Gluten-free Cooking for Kids

I've been contemplating having a drastic cull on all the stuff in my kitchen cupboards.  I am a fantastic accumulator, but when it comes down to it, I think I could actually live with only a handful of gadgets.  Top of  the list are obviously my knives which I don't consider gadgets, they are the tools of the trade, so I won't include them in my top 5.  In case you are interested I use three sizes of knives, a medium choppin

I don't know too many kids who enjoy eating lettuce.  For the most part they seem to take a bite then spit it out, with a "what's the point of this?"sort of look.  At one of my recent coeliac meetings, I met with a lady who wanted to know if I had a good recipe for wraps.  I had to confess that I didn't.  I've tried a few recipes and they were pretty disgusting, so I decided to go around the problem.  I told her about our love of tortillas, but I had to admit that as far as "wrapping" is concerned, probably not such a great idea. 

Live Radio Interview on BBC Oxford - 2PM 29th  October

Ruthie and I have been invited to talk about the book on BBC Radio Oxford.  Please tune in on the 29th of October  2PM.  Please join us on air and phone in your questions and comments.

Saturday 7 November, Mostly Books, Abingdon

I recently came across this site and have been using it almost on a daily basis.  It hails from San Fransisco so you know that you are in for some seriously good food.  Heidi from what I gather used to be a photographer and cookbook designer.  She obviously loves cookbooks and food and has combined this into a website which has lots of healthy, natural food which looks and tastes delicious.  Lots of the recipes are gluten free and some which aren't are easily adapted.  What I really love about this site is that not only do you get some great ideas but she

I'm always fascinated by what sells.  In one of my recent lurks around the Amazon website, I was curious to know what the best selling cookbooks were.  In addition to all the Jamies, Rick Steins, Nigellas etc, I came across this cookbook.  It's written by a woman called Harry Eastwood who became famous for her Cook Yourself Thin series on TV a little while back.  Well she's back with a very handsomely printed book, this time, it's all about naughty cakes made good.  By replacing most or all of the fat in a recipe with vegetables (potatoes, courgettes, parsnips, beet

Last week I sat in on a breadmaking course at The Bertinet Kitchen run by the master himself, Richard Bertinet.  Unfortunately , this was not a gluten free experience but I can tell you that I feel inspired now to have a go at creating a gluten free loaf.  Richard's technique is not for the faint hearted or for those of you who don't like getting your hands sticky.  His whole approach to baking bread is to keep things simple, light and to use only  the amount of flour stated in the recipe.  There is no kneading, no knocking back and certainly no liberal do

A while ago, my hairdresser recommended a web site where you can purchase cardboard toys for kids.  I ordered a white igloo which arrived around Thanksgiving time and the kids had a great time living in it for a few weeks.  It's incredibly spacious inside and 3 or more children could sleep in there quite happily.   We took it down before Christmas to make room for a tree and we sort of forgot about it.  Last week, Ruthie decided it was time to get the igloo out again.  A few of us (Julie, mainly) put the igloo together, whilst I ran around g

Breakfast in our household is a lively event.  The children are brimming with energy after a full nights sleep and they spend their first waking hour building up an appetite by charging around the house and wreaking havoc on an industrial  scale. This gives me the opportunity to drink my piping hot cup of coffee and ponder what to make them for breakfast.  In most households, I suspect our breakfast menus would raise quite a few eyebrows.  I don't think there are many children in the western hemisphere who start their day with something called &q

A few days ago we had a gathering of 11 children and 6 adults in beautiful Bledlow, in Buckinighamshire.  A friend had arranged a lunch with activities for the children one of which turned out to be making tortillas.  Tortillas are made from masa harina, which is available from the special selection area of Sainsbury's or from the Cool Chile Company.  (see useful links for more information).  Masa harina is a special corn flour used throughout Latin America.  It is naturally gluten free and is really easy to use basically just add hot water to the flour, m

Some exciting news I want to share with you.  I will be teaching some gluten free cookery courses in the next few months at two of the top cooking schools in the UK.  My first course will be at Leith's (where I trained) and is scheduled for November.  This course will feature many of the recipes from my book.   Please have a look at Leith's website for further information.  Later on in November I will be teaching at  The Bertinet Kitchen in Bath.  This is a fantastic school run by a husband and wife team in the heart of historic Ba