I realise I am writing about once a month and I feel, for those of you who don't know me all that well, why my mind is not on the blog. I am going to New Zealand!! That's right, folks, in two months today, I will be heading off to New Zealand with one of my best friends, on an adventure of a lifetime for a whole year. Or as she tells it, a six month extended trip. I will try update my blog as much as I can, probably with all the Kiwi recipes I'll try out!
For now, however, I've got a big stinking cold so my appetite has gone and I've done no cooking since... last Friday! So, I'm just going to give a little list here of things I have found that are dairy free, and not listed as dairy free on any supermarket website. These things I have found under recommendations of others and by reading the backs of packets really carefully!! Be warned - although some of these are dairy free, they are not necessarily gluten, wheat, egg or soya free!
I realise most of things I've listed are sweet things, but when you go to a posh restaurant or wedding and they realise you have allergies and go, "how about a fruit salad?", don't you feel a little bit annoyed?
Sainsbury's (Own) Jaffa Cakes
Jammy Dodgers
Tesco Value Plain Chocolate (100g is only 30p!!)
Scotmid Apple Pies (big ones)
Sweet Popcorn
Meringues
Mrs Crimble Coconut Biscuits
Nairn's Dark Chocolate Oatcakes
Nairn's Raspberry pieces Oatcakes
Don't Go There! (things to avoid which you think SHOULD be dairy free)
Check the packaging EVERY TIME
Chorizo (sliced and the bigger wedges from supermarkets)
Sausages (read the information; some do, some don't)
Mayonnaise (again, some do, some don't)
Pate (see above)
Most Ready Meals
Pre-prepared Fish with "special herb crusts"
Bread (white bread is the worst culprit)
Smoothies
And lastly... yes, a recipe. I gave my friend a recipe last January, which I had completely forgotten about. She told me just now that she's making it, so I thought I'd let you see the recipe too. This is altered from a Jamie Oliver recipe, who went on about truffle oil and fancy mushrooms! Tastes just as good without the posh nosh!
Dairy Free Mushroom Soup (Winter Warmer) Serves 4
2 medium Onions
Olive Oil (I used sunflower)
1 veg/chicken stock cube
1/2 bunch fresh thyme (or 3 teaspoons dried thyme)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
300g mushrooms (any kind)
100g basmati rice
1L boiled water
Salt + Pepper
Method
Peel, halve and finely slice the onions and put them in a large pan or pot with 2 tbsp of oil. Crumble in the stock cube, add a pinch of salt, the thyme and the garlic.
Tear in the mushrooms by hand, add the rice and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the boiling water and boil for 10 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
Use a hand blender to reduce the soup to a thickness you like and season to taste.
As not everyone reading this is dairy free, you can add a bit of single cream or milk to finish if you like. But it's not needed. Really. A warning to the wise, this soup can be really thick if you want it to be, so, along with it being quite filling, you may not need bread along side, but this is up to you!
This picture is taken from 'Taste Inspired' on Wordpress as I still have no camera.
