Lemon Curd Cheesecake

3 Feb

Another guest blog post from my lovely wife Abby.  Moving away from Mexican food and onto dessert, Abby brings you the recipe for her amazing baked lemon curd cheesecake.  Over to Abby:

Hi,

I’ve heard some of you are interested in my lemon curd cheesecake recipe.  I’ve been making it for years, and have now adapted it to be gluten free.  It’s also not too unhealthy, for a cheesecake.  It’s quick, easy and delicious.

Enjoy,

@anaturalstate

Image

Cheesecake base

  • 125 g gluten free biscuit crumbs – rich tea and digestive both work.  Smash them up in a bowl to get crumbs, or use a stick blitzer
  • 40 g granulated sugar
  • 85 g butter, melted (Flora light works too, melt in a microwave)
  1. Mix biscuit crumbs, sugar and melted butter until well blended.  Press into an 8 or 9 inch pie plate or spring form tin.
  2. Bake at 190 degrees C (375 F) for 7 minutes.

Cheesecake filling

  • 500 g extra-light Philadelphia cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 150 g caster sugar
  • 1.5 tbsp gluten free plain flour (I use Dove’s Farm)
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
  • 125 ml lemon curd, at room temperature
  1. Pre-heat oven temperature to 220C (we have a fan assisted oven).
  2. Beat the Philadelphia until fluffy.  Mix in the flour and add the sugar.  Then add in the salt and vanilla.  Slowly beat in the egg whites.
  3. Pour the filling into the pie plate/spring form tin containing the crust.  Spoon over mounds of lemon curd and swirl through with a knife.
  4. Bake in oven for 20 minutes (turn cheesecake after ten minutes), then reduce the temperature to 80C for 15-20 minutes or until the centre is just wobbly.
  5. Turn off oven and leave the cheesecake to cool inside for an hour.
  6. Remove tin from oven and leave on a wire rack until cool.  Refrigerate overnight (if you can wait that long!).

Abby, Guest Blogger for Gluten Free by the Sea

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Living With Coeliac Disease

27 Jan

I have been asked a few times recently about my tips for those newly diagnosed with Coeliac Disease, and advice for those struggling to get to grips with the disease.  So I thought I would put together a post with some advice for those struggling, based on my experiences over the past year and a half.  Please bear in mind that I am not a medical professional and this is based purely on my personal experience.  Always seek advice from your GP or Dietitian before making any major changes to your diet.

Kev_Abby

The photo above is of myself and my wife Abby in Lyme Regis is Easter 2011.  This was one of the few moments of our trip away that I didn’t spend in a public bathroom.  Little did I know these bathroom trips were to be the start of my coeliac journey.  As I’m sure most of you that are reading this will know, this means a lifetime without gluten, therefore a lifetime without wheat, rye and barley.

So you’ve just been diagnosed with coeliac disease.  You are probably feeling like the world has just ended.  So what to do next?  Well the first thing to know is that life isn’t over.  Gluten free life can be a challenge, but there are lots of gluten free options out there and plenty of people willing to help.  First stop for anyone newly diagnosed should be the Coeliac UK website, where you will find a wealth of helpful information.  Membership for the first six months is free, and it is worth joining for the annual Food and Drink Directory which lists thousands of safe to eat foods.  They will also put you in contact with your local coeliac support group.  It is also worth getting a book to read more about the disease.  I can recommend “Coeliac Disease: What You Need to Know” by Alex Gazzola.

It is also a good idea to register with some of the gluten free food manufacturers, as this can lead to lots of gluten free freebies.  After I was diagnosed I registered and received free samples from Juvela, Glutafin, Dietary Specials and Livwell.  Ask your GP if you are entitled to gluten free food on prescription, and hopefully your free samples will help you choose what to have if so.  I am lucky enough to get Juvela foods on prescription, but many regions have recently made cuts in this area.

Unfortunately accidental glutenings will be part of the learning process, and coeliac life going forward.  It’s a good idea to stock up with peppermint tea as this can help calm your stomach when you have accidentally ingested the evil stuff.  The psychological impact of being diagnosed is one of the biggest things to deal with, and is not something that the NHS will offer any help with.  The best way to deal with this is to become part of the gluten free community.  Sharing experiences with other coeliacs, and having people who understand what you are going through is a massive help.  I have written about how to become part of the GF community for the Foods You Can website here.

