Gluten Free Eating in Bruges, Belgium

Myself and a group of friends went for a city break last week to Bruges and had an amazing time :) I thought I would write a blog about it as when researching food I had found lots of negative reviews and even one saying it was one of the worst places they had every visited to be gluten free! Needless to say knowing it was famous for Beer and Waffles which are famously not Gluten Free I was a little apprehensive and as we went on the Euro Star made sure that most of my suitcase was filled with food rather than clothes, but it turned out to be a much easier experience than I had anticipated!

On the first night after wandering around we ended up in an Italian restaurant (which I will try to find the name of) and the staff were brilliant, the chef asked what kind of flavours I liked and made me up 2 varieties of tomato based sauce to accompany my starter and my main!

Grilled Scallops in Tomato Sauce

Garlic and herb  Chicken with pick and mix salad

The second night after getting on Trip Advisor I had found a place called 'Beer and Ribs' which had amazing reviews and booked a few weeks in advance which I was glad I did as for a larger group they already had limited space!  I had already emailed to find out what the ribs were marinated in, they did 4 different types smokey BBQ, Chilli, dry rub and chocolate and beer, the latter being the only one unsuitable because of the beer but that sounded good to me! It got better on arrival as a plate of nachos and all you can eat ribs for 18 Euros is a bargain and the nachos were pure maize so I got to eat almost exactly the same as everyone else :) Genuinely the best ribs I have ever eaten, smokey BBQ literally fell off the bone so could not recommend it more highly! 

Nachos to share with a variety of toppings

Meaty perfection!

Lunches admittedly were a little more tricky and not a huge range of 'safe' options but there was lots of salads and omelettes which I stuck to and took a roll with me, which for a weekend was more than adequate!

Hardest bit of the weekend was watching everyone with their amazing looking waffles covered in chocolate and cream BUT I found so much amazing dark chocolate it more than made up for it, even chocolate covered

marshmallows and also some lovely Macaroons in a beautiful shop off the main square and have come back well stocked up with buttons from the Chocolate Museum! 

The other thing that is worth a mention is the 'Frites' museum- all about potatoes and chips which made for an entertaining trip for the group of us, could be very educational if you are a veggie fan but the best bit was hands down tasting the chips at the end which are all cooked in front of you and individually fried :) Nothing tastes better than food you know won't make you ill! 

So all in all- don't panic! I know experiences all vary but I wanted to share how positive mine was and that I found there is much more to Belgian food than unfriendly waffles and beer. I didn't even have to use my language cards as everywhere we went into English was very well spoken with a good understanding of Coeliacs and being Gluten Free! 

Veggie Burgers!

Been piling up recipes so thought it was time to get back to sharing some :) Had fancied a veggie burger for ages but the last few I have looked at in the shops have had wheat in so thought I'd just knock some up myself! 

For 6 large patties I used:

1 can of Chickpeas

100g Quinoa

1 Carrot

1 Courgette

1/2 Red onion

Free from flour for dusting 

Oil of choice for cooking                                                        

                    First step was to drain the chickpeas and then mash them up with a fork

Then grated up a carrot, a courgette and chopped up the onion

Put the Quinoa on to boil with some salt and seasoning

And stir fried the veg for about 8 mins until soft

I then stirred the quinoa into the mashed chickpeas, and stirred in the softened veg before splitting the mixture into 6 and having put some flour on my hands formed them into burger shapes

I wasn't sure whether they would be better baked or fried in the pan so I tested one of both! Fried one for about 3 mins on either side in a hot pan with a little oil and the other I baked at 200 for 20 mins

           
                                         

The one on the left was the fried one which predictably came out a nicer colour and a little crispier but I liked the crust that formed on the baked one with the soft middle so I would happily recommend either!

Meaty Turtles!!!

My boyfriend and I are massive foodies and often like to have some fun with the food we make :)

This is one of our favourite creations:

This would be great for kids, free from or not :)

Essentially the Turtles are a meat feast! 

One here is made simple with a beef and egg patty mix with a few herbs and the other with turkey mince,  (a personal favourite of mine) and then topped with Mrs Crimble's Gluten free sage and onion stuffing- a total over indulgence! 

Using streaky bacon you then 'weave it' to make a bacon lattice which you place on top before popping in the oven, along with some of The Black Farmer Daughter's chipolata sausages which can then be cut cut up and popped in to make the head and legs- Ta Daaaaaa! 

First Free From Trip to Wagamama's

I aimed to do one post a week on here, but with all the eating out i've been doing over the holiday i'm getting a little carried away and I was so impressed with my dinner last night I just had to share!
I used to love Wagamama's and always ate there as a treat while at university but usually I now now that Duck Gyoza's and Chicken Katsu were not such a good idea!! I was excited but a little apprehensive  that a free from trip would not be quite as good but i had read good things online and so went with some friend's to the Wimbledon Branch last night.

As soon as I asked for the Dietary Advice folders our server brought them over, enquired as to whether I had used them before, which I said I had not. He then very kindly explained that one folder highlighted gluten free (and many other allergens) and the other then showed you the modifications that you could make if you wanted to, for example not having Teriyaki Sauce.

My server however recommended the new Chilli Squid, the work 'Deep fried' is usually a cause for concern but he assured me it was a celiac favourite and one of the Itame dishes which you can get in chicken, prawn or tofu and was described as'rice noodles in a spicy green coconut and lemongrass soup topped with stir-fried chicken, beansprouts, chillies, red and spring onions, bok choi, peppers and mushrooms.' which both sounded good to me so i took his recommendation and ordered the chicken itame and the chilli squid side and this was the result:

CHICKEN ITAME

CHILLI SQUID

Safe to say I was not disappointed,  in fact I was a very happy bunny! The Itame was much like a Thai green curry in flavour, the chicken moist and with the flat rice noodles it was both flavoursome and filling, and the Squid? Amazing, closest thing I have had to batter in 18 months and the sauce was also gorgeous, will definitely be back for more :)

Turning Over a New Leaf!

Hello, this is my first attempt at blogging and so I thought the first day of the year would be a good place to start :) 

Last night to celebrate New Year's we went to see the Panto in Wimbledon and then went for an amazing Chinese meal at Confucius. I was so pleased with how accommodating the staff were even though it was a busy night and being brought lettuce leaves to be able to enjoy our Duck was an amazing touch :)