HAPPY EASTER FOLKS….
And like all good festive occasions around hear its a day of eating, drinking and stretchy pants!
We have been invited to a friends house this Easter for dinner, but due to work it was a last minuet job so I am bringing the gluten free stuff and topping it up with there vegan extras. So its a good job i’m a happy prepper and always have something I can take to a friends last minuet.
Tasty nibbles….
Our friends live in a little town up in them there hills with no big shops, so I wouldn’t expect to find a shop that specialises in vegan and gluten free foods, yet there is one. I have yet to go being Easter and only just finding out about it but trust me a trip there is in the pipe line.
My friend however, went and stocked up!
For nibbles and from the shop of dreams I had kale crackers and mushroom pâté.
I love pâté I could eat it with everything, so to be able to find a gluten free and vegan option is amazing! It was so creamy and tasted of mushrooms, not a fake taste but the real deal. The kale crackers were crunchy but not dry and made a perfect partner for the pâté and were lovely just on there own too.
The nibbles are meant to be that, just nibbles before the main meal but the crackers and pâté were so good I basically woofed them down.
A roast for all…
Normally when I have a roast dinner I don’t bother with a meat alternative because lots and lots of veggies suits me fine. But this time I happened to have a Quorn roast in my freezer which is a delicious alternative to a roasted meat. I cooked mine before heading out to our friend, for no other reason than it was easier to do that.
Quorn roast has a sweet but subtitle taste, however it can be a little dry due to its denseness so I would advice a little moisture to go with it, be it gravy, mayo of any other sauce.
I made my other half try it as everyone was picking on it due to its lack of colour and it shape (you don’t want to know what they were saying!) but once they tasted it apparently its just like chicken!
Wouldn’t know can’t remember that taste
all I know is that a Quorn roast is delicious hot and cold!
To go with our meal my friend searched the supermarkets for a suitable drink. I shocked her at Christmas by saying I would have a cup of tea with my meal so this Easter she has found me a gluten free, vegan non-alcoholic wine.
My friend is a wine expert and loves Co-op wines and I have to agree their non-alcohol wine was beautiful. It was a crisp and refreshing drink to accompany a quite heavy meal.
Eggs galore, or not…
For many years the family have swapped Easter eggs, this year they have struggled to find a suitable egg for me one that has no allergens in and is worth the money. I know they are around but those I have seen are either very expensive, mini or both!
I cant understand why gluten free vegan eggs are so expensive.
I have seen some in several of the big supermarkets, but there very small vegan/gluten free chocolate eggs with nothing in it, so just a thin piece of chocolate basically and they were nearly £3. Or you can get a medium and sometimes a large size non-vegan egg which are normally gluten free with extra bits for the same price if not less.
I just don’t get it!
So instead of eggs I decided to make cakes for everyone and myself in turn.
Cakey bakey….
When I think Easter I think cute bunnies, baby chicks and carrots. Lots and lots of carrots.
So what to make for everyone but a nice and chunky gluten and lactose free carrot cake. I was going to make it vegan but i’m still trying to find and egg replacement that works for what I need.
I don’t often make carrot cake, i’m more of a sponge cupcake kinda girl, but after this little beauty I think I will be making it more often.
It was a beautiful mix of moisture and flavour, most gluten free cakes are crumbly in nature compared to “normal” cakes but this recipe worked really well with my gluten free flour.
For this I used Asda’s free from self raising flour, but any of the free from flours would work perfectly. For the cream cheese topping I used a mix of lactose free and vegan alternatives from Arla and Pure free from.
And what goes best with cake?
Well more cakes obviously!
So to accompany the carrot cake I made cornflake cakes using Asda’s free from cornflakes. Unfortunately they were made with dairy chocolate so there not for me, well not in the masses anyways. I added little extras in the chocolate including caramel, cherries and the best one peanut butter, yum yum!
Cornflake cakes are such a simple but tasty cake, 2 or 3 ingredients and that’s it. Not all tasty treats have to be complicated to make.
I will be looking out for vegan cooking chocolate or larger bars of vegan chocolate that wont cost the earth so I can make them again and scoff!
This Easter was just how I imagined it, full of delicious foods and drinks, happy family and friends and what better than finding a new shop to explore!
I shall be visiting the shop soon for a visit and no doubt a big shop but if you want a nosey find these guys online;
Happy Easter folks….
allergic-foodie.com 