Those of you who have read the story of my first year as a coeliac will know I’ve seen major heath improvements, but coeliac disease is different for us all and it can take as long as two years for the gut to recover in some cases.  It’s my belief that I’ve had a relatively smooth recovery due to a fairly swift diagnosis.  I’ve read many stories since from people who have been suffering for over ten years before being diagnosed, and this level of damage can have much longer recovery times.

So you’ve gone gluten free, but you’re not feeling better.  What to do now?  Hopefully by now you will have been referred to a dietitian, and will have been advised to cut out oats (even gluten free versions) for the first year.  A small number of coeliacs react to oats and it is best to be back to full health before slowly reintroducing to see if oats are a problem.  From talking to other coeliacs it is clear that after-care and advice from the NHS varies dramatically and I have spoken to several people who have not had this advice.

Many coeliacs suffer from lactose intolerance when first diagnosed, which can be a side affect to gut damage.  Fortunately this was never an issue for me, but I have spoken to many coeliacs who have been affected.  In most cases this should be temporary and you hopefully you will be able to tolerate lactose once your gut has healed.  There is further information on the Coeliac UK website.  Consult your GP or dietitian if you feel lactose may be an issue for you.

Personally I have cut out anything carrying a “may contain wheat/gluten” or anything “made in a factory handling wheat/gluten”.  I’ve had some bad experiences with these products and now avoid completely rather than risk it.  Cross contamination is one of the hardest aspects to deal with.  If you are living with others that are eating gluten then having your own utensils is a good idea, your own separate toaster, chopping board and pasta drainer etc.  I’ve recently thrown out all my wooden spoons and replaced with silicon versions.  Always clean down surfaces before preparing food, one crumb is enough to make you sick.  My wife now eats gluten free as much as possible at home, and keeps all her gluten containing food in a cupboard in another room.  I am very grateful to her for this.  If you are outnumbered by the gluten eaters then a lot of coeliacs have their own cupboard for their GF food.

Eating out is another big challenge.  I try not to eat anywhere that I haven’t thoroughly researched first.  Use the internet to search for recommendations and social media to ask for suggestions.  There are websites such as Live Gluten Free that have searchable databases of gluten free friendly restaurants.  See also my guest post for the Give Me Gluten Free website for more eating out advice.

Also pay close attention to what you are drinking.  The last two times I’ve been glutened have been from drinks.  Firstly I was drinking Tetley Green Tea which I later discovered carried a “may contain gluten” warning, and then I drank cider in a pub and got ill so I assume the glass or pumps had previously been used for beer and not cleaned properly.  Many squashes contain barley and it’s an area that’s often easy to overlook.  Beer is obviously a no go, though there are some gluten free beers on the market.

I am taking several supplements to help me get back to health.  I have always taken a multi vitamin with added iron, due to leading a previously largely vegetarian diet at home (my wife is vegetarian) and I believe this helped me from becoming anaemic when I was going through diagnosis.  I have since started taking a prescription calcium supplement (AdCal) after a bone density scan showed osteopenia.  I also take an Omega 3 supplement as I don’t eat fish.  Please consult your dietitian with regards supplements.  I have also started taking a good quality probiotic (Culturelle) with the aim of improving the health of my gut.  Since being diagnosed with coeliac disease I have also developed issues with acid reflux, and have been prescribed Omeprazole to combat this.  The acid reflux has also led to me having to give up black tea, and I now drink green or peppermint tea instead.

So have you struggled to get back to health despite going gluten free?  Do you have any tips for the newly diagnosed or those struggling to feel better?  Please use the comment section below to share your experiences and tips with the gluten free community.

Kevin, Gluten Free by the Sea

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Burger Time at JD’s Grill

18 Jan

Now if there’s one thing I miss since being diagnosed coeliac, it’s being able to easily feast on a big fat burger.  Given my wife is vegetarian, it’s not something I really make at home unless we are having a barbecue.  Having been to the fabulous Honest Burgers in London I have been dreaming of finding somewhere in Plymouth that will do a burger of that quality, and more importantly a gluten free one.

