My daughter has gluten induced migraine and so we have been GF for a couple of years.
We shop at a variety of stores precisely in order to find our favourite GF products. So it's Tesco because round here they seem to be the only ones who stock the Mrs Crimbles Sage and onion stuffing mix and the genious naan bread. They also do a triple choc cookie own brand which daughter enjoys. We prefer the Waitrose ciabattas and their choc chip muffins and we get the Crimbles cheese crackers from there. They also stock an own brand GF sausage. Booths do the Black Farmer range of GF sausage too. Co op do some decent Pasta ( and Waitrose again) that does not turn to slop and actually also stays firm in a Pasta salad. Lasagne leaves too. There is a pizza base mix by a company called Isobel's that we used to buy at a local health food store but its often sold out and we have recently discovered that you can order on the web. This health food store is an independant and also makes /sells home made/ small producer GF cakes and pasties / quiche which are our 'ready meal' options. M&S lemon drizzle sponge is acceptable too and if i see a Mrs Crimbles stem ginger cake anywhere I'll buy it. Asda sell the Doves organic flour the cheapest...
We will go a long way to get the best tasting GF products. That doesn't mean we are prepared to pay over the odd though and this is the biggest bug bear. Price. Everything is so expensive, and a lot of the cakes and biscuits very sweet ( lol that sounds contradictory but they are sometimes too sweet) and we would like more savoury products. A good GF pizza from the fresh or frozen aisle and stuff you can pick up at a service station ( we travel a lot) and the Waitrose GF Sarnies are a good example.
Recipes we adapt everything using Doves organic flour and we don't tell guests ( apart from one rice allergic family member who we have to buy wheat based products in for).
Try this stuffed marrow it's fantastic. Children love it and hard working/ hard cycling non GF husband finds it very satisfying on a cold day. We call it Brenda's stuffed marrow as it's an adaptation of my late MILs recipe .
1 marrow ( peeled, cored/deseeded and sliced in half lengthways)
1 pack GF sausages ( take off skin and rough chop - ordinarily you'd use sausage meat but haven't found a GF brand yet).
1 pack Mrs Crimbles GF sage and onion stuffing mix.
Make up the Mrs Crimbles stuffing mix as directed but err on the side of drier rather that sloppy when adding the water.
Mix the sausage meat and Mrs Crimbles stuffing together till evenly combined( don't mash it about too much). Sticky up bits crisp up lovely at the end to add texture.
Evenly stuff your two halves of marrow with this mixture and give a few grinds of black pepper over the top.
Pop into a greased oven proof dish and cover with foil.
Cook on at 180 for about 45 mins to an hour or until marrow soft and melty inside but still has some shape to it.
Remove foil. It will have sprung juice don't worry. Turn up oven to 200 and pop back in for ten mins to crisp the top. The juice will reduce and can be spooned over the finished dish if liked.
Slice, it's quite rich. Serves four BIG appetites and six generally.
We serve with sliced runner beans in a white sauce ( roux made with Doves GF flour) and either mashed or boiled spuds.
This southern fried( but it's baked ) type chicken is quick and again everyone enjoys we don't say it's GF and nobody notices. Whizz up in a blender a couple of slices GF bread (sainsburys seeded is best) add paprika or chilli powder if you like it spicey. Black pepper I chuck some dried parsley sage thyme depends on what's in the cupboards. U could add curry powder if you wanted that kind of flavour.
Mix an equal amount of whole grain Dijon mustard with mayonnaise and coat your chicken drums and thighs in this then roll in the breadcrumb mix. Bake in oven at 200 for 45 mins or till chicken cooked.
Serve with salad and rice or salad and home made potatoe wedges.
And this cake is fab. When I'm being pretentious I call it chocolate praline sponge... Make a normal chocolate Victoria sponge with doves self raising. I don't vary the recipe at all and it's fine 6, 6, 6, 3 (ozs caster sugar, butter/stork, flour, eggs. Add coco powder - I liberally add till it looks a good colour depending on how chocolatey you like your chocolate cake and for special occasions and if the mix looks a bit stiff if the eggs were small I add a capful of dark rum - yum!
Bake as usual 25 mins at 180.
Cool and then sandwich with a mixture of marcapone and nutella type spread. 250 gramms marcapone and the nutella to taste but probably 2 good tablespoons at least. Mix this well no streaks and you will fill the middle and cover the top. You can decorate with chocolate Buttons or hazle nuts etc depending on whether you want to look homely or sophisticated. You need to keep chilled but can be eaten as a dessert with vanilla icecream and as a tea time treat, if there is any left after a Sunday lunch it's the first thing they head for when they get home from school/ work on a Monday. We don't tell people it's GF and everyone loves it. I think they think the slight texture difference between non gf sponge is actually nuts.
I wrote this on a phone and expect there to be some very odd auto corrections so I hope this makes sense. Too long to check as writing has cured my insomnia!
