Pie Night II: Attack of the 30th Birthday

3.14 festivities this year featured a balanced array of sweet and savoury homemade delicatessen. Happy Pi Day indeed.

Team Savoury

• gluten free butternut squash and goats cheese upside down pie 
• lamb and colcanon irish pie 
• gluten free mini pork pies 

 Team Sweet

• gluten free key lime pie 
• banoffee pie 
• raw gluten free vegan blueberry pie 
• an unknown pie of Dutch origin from friends in transit

Homeland Holidays

Christmas Eve dinner saw one of my mother's classic recipes take a gluten free twist. A salmon and rice pastry bake. Enveloped in my shortcrust pastry, it was literally like coming home again - albeit with an admittedly dense pastry. A power outage midway through prep sent us all into a panicked frenzy as I also had a gluten-free vegetarian curry potpie in the works. The omnipotent Hydro Quebec engineers must have sensed the cumulative groans of despair from an entire suburban block's worth of residents fretting over Christmas Eve meals in limbo as the problem was resolved within an hour.


Coupled with Brasseurs Sans Gluten's Glutenberg millet based red ale, my Christmas game was strong this year. Probably my favourite of Glutenberg's range thus far, there are lots of subtle flavour notes in this one but the overall taste is full, well-rounded and satisfying with no hint of the initial interior monologue questioning whether or not I actually find this latest instalment in my gluten-free beer drinking escapade palatable. No hesitation. It's a keeper.

Taking Pi to the limit

This was the first weekend I took off from training in a long while, it being my birthday, ultimate Pi day, and all. 3.1415; to all those trying to round up for next year, how dare you round Pi! For mathematical shame! I hosted (what I hope was) an inaugural Pi(e) Night wherein guests came round to eat pie and drink whisky and wine. A homemade pie wasn't required for entry, let alone for it to be gluten-free, but my friends are undeniably amazing and most of them did hit both nails on the head. Anyone who didn't, brought booze, which made for a wonderully indulgent Saturday night and I will likely have a dry month from now until April 12th.

I made the executive decision to forego another 3 hour run and spend 10 hours in the kitchen instead.

Behold, a glimpse of the night's offerings. Pork pies, both large and small, vegetarian curry pot pie, a cheeky pizza pie, sweet potato pie, a Mississippi mud pie, a raw, vegan, blueberry pie, and mini lemon meringue pies. All gluten-free! There was also an apple pie and cheesy puff pastries that were only eye candy for me but smelled divine. May I re-iterate how outstandingly wonderful and supportive  the people in my life are?

Recipes to follow!

A lil late night ginger

New flat, new problems. Heating element for the fan component is not working, which was quite disconcerting when I had batter ready for gluten-free spiced carrot and ginger muffins at 11:00 pm but also a notable amount of stubborness to persevere and keep my promise to bring treats as fundraising incentives to work the following day.

Using the grill and convection microwave, I managed to get the lot done 3 hours later, to a respectable standard, and they went down well. We'll see how the next 20 mile training run goes tomorrow and whether I can stay on my feet long enough afterwards to bake something coffee flavoured. Still fundraising for Coeliac UK, and I've even raised my target, click here to donate!

Super Bowl Weekend

Another day, another colossal batch of mini gluten-free doughnuts. These ones, Super Bowl themed - a clear sway towards the Seahawks was evident amongst those in attendance that night; no one was touching the red/white/blue ones.

Moving flats this month so I've been resisting the urge to buy more baking paraphernalia beforehand; I think it's time to upgrade to full size doughnuts. Having excess buttermilk, I opted to make some buttermilk cornmeal and sage muffins (which really came out more like scones), which were intended for a friend's inaugural chilli party but they suited Super Bowl Sunday just as well. My journey to aforementioned chilli party was already precarious enough with a lemon meringue pie in hand. I calculated that I travel an average of 15 miles on public transportation with each of these pies, be it London, Berlin, Montreal; it's a wonder they survive - if but a little weepy upon arrival.

Americana

A 12 mould mini doughnut tray has proved to be investment of the season! There is a bit of a production line feel to making mini doughnuts: dispense, bake, butter, roll in sugar, repeat. Take 1 was gluten-free cider doughnuts using reduced cloudy, pressed apple juice. The recipe used generated a staggering 4 dozen mini-doughnuts so they were unleashed onto colleagues and quite a hit. It'll be an asset for the fundraising.

#Glutenfree cider doughnuts

While my appetite for savoury, spicy, and aromatic foods trounces my sweet tooth, attempt two will be to make something without cinnamon to cater to the odd few who have an aversion to the spice. Vanilla buttermilk with a frosting of some sort, I'm thinking, which in turn means I'm thinking of icing sugar on every imagineable surface.

Life of Pie

Pie remains my pinnacle, the epitome of dessert perfection. Step aside, queen of puddings, the wildcard of a versatile pie crust can trump all.

Two of my happiest kitchen memories involve baking pies with friends. One a late night sweet potato pie in Helsinki, the other, a daytime venture to make a gluten-free lemon meringue pie in Berlin.

The sweet potato pie night was made even longer by the fact that we had forgotten to actually turn on the oven to bake the potatoes, but it is otherwise, the most foolproof recipe imagineable; 3 large baked sweet potatoes and most of a tin of sweetened condensed milk combined to the viscosity of a thick pudding, with cinnamon and nutmeg to taste for the filling, poured into a blind baked shell and baked until set and just starting to catch colour. On occasion I've also incorporated pumpkin into the potato mixture to make it a fitting addition to any Thanksgiving spread.