Last year I saw a tweet that a new restaurant called JD’s Grill was opening in Plymouth, “Serving delicious gourmet burgers and American influenced food”.  As usual I did my bit and tweeted them to see if they would be offering gluten free options.  They replied to say that they were offering gluten free bread for their burgers.  I recently followed this up with an email to investigate further.  They replied that they were still offering gluten free bread, and the burgers were gluten free though they couldn’t guarantee that “that the spices etc that we use in our recipe have not been cross contaminated in the factoring process”.  However, they kindly offered to make me my very own burger leaving out any spices that were a risk.  When my wife spotted a bargain Group On offer (two meals and two drinks for £10) we decided to give it a go.

JDs Burger

Once seated I mentioned I was gluten free and they immediately knew who I was which was a very reassuring start.  The Group On offer included a beer, but they happily swapped this out for a cider.  There is quite an array of toppings for the burgers on the menu, though I went for a classic choice of cheese and bacon to top my half pound burger!  The person who served us explained that their gluten free buns had unfortunately disintegrated in the freezer (well we’ve all had problems with disintegrating GF bread!) and they were struggling to find a good gluten free bun supplier.  However they did have gluten free bread in.  Not quite the same, but I appreciated the effort as most places simply will offer you the burger minus the bun anyway.  Unfortunately I was advised I couldn’t have the chips, but the wedges were gluten free.

I really enjoyed the burger.  It was really flavourful and it was a quality burger, I didn’t feel like I was missing out with the other spices taken away at all.  The gluten free bread was also good and at least let me demolish this burger with my hands in traditional fashion!  The chunky potato wedges were good too and were a fine substitute for chips.  My gluten eating vegetarian wife went for the sweet potato burger with wedges and was also impressed.  The portion sizes were great and certainly no skimping here.  Some of the orders we saw coming passed our table were obscenely big.  JD’s also run a Man vs Food style “Goliath Challenge” too for those who are into that kind of thing.  Half a pound of delicious meet was enough for me though.  With the Group On making it only a tenner for two great meals and two drinks it was fantastic value.

JDs Sundae

Onto dessert and as the waiter passed me the menu he informed me that all the Sundaes were gluten free without me asking.  This was the third person who served us during the evening and all three were aware of my requirements when they came to the table.  I was really impressed with this.  I went for a butterscotch tower which went down well even though I was already completely full.  Well I couldn’t really do a review without sampling a dessert.  Again a very ample portion size.

So overall I was impressed.  The staff couldn’t do enough for us all night and were very friendly and accommodating to my requirements, and the fact they had specially prepared a burger for me was very impressive.  The quality of the food was very good and I’d have happily paid the normal price of £8.95 for the burger.  So was it as good as Honest Burgers?  Well no it wasn’t, but that is very high bar to reach.  The quality of the burger is up there, but Honest is just that bit easier on the gluten free side.  I’ll definitely be heading back to JD’s for more though.

So if JD’s were interested in becoming the gluten free burger Mecca that Honest is in London, here’s how I think they could improve:

  • As much as I really appreciated them going out of their way to make me a special burger, if they could source gluten free spices it would make it easier for both JD’s and the gluten free customer
  • Find a way to make the fries gluten free.  I know the fries are done in a separate fryer so this shouldn’t be too difficult
  • Most importantly find a good gluten free bun supplier.  Maybe Plymouth Greengrocer could provide a solution here as they are currently trialling these

If they really wanted to push the gluten free boat out then they could get in a gluten free beer such as Celia, and maybe consider marking the items on the menu with a GF.  This would be especially helpful with the toppings.  OK I’m just being greedy now.  So a thank-you to Dave for organising the gluten free burger for me, and all the staff for looking after me on my visit.  As Arnie would say, I’ll be back.

If you are planning on making a visit you can email JD’s Grill at info@jds-grill.co.uk in advance to discuss gluten free requirements.  See here for further offers.

Update 25/06/13: I’ve been back for another visit, and this time I got a gluten free bun!  Check out this photo of my AMAZING 1/2 pound burger with pulled pork, BBQ sauce and Monterey jack cheese. Even better than the previous visit and service equally as good too.

2013-06-24 19.31.51

Kevin, Gluten Free by the Sea

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