Pasty Envy

First of all I would like to tell you that  I slept for 5 hours last night, yes 5 flipping hours all in a row, no waking up!!!  I can't remember the last time that happened.  Granted I did not go to sleep until 1, but boy does it make a difference.

As some of you may know,  I'm gluten intolerant, not Celiac, so can get away with VERY TINY amounts.  I have had to totally change the way I eat and at times I have got very down about it.  I love bread made by local bakers, pasta, local beers,  well the list goes on, all of which a can no longer eat or drink.  I am also a vegetarian and have been for nearly 25 years, I am not going compromise on that.  Being gluten free and vegetarian means eating out can be a nightmare.  When we had lunch out last week while on a walk, I asked what I could have that was gluten free and vegetarian and the waitress looked at me as if I was just being awkward for the hell of it.  I then had to ask about each item, she slouched off to the kitchen to ask the chef, and came back with a no it's not GF.  There was no suggestions of what I could eat or offer to adapt a meal so I could eat it.  Even food that should be gluten free if made in the right way isn't because they use things like breadcrumbs and wheat flour to bulk things up and costs them less.  Eating out every now and then used to be a pleasure OH and myself enjoyed, but it's getting to the stage where I don't know why I bother which is sad really. I get treated like a freak.  We went to Italy last year for work and being gluten free was not such a problem as I thought it was going to be. The chefs seemed  knowledgeable about gluten and I even had gluten free fresh pasta and of course polenta.  If they can manage it in Italy, why is it so difficult here?

Living in Cornwall and being gluten free can be very frustrating.  I'm Cornish and can't eat Pasties!!  How unfair is that? I may have my Cornish Passport taken away!  I had to pop into town this morning so the OH asked if I could pick up a pasty.  They are beautiful pasties made locally and there is a veggie option.  The smell was delicious, I could have cried.  But when I got home I went out to the greenhouse and veg patch.  Gathered some spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions, basil, oregano and lettuce.  Boiled some eggs, threw in sunflower seeds and raisons, grated some carrots and 'riboned' some courgette from the veg box (not from my garden Julee) and added some locally made herb dressing.  Delicious, I did cheer up a bit after eating that, and it was no doubt kinder to my waistline than a pasty.  I'm waiting for a date for an operation to repair the scar from last years op., so I really need to lose weight.  Why does it go on so easily and refuses to budge?

My lovely friend who stayed with me a couple of weeks ago, kindly sent me a book voucher as a thank you.  So this is what I bought, yes I know I don't have an allotment, but one day I may have the space to grow more.  This will be really useful anyway with lots of recipes and ways of storing and preserving.  I probably didn't need another cookery book, but that's another story which I will post about soon.

I'm playing Samba in a carnival later, lets hope it cools down.  I really don't want clips of a Samba player keeling over from the heat to go viral on youtube!

Hope you are enjoying your weekend,

Chickpea xx

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