Easy Paella

Not feeling up to much cooking yesterday, I made one of my last minute easy to make dinners. This is some basic rice that resembles paella in the flavours, as it has sweet paprika and saffron, but without the glamour of seafood.
Ingredients (for 2): 1 chicken breast, cut in cubes, 30 grams of chorizo cut in thin slices, 1 green pepper cut in chunks, a small cup of frozen peas, 180 grams of rice (more below), 500 ml of hot water, 1 tsp of olive oil, 1 tsp of sweet paprika (unsmoked), a few threads of saffron, salt to taste. The brand of rice I use is SOS, a Spanish brand, available in London at Garcia and Sons on Portobello road. Otherwise any risotto rice should do the job.
Instructions: In a pot put the olive oil until hot and then add the chicken, chorizo and pepper until slightly brown. Then add the rice and brown a little (1/2 mins should be enough), add the paprika and move until all the ingredients are slightly coated. Don't move the paprika for too long, otherwise it will burn and give the dish a funny taste. I like to add the saffron and salt to the hot water while everything else if being cooked. Add now the hot water, saffron, peas and salt. Without moving anything further, leave it to boil for 10 minutes at maximum heat, then another 10 at low heat. I keep some additional hot water nearby in case it's all getting a bit too dry. You should be able to see some of the liquid in the surface in the last 5 minutes, if not, add a little more water then. Now you can take it away from the heat, cover with a kitchen towel, and leave it to rest for 20 minutes if you can wait that long ;)

Orgran buckwheat mix

After the dissapointing pancake experience at My Old Dutch, I had a craving for pancakes. By chance I was passing by my local health store and decided to check out any available pancake mixes. I bought this one by Orgran, made from buckwheat. Contrary to what the name suggests, buckwheat is not related to wheat, but to sorrel, knotweed, and rhubarb (thanks Wikipedia!), so, safe to use in a gluten free diet. I followed the instructions from the pack and the first pancake was quite thick, so I added more liquid to get a consistency closer to crepes. Very nice, will buy again :)

New Genius Crumpets

I received a sample of these crumpets to try, Thanks Genius! They look very nice and they toasted well in the toaster. The flavour is quite nice, very much like the gluten crumpets I remember. The texture could be a bit more spongy, but as with most things gluten free this is difficult to achieve. Overall I'd say they are nice enough to have some now and then for breakfast, specially with my new found gluten free chocolate spread from Anthony Worral Thompson, very nice ;)

Marinated Salmon

A great dinner that is naturally gluten free. This marinated salmon recipe is from the book The Hairy Dieters. The salmon is marinated for 30 minutes with ginger, garlic, soya sauce (Tamari for me thanks!), chilli and orange (juice and peel) and then baked in the oven. Add some rice and some broccoli and you have a delicious meal that is quick to make, gluten free, filling and low in calories. Great dinner option!http://www.hairybikers.com/books/the-hairy-dieters/1593

Tom Yum from Wagamama

I like Tom Yum from Wagamama. The flavours are quite gentle but still interesting. It is at the moment my favourite dish when I visit, as it is naturally gluten free. At Wagamamas they have two folders that are very helpful if you are on a restricted diet. The first one, their allergy information has all the allergens in every dish (gluten = cereal), and will tell you what to have as it is on the menu. The second folder has all the possible substitutions you can do to take away specific allergens. I personally really like the two dishes that are gluten free in the main menu, itame, which has lots of chilli and ginger, strong flavours in what looks like a curried noodle soup, and Tom Yum in the picture, with a similar consistency but with subtle flavours, for those days you want something gentle in your tummy. For starters, salted Edame is quite nice, as it is the chilli squid, so I alternate between the one and the other on my visits. I was very impressed in my last visit to the Wimbledon restaurant when I mentioned my food intolerance. Our server checked twice that the dish I wanted did not have gluten, when ordering and when serving, and the manager also came by to check too, very thorough ;)

Cupcakes from The Healthy Cook Company in Kingston

It was my Birthday this month and I got up on the day full of happy thoughts, waiting for nice surprises along the day, and the first one was these lovely cupcakes for breakfast! Someone from the Gluten Free London Club had recommended this bakery in Kingston. As I was telling my sister about it, she cunningly got online to check out the cakes available and as we talked about it she made her order. I was a very happy girl indeed, the chocolate and beetroot ones were my favourite, and she even asked them to make them with not too much icing as she knows I'm not too keen! Great way to start a day that was full of good times and memories to treasure ;) http://www.healthycookcompany.co.uk/

Rasperry, Blueberry and Lime Drizze Cake

Oh yes!!! Another brilliant cake from the recipe book Cake Angels. I made this cake yesterday and I think it is the best so far from the book. The coffee and walnut recipe was my favourite beforehand, but this takes the crown! It was very moist, very berry and very drizzled ... In this cut, it even managed to get a little heart bubble. Of course it was made with a lot of love. I took it to my knitting group and everyone wanted to try it so there wasn't enough for a second picture or a second round. Will have to do it again ;)