Mini Muffin Quiches

We made some individual, pastryless quiches... mini sized ones which were 'perfect for picnic food'.  To do this, we decided to use some silicone muffin cases and our 'usual' quiche mix.

We used:-

4 eggs, beaten
3 onions, peeled and finely chopped
250ml yoghurt
Cheese, grated (we used mature farmhouse cheddar)

 These ingredients were enough to make 6 mini quiches and a large pastryless quiche.

 We used silicone muffin cases to line our muffin tin.

The eggs were lightly beaten...

... and then the yoghurt was added and whisked through.  Next the grated cheese was incorporated and the mix was stirred to make sure it was all combined.

Having chopped the red onions, they were lightly fried untill they started to cook through.

We added a dessertspoonful of the egg, yoghurt and cheese to the bottom of the cases then topped this with some of the lightly cooked onions.

Each case was then topped up with some more of the egg mix before having some sliced yellow cherry tomatoes added.

The quiches were then placed in a pre-heated oven (180ºC) for about 10 minutes after which time we checked them every few minutes and removed them when the tops were just beginning to brown.










The completed quiches looked really appetising and were easy to remove from the cases.

We served ours with spicy potato wedges, sweetcorn and peas.

They can be saved, in an airtight container, in the fridge (or frozen), and make a great picnic/packed lunch item.

Home Grown Tomato Salsa

We've had a fantastic crop of tomatoes in the garden this year which has resulted in a daily harvest of more than a handful of ripe fruits to 'deal with'.  As Sous Chef J is a big fan of salsa we decided to use our garden haul to make a try at our own salsa. 

Looking round the garden, we gathered a few salad onions, a small bunch of flat leaf parsley and a chilli... to go with the tomatoes.


The tomatoes were washed and chopped.




Having found a small lemon in the fridge, we used a reamer to juice it.


We also washed and chopped the onions before carefully removing the chilli seeds and finely chopping that.

The parsley was roughly chopped, added to the bowl with the other ingredients and the lemon juice was added and mixed through.

That was it - our version of salsa was ready for eating with gluten free tortilla chips.

Blackberry Chutney

It's been a bumper year for blackberries and we've harvested them for weeks.  To try a new 'take' on preserving them, we used a recipe found in a Kilner jar we'd bought earlier in the summer.

The recipe ingredients are -

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
3 cm root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 large red Chillies, finely chopped
1 lb blackberries
45g caster sugar
30ml red wine vinegar

We didn't have red chillies so used a whole, dried smoked chipotle chilli.  Also, we only had 11 oz of blackberries, so the ingredients we used to make our chutney were - a dessertspoonful of oil, 30g sugar, 2cm ginger, 20ml vinegar and a small red onion.

The blackberries were rinsed and drained.  Any stray tops or greenery were removed.

The oil was heated and the onion, ginger and chilli were added to the pan.  This was lightly fried for about 5 minutes until softened.

Next the blackberries were added and cooked gently until soft.

Adding the sugar and vinegar to the pan and the ingredients were mixed well.  The chutney was then brought to the boil and allowed
to simmer for 15-20 minutes until thickened.







Whilst it was still hot, the chutney was spooned into clean, sterilised jars.

This is a speedy and simple chutney to make (taking about 30 minutes to cook in total).   As an accompaniment for a mature cheddar cheese it makes a change from the usual chutneys we make.

It looks lovely in special pots and, presented like this, would make a great foody gift.

Nibbles and Nosh in North Norfolk

We went to North Norfolk earlier in the year and were surprised how many gluten free eating options we found.  Having intended to blog our finds, we didn't get round to it but we were back in Norfolk last week and found even more places to buy food and eat out.  One other requirement we have is that anywhere we eat is also dog friendly and that, too, is something North Norfolk businesses embrace which is great for our family.

Remnants of J's Bakewell Tart

Tasty Coffee and Walnut cake

To start with we are always keen to find places to visit for a cuppa and cake.  The Art Cafe in Glandford is a favourite find.  It's a lovely blend of arty bits and bobs and a cafe, set in a rural location with a few other small businesses around.  When we visited in May, it was a rainy day so we sat inside and were pleased to discover that 'well behaved dogs are welcome'... Sous Chef J chose to try the Bakewall Tart and Coffee and Walnut Cake.

Gluten Free cakes on sale

Stables Cafe

We also visited Holkham Hall which was a lovely, new-to-us, find.  In the Stables cafe there was a display of packaged gluten free cakes from Honeybuns and Sponge (a local company) as well as home made (wrapped in cling film)  fruit cake slices.  We tried the Apple Crumble cake and also the Carrot cake, both individually packed slices from Sponge.

Also part of the Holkham Estate is the Beach Cafe at Wells-next-the-sea where they are extremely dog friendly.  They have a K9 club, tether points and waterbowls aplenty.  There's even a DIY dog wash which we could not even persuade Peppie to look at!  The cafe had a range of Honeybuns snacks but, on the day we visited, there were no gluten free slices of the Sponge cakes on sale.

