Soon polished off!

The good news is that Baby must have enjoyed the sauce that accompanied the pasta. Her cousin, Melissa did not however, and ended up eating off her mother's plate - roast again! Good job she could, Baby (being dairy free) couldn't!!

Noting some Italian/Spanish sounding family at an adjoining table (who looked like they had been celebrating a first communion) I was surprised to note that they also ordered the Linguini, but with olive oil, instead. With interest, I saw the bemused look on their faces, when it arrived. I was not surprised, therefore to see that a jug of the tomato sauce appeared on their table soon after! 'Nuff said!!

The Dessert

Dessert took quite a long time to arrive. The restaurant had really filled up by then, but three quarters of an hour, for three scoops of sorbet? The sorbet looked superb when it arrived! Dairy free it certainly was! Gluten free? I wasn't so sure. So I checked with the waitress. She went to check. It wasn't!!

This was a first for me and I felt slightly stumped! 

Spot the mistake?

  

However, my dessert was removed and replaced in next to no time. Along with multiple apologies, and assurances of a discount, I was presented with this... spot the difference? (There were still three scoops of sorbet.)

Spot the difference?

Now, some finely grated pistachio (by the looks of it) was scattered on the plate - as opposed to the biscuit crumbs that had been there before.

Alarmed as to what else might be in the biscuit crumbs (Baby had already tucked substantially into her dish) I enquired, and was assured that they were completely dairy free - made with coconut instead. Phew!

Now all that was left for me to do was to enjoy the sorbet. 

Based on previous experience, I avoided the fruit around the edge - I know I have reacted quite badly to melon and kiwi in the past (sore, itchy and swollen mouth, lips and even throat) but I didn't make a fuss about those - they are the kind of thing I can usually just avoid, when I come across it. The sorbet itself was quite nice. If served with it's usual accompaniment of dairy ice cream, it probably balances with other flavours quite well, but I think three scoops of the same flavour was a bit much. 

Panic should have been over, by this point, but I must admit, I felt rather rattled by my close encounter. It's not like I'm going to suffer an anaphylactic shock - that's not the nature of my symptoms. The most I might suffer is stomach discomfort and some diarrhoea. And t's not as though I don't appreciate the lengths to which the restaurant went in order to apologise and make good. However, should another allergy sufferer, suffer a similar lapse in service, they could find themselves suddenly overrun with paramedics.

Final comment

Not even a stroll in the beautiful gardens, following the meal, was enough to restore my inner calm, which is why it has taken me so long to get around to writing this post. It was because I wanted to reflect upon and assimilate the whole experience without going over the top. 

Remembering that the restaurant itself is virtually perched over a positively HUGE whole foods market, one is tempted to wonder if they are capable of providing just that little bit more, for an allergic/intolerant customer. Maybe I should have phoned ahead after all.

My advice to another, would be yes, go and eat there; enjoy the restaurant and the gardens as well - don't forget to look out for the flamingos too. But, phone ahead, discuss your requirements with your serving staff, inspect your food carefully and if in doubt check before you taste. Oh, and if you need it, take  your epipen!!

The Price

Adult Sunday Lunch Menu: 2 courses £26, 3 courses £29

Young Diners Menu: 2 courses - £6, 3 courses £8

Baking with Baby - Flapjacks

Hurrah! Got home from my Monday mum's group, this morning, to find my latest acquisition poking through the letterbox - my new dairy free and gluten free cookbook. Although, as I often explain, I'm no 'Nigella' I was 'sold' this book the other day by an online review from 'Pig in the Kitchen.' 


'Pig' in case you don't know posts lots of yummy recipes online, which I honestly like the look of but have not been brave enough to try... yet! For now, I just follow her posts and drool!! However, I took a sneaky peak at 'The Intolerant Gourmet' online, at Amazon (having read Pig's review) and thought I might just give it a go - particularly as it contained a recipe I thought would suit even me!

'Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!' I thought, after ordering the book.' Even I can make flapjacks.' With that thought in mind, and not able to wait until the new book arrived, I grabbed my old faithful cookery book off the shelf and dug out the flapjack recipe. Yep! Everything I needed I had in the cupboard and there was stuff that Baby could do too - Baby LOVES cooking!

