Feels like home

It has taken me nearly 10 years to discover the thing I enjoy most. I always thought that I fell into food (it has felt that messy) only applying for a degree in Food and Consumer Studies based on the wisdom of my schools’ career advisor.

She asked “what do you want to be?”

I answered “a dancer”

Her reply - “well there’s no money in that – what subjects are you good at?”

I had always found Home Ec as it was called, then to be a real breeze, something I understood without trying, and two years later I found myself beginning my degree specialising in food.

Don’t get me wrong, this was in no way a bad decision. If I had the time and money I would happily do the course all over again. I loved it. The variety of subjects I covered, and the academic environment, researching and reading books, I was in my element. Thinking back, it was there that I groomed myself into the food nerd that I have become. The most interesting and exciting module I took didn’t come till the final year though; The Contemporary Consumer and Sustainable Consumption. Remember this was the late nineties. I didn’t even know what the title meant. But it gripped me from the first lecture, and initiated me into the world of organic food, veg box schemes and the environment.

I live by my veg box and organic food today, a whole ten years later and I came to the realisation just the other day that this is what I really love. Local, organic food made by passionate and small producers is what gets me excited. If only I had realised that 10 years ago when looking to begin my career. Maybe I would have delved deeper into that sustainable world rather than the one of supermarkets and fast food that actually gave me my grounding.

However, the way I prefer to look at it like this - the shock of working in the world of burgers, ready meals and MSG has opened my eyes wide to the soulless, tasteless and industrial food I was eating and working with. Thanks to my introduction to the alternatives at university by Tim Cooper, I discovered a whole other food world of opportunity, passion and community to explore, and that today feeds my mind.

So, apologies organic, local food world for my late arrival, it took me some time to get here. However, it sure is good to be home.

Our first official visitor

We have been living in our flat in south London for three months this weekend, and my little brother was our first official visitor who didn’t have to sleep in the lounge on the floor.

With spring a long way off, a kitchen with just a little more surface space than the last, and my newly purchased food processor, I have recently developed a desire to bake. I am not sure if this is something to do with my age or whether it' a phase all new home owners go though, helping to turn a newly purchased flat into a home with the aromas of home baking and coffee. Certainly my best friend turned into a baking demon on completion of her flat, making pistachio macaroons, quiches and cakes for lunch on our first visit. In all honesty, I think I have to admit though that it’s largely attributed to the shortage of delicious gluten free sweetness.

With the excuse of my brother coming to visit, and wanting to comfort him with homemade food, I chose to knock up some chocolate cherry brownies using my current favourite ingredient in the fridge left over from New Year - cherries in kirsch. Even though my new kitchen has much more surface space than at the last flat, I still managed to go against my Home Economics teachers' mantra of "clear as you go". This is only because I was trying to multi task, also making a shepherd’s pie for supper.

Honestly Miss, I am normally much tidier.

I used the Darina Allen GF brownie as a guide recipe, replacing the walnuts for the cherries, whilst adding an extra tablespoon or so of ground almonds to compensate for the liquid in the cherries. They turned out well, despite not having the correct sized tin, and went down a treat with a mug of steaming tea mid Saturday afternoon - the perfect time for cake. They went down even better when we were out walking along the Southbank on Sunday afternoon, before introducing my brother to the world of art through Tate Modern. The flavour of the cherries wa much more pronounced and the chocolate seemed stronger, but it could have been the bracing cold air on that blue sky winter day that just heighten our tastes all the more. Maybe next time we should wait a day for the better flavoured brownies. But then again, who can resist brownies fresh out of the oven?

New Year Resolutions

Being someone who enjoys enhancing, rather than restricting her life, I haven’t been known to make new years resolutions. Often when prompted by my best friend who every year manages somehow to flex her will power removing something (chocolate once for a whole year!) from her life, I will manage to conjure something up, only to forget the moment I make the commitment. This year however I am inspired.

After returning to work for a short week after the Christmas break, and reaching that point in the afternoon where a little pick me up snack is required (as I had grown used to the all day fetive nibbling) I popped out to the Tesco Metro near my office. Eating gluten free doesn’t make impromptu snacking particularly easy, as the biscuits, cakes etc I tend to favour are a no go. Obviously I can eat plain and some flavoured crisps, but this time I felt in need of some real indulgence, given the grey skies and cold wind whistling through me on the way to the shop.

Ten minutes later I was still wandering the store empty handed, not through lack of inspiration, as I had selected a number of delicious goodies, one being the Gu chocolate pots. The only problem being that everything that shouted “eat me” had traces of gluten – even the Gu chocolate mousse! Argh!

But, I persevered. One of the commitments I did make to myself whilst taking my delicious gluten free breakfast on a sunny terrace in Morocco last month, was not to be beaten by my coeliac disease. Back in London, I refused to be beaten, and after much searching I opted for a small pack of popcorn, sadly made by Snack a Jacks, whose rice cakes I actively avoid after a career in taste testing them (a story for another time) and a rice pudding.

