Saturday 26 July 2014

Pasty Envy









First of all I would like to tell you that  I slept for 5 hours last night, yes 5 flipping hours all in a row, no waking up!!!  I can't remember the last time that happened.  Granted I did not go to sleep until 1, but boy does it make a difference.

As some of you may know,  I'm gluten intolerant, not Celiac, so can get away with VERY TINY amounts.  I have had to totally change the way I eat and at times I have got very down about it.  I love bread made by local bakers, pasta, local beers,  well the list goes on, all of which a can no longer eat or drink.  I am also a vegetarian and have been for nearly 25 years, I am not going compromise on that.  Being gluten free and vegetarian means eating out can be a nightmare.  When we had lunch out last week while on a walk, I asked what I could have that was gluten free and vegetarian and the waitress looked at me as if I was just being awkward for the hell of it.  I then had to ask about each item, she slouched off to the kitchen to ask the chef, and came back with a no it's not GF.  There was no suggestions of what I could eat or offer to adapt a meal so I could eat it.  Even food that should be gluten free if made in the right way isn't because they use things like breadcrumbs and wheat flour to bulk things up and costs them less.  Eating out every now and then used to be a pleasure OH and myself enjoyed, but it's getting to the stage where I don't know why I bother which is sad really. I get treated like a freak.  We went to Italy last year for work and being gluten free was not such a problem as I thought it was going to be. The chefs seemed  knowledgeable about gluten and I even had gluten free fresh pasta and of course polenta.  If they can manage it in Italy, why is it so difficult here?

Living in Cornwall and being gluten free can be very frustrating.  I'm Cornish and can't eat Pasties!!  How unfair is that? I may have my Cornish Passport taken away!  I had to pop into town this morning so the OH asked if I could pick up a pasty.  They are beautiful pasties made locally and there is a veggie option.  The smell was delicious, I could have cried.  But when I got home I went out to the greenhouse and veg patch.  Gathered some spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions, basil, oregano and lettuce.  Boiled some eggs, threw in sunflower seeds and raisons, grated some carrots and 'riboned' some courgette from the veg box (not from my garden Julee) and added some locally made herb dressing.  Delicious, I did cheer up a bit after eating that, and it was no doubt kinder to my waistline than a pasty.  I'm waiting for a date for an operation to repair the scar from last years op., so I really need to lose weight.  Why does it go on so easily and refuses to budge?





My lovely friend who stayed with me a couple of weeks ago, kindly sent me a book voucher as a thank you.  So this is what I bought, yes I know I don't have an allotment, but one day I may have the space to grow more.  This will be really useful anyway with lots of recipes and ways of storing and preserving.  I probably didn't need another cookery book, but that's another story which I will post about soon.

I'm playing Samba in a carnival later, lets hope it cools down.  I really don't want clips of a Samba player keeling over from the heat to go viral on youtube!

Hope you are enjoying your weekend,

Chickpea xx

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14 comments:

  1. I'm so envious of your book choice. I never buy new books so I always have to wait for them to hit the chazzers.

    I had peanut butter on toast (not from the lottie lol) as I'm home alone for the weekend.

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  2. I'm sorry it's so difficult for you to find foods you can eat. It sounds like a frustration experience. The cookbook looks great and I hope it's full of good ideas that fit in with your dietary needs. :)

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  3. Am going to look that book up as might be just what I need. Thanks

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  4. Perhaps they have it in the library Julee? Isn't it wonderful being home alone and eating what you want, when you want :)

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  5. Yes it can be really frustrating Jennifer, our western diet is so full of bread, pastry, pastas etc it can be very difficult. Thai and Indian food is easier to find something I can eat. I love tofu so usually end up with that.

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  6. I have the recipes, I just need to grow the veg now hazzy :)

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  7. I could just tuck right into that delicious salad, Chickpea. I know you don't need another cookbook, but Gwyneth Paltrow's It's All Good brought me a lot of good. All gluten-free too. xxx

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  8. That sounds good Isabelle, will look that up, always looking for new gf recipes xx

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  9. Gluten free is so hard isn't it! I was amazed last year when we went to Italy to see how much GF stuff was available, it was listed on all the menus, not as a big thing, but just as though it were "normal" in the same way that veggie options are labelled. It really doesn't take much does it! Hope that the carnival went well. xx

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  10. As you said isabelle, it just takes a bit of thought to make life easier for those of us who have to be careful what we eat xx

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  11. I'm gluten intolerant too and eating out can be a chore. We like to visit the big name Italian restaurants when they offer vouchers. That way, I can get my gluten-free pizza fix with money off!

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  12. Hi thedomesticstoryteller, so do I, their gf pizzas are very good :)

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  13. oh the perils of eating out gluten free, we almost never do as it frustrates me so much......

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  14. oh the perils of eating out gluten free, we almost never do as it frustrates me so much......

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