"Let me! Let me!" squeaked Baby, so we got out the baking tin and rubbed margarine round it. I put the oven on and got out the saucepan. Baby helped scoop out margarine (150g/6oz) and put it in the pan. Having set that on a gentle heat to melt, we weighed out the demerara sugar (150g/6oz) and we added it to the pan. Once the sugar and margarine had melted and been mixed together, we added the oats (200g/8oz - gluten free) and mixed them in too, with a wooden spoon. It really took no time at all. 'Wow! I thought, 'I'd forgotten quite how easy they are to make and pretty quick too!'

As we emptied the mixture into the pan, it really didn't look like it was going to cover the bottom of the tin and even if it did, it looked as though it would only make wafer thin flapjacks. I looked back at the recipe. The lovely pile of flapjacks pictured there looked nothing like those that we were making. 


Just then, I noted that the recipe actually said that for a moister flapjack, you should use half the amount of sugar and use golden syrup instead. 'Rats!' I thought, 'golden syrup would make it yummier and a moister flapjack would be much nicer!' At that point, I had my first brainwave! I decided to make a second batch with just golden syrup  (1 tablespoon = 1oz) and combine the two. That way the mixture in the tin would look more generous and we would have more to eat as well!

That done, we put the flapjacks in the oven and I set my new baking best friend (my kitchen timer) to the right time (30-35 minutes). My timer has made all the difference in the world to my cooking (along with my other new baking best friend which is my oven thermometer). Before I had these, my cakes came out very badly indeed - partly because our the temperature of our (inherited) oven doesn't seem to match with the thermostat and partly because I wasn't keeping a close enough eye on it. 

My new BFF

The only problem, was that I should have turned the oven down (to 180 degrees C/gas mark 4) earlier. I had put it on high as the oven takes so long to heat up and as a result my flapjacks came out looking  somewhat overdone. 'Oh dear!' I thought, 'I can't even cook flapjacks any more!' 


However, I consoled myself with the recollection that whenever my mother had a baking disaster, when we were kids, we had eaten it and enjoyed it anyway. 


It was then that I had my second brainwave of the afternoon - to pick off the most burnt looking bits and use the wedding anniversary chocolate from Hotel Chocolat.


Originally, this had been intended for a bit of romantic 'a deux' fruit dipping, but those plans had been rudely overturned by Baby. However, this was now melted and drizzled 'artistically' over the top of my flapjacks. Et voila! Not only did they look quite good (by now) they also tasted quite good too (even better the next day, I discovered). 

Et Voila! (Try and ignore the overdone bits!)

'Maybe I have the makings of a domestic goddess after all,' I thought. 'After all I bet Pippa Kendrick never drizzled chocolate over her flapjacks.' And indeed, I found (as I studied her book, with glee) she hadn't. However, as I perused her book a bit more, I realised that indeed I still have along way to go. 'Pippa,' I decided, 'you need fear nothing from me. I am far from being a gourmet of any description, never mind an intolerant one!'


Mind you, bet she's never come across Mrs Watkin's Yum Yum cake - more on that another day! In the meantime, there's a few intolerant recipes that I might have to try... rhubarb streusel looks yum and so do some certain chocolate brownies!

Supping at Strada

We'd not tried Strada before. Well, I say we, more strictly speaking, I mean Baby and I. The Hub has apparently eaten there before. Of course I knew of Strada - they're a fairly well-known Italian-style restaurant chain and appear in high streets all over the UK. I think I'd heard someone said they hadn't been much good on the allergic front, but the other day, being on holiday at Center Parcs and needing a place to lunch (we'd already lunched at our 'usual' twice during the week) we ended up there anyway. 

The Hub had checked it out (online) the night before. Me being the awkward one (or so we thought) - requiring food which is both gluten and dairy free (which can be quite difficult) we were delighted to find that, among the 'Mains,' there was a lamb option I could have. Well, The Hub thought I could, but wasn't sure - the menu can, apparently ,vary from location to location. 

To our disappointment, the lamb option didn't appear on the menu board, outside the restaurant. Feeling braver than I sometimes do, I sighed and decided to go inside and ask anyway. 

The young chap at the desk was punctiliousness personified, but I believe I detected a slight look of horror/apprehensiveness as I coyly approached the subject of 'dietary requirements.' 'Not a very reassuring sign!' I thought. However, he managed to locate THE folder - you know, the one with all the allergy listings and was quite happy for me to rifle my way through the pages. The dishes were listed in alphabetical order with a whole raft of food allergies laid out across the top of the page. This made the table fairly difficult to read. Handily for me, wheat and dairy were listed alongside each other!

