Chocolate Brownie Christmas Pudding Kit

We were pleased to see a range of different ideas in the Christmas section at Tesco... this #glutenfree Chocolate Brownie Christmas Pudding Kit caught our eye (particularly as it was on offer at £2.50!)

Checking out what was needed to use the kit, it was good to see that it wasn't a huge list of non-standard things.  So, we picked out the pyrex bowl, found the greaseproof paper and weighed out the butter (uses 100g, melted or use dairy free spread) ... before adding it to a large, beaten egg and 20ml water.

These were mixed lightly (we used a fork) and then added to the 'dry' ingredients and thoroughly mixed.

Having greased and lined the 0.5l pyrex pudding bowl, we added the mix and levelled the top.



The brownie pudding was then microwaved... the instructions mention 800W strength but the microwave we were using was only 700W so we lengthened the cooking time.

Once done, the pudding looked (and smelt) pretty good!

Whilst the pudding was being cooked, we made up the icing by adding 2 tsp (10ml) water to the icing sugar and mixed it well (we used a mug for this).

The pudding was allowed to cool in the bowl for about 20 minutes before it was turned out onto a plate and the greaseproof paper was removed (easily).

Next, we poured the icing over the top...

 .... and then added the holly sprinkles (a generous portion!) before we dived in to try.

It was a huge success and definitely something we all enjoyed (though our portions served 6 from the kit, not the 8 the packaging mentions)

Udi's Gluten Free Expanded Range

We were contacted  to see if we'd be interested in trying some of the new range of Udi's Gluten Free products.  As we're always on the look out for things to make our days out less challenging, we said yes and a hamper was delivered.  It contained bagels (plain and multi seeded), a two pack of Blueberry muffins, some milk chocolate wafer biscuits and plain bagel chips.

First we tried the plain bagel.  It's been years since we've been able to have a brunch favourite - smoked salmon and cream cheese.





So we gave it a go...


... spreading a layer of cream cheese on the cut bagel, placing some slices of smoked salmon on and then drenching with freshly squeezed lemon and lots of ground black pepper.


It was as tasty as we remembered!

The seeded bagels were nice and soft, with an even distribution of seeds throughout.  These were topped with slices of cheddar cheese and mango chutney. YUM!



The Chocolate Wafers made a perfect accompaniment for our elevenses and Sous Chef J liked their texture very much.  There were 3 sections within the packet, each containing 6 wafers. We discovered, looking at the calorie chart on the packet, that 2 wafers are equivalent to about 80 calories.

The bagel chips are very crispy and, being nut free as well, are a good addition to the range.

Having had a speedy day out and about, we were delighted to try the blueberry muffins once we got home.  Sous Chef J polished his off in no time, liking the soft texture very much... he is now keen to get more to take on days out.



Disclosure - we were sent the products to try.  We were not paid to review the items and did not have to write a positive blogpost. All views are our own.

Further Festive FreeFrom Fare

Following on from our earlier Free From Festive food post, and as part of our pre-Christmas prep, we found ourselves looking through the Marks and Spencer Food to Order booklet.  It was great to see how many items are labelled as Gluten Free.  There are loads of stuffed meats which are Gluten Free (we're thinking of having the Easy-carve Stuffed Duck) and garnish packs are also looking tempting.  We'll have to sort out our own vegetables though as the Luxury Vegetable Selection (potatoes and parsnips, red cabbage, sprouts and carrots, cauliflower cheese) contains gluten.  Having started so promisingly, we were more than a little disappointed to find that not one of the desserts in the range is listed as Gluten Free.  However, cannot imagine why the Pannacotta Terrine would have gluten in it - none of the ingredients appears to contain gluten and gluten is not listed under 'contains'.  It's frustrating that M&S have got so close to offering a full Christmas meal to order that is Gluten Free (and doubly annoying that the macaroon tree that looks so appetising has wheat flour in it).

Searching the M&S website looking for mail order options, we found this Classic Claret with Gluten Free Festive Treats on sale at £30.  At least M&S have something to send from their Hampers range.  Plus, even though we're not planning on having a party, the Gluten Free Party Selection in the food to order range looks like something Sous Chef J would like to try and, as the components are freezeable, we may order a pack and divide the food up for special treats later!

In store the other day, we picked up some items Sous Chef J liked the look of...  Mini Chicken Kievs, Bacon Twist Lollipops and Sea Salt & Black Pepper Crackers.  We've frozen the bacon twists as they were 'easy-to-stick-in-the-freezer' size but we ate the chicken kievs at the weekend.  They were judged to be a 'nice change' although there was lots of garlic butter leakage during cooking which was a bit messy... the packet says they can be frozen and cooked from frozen so seem to be a good standby item.

Being in 'seek and find' mode for Festive food, Sous Chef J spotted these 9 Christmas Cake Bites in Waitrose.  They are VERY small bites of cake - so don't think they'll last long.  Apparently they also have Gluten Free Mince Pies but the shelf space and stocking in our local store means we haven't actually seen any... you may be near a store that's got a wider Free From range (according to Sous Chef J, this wouldn't be difficult!)

