Gluten Free PUFF PASTRY- It really is Genius!!!

Yesterday, all my dreams came true- Genius announced that they have made a new pastry range which is now being stocked in ASDA stores, including shortcrust, pies and most exciting of all 

PUFF PASTRY! 

You can head over to Genius to read all about it : http://geniusglutenfree.com/gluten-free-living/blog/new-gluten-free-pastry-range/ and you can find your nearest store stocking it here: http://www.geniusglutenfree.com/files/7813/9101/5988/Genius_Gluten_Free_Pastry_Stockists.pdf

I rushed down to my local ASDA with fingers crossed and there it was in the Free From section for £2.50 which to be honest was much more reasonable than I was expecting!

Found it! 

 Unfortunately, I could not will it to defrost any quicker so I had to wait until this morning to test it out! Sausage rolls are the one thing that I miss the most so that was the first thing on my mind! I decided to try one lot with 'normal' sausage meat (I used Debbie and Andrews) and one with Frankfurters as the skinless ones I used to use are impossible to get gluten free.

Debbie and Andrew's sausages, which I skinned

Children's Frankfurters, currently £1 in ASDA

So here it was, put down from free from flour and crossed my fingers that it wasn't going to fall apart when it started rolling, which it didn't!

In hindsight, I could of rolled it thinner but I was worried about over working it, but it fit 3 mini frankfurters perfectly in a row, i then whisked up an egg, folded it over in the middle and used the other half to shape the 2 sausages into one long tube to use for the other half.

Having folded them over, I pressed the edges down with a fork dipped in flour to close them up.

Then cut them in to pieces, far too tempting to eat them all otherwise! 

 Popped them on a baking tray, greased with a few sprays of one kcal sunflower oil and brushed them over with egg just to give them a bit of shine, popped them in the oven and then crossed my fingers that it wouldn't end up a big disappointment!

And after 20mins at 200- IT DIDN'T! :D Look at them!

Yes that is actual flakes! FLAKES!

and best of all? It tastes AMAZING! it has been along time since I have had pastry that tasted anywhere near this good- I am a very very happy Gluten Free Girl right now- diet is definitely going out of the window!

Vozar's- Gluten Free Restaurant, Brixton Village

The weekend I was taken to Vozar's for a celebratory meal and having pledged support to get it on it's feet I have been excited about a visit for months!!

It has developed from WAG Bakery which I'm sure many people are familiar with as I always see raving reviews about their cakes and bread but had not yet been able to sample it myself- this is their website so you can have a gander: http://vozars.co.uk/

I was a little apprehensive about what Brixton Village would be like but it is so easy to get to from the station and when you walk in Vozar's is right in front of you, a cute little cafe on the corner of a busy strip with lots of other lovely looking restaurants. 

Having been drooling over the menu for days I had already decided my boyfriend and I would be sharing the scotch egg and chicken strips to start, unfortunately they had run out of scotch eggs (very popular!) but I was nowhere near disappointed with the crab meat dish I chose instead:

                                       

Literally piled high with moist crab meat and underneath is pile was half a soft toasted roll! 

Chicken Strips- HEAVEN! These were exactly how I remember Schnitzel tasting, so yummy I could easily of had 2 plates of these for dinner! 

For our mains we had the Pork Belly, which as you can see looked (and tasted) amazing, served with and appley sauce and creamy mash 

                        

Now, at this point I definitely did not need pudding, but after a rest and this little one having been calling to me I gave in and ohhhhh was it good :) The crust was crisp but not dry and custard was the perfect very occasional dairy treat! 

I really can't reccomend this place any higher, it would be amazing to see them go on to have a larger premises but we will definitely be back!! 

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 :)