Gluten-Free Lemon Meringue Pie: (Stiff) peaked perfection

A good test of determination lay in the lemon meringue pie venture in that we whipped the egg whites by hand, given that the recipe we tweeked to render gluten-free was called something along the lines of "Grandma's Lemon Meringue Pie" and we were certain no Grandma we know would cop out and use an electric mixer. I'm convinced years of playing Mario Party proved their worth in our display of endurance with repetitive motion. Now to hone in the fine motor skills by practicing with some Minecraft.

Carrot Believe I've Done It Again

What do you get when you accidentally order x bags of carrots instead of x carrots? Gluten-free carrot cake surely!

I could have made a dozen cakes...

It's not the first time such a miscalculation has happened, shamefully, but we do cook dinner at home most nights so they will most certainly be consumed. One thing I've learned from all this baking malarkey is that my preference for working with dough over batter has tipped heavily in favour of the former. Like a combination of my being able to read a bread dough better than a batter, the resilience of dough itself, and the satisfaction of working with my hands. And at least baking a cake gives the gluten-free self-raising flour a purpose in life.

Hole in One

Gluten-Free Bagels

My proudest baking endeavour to date: gluten-free bagels. Attempted and nailed No Gluten, No Problem's recipe, substituting the artisan flour with Doves Farm Gluten Free Bread Flour and still opting for the extra xanthan gum. I nearly omitted the second egg white in the initial dough but thankfully Paul came in to the kitchen and pointed out that I evidently suck at counting to two. I added the second egg-white before the divide and shape, which made everything alarmingly slick but once incorporated it was fine. Crisis averted. The recipe provided some excellent tips, namely proving in a hot, damp oven, and the pre-boil flash baking; steps that might be tempting to curtail but I'm convinced they add to the authenticity of these bagels. That being said, nothing will ever beat a Montreal bagel in my heart and if I could recreate that perfectly circumferential contour, I'd be immensely pleased with myself as texture and crust of these bad boys are otherwise damn near perfect, even as a gluten-free bagel.

Next time, let's try doubling the batch. While the effort was well worth it even for just four, it seems silly not to make more when I know they will turn out and be eaten. Half the process is allowing them to rise and bake so it's enough down time to read a few chapters, and admittedly not clean the kitchen. File this one under 'Repeat'.

Cannelle et maudits raisins

There has been a small bag of raisins tucked away in my cupboard for a while. It was even moved over from the cupboard in the last flat. They go untouched as I resent the little frakkers with their ridged, dry exterior and unbearably chewy and unrefreshing flesh, often turning up uninvited or, worse yet, unannounced in salads or braised red cabbage or carrot cake (as if the latter is not sweet and moist enough!). But I had to use them. And I hold firm that the only marginally tolerable manifestation of the suckers is in cinnamon raisin bread, where the strength of the spice somewhat masks the monstrosities.

Out came the Bob's Red Mill sorghum flour (my new favourite gluten free weapon) to top up the standard gluten free white bread flour and within minutes, I had a sweet dough rising. I even squeezed in a 5 mile run (and vacuumed the flat) for good measure during the first prove. Dough rising, a process equal parts beautiful and mundane.

The patience paid off.

Gluten-free cinnamon and dastardly raisin rolls

Things fall apart

With the savoury side of life mostly covered with suitable pasta, meat and dressing alternatives, bread is where it all starts to fall apart. Literally.



Pink Champagne Gluten-free cupcakes



The Great British Bakeoff is my favourite reality program in the UK, it’s so charming, quaint, fun and presents the aspiring bakers with wonderful challenges. Paul Hollywood (not to be confused with the Paul I usually refer to), while a tad arrogant, is a fantastic baker and celebrity chef who acts as a judge on the program. His specialty is bread-making and while I absolutely adore watching him bake and talk about the baking process, it is agonising to hear him mention gluten so damn much.

 XANTHAN GUM is an ingredient present in a lot of gluten-free products because it acts as a thickening and binding agent in an environment where the gluten from the wheat-flour would normally provide elasticity. Some gluten-free self raising flours have xantham gum mixed in while other plain varities often do not but the xantham gum is readily available in baking sections of large grocery stores.

I've attempted a few lots of cupcakes using gluten-free flour. The key-lime pie ones were a definite success, the pink champagne ones fizzled out, but Paul has even mastered a recipe for gluten-free pancakes.

I don't have much of a sweet tooth so I can't testify for too many store-bought gluten-free cakes and pastries. Any store-bought bread has been wholly unriveting. As a personal preference that fast approaches a general rule, gluten-free breads need to be toasted to be even remotely passable. Whether it's something about the preservatives used that make them unappetizing when cold, I'm not sure. 

SAINSBURY'S GARLIC & HERB PITAS taste great and work well as dippers but even after heating are difficult to open into a pocket.

GLUTINO bagels (acquired in Canada) have a nicer texture than most breads I've tried, with a density approaching that of a proper bagel but definitely need to be toasted as per instructions on pack. Seeing as how I had high bagel standards to begin with, anything called a bagel that is not a freshly based Montreal bagel was going to have to bring its top guns. Proper Montreal bagels are the one food I found most difficult to resist during a trip back home.

DIETARY SPECIALS do rolls that are the best I've tried for sandwiches and they double up well as hamburger buns. I prefer much of their line over most grocery stores' own 'Free From' ranges. While the DS buns are passable cold for sandwiches, I do toast them to ensure they don't disintegrate when in contact with anything hot 'n juicy. I've always been a fan of toasted buns so at the very least this element of this gluten-free adventure isn't a horrendous life-changing endeavour.