Thursday, October 11, 2012

Entertaining Old Friends.

Firstly pick fresh flowers for the vases. These cerise ixias I don't care for in the garden but they pick and mix quite well. In fact the more I have tried to get rid of them in the garden the more they seem to multiply ( I do however love the white ones I have. )
 Luckily I had 24 hours notice that friends were coming for lunch today, so got some supplies.The last time these 2 lovely folk visited I forgot that M had recently found out he had Coeliac disease and I had prepared the wrong things to eat. Determined not to do that again I was left with the dilemma of what to have for lunch. When I analysed my list of recipes loads seemed to have flour in all it's forms as an ingredient.
 Finally I decided last night I would cook a whole chicken and have that  cold with salad and new potatoes.
 Still not out of the woods I decided to leave the salad all separate so everyone could choose for themselves.( radish, avocado and lettuce from our property )
 I also lashed out and bought some of these. "Perlas."  -  Pre -washed little gourmet potatoes. Very expensive but absolutely delicious. As good as your own freshly dug new ones.  With mint of course. 
 I did the same with afters . I put little dishes with dark chocolate; peeled segmented oranges ( ours ) strawberries; crackers and cheeses.
I included rice crackers. I didn't say anything but was a bit alarmed when I saw M eating the others crackers instead. I decided to say nothing .
 With a chilled bottle of Oyster Bay it all went down well. In no time at all it was 3 pm. How did that happen? I guess we can make up time at the weekend if weather permits.

 I am now making sure I keep rice crackers; rice flour; arrowroot; polenta and besan flour in the pantry. One of my favourite things to make is fritters ( all sorts ) and most of these with practise can be adapted.( to non gluten ) I know many of you prepare food for family with special dietary needs and with practise it becomes second nature.
 By the time I cleared up I decided it wasn't worth going to the orchard so I cut out some fabric; pressed some more; watered my new plants; went for a walk and generally had a day off ( sort of ). How was your day?

 PS Thank you all for your lovely comments ...I love hearing from you all.



4 comments:

Diane-crewe said...

sounds like the best sort of day off xx mouth watering as you described what you had to eat!! lol x

Thimbleanna said...

Those flowers are gorgeous Ali! You might not like them as much in your garden, but I sure would. And thanks for an inspiring post about gluten-free. I'm so stuck in my ways of "normal" cooking that I tend to view it as an inconvenience (at best.) Thanks for giving me another way to look at it!

Leanne said...

Yep cooking for food allergies becomes second nature. Your spread we would of really appreciated everything separate and no need to fuss or comment over food issues. I bet your friend really appreciated it!
Love Leanne

molly said...

You are such a thoughtful hostess! I would be delighted to come for lunch with you sometime [though it may take me up to a week to get there!]Added bonus---you can knock yourself out---no dietary restrictions!