Almondy Sundae

We have long been fans of Almondy frozen 'cakes'... and the Toblerone version is a particular favourite.  Having seen a number of tweets from Almondy, tempting us with their fare, we decided to give our own twist to a gluten free Sundae.

The ingredients we used to 'assemble' the dessert were - Almondy Toblerone (one slice), Swedish Glace Vanilla Ice, mini marshmallows, chocolate buttons (and chocolate sauce or cream can be used too).

A couple of small scoops of the vanilla ice were placed in each bowl.

A slice of the Almondy cake was chopped into three, then cut into small pieces which were added to the bowl.

Next, some mini marshmallows were sprinkled over...

... before adding the giant chocolate buttons (chocolate sprinkles, stars or curls could also be used).

Adding the Eskal Wafer Rolls (and a drizzle of chocolate sauce or dollop of cream, if you like) and our speedy dessert was ready.

We have been trying to get Ocado to stock Almondy as, for us, it's the easiest way to get our frozen goods delivered.  No news on this yet... but the request(s) have been made!  All the other items used to make this dessert came from Ocado so to be able to buy a 'bundle' of all these ingredients would be FAB...

Latest Gluten Free finds at Marks and Spencer

Finally, at Marks and Spencer, we found an almost full display of Gluten Free (or Made without Wheat) products.  The empty spaces should have contained baguette and fruit scones.  We would have liked to try the baguette very much as we don't make bread. Ever.  Scones we makes lots so that's not such a missed item in our grocery shop. 

It was GREAT to see that someone has listened and realised those on restricted diets also have birthdays!  A Celebration Cake - Extremely Chocolatey - covered in chocolate curls and decorated with a starburst.  Pricey at £10 but nice if the Birthday girl is the main cook (hint, hint Sous Chef J)...

Other cakes on offer were Coffee and Walnut (new), Carrot and Walnut (new), Victoria Sponge, Chocolate Loaf and Rich Fruit Loaf.

Having looked at the 'ambient' food offerings, we went on the hunt for other Gluten Free items... and spotted this three pack of mini meringues - not labelled with the gluten free symbol but the allergy advice does not highlight gluten in the ingredients.  Also, having checked online here, the item is listed in the Marks and Spencer 'do not contain gluten' listing... of course, you still need to check ingredients on the product as 'recipes change'... but it's a good starting point.

The meat section revealed a couple of 'The Grill' range marked with the Gluten Free symbol. 

Sausages are a usual 'staple' purchase for us as many (perhaps all?) uncooked are Gluten Free... but beware, the cooked, lunch/snack ones are NOT?  How? Why? Daft, if you ask us.... there are few enough items to choose from in the takeaway/food to go/lunch snacks that are Gluten Free that it seems odd not to sell the cooked version of the Gluten Free sausages.  There is more good news though - we did find Gluten Free Scotch Eggs ... in the picnic section.


The other day we tweeted about the numerous Gluten Free finds in the Food to Order catalogue - even containing a dessert (large portion sized version of their hot chocolate fudge pudding).  Here's a link to the online offering of Gluten Free items it contains.  There are Celebration Cakes and Wedding Cakes as well as crumpets and meats... but, oddly, NOT the Gluten Free Mini Chicken Kievs Sous Chef J had been so pleased to find in the paper catalogue.  Similarly, the belly pork I so liked at Christmas is not showing up online - I do hope that, if we place an order from the catalogue, these are still available...

... as ever, it seems to be that Reliability of Availability is key.  It is really frustrating to know products DO exist (in some stores) but they are difficult to purchase... and, PLEASE, Marks and Spencer, IMPROVE your offerings at roadside Simply Food stores!  We find the Gluten Free range in railway stations is, usually, pretty reliable but you seem to think we don't go by road... we need to know if we see your store we can buy food we can eat.  Like these Caramel Pecan Crunch Bars which Sous Chef J loves.

Kabuto Gluten Free Noodles

When we heard about the gluten free pots of @KabutoNoodles on twitter and were offered some to try, we were keen to see what they were like.

The parcel arrived and there were three pots each of Miso and Chicken noodles. 

Sous Chef J decided we'd try the Miso pot first...

...opening the pot, there looked to be a small portion of rice noodles and we topped up the container as instructed.

After stirring well (we recommend using a fork for this), the foil lid was placed back over and the noodles were left to 'brew'...

...three minutes later, we decanted the now-much-bigger noodles into our bowls and gave them a try.

 As we're fond of saying here "actions speak louder than words..." so this pic of Sous Chef J's bowl (yes, he did use a fork!) shows what he thought of the noodles.  

There were plenty of noodles and the miso was very tasty.






 
A pot of Kabuto Noodles made a great take to work lunch for B... and as they're easy to store, they're a handy 'just in case' addition for us too.


At the moment, Ocado stock the gluten free noodles (£1.99 a pot), as do Whole Foods London.   Also, independent stores are stocking the noodles...

We did look for the noodles in the supermarket but our local Sainsburys only stocked the gluten-containing Kabuto Noodle pots (so beware when looking in stores)... but, perhaps one day soon, the Gluten Free pots will also be stocked?!

Disclosure - we were sent a box of noodle pots to try.  We were not required to write a blogpost and all the opinions are our own.