Ocado have a good range of gluten free products all year round but they've expanded this to include treats like Amaretti Biscuits in a tin which would make a lovely gift, a dairy, gluten and egg free chocolate Advent Calendar and a selection of Christmas Cakes.  The Hale and Hearty range on sale at Ocado also offers a number of products we find difficult to source elsewhere.

Another brand Ocado offer is Eskal and Sous Chef J particularly likes these crackers which he uses to dip in soup but are tasty with cheese too. 


We'll be making our own Christmas Cake again this year... here's a link to last year's blogpost about it in case you want to give it a go.

Breakfast on the go...

We were staying away overnight last month and knew there'd be no suitable Gluten Free breakfast 'offerings' as part of the budget-hotel's B&B deal.  So, it was very timely to discover some Perk!er foods instant porridge pots and Nairn's Breakfast biscuits in our local Sainsbury's Free From shelves.

The Perk!er porridge pots were simple to use and provided a warming, tasty start to the day.  We tried the Apple, Cinnamon and Raisin and also the Fruit Berry flavours.  Making the porridge is easy - just fill to the line marked on the outside with boiling water, stir and wait...

 ... Sous Chef J tried them both and decided the Fruit Berry pot was his favourite.  We'll be sorting out a supply for mornings where we need a speedy start over the winter months.

Another breakfast item that is popular with Sous Chef J is Nairn's biscuit breaks.  There are two varieties to choose from - oats & syrup or oats & fruit.  Sous Chef J favours the fruity ones and likes the fact that the biscuits come in handy 4 biscuit packs...or pouches as Nairn's call them... there are 4 pouches per box.

It's good to know we now have on the go Gluten Free 'options' for breakfast which are quick, easy and tasty too.

Rhubarb fool with ginger crumble

It seems that quite a lot of the time, shop bought packets of gluten free biscuits are a mass of crumbs when we open them.  Given their cost and being of a thrifty Northern persuasion, methods to use them up are sought.  So, when we found one of our favourite packs of Lazy Days Ginger Snaps were already beginning to crumble it gave us an idea.  We'd had a bundle of rhubarb in the veg box and thought we'd try to make 'something' tasty.  Being the type of 'cooks' that opt for simple stuff with very few ingredients, it was then a question of whether to go with rhubard fool or rhubarb crumble... in the end we went for a 'combo pud' as you will see.

The ingredients were simply - rhubarb, honey, rice milk and custard powder, gluten free ginger biscuit crumbs and some double cream for decoration (for Sous Chef J)... you can leave out the cream if you want/need a dairy free pud.

Preparing the rhubarb was a matter of washing, peeling and slicing.  This was placed in a stainless steel pan together with about a tablespoon of runny honey and a dash of water.  A tight fitting lid was placed on the pan and the rhubarb was cooked over a low heat until it began to soften.  At this point, the heat was turned off and the mix was left to one side to cool.





Meanwhile, the custard was made.  We used about half a pint of rice milk and a tablespoon of custard powder.  A bit of milk was added to the custard powder to make a paste.  Then, having heated the milk to almost boiling point, the warmed milk was added to the paste, then the whole lot was put back in the pan and heated, over a moderate heat, stirring all the time until the custard thickened.  This was also set to one side to cool.





Whilst the rhubarb and custard was cooling, the ginger biscuits were turned from bits to crumbs. Sous Chef J made full use of a rolling pin to assist the crumbling process.

 Finally, it was time to assemble... so we found a few jam jars to use for our 'rustic' presentation and some smarter glasses for the 'posh' puds.

Assembly entailed layering the rhubarb in the bottom, adding some custard (carefully or else it can sink) and finally topping with the ginger biscuit crumble.

For the full 'posh' presentation in the martini glasses the crumble was topped a trio of whipped double cream "eggs".








The end result was clean crockery which is always a good sign.

The rustic presentation in jars would make a good pud for taking on picnics - although ours didn't last long enough to make it out into the sunny UK weather!  A simple free from pud that isn't chocolate or a piece of fruit.

Allergy and Free From Show

Earlier in 2012, on a sunny May Sunday morning, we headed off down the M1 to London.  Our destination was the Allergy & Free From show at Olympia.  With Sous Chef J's limited stamina, we carry out such visits like a military operation.  Prior to arrival, we'd noted which companies/stands were a MUST visit and these were targeted first.  We had with us our trusty going-to-a-show shopping trolley (with integral fold down seat for Sous Chef J) and, within half an hour, it was full to the brim with all manner of gluten free loveliness.  The pics above show our 'haul' from the visit.  We also particularly enjoyed the takeaway food on offer in the venue - the gluten free hot sausage breakfast roll was a total treat and we still reminisce about it now!

There's going to be another Allergy & Free From Show in Liverpool this month (October 2012) and, if you have special dietary needs, it's a great place to find new suppliers and inspiration.  You can get FREE tickets for the event by clicking here and answering a few questions.

We also bought these lovely Gluten Free cupcakes by Sweetcheeks  from the London show and had them with our afternoon cuppa when we were back home.  Not sure if they'll be at the Liverpool show but there's sure to be loads of choice and much to 'taste test'.  Enjoy!