Walking back to the office, I pulled open the popcorn, one of my favourite childhood foods, when toffee popcorn was all you could get at the cinema, to be thoroughly disappointed. It tasted like watered down toffee, maybe due to the “les than 10% fat” claim front of pack and left a nasty aftertaste in my mouth. This was my inspiration. No more rubbish.

So, from this day forward I am going to eat wonderfully tasty, seasonal and local foods, that are gluten free and utterly delicious made by my own fair hands. I love eating and try to enjoy all my meals, but snacking is particularly difficult, so am off to pull together a list of yummy snacks that can bring a smile to my day and my stomach. And the best bit about making my first ever new years resolution? I am enhancing, not restricting my life, whilst shopping for food and researching recipes to devour. Bring on 2008!

Good gluten free muesli?

My unofficial mother in law is very up on allergies, intolerances and unusual diets as most family members have some restriction. So whenever I visit, I am usually welcomed by a new gluten-free food to try. To be honest, personally I don’t often bother seeking new GF foods out as they are rather expensive and so often disappointing.

This weekend with the family in Norwich, I was presented in with gluten-free muesli from Heron Foods, based in Ireland. Looking at the ingredients it was organic - always a bonus - mostly nuts and seeds, bulked out with brown rice flakes, which I had never tried. So gave it a go, and it was actually quite tasty, admittedly, after adding dried prunes and chopped brazil nuts. Customising muesli to my taste and for interest is something I have always done and stops me getting bored with breakfast.



So I can happily confirm this muesli to be free from the usual sawdust texture, it had plump juicy raisins and didn’t soak up the milk the moment it splashed the rice flakes, and will be a weclome addition to my growing repetoire of gluten free breakfasts. Try adding your own favourite ingredients to make it more interesting and varied. Next time I may tried chopped dried banana, or pine nuts, or even some pecans and a dribble of maple syrup for something indulgent.

Happy Tandoori Nights

Indian food is one cuisine I can happily devour without much fuss, for when it is cooked without shortcuts, it is naturally gluten free. In India, use of garam flour made from chickpeas, is widespread, making some of my favourite foods such as pakoras and papadums safe for me to gobble up like the cookie monster. Having recently moved south of the river, I have been keeping an eye out for a good Indian restaurant and recently ate at Tandoori nights in East Dulwich. Monica Ali, author of Brick Lane cited it as her favourite table for Observer Food Monthly magazine, in 2003, so was keen to see how it stood up, four years on.

Rather than using the common “gravy pot” technique to which a couple of spices depending on the dish are then added, all the dishes at this very busy little venue are cooked separately, making them individual in taste and appearance, and can confidently accommodate many dietary requirements. Being a family run business also means staff are so familiar with their menu that they can easily advise on ingredients and potential adjustments to dishes. The other unique thing here, in my experience of local Tandoori restaurants, is that meat and vegetables are fresh and wherever possible organic. This is evident just in dishes like saag paneer that tasted fresher, with more spinach flavour and less metallic aftertaste.

Some favourites, such as Tandoori chicken and a particularly fragrant lamb passanda with fresh chillies for extra zing are to be found, however much of the menu is taken up with dishes new and unfamiliar to me. Handis, which are Pakistani in origin, refer to the earthenware dish they are cooked in are a popular order, whilst an interesting Palak Gosht, fragrant and very spicy lamb and spinach curry won loyalty at our table. This and more including a handful of unusual vegetarian dishes such as a corn and paneer curry provides excuses to come back again.

Specific dishes aside, overall, I was thrilled by the combination of original dishes, which use fresh ingredients, organic where possible, and underpinned by an adaptability to accommodate gluten-free diets. All this on my doorstep, and costing less than their west London counterparts, I think I am going to like living Southside.

All about me...

After studying a degree that covered anything and everything to do with food, I landed in a career in the globalised food industry, not really knowing where else to go. This time and experience provided me with an insight into factory produced "food", whilst my real and growing passion was firmly rooted in the alternatives of local, seasonal, natural, organic, small scale ingredients.

A couple of years ago, a diagnosis of coeliac disease gave me the perfect excuse to ditch earning a crust in industrial food. After some time to discover what I wanted to do, I wholeheartedly jumped back into the food world, revelling in my new found passion for food that was naturally gluten free... In fact it was the challenge of adapting my diet that completely re-ignited my passion for food in general.

Now I celebrate everytime I find something that is gluten free, made from local, seasonal ingredients and free from the nasties I used to work with... There is so much out there to cook, eat and try, so Figs and Lavender is my place to share those foodie finds, along with restaurants I have dined safely in, and my honest account of living naturally gluten free.

As with everything in life, living with Coeliac Disease is a journey, but whether you are a fellow suferer, wheat intolerant, or just interested in clean wholesome food, I hope you enjoy the blog journey with me. Please feel free to comment or ask questions, or tell me how you find things... I would love to hear from you.

This is the real me... Welcome to Figs and Lavender

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