I soon discovered, that the lamb dish did indeed exist in this restaurant. The confusion  had occurred due to the fact that more than one menu seemed to be available. One was a main menu and another the lunch menu. There may even have been another kind drifting around, but only two (alongside the drinks menu) made it to our table!

We decided to go in and eat - reassured by the waiter that any dishes ordered from the kitchen, by us, would be accompanied by a notification to the chef, concerning our dietary requirements.

Drinks ordered, we set about ordering food. Me? Lamb with new potatoes, simple! Baby? Spaghetti Bolognese, a dish she loves, that we often make at home, simple! 

Baby's choice

Not so simple! The waiter soon returned, to (very apologetically) explain that the ragu sauce in the Spaghetti Bolognese was not dairy free. 'How strange!' I thought, 'we've never used milk to make our Spaghetti Bolognese! Are we missing something?' It turned out, as it often seems to do, these days, that the only dish available to the Dairy Free Baby or child, is pasta with a pomodoro tomato sauce. Disappointing!! And hardly nutritious - where's the protein?

Why is it, when us mums manage to make all manner of dairy free dishes at home, that restaurant chefs, with all their food training and expertise, can only come up with the same old one? Still, the twisty pasta looked nice! And Baby ate it quite willingly - although she couldn't manage the whole bowl!

Baby, being served from the 'Kid's Menu,' was entitled to Antipastini, but we decided she could probably skip those, as we knew she wouldn't eat the carrot sticks and couldn't be bothered to go through the rigmarole of checking the bread sticks. However, she also received a 'Fruit Cooler' (she had Apple & Blackcurrant) as well as a dessert. 

There was a dairy free dessert option - a 'Chilly Billy' ice lolly, made from natural fruit juices. She's had one of these before, at Nando's, but this one was more child sized and perhaps thus more 'small child friendly' than the one she'd had before. She gave it a good licking, for a while, but to be honest (having tried it) The Hub and I agreed that it wouldn't appeal to many kids that we knew, especially as it was a bit sharp.

My choice

Agnello Al Rosmarino (Lazio) - it sounds so nice in Italian, doesn't it? That's roasted lamb with potatoes and some greens, to you and me (I always go straight to the main course). The Hub, knowing my horror of being served meat containing blood, ordered it well done. It certainly was! 

Unaccustomed as I am, to eating my meat, 'well done,' in restaurant terms, I wasn't sure if what I got was turned out to perfection. I usually forget to order my meat, 'well done,' so end up with meat that is swimming in red juice - which I consume whilst silently praying that I won't fall ill! This meat, however, was so well done, that it was in fact a bit tough - but at least I knew I wouldn't catch anything from it. 

The potatoes and the greens, which accompanied it were nice enough, but the 'olive oil sauce' seemed more like a bath! I like olive oil, but not this much!

The Hub's Choice

Rigatoni Speck - A pasta dish, with ham and a creamy cheesey sauce - a dish that once upon a time would have been my choice too! The Hub's comment was that he found it a bit rich, but he said that he'd had it before and knew it would be quite rich. The Hub thought that what with Baby and me both being dairy free (meaning that cream and cheese had been off the menu for quite a while) he'd become unaccustomed to it! However, he thought that the dish itself was fine, for what it was.

What about the price?

Prices are listed online. Our meals broke down as follows:

Baby's Pasta, Drink and Dessert - £6.50

My lamb - £15.75


The Hub - Rigatoni - £9.95

Drinks - The Hub and I both chose San Pellegrino Limonata - a light and refreshing drink but at £2.30 for a can which your pour yourself...

Anything to add?

With all our food requirements, I was pleased that at least we could eat something and we didn't go hungry, which I would have done, if I'd gone to some of the other restaurants at Center Parcs (I still haven't found anything on the menu at Cafe Rouge which is both dairy and gluten free). However, I think I was a bit underwhelmed by the quality of both my food and Baby's food, especially for the price - I think I could do better if I ordered roast lamb in a country pub. 


That said, I might try Strada again, if options were limited, just to find out if the quality of the lamb was better elsewhere, when cooked by another chef. The waiter, however, definitely did his very best!

One more thing - it was nice to see that Strada had dedicated space to a children's play area, with some nice toys. Do they do this in all their restaurants, or is this just for Center Parcs? It was definitely a plus for Baby!!


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