The lovely sunny evening on Sunday tempted us to try our first evening eating out (that wasn't Nando's!)  We found that the Wayford Bridge near Stalham not only had a lovely sunfilled terrace but was dog friendly AND the staff knew about what dishes were or could be made gluten free.  J chose a bowl of chips (!), I had Norfolk Ham and eggs and B ate a (huge) rack of ribs with BBQ sauce.  As there was also Appletiser and draught Aspall's cider on sale, plus a bowl of water for Peppie, all members of the family had their beverage of choice which was fab.

Don't mistake the Broad for grass, Peppie!

We finally got to Fairhaven Woodland Water Garden in South Walsham and what a lovely, quiet setting it is.  Having worked hard to convince J to have a go on the Broad in a 20 minute boat trip, he had a lovely time and spotted a grey heron and a kingfisher as well as other water birds and loads of trees.  As a reward after walking along meandering paths and taking in as much of the gardens as J's energy level allowed, we were delighted to find the cafe offered a range of cakes for diabetics and also slices of Almondy cake for those eating gluten free.

Almondy!!

Peppie enjoying the beach

The Dunes beach cafe at Winterton on Sea had been selling gluten free cakes when we'd popped in to
'check it out' at the weekend but, alas, by the time we returned for serious beach time on Monday it was all gone.  So, we can't comment more than that they are aware of gluten free but supply would appear to be variable.  Luckily, we had Justin (our bag of goodies) with us so weren't required to do without food.  The cafe is massively dog friendly with water bowls all over, loads of tables outside and is frequented by a huge number of dog loving humans.

Gluten Free is mentioned

As there was a lovely sunset, we decided to set out to Coltishall to see if the pub which is alongside the river was a good place for us to eat out.   We arrived a little before 5pm and the car park was busy.  There was a lovely patio area with picnic tables aplenty.  Having chosen a table, with water bowl for Peppie, we enquired about food.  The standard menu has a Gluten Free heading which lists pizza and pasta options.  However, we were also provided with a 'marked up' menu by the Chef to indicate which dishes are or can be made gluten free.  Despite all this, we didn't actually eat at the Rising Sun as they didn't begin serving meals until 6pm (although the menu said food was served all day).  But, given the setting, it is a lovely place to spend some time watching life on the water and, hopefully, the food is good too.

Shelves of loveliness...

... more tempting treats.

At the start of our week, we ventured into Norwich to stock up on gluten free groceries and visited the Gluten Free Shop at Hellesdon Barns.  What a delightful find this was!  Full of gluten free food - J was somewhat overwhelmed at the choice he had.  We selected a box of Perk!er cereal, a loaf of bread from Wheat Free Bakery Direct, a Voakes Free From pork pie and a Baked to Taste Cheese and Onion pasty.  The Tiger loaf bread was fantastic and something we will be sourcing locally asap.

Fish and chips (this is a small portion)

Flaky haddock

On our last night away, it was time for fish and chips.  North Walsham has The Three Cottages Fish Restaurant which, as well as being a restaurant, is a take away.  We rang to place the order and arrived at the allotted time when J was amused to be told by "Mr Chips" that the order would be ready in 45 seconds. The food was served in biodegradable cartons which kept if in good condition for the short trip back to the cottage... when it didn't last long at all.  The haddock was flaky and moist and the batter was thin.  YUM.

One further find that, sadly, thwarted us by its late (for us) evening food time was the Walpole Arms at Itteringham.  We understand they are dog friendly (and certainly have a lovely looking setting) and offer gluten free food.  They're top of our 'To Visit' list for our next foray East into Norfolk.

Coconut Traybake

This is a recipe from the Dove's Farm website - we tweaked it a little by turning it into a traybake, using raspberry jam and also slightly changing the method!

Following our usual style, we collected the ingredients together and weighed out the quantities required.


We lined a 7" by 11" baking tray (not the 8"x8" tin the recipe used)


and combined the dry ingredients together.




Next, the wet ingredients were beaten using a hand mixer until the foam on the top remained when the beaters were removed.




The method in the recipe says to add dry to wet ingredients so we did this, even though it seemed the wrong way round.

Having mixed the newly combined ingredients together, the cake batter was poured into the lined tray.

Placing the tray into a pre-heated fan oven at 180ºC, the timer was set for 35 minutes.  After this time, we moved the tray to a lower shelf and set the timer for a further 10 minutes.

A skewer was inserted into the cake to see if it came out clean (which would indicate a cooked cake mix) and when it did, the tray was removed from the oven and left on a wire rack to cool.







In a change from the Dove's Farm method, we then spread our raspberry jam over the cooling cake in a thin layer.


Once the cake was fully cooled, it was cut up and served with coconut milk custard.

The cake was very much thinner and less cake-like than is shown in the picture on the Dove's Farm site.  However, it was happily eaten by Sous Chef J who requested seconds.  We think it's more of a coconut bar than a cake... but a tasty treat, whatever it's called!

Disclosure - we were sent some Dove's Farm speciality flours to try and chose to use the tapioca flour in this recipe.  The views are our own and we were not required to blog about the products.